Thank you, Mido, you crazy girl!
“This is what a soldier’s offspring should be like. You can take all your living expenses; we don’t need your little bit of money.”
"This is my humble offering; please grant my request, County Magistrate."
"Alright, Lao Li, you take it with you. Just give her the amount of living expenses she requested for one month."
Zhang Hongmei took ten yuan and left the county government compound, heading straight to the grain station to see what kind of grain she could buy. Actually, this was mainly a cover mission. She just didn't know if it would work.
Zhang Hongmei had enough food coupons, but whether she could actually buy food was still uncertain.
"Comrade, I want to buy flour."
"No, we haven't seen any refined grains in a long time, and we don't have cornmeal either."
"What can I buy?"
"There are only red beans, mung beans, and a few pounds of sorghum flour left."
Zhang Hongmei thought for a moment and said, "Then let's have ten catties each of red beans and mung beans."
"Both items cost 15 cents, so 20 jin would cost 3 yuan. Five jin of grain coupons would be enough."
Zhang Hongmei carried twenty pounds of beans home. It was hot, and she was sweating profusely from the effort. Once she left the county town, she put the beans into her ring. Even traveling light, she was still covered in sweat.
I only encountered a few people on the road. The river was almost dry, but there were still hardworking farmers carrying water to irrigate their crops.
Liu Jiatun also carried water to irrigate the crops, but it was entirely up to individual will. Zhang Hongmei never went there. It wasn't exactly a waste of effort, but the effect was minimal.
After walking for three hours under the scorching sun, I finally saw the village. Finding no one around, I took out a bag of beans from my ring, then half a bag of flour and half a bag of rice—a total of eighty pounds. I laboriously carried it home.
Zhang Xingguo felt extremely distressed when he saw Zhang Hongmei's face flushed from exhaustion, her head covered in sweat, and her clothes draped over her body.
"Next time, have Shouyi bring his bicycle. It'll be easier for you to get around. Besides, are you stupid? Why don't you wait until the sun is lower before coming back? From now on, you don't need to worry about buying grain. Just let Shouyi and the others do it."
How can that be allowed? How will we smuggle goods in the future?
“Brother Zhang is too busy. I’ll go buy the grain myself. If you could bring a bicycle, I’ll learn how to use it and it will save me a lot of trouble.”
"Stubborn girl, I'll have him teach you how to ride a bike later, it's super easy."
"Okay, stop nagging me, I need to lie down for a bit."
"Go ahead, I've already picked the water."
"There won't be a next time. This job is mine from now on."
"I'm not a useless person who does nothing. Am I just freeloading?"
"No, wouldn't it be better for you to herd sheep? I'm still waiting to drink goat's milk."
"You want goat milk? Sure, I'll herd sheep every day. Don't worry, I'll make sure you get to drink goat milk."
As if you have milk to feed me? Sigh, it really wasn't easy, finally calming this old child down. But herding sheep has its dangers too; now I'm starting to regret giving him that job.
I lay down for a while, then got up. I'm going to cook mung bean porridge for dinner tonight. It's good for clearing heat and relieving internal fire. I'll add some sugar, and it will taste even better.
It's a shame there's no way to chill it. (So sentimental)
I made another cold wild vegetable salad, and boiled two eggs.
Zhang Xingguo really does drive the sheep out every day after breakfast, and he looks quite happy, so he must really enjoy this job.
Zhang Hongmei hoped that Zhang Shouyi could come over this week. She wanted him to know about Zhang Xingguo's situation. Sigh, it's not easy taking care of an old person like a child.
Zhang Xingguo: I'm here to see the children, okay?
Zhang Shouyi couldn't help but keep thinking about it, so he arrived early the next day, bringing pork and flour with him.
Zhang Hongmei: Do you want to eat dumplings?
She was right; Zhang Shouyi really wanted to eat dumplings. In the city, he and Xiao Shun ate at the canteen or went to restaurants. Anyway, they hadn't cooked at home for a long time.
They finally managed to get a break, so they sent Xiao Shun to queue up for meat early. By the time the two of them drove over, it was already lunchtime.
Making dumplings at this hour is impractical. The four of us shared our lunch of mung bean porridge and are now looking forward to the big dinner tonight.
Zhang Xingguo didn't rest after finishing his meal; instead, he cheerfully cracked his whip and went to herd sheep.
“Brother Zhang, last time I just casually suggested that Uncle Zhang herd sheep because I didn’t want him to carry water. But I felt it was inappropriate. There’s no grass around here, so we have to drive the sheep into the mountains. I’m afraid there might be fierce animals.”
"Don't worry, my dad is very skilled, and besides, he has a gun. You don't need to worry, and don't show any concern for him in front of him in the future. He's afraid of becoming a useless burden."
"I will be more careful in the future."
"You've already done very well."
I'm stuck and don't know how to continue the conversation.
After Zhang Shouyi finally filled both vats with water, he was able to eat the dumplings he had been longing for.
"Hongmei, I'm going to the mountains tomorrow, do you want to come?"
"Okay, I'll show you the way."
The next day, before dawn, Zhang Shouyi came and knocked on the door, "What do you want for breakfast? I can help."
"I want to steam some meat buns. I made the dough last night. Can you help me start the fire? Steam a lot. We won't be back for lunch, so let's take our lunch with us."
Zhang Shouyi worked happily, completely unlike his usual inscrutable self. This drew several glances from Zhang Hongmei.
After finishing their meal, Wang Xiaoshun wanted to go into the mountains with Zhang Xingguo, but Zhang Xingguo stopped him, saying, "You come with me to herd sheep."
"Do you need two people to herd sheep?"
"You don't need to herd sheep, but you have to cut grass to store up fodder for the sheep for the winter."
Wang Xiaoshun, looking dejected, followed Zhang Xingguo and six sheep, carrying his basket on his back.
Zhang Shouyi and his companion, also carrying baskets and sickles, ran into Liu Erya as soon as they went out.
"Hongmei, are you going up the mountain?"
"Yeah, Sister Er Ya, wanna come along?"
"Okay, I'll run to get my gear right away. See you at the foot of the mountain."
"Okay. I'll be waiting for you!"
The three of them went up the mountain together, chatting and laughing. Zhang Hongmei and Liu Erya were the ones who were chattering away, while Zhang Shouyi listened from the side.
The first stop was definitely the sweet potato field; looking at the lush green sweet potato vines made me feel relaxed and happy.
"Did you plant this?"
"Yes. We had too many sweet potato seedlings, and we thought we shouldn't waste them. I happened to see this spot when I went up the mountain, so I came and planted them here."
"Were the surrounding traps also your doing?"
"Well, they're worried about the animals ruining the sweet potatoes, so they left it like this! The wild boar meat you ate last time was thanks to them. What do you think?"
It wasn't supposed to be like this, but there's no need to explain too much to him.
"Impressive!" Zhang Shouyi circled the trap and thought it was dug quite well.
Continuing forward, "Hongmei, do you think we should go take a look at the pool?"
"Go ahead, maybe we'll run into a wild boar or something, then we'll have some meat to eat."
"Then let's go quickly, I've been craving it for ages."
It's unclear whether Zhang Hongmei is truly Tiandao's illegitimate daughter, but her musings have indeed come true. Before even reaching the water's edge, they heard the howling of wild boars, which at least excited Zhang Hongmei and Liu Erya, meaning there would be meat to eat.
Zhang Shouyi wasn't as optimistic as they were; his howling must have come from danger.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com