Liu Shihua was puzzled by his sister's behavior, but all the goodwill he had towards this cousin before vanished after he learned that she was the one who had caused so many changes in the family.
Therefore, he didn't give Liu Shiyi a friendly look, and simply said, "Cousin, did you hear that? Please move aside. What are you doing here after you've finished your business?"
He almost blurted out that he was 'just delaying other people's work,' but in the end he didn't treat the girl that harshly.
He thought that he hadn't beaten her because of his second uncle. If she dared to do anything to harm his family again, he swore he would make her suffer!
Liu Shile was very good at hiding her true feelings. Although she was just putting on a show, no one could tell that she was actually forcing a smile.
On the contrary, Liu Shihua had less experience. Although she tried her best to control her temper, her eyes still held a hint of fierceness.
His appearance really startled Liu Shiyi. She didn't understand what she had done to offend her cousin, and felt that his gaze was a bit fierce!
So she subconsciously stepped aside, and only after she did she realize that she had actually been scared off by Liu Shihua, a person who had almost no presence.
This left her speechless. She felt that she hadn't done anything wrong, yet she had been scared off by her younger cousin, and she suddenly felt ashamed.
However, she quickly put all of that aside, because she saw that everything Liu Shihua and the others had taken out was sweet potato.
When she had some free time, she actually wanted to find out what kind of food they had brought. Although she didn't ask about it just now, she has seen it now, hasn't she?
Tsk tsk tsk, she knew they weren't well-liked. Look, all the food she brought to school was sweet potatoes, and Liu Shile still refuses to admit it!
Since it wasn't lunchtime yet, Liu Shiyi didn't want to stay there and delay the students coming and going, so she had to go back to her dormitory first.
Only after she left did Liu Shihua breathe a sigh of relief; he was genuinely worried that his cousin had been watching them the whole time.
They brought some food that they didn't want their families to know about. If she saw it, how could they possibly keep this a secret?
Only Wang Guangjie and his sister remained relatively calm. They weren't surprised at all when they saw the food being taken out. After all, they had been chopping firewood together for over ten days, so how could they not know that the other two had some money?
With money in hand, one can buy some grain. Even if the grain station doesn't sell it, villagers with a little surplus grain at home are still happy to exchange it for money.
Well, it was indeed the two of them who bought it. The food in the cave was all taken by Liu Shile from the farm. If he took out rice and flour like that, he would probably be sent to the education department immediately.
Liu Shile didn't know before, but a few days ago she suddenly heard some people talking about someone secretly eating white rice. As a result, she was severely criticized by the village chief in front of everyone in the village.
Although she wasn't sure how her mother would treat them, she decided to take precautions, and that's exactly what happened.
After registering the weight and type of grain, Wang Guangying thought that since she had no classes in the afternoon, she might as well go to the county for a stroll.
Liu Shile wholeheartedly agreed. She was still looking for a house, so going out to take a look would be a good idea; maybe she would find the right one.
Even if she doesn't meet him, she can observe what the county town lacks nowadays. Then she can find something to do, or find some work-study opportunities for her second brother, right?
Anyway, being poor is the most glorious thing nowadays. If you can work and study, no one will look down on you. They might even secretly envy you.
The county town wasn't big, but it was bustling and thriving. Not far from the school was the grain station at the south gate. The grain station occupied a large area, and you could hear some "hey ha" sounds coming from inside.
Those were rice millers milling rice. The men were in a large open space, pulling long, oval stone rollers and milling the rice in circles. They had to be careful not to mill it too much, lest they grind the rice too finely.
The women then used winnowing baskets to separate the rice bran that they had scooped out. At this time, they held the baskets with both hands and swung them up and down, using the airflow generated to blow away the rice bran.
So all that's left is rice, but even the rice milled by hand still contains some grains that haven't broken their husks, and these have to be sifted out with a winnowing basket.
A skilled woman can do it quickly; she simply draws circles on the horizontal plane, and the millet will concentrate in the center of the winnowing basket due to the resistance, making it easy to grab with a single hand.
This kind of work is quite tough. It requires not only a lot of strength and sturdiness, but also patience and meticulousness.
At that time, being able to work at a grain depot or similar place, even as a temporary worker carrying grain, would make the whole family extremely happy.
Their adoptive mother, Zhang Sumei, now envies the women who work at the grain station in town. But despite her envy, even if she could do heavy work, she wouldn't go.
Having not done much physical labor for many years, she had long been accustomed to doing relatively light work, so even if she had to go, it would be Liu Weisong who would go.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. Liu Weisong is now disabled, so her plans fell through again, which is also an important reason why Zhang Sumei is in a bad mood.
The grain station offered good benefits. Zhang Sumei knew that no matter the era, as long as you had grain in your hands, you wouldn't panic. If someone in the family worked at the grain station, it meant that the family could benefit from its proximity.
However, everything is now far from what she imagined, so it would be strange if she could be in a good mood.
Now that the eldest sister, Liu Shixi, has a relatively stable job, life at home has been quite peaceful lately.
"Lele, what are you looking at here?" Liu Shihua asked, somewhat puzzled, seeing her younger sister standing there looking into the grain station. She had no idea what her sister was up to.
Wang Guangying nodded, "Yes, Lele, it's just someone milling rice, what's so interesting about that?"
In fact, some farming families who are doing well still use stones to pound rice. That is entirely done by hand, and if you pound a lot, it can cause backaches, leg cramps, and other ailments.
Some people also use large stone mills. In the past, families with the means would use donkeys to pull the millstone to grind flour and rice, but nowadays, there are not many people who have such means.
But for kids who grew up in a town (almost a rural area), this was nothing unusual, so they couldn't understand what was so interesting about it.
"I was thinking that maybe my second brother could find a part-time job here to support himself while he studies?" Liu Shile didn't hide her intentions, even though it sounded a bit unbelievable, she still said it.
As soon as she said this, not only Liu Shihua, but also Wang Guangjie and Wang Guangying thought she was being a bit far-fetched.
You have to understand, jobs at the grain depot are extremely sought after; they're opportunities that most people would fight tooth and nail for. Even temporary jobs at the grain depot in their town are rare, let alone at the county level.
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