"Okay, thank you, Sister Shumei. I'll head over now."
After saying that, Chen Shuning picked up his luggage and left the house. As soon as he came out, he saw Zhong Lingling talking to Wang Wenqi. He didn't disturb her, smiled and nodded at Zhong Lingling, and then took out a flashlight from his bag and went to the storeroom.
Liu Shumei, who was left in the house, immediately turned pale after the two left. She had genuinely wanted to cook for the new educated youth, but she had just been angered by Yang Xiaohong's words about using the brigade leader to intimidate her.
So his tone became rather unfriendly: "Whoever wants to eat, just say how much so I can keep track. Food is very precious these days. You'll have to pay back whatever you eat when you get your food tomorrow."
Wang Chunni was also hungry, but she was perceptive enough to notice. Upon hearing Liu Shumei's words, she quickly raised her hand and said, "Sister Shumei, Lai Di and I are also tired and want to rest early. Don't bother cooking for us."
"I won't eat either. Eating at this time makes it hard to digest." Having lived two lives, Yang Wanqiu was not as foolish as Yang Xiaohong, who offended the old educated youth as soon as she arrived, so she also expressed her opinion at the right time.
For a time, Yang Xiaohong was the only female educated youth who wanted to eat.
Liu Shumei went to ask the male educated youth again, but these past few days on the train had been tough, and everyone said they were a bit tired and wanted to rest early.
Liu Shumei naturally wouldn't light a fire and cook a meal just for Yang Xiaohong, so in the end Yang Xiaohong could only obey the majority and go to sleep hungry.
The next day, Chen Shuning got up early because it was dark the day before and he couldn't see very well. So he planned to get up early and walk around the yard to see where the house would be suitable to build.
As expected of a landlord's house, the courtyard of the educated youth settlement was really big, with a lot of empty space left in the courtyard even though the educated youth's private plots were all there.
At this time, the political situation was quite severe, and no one dared to be greedy or take more than their share. Each person had a plot of land, so they only planted one plot, and dared not plant any more than that.
Before their arrival, there were only eleven educated youth at the settlement, and the large plot of land in the front yard was enough to divide them up.
So in the backyard, there was only a wooden toilet standing alone near the east wall, while the rest of the yard was empty.
Chen Shuning had his eye on the northwest corner of the backyard, where the house would be built near the west wall, allowing him to partition off a small courtyard behind the house as his private plot.
She could also build a woodshed between the courtyard wall and the house, which would turn her backyard into a small vegetable garden, making it convenient for planting and harvesting vegetables.
After finding a suitable location, Chen Shuning returned to the warehouse. Just then, Zhong Lingling woke up and was nestled in bed, lost in thought. Chen Shuning greeted her with a smile: "Lingling, I just went out to take a look. I'm thinking of building the house in the northwest corner of the backyard. Do you want to go and check out the location first? We can go to the brigade leader's office later and finalize the location directly."
Because she wasn't used to sleeping on the floor, Zhong Lingling didn't sleep well all night. She was still a little dazed when she heard Chen Shuning speak, and replied sullenly, "Okay, I'll go see after I wash my face."
"By the way, Lingling, there's something I'd like to discuss with you. I was thinking that building a house is no small matter, and since we're new here and don't know anything about it, we'll inevitably have to trouble the brigade leader to keep an eye on things for us. So I was thinking of going to the brigade leader's house while we still have some time. Would you like to come along?"
Although Chen Shuning didn't say it explicitly, Zhong Lingling could naturally tell that Chen Shuning wanted to give a gift to the brigade leader. She thought that she was the one who suggested building the house first, but she was not as thoughtful as Chen Shuning.
Feeling a little embarrassed, she patted her face, forcing herself to clear her head, and hurriedly replied while getting dressed, "Yes, yes, I'm going. Shuning, wait for me a moment. I'll go wash up now, and then I'll go to the brigade leader's house with you."
Chen Shuning smiled and agreed. While Zhong Lingling was washing up, he quickly took out a bag of White Rabbit milk candy and a pound of brown sugar from his spatial storage.
The eight traditional Beijing snacks that Chen's mother prepared for her were all in gift boxes, so Chen Shuning kept them in her spatial storage, planning to deal with them after she became more familiar with the situation here.
In this era, such a gift is neither too heavy nor too light. Chen Shuning had carefully considered these things for a long time before deciding on them last night.
She had just arrived in such an unfamiliar environment, and without knowing the other person's character well, a gift that was too light might make the other person feel slighted, but a gift that was too heavy would be too conspicuous.
Since they were already quite conspicuous to build a house as soon as they arrived, it would be inappropriate to give them an expensive gift. That's why Chen Shuning chose White Rabbit milk candy, which is not easy to buy but not too expensive, and ordinary but practical brown sugar.
Just as Chen Shuning was putting her things into her small handbag, Zhong Lingling, who had gone to wash up, returned.
As soon as she entered, she excitedly said, "Shuning, I just went to see it. The location you chose is really good. I heard from Brother Wenqi that if you build the house a little further forward, the back can be used as your own private plot."
A woodshed can be built next to it, and it's far from the toilet, so there won't be any smell even in the summer.
It's a pity you chose it first, but Brother Wenqi said building in the spot next to you is also quite good, so I chose the spot next to you to build my house. From now on, we'll be neighbors. I hope Comrade Chen will take good care of me."
As she spoke, Zhong Lingling solemnly extended her hand to shake hands with Chen Shuning. Of course, if it weren't for the slightly mischievous look in her expression, it would have looked even more like a proper handshake.
Chen Shuning was starting to like this straightforward girl. He reached out and shook her hand, smiling as he said, "Hurry up and get ready, it won't be good if everyone sees us giving gifts when they get up."
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