Chen Shuning, who had already put on the big cotton-padded coat and trousers that Chen Ma had made for her, walked alongside Old Yang's oxcart.
Because the oxcart was loaded with a lot of grain, even the driver, Old Yang, was walking on the ground.
This was also the first time Chen Shuning had walked to town. Because she was afraid of the cold, she was wearing a lot of clothes, so she walked like a clumsy penguin.
Seeing this, Wang Chunni, who was walking behind her, couldn't help but laugh: "Shuning, you're dressed like that, walking like a village goose. Doesn't it take you a long time to walk? It's not even the coldest time of year yet, and you're already wearing so much. What are you going to do when winter comes?"
Chen Shuning knew she was dressed a bit too extravagantly, but she genuinely felt cold. On this Earth, which had not yet been polluted by human desires and whose climate had not yet warmed, winter was truly cold.
So when Wang Chunni said she looked like a goose, she didn't refute it. Instead, she smiled and patted her cotton-padded coat with the cotton gloves that Chen Ma had prepared for her to wear in winter, saying, "I don't look like a goose at all. Besides, if I had its feathers, would I need to wear so much? I'm just too afraid of the cold."
As she spoke, she turned to look at Wang Chunni, who was walking behind her. Seeing that she was only wearing a wool coat over her sweater, she couldn't help but click her tongue with envy and said, "It's good to have some fat on your body. Not only is it not heavy, but it also helps you stay warm in winter. It seems I should eat more when I get back."
As she spoke, Chen Shuning turned around and patted Wang Chunni's chubby face with a serious expression, her eyes full of envy.
As soon as Chen Shuning finished speaking, bursts of laughter erupted around him.
Walking beside the two, Liu Shumei reached out and tapped Chen Shuning's forehead, laughing as she said, "You, you, you never seem to get away with anything with that mouth of yours."
Hearing the laughter all around, Wang Chunni realized what was happening and reached out to tickle Chen Shuning.
"You, Chen Shuning, are you implying that I'm fat? Just wait and see how I deal with you."
Chen Shuning was dressed like a steamed bun, so how could Wang Chunni tickle her? In the end, it was the scantily clad Wang Chunni who was forced to hide and beg for mercy as Chen Shuning broke her limbs.
The group chatted and laughed all the way, and didn't feel tired at all until they arrived in town.
By this time, a long line had already formed at the entrance of the commune.
The brigade leader and village cadres, including Accountant Wang, directed the people of Qingshan Brigade to line up. All that was left was for the commune to inspect the grain, collect it, store it in the warehouse, and issue receipts to the brigade members. This marked the end of the annual grain delivery and meant that the farmers could officially enter the hibernation period.
Of course, it just means not having to do farm work, because for hardworking farmers, hibernation doesn't really mean they can be idle.
Because they still need to go into the mountains to collect wild produce, and there are still many things waiting for them in the mountains at this time.
There are no wild vegetables left, but there are still hazelnuts, chestnuts, pine nuts and other nuts waiting for them.
Although some nuts are harvested a bit late at this time, the autumn harvest season is very busy. Let alone going into the mountains to collect wild produce, even gathering firewood at the foot of the mountain is an extremely tiring task for everyone. Who has the energy to go into the mountains? It's already good enough if we can harvest the vegetables from our own private plots.
However, after today, Daqingshan will probably become lively again.
Every year at this time, not only the elderly and children in the village, but also the able-bodied men in the village go into the mountains, and they all go together as organized by the village committee.
The elderly and children in the village are responsible for collecting firewood and gathering mountain products, while the able-bodied men, led by village officials and experienced hunters, go hunting in the deep mountains.
This is also the biggest advantage of the brigade being close to the mountains: every winter, almost every household has enough meat to eat.
Since Qingshan Brigade is relatively close to Hongqi Town, there were only two or three brigades ahead of Chen Shuning and his group when they arrived.
So they didn't have to wait long before it was the Qingshan Brigade's turn to hand over their grain.
The tractor driven by Wang Wenzheng was the first one to lead the Qingshan Brigade. As soon as the cart in front finished handing over the goods, Shen Baogen, who was squatting next to the tractor, hurriedly approached the staff. Chen Shuning saw the old man take out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and quietly slip it to the staff member who was inspecting the grain with an iron pipe.
The man didn't stand on ceremony. He glanced at the contents and then put them in his pocket with satisfaction. He then symbolically poked the sacks a few times with an iron pipe. Seeing that the grain inside the pipe was indeed dried and of good quality, he waved to signal the captain to unload the truck.
Then the man randomly picked a few bags of grain from each vehicle to check. Seeing that there was nothing of inferior quality, he gave the captain a note after the grain from the last vehicle was put into storage.
Next, the brigade leader took the slip of paper to the commune to complete the formalities. These were things that Chen Shuning and the other educated youth and ordinary villagers didn't need to worry about.
So the brigade leader told everyone to disperse on the spot. Those who wanted to go home could take the village's tractor and oxcart back to the village. Those who didn't want to go back could wander around on their own, but they would have to walk back on their own. The village's oxcarts were tired from carrying grain in the morning, and they couldn't wait for them to wander around until the afternoon before taking them back. The oxen also needed to get back to the village to rest as soon as possible; they were more precious than people.
Most villagers chose to return to the village with the oxcart, but a few educated youths who had some money chose to stay and shop around before going back. After all, it wasn't easy to come to the town, and they couldn't let the two-hour journey go to waste.
Since moving out on their own, Wang Chunni and Xu Laidi hadn't been to town much. This time, they had a lot of things to buy, so when the brigade leader announced the end of the workday, they asked Chen Shuning if they wanted to go to the supply and marketing cooperative together.
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