Because the older educated youth still had to go to work, when Chen Shuning returned to the educated youth settlement, everyone was already up, and a group of people were waiting for dinner at the large wooden table in the courtyard.
As soon as Liu Shumei came out of the kitchen carrying a bowl of rice, she saw Chen Shuning return and hurriedly greeted her, "Shuning, you're back! Dinner is about to start. I was just about to go out and look for you guys. Come and eat quickly. By the way, where are Lingling and Wang Zhiqing? Didn't you go out together?"
"They still have some things to discuss with the captain, so I came back first."
The table was already full of people, including new educated youth who had just arrived yesterday and old educated youth. Chen Shuning glanced around and saw that among the old educated youth, there were seven women and four men. No wonder Liu Shumei, who seemed to have a good temper, behaved that way when she saw the six new female educated youth yesterday.
Since everyone was sitting at the table waiting, Chen Shuning didn't offer to help serve the dishes. Instead, she smiled and sat down next to Wang Chunni, who was waving at her.
As soon as Chen Shuning sat down, Wang Chunni asked impatiently, "Shuning, what did you go to the brigade leader's house for so early in the morning?"
Shen Dahe would probably be coming over with the construction workers to dig the foundation soon, so Chen Shuning had nothing to hide and replied frankly, "I went with Zhong Zhiqing and the others to discuss building the house with the brigade leader."
Upon hearing Chen Shuning mention this, Wang Chunni said with envy, "Shuning, I really envy you being able to move out. You have no idea how cramped I was last night. It was so hard to even turn over. My back still hurts. It's a pity I didn't bring much money. I was thinking of using the money from the educated youth subsidy to make a thick quilt. Otherwise, I would definitely build a room and move out to live alone."
As Wang Chunni spoke, she felt her waist ache again, and her hand unconsciously went to rub her waist, which she couldn't see at all.
Amused, Chen Shuning leaned close to Wang Chunni's ear and whispered, "If you really want to move out, you don't necessarily have to build a house!"
Seeing Chen Shuning's expression, Wang Chunni lowered her voice and said, "Ah? But I don't want to eat at a fellow villager's house either."
"Who told you to eat at a fellow villager's house? You don't have enough money to build a house, but can't you even afford to repair it? If you really want to move out, the storage room I stayed in yesterday shouldn't cost much to repair."
Upon hearing Chen Shuning's words, Yang Chunni's eyes lit up instantly. That's right, how come she hadn't thought of that? She might not have enough money to build a new house, but she could still afford to repair a simple house.
Besides, that warehouse looks pretty small, so it shouldn't cost much to repair.
Seeing Wang Chunni staring excitedly at the barn, Chen Shuning kindly reminded her, "If you really want to live in the barn, hurry up and go find the brigade leader. Otherwise, someone else will snatch it up first, and it will be hard to find such a suitable house again."
Also, when you go to the brigade leader, you need to make it clear that if you pay to repair the house, you must have the right to live there. Otherwise, if you pay to repair the house, and then the brigade leader arranges for other educated youth to live there, then it's pointless to have repaired the house at all.
Although she didn't understand what the right of residence meant, Wang Chunni still understood the general idea of Chen Shuning's words. She didn't even care about eating. After asking Chen Shuning where the brigade leader was, she rushed into the house, grabbed the money, and ran to the brigade headquarters.
Those who hadn't heard the conversation looked at Chen Shuning, confused. Feeling a little embarrassed by their stares, Chen Shuning had no choice but to explain, "Chunni suddenly remembered she had something to discuss with the captain. She told us not to wait for her for dinner when she left."
Others may not know Xu Laidi, but they do know their good friend. She is someone who prioritizes food above all else, and for her to forget about eating now is definitely not a small matter.
Thinking that Chunni had run out after hearing what Chen Shuning had said, she cast a questioning look at Chen Shuning.
Chen Shuning just smiled mysteriously and whispered, "You'll know when Chunni comes back."
Xu Laidi had no choice but to smile at Chen Shuning and ask, "Shuning, we'd like to go for a walk in town after we finish eating. Would you like to come along?"
Chen Shuning, who was thinking of sending a letter home to let her know she was safe, smiled and replied, "Sure, I was just about to send a letter home. But could you wait a little while? I want to go to the village to buy a box first. Otherwise, my luggage is just piled up on the floor of the storage room, and I'm afraid it will get chewed up by rats. Don't worry, I'll be right back. It won't take long."
"Yeah, now that you mention it, I think I need to buy a box too, otherwise it's not right for my stuff to just be piled up on the floor."
Although Xu Laidi's family only gave her ten yuan when she went to the countryside, and she knew that her family would no longer take care of her after she went to the countryside, she was still willing to buy some necessary daily necessities with the eighty yuan subsidy from the educated youth office.
"Yes, I want to buy one too. Chen Zhiqing, can you take me with you when you go to buy the suitcase later?"
"Me too, I need to buy a box, and a wooden basin for washing my feet too. Chen Zhiqing, take one with me later!"
"Of course, we can go together after we finish eating."
Many people only remembered after Chen Shuning mentioned it that each of the old educated youth seemed to have a locked wooden box to store some valuable or private items.
Even Yang Xiaohong, who didn't have much luggage, felt she should buy a suitcase. You see, this was the first time in her life she had ninety yuan in her pocket. Right now, she was carrying all that money with her, otherwise she felt she would lose it no matter where she put it. So she had to buy a suitcase and lock it up properly.
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