Chapter 7
On the first night in the Qianjin Brigade, Zhou Jiani and her friends ate the dry food and pickles they brought with them.
But everyone also weighed two pounds of cornmeal and put them together and asked Zhao Mei to help steam a pot of steamed buns, which was almost enough for each person for two days.
Whoever's turn comes first can scoop out a spoonful and cook the porridge.
Lying on the kang at night, listening to the chirping of crickets outside, Yu Wanxia thought of the cricket jars her grandfather had hidden. She became emotional and muttered, "I'm a little homesick."
Sun Ping was talking to Zhou Jiani. It was her first time sleeping on a brick bed and she was enjoying the experience. When she heard Yu Wanxia say she missed home, she fell silent.
Zhou Jiani sighed in her heart. She also wanted to see her family at this time.
It's a pity. If only I could be reborn a day earlier, at least I could talk to my parents.
"We can go back after the New Year." She calmly changed the subject and said, "Hey, Comrade Wanxia, Comrade Sun Ping, after we finish the autumn harvest, let's ask the team leader for leave and go to the photo studio to take a photo and send it back to our families."
Yu Wanxia's sadness was diverted, and she said repeatedly, "Okay, okay." She turned to Sun Ping and asked, "Are you going?"
Sun Ping poked her head out from under the quilt and said with a smile, "Go, go, I will definitely go. Oh, after hearing what Comrade Jiani said, I can't wait to go take pictures tomorrow."
Yu Wanxia became excited and suggested, "How about we take a group photo of the three of us? I'll print an extra copy and send it home so my parents can see my new friend."
"Okay!" Zhou Jiani said with a smile, "I want to take a picture of myself in military uniform."
"I want to..."
Everyone was chattering about taking pictures, suppressing their homesickness.
Only after she could hear the sound of even breathing did Zhou Jiani stretch out her left hand and turn on her cell phone.
In the afternoon, she grabbed three more red envelopes, with a total of 39 cents deposited into her account, and the non-bound balance became 1859.19.
Today I earned more than six yuan just from grabbing red envelopes, which is much more profitable than earning work points.
But there probably won't be a big bag like this for 5.7 yuan tomorrow. Apart from the big ones, the income will also increase.
Even if she doesn't start a group, she can still earn a good salary just from the red envelopes.
"This golden finger is really good."
However, this thought only passed through her mind. She would definitely start a group to sell things. With such a golden finger, it would be a big loss to just receive the red envelopes.
What are you selling?
The most readily available thing right now is the newly harvested corn.
She was an experienced person and knew that the newly arrived educated youth would buy food secretly during this period, so she would not stand out among them.
In addition to food, she also explored things that are characteristic of this era, such as the straw hats worn by Zhao Mei and others today.
In addition to straw hats, there are also baskets, baskets, and baskets. There is no shortage of craftsmen these days, and these things also have a market.
There are also the handmade thousand-layer cloth shoes they wear, the jar she drinks water from, the enamel plate she uses to wash her face, the vegetables grown in the corners of each house, and so on.
When I thought about it, I got excited.
Zhou Jiani turned over, studied her phone for a while, and then closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Being woken up at 4:30 in the morning is a huge test for the body's functions at this time.
Zhao Mei knocked on the window a few times. Zhou Jiani struggled to sit up and answered. She was stunned for a long time before she realized that she was reborn and returned to the 1970s with a magical golden finger.
I spread out my palm and glanced at the WeChat interface that appeared. The group was quiet, but I felt very at ease.
She pushed Sun Ping and Yu Wanxia and said that from now on, she and they had to adapt to the life in the countryside and adapt to this pace of life as soon as possible.
Sun Ping and Yu Wanxia sat up dazed. When they saw Zhou Jiani, they seemed to have not yet reacted. Sun Ping laughed and muttered, "I was dreaming. I dreamed that my mother called me to get up and go to school."
After saying that, he hugged Zhou Jiani, who was about to put on her clothes, and hummed twice with a nasal sound.
Yu Wanxia protested hoarsely, "Comrade Sun Ping, please don't recruit us."
Zhou Jiani patted Sun Ping and said, "Face the reality, comrades. Get up and get to work!"
It was fine if Zhao Mei got up, but when Sun Ping opened the door and saw Zhang Huihui getting up early, she was surprised and asked, "Huihui, what are you doing up so early?"
The little girl carried the dung basket on her back, and a bright smile spread across her small face, which was no bigger than a palm. She said, "Sister Sun Ping, I'm going to pick up dung. If you get up early, you can find more. If you get up late, you won't be able to grab it."
Sun Ping and Yu Wanxia were both shocked and looked reluctant.
At this time, manure is a good thing. Using it as fertilizer for your own vegetable garden and private plot can help you harvest more fruits, and handing it over to the team can earn work points.
Zhou Jiani was also shocked at first, but later she learned that the children in the village went out to pick up manure every morning, and sometimes they would even fight over a pile of manure.
But Zhang Huihui got up too early.
Zhou Jiani rubbed her little head and said, "Did your mother ask us to wake you up?"
Yesterday's trip was not easy. I don't know how soundly I slept at night. I don't know how long Sister Zhao Mei knocked on the window before she woke them up.
But it was really comfortable. I had never slept so soundly since I was older in my previous life.
"I went out early to pick up more, and no one has snatched it from me yet." The little girl was quite optimistic.
After simply brushing her teeth and washing her face, Zhou Jiani took out the money for today's work and vegetables, and weighed out an ounce of cornmeal to make porridge for the morning, just making it thin enough to get by.
This amount is not much, and strictly speaking it is a bit meager, but if you calculate it this way, if there is no other income, it will not be enough until the end of the month.
After handing over to Zhang Kaishan, Zhao Mei took them out.
The able-bodied laborers from each family came out of their homes without prior arrangement and gathered in groups of three or five.
This is the morning shift. I work until around seven o'clock, then come back to have breakfast and go back to work. I can take a short break at noon and continue in the afternoon, finishing work at dusk.
After breakfast, the elderly people from each family also carried their stools and went to the team to peel and dry corn to earn a small amount of work points.
At this time, even the dogs in the village have to carry a basket when they walk, so none of them have time to spare.
At the gathering point at the village entrance, Liu Ailing thanked Wang Qianjin. A glance from the corner of her eye flicked across Qiu Zeming's face. Seeing that he was still tilting his head to look outside the village, his gaze not shifting towards them at all, she felt a little disappointed. Then, through a gap in the crowd, she saw Zhou Jiani and the others walking towards them. She smiled and said, "I won't bother you. I'll go find Jiani."
After she left, Wang Qianjin flaunted his hair and said, "Brother, why didn't I realize before that I'm so popular?"
But unfortunately, she is not the smiling girl from yesterday.
Bai Haoyang put his fist to his lips and laughed silently, his shoulders shaking.
The girl was talking to Wang Qianjin openly, but her eyes were directed at Qiu Zeming's face. However, she was looking at the wrong person. Brother Ming felt uncomfortable around female comrades. He didn't even turn his head away even though his neck was almost cramped.
As Zhou Jiani reached the gathering point, she saw Liu Ailing pushing through the crowd and heading towards them. She looked at her with concern and called out, "Jiani, are you used to this? If there's anything you're not used to, I'll talk to the village officials for you."
Zhou Jiani smiled and glanced at the locals who were looking over. She responded loudly, "What's there to be uncomfortable with? Don't complain to others all the time. That's just causing trouble for them."
Sun Ping didn't think much of it and took over the conversation, "Comrade Ai Ling, we've all adapted quite well. How about you? Are you used to it?"
Sun Ping's frank tone stunned both Zhou Jiani and Liu Ailing.
Zhou Jiani suddenly discovered that there was a subtle difference between the tone of frank concern and the ulterior motive tone expressed by Liu Ailing.
They seem similar, but one is pure while the other seems full of calculation.
Liu Ailing was stunned for a moment before she smiled and said, "I'm quite used to it. The villagers are simple and kind, and they are particularly warm to me and Comrade Meng Jiandi. We both feel unprecedented care and warmth."
Zhou Jiani couldn't help but want to spread her hands.
Look, this is the heroine. She just couldn't react and flattered her fellow villagers loudly in public.
Forget it, she probably can't go down this path, she doesn't have the emotional intelligence.
Bai Haoyang waved over there, and Yu Wanxia walked over, called out "cousin", and greeted the other two: "Brother Wang, Brother Qiu."
Bai Haoyang whispered mysteriously, "How about you and that bastard? Is she not making a fuss?"
Yu Wanxia glared at him and said unhappily, "Comrade Zhou Jiani is fine, why are you talking about her behind her back?"
"You're so heartless! I worried about you for nothing."
"Comrade Jiani is really nice and takes good care of me. We even agreed to take a photo together after the autumn harvest and send it back to our families. Please stop giving people random nicknames."
Yu Wanxia turned around and spoke to Qiu Zeming: "Brother Qiu, please take care of him."
Qiu Zeming smiled, "Don't you know what your cousin's temper is like? Just wait until he spits in front of you one day."
Yu Wanxia glared at Bai Haoyang and went back to find Zhou Jiani. She felt from the bottom of her heart that they had become a small group and hoped that they could work together.
But the opposite happened.
The division of labor in the morning was hasty. It was impossible for the team leader to break it down into so many subdivisions. He just arranged it with a stroke of his hand: Team one, Team two, Team three... all the way to Team six. Except for Team three, each of the other teams had two people, one male and one female, and the team leader of each team would arrange someone to lead them.
Before anyone could recognize the head, they were called by the person in charge to walk up the slope.
Zhou Jiani was assigned to Team 4 this time, and an educated youth from the older generation came to lead her, named Tian Yumei.
It’s different from my previous life.
Sun Ping and Yu Wanxia are in Team 2 and Team 5 respectively.
Tian Yumei handed Zhou Jiani a wicker basket and helped her put it on her shoulder. She smiled and said, "Such a big basket is rare in the city, right?"
Zhou Jiani smiled and said, "It's bigger than the basket I use to buy vegetables at home."
Not only is it big, it's also quite uncomfortable.
"Just break them off and throw them into the basket. Once you have half a basket filled, dump it back at the edge of the field. Someone in charge will load it onto a truck and take it back to the team." Tian Yumei was thin and dark, and she walked with great energy. With Zhou Jiani's current strength, she had to jog occasionally to keep up. She replied, "Okay, Sister Yumei, thank you."
Tian Yumei slowed down her pace and whispered, "You might not be used to it at first, but after a year you'll be able to catch up." She added, "Everyone goes through a phase like this. You might get some cold stares and ridicule during this period, but don't take it personally. Having a strong mass base is crucial, otherwise the educated youth will suffer."
Zhou Jiani nodded in agreement: "Yes!"
However, this brigade is still good. Although Zhang Baosheng does not favor them much, he will suppress the members to avoid particularly sharp conflicts with the educated youth.
Nor would they excessively deduct work points from the educated youth.
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