Chapter 119 The Lazy Girl in the Historical Fiction 7
"What should we do? There's not enough food."
Pang Yanping was preparing to cook in the dormitory of educated youth when she discovered that their bag of sweet potatoes was almost empty and there was only half a bag of cornmeal left. They were about to run out of food, but it was only the 20th and there were still ten days before the food rations were distributed. How were they going to survive?
The others also gathered around, looking at the food with worried expressions. It was the first time for them to cook for themselves, so they were sure to eat as little as possible. The farm work here was so heavy, and if they didn't eat their fill, they wouldn't have the strength to work. They never thought that eating a sweet potato would require such careful planning.
Yu Bo's face darkened, and his voice was rough as he said, "Aren't you girls supposed to be the most meticulous? How come you didn't even consider this?"
Pang Yanping didn't want to talk to him. This Yu Bo was usually lazy and always slacked off at work. The other five people had long disliked him, but they didn't say anything because they were all educated youth.
"Oh dear, what should we do? How about we go to the village chief and get a leave slip to go to the town's supply and marketing cooperative to buy some grain?"
This time, it was Wang Qiuman, the one who spoke up, who came from the best-off family among the educated youth. Her parents were both working, and there were three girls and one brother in the family. Although her parents favored boys over girls, they treated their daughter who came to the countryside quite well and left her thirty yuan, which was enough to buy a lot of food.
You have to understand that a pound of pork costs only 65 cents now, so 30 yuan is a huge sum of money, which is why Wang Qiuman has the confidence to say this.
The others looked grim, but could only nod helplessly. They still had to get by; they couldn't just starve!
They were lucky; it started raining that afternoon. Since they couldn't work in the fields anymore, they could rest for a day while carrying water for irrigation. Li Yu, the oldest among the educated youth, went to Luo Dashan to get a note to go to town to buy some food and daily necessities.
Without approval slips, educated youth like them couldn't go anywhere. If they ran away, they would be caught and exiled to the Great Northern Wilderness. This was called sabotaging the revolutionary cause.
Li Yu was twenty-two years old. He had two younger brothers who were fifteen years old. There was no other way but the spot to go to the countryside fell to him. He was not talkative and just worked hard. Luo Dashan had a good impression of him.
Li Yu stood in the main room waiting for Luo Dashan to approve the document. He had just gone to the village committee, but Luo Dashan wasn't there. Secretary Li told him that Luo Dashan had gone home, so Li Yu came to Luo's house.
The Luo family's house was very spacious. In the past, he would not have been impressed by a few brick houses, but after living in the educated youth dormitory for a few days, he realized how fortunate it was to have such a house in the countryside.
The entrance was paved with pebbles and bluestone slabs, and rainwater flowed into the ditch through the gaps between the slabs. The yard was covered by a bamboo fence, and the vegetable gardens on both sides were lush and green, with the vegetables growing beautifully.
He thought that they could also grow some vegetables at the entrance of the educated youth settlement, which would be a good source of food.
When Luo Dashan came out with the note, Li Yu took it with both hands and then walked into the rain. The umbrella was not big, and the tall young man hunched over under it. He quickly left the courtyard.
As Li Yu walked along the road, he thought to himself that he seemed to have seen a small house built behind the village chief's house. He wondered if it was used for storage.
As soon as Li Yu left, Luo Shu came out of Old Madam Luo's room. Luo Dashan was home today because a tile in Old Madam Luo's room had broken and was leaking. Taking advantage of the recent light rain, Luo Dashan and his two sons repaired the leak with tarpaulin, which is very waterproof.
Rainy days are really not suitable for laying tiles; we'll replace them when the weather clears up.
After settling the old lady in, Luo Shu noticed that she wasn't feeling well and needed to take a nap in bed. Luo Shu also planned to go back and take a nap; the cool, rainy weather was perfect for sleeping.
As soon as she entered the house, an uninvited guest arrived at the gate of the courtyard. It was Luo Dashan's sister-in-law, who was also Luo Hongmei's mother.
Her mother is from the next village, named Xia Hehua. She's a bit of a gossip, and Wang Meifeng doesn't like to deal with her. But since they're sisters-in-law, it's unavoidable. However, Xia Hehua hasn't visited for a while. Why is she here today?
"Oh, sister-in-law, are you home?"
Xia Hehua had a loud voice and started yelling into the main room as soon as she came in. Wang Meifeng had no choice but to get up and pour her some water. Xia Hehua didn't stand on ceremony and drank the water in one gulp. She said, "Oh, sister-in-law, it's like this. My Hongmei has recently made a contribution at the supply and marketing cooperative and has become an advanced employee. Oh, my girl is so strong-willed, unlike our Luo Shu, who was born to be a young lady."
Upon hearing this, Wang Meifeng's expression turned sour. "You're praising your own daughter, yet you're putting down my little girl. What kind of talk is that?"
Wang Meifeng said calmly, "You all know that my Luo Shu is frail. I raised her with great difficulty. Even if she relies on me for the rest of her life, I'm willing. Besides, this is a new society now. There's no such thing as a 'young lady' anymore. I think your thinking is not advanced enough, sister-in-law. You're still clinging to that feudal dregs."
After Wang Meifeng said this, Xia Hehua dared not be pretentious anymore. If she were labeled as a feudal dreg, she might be criticized by big-character posters, and it would also implicate her daughter. She then subtly boasted about her daughter's outstanding deeds a few more times, then turned and hurriedly went back.
Wang Meifeng didn't care about her. Seeing that she had left sensibly, she couldn't sleep either, so she went to check on the leather she had put hanging behind the kitchen.
These pelts were all taken from wild animals that Luo Shu had brought over. Since they couldn't be sold openly now, they wore them themselves. Last year, she made a vest for her family out of rabbit skin, which was very warm. Some of the more precious pelts, such as deer pelts, were kept and stored away.
Her daughter is doing well; she's the best, most caring, and most beautiful daughter in the world.
The people at the educated youth settlement here have received their slips of paper and are all planning to go this afternoon. The rain has subsided now, so it's a good time to go out. If they don't go out today, and the weather clears up tomorrow, they'll miss out on earning work points. Without work points, they'll get even less grain in the future, so it's better to go and buy it now.
The muddy road became even more muddy and difficult to walk on after the rain. The group helped each other and trudged along, looking somewhat disheveled. Just then, they heard a sputtering sound from ahead. It was Luo Aihua driving a tractor back to the village from the town.
Through the light drizzle, looking at Luo Aihua sitting in the driver's seat, her body dry, and then at themselves covered in yellow mud, these educated youths from the city felt a deep sense of disparity. Pang Aiping stared directly at Luo Aihua, her eyes bright, and in a clear, melodious voice, she asked, "Comrade Luo, could you give us a ride?"
After saying that, she looked at Luo Aihua with hopeful and bright eyes. Pang Aiping was also a young female educated youth. She had dressed up specially for today, wearing a floral shirt and black dress pants, looking youthful and beautiful.
However, Luo Aihua remained unmoved. He was not going in the same direction as them. If he were going in the same direction, he could give them a ride, but one of them was leaving the village and the other was entering the village. They were going in opposite directions, so how could he give them a ride?
Pang Aiping said in a sweet voice, "Comrade Luo, please have mercy on us. It's so rainy, we can hardly move an inch."
Luo Aihua said coldly, "The tractor doesn't belong to me alone; it belongs to the public. I have no right to drive it privately."
Then they drove off in a tractor, chugging along.
As everyone watched the tractor disappear into the distance, they were all somewhat indignant. That wretched country bumpkin, that mud-legged fellow.
After hurling a few curses, they continued their arduous journey forward, knowing that if they didn't hurry, they would have to make it back in the dark.
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