Chapter 15 Who Threatens Who
"Are you Lin Qi?" The old man asked in a kind manner.
"Yes." Lin Qi answered. She didn't expect that she was so famous in the Anliang Brigade. "How do you know him?"
"How did I recognize her?" The old man smiled, and after Lin Qi nodded, he continued, "San Ya told me. She said she made a new friend named Lin Qi, who is the prettiest girl in the Anliang Brigade."
Lin Qi's face became a little hot, "San Ya, you are exaggerating."
"I'm not exaggerating." The old man said seriously. He picked up the dustpan on the ground and put it back on Lin Qi's wooden basin. "Are you going to my house?"
"Yeah. And a dustpan." Lin Qi said.
The old man waved his hand and said, "No need to return it. I'll give it to you."
Lin Qi was stunned. A dustpan costs fifty cents, how could it be given away just like that?
"Why are you standing there? Aren't you going to my house? Let's go."
When Lin Qi arrived at Sanya's house carrying a wooden basin, Sanya was turning the soil behind the house. The old man called out at the door, "Sanyah, your friend is here."
The next second, Lin Qi heard hurried footsteps. San Ya ran out from behind the house. When she saw Lin Qi, her eyes lit up. "Why are you here? Didn't you say you would return the dustpan tomorrow?"
Lin Qi didn't say anything, so the old man said, "No need to return it, give it to her."
"Give it away? Grandpa, you are so generous!" San Ya was surprised.
"It's just a dustpan that's almost worn out. I'll just give it away. There's nothing to feel bad about." The old man said indifferently, "Lin Qi, right? From now on, you can follow San Ya and call me Grandpa Zhuzi. You can come to play with San Ya often when you have time."
After saying this, the old man went into the house.
"How did you meet my grandpa?" San Ya asked curiously.
"We met on the way." Lin Qi didn't intend to mention Luo Laizi to San Ya, so she changed the subject, "There are fish and shrimp in the basin, you, pour them out."
San Ya took the basin and asked, "You got another big harvest?"
"Yeah." Lin Qi nodded.
"How much is there? Is it the same as yesterday?" San Ya regretted not going to the river with Lin Qi today.
"Almost." In fact, it's a lot different, five or six times more than yesterday.
Hearing that Lin Qi had caught a lot of fish and shrimp, San Ya was both envious and secretly relieved. She wanted to eat fish and shrimp, but if Lin Qi didn't catch much, she would feel guilty for taking Lin Qi's things.
"Would you like to come to my house and sit for a while?" San Ya asked when she saw Lin Qi didn't come in.
"No, let's go back and cook." She walked slowly, and the sun had set when she returned to the educated youth point.
"Wait a minute, I'll pick some ginger for you, and a few chili peppers for you to take home and cook with the fish."
Lin Qi planned to cook the carp, black fish and two spotted fish so that everyone could enjoy a hearty meal. The small fish and shrimps were dried and stored away, to be exchanged for money or mailed back to Zhoucheng.
Lin Qi killed the fish, scraped its scales, and cut open its belly with smooth movements, making the bloody scene seem somewhat beautiful.
After killing the fish, she first lit a fire under the iron plate. When the fire was three-quarters hot, she poured a little oil and sprinkled salt before putting the killed fish on the iron plate.
There is little oil, so the fish can only be fried slowly over low heat.
After Lin Qi had controlled the heat, she started to cook the porridge. It was still a mixed grain porridge, with only a little rice, and most of it was beans, potatoes and sweet potatoes.
There was no need for anyone to watch over the porridge all the time. After lighting the fire, she turned around to clean the small fish and shrimps.
Lin Qi rotated between the three places in this way, calmly and orderly.
When the fish was almost done, she began to add ginger and chili peppers to the iron plate, and at the same time filled another earthenware pot with water and started a fire. When the water in the earthenware pot boiled, she added the wild onions she picked today, followed by the half-cooked fish, and then continued to cover the fish with wild onions before covering it with the lid.
Now the iron plate was empty, and Lin Qi began to roast small fish and shrimps.
On the other side of the mountain, the team leader blew the whistle. When the whistle sounded, everyone stopped what they were doing and went home.
The six people at the educated youth point stood up, pounded their waists which felt so sore that they felt like they were about to break, and dragged their tired bodies towards the educated youth point.
"When will these days end?" Ma Guizhi wanted to cry. From childhood to adulthood, including the most difficult times in the past few years, she had never felt it was so bitter.
"I don't understand." Ming Kangjian shook his head. After working on the farm for a few days, he felt gloomy inside.
"We have at least a high school education, and at worst a junior high school education. We have a head full of knowledge, is it just for the purpose of cutting grass and digging the soil in the fields?" Mo Mingyang wanted to curse.
"Speak softly, or someone with ulterior motives might hear you and report you." Ming Kangjian reminded, "But you reminded me that we have been to school, and we are different from these team members. We must use the knowledge we have learned to build the countryside and change our situation in the brigade."
His words immediately aroused the interest of others, "How to build it?"
"Let's consider it in the long run." Ming Kangjian said, and as soon as these four words came out, five people rolled their eyes.
"Instead of talking about these, why don't we talk about what to eat tonight?" Jian Tongyi changed the subject. "I wonder if that little fool Lin Qi went fishing for shrimp today, and if she got a lot. The pancakes yesterday were really delicious. I hope I can still eat them tonight."
"Stop talking, my saliva is about to flow out." Mo Mingyang wiped the corner of his mouth, afraid of making a fool of himself.
"The things the little fool brought back are so delicious. The fish and shrimp are delicious, the taro is delicious, and even the wild vegetables are different from the ones we picked. They are fragrant and sweet. It's amazing!" Jian Yitong exclaimed.
The others nodded. Zhao Yi said, "After dinner, I feel that breakfast and dinner are inedible, just like pig food."
Ma Guizhi mocked, "It's the same as pig food, but you don't eat less."
Zhao Yi was not angry at being mocked, "I can't help it. I'm hungry. If I don't eat, I won't have the energy to work. I won't waste my time talking to you. I can't wait to know what to have for dinner. I'll leave first."
After saying that, Zhao Yi ran away.
The remaining five people were stunned, looked at each other, and ran away.
"Hey, what's wrong with them? Why are they running?" The deputy captain looked at the backs of the six people, thinking something had happened.
The captain shook his head, "I don't know. But seeing as they still have the strength to run, I wonder if I should assign them heavier work tomorrow."
When Ming Kangjian and other six people returned to the educated youth site, Lin Qi was about to pour the fish out of the earthenware jar.
"What a rich aroma. What are we going to eat tonight?" Jian Tongyi walked into the kitchen with a smile.
"I know it's a fish without asking." Mo Mingyang followed closely.
At this time, Lin Qi just poured the fish in the earthenware jar into the large enamel basin.
"Oh my god, such a big fish!"
The six people were dumbfounded. They had not seen such a big fish in several years, let alone eaten it. Their mouths watered and they wanted to pounce on the fish.
Lin Qi ignored them. She held the aluminum lunch box and used chopsticks to put the fish pieces into her lunch box one by one. She didn't stop until the lunch box was full and could not hold any more.
The others only came to their senses at this time and rushed to wash their hands and run to get the bowls. Their speed was so fast that it was astonishing.
When Lin Qisheng sat down with the porridge, they had already sat at the table. Six pairs of chopsticks were all picking up the fish in the enamel basin.
"Fish have bones, so be careful." Ming Kangjian reminded.
The others nodded randomly and said nothing, fearing that if they said one more word they would eat one less bite.
Only Lin Qi was calm and took her time to savor the food. She hadn't eaten such delicious food for a long time.
Half an hour later.
Everyone put down their chopsticks. Lin Qi was roasting small fish and shrimps on the side, while the others leaned back in their chairs, looking at the wooden barrel next to Lin Qi with red eyes.
"How many days are left until the day off? I can't wait." Mo Mingyang said.
"Two days." Ming Kangjian replied.
Ma Guizhi rolled her eyes and said half-jokingly, "Lin Qi roasted the fish and shrimp using the firewood ordered by the educated youth. Shouldn't she give us some of the fish and shrimp?"
As soon as she said this, the scene suddenly became quiet, and everyone looked at Lin Qi. But Lin Qi frowned, "You, ate, my fish."
After eating so much fish and wild vegetables from her, she is still fussy about using firewood?
"You also ate the wild vegetables we picked." Ma Guizhi did not give up.
Lin Qi's brows furrowed even deeper. She looked at the others and asked silently, "Do you have the same idea as Ma Guizhi?"
They avoided her gaze.
They also want fish and shrimp that are baked to perfection.
silence.
The atmosphere became serious and awkward.
Lin Qi was already thinking about the feasibility of cooking on her own. The biggest problem she faced at the moment was that she had no kitchen utensils, no time to chop wood and fetch water. She participated in the purchase of kitchen utensils, so it should be no problem to use them at different times. The difficult part was firewood and water. She was now cutting grass for pigs and catching fish and shrimps, which was just enough time in a day. She had no time to fetch water or chop wood.
You can't fire it alone.
But she was unwilling to share the fish and shrimp, as she had clearly given them enough.
"Tomorrow, no shrimping, no fishing, and no firewood." Lin Qi lowered her head.
Ma Guizhi and others who thought she would compromise immediately became anxious and said in unison, "No!"
If you don’t catch fish and shrimp, what will we eat?
Ma Guizhi gritted her teeth and smiled awkwardly, "I was just joking, Qiqi, don't take it seriously."
The sound of Qi Qi's shouting gave Lin Qi goose bumps. She shook her head and said, "No capture, no possession, you guys, the advantage."
Ma Guizhi choked and her smile froze. She continued to explain, "We are taking advantage of you. No amount of firewood can buy all your fish and shrimp. You keep fishing and you keep using firewood. Be good."
Lin Qi bit her lip and looked at the others, "You guys——"
"We have the same idea. You can use as much firewood as you want. Just keep one portion for us for dinner." Jian Yitong said on behalf of everyone.
Lin Qi nodded, "Okay."
"Let me make a suggestion." Mo Mingyang raised his hand and looked directly into Lin Qi's eyes. "Because you can't fetch water or chop firewood, so when we cook one day's meal, you should cook dinner for five consecutive days."
As soon as he made this suggestion, the eyes of the other five people lit up.
Lin Qi thought for a moment and replied, "Okay."
San Ya's land had not been tilled yet, so she still couldn't go fishing and shrimping with Lin Qi the next day.
Lin Qi carried the bucket and went to the river section where the mud was very deep yesterday. She did the same thing as yesterday, but there seemed to be fewer fish in the river. She had to fish six times to fill the bucket. There were also fewer big fish than yesterday. She caught six carps in total, three of which weighed about two kilograms, two weighed one kilogram, and one weighed half a kilogram.
After losing her supernatural powers six times and depleting them severely, Lin Qi cleaned the dustpan and rested there for more than half an hour. After she recovered some of her strength, she carried the bucket back.
On the way back to the educated youth point from the river, one had to pass through rice fields, rocky areas covered with weeds, sorghum fields, and corn fields before one could step onto the flat road in the village.
When Luo Laizi jumped out from the sorghum field, Lin Qi's heart sank. The other party was waiting for her here on purpose!
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