The letter and remittance slip were sent by Lu Xiaotang. She opened the letter immediately. The letter said that he had returned from his mission and would come over next month.
Xu Ning jumped twice on the ground happily, then picked up the letter and read it again.
When Xu An came back from school, Xu Ning was pickling cucumbers and the shelves in the yard were full of beans drying. The vegetables were in particularly good harvest this year, and half a bag of beans were filled.
He put down his schoolbag, ran to the field and picked a tomato. While eating it, he said, "Sister, the cucumbers are good this year. Pickle more cucumbers to eat in winter."
Xu Ning smiled and nodded in response, then thought of Lu Xiaotang's letter and said, "Brother Lu wrote to me and said he would be back next month."
Xu An said happily, "Really, sister, where is the letter?"
"It's on the table on the kang. Go get it! Show it to Uncle Lu and Aunt Lu tonight."
After reading it, Xu An said with regret, "It's a pity that my elder brother can't come this year, otherwise the two of them could have met."
Xu Ning said, "There will be opportunities in the future."
She put a jar of pickled cucumbers on the kitchen shelf and took a basket to pick ripe red tomatoes to take to the cowshed when she delivered the mail in the evening.
There were many beans and cucumbers planted in the cowshed. Xu Ma and Lu Ma planned to pickle them and eat them in the winter, so they didn't plant many tomatoes.
Xu Mo likes to eat tomatoes mixed with sugar, so the brother and sister often bring them there in the evening.
Xu An poured the dough he had kneaded in the morning onto the chopping board, preparing to make steamed buns. He now knew how to make several kinds of pasta, and his steamed buns were even better than the ones his sister made.
He is not bragging. This is what Xu Ning said. He said that he has a talent for cooking. Now his sister basically doesn't care about the kitchen matters and lets him take charge of everything.
Lu Xiaotang arrived the day before the autumn harvest. Xu Ning was cooking meat sauce at home, while Xu An, several male educated youth, and Jianmin Dalin from the village went fishing.
She was watching the pot and lighting the fire by herself, so she didn't notice someone coming in.
Lu Xiaotang stood at the door, looking at the graceful girl in the kitchen. Her hair had grown longer and was braided into a braid hanging down her back. She looked taller than she was two years ago. This figure had appeared in his dreams countless times, haunting him.
Xu Ning put the mushrooms in the pot and stirred them. She felt the kitchen darken. She looked up at the door and saw Lu Xiaotang standing there, gazing at her tenderly.
Xu Ning put down the spatula and said happily, "Brother Lu, you're back?"
Lu Xiaotang put down his luggage, walked over, hugged the girl in front of him, and said, "Xiao Ning, I'm back."
Xu Ning hugged him back and buried his face in his chest. He smelled a not very pleasant odor. It was such a hot day and he had been sitting in the car for four or five days. It would be strange if he didn't have any body odor.
Thinking that he had just gotten off the bus and must not have eaten yet, she immediately got out of his arms and said, "Brother Lu, you haven't eaten yet, I'll go make you a bowl of noodles. There's water in the bucket outside, go wash up."
Lu Xiaotang then remembered that he had been sitting in the car for several days and the smell on his body must have bothered the girl. He immediately opened his luggage bag, took out his clothes and prepared to go out for a shower.
Xu Ning also came to the yard, told him the direction of the bathroom, and went in to cook noodles.
As soon as he entered the door, he noticed the changes in the yard. The yard was surrounded by a high wall, and it was full of green vegetables.
Xu Ning cooked the meat sauce and put it in a bowl, made him a bowl of tomato and egg noodles, and went outside to pick a watermelon and put it in a water tank to cool.
Lu Xiaotang came out of the shower and saw a bowl of tomato and egg noodles on the table. He felt hungry. He rushed back as soon as he got off the train in the morning and had no time to eat on the way. It was already past two o'clock in the afternoon.
He sat at the table, picked up his chopsticks and started eating. Xu Ning scooped a few spoonfuls of meat sauce into his bowl.
After Lu Xiaotang finished his meal and washed the dishes, he asked, "When was this wall built? Did something happen?"
Xu Ning said, "It was built after the New Year this year. A female educated youth from Beijing came to the Youth Institute. She was Gu Wenping's classmate. I felt that she was not very friendly and did not want to interact too much with those people in the Youth Institute. So I asked Uncle Hongjun to help build a wall. He also helped build the bathroom."
After thinking about it, he told the story of Liu Fang and Wang Daqiang.
Lu Xiaotang asked solemnly, "How long was he sentenced to? Do you know where he was sentenced to labor reform?"
Xu Ning shook his head and said, "The verdict has not been made yet. I went to the city to ask a few days ago, and Brother Jianshe told me that it should be announced in the next few days."
Lu Xiaotang sneered and said, "It's good that the verdict hasn't been made yet. I'll go into the city tomorrow."
As the two were talking, Xu An came in barefoot with a few fish. Seeing Lu Xiaotang sitting there, he said happily, "Brother Lu, you're back. I just caught a few fish today. I'll show you my skills tonight."
Lu Xiaotang stood up and patted his shoulder, saying with a smile, "Xiao An, you've grown taller. You're really a big boy now."
Xu An touched his head and smiled shyly, "Brother Lu, how long can you stay this time?"
"We have a month's vacation this time. Apart from the time spent on the road, we should be able to stay here for more than 20 days."
Xu Ning let the two talk here. She took the fish from Xu An and prepared to clean it up.
Lu Xiaotang asked Xu An to wash his feet and put on his shoes first. He took the fish and took it outside to clean it.
In the evening, Xu An cooked braised fish, cold cucumber salad, stewed eggplant with beans, stir-fried meat with bean sprouts, and steamed rice. Lu Xiaotang praised Xu An's cooking skills highly.
He praised, "Xiao An, it tastes really good. No wonder your sister doesn't cook anymore. Your cooking skills are better than your sister's now! If you practice more, you can surpass the chefs in state-owned restaurants."
Xu An said happily, "Brother Lu, then you should eat more. I will fry some tofu balls for you in a couple of days. Xiao Mo said that the tofu balls I made are also delicious."
Xu Ning glanced at the two of them, then lowered his head and continued eating.
After dinner, Xu An was washing dishes in the kitchen, while Xu Ning packed up the food that Lu Xiaotang brought and asked him to take it to the cowshed.
Lu Xiaotang took out a purse from his luggage and handed it to Xu Ning, saying, "These are my wages for the past two years and the allowances I received when I was on a mission. Keep them."
Xu Ning looked at the money bag in his hand and said, "Brother Lu, keep it for yourself! The money you gave me last time was not used at all."
Lu Xiaotang didn't listen to her. He put the money directly in her hand and said, "Take it! Buy whatever you want in the future. Don't save money. I can earn it."
After saying that, he took the things Xu Ning had packed and went to the cowshed. Xu Ning sent him to the door.
Lu Xiaotang took two steps, turned back and said to her, "I will tell the elders about what happened between us later." After that, he walked quickly towards the cowshed without looking back.
When Xu Ning reacted, he was almost at the door of the cowshed.
She stomped her feet at the door in anger. This bastard was so cunning.
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