The next morning, Xu Ning and his brother had just finished their meal, and the other educated youth were still cooking when Chen Hongjun arrived with seven or eight people, pulling three carts with adobe bricks and house-building tools on them. Xu Ning hurried over and said, "Uncle Hongjun, why are you here so early?" While greeting them and leading them to the back, Chen Hongjun laughed and said, "It's cooler in the morning when the sun isn't so strong. Xu Zhiqing, go and do your own thing. The sun is strong in the back, so don't follow us.
Xu Ning said, "Okay, Uncle Red Army, I'll go and boil some water for you."
The three male educated youth knew yesterday that he was going to build a house, but Li Fengjiao and Lin Qiuhua didn't know. When they saw her coming back, Li Fengjiao asked, "Are you going to build a house?" Xu Ning rolled his eyes at her and said, "It's none of your business." He picked up the bucket in the corner, and Xu An took the sling and went to fetch water with his brother and sister.
After all the educated youth had gone to work, Xu Ning cooked a big pot of mung bean soup, added rock sugar, and carried it in a bucket to the builders. Before he even got to the place with the bucket, the village chief came over with a tall man in his 20s wearing a short-sleeved police uniform.
Xu Ning knew that it was Zhao Jianshe who came. He came very quickly. Xu Ning handed the bucket to Chen Hongjun and walked towards the two of them.
Before he got there, the village chief said, "Xu Zhiqing, your relatives are here." Xu Ning then said, "Brother Jianshe? ”
Xu Jianshe said with a smile, "Xiaoning, you came home the day before yesterday, and I heard from your sister-in-law that you left without waiting for me to get off work. So I came to see you today when I have nothing to do. Is your headache feeling better?
Xu Ning also said with a smile, "My head is much better now. The village chief gave me a few days off. I have been resting at home these days." He asked the two to sit down, poured the green bean soup in the basin into bowls, and placed a bowl in front of each of them.
The village chief finished his mung bean soup and went back, leaving the two of them to talk.
Zhao Jianshe asked her if the house behind was hers. Xu Ning nodded and said yes. She told him about the situation at the educated youth camp. There were only two rooms at the educated youth camp. After a while, more educated youth would come. She and her brother wanted to separate from the educated youth camp and divide up their private plots.
Zhao Jianshe also said that it was better to separate them. If there were too many people, there would be more conflicts. It would be better for them to live their own lives. Zhao Jianshe said he would go to the place where the houses were being built.
Xu Ning took him there and told him about the private plot and the location of the house. Zhao Jianshe nodded and went to talk to Chen Hongjun. After the two of them finished talking, Xu Ning and Chen Hongjun returned to the Youth Farm. Chen Hongjun's bicycle was parked in the Youth Farm. He took off the bag hanging on the handlebars and gave it to Xu Ning.
He said, "When you are free, take your brother home to play. If you have anything, go home and tell your sister-in-law. I will go back first." Xu Ning said, "Brother Jianshe, let's have dinner first." Zhao Jianshe said, "No, I have something else to do at the bureau."
Xu Ning walked him to the door and gave him the bag to take back for his child. Xu Jianshe refused and said, "Do you have enough money to build a house?"
Xu Ning said, "That's enough. My elder brother sends me money every month."
Zhao Jianshe said, "Then I'll go back. I'll come home with my brother when I'm free."
Xu Ning watched him leave, then glanced at the bag in his hand, went back to the house and took out the things: two cans of oranges, a pound of White Rabbit candy, a can of malted milk, and Xu Ning took a pound of milk powder from the space and put them in the cabinet and locked it.
I took another pound of meat from the space and planned to eat it at noon. Xu An was too thin. He looked like a seven or eight-year-old boy at the age of ten. Now he lived with the educated youth, and many things in the space could not be taken out.
Xu Ning went to boil another pot of water. It was too hot. Even sitting still made them sweat, not to mention being exposed to the sun. Xu Ning carried the pot of boiling water over in a bucket. Only the mung bean soup was left. Xu Ning took the bucket back and continued to boil mung bean soup for them to drink in the afternoon.
Xu Ning cut the one pound of meat he took out from the space into half, marinated it with salt and prepared to eat tomorrow, and cut the other half into stewed beans.
When Xu An came back from work, he threw the backpack on the ground and ran to the back where the house was being built. Xu Ning shouted at him but there was no response. After a while, Chen Hongjun took everyone back to eat. Xu An followed them and asked, "Uncle Hongjun, how many days will it take to finish building it?", which made everyone laugh.
After Xu Ning sent a few people away, he asked Xu An to wash her face. When Xu An saw the meat on the table, she asked, "Sister, didn't you finish the meat from yesterday?" Xu Ning then told Xu An about Zhao Jianshe's visit today.
After the siblings had finished their meal, Xu Ning asked Xu An to take a nap. She went to the village carpenter's house to order a few kang cabinets and cabinets for storing grain. All the things in the educated youth camp were shared, and they had to be bought again after the move.
Ten days passed in a flash. The house for the siblings has been built, and the toilet and woodshed have also been set up. Chen Hongjun said that the door will be installed today, and they can move in after two days of drying. Xu Ning's head injury has also healed. She went to Chengnan County again. When she came back from the county, her hair had grown back into a boy's hair style (very short, a boy's hairstyle). She has been working every day these days. She doesn't wear a hat like other female comrades. She is much darker than before, and now she looks like a tomboy.
Zhao Jianshe came again two days ago, looked at the progress of the house, and went back when he saw nothing was wrong. Xu Ning felt that she had raised the banner very successfully. Before she knew the plot, Xu Ning had never thought about looking for Zhao Jianshe. When she knew that the original owner's parents were going to be sent here, she had to make use of this relationship. At least when something unexpected happened, this relationship with him would have at least some deterrent effect.
The kang cabinet and the cabinet for storing grain that Xu Ning ordered were also built, and the cabbage in the private plot was planted. The cabbage seedlings were exchanged with the aunt in the village. Some small green vegetables and spinach were also scattered, and onions were planted on the edge. The two mu of land was made very presentable for her and her brother.
Xu An now eats well every day, and he eats fine grains and occasionally meat, which is rich in fat and water. At night, Xu Ning also gives him extra meals, such as egg cakes, biscuits, milk powder, and malted milk. His little face has become visibly rosy.
Today is the educated youth's day off, and they don't have to go to work. Several educated youth have all gone to the county town, and the ox cart is no longer able to accommodate them. Xu Ning doesn't want to go with them either. Her background has prevented her from getting too close to anyone, at least in the past few years, so her personality will slowly develop into a thorn in the side. No one dares to provoke her, and no one wants to care about her. This will make it easier for her to act in the future. Xu An is still young, so just let him live happily.
The brother and sister each carried a backpack, and Xu Ning was holding a shoulder pole. Today the brother and sister planned to go up the mountain to chop firewood. The autumn harvest is almost here, and the weather will be cold soon after the harvest. The winter here is too long, and a lot of firewood is needed. The brother and sister went to the mountain to chop firewood every day after work these days.
They had saved a lot, but it was far from enough, so the brother and sister planned to chop wood all day today.
After the brother and sister came down from Daqing Mountain, they carried the firewood directly to the new house. The newly built firewood room was already piled with the firewood that the brother and sister had collected in the past few days. The men who were installing the door saw the firewood carried by the brother and sister on their backs, and Xu Ning also carried a large load of firewood. They all praised the brother and sister for knowing how to manage their lives.
Chen Hongjun helped take down the firewood on the siblings' backs, and said to them, "The door has been installed. Come over tonight to light the kang, so that the house will dry faster. We can move in tomorrow after we clean up."
Even though the house was completely built, several builders were packing up their tools. Xu Ning went to the Youth Farm in front and took out a few pieces of meat pickled in salt from a jar. They were the ones he took out from the space when he went to the county town last time. Each piece weighed half a pound. He opened the cabinet and took out a few bags of rock sugar, each weighing half a pound. He put the meat and rock sugar in a backpack and walked towards the new house.
Xu Ning gave each of the builders half a pound of meat and half a bag of rock sugar and said, "Thank you for your hard work these days. I should have treated you to a meal, but you know the situation here. There is only one shared pot in the educated youth site, and the educated youth have to use that pot to cook every day. You uncles, take these things back and let aunt have some extra dishes. I'll let Uncle Red Army calculate the wages and pay them together later." After saying that, he handed the things over.
(According to local custom, once a house is completed, the builder must be invited to a meal)
The men all said, "Xu Zhiqing, you are too polite. You and your brother can keep some for yourself. It is not easy for you two to come to the countryside at such a young age." Xu Ning said, "It's not much. I have prepared it all. Please take it, uncles! Otherwise, I will feel bad."
Chen Hongjun said, "Take them all. This is a gift from Xu Zhiqing and his sister. We are in the same village now, so please take care of them in the future." The men took the things and pushed the cart back.
Xu Ning and his brother walked to the Youth House with Chen Hongjun. Xu Ning took Chen Hongjun to the kitchen to sit down and paid him the wages. The total cost of processing materials for two houses was 195 yuan. After Xu Ning gave the money to Chen Hongjun, he gave him a bag that he had prepared just now. Inside was a pound of meat, a pound of rock sugar, and two pounds of rice. Chen Hongjun knew he couldn't refuse it, so he took it and said, "Then uncle won't be polite to you. If you have any problems in the future, just tell me."
Chen Hongjun went home and gave the things to his wife. His wife opened the box and asked, "Didn't you go to build a house for Xu Zhiqing? Where did this come from?" Chen Hongjun told his wife that Xu Ning had no place to cook and did not invite the people who were building the house to dinner.
His wife said, "Wow, why are you giving so much? This rice is really good." Chen Hongjun said, "If someone asks you, just say that there is only half a pound of meat and half a pound of rock sugar, and take good care of his brother and sister in the future." His wife understood and said, "I know."
After Chen Hongjun left, Xu Ning and his sister went to clean their new house with brooms. They built a large and small room on the 30-square-meter land. The small room was used as the kitchen and the large room was separated in the middle. The brother and sister each slept in the small room.
The last time I went to the county town, I also installed the pot that Xu Ning bought. In fact, it was taken out from the space. Chen Hongjun also covered the edge of the pot tightly with mud.
After the brother and sister cleaned the house, Xu Ning lit the kang so that they could move the ordered furniture in tomorrow. Once the kang was lit, the room became too hot to stay in.
The brother and sister ate something and then went up the mountain again with their backpacks on their backs. The wild vegetables in the mountains would be old in a while, so Xu Ning planned to store more firewood and dig more wild vegetables before the autumn harvest. He could then dry the wild vegetables and eat them when there were no vegetables in the winter.
When Xu Ning and Xu An had moved into their new home and had almost everything ready, the village chief informed them that the autumn harvest would begin in three days.
Xu Ning is going to the county town tomorrow. The autumn harvest lasts for more than a month. Unless there are special circumstances during the harvest, the team leader and the village chief are not allowed to take leave.
The heroine of the original book should be going to the countryside to Yushu Village in the next two days. The original owner's parents will also arrive in more than a month. She remembered that the book said that they didn't have much luggage when they were sent down. Only the original owner's father carried a small bag on his back. They had to prepare their cotton-padded clothes and quilts. Xu Ning and Xu An's cotton-padded clothes were a bit thin to wear here.
Xu Ning asked Xu An to write a letter to Xu Yang in the army, telling him not to send money over, as the siblings had money. She also asked Xu An to write that they had built a house, and asked Xu Yang to come to Yushu Village when he had a home leave, as he would have a place to stay. During this period, Xu Ning secretly imitated the original owner's notes every night, and finally it was 70% similar. She asked Xu An to write first, and she would add a few strokes at the end.
The next morning, Xu Ning got up, put a bowl of rice in the pot, and some salted lean meat cut into cubes, added to the porridge, and went to the vegetable garden to pick a few green vegetable seedlings, cooked a pot of vegetable porridge, and boiled two eggs.
Xu An also got up when he heard the noise. Seeing Xu Ning cooking, he went over to light the fire. Xu Ning told him that she would not take him with her to the county this time, and would take him to the county after the autumn harvest to have a good day of fun. Xu An said, "I know, sister, you go ahead, I'll stay at home to look after the house."
Xu Ning added, "Don't go to the mountains to chop firewood alone. You know, we have almost enough firewood. After the autumn harvest, we can go to the mountains to chop some more."
After finishing his meal, Xu Ning went to the village entrance carrying a large backpack. Old Chen's ox cart was already there. On the cart were two middle-aged women and a young wife whom Xu Ning did not recognize. Li Fengjiao and Lin Qiuhua were also on the cart. When they saw Xu Ning, they snorted and turned their heads away. Old Chen saw her and said, "Xu Zhiqing, get on quickly. We are just one person short." Xu Ning hurried over and sat down.
After arriving in the county town, Xu Ning mailed the letter and went directly to the supply and marketing cooperative to see what colors were available at the cloth sales section. She has a lot of cloth in her space, but she has no plans to buy any.
I went to buy matches, kerosene, needles and thread, and also brought two kilograms of snack tickets with me when I went to the countryside. I bought two kilograms of biscuits and left the supply and marketing cooperative.
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