Xu Ning came out of the supply and marketing cooperative and planned to go to the black market to find out the prices there. She still had more than 500 old-fashioned sheets in her space.
Xu Ning wandered around for more than half an hour before he found a place in an alley by the river. Standing at the entrance of the alley were two young men in their teens and 17s. They saw Xu Ning and asked, "Are you buying or selling?" Xu Ning said, "Buying something."
One of the young men said, "Five cents." Xu Ning had heard from the educated youths that they had to pay for both buying and selling. So he took out five cents from his pocket and gave it to the young man who was talking. The young man took the money and said, "Buy something and get out. Don't stay in here."
Xu Ning nodded and walked in quickly. There were many people squatting on both sides of the alley. Some had bags in front of them, and some had backpacks in front of them. They put things there, exposing a little bit of them for people to see. Xu Ning walked up to a middle-aged woman and saw a piece of flowered cloth sticking out of a bundle in front of her. He walked up to her and asked, "Sister, what kind of cloth is in your bundle?"
The middle-aged woman asked, "We have sheets and fabrics. Do you want them?" Then she opened the bundle in front of her and showed it to Xu Ning. Xu Ning opened the sheet at the bottom and asked, "How much is this sheet?" The middle-aged woman looked at her and said, "No ticket, 20 yuan."
Xu Ning looked at it and put it down. The woman said, "Sister, my bed sheet is wide and big. Feel it. The material is produced by a big factory, not the old cotton cloth woven in the countryside."
Xu Ning said, "Sister-in-law, it's too expensive. I don't have that much money." Then he turned around and planned to go somewhere else to look. The woman said, "18 yuan is the lowest price. I won't sell it to you if it's any cheaper."
Xu Ning smiled and said to her, "Sister-in-law, I don't have enough money. I'll come back to buy it from you another day when I have enough money." Then he stood up and walked forward. He found two more people to ask about the price and he had an idea in his mind. However, Xu Ning did not plan to sell it now.
After leaving the black market, Xu Ning looked at the time. It was almost time for her appointment with Old Chen, so she walked back. When she was still a short distance away from the agreed location, she found a secluded corner and put the things she had sorted out in the space yesterday into the backpack. She also carried a large bundle in her hand, which contained her and Xu An's cotton-padded clothes.
When we got to the agreed place, we saw that the carriage was almost full. It was not the people who had been in the same carriage in the morning. They were probably people who had gotten up early and walked here. Some aunties wanted to save five cents, so they got up early and walked here. After buying something, they would take the carriage if there was one, and walk back if there was no carriage. Old Chen made one trip every day, and whoever caught up could ride. If you couldn't catch up, you could take the carriage from other villages along the way.
When Xu Ning was about to get home, he took out a bundle of cotton from the space and put it on the backpack. He planned to prepare cotton clothes for the original owner's parents. No matter whether he made them himself or took them from the space, there was always a reason for the things. There was also a Xu An at home.
Xu Ning saw that the small door was closed from the inside, so he knew Xu An was at home. Since they moved from the Youth Farm, they rarely went through the door on the other side. They always went in and out through the small door on this side, which was very convenient for carrying water and going up the mountain.
Xu Ning called Xu An to open the door. Xu An opened the door and saw that Xu Ning had bought so many things. He quickly took the bundle, brought it into the house, put it on the dining table, and said, "Sister, what is this?" He opened the bundle and saw two new cotton-padded clothes on top and a piece of dark gray cloth underneath. He asked Xu Ning, "Sister, don't we have cotton-padded clothes?" Xu Ning put the backpack on the table and said, "Our cotton-padded clothes are too thin to wear here. Have you forgotten that when we first came to the countryside, we were so cold that we didn't dare to go out."
When the original owner's siblings first came to the countryside, the coldest time had not yet passed. Although they were wearing new thick cotton-padded clothes hastily made for them by the original owner's mother when they arrived, it was still cold in the northeast where the temperature was dozens of degrees below zero. When the siblings arrived, it was the time of hibernation and they did not have to work, so they just sat on the kang every day. The three male educated youth saw that the siblings' cotton-padded clothes and shoes were thin, so when it was the siblings' turn to fetch water and cook, the three male educated youth helped. Thinking of this, Xu Ning decided to repay this favor when he had the chance.
Xu An also thought about the time when he first came, and said, "Sister, let's prepare more firewood. I heard from Jianmin that a few years ago there was a lazy guy in the village who didn't stock up enough firewood. He had no firewood to burn in the winter, and he went up the mountain to collect firewood even when the mountain was closed due to heavy snow. He didn't collect much firewood and was chased down the mountain by a wild boar. The boar bit a big hole in his butt, which cured his laziness." Xu Ning laughed and touched her little head and said, "Okay, listen to Xiao An, let's stock up more firewood so that we can burn in the winter."
Xu Ning first put the bundle of cotton on the side of the backpack, and then took out the things from the bottom one by one: three ribs, five catties of pork, ten catties of rice, ten catties of white flour, ten catties of cornmeal, five catties of dried noodles, one catty of fungus, two catties of mushrooms, one catty of jujubes, two catties of White Rabbit milk candy, two bags of milk powder, four canned fruits, a native chicken, 20 apples...
Xu An was stunned when he saw her taking things out. After a while, he said, "Sister, why did you buy so much? We don't have that many tickets!" Xu Ning said, "I bought it on the black market, Xiao An. The autumn harvest is coming soon. We can't go to the city before the harvest. And the work is very heavy. We need to eat something good to replenish our body. When I went to the city today, I saw many aunts and aunties buying it." Seeing many aunts and aunties buying this is to deceive children. She can't see what others buy because it is wrapped tightly. Hahaha,
Xu Ning asked Xu An to put the cotton-padded clothes and cotton in her room.
She soaked the mushrooms and washed a small piece of meat. She planned to make some meat sauce. During the autumn harvest, she could make some noodles with meat sauce when she was busy at noon. There were two large jars in the space, so she could take out the meat from the space and eat it.
After the meat sauce was cooked and put in a can, Xu Ning mixed some flour and made some sauce-flavored pancakes. The brother and sister each had a cup of malted milk with the pancakes, and then they were full. Xu Ning asked Xu An to walk around to help digest the food.
She salted the pork, ribs, and chicken and waited for the autumn harvest to eat them. These were already clear to Xu An. When the time came, she would secretly take some out from the space and mix them together to eat.
After pickling all the vegetables, Xu Ning took the bucket and went to fetch water. The water tank she bought was very big and could hold eight buckets of water, which could be used for two or three days. She bought the water tank together with a pot when she went to the county town last time. She also bought several jars for pickling sauerkraut. She thought she couldn't take them with her anyway, so she gave Old Chen fifty cents and two steamed buns and asked him to make a special trip to bring them back. She also bought all the pots, pans, and utensils that day, and took out two thermos from the space.
In the afternoon, Xu An took a backpack and went to cut grass for pigs. She had asked for a day off today, and went up the mountain with the backpack and a shoulder pole. Daqing Mountain is connected to several mountains, and few people dare to go there. There are wild boars, and some people say there are tigers, but no one has seen them.
Xu Ning didn't dare to go in either. The wild boar was left by the author for the hero and heroine. She just picked up some firewood and dug some wild vegetables outside.
He picked up two large bundles of firewood and carried them on a shoulder pole. In the backpack was a basket of wild vegetables with a layer of mushrooms on top. When he got home, he put the firewood in the firewood room. There was already a very high pile of firewood neatly placed inside. There was also a bundle of firewood on the ground. It should have been picked up by Xu An when he was cutting grass for pigs in the morning.
Xu Ning looked at the time, poured out the wild vegetables and mushrooms in the basket and placed them at the kitchen door, then hurried up the mountain. Calculating the time, he could still make two more trips.
When Xu An came back, he saw that his sister was not at home. There was a pile of wild vegetables and mushrooms at the kitchen door. He put the wild vegetables in his backpack and carried it to the river to wash them. He put the washed wild vegetables in the sun and then carried the rest to wash them.
When Xu Ning came back, Xu An had already washed all the vegetables and cleaned the mushrooms on the ground and put them in a basket to dry. She put the firewood in the woodshed and took the mushrooms out of the basket.
When Xu An saw Xu Ning coming back, he hurried to get water for Xu Ning to wash his face and hands. When Xu Ning finished washing his face, Xu An had already carried the wild vegetables to wash them. Xu Ning let him go. The water in the stream was very shallow, and the deepest part was only up to the calves. It was the water flowing down from the Daqing Mountain.
Looking at the watch, it was already past six o'clock. Xu Ning chopped a piece of pork ribs left over from lunch into small pieces and stewed them in the pot. He also washed a large bowl of mushrooms he had picked up and made pancakes with white flour and cornmeal. When the pork ribs were almost cooked, he put the mushrooms in and stewed them for a few minutes before eating.
When Xu An walked to the door, he smelled the fragrance. He quickly hung up the washed wild vegetables and ran to the kitchen. When Xu Ning saw him coming back, she served the soup and pancakes. Xu An said, "Sister, it smells so good," and swallowed his saliva. Xu Ning smiled and said, "Hurry up and sit down and eat."
After dinner, Xu An went to wash the dishes. Xu Ning put the cloth he brought back from lunch on the kang to see how to make clothes for the original owner's parents and younger brother. Although the cloth she took out from the space looked very old, it still could not be worn outside.
Xu Ning found all her and Xu An's old clothes and planned to make three coats for the original owner's parents and younger brother to wear outside, and new cotton-padded clothes inside. The cotton-padded clothes for adults can be taken from the space. She bought dozens of sets before she crossed over, but there is still a two-year-old child. When she was a child, she saw her grandmother buy cloth and cut clothes by herself, and she also learned a little from her. It was no problem to sew a few coats. Anyway, she didn't care about the appearance. The worse the clothes, the less attention they would attract. But she didn't know how to make cotton-padded clothes. It was already very cold when they came, so she must prepare them before they came.
Xu Ning held the scissors and wondered where to start. Xu An came in and saw the cloth and clothes on the kang. He asked, "Sister, what are you doing?" Xu Ning said, "Making a cotton-padded jacket for my parents and my younger brother." Xu An's tears fell when he heard this. He asked Xu Ning while crying, "Sister, can we write a letter to my parents? When we went to the countryside, my father said he would contact us. It's been so long," Xu Ning said, "My parents are busy with work. Let's wait for a while. If we don't receive a letter after the autumn harvest, we will write back to ask, okay?" Xu Ning thought, they should be here after the autumn harvest, so there is no need to write any letters. Now let's coax this little guy first! .
When Xu An stopped crying, Xu Ning asked him to try on the cotton coat she brought back today to see if it fit him. When Xu An put it on, he found it was a little too big, and the sleeves of the cotton pants and the coat were a little too long. However, they were eating well and growing fast, so it was suitable. It didn't matter if it was a little too big. They still had to wear sweaters and thermal underwear in winter. Xu Ning asked him to take it off and put it in his room.
Xu Ning planned to try making coats for the three people first to practice his skills, and then make a cotton coat for Xu Mo.
The next day when they went to work, Xu Ning, Li Fengjiao, Lin Qiuhua and several aunts were filling bags in the warehouse for storing grain during the autumn harvest. Then they heard several aunts say that more educated youth would come to the village. The village chief and Old Chen would go to the township to pick them up tomorrow. They said that this time five would be given to them from Yushu Village. One aunt sighed, "You know, we don't have enough to eat here. It's so good in the city. Why do we have to run to the countryside?" The other aunts looked at Xu Ning and the other three and reminded the aunt who was talking to say less. Xu Ning continued to fill his bags with his head down, without a trace of extra expression on his face, thinking that the heroine was finally coming. Li Fengjiao and Lin Qiuhua looked at each other, and their faces were not very good.
After work in the afternoon, Xu Ning saw that it was still early, so he thought about how there were still a lot of wild vegetables left to dig. He thought that the autumn harvest would be soon and he would have no time to dig then, so he decided to dig some more today. Xu Ning was about to go up the mountain with a backpack on his back. Xu An was turning over the half-dried wild vegetables. Seeing Xu Ning with a backpack on her back, she asked hurriedly, "Sister, are you going up the mountain?" Xu Ning said, "I found a field of wild vegetables yesterday, but I didn't finish digging them. It's still early today, so I'll go dig some more." Xu An said, "I'll go too," and followed Xu Ning out with the backpack.
The brother and sister each dug a large backpack, and as it was getting dark, they prepared to go down the mountain. At this time, a wild boar jumped out from the side. Xu Ning turned around and was stunned. A wild boar was running towards her. She stood up with a somersault, pulled Xu An, who was also scared, and ran down the mountain. While running, she roared madly in her heart, "I am not the heroine, I am not the heroine, don't come over! Pig God, Pig God, wait a little longer, your heroine will be here tomorrow"
The pig god did not hear her request. It opened its mouth and bit the backpack that Xu An had not yet dropped. Fortunately, Xu An was short and the backpack was big. If the bite had hit him, he would have been skinned alive. Xu Ning took out a machete from the space and chopped at the wild boar. The knife hit the pig's head, which made it even crazier. It let go of Xu An's backpack and rushed towards Xu Ning. Xu Ning turned around and ran to the side. A man carrying firewood came down from the road in front. When he saw the wild boar behind Xu Ning, he dropped the firewood and picked up the firewood stick to hit the wild boar on the head. The wild boar was stunned by the first hit. The man hit it several times in a row and the wild boar died.
Xu Ning then looked at the man. It was the middle-aged man who had been reformed in the cowshed. At this time, Xu An also ran over.
Xu Ning hurriedly pulled Xu An to thank him. The middle-aged man waved his hand and said, "Are you two injured? Don't go up the mountain at night. It will be more dangerous when it gets colder."
After saying that, he looked at the wild boar on the ground. Xu Ning also looked over. The wild boar was not big, and it looked to be about 80 or 90 kilograms. If it was a big wild boar, it would not be so easy to kill. The middle-aged man said, "I'll drag it to the foot of the mountain, you take it back!" Xu Ning hurriedly said, "Uncle, this is what you killed, and you saved my life. How can I take it? You take it back."
The man carried the firewood and dragged the wild boar forward with a rope without saying a word. Xu Ning and Xu An followed behind with backpacks and machetes. When they reached the foot of the mountain, the man handed the rope to Xu Ning and said, "Pull it back!" After that, he walked straight to the cowshed. Xu Ning called out "Uncle..." and the man waved his hand without even turning his head.
Xu Ning knew that even if he took the wild boar back, he couldn't keep it. People came every day, taking the cattle away in the morning and sending them back in the evening. Every day, people also sent cattle grass there. Even if he handed it over, not many people in the village would appreciate his kindness because he was a bad element. Thinking of this, Xu Ning felt sad.
Xu An called out to her, "Sister, what should we do with this wild boar?"
Xu Ning came to his senses and said, "Pull it back first." Although Xu Ning was stronger than ordinary people, it was still a bit difficult to pull a wild boar. When they were about to reach the well, the brother and sister were planning to walk along the small road and go directly to their small door. Unexpectedly, Li Fengjiao and Lin Qiuhua were washing clothes by the well. When they saw the wild boar she was pulling, they screamed in fear. They didn't even take the washed clothes. They stood up and ran to the hospital.
Xu Ning was speechless. He really didn't understand. What was there to be afraid of a dead wild boar? It wasn't alive. He had wanted to take it back and eat it slowly, but now he couldn't keep it secret. Since he couldn't eat it secretly, he might as well use this wild boar to become famous. He turned around and said to Xu An, "Let's hand over this pig. If someone asks you how the pig died, just say that we two killed it. Don't mention that uncle, okay?" Then the two siblings checked their statements again before dragging the wild boar towards the educated youth point. After walking a few steps, they saw three male educated youths running towards them with sticks. When they ran to the siblings and saw that the wild boar was dead, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Did you two kill it?" Xu Ning nodded and said, "Yes, my brother and I were digging wild vegetables. A wild boar ran down the mountain and wanted to bite us, so we two killed it." He said it so lightly that if you didn't know, you would think they had killed a chicken.
The three male educated youth looked at her...
Xu Ning said again, "Do you have anything else to do? If not, help me pull the wild boar to the village chief's house. My brother and I will take the backpack back and then go on." The three male educated youth took the rope from her hand and pulled the wild boar to the village. The brother and sister put the backpack at home, drank some water, ate some biscuits, and went to the village chief's house. On the way, the brother and sister exchanged their statements.
On the way to the village, Xu An told Xu Ning, "Sister, I went to the mountain to chop firewood once, and I chopped too much firewood, and it was too tiring to carry it. It was this uncle who helped me carry it to the foot of the mountain today. Xu Ning sighed and thought that he really owed him a great favor, so he said to Xu An, "Both of our lives were saved by him, so it doesn't matter if we chop a little more. I'll pay him back slowly in the future."
As they were talking, they arrived at the village chief's house. There were already many people gathered at the village chief's house. When the three male educated youth were pulling the wild boar over, some people saw them on the road and followed them. When they saw the brother and sister coming, they surrounded them and asked, "Xu Zhiqing, did you two really kill the wild boar?" Xu Ning repeated what the brother and sister had discussed.
Xu Ning said to the village chief, "Uncle village chief, my brother and I happened to encounter this wild boar when we went up the mountain to dig wild vegetables today. It tried to attack me and my brother, so we killed it." These people all looked at her...
Someone in the crowd said, "Oh my goodness, this is a wild boar, just kill it," and someone else said, "Xu Zhiqing is very strong," and everyone talked about her more and more.
Xu Ning coughed lightly and interrupted everyone, saying that he was exaggerating a bit.
He said to the village chief, "Uncle village chief, the autumn harvest is coming soon. Kill this pig and give it to the villagers to replenish their bodies. Although this pig is small, it can at least get some oil and gas."
Huaishu Village is a small village under the Qianjin Brigade, with only more than 100 households. However, people nowadays pay attention to not dividing the family when the elderly are still alive, so a household may have more than a dozen people, or as few as seven or eight. What Xu Ning said about getting some oil and gas is really not an exaggeration. Apart from bones and internal organs, a family can only get half a pound of meat at most.
The village chief asked his wife to boil water, and then they killed the pig in the open space in front of his house. They called all the villagers to come, and no matter how many people there were in the family, each family got half a catty of meat. It was really hard to divide the meat because there were so many people and so little meat. Xu Ning got one catty, and the village chief said he would give her more, but she refused and only took one catty.
Since the whole pig has been given away, why bother about that little bit? Others only have half a pound, and you take so much. How can you feel balanced if you don’t get any? You did hit the pig, but since you're dividing it up, you have to do it fairly. Otherwise, you'll only offend people.
The educated youth group also received a pound of meat. Since Xu Ning's sister and brother had already divided it, it was divided according to the two families. Three of them pulled the wild boar over, so they also contributed, so they also received a pound.
The remaining pig offal was given to the village chief's family.
After the brother and sister got home, they lay down on the kang and didn't want to move. Although Xu Ning just said it lightly, she was actually scared to death. After that shock, her legs and feet were weak.
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