The next day, Xu Ning got up at dawn. He saw that there was not much water in the jar, so he took a bucket and a shoulder pole and walked towards the well. On the way, he happened to meet Qin Hongbin who was also going to fetch water. The two of them walked towards the well while talking. Qin Hongbin said, "I heard from the village chief that five more educated youths are coming to Yushu Village today. There are only two rooms in total, and they will be full again."
Xu Ning thought, there are more than five, there will be many more in a month.
When Xu Ning was almost at the well, he looked up and saw his savior carrying water. He was about to say hello, but before he could say anything, the savior passed by him carrying the water. Xu Ning was stunned for a moment. Qin Hongbin said, "Xu Zhiqing, you go first." Xu Ning came to his senses and said, "You go first, you go first, I'm not in a hurry."
When Xu Ning was carrying water to the cowshed, she saw Old Chen coming out with a bullock cart. Her lifesaver was sweeping the yard. Old Chen saw her and said, "Xu Zhiqing, fetch some water!" Xu Ning came to her senses and said, "Grandpa Chen, are you going to the county town so early today?"
Old Chen replied, "We have to go to the county town early today, and when we come back we have to go to the village to pick up the educated youth." After saying that, Old Chen drove the ox cart away. Xu Ning also carried water on his back and walked home. As he walked, he sighed. It seemed that he could not repay the favor for the time being. He would talk about it after the original owner's parents arrived!
After dinner, Xu Ning and Xu An went to work. Xu Ning's job today was to clean the drying platform with a few aunts and sisters. Tomorrow they would start harvesting beans and sorghum. Today they had to clean up everything that needed to be cleaned up. Her heroic deeds of killing a wild boar yesterday had spread throughout the entire Yushu Village. Today, everyone, whether adults or children, would ask her, "Xu Zhiqing, did you really kill the wild boar?"
Jianmin from Aunt Dashuan's family ran to her house early in the morning and asked, "Xu Zhiqing, how did you kill the wild boar? Which martial arts did you use? Can you teach me?"
Xu Ning...
Finally, she pestered him so much that he could not do anything about it. He just perfunctorily told him Shaolin Kung Fu.
Jianmin asked her again, "Xu Zhiqing, can you split bricks with your hands? Do you know the Iron Head Kung Fu? Did you kill the wild boar with just one finger?
Xu Ning...can we still have a good chat?
Xu An almost rolled on the ground laughing.
Xu Ning was annoyed by the questions, so she put on a sullen face, squinted her eyes, and looked at people with squinted eyes. In addition, her hairstyle was not much longer than a flat head, which made her look like a little thorn, and she looked more like someone who could kill a wild boar. Now her ears were finally quiet.
On his way home from work, Xu Ning saw Xu An and a few other kids who were cutting grass for pigs with him. They surrounded him and asked, "How did your sister kill the wild boar?" Xu Ning heard a child ask him, "Xu An, is it true that Jianmin said your sister knows Shaolin Kung Fu? Do you know it? Did your sister teach you? Does your sister still accept apprentices?"
Xu Ning...thought, will it take many years? Is she no longer in Yushu Village? There is also her legend in Yushu Village.
Xu Ning walked up to the children and said, "I don't accept any apprentices." Then he took Xu An and ran away.
After the siblings got home, they looked at each other and laughed. Xu Ning reminded Xu An, "Don't let it slip, or you'll cause trouble for your benefactor." Xu An nodded heavily and said, "Sister, I know, I won't tell."
Xu Ning was cooking while Xu An went to turn over the dried wild vegetables. Just as the brother and sister finished their meal, they heard noisy conversations coming from the Youth League compound in front of them. They ignored them, washed the dishes and went to rest as they had to go to work in the afternoon.
After work in the afternoon, Xu Ning did not go out. She planned to steam some buns. The autumn harvest would start tomorrow, and it would be late to get off work. She would have to work until dark before she could come back. Xu An collected the dried wild vegetables and put the ones that were not yet dry in the frame to continue drying tomorrow. During this period of time, they have dried three large bags of wild vegetables. Together with the ones that have been dug in the past few days and have not been dried yet, it is enough for several people to eat in winter.
Xu An asked Xu Ning, "Sister, are we still digging wild vegetables?"
Xu Ning said, "We won't dig anymore. We don't have time to go up the mountain for the autumn harvest. When the autumn harvest is over, the hazelnuts, pine nuts and chestnuts on the mountain will be ripe. Then we can go up the mountain a few more times to pick more to eat in the winter. We also need to pick up some firewood."
Xu Ning first put the wild vegetables collected by Xu An in the cabinet in Xu An's room. There were too many jars and cans in the kitchen, so the dried vegetables were put in his room. The room where Xu An slept was a little bigger than hers. Thinking that Xu Yang and Xu Mo could sleep here in the future, the food was put in the room where she slept, and then the food in the space could be added into it.
Xu Ning steamed a pot of steamed buns and a pot of dumplings in the evening. The dumplings were made of dried beans and lard. There was some lard left from boiling oil a few days ago, so Xu Ning took out a bowl of it from the space. The lard in the space was still from the ten pigs boiled before the time travel, so there were two full basins. Every time Xu Ning boiled lard, he would take some out and mix it in.
After salting the piece of wild boar meat, Xu An said, "Sister, do you want to give some meat to our benefactor uncle?"
Xu Ning said, "Don't send him off yet. There are other people in the cowshed. We shouldn't rush over when we don't know what kind of person he is. If we cause trouble to our benefactor again, we will be repaying kindness with enmity."
Xu An said, "Sister, Grandpa Qi is a very good person. He and Uncle Benefactor share a pot. Once, I was fishing by the stream, and the aunt in the cowshed came down from the mountain carrying a bundle of firewood. The lazy people in the village wanted to steal it, but Grandpa Qi beat them away with a bull whip.
Xu Ning thought for a while and said, "Then send some buns and steamed buns over first." Then he took out ten buns and ten steamed buns and sent them over.
The two of them went there after dinner. They went too early for fear of running into villagers coming down from the mountain and educated youth going to fetch water.
The two men walked to the cowshed, and Xu Ning said to Grandpa Qi who opened the door, "Grandpa Qi, these are the steamed buns and dumplings I made. I'll bring some over to you," and then he took a look inside.
Yesterday, the benefactor uncle came back with wild boar blood on his body. Grandpa Qi already knew about it and did not let the two in. He took the steamed buns and dumplings and said to the siblings, "Thank you Xu Zhiqing and Xiao An. The three of us haven't eaten yet. Let's try Xu Zhiqing's cooking later." Xu Ning understood that Grandpa Qi already knew what happened on the mountain yesterday.
After returning from the cowshed, Xu Ning sat on the kang to sew clothes while Xu An was writing there. Xu Ning planned to send him to school after the autumn harvest. Xu An was already in the third grade before going to the countryside. He had to make up for it during this period. It happened that he would be in the fourth grade after the autumn harvest. The original owner was only in the first grade before going to the countryside. However, Xu Ning did not plan to study. She had nothing to do, so she just read books at home. Anyway, she had the foundation in her previous life. As long as she did not lose the knowledge in the next few years, she should have no problem with the college entrance examination.
By the time Xu Ning had finished sewing one, Xu An had gone back to sleep. He took the garment in his hand and admired it. It was pretty good. Xu Ning tried it on himself. It was long and big. In the original owner's memory, the original owner's father was about 1.75 meters tall, so this one should be suitable for him. Xu Ning deliberately made it big and baggy. He would wear a sweater inside and a thick cotton coat, and this one would be worn outside as a coverall. It would also be easy to wash when it got dirty. Xu Ning planned to make a few more to change into, and also prepare some clothes for his benefactor.
Thinking of this, she immediately locked the door and went to the space to look for the cloth she bought to see which kind was suitable for making beggar clothes. Xu Ning found a dark gray cloth that was bitten by mice. She bought two pieces of this cloth at that time. The one that was placed at the bottom was bitten by mice. The boss took it out and threw it away. After Xu Ning finished loading the goods, she saw the cloth at the door and picked it up and put it on the car.
Xu Ning took it out from the space and cut it first. When the clothes were finished, he would patch the holes. He planned to cut it when he was ready.
Xu Ning first spread out the cloth, marked the size and started cutting. He cut four pieces for adults and two for children before putting the cloth away. He would sew a few stitches if he had time.
When Xu Ning woke up the next morning, Xu An had already prepared the meal, including cooked rice porridge and steamed buns. The brother and sister ate their meal and went to work.
While harvesting rice, Xu Ning saw that among the people working with Li Fengjiao and Lin Qiuhua, there was a girl wearing a white shirt and a bun. Her bun was very fluffy, which was a very popular way of tying hair in later generations. She should be the heroine. There were two unfamiliar girls with them. One had the student hairstyle that was very popular nowadays, and the other had two braids. Xu Ning thought that the five educated youth who came this time should be three girls and two boys.
The autumn harvest is coming to an end amid people's enthusiastic harvesting. The last bit of corn has been stored in the warehouse today. Xu Ning was so tired at the beginning that he couldn't straighten his back and fell asleep as soon as he lay on the kang. Now he can still pick up his clothes and sew a few stitches at night.
Xu An took over the cooking job since the autumn harvest. His job was not easy. After cutting grass for the pigs every day, he had to go to the fields to pick up the food that had fallen after working. The little bit of meat he had just grown some time ago has now all fallen off.
The weather was getting colder, and the brother and sister had already put on the thin cotton-padded clothes they brought from home when they went to the countryside. They got off work early today, and planned to go to the mountain. On the way to Daqingshan, they saw people in the village also walking up the mountain with baskets on their backs. The hazelnuts, chestnuts, and pine nuts in the mountains were all ripe, so they could pick some of these as snacks for the children in the winter and save a lot of food.
So every year after the autumn harvest, adults and children would carry backpacks and go up the mountain. The brother and sister walked to the door of the cowshed and looked inside, and saw their benefactor couple feeding the cows. The two of them worked even harder during the autumn harvest. They worked with everyone during the work, and after work they had to feed the cows and clean the cowshed. Their rations were also less than others. They were as thin as a bamboo pole. When they went to the mountains to collect firewood and pick wild vegetables, they had to avoid the villagers, not to mention picking these things that could be eaten. Although people nowadays are very simple, that did not harm their interests. Food is so precious nowadays, and all these picked up are food.
In fact, Yushu Village and the entire Qianjin Brigade are considered good. I heard that in some places, people have to work during the day and study and write self-criticisms at night. The captain of the Qianjin Brigade is a retired soldier. He is not allowed to do those tricks and is only paid centimeters for work.
When the brother and sister arrived at the mountain, there were already quite a few people there. They found a place with few people, put down their backpacks and started picking up things. When the basket was full, Xu Ning saw that it was still early and there were still people everywhere on the mountain, so she asked Xu An to continue picking things and she would send the basket back first. When the two of them went back with a basket each, there were basically no people on the mountain and it was almost dark. When they reached the foot of the mountain, they saw their benefactor uncle carrying a large backpack on his back and preparing to go up the mountain. Xu Ning knew that he was going to pick up some things while there were no people on the mountain.
Seeing that he was about to go up the mountain, Xu Ning quickly handed him the backpack and said, "Uncle, this is for you. I picked a lot today. It's getting dark now, and it's too dangerous to go up the mountain."
The middle-aged man looked at the brother and sister and said with a smile, "It's okay, you can go back soon!" After that, he strode up the mountain. The brother and sister looked at his back as he strode up the mountain, and they felt very upset. Even the three large baskets of chestnuts and pine nuts they harvested today could not make them happy.
After returning home, Suning went to cook. Su An cleaned out the baskets of things she had picked up from the mountain and would take them outside to dry and put away tomorrow. After dinner, Suning sat on the kang to sew clothes. She had already made five outer coats in the past few days, and also made Xu Mo's cotton-padded clothes and trousers. She also took out four sets of cotton-padded clothes and trousers from the space, intending to give one set to each of the original owner's parents when they came, and keep the other two sets to give to the savior when she finds an opportunity.
She really didn't know how to make shoes. There were work shoes, single shoes and cotton shoes in the space, but it was not convenient to take them out now. Xu Ning planned to take out a few pairs when she went into the city. A few days ago, she took cotton and cloth and asked Aunt Dashuan to make two pairs of cotton shoes for her and Xu An respectively, and gave her a piece of cloth as a thank you gift.
Su An was packing up some mushrooms that she had picked from the mountain today. The weather was cold, and there were few mushrooms on the mountain. However, they had picked a lot of them some time ago and dried them in the cupboard. There was a knock on the door, and the brother and sister looked at each other. Since they moved in, no one had come to visit, which was exactly what Su Ning hoped for. Only Su An's little friend Jianmin came to play a few times during the day.
Suning thought that the people who came here should be from the educated youth center. This place is quite far from the village and close to Daqing Mountain. No one from the village would come here at night. Thinking of this, Suning asked, "Who is it?" At this time, Sun Hao's voice sounded outside the door, "Xu Zhiqing, are you asleep? We want to ask you something,"
The brother and sister came out and saw that they were three male educated youth, so they invited them into the house. Because the place was small and there was no main room, they had to sit in the kitchen. Xu An took three bowls and poured a bowl of water for each of them.
The three of them came to inquire about the issue of building a house. They wanted to move out. Sun Hao said, "I heard from the village head and the accountant today that another group of educated youth will come in a few days. There are already ten people in the educated youth courtyard, but there are only two rooms. I don't know how crowded it will be when a few more come. Although the kang in the educated youth courtyard is big and can accommodate everyone, it will be hard to rest if seven or eight people lie on it. So the three of us decided to build a separate room in the educated youth courtyard. Today I just want to ask you, how much did you spend on this house?" What the three of them didn't say was that not only could they not rest well, but they also made a lot of noise when eating. It would be even more chaotic if a few more people came.
Xu Ning told them how much money he spent on building the house, and the three of them thought they could make up the money.
After they had found out, they planned to go to the village chief to ask. Ge Hongbin asked Sun Hao and the others, "Do you think the village chief will agree?" Sun Hao said, "Let's go to the village chief's house and ask first."
After sending the few people away, the brother and sister went back to the house. Xu An asked Xu Ning, "Sister, do you think the village chief should let them build a house?" Xu Ning said to him, "Why doesn't the village chief agree? The educated youth will be here in a few days, and there will be too many people to live in. If they don't build houses themselves, the village will have to find a way to find places for them to live. A few years ago, there was a conflict when the educated youth stayed in villagers' homes, and the matter was reported to the township. Now the villagers are definitely not happy with the educated youth living in their homes, so the village will have to build houses for them, and the village will have to spend money to build houses. If the educated youth ask to build them themselves, the village chief will of course be happy to do so."
Xu An added, "Why do they have to spend their own money to build a house? Can't they just wait for the village to build one?"
Xu Ning asked him, "Do you think we are better off now or when we were sent to work as educated youth?"
Xu An said, "Of course it's better now."
Xu Ning told him, "Because this is a house we built with our own money, it belongs to us. We can let whoever we want live here and whoever we want come here. We can kick them out if they are not welcome. But if it is a house built by the village, then we can only follow the village's arrangements."
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