Chapter 112 Paying the Public Grain
"An Zhiqing, do you want to eat a root to quench your thirst?" She handed him a root and asked with a smile.
An Zhiqiu took it without hesitation, smiling. He held the handlebars with one hand and ate the cucumber with the other. "Oh, it's cooled with well water? It's so cool and refreshing!"
Fang Hongye pursed her lips and let out a dimple. "Yes, it was water from the well, so it's cool but not icy. Rich families in the city have refrigerators, but my mother said that people like to stay cool in the summer, and the temperature of the well water is enough. Any colder will hurt your body."
In the time it took to say a few words, Fei Zheng also came trotting over with a package in her arms. Seeing a few people talking and laughing, she paused and came over with a chuckle: "Now is the time to pay public grain, and the road is very busy. Everyone who is not busy will join in the fun. I didn't expect you two brothers and sisters to follow too?"
An Zhixia patted the cart of watermelons and said, "Aren't these the watermelons from the wheat field? There aren't too many. We can go to the grain station to check the situation."
"We were given two small watermelons by the educated youth group. They are very juicy and sweet. We will definitely have no trouble selling them," Fei Zheng said with a smile.
"Fei Zhiqing, are you going to the post office? Put all your things on the car. It must be tiring to carry them," An Zhiqiu said, looking back. He was a man, and he worked with the bricks fired all day. In addition, the hot sun in June and July made him several shades darker, which made him look very masculine and white-toothed. He could be seen clearly at night.
Fei Zheng curled the corners of her lips, hummed lightly, and placed the package in the middle of the basket.
An Zhixia glanced at her brother. This Fei Zhiqing was thin-skinned. His family was poor. He squeezed out food from his teeth and mailed it back to his brothers and sisters so that they would not be hungry. Now the new rice and wheat had just come down, and they were just waiting to be distributed after paying the public grain. So she had to mail the remaining food back to deal with the emergency?
Her brother said it so casually, and it really made her worry.
"Sister Zheng cooks delicious food and works neatly and meticulously. Why don't you help out in the canteen at the brick factory?"
Fei Zheng's eyes lit up, and she asked in a low voice, "Can I go? A lot of people are watching the work in the cafeteria. If you let me go, I won't be embarrassed, right?"
"How could that be? As long as you do your job well, no one will dare to say anything. But you have to take care of the work of warehouse manager, so you can't do it full-time, so I have to trouble Sister Zheng to do odd jobs."
"It should be," Fei Zheng nodded slightly excitedly, "Zhixia, don't worry, I will definitely not embarrass you!" She was thinking in her heart, the brick factory is called odd jobs, and with everyone trying their best to get in, the pay must be good. If she arranges her time well and tries to help with three meals a day, she can get at least ten yuan a month, right? A hundred or eighty yuan a year, which is a quarter of the workers' salary.
Moreover, if she helps with cooking, she won't have to prepare three meals a day by herself. She can eat well and save food. In addition, with her work in the warehouse, she can not only mail more things to her family, but also save some money and food!
It seemed as if the burden on her was lifted at once, and Fei Zheng looked at the An siblings with eyes filled with gratitude.
The payment of public grain was done in teams, and each team wanted half of its members to join in the fun. Even though Hetang Village and the other three villages had an asphalt road leading to the chicken farm, so their speed was much faster than others, they were still stuck in traffic after just a few steps into the county town.
Everyone had anticipated how hot the grain delivery would be. They put down the food in their hands and gathered in groups of three or four to talk. Some children cried out that they were hungry, and the adults took out the steamed corn bread and multi-grain cakes that they had prepared the night before and used them to comfort the children.
Fang Hongye was temporarily called back to eat by the loud voice of the village head's wife, and Fei Zheng also took out the pancakes she had made, which was a rare luxury, and invited the An brothers and sisters to eat them.
"Fei Zhiqing, just eat your food. I prepared some dry food early in the morning," An Zhiqiu refused bluntly and took out food from the bag hanging on the handlebars.
It is now daybreak, the mountainside is tinged with beautiful blue and white, and the crisp sound of birds singing can be heard along with the cool breeze, which is really refreshing. My stomach also begins to wake up and protest.
Because An Zhixia had repeatedly emphasized last night that her brother should keep a low profile, the food An Zhiqiu prepared was pretty standard. The freshly steamed Erhe flour buns were cut in two pieces, and stuffed with a layer of cucumber slices, a layer of fried eggs, a layer of minced pork belly, and a layer of tomato slices. They were brushed with half a mouthful of hot sauce and flour sauce, and one bite would definitely make you even hungrier!
An Zhiqiu now hangs out with Fang Yuan all day, so naturally he also cooks for the four members of the Fang family. He took out a steamed bun and stuffed it into his sister's mouth, then he looked around with his bulging bag and two pots of rock sugar green bean soup, and when he saw Fang Yuan, he squeezed over.
Fang Yuan was pulling a cart. The two little sisters just sat up, rubbing their eyes. When they saw An Zhiqiu, they smiled softly and sweetly and called him Uncle Zhiqiu. Fang Lixi followed her father all the way with a small schoolbag.
An Zhiqiu rubbed Fang Lixi's short hair vigorously, and took out a steamed bun from his bag with his other hand, "Are you hungry? Eat quickly, it's still hot."
The two families usually get along well, today you give me something, tomorrow I give you something rare, so there is no need to be polite. The children said thank you obediently, biting the food like little wolf cubs, nodding and praising vaguely with bright eyes.
An Zhiqiu grinned, "As long as you like it, eat more and grow taller!"
Fang Yuan also took the steamed bun and ate it in big mouthfuls. He finished one in a few bites. He ate five in total before he picked up the mung bean soup that the children had drunk and gulped it down.
The two men chatted for a while, and An Zhiqiu took a handful of roasted bird eggs and stuffed them into the girl's hand as a snack. Fang Hongye finished her meal and brought over a few melons.
The sky gradually brightened, and as the sun came out, the heat began to shroud us.
As soon as the door of the grain station was opened, the crowd began to get agitated. Some of them could not help but run to the front to watch other teams paying their grain taxes, and from time to time they would run back to report to everyone.
The food from some villages was not properly packed and mixed with dirt, stones, and sand, and some food was too wet, so the staff rejected it. Some people's food was in good condition, but it was not heavy enough when weighed. However, everyone had long been accustomed to it, and they smiled and gritted their teeth to make up for it.
The team moved very slowly, and only three teams had passed by when the sun was high in the sky. Everyone hid under the shade of the trees and fanned themselves vigorously. An Zhixia had already taken two naps, and her face was flushed with heat.
An Zhiqiu handed her mung bean soup again and again with a distressed look on his face. "When the public grain is paid next year, you can stay at home and join in the fun once."
An Zhixia just smiled. In fact, it was the same everywhere. It was cooler when she first entered the house, but she would feel restless if she stayed there for too long. It would be better to sweat profusely under the shade of the tree.
After Fei Zheng finished mailing the things, she came over and sat under the tree to talk.
(End of this chapter)
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