Chapter 125 Arrangement
After dinner, Xia Zhizhi said, "Let's call your family and let them know you're safe so they don't worry."
Cheng Rong remained silent. After she made the call, her parents would definitely scold her and ask her to go back immediately, but she didn't want to go back.
He lowered his head and folded his hands. After a moment of stalemate, he secretly raised his head and glanced at Xia Zhizhi's expression.
Xia Zhizhi had already wrapped her face with a scarf, so how could Cheng Rong see anything?
Cheng Rong said hesitantly, "I don't want to call my parents, because they will scold me. Can I just follow you? Although I have no money now, I can work for you. I can also go to the countryside to do construction like you and support myself."
Xia Zhizhi didn't try to persuade her. People in their rebellious period can't be persuaded. Just go along with her and it will be over. Could it be that she couldn't handle a little girl? She nodded and said, "It's great that you have this idea. Okay, let's go back."
Cheng Rong breathed a sigh of relief. She was also afraid that Xia Zhizhi would think she had done something wrong and scold her. After all, she was helpless and had no money...
When they passed by the commune, Xia Zhizhi took out her food coupons and money and handed them to her, saying, "Go to the canteen and buy some buns for us to take back to eat in the evening. Then wait for me in the canteen for a while. I have something to do."
Cheng Rong took the money and said obediently, "Okay, I'll wait for you here. Come find me when you're done."
Xia Zhizhi went to the commune to make a phone call to a newspaper in Shanghai.
"Hello comrade, please look for editor Huang Zhigao."
"Editor Huang, it's me, the ambitious young man Xia Zhizhi. I have submitted my articles many times, and you have responded to me seriously every time. You have helped me a lot, and I am very grateful."
"You know, I'm working in the Northeast of my country. There's a lot of produce here. Some time ago, I went up to the mountains with other educated youth and picked a lot of mountain products. I want to send you some."
"I am calling you this time just to ask for your contact information. This is my personal way of expressing my gratitude to you. You are both my teacher and friend in my heart. This is all from my heart. Please do not refuse."
"Okay, okay, I'll take note. By the way, Editor Huang, there's one more thing I'd like to ask you for help with. Do you know the phone number of the Baoshan Road Sub-district Office?"
"What a coincidence that your Yue family lives there. OK, tell me and I'll write it down."
Xia Zhizhi wrote down the phone number and called: "Hello comrade, I have something important to tell Cheng Rong's family. Yes, Cheng Rong who lives at No. XX, XX Road. Please pass the message on to her. I will call her again at 12 noon tomorrow. Okay, thank you."
When she went to find Cheng Rong, Cheng Rong was holding a bag of packaged buns, looking around in the cafeteria, peeking her head in, curious about everything, with a not-so-wise light flashing in her little eyes.
Seeing her, Cheng Rong's eyes lit up and she trotted over.
When we rode back to the educated youth site, it was completely dark.
Knowing that Xia Zhizhi had gone out to pick someone up today, Han Youran and Jiang Xiurong specially cooked dinner a little later. When they got home, dinner was just ready.
After dinner, Xia Zhizhi brought a set of toiletries for Cheng Rong, found a pair of underwear that she had never worn before, and then instructed Cheng Rong to light the stove.
"There are many things to learn when you go to the countryside. Let's start with the stove. I believe you can adapt quickly, right?"
Cheng Rong nodded seriously: "I will study hard!"
Under her instruction, Cheng Rong struggled to light the stove. After the water was heated, the fireplace also heated up, and the temperature in the room rose. Xia Zhizhi asked her to take a shower and tidy herself up.
After she finished her bath and washed her clothes, Xia Zhizhi pointed at the empty water tank and said, "Rongrong, remember to fetch water and fill it up tomorrow."
Cheng Rong nodded, and Xia Zhizhi took her to Jiang Xiurong's room: "You sleep here."
She doesn't want to sleep with others unless she has to.
I took out a bag of preserved fruits to bribe them, and I had already made arrangements with them.
Cheng Rong held her back: "Can't I sleep with you?"
"I sleepwalk at night, you can't sleep well with me, and we have to live together when we go to the countryside to work in the production team, you just need to get used to it." She patted Cheng Rong's shoulder: "It's just a little bit of trouble, I believe you can overcome it!"
"Okay then..." Cheng Rong watched her go back to the house reluctantly, then climbed onto the kang without thinking about anything else. She had hardly slept during those days on the train and was already sleepy and tired. She fell asleep almost immediately after lying on the warm kang.
I slept until the next day when I was woken up by the urge to pee.
She had just arrived and had no experience. She didn't know that she should put her clothes on the kang to keep warm. She threw the cool clothes on herself and shivered with cold.
It snowed all night last night and didn't stop until morning. A thick layer of snow accumulated on the ground. Looking around, it was all white.
Cheng Rong stared at the snow scene in a daze for a while, then screamed softly, ran around the yard happily twice before going to the toilet.
The dry toilet at the educated youth center was at the back of the yard. Xia Zhizhi had taken her there last night. It was dark then, and she was just careful not to fall into the pit, and didn't pay much attention to anything else. Now, when she looked at the toilet, she had no choice but to go ahead and fix it.
Han Youran and Jiang Xiurong were making breakfast in the kitchen. Cheng Rong played in the snow for a while and then went to Xia Zhizhi's room to find her.
Xia Zhizhi was still lying on the kang. Seeing her coming over, she immediately assigned her a task before she could say anything: "You got up early, not bad. Today you will learn to fetch water. The bucket is in the kitchen. The well is not far away. Walk east from the educated youth site. It is less than half a mile away. After fetching water, you must cover the well, otherwise the well will freeze and you will be scolded. Fetch less each time and don't spill it on yourself. You only have one set of cotton clothes. If it gets wet, you will have nothing to wear."
He looked at the pair of leather shoes on Cheng Rong's feet, estimated the size, pretended to rummage through the box, and took out a pair of rubber-soled cotton shoes and two pairs of thick socks for her: "Wear these, and be careful not to get your shoes wet, otherwise you will get frostbite on your feet."
Usually, Cui Zijin was the one who carried water. Seeing a little girl like her going to fetch water, Cui Zijin wanted to step forward and take over. However, when he heard Cheng Rong say that it was Xia Zhizhi who arranged it, he immediately shut up.
Seeing that Cheng Rong didn't know the way, he took her to the well and showed her how to draw water.
Water was carried in a wooden bucket, which was quite heavy. Cheng Rong had never done much at home, so she could only carry half a bucket each time. It took her five or six trips back and forth to fill up the small water tank in Xia Zhizhi's room.
Xia Zhizhi praised her: "Not bad, not bad, Rongrong is very good, and has learned very well. There is hot water in the kettle, pour it out and wash up, then light the stove and fill two more kettles with boiling water."
By the time Cheng Rong finished boiling the water, breakfast was ready. It was porridge with salted vegetables and the buns they brought back last night.
After breakfast, Xia Zhizhi arranged for Cheng Rong to chop firewood, and lied to her, "Everyone who goes to the countryside must learn how to chop firewood. If you don't chop it, it will be useless. You chop the firewood and put it in the basket to use for cooking in the evening."
Cui Zijin listened on the side without saying much. He could only demonstrate and remind Cheng Rong not to hurt herself.
Cheng Rong turned back to chopping wood. Fortunately, these had been roughly processed by Tang Mingli and Cui Zijin. If it were whole wooden stakes, she would not be able to chop them even if she pressed hard on the roots.
While Cheng Rong was taking a shower yesterday, Xia Zhizhi took the opportunity to greet Han Youran and Jiang Xiurong, and lied to them that the girl's parents had asked her to train the girl, so the two heroines didn't say anything when they saw that she had made Cheng Rong, a little girl, run around in circles.