Framed at the beginning: Female educated youth forced to marry disabled military officer

Xiao Xiangdong was cleaning up the mess in the kitchen. Meng Xiaoman walked in and wanted to help, but was refused, "No, I'll be fine soon. Don't get your hands dirty.".

Seeing that he couldn't help much, Meng Xiaoman washed a vegetable basin, went to the main room, peeled the watermelon peel, and peeled off the outer skin and red flesh of the leftover watermelon, leaving only the green and hard part.

This part of the watermelon rind can be used for cooking, either cold or stir-fried. It is very refreshing to eat in summer.

The useless ones were thrown into the chicken coop and fed to the chickens and ducks.

Xiao Xiangdong finished cleaning the kitchen and cooked the half-cooked mung bean soup. Boil the mung bean soup, put it in a jar, soak it in the well water, and take it out when it's time to drink. Sugar is added to the soup, which makes it taste cold, sweet, and very refreshing.

It was hot and I had no appetite. Meng Xiaoman fried a watermelon rind and mixed a tomato. She felt that these two dishes were a bit too bland, so she fried an egg with pepper.

The staple food is steamed multigrain steamed buns. Recently, there is no physical work to do, so the staple food has been changed from rice and corn flour steamed buns to multigrain rice and multigrain steamed buns.

The grains in the space taste much better than those shared in the team, and Meng Xiaoman mixed in some white flour, so it tastes pretty good.

After lunch, Xiao Xiangdong washed the pots and dishes, while Meng Xiaoman picked a watermelon and went to Sister Fang's house.

Meng Xiaoman lives in the back of the village and has few neighbors. She is not familiar with the people in the village and does not like to visit. The only two families she is familiar with are Sister Fang and Zhang Quanliang.

"Xiaoman, why are you here? Come in quickly."

When Meng Xiaoman went there, Sister Fang was drying out bedding and winter cotton clothes and trousers. The straw mat in the yard was full of things.

"I see you don't grow watermelons at home, so I'll give you a melon to eat." Meng Xiaoman said as he walked.

Grandma Zhou was weaving a straw basket in the main room. She saw Meng Xiaoman coming and hurriedly asked her to sit down. Sister Fang's son sat next to grandma and handed her bamboo strips.

"Oh, it's so hot. You can just keep the watermelon for yourself and bring it to us."

"I still have it at home. By the way, Sister Fang, I heard that the water wells in the village have limited water. If your water is not enough, you can go to my house to get water."

Fortunately, Xiao Xiangdong had someone dig the well down a few meters, and now there is a lot of water in it, enough for them.

Sister Fang's family does not have a well, so her daily drinking water is picked up from the village or the breeding place, and her washing is done in a nearby stream. Now the creek has dried up, the water supply in the breeding area is also tight, and the water in the village is even more limited.

Sister Fang is a strong person. Meng Xiaoman was afraid that she would be embarrassed to go to her home to fetch water, so she came to tell her.

"Okay, but is there enough water in your well? Don't give up on yourself just to help us."

"Enough."

The reason why Meng Xiaoman likes to associate with Sister Fang's family is that apart from the fact that Sister Fang and Grandma Zhou are open-minded and sensible, another thing is that they attach great importance to courtesy. If you give them something, you will never let you go back empty-handed.

Sometimes it was some side dishes, sometimes it was some dry goods. This time, Sister Fang gave her half a catty of dried fish.

"Salt is added when the fish is dried. Later, you can lightly fry it in oil or deep-fry it, and then you can eat it directly." Sister Fang walked her to the door and instructed.

These fish were caught by Sister Fang in the creek. The fish in the creek are very small and have many spines, so most people in the village don't eat them. But Sister Fang didn't mind it. After work, she went to get some when she had nothing to do. Clean the fish out, add some salt, dry it in the sun, and store it. It can be used as a side dish or as a snack for the children.

Not long after Meng Xiaoman went out, someone came to the house.

This was Zhang Mancang's first visit to Xiao Xiangdong's house. The large courtyard was paved with a cobblestone road more than half a meter wide, leading from the courtyard gate to the main room, with a branch road extending out of each of the two side rooms. There is a large vegetable field on the roadside, full of green peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans and other side vegetables. Even the walls are planted with gourds, loofahs and pumpkins.

A large area of ​​lush greenery, which is completely different from the wilted vegetables with yellowing leaves in his house.

At the corner of the yard, a livestock pen was set up. When someone came, the chickens and ducks inside were clucking and quacking.

Zhang Mancang scanned the yard, cast his eyes on the well beside the vegetable garden, and said with envy:

"You are wise and dug a well in the yard early. No wonder the drought is like this. The vegetables in the yard are still growing so watery."

Drilling a well is a big project, it is expensive and laborious, and most people are not willing to spend this money. Moreover, there are rivers and streams not far outside the village, which is very convenient for washing. As for drinking water, there are two public wells in the village. As long as it is not Xiao Xiangdong lived so far away, it was quite convenient to fetch water.

Xiao Xiangdong didn't want to continue this topic, so he took two steps forward, blocking his gaze, "It's just enough for our family. The well was drilled relatively shallow, and the water level has dropped rapidly recently.".

The drought is not so bad that there is no water to drink. If it really comes to that point, people will do anything to survive. Xiao Xiangdong is not afraid of thieves stealing, but he is afraid that thieves will miss him.

Xiao Xiangdong is half a head taller than Zhang Mancang. He has a tall and strong figure. In addition, he has exercised a lot recently, and his muscles are full of explosive power. This is especially obvious under summer clothes. To suddenly stand in front of him and look down at him is very oppressive. .

Zhang Mancang suddenly became a little frightened, took two steps back and distanced himself from him, "Well, indeed, the wells in the village are also the same, so the party secretary decided to organize some people to go to the mountains to find water sources in case everyone loses water later."

Xiao Xiangdong nodded, expressing understanding, "Do you all want to go?".

"No," Zhang Mancang shook his head, "The party secretary said that one from each family is enough. However, if your family has enough water, you don't have to go. However, if you find a water source later, your family cannot use it." This is for the sake of fairness. For the sake of safety.

"I go."

"Okay, let's meet in the open space at the end of the village later."

Meng Xiaoman didn't stay at Sister Fang's house for long. Xiao Xiangdong waited for a while. When he saw her coming back, he told her about going up the mountain to find water, then took the straw hat and sickle and went out.

Just after walking a few dozen meters, he heard Meng Xiaoman calling him, "Xiao Xiangdong, wait.".

Xiao Xiangdong stopped and took a few steps back to greet her. Meng Xiaoman walked up to him and glared at him, "I forgot to bring water again." Xiao Xiangdong showed her a flattering smile and took the kettle, "Thank you. , I will remember it next time."

Meng Xiaoman placed the kettle heavily in his hand, and said with a bit of coquettishness in her tone: "If you don't remember next time, I won't give it to you, it will kill you." As he said that, he turned around and walked quickly home.

Xiao Xiangdong looked at her slender figure and showed a bright smile.