The Siheyuan of the Young Educated Youth

Qi Feifei just smiled and didn't answer.

After everyone calmed down, he said, "Let's make big pancakes and yellow mushroom potato soup tonight. The mushrooms are smooth and fragrant and delicious, but we need to add some animal oil. Who can contribute some? It will be a little less delicious without oil."

It was a rare opportunity for everyone to enjoy a meal, and Baisha said proudly: "I'll pay!"

This big pot of food requires at least a large cooking spoon of oil, which was a lot for that era. Animal oil was a rare thing, and family members usually brought it from their hometowns out of fear that their children would suffer. A large spoonful would be saved for one's own consumption and it would last for a long time.

When the male educated youth saw that the female educated youth were offering both vegetables and oil, they looked at each other. Wang Bin, on behalf of everyone, said, "Then we male educated youth will offer cornmeal. Do you think that's okay?"

In fact, I was a little nervous. After all, male and female educated youths ate separately. Because the boys were so hungry, one of them could eat as much as three female educated youths. Food was expensive in those days. So they ate separately. Now it was normal if the female educated youths didn't bring them along.

Baisha is an outgoing girl, her family is well-off, and she is cheerful, so she said directly:

"Okay, that's it for this time. Next time there's a dish, you guys provide the oil and we provide the cornmeal. Everyone takes turns. But we all have to thank Xiao Qi. We all owe it to her."

Then he turned back and said to Qi Feifei seriously:

"Thank you, Xiao Qi, for your hard work."

Everyone also said in unison:

"Thank you, Xiao Qi, for your hard work."

"Thank you, Xiao Qi, for your hard work."

"Thank you, Xiao Qi, for your hard work."

……

Qi Feifei waved her hands quickly: "Don't thank me, I'm embarrassed! We will live together in the future and help each other. Help each other."

The key is mutuality. I give and you give, and everyone is happy.

"I'm hungry, is there any food?"

Baisha: "Yes, yes, yes, Zhang Chunxiang, where is the big pancake you left for her? Quick, bring it here, our great hero is hungry!"

Tong Xiaowen was a smart person who knew how to handle things. She brought over a half-basin of water and placed it on the low vat in the yard: "Sister, wash your hands and have dinner."

Qi Feifei looked at him and smiled, "Thank you."

In his previous life, Tong Xiaowen was a smart and capable person. He married the daughter of a supply and marketing cooperative director. After the reform, he opened his own small shop and engaged in retail and wholesale business. He lived a good life and was one of the first people to build a brick house and buy a car.

Qi Feifei sold a lot of mountain products to Pan Xiaowen in his previous life, and he had a good impression of Pan Xiaowen.

I was reborn as an old lady in her 60s, so I didn't mind being called sister. I just accepted it.

Qi Feifei handed Zhu Li the knife and sickle. These were things from the educated youth center and had to be returned after use. Zhu Li was usually responsible for cooking and keeping the things.

Ask Julie to put the mushrooms in a cool place in the house. It would be bad if they were left outside and wilted.

Then he washed his hands and face and went into the house to eat.

She got up early in the morning and went out to work. After all, she had just come to the countryside. She rarely had delicious food at home in the city. She also worked a lot and was skinny, with only a little meat on her body. Now she was tired, hungry and thirsty.

He scooped a jar of cold water from an enamel pot and started eating it with the pancakes and pickled cucumbers.

The female educated youth were given a big pancake for each meal. She went to pick mushrooms for everyone, so everyone took special care of her and left two for her.

Now is the slack season for farmers, and there is not much farm work to do, just weeding in public vegetable gardens, fermenting hemp, fermenting fertilizer, and cutting vegetables for pigs. Some fields are too dry, so we just cut the grass for them. There is not much work to do, and the educated youth can choose not to do it, but most of them do not. Some have asked for leave to return to the city.

There are also many people who don't go back. Although this is the countryside and the living and eating conditions are poor, there are green mountains and clear waters, fresh air, and the summer is not hot. They save their vacation time and go back in winter for the New Year. It is really cold here in winter, and people in Guanli can't adapt to it.

So, while Qi Feifei was eating, the others were chatting, washing clothes, or crocheting things... no one went to work.

After finishing her meal, Qi Feifei went to the yard to unpack the bundle of willow branches and hung them up to dry in a place where few people walked. The willow branches had to be dried before they could be used to make baskets.

After she was done, she said goodbye to everyone, and came back at three in the afternoon to cook, then left with a sickle and a stick.

She has never liked chatting idly in both of her lives. It cannot be said that she doesn't like it, but it should be said that she has not had the opportunity to develop this interest.

She didn't have time in her previous life. When she was in the city, she had to do housework after school. From the age of seven, she cooked, washed clothes, and swept the floor... She did all the work she could. After going to the countryside, she had to do all kinds of work. After getting married, she has been working hard to make money.

Qi Feifei strode out of the village and walked into the mountains along the stream.

At the entrance of the other side of the village, under the big willow tree, a group of women sat on a row of smooth stones, while others sat on small stools brought from home. Some took off one of their shoes and sat on them for convenience...

A group of old and young women, some mending shoe soles, some coaxing children, some fanning themselves, and some eating sweet sticks...

The only thing in common is "chatting", from the landlord throwing an egg, Old Wang scolding all morning, to Gousheng running and falling, and getting beaten up, from the fight between the Li couple to the village chief taking back a few more educated youths... trivial matters, big and small, from the first person coming to the last person leaving, it will never be dull.

Everyone was chatting animatedly when a woman in her thirties came over from the road outside the village. Her pants were half wet, and her shoes were also wet. She was wearing an iron-gray top and dark blue pants. Her hair was a little messy, her face was full of anger, and she was carrying a large earthen basket.

Before he even reached the crowd, he started cursing: "I don't know which slut has such quick hands. I went to see the mushrooms two days ago, and it happened to rain a little last night. I thought today would be a good day to pick some, so I went to pick some after breakfast. Who knew, when I got there, I saw that they were all picked by that slut. Look, I've been searching for a long time and I only picked the bottom of the basket. There's such a big area, how could she not be stuffed to death? She picked them all! I'm so mad. I even specially took a big earthen basket, but I didn't pick any chicken feathers. I had to carry it back and forth. I was so tired!" While cursing, he handed the earthen basket forward for everyone to see.

An old lady asked, "Then why didn't you look around? You came all this way for nothing."

The woman said, "That's right. Otherwise I'd be so angry and I wouldn't know who that xx was." She spat fiercely, "Bah! I go there every year to pick them. They are so thick and good. I pick them all in pieces. That damned one made me walk a long way, my pants and shoes were all wet, and I searched around for a long time, but I only picked a basketful of them. It's enough to fill her up."

A young wife said, "Sister-in-law Zheng, that wild animal has no owner. Whoever picks it belongs to it. Is it worth getting so angry?"

Zheng Er's wife: "Why aren't you angry? You're watching, aren't you angry if someone else snatches it away? Let me know who did it, I'll scold her to death!"

An aunt said, "You don't have to be angry. This morning, a new educated youth from the educated youth point picked a basket of mushrooms. But she has only been here for two days and doesn't know where it is. If she picked them, it was purely by chance. You should be forgiven. Don't be angry."

Zheng Er's wife: "She is a new educated youth, how can she walk so far to pick mushrooms? And she is so accurate. If they go to pick mushrooms by themselves, they won't be back at noon. It must be that someone is helping her pick mushrooms. She is really good at hooking up. Someone is helping her right after she arrives. Shame on you."

The young wife said: "Don't talk nonsense. When she came back, many of us saw her. She was alone, carrying willow branches and a basket, and walking very fast. You can tell she is a capable worker. Even if you are angry, you can't throw dirty water on the girl."

Zheng Er's wife knew she was wrong, but she didn't want to admit her mistake:

"I can scold you if I want to. What does it have to do with you? Just wait and see. She is not a good person. I'm just saying this. Just wait and see."

As he spoke, he lifted the earthen basket up with all his strength and walked away with his neck stiffened.

Everyone was speechless.

"What kind of person is this! Whoever picks the mushrooms owns them. Who would see it and not pick them and leave them for you? This Zheng Er's wife is really unreasonable." The young daughter-in-law curled her lips.

Aunt: "Don't talk about it, that year..."

……

Zheng Er's wife walked back and cursed at the entrance of the village. She felt better, but she was still angry and cursed under her breath. She thought bitterly, "If I get the chance, I won't let you go, you little bitch."