Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Boiled Greens and Black Flatbread

Xu Qinghuan was taken aback when she received the receipt; she didn’t expect Jiang Xingye’s handwriting to be so beautiful, with strokes strong and artistic, brimming with character.

She carefully folded the receipt and, when putting it into her pocket, sneakily placed it in the study of Silver Light Hall’s space.

It was handwritten by a future leader himself; it might fetch a sky-high price at a Sotheby’s auction.

Jiang Xingye also handed the key over to Xu Qinghuan, “The house is tidied up, you can move in!”

After saying this, he turned around and entered his mud-brick house.

The brigade leader planned to have her sons tidy the inside and outside, but peering through the door crack, the courtyard was cleanly sorted out. When did her nephew do that?

Really surprising.

However, it’s a good thing that he was finally willing to step into this yard.

The brigade leader didn’t stay long, reminding Xu Qinghuan to pay attention to safety while living here, ensure to lock doors and windows, and have a thorough check tomorrow; for any required repairs, inform her and she’ll arrange for people to refurbish.

After expressing her gratitude, Xu Qinghuan pulled Yu Xiaomin and opened the door to take a tour of the house she will live in.

Behind the high walls was a garden about half an acre; in the southern corner, a grape tree was afflicted by weeds and pests, not growing well but still bearing some fruit.

Tall weeds were entirely cleared, piled up in a spot, dried under the sun for a day, and when the moisture evaporates, they can be used to kindle fires.

In the northeast corner was a hand-pumped well; two large water tanks were placed under the canopy, usable for water and fire prevention.

Upon entering, two stoves were to the left and right; on top lay two pots, with lids provided.

Against the north wall was a strip table, an eight immortals table, and two chairs neatly arranged; the room layouts were identical, beds were set up both north and south, against the east wall of the room stood a reclining cabinet, and each bed held a bed piano.

Against the west wall was a connected cabinet, in front of it a long bench, adjacent to a reclining cabinet; the northern bed was slightly narrower, while a bed table was atop the southern bed.

Behind stretched out two rooms; a stone-slab ground indicated the setup for bathing, whereas the other room served as storage and could be a guest room, with a bed against the south wall, upon which lay a bed piano and a small bed table.

Further back was about an acre-wide vegetable garden, a chicken coop in the southwest corner.

The courtyard wall, similarly constructed with stones, stood two to three meters high, lined with thorny greenery and faintly visible sharpened bamboo sticks.

No doubt about the security.

Xu Qinghuan felt one yuan a month was too little.

And besides, with such a brick-tiled house, why would Jiang Xingye stay in a mud-brick house?

It was clear it involved future leader’s privacy; Xu Qinghuan naturally wouldn’t foolishly inquire.

“Xiaomin, do you want to move in and live with us?” Xu Qinghuan still asked.

Yu Xiaomin shook her head, “No, if all three of us move out, we’d be clueless if anything happens at the educated youth spot; besides, it’s close by, just a few steps walk, quite convenient.”

Xu Qinghuan didn’t insist.

Locking the door, they returned to the educated youth spot, where the old educated youths were dining, and the new ones gathered in the kitchen; Chen Dewen was cooking, asking Xu Qinghuan, “I left some grain for you, if you don’t eat it, I’ll return the grain to you later.”

Xu Qinghuan quickly replied, “Of course, why wouldn’t we eat when you’ve cooked it?”

Chen Dewen laughed, rolled up his sleeves, and lifted the pot lid; inside was cooked greens, with flat cakes stuck to the edge mixed with cornmeal, buckwheat flour, and a little darker flour, blackish.

There was a scent of grain, but hardly kindled the appetite.

“Qinghuan, didn’t the cart go well?” Lu Nianying tucked a lock of hair behind her ear smilingly and asked.

Xu Qinghuan glanced at her, unwilling to answer, “What’s it got to do with you?”

Lu Nianying instantly felt wronged, “I was concerned for you, Qinghuan; I’ve written to mom about us being at the same educated youth spot; mom will send a package, and surely there will be something for you.”

Xu Qinghuan sneered; Lu Nianying indeed knew how to unnerve people, but fortunately, she had already come to terms with parent-related matters in her past life.

“Next time you write, kindly inform your mom that my mom is dead, no longer alive. There’s no need for her concern!” Xu Qinghuan stated.

Lu Nianying was greatly shocked, holding her chin as if imitating a distressed beauty, “Qinghuan, how could you curse mom? Where has mom wronged you? Even if she didn’t raise you, she birthed you, doesn’t that grant enough kindness?”

Xu Qinghuan restrained her disgust, “My dad sacrificed less than three months before she served a new husband; in my eyes, she’s been dead since then. If you possess filial piety, stop frequently bringing her to face undeserved disgrace.

Besides, I warn you, you’d better stay away; I’m emotionally unstable and prefer to use force; if something happens to you, I’m afraid you can’t handle it.”

Dai Yifeng asked, “Ready yet?”

“Ready!” Chen Dewen flipped the pancake over, using a spatula to break it; checking the color inside, it had changed, concluding it was cooked.

Everyone got two flat cakes, a spatula serving of boiled beans and cucumber.

The beans and cucumber were picked from the educated youth spot’s private plot; the vegetable garden sprawled behind by the mountain, poorly tended, growing sparsely.

The flat cake’s flour was from today’s food ration, meant to last until harvest season for grain allocation.

From mid-August, Hei Province entered harvest season; everyone started frantic harvesting and sowing, truly exhausting times concentrated in August, September, and October, until all grain was stored, completing public grain and draft purchases; any remaining grain is then distributed based on seven labor for humans, three for machinery under the food allocation system.

Obviously, thirty pounds of grain couldn’t last until then.

Xu Qinghuan loaded her portion into a lunchbox; the old educated youths had finished eating, vacating the seats; she and Yu Xiaomin sat on a long bench, despite being famished, the flat cake just didn’t taste good.

Even the boiled veggies seemed devoid of salt.

After a few bites, she couldn’t eat more; seeing Yu Xiaomin happily eat, she felt sorry for the silly girl.

She ate half a cake, initially wanted to give Yu Xiaomin the rest, but considering when returning the grain later, the silly girl might help her pay back, she discarded the thought.

As she pondered how to skip the meal, Kong Lijuan scoffed nearby, “Some truly behave capitalist; can’t even stomach such delicious cakes, aiming to detach from the laboring class?”

Kong Lijuan had been watching Xu Qinghuan’s every move, after all, losing a hundred yuan made her more hateful than a nemesis.

Her intention was also to speak to Xu Qinghuan, seeing Xu Qinghuan’s struggling expression, Kong Lijuan felt inspired to chastise, profiting her one hundred yuan.

Unexpectedly, everyone looked up at her; Zheng Siqi was even more uncomfortable, slamming the lunchbox heavily on the table.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep