novelraw Chapter 69 You must finish your allotted portions.
Chapter 69 You must finish your allotted portions.
"Are you sick? Don't you know that man is a martyr? Besides, who says that college students have to be intellectuals?" Grandma Li, the village secretary's wife, retorted at this moment.
Chen Deyin held a high position in the village, and his wife had once served as the village's women's director, so Lin Dalao wouldn't dare to argue with her. The two were about the same age, but Grandma Li was a generation older than Lin Dalao. However, the two families weren't related, so the generational distinctions weren't strictly enforced.
Lin Dalaba pursed his lips and left, unwilling to watch the Tong family steal the limelight. Grandma Li entered the courtyard, and Tong Yuheng invited her inside to sit and have some tea.
Grandma Li waved her hand and said, "Your mother isn't home; she'll be coming to see me these next few days. So many people will be having lunch at your house, right? Do you need any help with the cooking?"
"Thank you, Grandma Li. I made the laborious meal last night. Why don't you stay here with us for a while?" The laborious meal was obviously the meat. What labor was there in making cabbage, radish, and potatoes?
"That's fine then. If you don't need me, I won't bother you anymore. Go home!" Grandma Li left her yard and chased away all the onlookers.
The young soldiers worked incredibly fast. Once the cement and sand were ready, they worked in groups of three, passing bricks and building walls. By 11 a.m., they had finished building the wall in the backyard.
They also used some defective bricks to pave several paths and divide the backyard into sections, so that their feet wouldn't get muddy when it rained or when watering the land.
"Alright, alright, everyone take a break!" Tong Yuheng had started stewing large pots of food on the stove in the main room and the stove in the kitchen outside.
Braised pork with potatoes, chicken stew with mushrooms, and a pot of seaweed, tomato, and egg drop soup simmering on the coal stove. She had also chopped a large bowl of green peppers and a pound of lean pork strips, intending to make a simple stir-fried pork with green peppers. Another dish was scrambled eggs with chives, also served in a bowl, with over twenty eggs beaten.
We should at least have four dishes and a soup, right?
Linglong quickly brought over a washbasin and warm water. Everyone took turns washing their hands and faces, not letting the sisters do anything. They went to fetch water to wash themselves, but they didn't dilute the water with boiling water; they just used cold water.
"Don't drink the cold water, everyone. There's tea inside, it's been cooled down!" Yu Long saw a young soldier scooping up some cold water from the vat and drinking it, so she quickly called him inside to have some tea.
"This cold water tastes pretty good, it's fine!" The young soldier took a sip and was reluctant to put it down.
Tong Yuheng: It doesn't taste good, it contains spiritual spring water!
Li Chengsong also took a sip and immediately felt that this water tasted better than ordinary water. After a while, he felt a slight itch in his shoulder blade, but he didn't pay much attention to it.
"You guys play some cards, we'll eat at 11:30!" Yuling took out a few decks of cards, saw that they had formed several teams and there were still two people left, and was eager to try!
"Go and play!" Li Chengsong looked at the two young educated youths who were still children and told them to go play with the soldiers while he went to the stove to help Tong Yuheng tend the fire.
"These two girls are just too playful!" She smiled and didn't stop her two younger sisters from playing. They had gone through too much danger and hardship during this time, so it was good for them to relax a bit.
"They're still kids, let them play!" Li Chengsong said, rummaging through the firewood in the stove with one hand and keeping the other hand in his pocket for a long time. His face was flushed from the firelight.
"You don't need to watch the fire, I can manage on my own. You go and play with them!" Tong Yuheng saw that he wasn't very skilled at tending the fire, so he simply let him go inside.
"Your birthday is tomorrow, right?" Li Chengsong asked somewhat awkwardly.
"Oh, right! I forgot. Tomorrow is my birthday according to the Gregorian calendar. I was born on the 22nd of the second lunar month, which is still more than ten days away!" It's normal that she didn't remember since the original owner and she didn't share the same birthday.
"I brought you a small gift to wish you a happy birthday! Please don't mind it!" Li Chengsong took out a small, women's Shanghai brand watch from his pocket and placed it in her hand.
"This is too expensive, I can't accept it!" Tong Yuheng returned it to him without a second thought. A gift worth over a hundred yuan could be enough to marry a wife in the countryside; she couldn't accept it. Besides, she had several watches in her spatial storage, and she couldn't very well take them out to wear without a proper excuse.
"Turning eighteen is an important birthday, and this gift isn't that expensive. I... I didn't mean anything by it, no, I just..." Li Chengsong was a little incoherent, unsure how to express himself.
"Not quite lovers?" Is that what he meant? Haha, young people these days are so innocent! Seeing him blush, even I, a grown woman, am not as embarrassed as him.
However, this person seems to have a decent appearance, and his character shouldn't be a problem. Perhaps we should observe him further and see how he behaves?
"It's alright, we're friends, exchanging small gifts is fine. But I definitely can't accept this. Yuyao deserves a reward for her good work this time, so I'll buy it for her!"
Tong Yuheng put the watch away, continued stir-frying the shredded pork with green peppers in the large wok for a few more seconds, then went to get two porcelain bowls filled with the vegetables and asked him to bring them in. The two meat dishes were already prepared and placed on the table; only the scrambled eggs with garlic sprouts were missing.
This dish was very quick. She washed the wok, turned up the heat, heated the oil, scrambled the eggs, then added the chopped garlic sprouts, stir-fried for a minute or two, and served it in two porcelain bowls. She then ladles a bowl of broth from the wok into a serving dish for each person and puts it on the table. Now it's time to start eating rice!
While Li Chengsong was still at the stove, Tong Yuheng gave him 180 yuan and insisted that he accept it. Li Chengsong couldn't argue with her there, so he could only watch as she stuffed a large roll of banknotes into his pocket.
"I've prepared at least three steamed buns for each person, so you all have to finish your allotted portions!" Tong Yuheng announced the portion sizes loudly as soon as he entered the room, afraid that they would feel embarrassed to eat more.
"We sisters both practice martial arts and have a big appetite. You won't be able to outeat us, will you?" Linglong, who had become somewhat familiar with the young soldiers she had played cards with earlier, stuffed the large steamed buns from the basket into their hands.
"You practice martial arts? Or do you dance the Yangko?" Xiao Zhang, who had become familiar with them, made a joke.
"You don't believe me? There's bound to be a match soon, and you might even lose!" Linglong had practiced military boxing and now she had also learned ancient martial arts; most people really couldn't beat them. However, they were still a bit short of winning against the soldiers.
"Xiao Zhang, why don't you compete with them? Just in the backyard. It won't be shameful if you lose!" The soldiers began to urge them to compete.
"You're the one who lost! It's not fair for me to fight two girls by myself!" Xiao Zhang didn't believe that two teenage girls could beat him!
"Who wants two people to compete with you? Do you know that it's one-on-one? A great man said that women can hold up half the sky! Are you afraid of losing?" Yu Ling's competitive spirit was aroused, and she really wanted to have a match with him.