When Yu Nian’an arrived, there was no one in the yard. It was only Aunt Chunxing who heard the noise outside and came out from the kitchen.
“Annie, what brings you here?”
“Aunt, Brother Yu asked me to bring you some things. I just got back, so I thought I’d deliver them to you first,” Yu Nian’an said, handing over the items in her hands.
“Oh my, this child… always bringing things home, making me trouble like this,” Aunt Chunxing scolded verbally, but her hands still took the basket steadily, and the smile on her face was impossible to hide. Then she looked at Yu Nian’an and said, “Annie, why don’t you stay a while and have a meal with us?”
Yu Nian’an shook her head with a smile. “Aunt, no need. I already ate on the way back.”
Hearing this, Aunt Chunxing didn’t insist. She simply turned back to the kitchen, handed Yu Nian’an two freshly pulled cabbages, and asked her to give a message to her husband when she returned, saying that the meal was ready.
The timing of the cabbage was perfect. Yu Nian’an had been tired of eating just sweet potatoes and wanted a change. After thanking Aunt Chunxing, she hugged the cabbages and headed home.
She imagined frying some pork fat in the evening, cooking the cabbage in the pork drippings, and pouring it over rice just thinking about it made her mouth water.
When she got home, she realized Lin Zhi and the others weren’t there. She searched the yard and heard Yu Jianping call out, “Girl, that little educated youth told me to tell you that they went back to the youth work station first. They’ll come find you in the afternoon.”
Gone? Weren’t they supposed to ask about building the toilet?
Yu Nian’an thought Lin Zhi had changed her mind again and didn’t ask further. Instead, she reminded them of Aunt Chunxing’s words, urging them to go back and eat first.
Uncle Jianping nodded, put the tools he was holding under the eaves, greeted her, and then took his two nephews back home.
After everyone had left, Yu Nian’an took the opportunity to go to the kitchen and take the items out of the cabinet.
She put the pork fat in the pan, covering it with the lid. Then she scooped out the leftover brown rice from the rice container and set it aside, pouring in the new rice she had bought.
As for salt, Yu Nian’an found an old bowl to temporarily replace the salt container.
Once everything was prepared, she returned to her room, put the remaining money behind the pillar of the room’s beam, and then walked around the outside of the house, checking the progress of the work over the past couple of days.
The old toilet behind the kitchen had been demolished, and Uncle Jianping thoughtfully filled in the hole.
Behind the house was a slope; the walls only needed to be built on three sides. The well was positioned in the left corner of the yard, next to the kitchen, leaving a large open space in the yard.
Now that all the land belonged to the collective, things like the cabbage in Aunt Chunxing’s yard were grown on a small private plot she had in her own yard. Yu Nian’an looked at the remaining open space in the yard and thought about setting up a similar plot to grow vegetables. The weather was just right for cultivating seedlings.
With this idea in mind, Yu Nian’an decided that she would ask Aunt Chunxing about it when she went to work in the afternoon.
With this idea in mind, Yu Nian’an planned to ask Aunt Chunxing about it when she went to work in the afternoon.
Not long after lunch, Yu Jianping and the others returned to work. By now, the toilet and the bath shed had begun to take shape; all that remained was to put roofs on them.
The shed roofs were made of wooden planks, and the boards that had been delivered weren’t pre-cut. So, most of the irregular sections were being sawed off by Uncle Jianping right there with his tools.
Seeing this, Yu Nian’an went over and gathered the discarded wood scattered on the ground. But since it was too wet, she couldn’t bring it to the kitchen yet, so she laid it under the courtyard wall to dry for a few days.
While arranging the wood, another thought came to her, and she quickly called out, “Uncle, can people in our village raise chickens at home?”
Wiping the sweat from his temple, Yu Jianping replied, “Sure, Nizi. Are you thinking of raising some?”
“Yes!”
Seeing that she was serious, Yu Jianping instructed her to pick out some suitably sized pieces of wood. Once he finished his own work, he would assemble them into a chicken coop.
After all, the wood had been bought with money, and it would be a waste to burn it as firewood; using it for this purpose was much better.
“Uncle, you can do this too?” Yu Nian’an asked, somewhat surprised.
Uncle Jianping replied modestly, “I learned from my father. It’s nothing special, just enough to get by.”
Yu Nian’an silently gave him a thumbs-up. Now she understood why people often say that having many skills is never a burden Uncle Jianping was practically a jack-of-all-trades.
Once the chicken coop was ready, she could raise two hens. They could lay eggs in turn, and if necessary, she could even slaughter one for food.
Life was steadily improving, and Yu Nian’an gradually felt less of the confusion she had experienced when she first entered the book world.
The whistle signaling the start of the afternoon shift sounded. She had just greeted Uncle Jianping and the others and was about to head out when she saw Lin Zhi and two others approaching from a distance.
Yu Nian’an thought for a moment and decided to stop. When Lin Zhi came over, she asked about adding extra toilets to the youth cadre station.
“When you left at noon, I already asked Uncle Jianping. He said that after he finishes your work here, he’ll come to ours,” Lin Zhi said, patting her hand and clearing up her confusion.
Seeing that the matter had already been taken care of, Yu Nian’an didn’t ask further.
The group of three had grown by one. On the way, she couldn’t help but wonder how they managed to integrate so quickly.
Once they arrived at the fields, Lin Zhi and Ye Xiao went to the side, leaving only Gu Shen with her.
After what had happened in the morning, Yu Nian’an could no longer remain silent as she usually did. Even after knowing him for so long, she still didn’t know his name.
After what happened in the morning, Yu Nian’an could no longer remain silent as she usually did. Even after knowing him for so long, she still didn’t know his name.
But this person didn’t seem very talkative once he came back to the village.
She gave herself a mental pep talk and was about to speak when she caught his gaze. Instantly, she swallowed her words.
She felt that suddenly asking a boy his name might be a bit forward, so she could only cover her embarrassment with a smile.
Gu Shen noticed that ever since she arrived in the field, her eyes had been following him, as if she wanted to say something.
When she suddenly smiled, it was like a galaxy flickering in her eyes.
He spoke first.
“I’m Gu Shen.”
Gu Shen?
Yu Nian’an looked at his face, recalling again, but still had no impression.
Well, at least she now knew his name.
The task of transplanting the seedlings was nearing its end. The plot assigned to Yu Nian’an was finished in no time, and quite a few people nearby had already left work early.
Seeing that Gu Shen had gone to find Ye Xiao, Yu Nian’an thought for a moment and went to Aunt Chunxing, hoping to help finish the remaining work.
Upon learning her intention, Aunt Chunxing quickly waved her off. “Ah, it’s just the last two rounds. I can handle it myself; just turn it over casually and it’ll be done. You don’t need to trouble yourself.”
Rejected, Yu Nian’an had no choice but to find a spot to sit and started asking about enclosing a yard in the courtyard.
Aunt Chunxing didn’t hesitate and took some time to answer her.
“This is simple. Have Uncle Jianping handle it for you just a small favor. Later, if you need any vegetable seedlings, you can just come dig them from my field.”
Indeed, Uncle Jianping really was all-around capable he single-handedly took care of all the work at her house.
Yu Nian’an thought that since Aunt Chunxing was so kind to her, she shouldn’t be ignorant of basic manners. She would wait until the work was done and privately give her a bit of payment as thanks.