As soon as the engagement banquet was over, Qian Shulan declined the invitation of the Guo family and Jiang Yuying to stay, and left the county town on foot with Wang Danna.
Jiang Yuying and the Guo family wanted to give them a ride, but Qian Shulan refused. "I dare not let them take me home after drinking so much. We are from the countryside, so we can just walk back. Maybe we can even meet someone who can take us a ride."
Bai Lizhu could only do this as she watched her two sons become so drunk.
Qian Shulan and Wang Danna walked while looking for a carriage going the same way. After walking for more than half an hour, they finally came across a carriage that they could ride in.
When I got home, it was already dark.
Today is Friday, and Little Donkey, Zhengguo and Zhengkang have all returned from their respective schools.
When they saw Qian Shulan, Zhengguo and the little donkey quickly surrounded her and pulled Qian Shulan into the house.
"What's the matter? So mysterious." Qian Shulan found it quite funny to see the two people each holding a coarse earthenware jar.
Zhengguo quickly opened the lid covering the mouth, "Grandma, what do you think of these cicadas?"
Qian Shulan then remembered that there were cicadas again this year.
"Same as last year. One hundred and forty cents."
Zhengguo and Little Donkey clapped their palms together, with excited expressions on their faces.
Qian Shulan suddenly thought, "If you want to make more money, you can mobilize your classmates to help collect them. You can say that the cicadas are used as medicine, and the green caterpillars are collected by the chicken farm in our production team to feed the chickens. You give them 30 cents per hundred, and I give you 40 cents. There is a 10-cent difference now."
Zhengguo and Little Donkey's eyes lit up, this was a good idea.
So for the next two days, Zhengguo, Little Donkey and Zhengkang went to the fields to help water the plants during the day and went to look for cicadas at night. As for the adults, they didn't have the energy.
I have been working non-stop lately and I can't even straighten my back, so how can I have the energy? The other children don't have the energy either. Because they don't go to school, they have to help with housework, and they are so tired that they don't want to move at all.
Two days later, when Qian Shulan went to the canal after breakfast, she saw Dashuanzi and Xiao Lihua again.
This time they still sold her a lot of white cicadas. But looking at the tired looks of the two children, Qian Shulan didn't say anything to dissuade them from taking a rest.
If they don't make money now, they will probably starve to death later.
Starving to death and refusing to accept charity is a great test of human nature. Qian Shulan did not want them to go through such a test.
"You should take care of your health." Qian Shulan pretended to be very surprised and told them, "By the way, cicadas are now worth 50 cents for a hundred. You don't have to work so hard."
"Really?" The two children's eyes were sparkling, and Qian Shulan felt very distressed when she saw them.
She touched Xiao Lihua's shriveled face without a trace of fat, and sighed, "Really?"
The two children nodded immediately, "We will definitely save more money."
Watching the two people leaving with their things, Qian Shulan couldn't help but look up at the sky. The blue sky in the distance was as dazzling as a tourmaline, and wisps of white clouds were floating everywhere in the sky, which looked extremely beautiful and peaceful. Unfortunately, such beauty was like the last glimmer of light before the death of an old man who was about to die, short-lived and illusory.
Within a few days, all 24 wells of the drilling team were finally drilled.
People living near Lao Wang's house all came to borrow water.
Sun Daqin was a little unhappy. Li Chunhua, however, felt very proud. Zhou Xuemei didn't mind because she lived next door and it didn't affect her.
Qian Shulan looked at the sky. It was cloudless, without a trace of wind, and it didn't look like it was going to rain at all.
There has been no rain since last winter. The water in the canal has completely dried up, and the wheat fields are dry and cracked. If we don't water them, the wheat will die.
Now the wheat is about to ear, and it needs water the most.
The leaders of Wanghe Commune gathered at the Water Conservancy Bureau to request the release of water. However, several ponds and weirs in Liuguan County had dried up, and the remaining water in the three small reservoirs nearby was not enough to irrigate so many fields.
After the production team came back, they called on the team members to start irrigating from their own wells. Fortunately, there were about 20 households in their village who had dug wells before.
It’s not like other villages where there is no solution.
Wang Shouquan and Qian Minghua organized the members to start pumping water from the well. Two people were responsible for pumping water, one was responsible for transporting water, and three were responsible for watering.
Six people were responsible for one well, there were twenty-five wells in total, and one hundred and twenty-five people were working non-stop.
In any case, the wheat cannot be allowed to die, otherwise they will have no food supply for this year.
At night, one group of people went to rest and another group came in.
After all, there are 180 households in the Wangjia Village production team, and there are 600 to 700 people who can be used. There are still some left after working three shifts.
Qian Shulan took advantage of the night to start sprinkling the water she had brought on the fields.
It was pitch black, and no one could see her movements, so she used the spiritual energy in her hands to direct the water to flow into the fields.
Because sprinkling water on the wheat would knock off the ears and cause the wheat to shrivel, Wangjia Village stopped watering only after the ears of wheat had grown out.
At noon that day, while eating, Qian Shulan said to everyone, "You guys go to work, I have to go to the county town today to help Yuying look for a house."
Jiang Yuying and Guo Zhengliang's wedding date was set for the beginning of October. But the wedding house was not ready yet. Guo Zhengliang had a strong sense of self-esteem and did not want to live in the Jiang family's house, as it would make him feel like a son-in-law.
So the two of them decided to buy a new house. Jiang Yuying asked Qian Shulan to accompany her to look at houses. Qian Shulan had already agreed.
After everyone finished eating, Jungkook came over to her with his clay pot.
Since the Great Steel Production Campaign, Zhengguo's iron boxes were taken away and later replaced with wooden boxes, which were then considered too light and replaced with ceramic jars.
"What are you doing?" Qian Shulan was a little puzzled.
Zhengguo was a little embarrassed, "Grandma, I want to build a house. Here is the hundred dollars I saved."
The money that Zhengkang stole last time has been returned to Zhengguo. In addition, this year he mobilized his classmates to pick cicadas and find big caterpillars, and he helped collect them and earned the difference, so he made a lot of money.
Qian Shulan didn't expect him to save up a hundred yuan so quickly. "Is this all the money you earned from selling cicadas and caterpillars?"
Zhengguo shook his head, "I even borrowed some from the little donkey."
Qian Shulan sighed. She really couldn't bear to tell him, but she had to tell him, "Zhengguo, after the Great Leap Forward, the team received a notice to close all the mountains for afforestation. The team is not allowed to cut down trees anymore. It is estimated that it will take another □□ years for the ban to be lifted." Even if the team members were allowed to cut down trees, there were no trees to cut down in their production team!
Zhengguo was confused. He couldn't build a house without trees, so his money was wasted
Seeing that he was about to cry, Qian Shulan comforted him and said, "We can't build a house in our village. You can buy one in the county town."
Zhengguo hesitated. He was living at home, why would he buy a house in the county? Besides, houses in the county were so expensive. When would he be able to afford one? Zhengguo was a little discouraged.
Qian Shulan touched his head and said, "If you don't have enough money, you can earn more. Just think of it as setting a goal for yourself."
Jungkook kept his head down and said nothing, irritated by his bad luck.
"Besides, aren't you taking the technical secondary school entrance exam this year? With your grades, you might be able to pass." Qian Shulan was not bragging.
Zhengguo is studying very hard now and has been among the top students in the school in several exams.
There is no problem with his political review and his grades are good, so there is no reason why he cannot be admitted to a technical secondary school.
Zhengguo thought about it and felt that it made sense. If he was admitted to a technical secondary school, he might be able to find a job in the county town. It would be so convenient for him to live in the city and work.
"How much is a house in the city?" Zhengguo was unsure. He was afraid that he might not be able to save enough money even after graduating from technical secondary school.
Qian Shulan had no idea about this. She had never bought a house before, so she could only shake her head and say, "You'll know when you go to the county town. You can save it first. One hundred yuan is definitely not enough anyway."
Zhengguo had no choice but to accept this fact and walked out of the room holding the pottery jar.
Qian Shulan did not ask others to take her to the county town, but borrowed the bicycle from the team.
Because they were busy watering the fields, no one in the village rode a bicycle. They didn't use bicycles when working, for fear that a sharp piece of dirt would puncture the tire, which would be a pity.
When Qian Shulan went to the team to borrow a bicycle, she got it without any obstacles.
When she rode her bicycle to Jiang's house, Qian Shulan realized that Guo Mingde was there too. At first, she didn't think much of it. She even greeted him politely, "Is your leg okay?"
Guo Mingde kicked his legs and smiled brightly, "Aunt, I've recovered a long time ago. I wasn't seriously injured. It looks serious, but it's just a little flesh wound."
Qian Shulan nodded, "I'm glad you're okay!"
Guo Mingde glanced at his younger brother and sister-in-law, and as if afraid that they might eavesdrop, he took several steps away and said, "Aunt, I want to discuss something with you!" There was a blush on his dark face.
Qian Shulan was a little curious and followed him to the side, "What's the matter? Tell me!"
"Aunt, I want to date Danna." He had finally persuaded his brother to help him deliver a letter to Wang Danna when he went to the countryside to deliver ironware. But the result he got was beyond his information.
Qian Shulan was stunned by his words. She never thought that these two people could get involved with each other.
Not only was there a nine-year age difference between the two, but one was a man with a dead wife and a child, and the other was an unmarried girl. Even if Wang Danna was just a country girl, there was no need for her to look for a second-hand one, right
She refused without a second thought.
But Guo Mingde's next words made her confused, "Aunt, Dana agreed to date me, but she said she needs your consent."
Qian Shulan frowned. Wang Danna agreed to date Guo Mingde
Aren't they all falling in love with the same type? Why didn't she see any similarities between Hong Soon-woo and Guo Mingde
One is a young, handsome and somewhat naive guy, and the other is an old man with a sophisticated temperament but a rough look.
Even if Hong Shunyou were ten years older, he would never become like Guo Mingde.
How come Wang Danna's taste changed so quickly
Qian Shulan didn't want to be the villain who broke up the couple. But she really didn't think that Wang Danna would find a partner so much older than her. It was really beyond her expectations.
"Aunt, don't worry, I will treat Dana very well. Xiao Liu's mother has been gone for so many years and I didn't want to find another one, but I liked Dana at first sight, and my mother had a very good impression of Dana, so she supported me to marry Dana."
Qian Shulan complained in her heart, bullshit! Of course your mother agreed. You have been single for so many years, and she finally agreed to get married. Your mother must be grinning from ear to ear, how can she object!
Qian Shulan lowered her head and thought for a long time, but she couldn't bring herself to say no.
She thought they were not suitable, but Wang Danna thought they were suitable. So she wondered whether she should make a dictatorial decision and separate the two.
It seems a bit mean! And this guy's values are also very good, except for the value of right and wrong, which is 8 points, all other values are 10 points. She herself may not be able to find a partner with such high values for Wang Danna.
Qian Shulan didn't know what to say, "Let me think about it."
No rejection is good news, Guo Mingde's eyes lit up.
When choosing a house, Guo Mingde seemed to be showing off. When the two asked them to pick out the shortcomings of the house, he pointed out several problems in a row.
After looking at five or six houses, they finally chose a house that was relatively close to where they both worked.
This family was a tailor before the founding of the People's Republic of China, so they specially built a house in the city.
Now that the tailor is old and his eyesight is not very good, he wants to sell the house with the storefront on the left. The house on the right will be used for retirement.
The son of this family is a soldier and is away from home all year round. His daughter-in-law and grandson are also with the army. So he feels a bit lonely.
The four of them were very satisfied after seeing it. The house was obviously well-preserved, and the price was three hundred yuan and one hundred kilograms of grain.
The two bought the house and went to the Housing Authority to register it.
Qian Shulan returned home and immediately found Wang Danna in her room.
He asked her bluntly, "What are you thinking? You are so young, why do you want to find someone so old? There is a nine-year age difference."
Wang Danna looked calm, "Mom, I know you want to find me someone who is good in every aspect. But nothing in this world is perfect. Besides, I am not perfect myself. Those who eat commercial grains all despise me because I am a rural girl and think that marrying me home would be a burden. Although Guo Mingde is a little old, his mother treats me well and has never despised me. Even if he has a daughter, she is just a daughter. Not a son. I just need to give her a dowry in the future and marry her off.
Qian Shulan felt that this girl was so calm that it was a bit scary. "Are you okay?" Is this the state that someone who has just broken up should be in
Seeing his mother's worried look, Wang Danna finally spoke out what she had been holding back for days, "Hong Shunyou is already looking for a wife. If he can find one, why can't I? I must find someone with better conditions than him."
Qian Shulan was speechless. "This is your important marriage event, and you are using it to vent your anger!" She stomped her feet in anger.
Wang Danna shook her head, "I'm not angry. I know what I want! Since I can't marry the man I like, why don't I find someone with better conditions. At least he can let me live an enviable life without me having to endure the cold eyes of others and working hard to make money.
Guo Mingde is a bit old, but he has a lot of savings and a stable job, earning 60 to 70 yuan a month. If I marry him, I won't have to work in the fields anymore. I won't have to endure the cold eyes of my mother-in-law, and I won't have to worry about my sister-in-law and sisters-in-law. This is the life I want."
Qian Shulan really had nothing to say.
This girl meant only one thing: since she couldn't marry for love, she would marry a man with good conditions.
Qian Shulan suddenly felt a little sorry for Guo Mingde. It was obvious that Wang Danna was not interested in him but was only attracted by his appearance.
"But if you marry Guo Mingde in the future, and one day he loses his job and becomes an ordinary person, will you still leave him?"
Wang Danna was stunned for a long time, obviously not expecting her mother to ask this question.
Qian Shulan was just asking casually. These two people, one looks at the face, the other at the conditions, each has their own purpose, and they are equally ruthless. No one is simple.
The author has something to say: I will write about famine in the next chapter. Will it be blocked? I am a little trembling...