Although the Chinese New Year is a festive day, Wang Shouzhi was not happy. Qian Shulan asked Wang Shouzhi to accompany her for a walk. When they reached the canal, Qian Shulan asked, "I have noticed that you have been unhappy these days. Can you tell me about it?"
Wang Shouzhi sighed. He didn't want to affect his family, but his mother saw through it. He rubbed his brows and said, "Mom, I think Yuxiu has changed recently."
"Oh? How do you mean?"
Wang Shouzhi looked at the vast white fields with deep eyes, "When I was dating Yuxiu, she was not a model worker yet. She was just a very enthusiastic and cheerful girl. Although others pointed fingers at her, she didn't care at all. I think her personality is very similar to..." Jiang Yuying
He didn't say the last three words, but Qian Shulan still understood. Qian Shulan once heard someone say that as people get older, their preferences will change to a certain extent, but will eventually become fixed. Obviously, Wang Shouzhi now likes people with cheerful personalities, generosity and enthusiasm. Yuxiu and Jiang Yuying do have some similar personalities.
Qian Shulan didn't ask him the next question, "And then?"
"But ever since she became a model worker, she has been so busy all day. I asked her out to watch a movie several times, but she was not available, so I waited for a long time at the entrance of the cinema. She only came over after the movie was over. I was really angry. I asked her not to cover for others anymore, but she said she was a model worker and that she should lend a hand to others when they were in trouble. No matter how I tried to persuade her, she would not listen. Mom, I feel very tired of being with her."
Qian Shulan patted his arm and said, "If you feel tired, just tell the girl, don't be too harsh." One is determined to be a moral model, and the other will give up sooner or later. It's better to separate early. Don't waste each other's time. But is this girl being kidnapped by morality? Model worker is an honor, but she doesn't have to make herself a saint, right? In the end, she contributed all her time and energy to others, and her family didn't care? Qian Shulan thought this girl was a little silly.
Wang Shouzhi rubbed his brows, looking a little embarrassed, "But as for Grandma Fan..."
Qian Shulan understood. The reason why Wang Shouzhi and Liu Yuxiu were dating was because Grandma Fan tried her best to bring them together.
But now he doesn't want to be with her anymore, so Grandma Fan will inevitably feel uncomfortable. It's really hard to say it.
Qian Shulan wasn't very good at handling these things, but she felt that if they weren't suitable, they had to break up and not drag it out, which would only delay the other person in the end.
Besides, Liu Yuxiu is not the same as before. In the past, people despised her because she was an orphan and unlucky in marriage, so they refused to marry her. But now it is different. She is a model worker, and many men must be vying to marry her. People of this generation attach great importance to honor. If there is a model worker in the family, it is definitely a proud existence for the whole family.
Wang Shouzhi thought for a moment and said, "After the New Year, I will go back and have a good talk with Yuxiu. If she continues to be like this, I may really have to break up with her. Mother, you won't blame me, will you?"
Qian Shulan knew Wang Shouzhi's indecisive nature. He was not a cruel person. If he hadn't really been unable to hold on, he might not have told her. Now, it was reasonable for him to give the other party one last chance.
Hearing his words, Qian Shulan patted him and said angrily, "Why should mother blame you? You should make your own decisions."
Wang Shouzhi knew that his mother liked Yuxiu, otherwise she wouldn't have been angry even when Yuxiu broke her promise. But he really couldn't hold on any longer. He was just an ordinary man who hoped that his wife would care about him, his children, his family, and his work. He admired Yuxiu for being so devoted to her work, but he really couldn't accept it.
After talking with his mother, Wang Shouzhi was in a much better mood and was also interested in taking Jiang Yuying out for a walk.
Wang Danna also helped Qian Shulan write on the rattan frame. Originally, Wang Shouzhi wanted to help, but Qian Shulan thought that he was too tired to dig wells every day, so she asked him to rest at home. Now Wang Shouzhi is tanned more than the two brothers Wang Shouren. When she first met him, Wang Shouzhi was still a pale scholar. In just a few months, he was tanned like this. He didn't go to make steel, so it can be seen that digging wells is really not an easy job. Especially since they are in the north, the terrain is high. In the south, you may hit the aquifer after digging five meters, but in the north, sometimes you have to dig hundreds or even one hundred and fifty meters to get water. The workload is dozens of times.
The height of the terrain is also the main reason why the country wants to carry out the South-to-North Water Diversion Project.
Wang Shouzhi was afraid that the villagers would gossip if they saw him taking Jiang Yuying out alone, so he took Xiaodie out with him as well.
Before they knew it, they were at the canal, where Li Chunhua was feeding the chickens. Because they had established a 1,000-chicken factory and there were no more restrictions, they did not sell any of their hens this year, but kept a few roosters for laying eggs.
Seeing the two people coming, Li Chunhua called them over.
Jiang Yuying was very surprised to see the hen laying eggs in such a cold weather.
Li Chunhua explained to her, "As long as the hen is full, it will lay eggs."
In order to allow the hens to lay eggs in winter, Qian Shulan specifically suggested to the team that they build a shed for the hens and cover the shed with straw mats.
In the first half of next year, one-third of the land will be planted with wheat and two-thirds with sweet potatoes, so that these straw mats can be retired early. Half of them will be used to build straw sheds. After the wheat is harvested next year, the straw mats can be made again.
Because there was not enough wood to build the shed, the team called on members to bring unused wood from their homes to use as a makeshift.
Hundreds of families in the team gathered together and built more than 20 thatched huts. However, because they were used for chickens, they were not very high, only about one person high.
The straw shed was very warm, and the hens didn't want to come out. They would lay an egg every three or four days. In a few days, the team had accumulated several baskets of eggs. But now the supply and marketing cooperative was closed, so the eggs were stored in the warehouse. There was no need to worry that they would go bad in the cold weather.
"Then how many years can this hen lay eggs?"
"A chicken can only live for seven years. In the third year, the number of eggs it lays will gradually decrease. Then it is time to hatch chicks and replace the old chickens."
Questions came one after another, and Wang Shouzhi found Jiang Yuying's serious expression quite funny.
Xiaodie also squatted beside her, tilting her head and watching Li Chunhua reaching out to touch the eggs in the shed. She would be able to touch one in a moment.
When Xiaodie saw the basket of eggs, her eyes lit up surprisingly. She pulled Jiang Yuying's sleeve, pointed at the eggs, and said in a baby voice, "Aunt, the eggs are delicious."
The three of them were stunned for a moment, and then burst into laughter.
Li Chunhua turned around and teased her, "When you go back and tell grandma, she will definitely fry eggs for you."
If an adult brings up this idea, Qian Shulan will usually consider it, but if children bring it up, Qian Shulan will most likely agree.
When Xiaodie heard this, she looked at Wang Shouzhi with sparkling eyes, obviously she was also greedy for eggs. Because of the Great Leap Forward, many production teams set up 1,000-chicken factories. Because of the lack of dedication of the members and the shortage of feed, the 1,000-chicken factories were not doing well. The output of eggs was obviously much less than before. In the past, we could supply one pound of eggs a month, but now we can only supply half a pound. We often can't buy them even if we try our best. There is only a quota, but there is no such quantity. The supply is only issued once a month, and it is useless if it is out of date.
Wang Shouzhi had to go to the countryside to dig a well, so he missed the trip several times. Grandma Fan was old, so it was not good to ask her to line up at one or two in the morning. The road was slippery in the ice and snow, and it would be terrible if she fell. Liu Yuxiu had to work overtime for others, so she had no time to buy eggs.
They hadn't had eggs for months, so it was understandable that Xiaodie was craving for eggs.
Wang Shouzhi touched Xiaodie's head and said, "Your grandma has prepared a lot of food, including meat."
Xiaodie pouted, obviously disappointed.
When the three of them returned to the cafeteria, Xiaodie took advantage of her father not paying attention and secretly asked Qian Shulan, "Grandma, Third Aunt collected a lot of eggs. Can we eat them?"
Qian Shulan was stunned for a moment. She had cooked fish and meat before, but she didn't expect that she would want to eat eggs. After thinking for a while, she said, "Okay, wait for grandma's good news."
After that, she took Xiaodie to find Qian Minghua and said, "Our team has a bumper harvest of eggs this year, but our members didn't benefit from it. Why don't we distribute a few eggs to each family according to work points or by paying them. It's New Year's Day, so let everyone have something good to eat."
Although the team had a fish pond, each family was only given two fish, and the rest were all handed over to the supply and marketing cooperative.
Qian Minghua and Wang Shouquan discussed and decided to distribute the eggs by deducting work points.
So the two of them went door to door, notifying every household to send one egg to the canteen for a meeting. "We will deduct work points based on the amount of eggs. One work point equals one egg. Each household can only take 20 eggs at most. Those of you who want eggs can report the number to the accountant."
Everyone was very happy when they heard that they could eat eggs.
Although white flour was available before, it was only a staple food, not a dish.
Even if someone wanted to make dumplings before, the team only gave out cabbage, spinach and vermicelli, which tasted average. Although the two fish they were given were also meat dishes, it would be a waste to make dumplings with them.
Now that we have eggs, we can use them to make dumplings with vermicelli and cabbage. We can also use vermicelli and eggs with spinach. In this era, eggs are considered a semi-meat dish.
Everyone was very happy. Most families asked for twenty eggs, except for a few who needed money next year and only asked for ten or eight.
So on the first day of the Lunar New Year, the Wangjia Village Production Team had better food than on New Year’s Eve.
Some families who didn't have noodles would come to Qian Shulan and ask her to help get some more wheat.
As long as the mouth is tight, Qian Shulan will help. She specially brought back some more wheat before, just for Guangming to give her family something delicious to eat. This matter must be resolved in a clear way.
Otherwise, with Wang Shouzhi and Jiang Yuying's cleverness, they would not be able to fool her at all. Sooner or later, they would find out that there was something wrong with her.
Almost every household was making dumplings. After making the dumplings, some people deliberately brought them to the canteen to eat. Then everyone took a coarse porcelain bowl with 20 to 30 dumplings in it, and you tasted one of mine and I tasted one of yours.
Although the ingredients are similar, it is hard to say what the cooking skills are. Some people can cook the same ingredients better than others.
Everyone who has tried Lao Wang’s dumplings thinks theirs are the best.
Although the appearance of the dumplings is similar, the taste is obviously different. But I can't tell where the difference is. The noodles are just a little finer, a little more fragrant, and the saltiness is just right. There seems to be a faint meaty aroma in it.
But it's not obvious, probably the meat Wang Shouzhi brought back from the city.
Everyone was secretly guessing.
In fact, they had misunderstood. The meaty aroma was made by Qian Shulan using the large bones in the space. We couldn't eat the meat openly, but the broth would be ok, right
She put a small piece of it in the pot and boiled it. After it was done, she added the broth to the dumplings. The taste would naturally be better.
Maybe it was because the quantity was so small, that although everyone could tell it was meat, they couldn't tell that it was not the kind of meat they usually eat.
Qian Shulan told her family that she bought the bones from the city, and everyone believed her. If she could even buy wheat, what were a few bones
Those who crave meat will even order an extra bowl of dumpling soup to get a bit of the meaty flavor.
Qian Shulan even specially served a bowl to Qian Weihan so that he could also replenish his body.
Although Qian Weihan looked younger, he was still skinny due to long-term malnutrition and didn't look like a powerful person at all.
Qian Shulan served the soup and winked at him, "Brother, do you want to marry a Fang wife too?"
Qian Weihan, who was drinking soup, suddenly spat it out with a "pu" sound. Fortunately, Qian Shulan was prepared and dodged so she was not sprayed by him.
Qian Shulan came closer again and asked, "Are you so excited about getting married?"
Qian Weihan glared at her and said, "How dare you talk to me like that?"
Qian Shulan curled her lips and said, "I'm already 52 years old and have given birth to five sons and three daughters. But what about you? You haven't even had a wife. I feel pity for you when I look at you."
Qian Weihan didn't know what he was thinking about, his face actually turned red. Qian Shulan loved him so much that she felt that he hadn't gotten married in all these years not only because of problems in that aspect, but also because he had someone in his heart. She began to encourage him, "If you like someone, go find her."
After saying that, she was afraid that he would hesitate and not go, so she deliberately provoked him, "In this era, people are short of food and clothing everywhere. I don't know if the person you love can eat well and wear warm clothes. Brother, don't you want to go and see her?"
Qian Weihan obviously didn't expect this. He was stunned for a moment, frowned, and hesitated, "No way?" The man she married was a teacher who ate commercial grain. How could he not have enough food and warm clothes
Qian Shulan curled her lips in disdain, "These days, anything that is impossible can happen. Look at the production teams near us. Our production team can still eat dumplings. What about other production teams? They are all eating tree bark." She whispered to Qian Weihan and said mysteriously, "I heard that many chickens were stolen from the chicken factories opened by some production teams. The team cadres led the militia to look for the chicken thieves in the village, and finally found a pile of chicken feathers in the ditch. Obviously, the chickens were eaten by someone. The higher-ups were touting that the public security was good before, but look, as soon as the members were hungry, the petty thieves came out to jump around."
After hearing this, Qian Weihan sighed heavily and his face looked very heavy.
Qian Shulan just said it casually, and it was up to him to think whatever he wanted. After all, Qian Weihan had always helped her, so of course she hoped that he could live a good life.
Although Qian Minghua was quite filial to Qian Weihan, Zheng Xiaohua was not a filial daughter-in-law and often pretended to obey Qian Minghua's words but actually disobeyed them. Qian Weihan was a rough man who believed that it was better to do less than more. But Qian Shulan was not someone who would suffer a loss! After she caught him, she embarrassed Zheng Xiaohua! She even scolded Qian Minghua, making Qian Minghua blush. Qian Shulan kept promising her that he would discipline his daughter-in-law well.
Although Zheng Xiaohua has improved, Qian Shulan feels that Qian Weihan still needs a partner to help him. Otherwise, when Zheng Xiaohua relapses, she will have to argue with him again.
As a young aunt, it's not good for her to always be involved in other people's affairs. It would be better to find a partner for Qian Weihan, so that she can solve the problem once and for all and avoid being in trouble.
This was also the main reason why she tried her best to help Qian Weihan find a partner. However, she only gave some advice, and whether or not to find one depended on Qian Weihan's own wishes.
She looked at the dumplings in the bowl, thinking that other villages had started losing chickens, so their production team had to strengthen their defenses.
So Qian Shulan told Qian Minghua and Wang Shouquan about this.
After the two men agreed, the entire team selected people to serve as militia, with each family providing a strong laborer to patrol the canal.
These militiamen are not given work points and are forced to work.
Qian Shulan asked the four brothers to take turns for one day, and whoever was on duty would wear a military coat.
Because of this precaution, those who were originally envious of the chickens from the Wangjia Village Production Team no longer dared to come and steal them.
The author has something to say: This is not to belittle model workers, but Xiaowu is not suitable to be a model worker. In those days, model workers were actually very popular. I also mentioned it in the article. The heroine also admires model workers, but marrying them as daughter-in-law is... not easier than transforming a top-notch person, really...