Chapter 5

Zhao Jiayun cooked today. I don’t know what she used to get more than ten cucumbers. Wu Guangqian was even more generous. He got a basket of tomatoes, cabbages and half a bag of salt.

At noon, we had boiled cabbage and cucumber without oil, accompanied by steamed dumplings made by Zhao Jiayun, which made us feel full.

They arrived at work on time in the afternoon and Jiang Zong Zheng was already waiting for them. There were two jobs available.

One is to go to the fields with others and earn seven to ten work points a day, and the other is to collect grass for pigs, which only requires one person and earns a maximum of five work points a day.

If you are lazy, you may not even get five work points in the whole day.

Now work points are linked to food. The more work points you have, the more food you will get during the New Year.

Wu Guangqian and the others would definitely choose the one with more work points. Zhao Jiayun hesitated for a few seconds. The work in the fields was not easy either. Although it was hard work, it earned more work points. Cutting grass for pigs was easier, but it earned fewer work points.

While she was still thinking, Jiang Zongzheng asked Chu Sangning, who was quietly beside her: “Chu Zhiqing, which one do you want to choose?”

Fearing that Chu Sangning would choose the work in the fields and he would be assigned to collect grass for pigs, Zhao Jiayun hurriedly interrupted: “Captain, I choose the work in the fields.”

Chu Sangning glanced at her and said, “Captain, I choose to cut grass for the pigs.”

“Okay, those of you who are working in the fields, follow me. Chu Zhiqing, go straight ahead and get the basket at the warehouse door.”

Chu Sangning received a basket from the warehouse, and regretted a bit when he learned that he had to harvest 40 kilograms of pig grass every day. However, he had already made his choice, so he had to accept his fate and walk towards the back mountain.

The road in Changxing Village was rugged and difficult to walk on. Chu Sangning looked down at his dirty shoes, smiled, and reached into his pocket.

There was nothing in her pocket, but she had space, so she could just take out whatever she wanted from her pocket. Chu Sangning grabbed a handful of candy and put it in her pocket.

He peeled one and put it in his mouth, then slowly walked towards the foot of the mountain.

Before I got close, I heard a scream, a very piercing voice, and a loud roar: “Give it to me, or I will beat you.”

Chu Sangning looked in the direction of the voice with disdain. Whose naughty kid is in the back mountain? Is he going to beat someone up if he doesn’t give me money?

She walked forward curiously and saw a fat little boy rushing towards another little boy like a cannonball. Then with a “bang”, the fat boy fell on his face and didn’t get up for a long time.

“No, it’s given to me by my uncle, so I won’t give it to you.”

The little boy who was speaking was dressed neatly and spoke politely, unlike the other children in the village. After feeling Chu Sangning’s gaze, the little boy smiled shyly.

The fat boy looked at the toy gun in the boy’s hand, sat on the ground and burst into tears, his legs and feet still kicking hard on the ground, “I want to tell my grandma to beat you, ahhhh——”

The little boy ignored him and walked towards Chu Sangning with small steps, “Sister, are you the new educated youth?”

Chu Sangning saw his bright eyes, pursed her lips and asked, “How do you know I’m an educated youth?”

The little boy raised his head proudly, “My mother told me. She said she also came from far away.”

Chu Sangning thought that the boy’s mother should also be an educated youth who went to the countryside, and for some reasons stayed in Changxing Village, got married and had children.

“Well, you are so smart.” Chu Sangning touched his head.

The little boy was even happier. He liked this beautiful sister. Hearing the crying sound beside his ear, the little boy boldly pulled Chu Sangning’s finger and whispered, “Sister, you are here to pick pig grass, right? I know a good place. There is a lot of pig grass there. Doubao is too noisy.”

“Okay.” Chu Sangning agreed readily.

The two changed direction and just as the little boy said, there was more pig grass here and not many people noticed it.

“Sister, I come here often, but Qiangzi Doubao and the others don’t know about it.”

Chu Sangning asked curiously: “Qiangzi Doubao, what’s your name?”

The little boy chuckled, “My name is Jiang Pan’an. My mother said that when I was born I was like a kitten, without even a cry, so she named me Pan’an to keep me safe.”

“That sounds nice.” Chu Sangning nodded, becoming more convinced that the little boy’s mother was an educated youth.

“Sister, let me help you.” Jiang Pan’an helped Chu Sangning cut a lot of pig grass like a little adult. In the end, it was so heavy that Chu Sangning could hardly lift it.

“Sister, it’s okay. I’ll help you.” Jiang Pan’an was only seven or eight years old. There was no way Chu Sangning would let a child carry her.

In the end, they couldn’t resist Jiang Pan’an’s kindness, and the two of them carried the pig feed down together. Looking at Jiang Pan’an’s tired red face, Chu Sangning grabbed a handful of candy from his pocket and stuffed it into Jiang Pan’an’s hand.

“Sister, I don’t want it.” No matter what Chu Sangning said, Jiang Pan’an refused to take it. In the end, they both took a step back and Jiang Pan’an took two candies.

After Chu Sangning finished cutting grass for the pigs, he started to feed them, while Jiang Panan was about to go home. He had been out for several hours, and if he didn’t go back, his grandmother would start to get anxious again.

Jiang Panan ran home quickly with two candies in his hand. When he got home, he shouted excitedly, “Grandma, I’m back.”

Lin Xiuzhi came out of the house and saw her grandson sweating profusely. She took out a handkerchief from her bosom and asked, “Where have you been again? Have you learned what your mother asked you to learn?”

“Grandma…” Jiang Pan’an frowned, looking like a bitter gourd, and reached out to hug his grandma’s legs, “Don’t tell my mom.”

“Okay, okay, okay, you won’t tell me where you have been?” Lin Xiuzhi asked.

“I just went to help a sister collect grass for pigs, and she gave me candy.” Jiang Pan’an handed the candy in his hand to his grandmother and stood on tiptoe: “Grandma, you eat it.”

Jiang Panan is the first child of the Jiang family and is doted on by the whole family. However, Jiang Panan did not develop an arrogant and domineering personality. Instead, he is very obedient and filial.

Lin Xiuzhi knew that this was due to the teachings of her eldest daughter-in-law to the child. The eldest daughter-in-law was an educated youth and had been married to their Jiang family for more than ten years. She was a good person with a good temper, and the whole family was very satisfied with this daughter-in-law.

But who could give two candies at once? Lin Xiuzhi asked a few questions out of concern and learned from her grandson that it was the newly arrived educated youth.

“Next time you are not allowed to ask for other people’s things, understand?” Lin Xiuzhi warned her grandson. They were educated youth who had come from their hometown and had not adapted to the life here. They must have suffered a lot, and the food would be gone after they ate it.

Nowadays, two milk candies are worth quite a lot of money. I heard that four milk candies are equivalent to a bag of milk.

Lin Xiuzhi thought to herself: When I have time, I will give that educated youth some vegetables grown by themselves.

“Okay.” Jiang Pan’an nodded in agreement to whatever Lin Xiuzhi said. The grandfather and grandson went back to the house holding hands. Chu Sangning, who was feeding the pigs not far away, sneezed.