Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 244 The painful childhood memories come back

"Xiaoxia, you're here?" Tao Dayong's wife Ma Chunhong was the first to react and greeted with a smile:

"Are you looking for Shufen? She's in the house. Your car is so beautiful... Is it new?"

"Yeah." Gu Xiaoxia nodded, parked the car, and prepared to go into the house to find Wu Shufen.

At this time, the women also saw that the car was not supported by lifting it up, but by a small support on the side of the back seat!

Very convenient!

One sister-in-law couldn't help but ask:
"Xiaoxia, what kind of car is this? It's really nice. Did you buy it yourself?"

"Phoenix, a 26-inch women's bicycle." Gu Xiaoxia said with a smile, "It has a big chain box. I've only been working for a few months and can't afford it. Li Long bought it for me."

When they heard that it was the bicycle that Li Long bought for Gu Xiaoxia, those people who had previously said jealously that the Gu family did not ask for a dowry all opened their mouths wide.

Ma Chunhong looked at him with tears in her eyes and asked again:

"This car...isn't it expensive?"

"Well, it's a little more expensive than the 28-inch bike, one hundred and eighty-eight." Gu Xiaoxia said calmly, then went into the house.

She didn't want to talk to these people any more.

Wu Shufen was sitting in the room, watching Gu Xiaoxia come in with a complicated look in her eyes.

She heard what those women said just now, and she also heard Gu Xiaoxia's response.

"Congratulations, you're getting married." Gu Xiaoxia put a package on the table in front of Wu Shufen, "This is a gift you bought for me."

As he spoke, he opened the bag and placed the items on the table one by one.

Two bottles of hair oil, two exquisite combs, two bottles of facial oil, a headscarf, a small women's purse, and a red envelope.

There was five dollars in the red envelope, which was considered a big amount in this era.

Gu Xiaoxia is not married, so when she comes to the formal banquet tomorrow, the Gu family only needs one person - Gu Boyuan - to give the gift. Gu Xiaoxia cannot give the gift herself, because if she does, it means the separation of the family.

All these miscellaneous things add up to about ten dollars.

Therefore, even though Wu Shufen was in a complicated mood, she was also a little surprised. She didn't expect Gu Xiaoxia to buy so many things for her.

"You are getting married, and I don't know what items are suitable. I went to the department store yesterday and picked out some to buy." Gu Xiaoxia said, "I wish you a happy marriage and a son soon."

She is sincerely blessing.

"Well...thank you." Originally, Wu Shufen still had some grudges against Gu Xiaoxia, but now seeing the other party's sincere blessings, those things faded away.

"After you get married, will you live in the village permanently?" Gu Xiaoxia saw that Wu Shufen had a complicated expression, so she changed the subject. A wedding day is not suitable for sentimentality.

"Yes." Wu Shufen remembered that Gu Xiaoxia had just told the women outside that the bicycle was bought by Li Long, so she smiled and said:
"It may be troublesome for me to come here to work in the future. It takes an hour to walk from here to the village, which is five kilometers away... Fortunately, the holiday is coming soon, so there is a buffer period. When school starts, I will ask my husband to buy me a bicycle, even if it is second-hand, so that it will be convenient to ride to work."

Gu Xiaoxia hesitated to speak.

Wu Shufen didn't notice it, but said excitedly:

"You have a dormitory in the middle school, right? I can go visit you during the holidays. My husband's home is in the commune, not far from your school, just a few steps away. You can come to me if you have any problems. My father-in-law knows a lot of people in the commune, so any problems can be easily solved!"

Gu Xiaoxia hesitated, not knowing whether to tell Wu Shufen about the documents she had seen in the Education Bureau over the past two days.

She had already moved to the big yard. After that day, Gu Xiaoxia was no longer afraid of living alone in the big yard. The next day, she rode her bicycle to report to the Education Bureau. Deputy Director Wang was quite surprised to know that she had a residence in the county.

But overall, she is still quite happy. The people who are seconded here do not need her help to solve problems and can quickly get started, which is also a stress relief for her.

So Deputy Director Wang asked Gu Xiaoxia to get into work mode as soon as possible and found some documents for her to familiarize her with the recent work, one of which was a notice about the closure of the village primary school.

The notice requires that all primary schools in the village be merged into the brigade primary schools. Teachers in village primary schools need to be assessed to determine whether they will be admitted to the brigade primary schools - the inclusion ratio is three to one, that is, only one-third of village primary school teachers will become formal teachers in the brigade primary schools.

This document was sent to all brigade schools yesterday, but Wu Shufen probably doesn't know about it yet.

According to Gu Xiaoxia's understanding, it would be difficult for Wu Shufen to compete in the village primary school and get into the brigade primary school.

Gu Xiaoxia wanted to tell Wu Shufen about this matter as soon as possible, but for Wu Shufen, this was a big deal and the sooner she knew it, the earlier she could prepare.

But Wu Shufen is getting married tomorrow, and Gu Xiaoxia doesn't want to affect Wu Shufen's mood at this time.

Wu Shufen was unaware of Gu Xiaoxia's mood changes and was talking about this and that with great interest. Gu Xiaoxia quickly realized that she was indirectly or hinting at her current partner or fiancé, saying how good he was and how much better he was than Li Long.

Gu Xiaoxia felt that something was not right when she heard it.

Wu Shufen may have continued subconsciously:

"My partner doesn't make much money from work, less than 50 yuan a month, but their company has good benefits, and they give out gifts during festivals. We've never bought gloves, socks, laundry detergent, etc. at home... It's not bad for my future father-in-law to work in the sales department. Although it costs money to get things, it's much cheaper than buying them, and he uses the purchase price...

I am not saying that anyone is bad. Those who work for a company are different from those who don’t. Some people make a lot of money, but they don’t have security. They may make a lot today, but they may be arrested tomorrow. I have heard that several people have been arrested for speculation. People who work for the government have security…”

Gu Xiaoxia became a little annoyed. She originally wanted Wu Shufen to get married happily, but as she spoke more and more, it became more and more obvious. So Gu Xiaoxia interrupted her:
"Shufen, I have something important to tell you. This matter is very important to you: the county has issued a notice that the village primary school will not recruit first and second graders next semester. It will be directly withdrawn. One third of you village primary school teachers will be recruited to the brigade primary school, and the remaining two thirds will be laid off. The selection method is examination, you'd better prepare first!"

"What?" Wu Shufen was a little unhappy when Gu Xiaoxia interrupted her. After hearing what she said, she stood up and said loudly:
"This is impossible!"

Her shout directly called her mother in.

Wang Yuzhen saw Wu Shufen standing and Gu Xiaoxia sitting. Her daughter had a strange expression on her face. She thought Gu Xiaoxia had annoyed her. Just as she was about to lose her temper, she saw the pile of things in front of the two people.

These things were not there before. She knew that these things should be brought by Gu Xiaoxia. Her face changed and she said with a smile:
"What's wrong? Talk nicely. You're good friends. You both have jobs now. It's not easy for you to meet each other. Talk nicely. You'll all be in the countryside later, so you'll have more time to get together..."

"Mom, you go out first." Wu Shufen said decisively at this time, "Xiaoxia and I have something important to discuss."

"Okay, okay, okay, you guys tell me." Wang Yuzhen took another look at the things and turned to walk out. She estimated the value of the pile of things at a glance - this Gu Xiaoxia is really good at making money.

"Are you serious?" Wu Shufen asked in a low voice after Wang Yuzhen left.

"it is true."

"How did you know?"

“I saw the document.”

"You are in middle school, how did you see this document?"

"I saw it yesterday when I was on secondment to the Education Bureau." Gu Xiaoxia simply told the story. She would know it sooner or later anyway.

"Then can you..." Wu Shufen's eyes lit up and she asked immediately.

"No." Gu Xiaoxia knew what the other party wanted to say, and replied firmly, "I just arrived at the Education Bureau, I can't interfere in this matter. I can't bury my future. Besides, the selection method is through school examinations. If you still want to stay, go and find out about the situation at the brigade primary school as soon as possible. The questions should be set by them."

Wu Shufen lowered her head and stopped talking.

I originally thought that if I worked hard and found a suitable partner, I would be on equal footing with Gu Xiaoxia when I returned to the countryside.

And my fiancé is a government employee, so am I not superior to him?

But I didn't expect that Gu Xiaoxia not only had better living conditions than me, but her current job was also in the city.

Just when I felt that things were getting a little even and I had a little sense of superiority, the huge gap tore that sense of superiority to pieces again!

In fact, she said so much before because she was stimulated by Gu Xiaoxia's bicycle.

Wu Shufen had also seen women's bicycles in the village. She actually tried to hope that her fiancé would buy her one, but was rejected.

After all, no one's money comes from the wind. After paying a hundred yuan for the betrothal gift, the Zhang family had to decorate the new house and hold the wedding, so they had no extra money. That's why Wu Shufen had that competitive mind and said those words.

But she didn't expect that those words would directly reveal what Gu Xiaoxia didn't want to say.

"Okay, I know you may be feeling very complicated right now, but this is about your future. Didn't you say your father-in-law knows a lot of people? Maybe he knows someone from the primary school in the brigade. You can look for him."

Gu Xiaoxia now regretted that she had exposed this matter, but thinking about Wu Shufen's previous words and deeds that belittled Li Long, she still felt that it was a good idea to speak out:
"By the way, Li Long has actually already started working. He's a buyer for the supply and marketing cooperative... He's not a bad guy."

The words were spoken very quietly, and only two people could hear them. After that, Gu Xiaoxia stood up and turned to leave.

Li Long is her fiancé, and she does not allow others to accuse Li Long without reason.

Even Wu Shufen.

Li Long didn't know that Gu Xiaoxia had stood up for him in the village. At this moment, he was picking black tiger paw mushrooms in the mountains - but at this moment, he felt an invincible loneliness.

There are patches of moss here, and traces of mushrooms can be found from time to time.

It didn't take long to pick up half a sack.

No one shared!

Think about the previous life, whenever a place with mushrooms was discovered, within three days, a large group of people would come there, some walking, some riding electric bikes, and some driving cars.

The end result is that when you dig three feet deep into the ground, you will find more people than mushrooms.

Now? There are mushrooms all over the mountain, but no one is sharing them!
Why is being invincible so lonely?
But it was just a joke, to be honest, he actually liked it this way. After all, there was no competition, no one was snatching it away.

At this rate, he could dry a sack of dried goods in half a month.

There is no shortage of dried mushrooms to eat in winter - every family will have one.

Of course, some can still be sold.

Today, Li Long plans to ride his bike to the county town and sell some of the fresh fruits he picked to Zhong Guoqiang.

A person should keep his word.

He also cut some wild celery, wild onions and other things, which he considered as gifts.

After picking all the mushrooms, Li Long picked up the sack, reached out to touch the stalks of wild strawberries, grabbed four or five of them and stuffed them into his mouth, then continued walking forward while chewing them.

He must have caught a green one, so he felt a sudden sourness in the sweetness in his mouth. He quickly spat out the residue in his mouth, bent down, picked up a red one, put it in his mouth and chewed it to wash away the sourness. Only then did he continue to move forward with satisfaction.

When the sack was full, Li Long tied it up and carried it back.

This mushroom is relatively tough, not as crisp as morels or straw mushrooms, so you don’t have to worry about the mushrooms inside breaking when carrying it like this.

After arriving at the wooden house, Li Long first cut part of the sack into slices and spread them on the wooden board at the door. Then he put the remaining half of the sack on the back seat of the bicycle and rode to the county.

Arriving at the big meat canteen, Li Long parked the car and went to look for Zhong Guoqiang.

The waiter also knew Li Long and hurriedly went inside to call Zhong Guoqiang out.

"Come, come, take a look at the good stuff I brought." Li Long said with a smile, "Look, they are all freshly picked, very fresh. I don't want any that are a little older."

Picking mushrooms is so bold nowadays that only the tender and good ones are picked.

Zhong Guoqiang smiled and casually took out a mushroom half the size of his palm from the sack, broke it open and looked at it, then praised:
"Yes, it's fresh and good!"

"There are some wild celery, wild onion, and artemisia here as side dishes for you." Li Long said, "Do you want all of them, or just some? Shall we go to the back hall and weigh them?"

"Of course I want all of them." Zhong Guoqiang said with a smile, "These mushrooms can be kept for two days. I will definitely coordinate with other units. They have also coordinated things for us. This is mutual."

"I understand, I understand. The price..."

"One dollar and fifty cents, about that." Zhong Guoqiang said, "In fact, if you go to a big city, the price of mushrooms can be higher. They are more scarce than meat. But in our small place, one dollar and fifty cents is equivalent to the price of meat - it's not low."

"It's really not low. I'm satisfied." Li Long was really satisfied. He thought it would be one piece. After all, mushrooms are definitely not as valuable as meat in the eyes of ordinary people these days.

"Haha, as long as you are satisfied." Zhong Guoqiang was also very happy, and then went over to weigh it.

The net weight was 31 kilograms, for a total of 46.5 yuan. Li Long took the money, had dinner here, and then returned to the yard.

Wu Shufen is getting married tomorrow, and Gu Xiaoxia is going to stay back home so that she can attend the wedding, so Li Long will be alone.

But he was very content. He had a big yard, a fiancée, money and food. He listened to the radio and slowly fell asleep.

The next day, Li Long got up early, had breakfast, and rode his bike into the mountains.

He was quite relaxed because the tasks were not too many.

Wu Shufen had already dressed up at home, waiting for her husband to come and pick her up.

Gu Xiaoxia is making breakfast for her father.

Most of the adults in the team were already carrying sickles, a bundle of wet reeds, and wearing straw hats, and were heading to the wheat fields while the weather was still cool.

It's time to harvest the wheat.

Tao Daqiang is also among them.

At this time, he missed the days of fishing with Li Long - although it was hard work and he had to get up earlier than now, but at least there was hope.

Set the net on the first day, take it out on the second day, select the fish, and then pick up the net.

When everything is done, there are five dollars.

What about now? They are busy harvesting wheat, harvesting several acres of land a day, and earning less than one work point per acre.

One work point is 30 cents - this is two or three times higher than last year.

What can you do with three cents?

Buy a meat bun from the big meat restaurant.

Is that enough to eat?
It’s really not enough!

It takes things to bundle wheat, and in some places straw ropes are used.

The team uses reed kidneys or Sphagnum splendens kidneys.

This year, Achnatherum splendens is mainly used to make large brooms, so the reed kidneys are used now.

It is the dry reeds cut last winter. The skin is removed, the reed hairs are chopped off, and then the whole reed is flattened and soaked in water for a day. This way it becomes tough and can be used to bundle wheat.

When we got to the assigned field, we started to harvest the wheat as quickly as possible, because once the sun came out, the wheat, which was originally wet with dew, would quickly dry up. The dazzling sunlight and the piercing wheat awns would make people collapse.

Everyone has his own future.

At this time, Wu Shufen had already sat on the bicycle that came to pick her up - this bicycle was borrowed from her husband.

At this time, Li Long had already picked the first black tiger paw mushroom of the day.

Tao Daqiang was stung by a wasp.

(End of this chapter)