Stunning Check-in: A Carefree Life Begins in the Countryside

Soon,

After Xia An finished smoking, the eight women were each given two candies.

Xia An clapped his hands. "Everyone, although I don't know you all yet, thank you all for helping us build our houses."

"I was busy going to the commune to collect medical equipment today, so please forgive me for any shortcomings in my hospitality."

"You're too kind, Xia," a middle-aged man laughed. "We built the clinic for ourselves, and we were paid for it with work points. We were also paid for building the house. You don't need to think too much about it."

"Yes, Xia Zhiqing, you just focus on your work and don't worry about us."

Others chimed in.

Xia An pressed his hand down, shook his head and smiled:

"Everyone, please listen to me for a moment."

"I understand what you all mean, but you also helped us build houses, so we should still be treated with the proper hospitality. This cannot be omitted."

"I'm from the south, and I'm still young, so there are many things I don't understand."

"If there's anything I did wrong, please point it out."

"If you have faults, correct them; if you don't, strive to improve."

Xia An smiled and continued:

"I'd like to ask a few of the older women to help me with the cooking."

"We'll be provided with one meal a day. Today it's dinner, and from now on it'll be lunch."

"Also, I sometimes have a bad memory when it comes to things like handing out cigarettes, please forgive me."

"I'll put a few bags of Harvest here every day, and people can order as much as they need."

"In addition, I will bring half a pound of white sugar every day, so the aunties can make a drink with it."

That's all I have to say. Please forgive me if there's anything else that wasn't handled well.

Upon hearing this, everyone was slightly taken aback, and then they all spoke up:

"Xia, the educated youth, was magnanimous!"

"Xia Zhiqing's arrangements are so thoughtful, we're all embarrassed."

An auntie in the crowd said with a smile, and the others nodded in agreement.

A middle-aged man stepped forward.

"Xia, the educated youth, my name is Luo Shutong. I'm the third child in my family. Luo Zhongqian is my second brother."

"I'll oversee all the house construction in Anping Village, so you can go ahead and do your work without worry. I'll keep an eye on things here and make sure they're built perfectly for you."

"Besides, I see you know Guihua, so you don't need to worry about cooking or anything like that. Just leave it to her and the others to take care of it."

Xia An smiled and said, "So it's Uncle Luo. Then I'll trouble you and Aunt Guihua."

"I wonder if there's a large cooking pot or something in the village?"

"Also, I couldn't buy any vegetables. Does anyone have extra? I'll go and exchange some with them."

"No, no need."

Uncle Luo quickly waved his hand and said, "Why go to such trouble? Just provide some coarse grains and have each family bring some vegetables."

"If you hadn't made that request, I wouldn't have needed meals or anything like that."

"Yes," Aunt Guihua stepped forward and said, "Young educated youth, each family has a small plot of land, and in the summer, there's no shortage of vegetables."

"After that, I went to the team headquarters to borrow two big pots, and each family contributed some vegetables, and we were able to prepare a meal."

Xia An shook her head, "After all, this was my request. Why should I bother with all this expense?"

"How about this, Aunt Guihua, could you please help me arrange the vegetables?"

As he spoke, he took out a ten-yuan note and handed it to Aunt Guihua, saying with a smile:

"Aunt Guihua, please use your resources as much as you like, but at least make sure there are two dishes every day. We can't let everyone eat too poorly."

"Also, the coarse grains and seasonings I prepared are with Yunshu. You can take some people there to get them later."

"This...this..." Aunt Guihua held the money in her hand, somewhat at a loss for words.

"Xia Zhiqing, you..."

But before she could say anything more, Xia An said:

"Aunt Guihua, I'm serious. I'll be troubling you a lot in the next few days."

Hearing this, Aunt Guihua looked at Uncle Luo and said, "Third Brother, look at this..."

Luo Shutong shook his head and chuckled, "Since Xia Zhiqing has made this request, just do as she says."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Guihua glanced at Xia An, said nothing more, and put the money away.

Xia An took out eight packs of Harvest cigarettes from her bag and handed them to Uncle Luo. "Uncle Luo, find a place to put them. Anyone who wants to smoke can take one."

"good!"

Luo Shutong nodded.

Xia An took out another half pound of white sugar and handed it to Aunt Guihua, smiling as he said:

"Thank you for your help, Aunt Guihua."

"No trouble at all!" Aunt Guihua said with a smile, her eyes filled with increasing admiration for the young man in front of her.

Luo Shutong laughed and said:

"In that case, Xia, you can go ahead and get busy. We'll keep an eye on things here."

Xia An nodded, "Okay, then thank you very much, Uncle Luo and Aunt Guihua."

"What are you saying?"

The two shook their heads and laughed.

Xia An greeted everyone and then turned around and went back home with Luo Yunshu.

Looking at Ye Qingxuan and the others' 120 jin of coarse grains, and his own 30 jin,

Xia An frowned slightly. "This isn't enough. I completely forgot to buy some today."

He did have two hundred catties of rice in his space, but it was high-quality rice and he couldn't take it out for the time being.

Luo Yunshu shook her head, a sly glint in her eyes, and smiled:

"Brother Xia An, you can go to the team headquarters. They keep a surplus of grain every year for emergencies. You can ask them to sell you some."

"But all 32 people do heavy work, and each meal weighs about 30 jin (15 catties), which costs 3 yuan. Brother Xia needs to be mentally prepared."

Xia An nodded, unaware of the strange look in Luo Yunshu's eyes.

Then Luo Yunshu continued:

"Actually, Uncle San and the others received wages and work points, and they didn't just build Xia An's house. It's fine if Xia An doesn't provide meals."

Xia An shook her head. "I know, if we don't eat, people will just say we don't know the rules, but it won't have a big impact."

"But providing meals and cigarettes was to build rapport and make the construction process smoother."

"It's just a small expense, for good luck."

Luo Yunshu nodded; she naturally knew this, which was why she hadn't stopped her before.

But now, isn't there a food shortage?

However, since Xia An went to the team headquarters to buy food, the team headquarters should give him a reward, right?

A sly glint flashed in Luo Yunshu's eyes, but she quickly concealed it.

Xia An brought back the remaining four and a half catties of white sugar and coarse grains today, and put them together.

Then, after thinking for a moment, he also brought over the seasonings and ten pounds of pork that he had brought back yesterday.

"Yun Shu, since you won't be working for a while, please keep an eye on things at home."

"Aunt Guihua will come to pick up her things later. Let them take the sugar and dissolve it in water themselves."

"And this piece of meat, let her take it and cook it too. We can't afford too much, so let's divide it into ten portions, and take one pound each time to add flavor."

Luo Yunshu was slightly taken aback, then quickly realized what she meant and smiled:

"Leave Xia An to me."

"However, for seasonings, just give me salt and soy sauce, nothing else is needed."

Xia An was taken aback, looking puzzled.

Luo Yunshu laughed and said, "The team members rarely eat these seasonings, or almost never eat them."

Xia An understood.

It's probably only available at the supply and marketing cooperative, and it's a bit expensive, so the team members don't eat it.

He hesitated for a moment, then put the other seasonings back into the basket and smiled:

"Today I'll first determine which of your medicinal herbs can be included in the catalog, and then you can calculate and submit the report."

"I'll go find Uncle Xie and the others later to see if I can buy some coarse grains."

"Okay!" Luo Yunshu nodded with a smile.

Soon,

Xia An categorized the medicinal herbs in Luo Yunshu's courtyard and determined which ones could be included.

Then, he left alone.