1979: Reopening Wenhao Road from the Village

Chen Weidong tidied up the dishes and chopsticks, then went to the yard, fed the ewe some hay, and then milked a large bowl of milk.

This time, I used lukewarm water, which is neither too cold nor too hot, making it easy to knead the dough, ensuring even fermentation, and maintaining a consistent texture.

He added half water and a little goat milk to the other half. This made the steamed buns whiter, with a richer milk flavor, and less likely to dry out. Chen Xiaohui would definitely love them.

Anyway, we have dairy goats at home now, so we have plenty of goat milk.

Both Chen Xiaosui and Chen Xiaoan have gained some weight recently, which is largely due to their daily consumption of goat milk.

Chen Weidong heated up the remaining half bowl of goat milk, drank half of it himself, and handed the rest to Su Man.

"You can drink the rest."

"I won't drink it. You can put it there and feed it to An'an later."

Su Man refused, saying that she was a grown woman and it would be strange for her to drink goat milk.

"He can squeeze some more when he gets hungry, and it's already warmed up, so you should drink it quickly! Otherwise it will be a waste."

After much persuasion, Su Man finally drank it.

People are now suffering from malnutrition, partly because they don't have enough to eat, and partly because their bodies can't replenish the nutrients they need.

Su Man, for example, is only twenty-five years old. Her hair is dry and her skin is sallow, clearly indicating malnutrition.

Even Chen Weidong himself, who is 1.78 meters tall, only weighs about 110 kilograms. This is because he used to follow Ermaitai and the others to eat some meat and supplement his nutrition.

After cutting the potatoes, cabbage, and pork into sections and preparing the other ingredients, and with the dough ready to rise, Chen Weidong began steaming the buns.

"It smells good, Daddy, I want to eat it."

Smelling the aroma, Chen Xiaosui, who had just finished breakfast, started making noise again.

"It'll be ready soon. Sit down, be careful, it's hot. Let it cool down before you eat."

Chen Weidong lifted the pot lid and looked at the slightly yellowish steamed buns. They might have been too alkaline today, but compared to the flat steamed buns he made last time, this was a big improvement.

Chen Weidong put half a steamed bun into Chen Xiaosui's bowl, placed the rest of the buns on the plate, and started making the stew.

"Wei Dong".

Just as the food was put into the pot, He Yan's voice came from outside.

"Brother Yan, Fu Xiao, Lin Xi, please come in."

Chen Weidong stood up, lifted the curtain, and spoke to the three people outside.

"Oh, it smells so good! Comrade Weidong, you're quite the multi-talented man now. You can cook, be elegant in public, and write articles."

As soon as Lin Xi entered the room, she immediately began praising Chen Weidong.

Compared to the taciturn Fu Xiao, Lin Xi is much more outgoing and speaks her mind.

"Haha, thank you for the compliment. Please have a seat. The food will be ready soon."

Chen Weidong said with a smile, and Su Man also took out the melon seeds and peanuts that Chen's mother had brought.

Chen Xiaosui, who was eating a steamed bun with her head down, immediately looked up when she heard the sound. When she saw the peanuts, her eyes lit up. She had eaten them before, and their taste was second only to meat.

"I want to eat too."

She put down her bowl, but her little hands held onto the half-eaten steamed bun tightly, and then she climbed over to Fu Xiao's side.

"I'll peel it for you."

Fu Xiao rarely showed a smile; she genuinely liked Chen Xiaosui.

The group ate and chatted.

"How's your studying going? Which schools are you planning to apply to?"

Lin Xi asked casually, but her eyes glanced at He Yan beside her.

Chen Weidong witnessed this and immediately understood that they had come to gather information.

However, as far as he knew, He Yan had never taken the college entrance examination. After returning to the city, he first became a teacher in the suburbs of Yanjing, and later he was also included in the city, where he worked until his retirement.

As for Lin Xi, she was admitted to Sichuan University, and after confirming her relationship with He Yan, she was admitted to Peking University, which was quite an achievement at the time.

As for Fu Xiao, he wasn't quite sure. In his previous life, he was the first to return to the city, and He Yan hadn't told him anything about her. He only knew that Fu Xiao had also returned to the city, but he really didn't know whether she had passed the university entrance exam.

"I didn't study much and I don't plan to take the exam this year."

He Yan hesitated for a moment and said that he hadn't been studying very well lately and his chances of passing the exam were slim, so he didn't plan to take it this time and save some money.

Taking the college entrance exam now is not only a very complicated process, but also quite expensive. Although the college entrance exam itself is free, you still need to spend money on food and lodging when you go to the county town to take the exam.

The little money He Yan had saved up was simply not enough.

"The exam isn't until a while yet. If you need any materials, you can come and get them from me."

Lin Xi immediately replied.

"It's Brother Yan. There are still several months to go. If you need money, you can take it from me first."

Chen Weidong immediately offered his advice, saying that in his previous life, he had chatted with He Yan, who had always regretted not taking the college entrance examination, a regret that had always been in his heart.

"That's right, Weidong recently received his royalties, and his family is still well-off. If any of you are short of money, just say so."

Su Man chimed in, holding over a hundred yuan in her hand, which gave her a lot more confidence.

"Comrade Weidong's manuscript has been approved!?"

Fu Xiao, who had been silent until now, looked up and stared at Su Man and Chen Weidong with some surprise.

"Yes, he went to Beijing to revise his manuscript a while ago. The editor thought he was too far away, so he paid him the manuscript fee in advance."

Su Man said with pride that in previous years, Chen Weidong was unreliable and she had heard a lot of gossip in the village. She didn't say anything, but she was actually holding a grudge.

Now Chen Weidong has finally proven her right and shown that she didn't choose the wrong person.

Although Su Man didn't say exactly how much money Chen Weidong had earned, Fu Xiao and the other two guessed from her smiling face that it must have been a lot.

Lin Xi glanced at Su Man, who had finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel.

He glanced at He Yan out of the corner of his eye.

I don't know what they'll do.

"Weidong, I'd like to offer you a toast with water instead of wine. Congratulations on the successful publication of your article."

He Yan picked up the bowl and spoke to the sincere Chen Weidong, his spirits also rising. Since Chen Weidong could succeed, there was no harm in giving it a try; at most, it would only cost some money and time.

After finishing their meal, the group sat for a while longer before leaving. He Yan walked to the back and whispered to Chen Weidong, "Weidong, do you think I can pass the exam?"

"Brother Yan, I don't know if you can pass the exam, but I know you'll definitely regret it in the future if you don't take it this time."

It's important to know that college graduates are highly sought after these days. Not to mention undergraduates, even a junior college graduate can get a good job after graduation.

With a little effort, managing a county in the future should be no problem.

Learning now truly can change your destiny!

Therefore, Chen Weidong really hoped that He Yan would give it a try, so that even if he didn't pass the exam, he could still go back to teaching and educating people.

"Then I'll give it a try."

He Yan said in a low but firm voice.

"Keep it up! I believe in you. If there's anything I can help you with, just let me know. Linxi has some study materials for repeating a grade, go borrow them and take a look. If you don't understand anything, feel free to ask her."

Chen Weidong patted He Yan's arm. Even if he didn't get into university in the end, it would be a happy thing if he could be with Lin Xi earlier.

That's all he can do to help; the rest is up to He Yan himself.