The Sweetness of the Seventies
Chapter 357 - 328: Mailing, Fertile Year_1

Chapter 357: Chapter 328: Mailing, Fertile Year_1

As the end of the year approached, He Jingyu and Wang Shuping were going to Huai City to make a work report, and, incidentally, to collect their salaries and receive their holiday benefits.

When they left, they took the family’s pickled rabbit meat, sending six pieces to Huo Yingjie, and another six pieces to Huo Zhekun and Jiang Lifang, as well as some dried goods they found in the mountains.

He Tiantian originally wanted to take a trip to Huai City as well, but seeing that Third Grandma Qi was home alone, she decided against it and stayed home to keep her company.

Ever since Qi Daniu had acted as a witness for Ye Xiaofan, Aunt Liu warned her daughter to be cautious, not to go out alone, fearing retaliation from Qi Shuqiang’s sons and daughters.

So, when there was nothing else to do, Qi Daniu would come over to play with He Tiantian.

He Tiantian felt somewhat lonely.

Qi Xiaoyan had joined the cultural troupe, Sister Wu had gotten married, and Ye Xiaofan had a partner, so he didn’t have much time, and wouldn’t come to visit He Tiantian alone.

"Daniu, which grade did you finish before you left school?" He Tiantian asked, looking at Qi Daniu’s rosy cheeks.

Qi Daniu smiled and said, "The fifth grade. I finished elementary school. Then my mom had a younger brother, and since we don’t have grandparents, no one else could take care of my little brother, so I had to leave school."

"Do you want to go back to school?" He Tiantian asked. "Do you harbor any resentment towards your parents for taking you out of school?"

Qi Daniu shyly smiled and said, "I don’t blame my mom and dad. If they didn’t work, our family wouldn’t have enough food. Without food, people would starve. I can’t be so selfish. As the eldest sister, I have to share the burden with my parents."

"But do you still want to study?" He Tiantian inquired, unsure of how to help Qi Daniu. She certainly couldn’t teach Qi Daniu how to marinate pork.

"Of course, I do! Who wouldn’t want to go to school!" exclaimed Qi Daniu. "But now the schools aren’t holding classes, so I can’t attend."

After some thought, He Tiantian said, "I have finished middle school, and I had really good grades. How about I become your teacher? I can teach you middle school knowledge, and when the schools reopen, you can take the exams. You might even pass!"

"I want to learn, but I don’t want to take exams," Qi Daniu whispered, a hint of embarrassment on her face.

"Why not?" He Tiantian asked. "By that time, your little brother and sister will be grown up, and you won’t need to take care of the kids."

"It’s not that. I’m afraid of the expense of going to school, and now I can also earn work points," said Qi Daniu. "But I remember my teacher saying before that studying more and reading more will always be useful."

He Tiantian smiled and replied, "Your teacher is right. Look at your brother Er Gou. He doesn’t have to pay for school and the state even provides a subsidy. Don’t worry about money for now, just focus on learning well. When the opportunity arises, you can take the exams."

"If you went back to school, what kind of school would you want to apply to?" He Tiantian asked, enjoying her conversations with Qi Daniu.

"I want to be a teacher," said Qi Daniu earnestly. "Just like my previous Teacher Wu, who was especially kind to me."

It’s very difficult, thought He Tiantian. Qi Daniu wasn’t daunted by her current circumstances, yet nowadays, becoming a teacher meant being labeled as one of the despised ’stinky old nine’.

He Tiantian dug out her old textbooks, copied the first lesson into a notebook and taught Qi Daniu the new characters. Then she let Qi Daniu read and recite on her own. She also wrote some middle school math problems in another notebook.

Remarkably, Qi Daniu was very clever—she learned quickly and was even able to apply the principles in new ways.

After that, Qi Daniu came over almost every evening to study with He Tiantian. Aunt Liu, when she had nothing pressing to do, accompanied her daughter, knitting shoe soles by the fire and chatting.

Aunt Liu’s expectations had risen; she hoped her daughter would learn something by spending time with He Tiantian.

Not to mention anything else, but ever since her daughter started hanging out with He Tiantian, she had learned to groom herself. Her hair was neatly combed, her skin looked better, and she had become prettier.

After a while, she had a certain... what’s the word...

That’s right, she has quite the temperament!

Although the girl is young, several families have already come to inquire about her.

But Aunt Liu rejected them all on the grounds that the child is too young and didn’t agree to any match.

It is a new era now, and many girls get married at the age of twenty, but Liu believes her precious girl should stay at home for a few more years.

When He Jingyu and Wang Shuping cycled back, both of their bicycles were loaded with purchased goods. Among them were ingredients for making snacks, which this year could be used by Third Grandma Qi to make some sweets to enjoy.

There were also two new pieces of clothing made for He Tiantian and Third Grandma Qi.

What was more surprising was that they received some New Year’s benefits mailed over by Huo Zhekun and Jiang Lifang, including some Industrial Coupons among other things. Many of these they couldn’t use themselves, so they mailed them all over.

Huo Yingjie has a very tight schedule this year, but if he completes his project, he will get a two-week holiday.

In the letter, Huo Yingjie told He Tiantian he would come to visit her and that she should wait patiently in Qijia Village without running around everywhere.

At the same time, Huo Yingjie used most of his salary and the coupons he had received to buy local goods for He Tiantian, and sent her a big bag full of items meticulously packed and mailed.

The last time Huo Yingjie visited He Tiantian, he mentioned that he couldn’t buy materials for making snacks in the county town.

So Huo Yingjie kept it in mind and particularly inquired around before purchasing a lot of long-lasting ingredients and mailing them to her.

Seeing Huo Yingjie buying in bulk, the shopkeeper even threw in a few plum blossom-shaped pastry molds for free.

As a result, He Tiantian’s family received plenty of goods for the New Year.

Not only were there the simple osmanthus cake ingredients, but also Western pastry ingredients sent by Huo Yingjie, with as much as ten catties of flour just for making egg cake.

This year’s harvest was bountiful, and together with the grains bought by He Jingyu and Wang Shuping, they were set for a good year.

The cellar was packed full with cabbages, radishes, sweet potatoes, and potatoes. The storeroom also held many dried goods such as wood ear mushrooms and other mushrooms. In the greenhouse in the Peach Orchards, there was a large plot of green vegetables too.

Third Grandma Qi was smiling all day long, contented with plenty of food at home, and in high spirits with the lively atmosphere around her.

This year, the village didn’t have as much game to hunt, but each household received at least some money.

After the money was divided, on the twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month, it was time to slaughter the pigs.

The livestock team had a total of sixteen pigs, with six to be handed over to the organization, leaving ten for the village.

Secretary Qi and a few village cadres decided not to sell the pork this year but to distribute it all to the villagers. If any family was short on money, they could trade their meat for cash with others.

However, there were few such cases because Qijia Village had a good year, and most families preferred meat over money.

Remember, buying pork normally required going all the way to the commune which was so far away!

Definitely not worth it!

One of the pigs was a sow that was already pregnant. In the end, it was decided to keep one sow and one breeding pig, and distribute the remaining eight pigs.

Even so, an adult could get five catties of meat and a child two catties. Counting a family together, they could end up with twenty to thirty catties of meat.