Chapter 243: Not eating commodity grain also has benefits

Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia brought the things back to the large courtyard, and then started to tidy up the room Gu Xiaoxia lived in.

The bedding in the room was originally tidied up by Li Long and piled in the side room, intending to wash it when there was time later. After spreading the new bedding on the bed, Gu Xiaoxia brought water over and started wiping. Li Long started tidying up some things that weren't needed.

After tidying up the things, seeing Gu Xiaoxia was still working vigorously, he went to the kitchen, intending to cook some food.

Lunch was relatively full, so Li Long planned to make a soup, stir-fry a dish, and eat simply in the evening.

After dinner, seeing the sky was already late, Gu Xiaoxia wanted to return to the dormitory—according to her, she hadn't moved out yet, if she didn't return at night, people in the school would talk.

Li Long cared about her thoughts, so he rode the bicycle and took her back to the school. On this side, Gu Xiaoxia started tidying up things in the dormitory. Teacher Wang walked to the door and asked:

"Did you go to the county?"

Her tone carried envy.

Originally, she thought Gu Xiaoxia was a new colleague, a younger sister who needed her care. She didn't expect that she had been here for less than a semester, and she was taken a fancy to by the leaders of the Education Bureau and borrowed directly.

People with clear eyes all understood that this borrowing was likely not to return. As long as there was a compilation there, borrowed personnel like Gu Xiaoxia would certainly be close to the water and get the moon first.

When Gu Xiaoxia was in the large courtyard, she analyzed this matter with Li Long. The explanation Li Long gave was that Gu Xiaoxia was borrowed, likely because her handwriting was good and she had a foundation in text.

In these years, many documents, test papers, and official documents needed to be handwritten or carved on wax plates. This required workers to have good handwriting.

Gu Xiaoxia's father, Gu Bo Yuan, had good handwriting. He not only wrote good brush calligraphy but also wrote very good fountain pen calligraphy.

Gu Xiaoxia practiced calligraphy under Gu Bo Yuan's supervision since she was a child. Because there was no copybook, she practiced according to Gu Bo Yuan's handwriting, so the handwriting that came out wasn't the delicate handwriting of women, but carried grandeur, very much like a copybook.

Then there was Gu Xiaoxia's document writing. Gu Bo Yuan himself was quite good at this, and under his influence, Gu Xiaoxia was also quite powerful in this aspect. She also liked writing. Although the little stories she started writing since she was a child weren't very outstanding, Gu Bo Yuan didn't suppress, ridicule, or ignore them like other parents, but would intentionally guide them, which was also the reason why Gu Xiaoxia's Chinese grades were relatively good and finally went

Then there was Gu Xiaoxia's document writing. Gu Bo Yuan himself was quite skilled in this area, and under his influence, Gu Xiaoxia was also quite capable in this regard. She also liked writing; although she wasn't very outstanding when she started writing short stories as a child, Gu Bo Yuan didn't suppress, ridicule, or be indifferent like other parents. He would intentionally guide her, which was also why Gu Xiaoxia's Chinese grades were relatively good, and why she eventually went to teach Chinese.

This was also the reason she could be selected and seconded by the Education Bureau—she had laid a solid foundation when she was in school.

It was true that Teacher Wang was envious. Who wouldn't want to work in the county? That was a higher-level organ, which would have a broader stage and greater room for development.

Gu Xiaoxia was actually quite proud after the initial confusion. However, when Li Long chatted with her, he also told her that the more proud a person is, the easier it is to lose their head. So, being able to keep a clear head at this time was the most precious thing.

After all, it was just a secondment, not that she had really left and wouldn't come back. If she was proud now, and if she really couldn't gain a foothold in the Education Bureau and eventually came back, wouldn't it be very embarrassing then?

In his previous life, Li Long had seen too many people on online platforms whose friends and relatives couldn't bear to see others doing well, and who were reported by those around them when taking civil service or postgraduate entrance exams.

So he would tell Gu Xiaoxia from time to time to lower her profile and maintain a humble attitude.

"Yes, we are going to find a place to stay." Gu Xiaoxia stood up and walked to the bed, picked up a watermelon from under the bed and handed it to Teacher Wang:

"Teacher Wang, this was bought by my partner, take one."

"So polite? Then I'll accept it. Where is this melon from?"

"From the lower wild fields," Gu Xiaoxia said with a smile. "Bought it on the way."

Seeing that Gu Xiaoxia hadn't become arrogant at all because she was going to be seconded to the Education Bureau, Teacher Wang suddenly felt that this girl deserved this opportunity. She held the watermelon and said with a smile, "We were chatting earlier, saying that if you really transferred away, you might not recognize us in the future..."

"How could that be? Maybe I'll be back next semester." Gu Xiaoxia began to admire Li Long at this moment; what he said was really accurate. These people were really discussing her behind her back, and they were discussing her in a derogatory way, so she hurriedly said:

"I'm just seconded, maybe I'll only go for a month or two. I'm actually envious of you; you have nothing to do once the holiday starts, but I'll definitely have to work every day when I go there."

"In a higher-level opportunity, even working overtime is worth it," Teacher Wang joked. "Then you pack up, is there anything you need my help with?"

"No, no, there aren't many things. Anyway, I might have to come back later, so just bring the things I use often."

Teacher Wang held the watermelon and returned to her dormitory, still feeling that Gu Xiaoxia was a good girl, and her original heart hadn't changed. She still remembered the demeanor of people in the school who had been seconded to other units in the county in the past, who already considered themselves as being from a higher-level unit before they had even left.

Compared to that, the difference between Gu Xiaoxia and them was clear at a glance.

Li Long rode his bicycle, carrying the watermelon, and returned to the village as the sun had already set.

Li Qiang was on the side of the road behind the residential area, playing with mud with a few other children. Now that all residential areas were in the shade, the team directly released water from the Little Haizi down into the canals of each residential area, so there was mud in the canal behind, and they could play.

The rules were as follows: each party playing the game took a pile of mud of about the same size. They kneaded the mud into a bowl shape, held it in one hand, and took turns throwing it to the ground to see whose bowl bottom had the largest hole; whoever had the largest hole won. The winning party could take a lump of mud from the losing party to patch the hole. Then repeat the above game until one party's mud was won over. A trick was to make the mud bowl bottom thinner, but not too thin.

At this time, Li Long's hair, clothes, and hands were covered in mud spots, and he naturally couldn't care less, playing excitedly with others there.

Li Long saw that Li Qiang had the most mud in front of him, and he was winning excitedly at this moment.

However, he wouldn't be able to avoid Liang Yuemei's complaints when he went back—the clothes on his body would definitely need to be washed.

"Qiangqiang, let's go, time to go home!" Li Long shouted.

"Little Uncle... let me play for a while longer." Li Qiang's eyes lit up when he saw Li Long, but he was reluctant to leave the pile of mud in front of him.

"Look at your clothes, your mom will scold you when you go back!"

Only then did Li Qiang belatedly see the mud on his body and realize he was in trouble. His mouth drooped, and the proud spirit from just now was completely gone.

The mud he had won was of no use, so he had to stand up and walk towards Li Long.

Li Long helped him onto the crossbar, and while pedaling the bike, said:

"Let's go, let's go home and eat watermelon."

"Uncle, did you buy watermelon?"

"Yes, look, the back of the bike is full of them, enough for you to eat."

"Great, great! I saw a truck selling watermelons pass by from behind two days ago, and I shouted at it, but it didn't stop."

Li Long thought to himself, it would be strange if they stopped when you shouted. You're a six or seven-year-old child, even if you said you had money to buy, they wouldn't believe you!

Riding the bike back home, Du Chunfang and Li Juan were preparing pig feed in the courtyard. From the entrance, one could see people at the threshing floor, and the Li family's horse was also there.

Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei should be busy.

"Quick, go take off your clothes, then go to the well and wash the mud off your hair and body. Throw the clothes there, and I'll scrub them for you in a while," Li Long said. "When your parents come back, we'll cut the watermelon to eat."

Li Qiang was very obedient at this time, nimbly taking off his clothes and going to wash his hair and arms.

"Mother, where is Father?" Li Long asked.

"You hadn't come back, so he and Daqiang went to set the nets," Du Chunfang said while stirring the pig feed. "Always full of surprises!"

"Full of surprises" was usually used together, but she hadn't expected her mother to use it on her father.

Her father going to set nets with Daqiang also surprised Li Long a bit. "Let them set them, if they catch fish, I'll go sell them tomorrow," Li Long said with a smile.

He unloaded the watermelons and carried them into the house, rolling them under the bed in the master bedroom. It seemed to be a habit in the Northern Tianshan for many years; when the season arrived, every family had a bed full of melons under their beds.

Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei returned ten minutes later. The horse was led to the horse pen and let go. By this time, Li Qiang had already finished washing and changed his clothes, and Li Long had also finished scrubbing the mud-stained clothes and hung them up. In the middle of summer, these clothes would be dry in one night.

Liang Yuemei knew what the situation was as soon as she saw it, and glared fiercely at Li Qiang. However, there were many people, so she didn't say much more.

"Let's not have dinner tonight," Li Long said with a smile. "I bought watermelon, we'll each have half, and it's best to soak dry steamed buns in it to eat. Mother can't eat much, I'll cook some porridge for you."

"Great." Li Qiang was the first to applaud.

"How much watermelon did you buy?" Li Jianguo had no objections; working all day in this hot weather, having watermelon to relieve the heat was naturally no problem.

"A sack, I left a few for Xiaoxia's side."

Li Long went into the house and carried two watermelons out, and Li Qiang followed and carried one out.

Li Juan went to the kitchen and brought out an iron spoon—ever since Li Long earned money, the number of spoons in the house had increased. These daily necessities were all bought by him every few days.

!.

At the small table outside, cut the watermelon open, and then use a knife to cut it into small pieces, and everyone could choose freely.

At this time, Li Qing Xia and Tao Daqiang came back carrying tires, and seeing the watermelon on the table, they were immediately happy.

"Without Xiao Long bought watermelon? It's just right, it's hot, come, come, Daqiang, you eat too!"

"When Without Xiao Long went to set the nets together, he came back in a while, but you guys, you spent the whole afternoon..."

Du Chunfang never gave Li Qing Xia face, but what she said was the truth.

"That's because we don't have Without Xiao Long's ability to set nets," Li Qing Xia didn't feel embarrassed at all. "Sitting on a tire in the water, paddling while setting the nets, it's really not easy..."

Tao Daqiang nodded vigorously, deeply agreeing. Having watched it many times, he still couldn't master Li Long's ability to set the net with his mouth.

"Come, come, eat melon first." Li Jianguo went in and carried another melon, and Liang Yuemei took out the dried steamed buns and placed them on the small table.

"I won't eat..." Tao Daqiang was a bit constrained.

"Then carry one back and eat it with your father," Li Long also saw that he was a bit uncomfortable. "Come over to take the nets tomorrow morning."

"Fine." Tao Daqiang didn't decline.

Li Long picked a large watermelon weighing about ten kilograms for Tao Daqiang, sent him to the door, stuffed ten yuan into his hand, and sent him away.

The Li family sat together, each eating their own, and Li Long told them about Gu Xiaoxia's secondment to the county.

"This Xiaoxia is really blessed, getting engaged here, and going to the county there..." Du Chunfang, as always, felt that it was Li Long who brought good luck to Gu Xiaoxia.

"That's because she is capable," Li Qing Xia, as always, wanted to bicker with his wife. "The more capable your daughter-in-law is, the better Without Xiao Long's life will be in the future."

"That's true... it seems Without Xiao Long will have to buy a house in the county in the future," Du Chunfang sighed. "I don't know when Without Xiao Long will be able to eat commercial grain..."

"I won't eat it. The supply and marketing cooperative wanted to give me a quota earlier, but I didn't go," Li Long said something earth-shattering, which made everyone's spoons stop—except for Li Qiang's.

Even Li Juan vaguely knew that those who ate commercial grain would be much "nobler" than farmers working in the fields!

"Are you telling the truth?" Li Qing Xia asked.

"Yes, Father, don't be surprised. Think about it, if I went, I would only earn thirty or forty yuan a month. Could I still earn hundreds at once like now with a broom job?"

"That... wouldn't." Li Qing Xia nodded.

"But that's stable," Li Jianguo couldn't help but say. "Working all year round, getting that salary and eating commercial grain, how good!"

"It's different," Li Long shook his head and said. "Others might be like that, but I'm different. You also know that I can earn a worker's monthly salary in one day selling fish. If you ask me to go to work honestly every day, I can't stay."

The others stopped talking.

Du Chunfang only felt it was a pity, and Liang Yuemei also felt it was a pity, but according to Li Long's own words, there wasn't much to regret.

After all, what Li Long said was the truth.

The money he earned in a month was more than what a worker earned in a year, two years, or even three years, so what was the point of eating this commercial grain?

"Besides, I bought the house in the county, that big house," Li Long said. "Our whole family can live there, such a big courtyard, five hundred yuan!"

"Five hundred? So much!" Du Chunfang exclaimed.

"Five hundred? It's worth it!" This was Li Jianguo.

"There are so many rooms in there... but are you really not worried?" This was Li Qing Xia.

"Rest assured, I'm not worried anymore," Li Long smiled. "If I had become a worker and eaten commercial grain, I don't know how long it would have taken to earn enough money for the house, and maybe I wouldn't have had this opportunity then."

The whole family was convinced.

They continued eating watermelon and soaking steamed buns.

It felt exceptionally sweet.

When taking the nets the next day, Li Long found that the nets were set a bit too tightly, and the fish were directly reduced by nearly a third—six nets, and there were about forty kilograms of fish.

However, the fish in the basin were still about ten kilograms, quite a lot.

Li Long had already planned to get more cage cloth to cover the basin, so as to avoid some fish being crushed to death.

He went to Shicheng to sell fish again, and when he came back, he went to the large courtyard to put down the basin and scale, and then carried two deer whips and went to the supply and marketing cooperative.

Li Xiangqian was drinking tea in the office. Seeing Li Long come in with something wrapped in a newspaper, he asked with a smile:

"Yo, what are you here for? Bringing things when you come to me?"

"Section Chief, I have something to ask of you," Li Long said with a smile. "I can't come empty-handed."

"What did you bring?" Li Xiangqian knew that Li Long had a sense of proportion and wouldn't make excessive demands, so he pointed to the newspaper:

"If the weight of the thing isn't enough, I won't handle the matter!"

"Rest assured, the weight is definitely enough!"

(End of chapter)