"According to the village regulations, this grain is lent to you, and it will be deducted from your public work points later."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and nobody opposed.

Li Yungui was quite satisfied with their response, especially since the three he was most concerned about had no objections. That was a relief, saving a lot of unnecessary chatter.

Everyone received fifty jin of wheat, fifty jin of sorghum rice, and fifty jin of corn kernels. He knew that other villages or educated youth offices usually distribute these according to gender, but Li Yungui didn’t like doing it that way, so he allotted the same amount to everyone.

There was nothing else available. If they wanted more, they had to wait for the autumn grain distribution.

"Are the seven of you going to store it together?"

Zhou Hanliang, as the oldest brother, stepped up to answer. "Yes, we’re all eating together."

"That means you’re taking three hundred and fifty jin. Male comrades, come and weigh it. There’s a cart over there; you can take it back yourself."

Each kind was three hundred and fifty jin, almost filling eleven woven bags. Fortunately, there were enough people to push it back in four trips.

"Remember, you owe the brigade eleven woven bags. When you get the chance, return them to this gentleman."

Zhou Hanliang nodded to show that he understood.

Tao Chun and the others were borrowing four hundred and fifty jin altogether. They simply borrowed the brigade’s bags, but returned two of them immediately.

It took Tao Chun three trips to bring it back.

Tao YanZhen approached Li Yungui and asked softly, "Village Chief Li, how should we process this grain?"

"There’s a steel mill in the township and grinders in the village. If you don’t know how, take the time to watch how others are grinding."

"Thank you, Village Chief Li."

Li Yungui also told Tao YanZhen the location of the two grinders in the village and then left.

After the three of them returned home, they stored the grain in the warehouse.

"Brother, we should try to get a bicycle first and then go to the township to mill the grain."

"Alright, but let’s not go out in the next few days."

"Yeah, I think Jin Erlin will definitely come over in the next few days. We’ll give him money and tickets and let him help us bring it back."

"Okay, Xiao Zhen, did Dad give you the money? Ask Jin Erlin how much all of this costs, and we’ll pay them back."

"Cousin, I have the money."

"Meng Lin, you better let Xiao Zhen ask, with that expression of yours, I suppose Jin Erlin would be too embarrassed to ask for money."

Tao YanZhen chuckled, and Wang Menglin tugged at the corner of her mouth.

Due to this arrangement, the three of them started tidying up.

They were used to military-style management since childhood, so organizing their belongings was something they did very quickly.

"Cousin, we don’t have any vegetables, let’s pick some wild greens."

"Let my brother turn over the soil in the yard. We can plant vegetables." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

They weren’t pampered from a young age. They did all kinds of work at home.

"Xiao Zhen, you should go and borrow some vegetable seeds from the village chief."

"Alright, we’ll plant the yard full, so we’ll have something to eat in the winter."

"Meng Lin, Xiao Zhen, come over here."

When they heard this, they immediately went outside. It turned out, Tao Chun had discovered a cellar.

"Jin Erlin did a neat job. Meng Lin, give him a pack of the good cigarettes you brought as a thank you."

"Brother, I’ll get the flashlight, and you check it out."

In the end, all three of them went down. The cellar wasn’t big, only about the size of a room and a half, but it was enough for the three of them.

"Brother, you go and turn over the soil, we’ll borrow some seeds, and let’s plant more vegetables so we can store them later."

"Alright, just be careful, you two."

"Haha, ordinary people aren’t our opponents, are they?"

Tao Chun laughed. Indeed, ordinary people were no match for his two sisters.

The two found a basket in the warehouse, Wang Menglin carried it on her back, and they headed out.

Both had undergone training, so they quickly familiarized themselves with the village layout.

They found Li Yungui at the field’s edge.

"Village Chief Li, our yard is quite large. We’re thinking of planting some vegetables, do you know what we can plant now?"

"It’s about time to plant cabbage, they’re easy to store. Just plant cabbage, I have seeds at home, I’ll bring them to you tonight."

"Thank you, Village Chief Li. I’d also like some radish and scallion seeds."

"I have those as well, I’ll send you some.

What are you two up to?"

"We don’t have vegetables, and we aren’t used to it, so we planned to gather some wild greens."

"Don’t go up the mountain, that’s the rule."

"Yes, we understand, we won’t go. We are just gathering some wild greens."

On this end, because Shi Xian was irritating him, Wei Kaiyun was playing with his son.

"Your son has no patience at all."

"Wife, I really can’t stand it, I’ll leave it to you."

Jiang Xinyu glared at Wei Kaiyun, knowing that he had seen through everything, had no boundaries with the child, and expecting him to discipline was unrealistic.

Tingting was listless but not whining, and it was too hot in the car even with the windows open.

When evening came, Wei Kaiyun asked the driver to stop, so the children could stretch their legs outside; otherwise, Shi Xian wouldn’t sleep well at night.

Everyone took this opportunity to have dinner.

They directly set up a stove to cook. Jiang Xinyu took out some noodles and chili sauce.

It was already quite good. Everyone ate their fill. Wei Kaiyun stooped to help his son walk, aiding his digestion for a good night’s sleep.

"Xiao Liu, go sleep in the other vehicle, I’ll drive. You two take turns driving, and if you’re tired, be sure to stop."

"Alright, thank you, Brother Wei."

Wei Kaiyun was used to not sleeping at night, mostly because it was cool at night and the kids could sleep, so they could reach their destination sooner.

They stayed for about an hour before setting off again.

Jiang Xinyu lulled the two children to sleep, letting them lie in the back while she stayed up front with her husband.

"Xinyu, go to sleep. I’m fine on my own."

"Okay, I can’t drive this kind of car. So you drive yourself, but if you get tired or sleepy make sure to stop, we have two kids in the car."

"I know. Don’t worry, you can sleep."

Actually, Wei Kaiyun regretted a little. He shouldn’t have let his wife and children endure this hardship with him.

He wondered how Shi Jing and the others were doing. Old Yang might be resting during the day and traveling at night, they had plenty of time anyway.

Old Yang, indeed, followed this plan. During the day, they stayed in a small county, letting the kids play all day, departing in the evening.

Traveling at this leisurely pace allowed the children to experience the local customs as they traveled.

Even though they were in the same region, there were still many differences in accent and customs.

The next morning, after Wang Menglin prepared a meal and they ate, the three went to wait for work assignments.

When they arrived, Li Cunshan was coming over to ring the bell. He was quite pleased to see them. At least they weren’t slackers, which was rare and commendable.

Last night, Yun Gui talked to him about these three educated youth. They were indeed quite different.