"Xiangyu, your Xiangxiu is leading a few sisters from the art troupe to perform at the place where the karez is dug. Director Feng is going with them. Don't you plan to join in the fun?" Zhu Xiaojie said, pushing open the door early in the morning.
Zhu Xiaojie, Yu Weiwei, Su Xiangyu and Xu Wenli were classmates in Shanghai.
Unlike Yu Weiwei who is honest and Xu Wenli who is cowardly, Zhu Xiaojie is relatively smarter.
This girl, as the saying goes, has lofty ambitions but a fragile life. She has no one at home and only one boyfriend in Shanghai, who is a worker and often sends her things. So she is considered a relatively proud girl in the entire farm.
However, it has been a long time since her boyfriend sent her any noodles.
It's nothing, he just started dating another girl in the city and dumped her.
After a while, she stole three biscuits from the male educated youth Qi Dali, but she didn't dare to admit it. Qi Dali thought it was Xu Wenli who stole it, and scolded Xu Wenli in public, so Xu Wenli hanged herself.
Of course, because of three cookies and a life, several students completely turned against each other.
"I won't go. You must be careful. Digging karez is a skill of the local old residents, and the technology was lost long before liberation. It is not easy to dig." Su Xiangyu said.
In her first life, she also opposed it when Su Xiangxiu proposed digging a karez.
But no one would listen to her.
As a result, several educated youth died.
Su Xiangyu wants to dig a karez, which is simply out of her mind.
"Then let's go. Your sister is riding in the director's jeep today. She is so lucky." Zhu Xiaojie sighed and said, "She has only been here for one day, and all the young men on the farm are looking at her. She is simply a heartthrob."
With Su Xiangxiu being her heartthrob, Su Xiangyu has to improve her life by raising chickens with the system.
When she got up in the morning, she tried the temperature in the chicken coop. It was at least four or five degrees, much warmer than the house, so she started reading about the feed.
Although the blind God gave Xiang Yu back to his original form on the day he was admitted to Tsinghua University, at least he gave her a wealthy life and an inexhaustible schoolbag.
Just for this, Xiangyu has to sing a song of gratitude.
But what the hell is adding talcum powder, crushed eggshells and old lime to chicken feed?
Could it be that she was asked to feed poison to the chickens?
Didn't she brag in front of all the educated youth on the farm, saying that she could increase egg production? In the end, egg production didn't increase and all the chickens were poisoned to death?
But just when Xiang Yu was about to pretend to be dead, she found the explanation.
"In winter, the reason why chickens don't lay eggs is not only because the temperature is too low and the chickens are unwilling to eat, but also because they don't get enough sunlight to effectively synthesize calcium, which is the main component of eggshells."
Okay, this explanation sounds plausible.
So, she has feed now, but lacks coal, quicklime and slag powder.
Forget about the broken eggshells. No one on this farm can afford to eat eggs except Su Xiangxiu.
With only five dollars in her pocket, Su Xiangyu got up and washed her face. Just as she was about to brush her teeth, she saw Yu Lei holding a toothbrush with only three bristles on it and brushing his mouth.
On this farm, most people don't know what toothpaste is anymore, so they just use a broken toothbrush to poke their mouths and think that's brushing their teeth.
"It smells so good. Is this orange-flavored toothpaste?" Yu Lei came over and said.
In fact, Su Xiangyu hadn't used toothpaste for a long time, but she fainted in the Harlem Ranch last time and was rescued by several guys from the chemical plant. The guy who gave her artificial respiration covered her mouth, gave her a tube of toothpaste, and told her to brush her teeth well in the future.
Su Xiangyu gave toothpaste to a young man who was dissatisfied with his yellow teeth. From then on, she stopped saving money on toothpaste.
"It smells so good, it tastes like oranges." Yu Lei came closer again and said while smacking his lips.
In fact, Yu Lei was a short-lived guy. Even though he was still alive and well, in a month or two, he would be so obsessed with Su Xiangxiu's small art troupe that he would steal eggs for the girls in the troupe every day. At first, he just gave them eggs as gifts.
Later, the girls in the art troupe felt that eggs could not satisfy their cravings and wanted to eat chicken, so he stole chickens from the chicken coop for them.
The matter was later reported to the site, and he was taken to the prison farm.
Given his personality that made anyone who looked at him for three minutes want to flatter him, he was beaten to death in the prison farm not long after he was imprisoned.
Well, let him live a better life before he dies.
Su Xiangyu then squeezed out a little toothpaste the size of a soybean and gave it to him.
"Su Zhiqing, I didn't realize you're actually pretty." Yu Lei carefully took the toothpaste and said cheerfully, stamping his frozen feet. He said, "You're such a nice person."
It seems that Yu Lei trusts her very much. That's perfect. Su Xiangyu should strike while the iron is hot and get the coal.
After all, raising the temperature of the chicken coop to four or five degrees is far from enough. If you want the chickens to lay eggs, the temperature of the chicken coop must be kept above eighteen degrees.
"Feeding chickens with coal? Sister Su, you must be crazy. What kind of coal do they need?" Yu Lei said.
Su Xiangyu took out her own five dollars and slapped it on the table: "When the coal is lit in the chicken coop, we will be the first ones to be warm. It's like giving myself extra benefits. I'll pay for it and you can find coal for us, okay?" Su Xiangyu said.
Now, coal in the border town must be purchased with tickets. However, since Yu Lei said yesterday that he had a way to get coal, he must have a way to get it without tickets.
Sure enough, the guy hesitated for a while before saying, "There's a young man at the chemical plant who has tickets for sale. If you really want them, I'll ask him to go for us."
Chemical plant?
Isn't that the factory where the guys who asked her for help from Harlem Farm last time work? It's only five miles away, and the chemical factory does have quickstone powder and old lime.
This means that with the help of the chemical plant, she should be able to handle everything she needs to raise chickens.
"Let's go together." Xiangyu grabbed Yu Lei's wrist and said.
Yu Lei was still wary of Su Xiangyu, fearing that she was sent by the director to monitor him, so he said nonchalantly, "I can go alone. It's just coal. You only need to give me fifty cents and I will carry twenty kilograms back for you."
"Look, I gave you toothpaste for brushing your teeth. This proves that I treat you as my own, right?" Xiang Yu said, and took out a piece of biscuit from her pocket and handed it to Yu Lei.
Cream biscuits, fragrant and crispy, may not be a big deal for educated youth from well-off families, but since Yu Lei came here, no one has ever sent him anything, so of course he craves biscuits.
"Do you really consider me your own?" Yu Lei said hesitantly.
"Of course. The chicken coop belongs to both of us now. If we raise the chickens well and increase the egg production, the farm will praise us. It's impossible for just me to be praised. I will definitely praise you as well, right?" For a silly guy like Yu Lei, you have to paint a rosy picture for him before he is willing to work.
"You were commended and transferred to work in the city, that's because you have won excellent awards for two consecutive years. As a chicken keeper, what benefit can I get from being commended? In my opinion, other places are worse than the chicken coop. At least I can catch a chicken to eat every now and then." Yu Lei said angrily.
For such a person who has no ambition and whose food and clothing problems have been solved, persuasion is useless. Su Xiangyu feels that she can only use her brainwashing skills.
"How can they be the same? As long as the news that our farm's egg production has doubled gets out, the farm will first report it to the county, and the county will report it to the province. Maybe then we can even report it to Beijing. By then, we both will be experts. Do you know what experts can do?" She said patiently, shaking a corn stalk.
Yu Lei had only attended primary school before he came to the countryside to work as a sent-down youth. Then he started to engage in social activities and mixed up in society. He didn't even know what the county level and above were, so how could he know what an expert was.
"Being an expert means that more farms will invite us to teach them how to raise chickens. If we go there, we can live in the best rooms and eat the best meals. For example, we can eat as much as we want with stewed beans." Xiangyu continued to describe the glorious prospects.
Yu Lei opened his mouth wide, and suddenly, a trickle of saliva flowed out with a swishing sound.
"Then what about our chickens? Who will raise them?" He actually asked this.
Xiangyu patted him and said, "You are so stupid. We can teach others to raise chickens later."
Yu Lei has completely integrated himself into the role of expert that Xiangyu has described for him: "What if others learn our chicken-raising method and become experts too? Will we still be the only experts?"
"Of course, raising chickens is not just about keeping them warm. There's also feed involved. The formula of the feed is a big deal. If we master the formula, we won't have to do anything else in a day but prepare the feed. Then every farm will treat us like grandfathers." Xiangyu said again.
Yu Lei finally made up his mind: "Wait, I'll call Ye Xiangdong to you."
Very good, Su Xiangyu found out that the person who engaged in speculation with him was named Ye Xiangdong.
It was freezing cold. After standing on the ground for a long time in a pair of rubber shoes, my feet felt like two popsicles, with no feeling at all.
What to do now, take a hot bath?
That is a delusion of luxury.
But her feet are so cold, it would be nice if she could warm them up a little.
But since she had nothing, Su Xiangyu chose to study. After all, all other things are inferior except studying.
During her three years of high school, the only thing she did besides eating and drinking was reading. That habit was like a shackle, making her obsessed and addicted, unable to stop.
However, just as she picked up the book, the voice of the system suddenly came from mid-air.
[Congratulations to the host, the mission has achieved a phased victory, please submit your reward request. ]
That's right. In her previous life, Su Xiangyu had a pair of highly educated parents, so she had never lacked anything. Therefore, she seldom asked the system for anything, but she always knew that if she completed any task, the system would reward her.
"Give me something to eat. I'm very hungry now." Su Xiangyu muttered.
[steamed stuffed bun]
Before the system finished speaking, Su Xiangyu had already smelled an enticing aroma. She jumped out of bed and searched around in the empty room. She opened the rice bowl in the corner and found a steaming hot bun inside. It was filled with her favorite pork and scallion stuffing. She bit into it and the boiling gravy almost scalded her tongue.
"A bathtub, a bath towel, a three-piece washing and care set, and a soft nightgown." Su Xiangyu was chewing on a bun, and suddenly she felt a little dizzy. She felt that she could reach the pinnacle of her life in this border town just by relying on the system.
Take off your clothes and unbraid your hair. It must be full of lice. Give it a good perm and wash.
But when Su Xiangyu had almost taken off all her clothes, she was shocked to find that there was an extra piece of soap on the table out of nowhere.
What a crappy system, it only gave her a piece of soap?
[Sorry, the host's current reward value is not enough for the request, and can only satisfy one bar of soap. ]
Why, it said this in the same rigid way as before.
"Underwear! Bra! Pajamas! If the reward value is not enough, just give me the cheapest ones at night market price." Su Xiangyu wrote in a panic while holding her shivering body.
She was almost freezing to death, but her underwear was almost turned into a rag. Since the conditions for taking a shower were not met, she could at least change into a new pair of underwear.
…
The system remained silent.
Obviously, the system can't give her these things.
"You loser, then give me a Yi Yang Qian Xi. I need to hug a handsome man to warm my bed. This place is not a place for human beings to stay."
The system can't do it anyway, so I might as well tease it until it crashes. It was the one who sent her back to this place.
But at this moment, someone knocked on the door.
Bang bang bang!
Su Xiangyu immediately put on the sweater, and the moment she turned around to look out the window, she saw two thick eyebrows and a pair of eyes that looked a little simple. Oh my God, the idol that the little fairies had all over the wall, the man who shouted that she wanted to give birth to a baby for him, had a pair of eyes like this.
Really, the system sent the idol to her?
But where are her pants? Why can't she find them? Does she have to greet her idol looking like she hasn't taken a shower for half a year?
"Yu Lei, there's no one here." said the young man outside.
"She must be in the room. Didn't you see that the room was not locked?" Yu Lei said.
"Then why is there no one opening the door when I knock?" the young man asked.
Yu Lei kicked the door hard: "Our door has to be opened like this."
The wind is too strong, so the doors of the border town are nailed shut when you enter, and the nails are pried off when you leave.
There was a clang and a cold wind blew in. Someone had already come in.
The young man, wearing work clothes and a thick sheepskin felt hat, with only his eyes showing, did not look very obedient.
Yu Lei came in later with something in his hand: "What is this? It looks pretty new."
Su Xiangyu was already wrapped in her thin quilt, and of course, she finally found her pants, which were hidden under the quilt.
"It's new. It's hung on the door handle and looks like an earmuff." Yu Lei put the thing on his ear.
The crappy system gave Su Xiangyu a pair of underwear, which was inside the quilt, and also gave her a bra, but it was hung on the door handle outside.
"That's mine." Su Xiangyu reached out to grab it, still busy pulling up her pants in the quilt.
"Oh, this lady looks familiar." Ye Xiangdong grabbed the hood and examined it carefully. "It's quite new. If you call it a hat, the two loops are so small that it can't cover the head. If you call it an earmuff, should it be tied from the top or from the back?"
As he spoke, Ye Xiangdong took off his woolen felt hat and put it on his head.
He didn't think it was funny to have a woman's hood on his head.
Su Xiangyu finally put on her pants, jumped up, grabbed the bra and threw it on the bed.
"You are Su Xiangyu, right? You are the most outstanding educated youth in Chaoyang Farm, the largest and most efficient farm in our entire border town. Didn't you say that you would rely on your enthusiasm to get through the winter and not waste a single piece of coal from the country? Tell me, why do you suddenly want coal? Don't you know that enjoyment is shameful and labor is glorious?" Ye Xiangdong walked around the room that was like an ice cellar with his hands in his pockets, then turned around and sat at the other end, on Yu Lei's bunk bed.
As soon as the man opened his mouth, Su Xiangyu recognized him.
He was actually the man who once complained about her yellow teeth and gave her a tube of toothpaste?
"Tell me, as long as your reasons are appropriate and legitimate, and can convince me, I will give you everything." The other party said, rubbing his frozen hands.