Borrowing Books

Earthen cellars were common in rural northern China and were important places for people to store crops that were susceptible to both freezing and heat.

Besides potatoes and autumn grains, even Chinese cabbage and carrots are stored in cellars.

However, later people were afraid that the autumn grain would be stolen by rats, so they put the storage place at home. They would usually build a two or three square meter storage room in the main room and fix it with bricks or cement to make it difficult for rats to dig holes.

Even after the millennium, rural areas still use earthen cellars to store things. Some small vendors even put apples and other items into cellars for storage, saving money and effort.

The cellar was about two meters deep, with several small pits dug at intervals in the cellar wall. Chen Weidong used his hands and feet to slowly descend to the bottom.

The cellar floor was lined with dry sand, and there was a large hole dug on each side, where some sweet potatoes, potatoes, and even some Chinese cabbages were piled up.

"Brother Yan, whose cabbage is that?"

"Several of our companies have them."

Upon hearing this, Chen Weidong immediately grabbed two potatoes and sweet potatoes, as he was worried about how to improve his family's meals. He then added some more potatoes and sweet potatoes to the basket.

"Brother Yan, it's done."

After He Yan hoisted the basket up, he stepped into the small hole again and climbed up.

"Weidong, you need to clean the horse pen later, don't forget."

As they approached the door, He Yan gave them another reminder.

"Okay, Brother Yan."

Chen Weidong nodded and laboriously carried the basket home.

"Why did you take so much? You even brought up the cabbage. This is for making dumplings for Chinese New Year. We can't eat this much. Why don't you put some back?"

Looking at the full basket, Su Man said with some worry, "If we eat too much now, we'll be in trouble when we run out of food later."

Every family is poor now, and meals are rationed. If you eat too much in the early stages, you won't be able to hold out until the new grain is distributed.

"You just gave birth and need nutrition. Besides, you just gave birth to a son for the Chen family. This is much more joyous than the New Year. If my dad and the others knew, they would probably jump for joy."

"You're always so cheeky!"

Although Su Man still expressed her disdain as she listened to Chen Weidong's words, the slight upturn of her lips betrayed her true feelings.

Chen Weidong laughed. He knew Su Man's worries, but according to his previous life, he would be able to return home soon. If he couldn't eat all the food, he would have to deal with it, which would be a troublesome matter.

Most importantly, he wanted to nourish Su Man and Chen Xiaosui, otherwise eating corn porridge and steamed buns every day wouldn't be enough.

Chen Weidong went into the room and found a waist drum-shaped jar, which was used to store noodles and other similar foods. You could scoop them out as needed, and it was both rodent-proof and moisture-proof.

He removed the wooden board from the jar opening, scooped out some cornmeal and wheat flour, and planned to make some dumplings today.

There was definitely no meat; Chen Weidong only chopped some potatoes and cabbage. However, he got stuck at the very first step.

"How... should I knead this dough?"

Chen Weidong looked up at Su Man and asked for her advice.

"Just use cold water to make the dumpling wrappers; they'll be chewy. For this amount of flour, just add about half a bowl of water."

Following Su Man's instructions, Chen Weidong finally managed to knead the dough.

"Lie down a bit more, Yan-ge and I will go clean the horse pen."

"I understand, you can go now."

Chen Xiaosui, who had been playing with her clothes with her head down, waved her hand and slowly stood up when she saw Chen Weidong about to leave.

"Daddy~ I want to go too!"

"It's too cold outside. Father will be back soon."

It's below -20 degrees Celsius outside now, and at night the temperature can drop to around -30 degrees Celsius. Chen Xiaosui is likely to catch a cold if she goes out with him.

"I want to go!"

Seeing Chen Xiaosui acting coquettishly, Su Man pulled her back and waved to Chen Weidong: "You should go quickly. Once you leave, she'll be fine."

Chen Weidong nodded, put on his coat, and just as he stepped out the door, he heard Chen Xiaosui crying loudly, accompanied by Su Man's soothing voice.

The village was full of rows of mud houses. After more than ten years, brick and tile houses appeared in the village. After the millennium, he and He Yan came back once.

The village has shrunk by half. The young people have all gone out to work, leaving only some older people in the village. Most of the people they knew have also left. As for the older Yang Shulin and his friends, they are long gone.

"Weidong, have you eaten?"

"I just ate."

"I heard your wife gave birth to another big, healthy boy."

Yes, that's right.

Congratulations!

……

Chen Weidong encountered a few villagers on the way, stopped and chatted for a bit before arriving at the horse pen.

However, as soon as he arrived, he was overwhelmed by a foul odor that made him feel dizzy.

In his previous life, he had never done a job like sweeping horse stables. He mostly went out with the horse team to let the horses graze. Although it was hard work, it was at least better than sweeping horse stables.

"Wei Dong is here. Here, take this shovel."

When He Yan saw Chen Weidong arrive, he brought him a shovel.

Chen Weidong paused for a moment, not daring to breathe too much through his nose, and picked up a shovel to start shoveling horse manure from the ground.

Although he has secured his food supply for the time being, he still needs to keep working to improve his life and fight off the famine, as this is currently his only way to earn money.

After cleaning the horse pen, Chen Weidong immediately pulled He Yan away from the vicinity, and only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

He secretly vowed to himself that he had to earn money as soon as possible; he didn't want to clean the horse stables anymore!

"Brother Yan, do you know anyone who has goat milk or cow milk? Or eggs would be fine too, I want to buy some for the kids."

Su Man's breast milk is insufficient, and both Chen Xiaoan and Chen Xiaosui are too young; it's definitely not good for them to eat corn porridge and steamed buns every day.

Later, Chen Xiaosui and Chen Xiaoan were both short, which he felt was related to malnutrition in their childhood.

"Cow's milk is unlikely, but goat's milk is an option; you could try asking Captain Wang."

"I understand, thank you, Brother Yan."

After parting ways with He Yan, Chen Weidong did not go straight home, but went to the brigade headquarters instead.

"Accountant Yang."

Yang Shuzhi, who was on duty today, is Yang Shulin's cousin. He became the brigade accountant because of his primary school diploma and his relationship with Yang Shulin.

"Comrade Weidong is here. Is something the matter?"

"I heard that the team allows book borrowing, but I don't know if they still do?"

"Yes, usually it's just a few of you educated youth who come to borrow it. There are plenty of others. Come with me."

Yang Shuzhi led Chen Weidong to the back house, where there were indeed quite a few newspapers and several books, covering politics, agricultural technology, literature, and more.

Among them were political publications such as "Red Flag" and "Party Life"; agricultural technology publications such as "Agricultural Science and Technology" and "Mechanization in Rural and Pastoral Areas"; and literary publications such as "Grassland," "Shandan," and "Wild Geese"... There were even "People's Literature" and "Story Club".

"What do you want to borrow?"

"What procedures are required for publications like *People's Literature* and *Story Club*?"

"No need, just register with me."

……