Li Mingliang held a string bag in his hand, filled with rare treats.
"Brother Mingliang, when did you get back?" Wang Xiaohong looked at him, pleasantly surprised.
Chuntao also quickly stood up from her low stool, a smile playing on her lips. "Brother Mingliang!"
She bent down, moved the small stool beside her over, and offered him a seat.
Li Mingliang placed the string bag on the prep table and replied with a smile, "I just got back to Wangjia Village this morning!"
Chuntao looked at the bag full of things and thought to herself that it wasn't right to always take advantage of his generosity when she had nothing to give in return.
"Brother Mingliang, it's enough that you come visit. Please don't bring things anymore!"
"Hey, it's nothing fancy, just some snacks!"
Wang Xiaohong brought a chair out from the main room and placed it in front of him. "Brother Mingliang, have you finished taking care of your business back home?"
"Finished it ages ago!" Li Mingliang took the chair and sat down, adding, "After that, the oilfield sent me to headquarters for training for a while, and only then did I come back to the village."
He changed the subject, his expression turning serious. "I came over today because I have something to tell you."
Chuntao and Wang Xiaohong looked at him simultaneously, their eyes full of confusion.
"What is it?" Wang Xiaohong suddenly remembered what Zhou Zhijun had said the other day. Her cheeks instantly flushed red, and her voice dropped to a whisper.
"The oilfield is hiring a temporary worker. If you do a good job, there's a chance to become a permanent employee later!"
As Li Mingliang spoke, his gaze fell on Chuntao's face. "Chuntao, you could go give it a try."
At these words, both Chuntao and Wang Xiaohong widened their eyes in shock, unable to believe their ears.
"Brother Mingliang, are there any requirements for hiring a temporary worker?" Wang Xiaohong asked excitedly.
"A middle school education or above will do."
That single sentence instantly dampened Wang Xiaohong's spirits.
Chuntao hadn't attended a single day of school, and she herself had only graduated from elementary school. They didn't meet the requirements at all!
Chuntao quickly waved her hands. "I can't. I've never been to school and can't read a single word."
She tugged on Wang Xiaohong's arm and looked at Li Mingliang. "Do you think Xiaohong could do it? At least she went to elementary school."
"I only finished elementary school, so I definitely wouldn't qualify either!" Wang Xiaohong hung her head, her face full of disappointment.
Chuntao had heard people say before that in the villages around Nangang, quite a few people who went to the oilfield as temporary workers eventually became permanent.
Such a great opportunity was truly rare. But she had no schooling at all, and Wang Xiaohong's education wasn't enough either, leaving her feeling somewhat regretful.
But on second thought, even if they had the education, the opportunity might not have fallen to them anyway.
Zhou Dana was the village party secretary. How could he not keep such a good opportunity for himself?
Zhou Pandi was a middle school student, and with only one quota for the village, no one else had a chance besides her.
Thinking of this, the regret in Chuntao's heart faded significantly.
Just as Chuntao expected, a few days later, Zhou Pandi became a temporary worker at the oilfield.
She worked as a kitchen helper in the cafeteria, responsible for sorting vegetables, washing them, and serving food.
Although the job wasn't glamorous, it was much better than toiling in the fields.
She ate and drank the same as the oilfield workers, and most importantly, there was the hope of becoming a permanent employee.
If she could become a formal worker, not only would the salary be high and the benefits good, but she could also find a well-matched husband's family in the future.
The villagers saw this and were incredibly jealous, but jealousy was all they could muster. After all, her father was the village party secretary.
In the blink of an eye, the wheat ripened. Every household was busy rushing to harvest the wheat, working so hard every day that their feet barely touched the ground. Their previous jealousy was completely washed away by the sheer busyness.
Chuntao and Wang Xiaohong went to the fields before dawn every day and didn't return home until it was pitch dark.
They were exhausted, their backs aching and sweat dripping onto the soil, yet they couldn't bear to rest for even a moment.
Without a strong male laborer at home, they could only cut a little and transport a little, hauling the cut wheat to the threshing floor to stack it up first.
Once all the wheat in the fields was cut, they would slowly crush and thresh it.
Zhou Zhijun worked quickly and had great strength.
He cut his own family's wheat during the day, and at night, carrying a flashlight, he went to help Chuntao's family cut theirs. After cutting, he even helped haul it to the threshing floor.
During the busy farming season, everyone was dead tired. Zhou Zhijun was working around the clock, and Chuntao felt deeply apologetic.
She didn't sell the eggs laid by the old hens at home. Instead, she saved up a dozen or so, put them in a shallow basket, and brought them over to Aunt Zhou.
Aunt Zhou was in the house making soup, while Old Man Zhou and Zhou Zhijun were still busy on the threshing floor.
"Tao, what are you doing?" Aunt Zhou asked in confusion, seeing the eggs in her hands.
"Auntie, it's such a busy time, and Brother Zhijun helps us cut wheat every day. He must be exhausted.
I don't have anything nice, so I just saved a few eggs to help Brother Zhijun regain his strength..." Before Chuntao could finish, Aunt Zhou interrupted her.
"Our family raises over a dozen old hens, we aren't lacking a few eggs.
You and Xiaohong are also exhausted every day. Take these eggs back, boil two for yourselves every day, and nourish your own bodies."
Just as they were talking, Zhou Zhimin walked in leading Zhou Xiaohai. Zhou Xiaohai immediately spotted the eggs in the shallow basket on the prep table, and his eyes lit up.
He shouted at the top of his lungs, "I want to eat eggs!" As he yelled, he reached out to grab them.
Aunt Zhou quickly stopped him. "Those are raw eggs, you can't eat them!"
Seeing Zhou Zhimin arrive, Chuntao was afraid he would get jealous of her being close to Aunt Zhou again. She called out "Brother Zhimin" and quickly turned to leave.
Aunt Zhou chased after her carrying the basket. "You silly girl, take the eggs back!"
But Chuntao was already out the gate, so Aunt Zhou could only sigh and bring the eggs back inside.
She put the basket back on the table and then looked coldly at Zhou Zhimin. "It's the busy season, what do you want?"
Zhou Zhimin rubbed his hands together and said with a cheeky grin, "Nothing major, we just ran out of salt at home, so I came to borrow some."
"Borrow? You've borrowed plenty of things. When have you ever returned them?" Aunt Zhou rolled her eyes at him in annoyance.
"Mother, I remember it all, I'll definitely return it! I'm just busy harvesting wheat and haven't had time to go to the market!"
Zhou Zhimin kept smiling, picked up a coarse porcelain bowl from the table, and started pouring salt into it.
When Aunt Zhou wasn't paying attention, he poured a good half bowl. After getting the salt, he showed no intention of leaving, his eyes constantly darting toward the eggs on the table.
"Mother, our family raises over a dozen hens, you must collect quite a few eggs every day, right?" Zhou Zhimin asked tentatively.
Aunt Zhou focused on adding firewood to the stove and ignored him completely.
Zhou Zhimin continued, "Harvesting wheat is truly exhausting. Eating sweet potato flour and dried sweet potatoes every day has no nutrition at all.
We adults can manage, but my two girls probably can't take it.
Since Chuntao doesn't want these eggs, why don't I take them back to give the girls some nutrition?"
Before he could finish, Aunt Zhou cut him off sharply. "Chuntao brought these eggs, and I still have to send them back to her later!"
Zhou Zhimin had been sent by Huang Meili. Huang Meili knew Aunt Zhou had many hens, so she sent him to ask for eggs.
He originally thought the eggs were a gift from Aunt Zhou to Chuntao; he hadn't expected that Chuntao was the one who brought them.
He quickly changed his tune. "Mother, Chuntao is your goddaughter. It's only right that you eat her eggs. Just keep them for yourself."
"You're my own flesh and blood, but have I ever gotten so much as an eggshell from you? All you know is how to come here and ask for things!"
Aunt Zhou's words made Zhou Zhimin's face flush red and pale with embarrassment.
He could only put on an apologetic smile. "Mother, it's just that I don't have anything right now! When I do in the future, I'll definitely treat you well!"
Just as they were speaking, Zhou Zhijun and Old Man Zhou returned from the threshing floor.
Seeing Zhou Zhimin holding a bowl more than half full of salt, Zhou Zhijun's face darkened, but he didn't say a word.
Aunt Zhou quickly waved at Zhou Zhijun. "Zhijun, go wash your hands and take these eggs over to Chuntao."
Seeing that he wouldn't be getting any eggs, Zhou Zhimin had no choice but to carry his salt and resentfully lead Zhou Xiaohai away.
Behind him, Zhou Xiaohai was still shouting at the top of his lungs, "I want to eat eggs! I want to eat eggs!"
Zhou Zhijun washed his hands, picked up the shallow basket holding the eggs, and asked in confusion, "Mother, these eggs are..."
"Chuntao brought them over. She said you exhausted yourself helping her harvest wheat, so she wanted you to nourish your body," Aunt Zhou said with a smile.
Hearing his mother's words, a wave of warmth instantly surged into Zhou Zhijun's heart, and his nose prickled with emotion.
This girl actually knew how to care for him!
He thought to himself that this girl, Chuntao, couldn't be allowed to suffer like this anymore!
