Reborn with a Space: Building a Fortune Amidst Famine

Chapter 149: Come over 149

Su Yuanyuan strolled around the house, and after not finding anything unusual, she felt relieved.

At this time, Ma Changshun called from outside. Tan Shaoting responded and went out.

Zhao Qingxiang and the others knew along the way. Su Yuanyuan was living with a boy from around here.

The five siblings couldn’t understand it. In their minds, living together meant being a couple.

This kind of thinking left them anxious since no one was giving them answers. How could Su Yuanyuan, someone so young, be married already?

Zhao Yanli was particularly puzzled and immediately ran over when she saw Su Yuanyuan come out, ”Yuanyuan.”

”Xiao Li, how did you all get here? Let’s go inside, it’s too cold outside,” Su Yuanyuan beckoned to the five siblings.

”Xiao Tan, Xiao Su, I’ve delivered the people. I’ll head back now.”

”Group Leader Ma, come in for some water before you go?”

Ma Changshun waved and left.

Su Yuanyuan invited the five siblings inside. ”Get on the kang; it’s too cold here.”

”Indeed, I almost wanted to head back as soon as I got off the train.” Zhao Yanli was most familiar with Su Yuanyuan, so she was not reserved and got right onto the kang.

”Big Brother, you all get on the kang too; I’ll get you some hot water.”

There were no cups at home, so they had to drink water from bowls.

”You sit; I’ll do it.”

Tan Shaoting went out for a moment, then came back with five bowls of brown sugar water, and sat down next to Su Yuanyuan.

”Big Brother, how did you all come over? Did my uncle and the others come too? Where have you been assigned?”

”Yuanyuan, it’s just the five of us siblings who came, and we arrived yesterday. The farm over here picked us up.

We are in Team Leader Tian’s group, and everything was set up yesterday,” Zhao Qingxiang said with a smile.

”Big Brother, why did you think of coming here? It’s not as good here as back home.”

”Yuanyuan, if we didn’t come, we wouldn’t survive,” Zhao Yanli snorted.

Su Yuanyuan looked at this girl speechlessly. ”No matter how tough it is at home, it’s better than here. There wasn’t a drop of rain last year, and it was only because my place has a big water pit that there was any harvest.”

”Yuanyuan, it only rained once at home last year,” Zhao Xiaojing sighed. When they got here, they truly realized how cold it was. They found it hard to bear.

”Yuanyuan, we couldn’t manage back home. The village canteen served just vegetable porridge daily, which was okay, but we all knew there wasn’t much grain left.

So I thought of the winter melon you mentioned on the mountain, and we decided to go up and take a look.

We specifically told Dad not to tell my uncle, and he agreed. But who knew he would tell my uncle the next day.

At that time, I felt that the hardship and fear we’d endure on the mountain really wasn’t worth it.

Even then, we didn’t mention the winter melon.”

Su Yuanyuan handed her the brown sugar water. ”Drink it first, or it won’t taste good cold.”

Zhao Yanli took it and gulped it down, then placed the bowl down with a contented sigh.

”We used some pine nuts to cover it up, but that shameless Zhao Yanmei still came to my house, wanting to snatch it. Of course, I couldn’t agree, so we ended up fighting. Her sister came to help, and we all ended up in a brawl.

My dad actually sided with outsiders, which I couldn’t bear at all. So I talked to my big brother about coming here.

Anyway, it’s the same everywhere, so coming here is at least less infuriating.”

Su Yuanyuan shook her head, ”You were too impulsive. Life here isn’t easy.

But since you’re here now, that’s that. By the way, does the well water in your yard work?”

The most important thing is to have water to drink.

”There is, but the water volume really isn’t much.”

”As long as there’s drinking water, that’s fine. How about food?”

All five shook their heads.

Su Yuanyuan sighed, ”I’ll first give you a bag of cornmeal, some winter melon, sweet potatoes, and soybeans, and there’s sauerkraut and pickled vegetables at home too; take some of everything back with you.”

They needed to get by somehow. Normally, newcomers are given a hundred pounds of grain each, but why hadn’t they received it yet?

Anyway, the priority was to have food.

”Thank you, Yuanyuan. We will definitely pay you back,” Zhao Qingxiang said, realizing they had been too optimistic; now they were starting to regret it.

Su Yuanyuan nodded and didn’t refuse; she understood the nature of people.

”By the way, this is a letter for you from blacksmith Yang in the county; do you understand the writing, Yuanyuan?”

Su Yuanyuan nodded, ”This is Tan Shaoting, and I’ve been learning to read with him.” She took the letter and set it aside without reading it immediately.

”Yuanyuan, I also want to learn to read,” Zhao Yanli envied Su Yuanyuan.

”Sure, now’s a good time. If you want to learn, just come over.”

This made Zhao Yanli happy. Despite the difficulties, she felt her mood had improved significantly since coming here.

Zhao Yanping saw shoe soles on the kang, picked them up, and started sewing them.

Su Yuanyuan suddenly remembered something. ”Eldest sister, your and Second Sister’s hands are skillful, and it’s nearly two more months until the thaw; during this time, why not make shoe soles and shoes to sell at the supply and marketing cooperative?”

Zhao Yanping’s eyes lit up. ”Is that really possible?”

Su Yuanyuan shook her head. ”I don’t know either, but it’s better than doing nothing. I have quite a few old clothes here you can take back with you. Anyway, there’s nothing to do now.”

”Yuanyuan, we only brought one set of needles and threads.”

”No matter, I have some here. I’ll find them for you.”

With this money-making idea, the five siblings were filled with energy.

”Yuanyuan, you don’t know how tough it’s been for Su Daqiang’s family of three,” Zhao Yanli, the most gossip-prone, said.

”What could be tough for them?”

”You wouldn’t know, and I don’t know why, but the couple is always fighting. They’re also awfully lazy; the land you cleared has gone wild.

Usually, everyone clears and cultivates land for their own use, planting a bit of grain. Everyone’s like that. They planted too, but they didn’t tend to it at all. I heard they didn’t even harvest much sweet potato.”

Su Yuanyuan frowned; Su Daqiang wasn’t that lazy?

Well, it wasn’t her concern anymore.

”Yuanyuan, there are many like that in our village. Ever since they started earning work points, people have become lazy beyond tolerance.” Her uncle’s family was like that.

Oh, that’s how it is—how hopeless.

Zhao Yanping’s hands moved swiftly; she didn’t stop, and in no time, she finished half a shoe sole.

Su Yuanyuan thought this could really work. At least it would make them self-sufficient.

”Yuanyuan, you really look good now, even taller than me, and fair-skinned too,” Zhao Yanli looked at Su Yuanyuan enviously.

She just smiled, finding it hard to respond. What could she say?

Then Zhao Yanli went on and on about village matters, about whose family was lazy and who didn’t have food and went to the brigade for help.