usatvline Chapter 126 Zhang Xiumei Returns to the Brigade
Chapter 126 Zhang Xiumei Returns to the Brigade
After chatting for a while, it was getting late, so the two started making lunch.
Now that it's the off-season for farming, Hu Fangming usually eats some dry food at the educated youth compound in the morning, and only comes to Feng Qingqing's place to cook lunch and dinner.
After discussing it, the two decided to use the fresh lotus root that Aunt Wu had brought over that morning. Although they had just eaten a whole lotus root feast at the educated youth compound yesterday, neither of them was very satisfied with the taste.
At noon, Feng Qingqing decided to make fried lotus root balls. Fried lotus root balls are much tastier than boiled lotus root balls. She also made stir-fried radish with chili peppers. At Hu Fangming's request, Feng Qingqing also made some pickled vegetables that she had prepared a few days ago.
After stir-frying the pickled vegetables, Hu Fangming would take them home and eat a couple of bites of steamed buns and some boiled water every morning for breakfast.
After a flurry of activity, the two of them were able to enjoy the fragrant, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside lotus root balls about half an hour later. Thinking of the bland lotus root dish that the educated youth compound had made the previous night, the food in their mouths tasted even better.
After lunch, since the days were getting shorter, the two decided not to take a nap and instead went to a fellow villager's house to buy some sweet potatoes to eat as their main meal.
Every year, the brigade distributes grain at the end of November. There is still more than a month before the distribution. Feng Qingqing and Hu Fangming are not the type to suffer. They plan to go to the homes of members of nearby brigade members to buy some sweet potatoes to eat with the grain they borrowed earlier. Both of them have a special fondness for roasted sweet potatoes in winter, so they hit it off and immediately set off to buy some.
Feng Qingqing now knows a bit about the members of the brigade. If she is familiar with anyone, it is undoubtedly Aunt Wu, with whom she has been visiting frequently recently. The two of them went straight to Aunt Wu's house without delay.
Upon arriving at Aunt Wu's house, they knocked on the door. Aunt Wu was washing vegetables in the yard. Seeing Feng Qingqing and the other woman approaching, her face lit up with joy. She quickly stood up, wiped her hands, and then greeted them with a smile.
"Why are Dr. Feng and this educated youth Hu here? Is there something you need?"
When Aunt Wu saw that Feng Qingqing had brought another educated youth with her, she guessed that it might not be Feng Qingqing's business. Sure enough, she heard the two of them say that they wanted to buy some sweet potatoes. She originally wanted to give them to Feng Qingqing directly, but Aunt Wu thought of the other educated youth, Hu, and knew that the two of them were eating together. It would not be appropriate to give them to only one person. So she didn't say anything and took the two of them into the room where he stored the grain and let them choose for themselves.
The brigade has not yet started distributing grain, but each household will have its own plot of land. The crops and harvests grown and harvested on these plots do not need to be handed over to the brigade and can be consumed by the family.
Because of the large number of people in her family, Aunt Wu's private plot of land is quite large. In addition to planting some fruits and vegetables, she also grows a lot of sweet potatoes, mainly to supplement the family's food supply.
Feng Qingqing knew the current selling price of sweet potatoes. Aunt Wu wanted to give them a discount, but Feng Qingqing wasn't going to take advantage of that.
In the end, they bought 200 jin of sweet potatoes and gave the old lady 10 yuan. Originally, the old lady insisted on only accepting 8 yuan, but under Feng Qingqing's insistence, she had no choice but to accept it.
Aunt Wu said she would have her son deliver the 200 jin of sweet potatoes when he returned, but Feng Qingqing still pushed them back together in Aunt Wu's small cart. Just as the two of them were about to reach the brigade headquarters, they heard a lot of voices coming from there.
Feng Qingqing was puzzled, wondering what had happened over there.
The two pushed the cart to a spot not far from the main group to see what had happened.
From afar, Feng Qingqing saw Zhang Xiumei, the women's director who had gone to the commune hospital with the brigade leader that morning, standing by the oxcart, talking to the commune members. Accountant Liu Hezhi and a group of others were standing next to her.
The commune members were very concerned about the situation of the brigade leader's family. The events that happened at the brigade leader's house in the morning were known to almost everyone in the brigade in no time. Because they did not know the details, they just made wild guesses, but some people were uneasy.
As soon as people saw the oxcart bringing Zhang Xiumei back from afar, they all gathered around and started asking about the situation of the brigade leader's family, while also wanting to know what had happened.
As a brigade cadre and someone who was relatively familiar with the situation, Zhang Xiumei had an obligation to dispel the doubts of the commune members and reassure them. Therefore, she patiently explained everything throughout the process.
Before Feng Qingqing and her companion even reached them, they heard a member of the commune loudly ask:
"Director Zhang, what happened to the team leader's family? What's wrong?"
The surroundings were noisy, and just as Zhang Xiumei was about to speak, she heard the accountant Liu Hezhi next to her shout:
"Keep your voices down and listen to Director Zhang explain carefully."
The surrounding noise gradually subsided. Zhang Xiumei, though looking tired, knew the villagers' concern. She cleared her throat and raised her voice slightly to explain:
"Don't worry, everyone. The captain's family is fine. The doctor said they were unconscious because they accidentally ate something that caused food poisoning. But they have all woken up and are out of danger after being treated at the hospital."
She tried to downplay the situation, but the truth was that although the captain and his wife had woken up, they were still unable to speak. It seemed that their energy and spirit had been damaged. Moreover, the doctor said that although they had woken up, the toxic substances had remained in their bodies for too long, which was detrimental to their health. It was hard to say what their recovery would be like, as it depended on each person's constitution.
The surrounding members, however, had many questions and eagerly asked:
"Director Zhang, now that you've woken up, you need to explain more clearly what exactly you ate that caused the poisoning. Everyone needs to know this, otherwise, if we keep getting poisoned like the brigade leader's family, that would be terrible, too scary."
Those around who heard this thought agreed with it, and many quickly echoed it.
"Yes, yes, what exactly caused the poisoning? Our brigade has nearly a thousand people, and we haven't had food poisoning for a long time. Everyone knows what can cause food poisoning, but we don't know what it was this time."
Zhang Xiumei also had doubts about this. The brigade leader and his wife, both of them, were quite knowledgeable about these things. She wondered how such a thing could have happened.
But when she returned, the brigade leader and his wife had just woken up and didn't have much strength to say anything. She also didn't get any other useful information, so in the end, she could only helplessly say to the commune members present:
"I understand everyone's concerns. We can only inform everyone after the captain has recovered."
After speaking, she looked at everyone present and, seeing that they were no longer as excited as before, continued:
"Don't worry, everyone. The brigade leader only woke up at noon today and there are still many things he hasn't figured out yet. I assure you, once the brigade leader is back to normal, we will inform you as soon as possible to put your concerns at ease."