Yunyi, who always disliked owing favors, said, "I’m truly grateful for your help today. My cooking is decent. Please invite the others who helped out, and let’s all have a simple meal at my place tonight. Consider it a housewarming."
Wei Zijia hesitated. "How about another day? You just arrived today and you’ve been busy for most of it. Shouldn’t you rest first?"
Yunyi waved her hand. "It’s fine. Once I get this settled today, it won’t be on my mind anymore."
Qiao Wenyu had seen Yunyi’s belongings—vegetables, meat, eggs, and grain. This is good, he thought. It will help her integrate into the community more quickly.
So he didn’t refuse. "Alright, then it’s settled."
The meat, vegetables, grain, and eggs were, of course, deliberately displayed by Yunyi. After watching the two leave, she closed the courtyard gate.
She had taken note earlier. Aside from the health clinic, the group headquarters’ storage and the material management station were not far away.
The collective dormitory and family residences weren’t in this area, which was just as she preferred—quiet and peaceful.
She fetched water and wiped down the inside of the house again. What satisfied her the most was the floor—it had been paved with construction bricks, which was much better than a dirt floor.
What she didn’t know was that the house originally had a dirt floor. Ji Rongjia, who had lived there before, was from the city and had paid for the bricks out of her own pocket, hiring help to pave the floor.
Not only the floor, but the heated wall in the house had also been renovated by Ji Rongjia a few years ago, paid for out of her own pocket. Yunyi had indeed stumbled upon a great bargain.
After looking around, the only downside she noted was that fetching water required going outside, though fortunately, it wasn’t too far away.
Luckily, she had moved all her belongings over, so there wasn’t much else she needed to buy.
After hanging up the curtains she had brought, she closed the door and entered her space.
Considering she was having guests for dinner, she didn’t plan to stay in the space too long. She picked the ripe fruit from the trees and stored them in the warehouse, snacked on an apple, then took a bath before leaving the space.
She prepared dishes for about ten people, using potatoes, Chinese cabbage, and radishes distributed by the team.
I’ll make smoked chicken stewed with radish and Chinese cabbage, potatoes stewed with smoked rabbit, and for the salted fish I prepared earlier, I’ll stir-fry it with sauerkraut. A pot of brown rice to go with it all. Perfect! It’s modest, but it won’t seem meager.
With that decided, she had just finished preparing the ingredients when she heard a knock at the door.
Yunyi hurried over. "Coming!"
She opened the main gate and saw Wei Zijia and Qiao Wenyu standing outside, holding two fresh fish. "Where did these fish come from?" she asked.
Qiao Wenyu held up the fish with a smile. "Look at your luck! You were just saying you’d have guests over tonight, and someone happened to bring back some freshly caught fish. I quickly traded for two and brought them over. They’ll be a great addition to tonight’s meal."
Yunyi laughed. "During Qingtang in Songling Village, I also received two fish. I was worried they might spoil, so I salted them. I was even planning to make sauerkraut stir-fried with salted fish. Since we have fresh fish now, thanks to you, I’ll make a sauerkraut fish dish as well. I guarantee you’ll be craving more after you taste it!"
Chatting and laughing, they entered the courtyard. Wei Zijia saw the neatly chopped vegetables in the kitchen and said, "I was just about to offer to come over and help you prepare. I didn’t realize you were so quick!"
Yunyi smiled. "Everything was ready on hand, so I didn’t need to go out and buy anything. I thought I’d prepare everything in advance and start stewing early, so it would be almost ready by the time everyone arrived."
As she was chatting cheerfully, little did she know that Huo Jingrui had also entered Songling Village, carrying a large bag of food he had prepared for her.
But when he reached the small courtyard, the person who opened the door was a girl he didn’t recognize. Only after asking did he find out that the young woman he was looking for had been transferred to the neighboring Hua’an Agricultural Reclamation Group. This content belongs to novel·fiɾe·net