Educated Youth in the Countryside: She is the Village's Embroidery Queen!-Chapter 259: Mutual Praise in Business

"Rubber candy, big candy, eat a piece and your mouth is sweet, your heart is sweet..."

The loud shout echoed through the loudspeaker over Kao Shan Village, and Yi Chichi, sweating from shoveling snow at the door, looked up in the direction of the team headquarters.

"Mom, what’s the captain uncle shouting about?"

The snow at night was too heavy, she got up in the middle of the night to sweep the snow, slept till morning, the roof didn’t collapse, but the door was blocked.

Shoveling snow till now left her exhausted, a perfect time for a chat and a break.

"Calling the village kids to the team headquarters to get some candy."

Wen’s mother sitting on a small stool preparing ingredients for the New Year’s Eve dinner, replied without lifting her head.

Yi Chichi had a bewildered expression, was there such an event in the village?

Only after asking did she find out, there used to be such events, mainly to let the children have a happy new year.

But since the harvest was bad before, the public grain was turned in, the team had very little left, not enough to make candy.

They had to be cautious about families that might not have enough grain, hence borrowing grain was common, so this event stopped for two years.

Until this year, the grain storage in the team’s warehouse was quite substantial, after discussion the team leaders decided to restore the previous tradition.

"A great tradition, the kids must be very happy."

She praised.

Wen’s mother laughed, "Of course, back then when there was nothing to eat, kids looked forward to New Year."

With lots of good food, adults wouldn’t get mad for being greedy.

Normally they spanked kids playfully, but not during New Year.

Most importantly, the team would give candies to kids during New Year, though not much, it was enough for them to savour for ten or half a month.

"The team headquarters must be very lively now."

Speaking of which, Wen’s mother asked her, "Do you want to go join the fun?"

"No..."

Instinctively wanting to refuse, Yi Chichi suddenly remembered something, "Mom, what’s this big candy?"

She hadn’t heard of this candy before today, and didn’t know if it was tasty.

Wen’s mother was stunned for a moment by her question, then answered, "Over in Lin City they call it sesame candy."

Yi Chichi immediately lost interest in joining the fun at the team headquarters; she had never liked sesame candy, too sticky, and the texture was a bit odd.

"I’ll just keep shoveling."

Halfway through, Second Brother Liu and others appeared at the courtyard gate with shovels, "Little sister, need help?"

Yi Chichi looked at the courtyard that was almost cleared, and declined.

"I don’t need help here, you guys see who else needs help first."

"Got it!"

Several households in the village didn’t have any able-bodied men, so before snow, the young adults would help clear roofs, tidy wood piles, and help shovel blocked doors after snow, it was common practice.

So, after Yi Chichi declined, Second Brother Liu and the others carried their shovels and left.

In the hustle and bustle, children came in groups to pay New Year visits.

Wen’s mother and Yi Chichi brought out twists, melon seeds, candies, and other treats to entertain them, sending off wave after wave of children.

When Niu Niu finished saying auspicious words, Yi Chichi couldn’t hold back her smile looking at her bulging little satchel.

"Niu Niu, you’re really smart, knowing to bring a satchel."

The little girl with two skyward pigtails tied with red ribbons grinned and cutely said, "Last year I didn’t bring a bag, running was tiring."

Indeed, last year the little girl didn’t bring a bag, her pockets filled after visiting two houses, she had to go home to put things down.

Aunt Ma said, after running a round in the whole village, the little girl’s legs almost got thinner.

"Who made the bag for you?"

Yi Chichi asked with a smile, grabbing candies to put in her bag, the little girl held up her satchel, proudly wagging her skyward pigtails.

"Mommy did, and she embroidered little flowers for me."

Saying this, she pointed at the embroidery for Yi Chichi to see, who nodded and praised, "Beautifully embroidered, our little Niu Niu is the best-looking."

"Auntie is the best-looking."

This girl was good at reciprocal flattery, she looked up with a sincere face and praised, "Better looking than Niu Niu."

Just then, a fragrant aroma wafted over.

She sniffed her little nose, saying it smelled good.

Yi Chichi knew where the aroma came from, and smiled, "Grandma is making something delicious, Niu Niu, do you want some?"

The little girl’s eyes lit up, just about to nod, but then remembered what grandma told her before leaving, quickly shook her head, "No, auntie gave me candy."

This meant if she took the candy, she couldn’t take anything else.

Yi Chichi teased her saying it was okay, but didn’t expect the child to strictly adhere to the rules set by her grandma, saying no and meaning no, she also told Yi Chichi, if she ate it, grandma would spank her butt.

A child shouldn’t be greedy, they should know when to stop.

So, she patted her little satchel, "Auntie, I need to go now, off to Aunt Niu’s house next door."

"Really not having some before you go?"

"No, thank you."

She waved her tiny hand, set off with determined steps, calling her brother Xiao Chengzi who was cracking melon seeds to leave.

"Goodbye, Auntie."

Xiao Chengzi waved to Yi Chichi, running off to catch up with his sister.

Yi Chichi watched the siblings leave hand in hand, then turned back to the house to help Wen’s mother with cooking. After finishing two dishes, loud calls came from outside the door.

"Mr. Yi, are you home?"

The voice of the postman Xiao Chang, undoubtedly something sent by Wen Shi had arrived.

"Yes, I’m here."

She quickly put down her work and ran outside, seeing a sled parked at the door filled with packages. Seeing her come out, Xiao Chang waved at her, "Mr. Yi, hurry up, there are four packages and two letters for you."

While speaking, he handed her a slip to sign.

After finishing the process, he also helped move the packages inside the house.

Seeing him about to leave, Yi Chichi quickly grabbed two handfuls of candies for him, "Mr. Chang, happy New Year in advance!"

Knowing he was about to refuse, she added, "New beginnings for the New Year, the blessing candy cannot be refused."

This remark caused Xiao Chang to swallow back his refusal and instead say, "Thank you, thank you, I also wish Mr. Yi and auntie a happy New Year!"

Then, taking the candies, he bid farewell and continued delivering packages.

After he left, Yi Chichi finally had time to examine the packages.

Among the four packages, two were large and intimidating, standing at 1.5 meters tall, the other two were one medium and one small.

The small one was about the size of a satchel.

Even the shipping places were different, the two large ones were from Beijing and an island respectively.

One medium and one small were from the Northwest and Sichuan respectively.

The package from the Northwest had an address that was particularly blurred.

Of the four packages, only the one from the island was sent by Wen Shi, the rest were presumably meant for the old man and his family.

As for the two letters, one was from Wen Shi, besides money and coupons, he particularly expressed his longing for his mother and wife, asking if they were doing well at home, reminding them not to skimp on themselves to save money, and to eat and drink what they should, as he could afford caring for them.

At the end of the letter, he simply described his routine, then asked Yi Chichi whether she’d visit the island to see him after spring, as he missed her.

The other letter, although addressed to her, Yi Chichi knew she was just the intermediary.

Because the sender’s surname was Song, this letter was presumably from relatives or friends of Old Mrs. Song and Mr. Song.