Chapter 257: The Bustling Day at Daliu Team
Liu Yao looked over and indeed saw everyone coming out together. She happily stood up and waved toward the gate, hopping slightly: “Over here! Come quickly!”
Her loud voice immediately drew everyone’s attention. Chen Ye Chu and her group, seeing them, jogged over.
Once they arrived, Chen Ye Chu teased the trio:
“I knew they wouldn’t neglect themselves outside. Look at this — chairs, tea, sunflower seeds — they really know how to take care of themselves.”
“I’m curious where you got these chairs. Each of you has one, and they look pretty comfortable.”
Wu Guifang, touching the small chairs with backrests, was amazed. She grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds from another small basket and noticed the middle basket was already full of shells, her surprise growing.
“Wow, you’ve already filled a basket with shells. I was wondering this morning why Xiyue brought two baskets. Turns out one’s for seeds, the other for shells. Impressive.”
Ning Xiyue brushed the ash from the shells in her hands and smiled, standing up.
“Haha, we were just sitting here bored. The three of us had already planned to go buy sunflower seeds from the cooperative, so we’re snacking while we wait to pass the time. As for the chairs, we borrowed them from the school.”
Wang Mengmeng put down her seeds and asked, “How did the exam go?”
“Not bad. We’ll wait here a bit; the results will be posted soon,” Chen Ye Chu replied, looking toward the main gate.
Ning Xiyue noticed that those who had come out hadn’t left either, all anxiously waiting at the gate. “We’ll wait — everyone’s waiting anyway.”
At this point, the sunflower seeds served their purpose: chatting while snacking made time pass faster than standing around idly.
Soon, the people posting the results came out, causing a stir. Everyone’s eyes focused on those carrying the lists.
Ning Qingyuan, seeing the crowd around the wall, suggested, “It’s crowded. Let’s wait for a smaller group before we go see.”
“Alright, no rush,” agreed others.
Yu Zhiyu, recalling the crowded registration earlier, also agreed. The rest thought the same — there’s no need to push through. They had waited so long already, waiting a bit longer was fine.
Soon, the crowd thinned, and they approached to look.
Ning Xiyue, Wang Mengmeng, and Liu Yao, who hadn’t participated, didn’t rush over. Instead, they hurried to return the chairs borrowed from the school’s gatekeeper. After returning them, they heard cheers.
Ning Xiyue quickened her pace.
“Sis! I got in!” Ning Qingyuan ran toward Ning Xiyue, excitedly delivering the good news.
“Really? That’s awesome! Let me see!”
Ning Xiyue was happy, but she wanted to see it for herself. She ran to the posted list, searching for names.
Two warehouse staffers: one was Yu Zhiyu, and the other was her brother.
Wu Guifang and Chen Ye Chu had actually been hired into the kitchen as helpers. The main cooks were the aunties who had previously worked in the big cafeteria. She saw Aunt Liu and Aunt Zhang.
Finally, Zhao Jianshe surprised Ning Xiyue — he had also been placed in the kitchen, responsible for all the heavy labor and chopping vegetables. His knife skills were excellent, earning him a place as the kitchen’s “butcher.”
Everyone had their own assignment. Ning Xiyue was genuinely happy for them. Being selected meant no worries about meals and they’d earn money — a great position for sent-down youth.
Ning Xiyue also thought about another matter: once the cafeteria opened, could those who weren’t staff still eat there, paying for their meals? This would help on busy mornings or when they wanted different breakfast options. She could ask the team leader later.
“I’m so happy, Xiyue! We all got in!” Chen Ye Chu hugged Ning Xiyue and jumped with joy.
“Congratulations!” Ning Xiyue half-hugged Chen Ye Chu while holding Wu Guifang’s hand. Everyone was ecstatic.
Zhao Jianshe clapped his hands and suggested: “What a day! How about we all go back and cook lunch together, sit down and celebrate?”
“I think that works,” Liu Yao was the first to respond. Others nodded in agreement.
Ning Qingyuan, already familiar with them, joined in. Most of his grain supplies were with Ning Xiyue anyway, making cooking together convenient.
At the same time, Wang Jiandong, who had been walking around town, returned. With everyone gathered, they organized to leave and celebrate together.
This could be considered the liveliest day for the entire Daliu Team. People from the mining team had begun arriving, starting basic construction: leveling roads, building temporary sheds, and setting up facilities.
Upon returning to the team, Ning Xiyue saw the bustling scene — future days would be lively indeed. She believed that once the mining team was fully present, Daliu Team would be even livelier than the town.
More people meant more gossip. With her network and ability to “eat seeds” (keep up with news), she wouldn’t get bored. The aunties never disappointed her — she looked forward to it.
She suddenly felt that her life in the countryside was truly enjoyable. She wondered if she’d ever find such pleasure after returning to the city.
Over the following days, Ning Xiyue observed the changes step by step.
The cafeteria was prepared, waiting to cook the first meal. The mining team arrived gradually, increasing the number of outsiders and livening up the team. Temporary sheds were built one by one on the dam outside the team office.
Mining equipment and tools arrived in stages.
This time, the team also received a major benefit.
All roads in the team were widened and leveled, covered with crushed stone from mining. No longer would rain turn paths into muddy, rutted roads. Some new roads were even paved, achieving the “build roads first to get rich” goal.
Everyone was happy — this would benefit future generations, and people willingly helped lay roads.
Ever since the mining project was announced, smiles had been constant on everyone’s faces. Seeing the stone paths laid out made them even more excited. The team leader ran a few laps around the team to calm his excitement.
Ning Xiyue also cared about her brother’s warehouse. It was located in their team office, with a room set aside as the exclusive storage for the mining team.
Although the neighboring Dahua Team wasn’t far, her brother shuttling between two teams wasn’t ideal.
The letter she had on hand was about to come in handy.
When Ning Qingyuan came to check the progress at Daliu Team, Ning Xiyue called him over.
“Brother, stay for lunch. I have something to tell you.”
“Sure,” Ning Qingyuan replied immediately.
After lunch, once the kitchen was cleaned up, Ning Xiyue sat down at the table with her brother.
Seeing her urgency, Ning Qingyuan smiled: “Sis, what are you being mysterious about?”
Ning Xiyue pulled the letter from Aunt Lin, the one she had received earlier, and placed it in front of him.
“What’s this?” Ning Qingyuan asked, puzzled, holding the letter.
She explained: “Mom’s friend, Aunt Lin, gave it to me. She said she has a friend working at our commune’s sent-down youth office. If we need help, we can bring this letter to her.”
Ning Qingyuan still looked puzzled, waiting for her to explain further, and handed the letter back.
