Educated Youth in the Countryside: She is the Village's Embroidery Queen!-Chapter 475: Pocket Money

"The snow is coming down really hard!"

Goose feather-like snowflakes were falling heavily as Yi Chichi climbed up the ladder to the roof.

Qin Jiu, braving the snow, held the pull ring of a flashlight in his mouth and handed up a shovel. "Aunt, be careful."

"I got it."

Yi Chichi took the shovel and reminded him, "Move back, be careful not to get covered in snow."

"Okay!"

Almost as soon as he said that, a big chunk of snow fell down.

Shoveling snow was incredibly stress-relieving, as the heavy snow fell away in large chunks with the push of human hands.

Soon, a pile of snow formed at the entrance.

Wen’s mother, who ran over to help but found she wasn’t needed, hurried back intending to shovel snow, only to find Yi Chichi had finished and was coming down the ladder.

"Why didn’t you wait for me to come back to shovel?!"

"It was just convenient."

As Yi Chichi was speaking, she came down the ladder.

"The snow at the entrance needs to be shoveled too, right?!"

If it continued snowing like this, the door would be blocked in a couple of hours.

"Yes, it needs to be shoveled."

So, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law duo diligently began relocating the snow with shovels. Qin Jiu offered to help, but not only was he refused, he was also sent back to get some sleep.

After all, he had classes the next day.

Unable to argue with them, Qin Jiu had no choice but to obediently return indoors to sleep.

Halfway through, Uncle Ye, strong as an ox, sneaked over asking if they needed help.

Ready labor should not be wasted.

Yi Chichi quickly said they did.

Thus, Ye Yuntang grabbed a shovel and began working diligently.

Wen’s mother asked him, "Did you guys finish handling the snow over there?"

"Yes, Qin Uncle and Uncle Ma helped out too."

"Did Grandpa Song not help?"

Hearing this from Yi Chichi, Ye Yuntang’s mouth twitched; this girl had a sly sense of humor.

Considering Mr. Song’s frail, scholarly physique, even handling pig feed was daunting for him, let alone shoveling snow.

"Relying on Uncle Song would be less effective than asking Aunt Song."

Yi Chichi chuckled, "Just curious."

Recalling something, she asked, "Do you have enough firewood?"

"Yes!"

That first year, they didn’t have enough firewood, and if not for Yi Chichi taking care of them, they wouldn’t have survived the winter.

That’s when they gained a deep understanding of Baoshan’s winters.

Stockpiling firewood became a habit ingrained in them.

They’d gather it whenever they had spare time, from the start of the year to winter, and it was enough.

"If it’s not enough, remember to tell me."

"Got it, I won’t be shy with you!"

Then, they asked Wen’s mother about whose roof had collapsed.

"The woodshed at the Building’s house collapsed."

Wen’s mother kept it concise, "That’s why I returned so quickly."

The implication: no one was hurt.

Since no one was injured, the topic was closed.

The three of them worked diligently for two hours, not only moving the snow from the roof to the empty vegetable patch but also clearing the path at the entrance and in the front yard.

But it was all in vain, as the snow gradually piled up again just a few hours later.

Luckily, around ten in the morning, the snowfall began to lessen, and the newly accumulated snow wasn’t as thick as overnight.

The village roads had patrolling teams routinely clearing the snow, making the roads passable.

So when Liu Lan appeared in front of Yi Chichi, she wasn’t surprised at all.

She instinctively patted the warm kang bed, "Come on up and work."

"Coming!"

Liu Lan took off her hat and gloves, hung them on a rack, then removed her shoes and climbed onto the kang. Familiar with the surroundings, she brought over her embroidery rack, sat across from Yi Chichi, and began threading.

"You’re still drawing?"

"Just finalizing and adding some color."

Yi Chichi didn’t look up, "And your kid?"

"My mom and sister-in-law are watching her."

Knowing she’s working to earn money, her mom and sister-in-law were happy to help with the child.

"I thought you’d come with Wang Nan and the others."

"Wang Nan and Juanzi couldn’t make it. Old Bai took Old Witch to catch a bus, and they’re also stopping by the department store to buy some things."

No wonder of the inseparable trio of Wang Nan, Juanzi, and Liu Lan, only Liu Lan came.

With Wu Yongfei and Bai Chen gone, Wang Nan and the others had to stay home to take care of kids.

It’s truly too cold to bring children outside.

"Is Aunt not home?"

"She went to the team infirmary to hang out with Aunt Mu."

Having the day off today, Uncle Yaozi worried his wife would be bored, so he specifically called Wen’s mother over to accompany Aunt Mu.

He even brought along Big Orange and Da Li.

Just as she thought about the two, Liu Lan mentioned, "My cat just had kittens."

Yi Chichi, "??? Kittens in this season?"

"Yes, it had six. We didn’t know until before yesterday, but this morning it brought all the kittens up onto the kang."

Remembering the morning incident, Liu Lan couldn’t help but find it amusing yet also concerning. "Suddenly having six more mouths to feed is really stressful."

This wasn’t a comment Yi Chichi could easily respond to. From her perspective, six small kittens wouldn’t eat much, and could fend for themselves once spring came and the weather warmed.

But for Liu Lan’s family, who now had six extra mouths to feed during a time of food scarcity, it would be insensitive for her to suggest keeping them.

It might rub people the wrong way.

So she stayed silent as Liu Lan continued muttering about her father wanting to get rid of the kittens, only for her mother to insist they keep them for the sake of the family’s future blessings.

Then she asked, "Chichi, could you sell me some of your dried fish?"

Though she said exchange, it was really just buying.

Yi Chichi, "For the kittens?"

"For the mother cat. The kittens are still nursing and won’t be eating solid food for a while."

Yi Chichi replied, "I only have dried squid slices. Is that okay?"

"Yes, if the mother cat doesn’t eat it, we will."

That works.

So when Liu Lan went back home that evening, she took two pounds of dried squid with her.

Yi Chichi handed the money to Wen’s mother, "Mom, your pocket money."

Wen’s mother accepted it and slipped it into her pocket without any embarrassment, smiling broadly, "Mom’s saving it for you and Wen Shi."

"... You could actually buy candy with it."

They didn’t need her to save money for them; they could earn it easily.

Wen’s mother chuckled, "We’ve got candy at home. We’ll get more after it’s all eaten."

Yi Chichi didn’t handle these details. She was only responsible for providing funds and supplies to the house.

As for how Wen’s mother and Qin Jiu divided or used everything, that was totally up to them.

"I’m going to the commune tomorrow."

As soon as Wen’s mother heard this, she knew the draft was done. "Alright, go early and come back early."

"Okay."

The next morning, after a good breakfast, Yi Chichi and Qin Jiu left the house together.

She first dropped Qin Jiu off at the Youth Corps Courtyard, then walked to the commune.

Today, both the wind and snow had stopped, and the sun was out.

This rare good weather enticed people who had been holed up indoors due to the heavy snow to come out for a stroll.

The commune was bustling with people.

The post office was the same, filled with people making calls, sending parcels, and collecting packages, bustling to and fro.

Yi Chichi went to the post office to ask if there was any mail or parcels for her and, receiving a no, left to meet with the secretary.

Mr. Zhou greeted her, "Mr. Yi, take a seat here for a moment. The secretary is in a meeting."

"Alright, Mr. Zhou, go on with your work. I can take care of myself."

Mr. Zhou nodded, "Would you like to read the newspaper?"

"Yes!"

Then he brought over a thick stack of newspapers for her to read.