Chapter 246: Chapter 246: Country-Bought Junk

Oh right, there’s still the “kitchen” to think about. Buying a cast iron wok isn’t very realistic—after all, the commune is so small. If anyone asks, she wouldn’t be able to explain it for now.

So she simply brought the extra big clay pot from home to use for the time being—better than nothing.

As for spatulas and ladles, she could get wooden ones made by the village carpenter. Those would do just fine.

She’d pick up some oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar from the supply and marketing cooperative. That was basically it.

Lin Xiaomeng was in a similar situation. She’d only recently split off from her family, so she didn’t have much either and needed to buy new things. She decided to shop together with Gu Qinghuan.

The two of them went back to Xujiatun to buy some daily necessities from Carpenter Xu, picking out whatever was ready-made since she didn’t have time to wait for custom orders.

Gu Qinghuan got a square table, four small stools, a low cabinet, a kang cabinet, a washbasin, and a foot basin.

She also got a set of chopsticks, a wooden spatula, a wooden spoon, and a small chopping board pieced together from wood.

Carpenter Xu was an honest, straightforward man. Since his craftsmanship was average, he didn’t charge much—just for the big pieces. He gave Gu Qinghuan the small kitchen items for free.

All together, it only cost eleven yuan—not expensive at all.

Normally, at this price, Carpenter Xu’s wife would have nagged him endlessly, but for once she kept quiet today.

News that Gu Qinghuan and Lin Xiaomeng had passed the teacher recruitment exam had spread throughout Xujiatun. Their status had risen; they couldn’t be compared to before.

Gu Qinghuan herself didn’t think being a teacher was anything to brag about, but others saw it differently.

Who doesn’t have kids? Everyone wants their children to succeed and be educated, so the last people you’d want to offend are teachers.

Lin Xiaomeng bought almost the same things as Gu Qinghuan, just adding an extra kang cabinet since she didn’t have a spare at home.

They paid and asked Carpenter Xu to help deliver everything to the commune elementary school.

Carpenter Xu and his eldest son quickly packed up the items and loaded them onto a wooden cart to deliver to the commune.

Their family’s furniture had never been sold as far as the commune before—usually only people from the nearby villages bought from them.

Gu Qinghuan and Lin Xiaomeng went back to pack up another batch of things to move to the commune.

Gu Qinghuan tied the kang table and big clay pot to the back of her bicycle, hung a few bags on the handlebars—stuffed full—and packed the front basket as well.

The basket held fragile things like bowls and plates, two empty glass bottles for soy sauce and vinegar, and a small jar of lard.

In the bags, she’d packed a piece of cloth to sew into a curtain—just thread a string through, nail two hooks into the wall, and hang it up neatly.

There were also daily necessities: homemade soap, a sack of rice and flour, a piece of wild boar meat, some homemade cured fish and pickles—enough to cook when staying at the school.

The two of them rode their bikes quickly and ran into Carpenter Xu and his son halfway there. They greeted them and told them to take their time with the cart while they went ahead to open up and arrange things.

Passing by the supply and marketing cooperative, Gu Qinghuan stopped in to buy salt, soy sauce, vinegar, new toothpaste, toothbrushes, towels, and a new padlock.

She planned to replace the old lock on the dorm—who knew if anyone else had a spare key?

Better to be cautious.

They’d basically gotten everything they needed. Anything else could be bought as needed.

By the time she arrived, Lin Xiaomeng had already settled in and was just waiting for Carpenter Xu and his son to bring the furniture.

Gu Qinghuan quickly organized her things—not much, really. She didn’t have time to put up curtains yet; that could wait.

For now, they just needed to move everything in. Lin Xiaomeng came over to help.

“You just bought toothpaste, toothbrush, and condiments at the co-op? I totally forgot about those. Once we finish setting up, I’ll go take a look too.”

“Yeah, I picked them up since it was on the way. Oh, and I bought a new padlock,” Gu Qinghuan reminded her.

Lin Xiaomeng caught on right away and nodded. “Good idea! That’s not something to skimp on. Who knows who’s used the old lock—or if there are spare keys floating around?”

They’d been running around since morning and had forgotten to eat lunch. Gu Qinghuan took out a pack of sticky rice sticks and shared them with Lin Xiaomeng to tide them over.

School started tomorrow, and the teachers who stayed on campus were all returning. Some were cleaning their dorms, others were cooking.

Everyone was extremely curious about the two new female teachers, Gu Qinghuan and Lin Xiaomeng.

“Are those the new teachers the school hired?”

“Since when did Principal Chen start hiring based on looks? Did these two get in just because they’re pretty?”

“You’re overthinking it. I already asked Teacher Lin—he wrote the exam questions himself, and Principal Chen personally oversaw the second round of selection. No favoritism, they’re the real deal.”

“I heard there was supposed to be a male teacher too. Where is he?”

“Did you notice? The two of them seem pretty close, and they don’t look like they’re lacking for anything. They even have bicycles! I wonder if they’re married. Their families must be pretty well-off,” said Teacher Fang, a single man of marriageable age.

“What’s the matter, Teacher Fang? Interested? If you are, go ask! Maybe I can even play matchmaker for you,” teased a middle-aged female teacher.

Teacher Fang was something of a character at the school—twenty-six or twenty-seven and still unmarried, always thinking the grass was greener elsewhere, and ended up missing his chances.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to marry, but he always found fault: this one wasn’t pretty enough, that one’s family wasn’t good enough, or her family would be a burden…

At first, lots of people tried to introduce him to someone, but he turned everyone down. Eventually, people stopped bothering.

…

Gu Qinghuan and Lin Xiaomeng pretended not to notice everyone’s whispers, focusing on unpacking and moving things in and out.

Before long, Carpenter Xu and his son arrived with the furniture, which caused quite a stir.

What kind of family did these two have, buying so much new furniture? They must have made several trips already.

But once the furniture was unloaded, everyone relaxed a little.

None of it looked particularly fancy—just ordinary stuff that anyone could afford.

A well-dressed young female teacher deliberately raised her voice as she walked by, saying, “I thought it was something special, but it’s just some country-bought junk!”

This teacher was Wan Rong, who taught music and art at the school.

Her family was well-off—her father was a commune official who’d pulled strings to get her the job. She wasn’t particularly capable, but she had a big temper.

The principal turned a blind eye since she only taught non-essential classes anyway.

Wan Rong was always trying to show off and get her way at school, and everyone usually let her, which only encouraged her bad behavior.

This time, she was annoyed that Gu Qinghuan and Lin Xiaomeng’s looks and attention were overshadowing her.

Ah, the jealousy of women!

For a moment, the atmosphere was extremely awkward.

Carpenter Xu and his son’s faces stiffened. Having their hard work dismissed as junk was upsetting, but they gritted their teeth and kept moving the furniture—they were just country folk and couldn’t afford to offend the teachers.

Of course, Gu Qinghuan and Lin Xiaomeng heard her sarcasm."

"Chapter 247: Apology