Chapter Fifteen: Instant Noodles

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Ye Fan said he went to buy grain, so why hasn't he returned yet? By noon, Li Yaoyao still hadn't seen the grain or received any letter from Ye Fan. Feeling a bit anxious, she sat inside and began organizing the daily necessities he had previously sent.

She had seen all the pots, bowls, and pans before. Although their designs were novel, she wasn't particularly fascinated. What surprised her most were the solar panels.

So, electricity could be generated just by sunlight!

Although the village had no electricity, Li Yaoyao had used electric power when she lived in the city.

Immediately, she followed the instructions and assembled the solar panels in the courtyard.

By afternoon, the batteries that came with the solar panels were fully charged, and she even powered three flashlights.

Truly amazing...

As dusk fell, Li Yaoyao played with the flashlight, refusing to put it down.

Her family had a flashlight too, but it used large size D batteries and was bulky. The one in her hand was not small either, but it had adjustable modes: strobe mode, night mode, and lighting mode...

“Tonight, no need to light candles!”

She extravagantly left the electric light on all night.

Early the next morning, Li Yaoyao woke up and looked at the wooden box, but unfortunately, it remained silent.

“Ye Fan, why haven't you replied?”

She grew anxious, fearing the box was broken and that no more items could be sent. The villagers were still hungry!

While she was worrying, there was a knock on the door.

“Is Li Zhiqing home?”

It was Village Chief Yang Dachang.

“Yes!” Li Yaoyao’s heart sank, realizing he had come to collect grain.

She hurried to open the door.

Sure enough, as soon as Chief Yang entered, he asked, “Young Li, yesterday I collected all the old items from the villagers and sent them to you. You said the grain would be distributed today, so I came early. When will we distribute the grain?”

“Chief Yang...” Li Yaoyao opened and closed her small mouth, unsure how to explain. She was anxious too, but Ye Fan hadn’t responded; she felt helpless.

“Hmm? What’s this?”

At that moment, Yang Dachang noticed the solar panels spread out in the yard and curiously circled them.

“These... these are solar panels!”

Li Yaoyao felt a surge of hope: if the villagers liked them, maybe they could trade the old items for a few panels and not need grain!

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With this thought, she eagerly began to explain, “These solar panels generate electricity just by sunlight. With electricity, we can use electric lights!”

As she spoke, she turned on a flashlight, shining a beam onto the chief’s face.

“Oh!”

The chief stepped back, fascinated. “I’ve seen flashlights in the city, but none as bright as this!”

“This... is high-tech from the city!” Li Yaoyao said, handing the flashlight to him. “See, this flashlight has multiple functions—it can switch to lighting mode so everyone won’t have to light candles at night!”

“Hey, this must be expensive, right?”

“My friend gave it to me. And those old items from yesterday can be traded for these! Soon, every household can have a solar panel. With electricity, when it’s hot, we can use fans; when it’s dark, we have lights... it saves a lot of trouble!”

Li Yaoyao passionately promoted the idea, hoping to persuade the villagers to forgo grain.

Unfortunately, this was wishful thinking.

After hearing Li Yaoyao’s explanation, Yang Dachang clicked his tongue and said, “Our village has many old things, but we can’t waste them like this. I think it’s better to exchange them for grain!”

Hearing the chief insist on grain, Li Yaoyao felt troubled.

“Li Zhiqing, what’s wrong?” The chief’s smile faded as he noticed her distress. “Your friend wouldn’t refuse to send grain, would they?”

“No, no!” Li Yaoyao quickly waved her hands. “Chief, the grain just hasn’t arrived yet...”

She dared not say that there might be no grain at all in the future.

She silently prayed that Ye Fan was just delayed and that the box wasn’t broken, so they could still contact him.

Hearing her words, the chief relaxed. “I told everyone that the old items would be exchanged for grain, so a delay isn’t a big deal...”

“Well...” Li Yaoyao saw the chief’s awkward expression and instantly felt ashamed.

She had promised but failed to deliver...

Remembering there were leftover instant noodles she hadn’t sold, she forced a smile. “My friend... the grain will come slowly, right? How about I give you some instant noodles first?”

She took out all the remaining noodles, barely enough for each family to have one or two packs.

“That won’t do!” Yang Dachang quickly waved his hand. “This is your food; how can we take it? Besides, there are both poor and rich in the village. The poor really can’t get by, but the rich still have old hens at home!”

He gestured toward Mrs. Wang’s house.

“Actually, if we share it around, it could last a few days!”

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Upon hearing Chief Yang’s explanation, Li Yaoyao shook her head quickly. “Those hens are kept because the daughter-in-law is pregnant. We can’t take food from a pregnant woman!”

She pushed the instant noodles toward Chief Yang firmly. “Chief, you just take them. I think my friend will send the grain soon!”

“Well... alright then! I’ll distribute them to everyone first. I know those supplies won’t arrive in a day or two. Let’s all go explain this to the villagers together!”

Yang Dachang packed the instant noodles into a sack and headed toward the big locust tree at the village entrance, where the villagers usually gathered for meetings. Li Yaoyao followed.

As they approached, many villagers had already gathered, surrounding a lame man and laughing.

This lame man was Wang Dahua’s husband.

His name was Wang Haigou. A few years ago, he went to work in the city and broke his leg. He couldn’t get married at the time. Later, after Wang Dahua was released from prison, they were introduced and married.

After his parents passed away, the village pitied his disability and let him sweep the streets to earn some money so he wouldn’t starve.

But he didn’t work properly; he neglected cleaning and sometimes deliberately dumped trash at the village entrance, angering the villagers. They disliked him and mockingly called him “Yang Haigou.”

Eventually, the village stopped letting him sweep streets. Wang Dahua caused trouble in the village, making people despise them both. The village reluctantly gave them some monthly relief funds as aid.

“Yang Haigou! Your wife beat Li Zhiqing, yet you still have the nerve to come collect grain?”

“Now you know what’s better—grain or your wife?”

Amid the villagers’ jeers, Yang Haigou’s neck turned red, and he stubbornly mumbled something about his wife being good and grain being good.

The atmosphere beneath the big locust tree was lively.

At that moment, the villagers noticed the chief and Li Yaoyao arriving and quickly left Yang Haigou’s side to surround them.

“Chief, did Li Zhiqing buy the grain?”

“They just said yesterday they’d exchange old items for grain. Is it here already today?”

“No way it’s that fast. I bet it’s grain Li Zhiqing had stored before!”

The villagers whispered with both hope and skepticism until Chief Yang stood beneath the tree and quieted them.

“Fellow villagers! Li Zhiqing has sent all your old items to her friend, but shipping takes time. The grain she ordered will arrive in a few days.”

The chief’s imagination was vivid; Li Yaoyao had made up an excuse, and he made it sound convincing. The villagers didn’t doubt it.

“Everyone, don’t worry. Li Zhiqing still has a good supply of instant noodles, which she’s donated. Each family will receive a box, and leftovers will go to the elderly and children...”

Before the chief finished, the villagers’ eyes gleamed, eager to get the noodles.

While Chief Yang and Li Yaoyao were distributing the noodles, a police car drove over a distant hill toward the village.