Li Long was woken by Liang Yuemei.
"Xiao Long, how come you fell asleep leaning here?" Liang Yuemei said. "Go sleep inside. Haven't you cooked yet? I'll heat up some food for you."
Li Long rubbed his eyes, got up, and said:
"I was worn out. Oh, right, I brought back some meat, including some for the Tao family. I need to take a leg over to Daqiang's dad later."
"Eat first, then go." Liang Yuemei hurried into the kitchen. Seeing the meat in the pot on the stove, she took it out, scrubbed the pot, and heated up the food.
They had Soup Rice for lunch, which was quick to reheat. Liang Yuemei served Li Long a bowl and said:
"I'll get you a steamed bun too. Eat it with the soup. It'll keep you full."
"All right." Li Long carried the bowl into the room. Seeing some chopped salted chives on the kitchen cutting board, he scooped some into his bowl of Soup Rice—the Soup Rice here was made with flat pieces of dough.
"The buns are cold," Liang Yuemei said, bringing over two on a plate. "There isn't time to steam them warm. Soak them in your soup."
"They're fine as they are." Li Long took a bun and ate in big bites. "I was starving."
"Why didn't you think to eat lunch before getting back to work?" Liang Yuemei sounded half reproachful, half concerned. "Your brother would definitely give you a talking-to if he knew."
"Where's my brother?" Li Long asked as he ate.
"Wasn't our family allotted five mu of the team's old sideline vegetable plot? This afternoon, I went to weed our Ration Fields, and your older brother went to the fodder plot over there to check on the sowing. The sugar beets should