This was an anti-theft stamp.
"The Third Sister said she was going to wash it,
Mom,
Are we eating eggs? " Lu Dewen carefully looked at the Xue Huahua's expression and saw her nod. She was so happy that she danced. The smoke from the stove was suffocating,
He choked and coughed non-stop, but he still couldn't hide the smile on his face. He lowered his head and saw that he was holding a bundle of firewood in his hand. He hurriedly stuffed it into the stove,
He asked attentively,
"Mom,
Do you want me to do something else? "
"Wash the jar of rice." In the past, in order to prevent Lu Dewen from stealing it, she didn't dare to put rice in the kitchen. Now, it was different,
If Lu Dewen dared to steal again,
She would break his leg.
The Xue Huahua cut the wild vegetables into small pieces,
She put them in a bowl and beat two eggs into it,
These two eggs were bad,
Fortunately, they didn't stink,
They could eat it. Rural people were thrifty and couldn't bear to throw away rotten eggs,
Chao Caizhi wanted to feed the child,
She couldn't eat this,
She cooked a poached egg for Chao Caizhi, scooped a bowl of porridge, and sent it to her room. After that, she went back to the kitchen to cook.
Lu Dewen washed the jar and came back. He rubbed his hands happily around the stove. The Xue Huahua went back to her room and scooped a bowl of flour out. She poured it into the pot containing the wild vegetables, added some water, and gently stirred it with chopsticks. It was sticky and thick. It smelled fragrant. Lu Dewen asked the Xue Huahua again, "Mom, are we cooking wild vegetables to eat?"
There were eggs. It would definitely be delicious.
"Spread the cake and eat it. Light the fire seriously."
Lu Dewen was delighted. "Okay."
People in the countryside were reluctant to use oil when cooking. Most of them cooked vegetables and rice together to save oil and firewood. She scooped some lard into the big iron pot. The lard melted when it touched the pot. She waved the spatula and slowly covered the pot with lard. Then, she grabbed a lump of mixed wild vegetable noodles and spread them in the pot one by one. One, two, a total of fourteen.
Lu Dewen raised his chin and straightened his back as he looked into the pot. The fragrance entered his nose and he swallowed his saliva. If it weren't for the fact that he was afraid of Xue Huahua scolding him, he would have laid by the stove without blinking.
When Lu Hongying came back, the wild vegetable egg pancakes had just been cooked. Xue Huahua asked Lu Dewen to take the pancakes out first. She poured the plain porridge from the pot into the big iron pot and let the porridge absorb all the oil in the big iron pot before scooping it into the bowls. After scooping six bowls, she called for Lu Dewen to carry the bowls. Lu Dewen's voice came from Lu Mingwen's room. "Mom, I'm carrying Mingwen out to eat."
Lu Mingwen's legs did not touch the ground. He was thinking of eating wild vegetable egg pancakes at home. The whole family gathered around the dining table and had a good time before Lu Dewen came to carry him. After placing Lu Dewen safely on the stool, he went to Lu Jianxun's room to help Lu Jianxun up. Other than Chao Caizhi, the whole family was here.
The pancakes were piled in the bowl. Lu Dewen rubbed his hands and took the biggest one. Xue Huahua glanced at him and he immediately put the pancake into Xue Huahua's bowl. "Mom, eat this."
Seeing that Xue Huahua was not angry, he took a medium-sized piece and ate it himself.
Xue Huahua picked up the pancake and gave it to Lu Hongying. "Third Sister, eat this. Third Sister has lost weight." Among the children, Lu Hongying was the most considerate. When Lu Dewen and Lu Mingwen were playing around, she would help take care of Lu Jianxun. As she grew older, she did not like this family very much. She would rather work for the educated youth than work for herself. However, she was better than Lu Mingwen in one aspect. She would eat from whoever she helped.
"Third Sister, we have food at home. It won't be a problem to eat until the autumn harvest. You can help Eldest Sister-in-law to take care of Xixi and the rest. Your Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law have divorced. Let him share a room with Fourth Brother. You can move back here. " Xue Huahua held her chopsticks and said seriously, "Let's work together. Our family will get better."
Lu Dewen took two bites of the pancake. It was so hot that he kept it in his mouth and spun it around. He opened his mouth to speak, but the pancake slid down his throat and swallowed it. He was startled and quickly reached out to grab his neck. He hadn't even tasted it yet, so how did it slip into his stomach?
Xue Huahua could not bear to see him embarrass himself and scolded, "It's not like you haven't eaten it before. Can you be any more embarrassing?"
Lu Dewen coughed and sat down obediently. He put the remaining half of the pancake into his bowl and quickly ate it. He remembered what he had said and raised his head to look at Lu Hongying. "Third Sister, Mom is right. Let's work hard and it will get better. Look, we can eat egg pancakes today."
Although he could not tell that there were eggs in it, the taste was there. He finished the rice in his bowl and had no intention of eating again. Xue Huahua said that he had to eat less last year because of the deduction of food. He had to earn more work this year.
Lu Mingwen and Lu Jianxun were the same. They finished the rice in their bowls and looked at the pancake with sparkling eyes.
They wanted to eat it, but they could not bear to.
Lu Hongying was different from them. She ate the pancake first and slowly ate the rice in her bowl after the pancake was gone. She lowered her head, and no one could see her emotions.
The unmarried girls in the village would have their brothers and sisters-in-law take care of their children. Some even work in the fields. The original owner of the body did not care about the children, so she did not ask Lu Hongying. Since Xue Huahua mentioned it, Lu Hongying had to say something. "Okay. I will take care of Xixi and Dong Dong at home. You guys can earn your work."
Xue Huahua grinned and smiled. She knew Lu Hongying would agree.
Originally, Lu Mingwen was a little depressed. But when he saw the whole family was happy, he did not want to affect the atmosphere. Moreover, after Lu Hongying came back, he could hear her and Xixi talking all day. Xixi started to call him Second Uncle. Every day when he entered the courtyard, he would shout at the top of his voice. The house was lively, and the crowing of the rooster was louder than before. Slowly, his mood brightened up.
There were people taking care of the children and cooking. Xue Huahua and Lu Dewen worked hard. There were a lot of rumors about Xue Huahua in the village. They said that it was not nice to ask for a betrothal gift. In addition, Sun Guixian fanned the flames. Several women whispered bad things about Xue Huahua. Xue Huahua saw it but did not say anything. Her feet were almost healed. When Li Xuemei carried the pigweed, she would help Li Xuemei. She tried not to let Li Xuemei do any heavy work. After a while, the two of them got closer.
The two of them were very efficient. After a few days, the pigweed in the pig farm was piled up into a thick hill. When they were resting, Li Xuemei sat on the wooden bench outside the pigpen, and Xue Huahua swept the pigpen with a broom. The two of them chatted. Lu Ming's mother did not like Li Xuemei. She felt that Li Xuemei was from the city and could not do anything. She only earned six work hours a day and was a burden to her son. She sat on the doorstep and scolded Li Xuemei every day.
"Auntie, it's time to transplant rice seedlings. What do you think?" There were some words that Li Xuemei could not say to Lu Ming. She could not find anyone else, so she could only ask Xue Huahua, who had a good relationship with her.
Xue Huahua swept the pig feces aside and used the broom to talk to Li Xuemei. "Why are you working so hard when you are pregnant? Are you afraid of your mother-in-law? She has a loud voice, and ordinary words come out of her mouth like quarreling. You will get used to it in the future. She scolded you, but she has a sharp tongue and a soft heart. If she scolded you, she might sulk at home alone and regret it. "
Many mothers-in-law in the village scolded their daughters-in-law, saying that they were lazy and couldn't give birth to a son. It could be seen everywhere. When Lu Ming's mother was young, she was also scolded. She gave birth to five sons and three daughters, but her mother-in-law still did not like her. Because of this, Lu Ming's mother almost jumped into the river and died. When it was her turn to be the mother-in-law, she straightened her back and felt that she could take revenge. How could she not scold her daughters-in-law?
In her memory, she saw from afar that Lu Ming's mother scolded her disappointing eldest daughter-in-law. After scolding her, she sat on a small hill and sulked. She was really a typical old lady in the countryside who had a hard mouth but a soft heart.
Li Xuemei knew that Xue Huahua was speaking the truth, but she could not get over it. Her family was not good, and it was good that Lu Ming was willing to marry her. If she did not know how to be grateful, she would be too inhumane. After thinking for a while, she hesitated and said, "If I marry Lu Ming, I have to learn how to do farm work. I can't not know how to do anything, right?"
Li Xuemei looked gentle and gentle. Although she was tanned, she had a good temperament and gave people a comfortable feeling. Xue Huahua did not agree with her. "Who said that marrying a farmer means you have to know how to do farm work? Then wouldn't those who marry a butcher learn how to kill pigs?"
She did not understand Lu Ming's mother, but from her point of view, Lu Ming's mother was bluffing. Li Xuemei was from the city, and in this era, people from the city were unreachable in the eyes of the villagers. Lu Ming's mother was afraid that Li Xuemei would be restless and run away with someone else, so she scolded her on purpose. When Lu Ming's brothers got married, all of them were scolded by his mother.
Hearing the word 'butcher', Li Xuemei pursed her lips and smiled. When she thought of the villagers talking about Xue Huahua, she said bluntly, "Auntie, you are different from what they said."
She felt that Xue Huahua was not a stingy blackmailer in the eyes of the villagers. Xue Huahua did not talk much, but she was meticulous. As long as she saw that Xue Huahua was slightly tired, she would take the initiative to take a break before continuing. When the villagers saw her, they would scold her for being lazy. Xue Huahua replied frankly, "My legs are a little painful. I can't give up my legs just to work, right?"
Her words made the other party unable to find any words to refute.
To be honest, it was all thanks to Xue Huahua that she could relax a little.
"Who cares what they say, as long as we have a clear conscience." Many people did not agree with Xue Huahua taking back the betrothal gift, thinking that she had lost the face of Ren 'an Village. She did not think so. It was another matter if her family was well-off, but she could not pretend to be generous when she was poor and let the whole family go hungry. Their mouths were in other people's mouths, and she could not control what others said. She only knew that this year's grain would be enough to eat until the autumn harvest.
Life was like drinking water, only one knew whether it was warm or cold.
Li Xuemei nodded. From this point of view, she admired Xue Huahua. When they were cutting the pigweed, they heard many people pointing at them, but Xue Huahua's face did not change at all. Not everyone had this calmness and open-mindedness.
Xue Huahua's calm attitude made some people feel that they had punched cotton. Several people ran to Lu Jianguo and shouted that they wanted to change the job of cutting pigweed. For the sake of fairness, Lu Jianguo arranged Xue Huahua to go to the field to pull weeds. Xue Huahua nodded happily. The next day, she rolled up her trousers and went to the field in high spirits.
She listened to the arrangements of the organization and obeyed the orders of the organization. She had confidence in the organization.
As for the people who snitched behind her, Xue Huahua turned a deaf ear to them. Her strength was to be used in the field, not to quarrel with people.
However, there were people who refused to let her go.
Xue Huahua cut the wild vegetables into small pieces and put them in a bowl. She broke two eggs into it. These two eggs were bad, but they did not stink and could be eaten. People in the village were thrifty and could not bear to throw away rotten eggs. Chao Caizhi had to feed the child and could not eat this. She cooked a poached egg for Chao Caizhi and scooped a bowl of porridge to send to her room. After that, she went back to the kitchen to prepare the vegetables.
Lu Dewen came back after washing the jar. He rubbed his hands happily around the stove. Xue Huahua went back to her room and scooped out a bowl of flour. She poured it into the bowl of wild vegetables and added some water. She used chopsticks to stir it gently. It was sticky and thick, and it smelled fragrant. Lu Dewen asked Xue Huahua, "Mum, are we going to cook some wild vegetables?"
There were eggs, so it would definitely be delicious.
"Spread the biscuit and eat it. Light the fire seriously."
Lu Dewen was delighted. "Okay."
People in the village were reluctant to use oil when cooking. Most of the time, vegetables and rice were cooked together to save oil and firewood. She scooped some lard into the big iron pot. When the lard touched the pot, it sizzled and melted. She waved the spatula and slowly covered the pot with lard. Then, she grabbed a lump of mixed wild vegetable noodles and spread them in the pot one by one. One, two, a total of 14.
Lu Dewen raised his chin, straightened his back, and looked into the pot. Bursts of fragrance wafted into his nose, and he swallowed his saliva. If it weren't for the fact that he was afraid of Xue Huahua's scolding, he would have laid down beside the stove without blinking.
When Lu Hongying came back, the wild vegetable egg pancakes had just been cooked. Xue Huahua asked Lu Dewen to take the pancakes out first. She poured the plain porridge from the rice pot into the big iron pot and let the porridge absorb all the oil in the big iron pot before scooping it into the bowls. After scooping six bowls, she called for Lu Dewen to carry the bowls. Lu Dewen's voice came from Lu Mingwen's room. "Mum, I'm carrying Mingwen out to eat."
Lu Mingwen's legs did not touch the ground. He thought of eating wild vegetable egg pancakes at home. The whole family gathered around the dining table and had a good time. Only then did Lu Dewen carry him. After placing Lu Dewen safely on the stool, he went to Lu Jianxun's room to help Lu Jianxun up. Except for Chao Caizhi, who was in confinement, the whole family was here.
The pancakes were piled in the bowl. Lu Dewen rubbed his hands and took the biggest one. When Xue Huahua glanced at him, he immediately put the pancake into Xue Huahua's bowl. "Mum, you eat."
Seeing that Xue Huahua was not angry, he took a medium-sized pancake and ate it himself.
Xue Huahua picked up the pancake and gave it to Lu Hongying. "Third Sister, eat it. Third Sister has lost weight." Among the children, Lu Hongying was the most considerate. When Lu Dewen and Lu Mingwen were playing around, she would help take care of Lu Jianxun. As she grew older, she did not like this family very much. She would rather work for the educated youth than work for herself. However, she was better than Lu Mingwen in one aspect. She would eat from whoever she helped.
"Third Sister, we have food at home. It won't be a problem to eat until the autumn harvest. You can stay at home and help Eldest Sister-in-law to take care of Xixi and the rest. Your Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law have divorced. Let him share a room with Fourth Brother. You can move back. " Xue Huahua held her chopsticks and said seriously, "If we work together, the family will get better."
Lu Dewen took two bites of the pancake. It was so hot that he kept it in his mouth and spun it around. He opened his mouth to speak, but the pancake slid down his throat and swallowed it. He was startled and quickly reached out to grab his neck. He hadn't even tasted it yet, so how did it slip into his stomach?
Xue Huahua could not bear to see him embarrass himself. She scolded, "It's not like you haven't eaten it before. Can you be any more embarrassing?"
Lu Dewen coughed and sat down obediently. He put the remaining half of the pancake into his bowl and quickly ate. He remembered what he had said and raised his head to look at Lu Hongying. "Third Sister, Mom is right. If we work hard, things will get better. Look, we can eat egg pancakes today."
Although he could not tell that there were eggs in it, the taste was still there. He finished the rice in his bowl and had no intention of eating again. Xue Huahua said that he had to eat less last year because of the deduction of food. He had to earn more work this year.
Lu Mingwen and Lu Jianxun were the same. They finished the rice in their bowls and looked at the pancake with sparkling eyes.
They wanted to eat it but could not bear to.
Lu Hongying was different from them. She ate the pancake first and slowly ate the rice in her bowl after the pancake was gone. She lowered her head, and no one could see her emotions.
The unmarried girls in the village would have their brothers and sisters-in-law take care of their children. Some even had to work in the fields. The original owner of the body did not take care of the children, so she did not ask Lu Hongying. Since Xue Huahua mentioned it, Lu Hongying had to say something. "Okay. I will take care of Xixi and Dong Dong at home. You guys can earn work."
Xue Huahua grinned and smiled. She knew Lu Hongying would agree.
Originally, Lu Mingwen was a little depressed. Seeing the whole family was happy, he did not want to affect the atmosphere. Moreover, after Lu Hongying came back, he could hear her and Xixi talking all day. Xixi started to call him Second Uncle. Every day when he entered the courtyard, he would shout at the top of his voice. The house was lively, and the crowing of the rooster was louder than before. Slowly, his mood became more cheerful.
There were people taking care of the children and cooking. Xue Huahua and Lu Dewen worked hard. There were a lot of rumors about Xue Huahua in the village. They said that it was not nice to ask for betrothal gifts. In addition, Sun Guixian fanned the flames. Several women whispered bad things about Xue Huahua. Xue Huahua saw it, but she did not say anything. Her feet were almost healed. When Li Xuemei carried the pigweed, she would help Li Xuemei. She tried not to let Li Xuemei do any heavy work. After a while, the two of them got closer.
The two of them were very efficient. After a few days, the pigweed in the pig farm was piled up into a thick hill. When they were resting, Li Xuemei sat on the wooden bench outside the pigpen, and Xue Huahua swept the pigpen with a broom. The two of them chatted. Lu Ming's mother did not like Li Xuemei. She felt that Li Xuemei was from the city and could not do anything. She only earned six work hours a day and was a burden to her son. She sat on the doorstep and scolded Li Xuemei every day.
"Auntie, it's time to transplant rice seedlings. What do you think?" There were some words that Li Xuemei could not say to Lu Ming. She could not find anyone else, so she could only ask Xue Huahua, who had a good relationship with her.
Xue Huahua swept the pig feces aside and used the broom to talk to Li Xuemei. "Why are you working so hard when you are pregnant? Are you afraid of your mother-in-law? She has a loud voice, and ordinary words come out of her mouth like quarreling. You will get used to it in the future. She scolded you, but she has a sharp tongue and a soft heart. If she scolded you, she might sulk at home alone and regret it. "
Many mothers-in-law in the village scolded their daughters-in-law, saying that they were lazy and couldn't give birth to a son. It could be seen everywhere. When Lu Ming's mother was young, she was also scolded. She gave birth to five sons and three daughters, but her mother-in-law still did not like her. Because of this, Lu Ming's mother almost jumped into the river and died. When it was her turn to be the mother-in-law, she straightened her back and felt that she could take revenge. How could she not scold her daughters-in-law?
In her memory, she saw from afar that Lu Ming's mother scolded her disappointing eldest daughter-in-law. After scolding her, she sat on a small hill and sulked. She was really a typical old lady in the countryside who had a hard mouth but a soft heart.
Li Xuemei knew that Xue Huahua was speaking the truth, but she could not get over it. Her family was not good, and it was good that Lu Ming was willing to marry her. If she did not know how to be grateful, she would be too inhumane. After thinking for a while, she hesitated and said, "If I marry Lu Ming, I have to learn how to do farm work. I can't not know how to do anything, right?"
Li Xuemei looked gentle and gentle. Although she was tanned, she had a good temperament and gave people a comfortable feeling. Xue Huahua did not agree with her. "Who said that marrying a farmer means you have to know how to do farm work? Then wouldn't those who marry a butcher learn how to kill pigs?"
She did not understand Lu Ming's mother, but from her point of view, Lu Ming's mother was bluffing. Li Xuemei was from the city, and in this era, people from the city were unreachable in the eyes of the villagers. Lu Ming's mother was afraid that Li Xuemei would be restless and run away with someone else, so she scolded her on purpose. When Lu Ming's brothers got married, all of them were scolded by his mother.
Hearing the word 'butcher', Li Xuemei pursed her lips and smiled. When she thought of the villagers talking about Xue Huahua, she said bluntly, "Auntie, you are different from what they said."
She felt that Xue Huahua was not a stingy blackmailer in the eyes of the villagers. Xue Huahua did not talk much, but she was meticulous. As long as she saw that Xue Huahua was slightly tired, she would take the initiative to take a break before continuing. When the villagers saw her, they would scold her for being lazy. Xue Huahua replied frankly, "My legs are a little painful. I can't give up my legs just to work, right?"
Her words made the other party unable to find any words to refute.
To be honest, it was all thanks to Xue Huahua that she could relax a little.
"Who cares what they say, as long as we have a clear conscience." Many people did not agree with Xue Huahua taking back the betrothal gift, thinking that she had lost the face of Ren 'an Village. She did not think so. It was another matter if her family was well-off, but she could not pretend to be generous when she was poor and let the whole family go hungry. Their mouths were in other people's mouths, and she could not control what others said. She only knew that this year's grain would be enough to eat until the autumn harvest.
Life was like drinking water, only one knew whether it was warm or cold.
Li Xuemei nodded. From this point of view, she admired Xue Huahua. When they were cutting the pigweed, they heard many people pointing at them, but Xue Huahua's face did not change at all. Not everyone had this calmness and open-mindedness.
Xue Huahua's calm attitude made some people feel that they had punched cotton. Several people ran to Lu Jianguo and shouted that they wanted to change the job of cutting pigweed. For the sake of fairness, Lu Jianguo arranged Xue Huahua to go to the field to pull weeds. Xue Huahua nodded happily. The next day, she rolled up her trousers and went to the field in high spirits.
She listened to the arrangements of the organization and obeyed the orders of the organization. She had confidence in the organization.
As for the people who snitched behind her, Xue Huahua turned a deaf ear to them. Her strength was to be used in the field, not to quarrel with people.
However, there were people who refused to let her go.
The adobe house was leaking rain. Xue Huahua took the bucket and the basin to catch the rain. The rain fell into the bucket and the pitter-patter sound made people upset. The original owner of the body had mixed feelings for Ma Shuigen. She wanted to find a partner, but more importantly, she wanted the food that Ma Shuigen had saved.
In the past few years, Ma Shuigen was alone. He worked all four seasons to earn money. He lived frugally and saved a lot of food. He didn't have a son, so he didn't have to worry about being abused. When the matchmaker mentioned it, Xue Huahua was moved.
Who would have thought that a good thing would turn out like this.
"You should go back and change your clothes. I will make it very clear. You are a laborer, and I am a laborer. We are not suitable." Xue Huahua picked up the wild vegetables and squatted under the eaves to wash them with the rain.
With Ma Shuigen's situation, many people were willing to marry him. There was no need to pester her.
"I …" Ma Shuigen shook his hand and took out two wrinkled tickets from his wet clothes pocket. "I know. This is for my unborn child. You keep it. I won't come back in the future."
He could see that Xue Huahua really didn't want to marry him. It was after Liu Huaxian came to make trouble.
What laborer was just an excuse. He was getting older day by day, and Lu Dewen and the others were still young. They would surpass him in a few years.
Laborer was just a joke in the village.
Xue Huahua saw that it was two cloth tickets. She refused to accept it. "You keep it. If you need it in the future, keep the clothes that Xixi has worn. The child has clothes to wear."
"You keep it. I have more at home." The village gave out cloth tickets once a year. He kept all of them. He wanted to make a new set of clothes for Xue Huahua when he got married. But now he didn't need them anymore.
He was afraid that Xue Huahua would refuse again. He put the cloth tickets on the stool against the wall and left. The captain's wife introduced a few more women to him. He probably didn't have time to come over.
Xue Huahua raised her head. Ma Shuigen had left in the rain. She asked Chao Caizhi to keep the cloth tickets and find a time to return them. She and Ma Shuigen were not relatives. It was not good to accept his things.
Xue Huahua chopped up the wild vegetables, picked up two sweet potatoes that had not sprouted, and mixed them together to cook. When the sweet potatoes were soft, she mashed them and mixed them. The wild vegetables were very delicious with the sweetness of the sweet potatoes.
Xue Huahua scooped two bowls for Chao Caizhi and Lu Xixi. Then, she scooped three bowls for her three sons. The leftovers in the pot were for her.
She added some water to the pot and washed the wild vegetables and sweet potatoes. Then, she poured them into her own bowl.
There were not many people talking at the Lu Family's dining table. Chao Caizhi looked at Xue Huahua's bowl while feeding the children. "Mum, I haven't digested the food I ate this morning. I can't eat so much. You should eat some."
A man's voice came from the room. "It's shameful to waste food. Caizhi, if you can't finish it, give it to me. Bring it in."
The person who spoke was Lu Dewen. Xue Huahua's eldest son. He was 21 years old and earned less than Chao Caizhi, a pregnant woman. She shouted angrily. "Is one bowl of rice not enough for you? All you do is eat, drink, poop and sleep. Are you treating yourself like a pig? Are you going to exchange it for money during the New Year?"
The room fell silent.
"Caizhi, eat it. If you can't finish it, you can eat it in the afternoon. No matter how poor we are, we can't let you and your mother down." Xue Huahua held the hot bowl in her hand and blew at the vegetable foam floating on the surface of the bowl. Then, she took small sips of the soup.
It was raining, and the room was dark. All the houses in the village were made of mud bricks, and the roofs were covered with straw. There was a small window on the wall facing the dam. The window was opened high, and people couldn't see what was going on inside the house. So, the window was always open in the morning and night. When it was cold in winter, people would find straw to block the window.
Xue Huahua entered the room to get the bowl. She said to Lu Dewen, who was dozing off while rubbing his stomach. "Your injury is almost healed. When it's sunny, go to work and earn some work points. I'll talk to the team leader. You don't need to do anything else. You just need to carry manure."
Carrying manure was done by the village's first-class labourers. They earned 10 work points a day, and it was the highest among all the jobs.
Lu Dewen opened his eyes in disbelief. "I've never carried manure before."
Those who could carry manure in the production team were all experienced farmers. Take Ma Shuigen for example. He was able to become a labourer because he carried manure. Moreover, carrying manure was not something that one could do as he pleased. It had to be approved by the production team's cadres. First, the manure had to be carried in a lot. It couldn't be spilled, and it couldn't be shaken slowly.
He was asked to carry manure as a third-class labourer who earned 6 work points a day. Even the production team wouldn't agree to it.
"If you haven't picked, then learn. I think the rain will last for a few days. When the bucket is full of rainwater, you can practice at home." Xue Huahua put away the bowl and chopsticks. There was no emotion on her face. It was said that there was strength in numbers. There were three sons in the family. If they worked hard to earn work points, their lives wouldn't be too bad. However, their family was poor.
She had seen the family's work points from the accountant last year. Good job. Three strong men couldn't compare to two women. Not only did they occasionally ask for leave to slack off, there were more than 10 times that their work points were deducted.
She had asked. Lu Dewen secretly went to the mountains to dig for bird eggs and was discovered by the production team leader. His work points were deducted because he was a miner. Once or twice was fine, but more than 10 times …
They were spoiled.
No wonder the original owner of the body wanted to get married again at such an old age. It was all because of this family.
She had brought up a bad son. Now that she had taken over the original owner's position, she would not let something similar happen again.
Looking at Xue Huahua's determined look, Lu Dewen panicked. He stammered, "My injury hasn't healed yet?"
"That's why I asked you to practice first. Once your injury is healed, you can carry manure."
"Every year, it's those people who carry manure. Will the team leader agree to let me do it?" Thinking of this, Lu Dewen's crying face looked a little better. Manure was something precious. It was related to the harvest of the crops. The production team kept a close eye on it. Why would they entrust such an important task to him?
Xue Huahua saw through his thoughts. She snorted, "You don't have to worry about this. You can go when the time comes."
Lu Dewen's face fell. He opened his mouth and wanted to say no. But when he met Xue Huahua's piercing eyes, he felt a chill in his heart and weakly said yes. His mother was no longer the same person who buried herself in work and did not care about anything. It could be seen from the way she went to Team Four to ask for compensation from Liu Huaxian. Liu Huaxian's older brother worked in the commune, and the production team did not dare to provoke her. His mother did not know how she persuaded Lu Jianguo to help her and easily got the work points.
She said that she was going to carry manure for him. It was probably true.
Xue Huahua washed the dishes and asked Chao Caizhi to bring Xixi back to his room to sleep. She pulled Lu Dewen, Lu Mingwen, and Lu Jianxun up from the bed. Lu Dewen carried the water, and the two brothers watched from the side.
Once they learned how to carry manure, they would all learn how to carry manure.
There was only half a bucket of water. Lu Dewen placed the pole on his shoulders and bent down slowly. He hooked the iron hook at the end of the rope to the bucket. His legs were trembling, and he could not straighten his back.
"Mum, my injuries are not healed, and I can't stand up." Lu Dewen looked aggrieved, and his shoulders were red from the weight.
Xue Huahua was unmoved. "Really? Then you can cook for yourself tonight. My injuries are not healed, and Caizhi is pregnant. You guys should do as you see fit. "
Lu Jianxun, who was leaning against the wall, panicked. "Mum, let me do it."
Lu Jianxun was thirteen years old. He was considered a big boy in the village, but with Lu Dewen's bad reputation, the team leader did not assign Lu Jianxun many work points. Lu Jianxun ran around leisurely all day, stealing eggs, shooting birds, and fishing like a hooligan.
Xue Huahua glared at him. "Sit down. There's time for you to work. Just watch your big brother do it."
Lu Dewen gritted his teeth and steadied the pole with both hands. He took a deep breath, straightened his legs, and picked up the bucket with trembling hands. In less than half a minute, the rope on both ends of the pole slid open, and the bucket fell to the ground, spilling all the water.
Lu Dewen immediately threw the pole away and rubbed his shoulders in pain.
Lu Dewen heaved a sigh of relief and was about to sit down on a stool to rest when he saw Xue Huahua pushing a rock towards him. She rolled it over and over again. Lu Dewen was just about to let out a sigh of relief when he saw Xue Huahua pushing a rock towards him.
"If the water is too heavy, then pick the rock. Train your strength first." Xue Huahua was determined to keep them in check. She rolled the rock into the bucket, went into the house, and rolled another rock out.
Lu Dewen wanted to cry. He admitted that he hid at the side during the fight, but it was true that he was hit in the head by a hoe. He even sprained his ankle.
Xue Huahua let him put the bucket down, and she sat between Lu Mingwen and Lu Jianxun. "Watch carefully. You guys can't even carry a bucket of water. What's the use of raising you guys …"
Lu Mingwen looked at his complaining brother, licked his dry lips, and said angrily, "Isn't this good? I don't have to be afraid that Big Brother will drown you in the river. "
The villagers loved to scold their sons. "You can't stand me now, but when I'm too old, you brothers will throw me into the river."
It was said that such a thing had happened in a certain village. The old people in the village loved to say this. He had heard it since he was young.
Xue Huahua's mouth twitched, and she slapped Lu Mingwen's head. "Even if your brother can't carry you guys, I still have you guys. Watch carefully. When your injuries are healed, you can also go to the team to carry manure. "
The original owner of this body was her previous life. She was weak and couldn't do anything. When she was young, she couldn't resist her husband, and later on, she couldn't control her son.
In this life, she had to start over.
Lu Dewen knew that he couldn't avoid it today. He shook his shoulders, straightened the bucket, hung the rope on the pole, and started again …
One time, the bucket didn't move.
Two times, the bucket still didn't move.
Three times, the bucket moved, but it didn't lift.
"Mom, I really can't."
"Then I'll starve tonight … I've decided, from now on, the food in our house will be distributed according to who earns more points. Caizhi almost never took leave last year, so she should eat the most at home, followed by me and Xixi. As for you guys, think about how many points you earned last year …"
Lu Dewen lowered his head guiltily, looked at the stone in the bucket, gritted his teeth, and put the pole on his shoulder.
When his forehead was dripping with sweat, the bucket finally moved. He also straightened his back, but the pole was shaking, as if it was going to break at any time. Lu Dewen wiped his sweat, and didn't dare to move.
His family was poor. Other than the two pots in the kitchen, they didn't have any ironware. The iron hook on the pole was obviously not theirs. If he broke it, he would have to pay for it, and he couldn't afford it.
"Let's go." Xue Huahua urged.
Lu Dewen was about to cry. His shoulder was burning with pain, and the rope kept slipping to the sides of the pole. If the bucket fell again, it would accidentally hit his foot …
"Mom, carry water, I still want to carry water."
The sky was getting dark, and the people working in the fields had finished their work. They called their children all the way home, and the quiet village suddenly became lively.
On the country road, a blurry silhouette swayed as it ran …
A woman carrying a big basket on her back walked slowly on the road with a bamboo pole. From time to time, she stopped to catch her breath. The basket was slightly raised, and there was grass inside, and a child was sleeping on the grass.
The man who caught up from behind saw that she was struggling, and casually put the broken straw hat on her head, and reached out to pull the rope of the basket. "Your leg hasn't recovered, let me send you back."
The woman raised her head, revealing a haggard and tired face. She looked at the man for a while, and continued to walk forward. "It's almost healed, I can still carry this." After saying that, she stubbornly straightened her back, like a turtle, and walked forward slowly, but persistently.
Ma Shuigen stared at her in a daze, and felt a little sad. They were clearly fine a few months ago, how did it suddenly become like this? The two of them who were about to get married became enemies.
When the figure in his field of vision completely disappeared into the night, Ma Shuigen came back to his senses, and sighed, turned around and walked to the next hill. He used to be in the same production team as Xue Huahua, but a few years ago, after his wife and son did not survive the famine, he moved to the production team next door.
In the past two years, the conditions were slightly better, and the people in the production team were busy introducing him to a partner, and somehow, they talked about Xue Huahua. Xue Huahua's lover also passed away during the famine, leaving her with four children, three sons and a daughter. If he got married, he would be a man with children.
At his age, he was most afraid of loneliness.
So when the team leader's wife talked to him, he immediately agreed. Xue Huahua and the other children objected at first, but after the team leader's wife talked to them for a few times, they relented, but unexpectedly, it was ruined by a shrew.
Speaking of shrews, Xue Huahua had to admit that she had to thank her. Otherwise, she would not have had the chance to live.
She married at the age of 16 and gave birth to a son. Her husband fooled around all day, and died in a car accident when he was drunk. She did not go to school, and other than earning money, she did not know how to raise her son. Her son did not graduate from primary school, and went to the underworld with others, and within a few years, he was in prison. Before the accident, she was withdrawing money from the bank to buy food for her son at the supermarket.
In a daze, she fainted while crossing the road, and died before she could be sent to the hospital … 60 years old … before her son came out …
When she opened her eyes again, she returned to a familiar yet strange environment. The familiar thing was that she had experienced this era, the lack of resources, the shortage of food, and the strange thing was that she did not know the people and things around her.
Her name was still Xue Huahua, and she had four children and two grandchildren. The youngest grandson was still in the belly of her daughter-in-law. Hearing them call her mother, Xue Huahua could not tell if this was reality or a dream.
"Mom, you are back."
When Xue Huahua was about to arrive at a dilapidated adobe house, a person walked out of the yard with a big belly, and walked over with swift steps.
It was her eldest daughter-in-law, Chao Caizhi, who was already nine months pregnant. Their family was poor, and their son was injured, so Chao Caizhi had to work in the fields with a big belly. Her belly was so thin that it did not look like she was about to give birth.
"I have told the team leader that you will not go to work from tomorrow onwards. We will talk about it after you give birth." Xue Huahua threw away the bamboo pole in her hand, slowly squatted down and put down the basket on her back. She picked up the baby inside and asked Chao Caizhi to go back to sleep.
"Mom, I will take care of Xixi. It is too tiring for you to carry him all the time." A two-year-old child was the most difficult to take care of. Chao Caizhi felt bad for her mother-in-law.
"It is nothing. He is almost recovered. Where is the Third Sister? "
"She said that she is sleeping in the room of the educated youth."
The educated youth went to the countryside to support Jian She. The team built many rooms next to the storage room for them to live in. Those who came to visit their relatives would go there. After the second brother got married, there was not enough room, so the fourth brother stayed there. The team knew that her family was in a difficult situation, so they did not say anything. The Third Sister was very close with one of the educated youth and often did not come home at night.
Xue Huahua nodded and carried her grandson into the room. She helped him take off his clothes and socks, covered him with the bedding, and then went out to clean up the basket in the yard.
Before she reached the door, Chao Caizhi's voice came from outside. "Mom, I put the basket in the kitchen. You must be tired all day. Go to bed early."
Soon, there was a soft sound of the door closing. Then, there was no sound.
Xue Huahua's nose turned sour. She went back to the bed and lay down. She was so tired that she could hardly open her eyes, but she seemed to have endless energy in her heart. She wanted to work. She wanted to work.
The next day, Xue Huahua was awakened by a sharp voice. She was confused. She lifted the bedding and rushed out. Outside the yard, a mean woman stepped on the steps of the yard and stared at Chao Caizhi arrogantly.
"Dewen's family. Someone saw your mother-in-law working in the field yesterday. What does she mean? She didn't say anything when she earned her own work. The team leader still credits the family's work to your family. What's the matter? Does she want to take both sides' work?"
"Let's go and see your team leader. Let him see how you exploit us poor farmers." As she spoke, she reached out to pull Chao Caizhi.
Xue Huahua clenched her fists, ran forward barefooted, and pushed Liu Huaxian away. "Are you crazy?"
Chao Caizhi was about to give birth. How could she withstand her pull?
If it weren't for Liu Huaxian, how could the family be so lifeless? Three sons were injured and lying in bed. All the work at home fell on the head of the pregnant eldest daughter-in-law and daughter. There were more mouths to eat, and fewer people to work. The food at home was almost insufficient.
Thinking of this, Xue Huahua couldn't suppress the anger in her heart. Two months ago, Liu Huaxian said that the original owner of the body had snatched her man. She brought a group of people to her door. When the team leader heard the news, he brought people to control the situation.
But it was too late. The three sons of the original owner of the body were bruised and swollen. Their heads and legs were injured. The commune doctor told them to rest at home, or they would become lame.
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