This was the anti-theft stamp.
Xue Huahua threw the basket on her back.
She frowned when she saw someone cowering behind the door in Lu Mingwen's room.
She shouted.
"Second daughter-in-law.
What are you doing? "
After a while, a timid woman in a grayish-blue top walked out of the room.
Her facial features were young.
Unlike the bony peasants, her cheeks were slightly rotund.
She called out to her mother resentfully.
Xue Huahua wanted to say something, but Lu Dewen came back. He was followed by two energetic women in their forties. There was no health center in the village.
They went to the commune hospital to give birth. The experienced elders in the village would go with them to help. Giving birth was a joyous occasion.
The team did not deduct work points.
The neighbors were happy to help.
It was Auntie Cui and Sun Guixian.
The latter saw that Xue Huahua was staring at the woman at the door.
She quickly went forward and said, "Huahua, where's Dewen's wife?
You have to go to the commune hospital. "
Xue Huahua retracted her gaze from Sun Baoqin.
She felt that something was wrong.
She asked Sun Guixian to wait for a while and went into the room. Her room was big. Other than the bed, there was a big cabinet. There were two big jars beside the big cabinet. There was a straw cushion at the mouth of the jar. There was a stone on the cushion. She carried the stone down and took off the straw cushion. She squatted down and reached her hand into it. She touched it for a long time and took out a black piece. She patted the dust off it and quickly walked out. She handed the small piece to the thinner woman. "Sister-in-law Cui, I'll have to trouble you with Caizhi. I'm worried about giving the money to Dewen. Please hold it for him."
The original owner had put in a lot of effort to save up this money. She was reluctant to take it out even when Lu Mingwen got married. She was waiting for Chao Caizhi to give birth. Xue Huahua counted it. It was not much. It was only enough to give birth to one child.
Mrs. Cui lowered her head in surprise. "You're not going?"
In the village, when the daughter-in-law gave birth, the mother-in-law would always be by her side, afraid that the daughter-in-law would be so short-sighted as to sell the newborn grandson. These days, boys were treasures, and people would fight to raise them. There were people loitering outside the commune hospital all day long, and the family was so poor that they had no choice but to sell the boy.
After the founding of the People's Republic, selling a child was punishable by imprisonment. However, the two families did it secretly. They didn't say that they were selling the child, but they said that they couldn't raise the child.
However, the villagers were well aware of the truth behind it. They just didn't want to talk about it.
Auntie Cui didn't expect Xue Huahua to refuse to go. She tried to persuade her, "If it's quick, we'll be back at night. If you can't walk, you can get Dewen to carry you."
"No need, no need. I won't go. Second and Third Brother are still lying down. Xixi can't leave his side. I'll stay at home and take care of them. Thank you for your trouble." Xue Huahua gave the baby steps to Mrs. Cui and gave Lu Dewen a warning glance. Lu Dewen didn't dare to say anything and nodded his head vigorously.
Mrs. Cui didn't say anything more. They could take care of the children. She turned to ask Chao Caizhi if she could leave. After getting a nod, she left unhurriedly.
Xue Huahua went back to the house and carried Xixi. She asked him if he was afraid. Xixi shook his head. A two-year-old child didn't know how to speak. Other than calling for his mother, father and grandmother, he could only say the word 'work' clearly. Xixi's age could not keep up with his nutrition. When she died, he would have started kindergarten.
Xue Huahua touched his head and took him to the village to borrow eggs. There were not many people in the village who raised chickens. How could they have food to raise chickens? She borrowed only 20 pens and four of them were broken. She put them to her ear and shook them. She didn't dislike them and took them all.
When it was getting dark, she took Xixi home. There was only a bright bowl of wild vegetable porridge on the table. Xixi pointed at the bowl and called her grandmother.
Xue Huahua shook her head at him. She put him on the firewood in the kitchen and began to cook.
She didn't know when Chao Caizhi and the others would come back, so she cooked more. She went back to her room and took out a small bag of sugar. She sprinkled some into Xixi's bowl. Xixi's eyes bulged and he couldn't stop smiling. Xue Huahua smiled and pinched his face. She scooped a bowl of porridge and stirred it with chopsticks. She carried him to the central room and slowly fed him.
When there was only half of the porridge left in the small bowl, Lu Mingwen walked in with his hands against the wall. He said embarrassedly, "Mom, I'm eating."
Xue Huahua's face was cold. "Where's your wife?"
Sun Baoqin never worked after she married. It was the original owner and Chao Caizhi who served her. She couldn't tolerate a lazy daughter-in-law.
Lu Mingwen lowered his head and whispered, "She went back to Sun Family Village. Mom …"
Lu Mingwen walked over slowly and sat down at the square table. There were no empty bowls on the table. In the dim light, he could only see the outline of the table. When he heard Chao Caizhi and Xixi talking in the room, he felt hungry. Sun Baoqin scolded him for being a good-for-nothing who didn't even dare to eat leftovers. Why did she fall for him in the first place?
He was so angry that he ate the food.
It wasn't that he didn't eat secretly in the past. His brother took the opportunity when they were working in the field to sneak home with the key and eat all the leftovers in the kitchen. When his mother came back, she sat in the kitchen and secretly wiped her tears. After crying, the matter was over.
Now that he saw Xue Huahua's expressionless face, he felt scared. "Mom …" Lu Mingwen pursed his lips. "I ate the porridge. I was too hungry and couldn't help it when I saw the porridge in the bowl …"
Xue Huahua glanced at him lightly and didn't say anything. After Xixi was full, she picked up the bowl next to her and ate. She ate very slowly, occasionally putting down her chopsticks to look at Lu Mingwen before continuing to eat. Lu Mingwen got goosebumps from her stare. He trembled and said, "Mom, I … I won't dare to do it again."
The house was silent.
The moon was hanging in the sky that night. It wasn't bright, just enough for him to see Xue Huahua's eyes clearly. That pair of eyes that were as empty as a dead pond had become much deeper, as though it was accumulating a vigorous energy. Lu Mingwen trembled and didn't dare to look at her.
After a long while, Xue Huahua said coldly, "Since you've eaten, go back to the house and sleep. I'll wake you up tomorrow morning." Xue Huahua said again.
Lu Mingwen frowned. "Mom, I'm not full …"
Xue Huahua threw her chopsticks and didn't show a good face.
"You're not full? I'm not full yet. You guys don't work all year round and want me to feed you for the rest of your lives? You want to eat your fill, right? Go to work tomorrow and earn some work before we talk. "
If it wasn't for the fact that she was afraid of scaring the child, she would have given Lu Mingwen a beating. If he ate leftovers today, would he have to steal food tomorrow? It was easy to learn good but hard to learn bad.
Lu Mingwen trembled from the scolding and nodded in a panic. "Okay."
After Xue Huahua finished eating, she scooped a bowl of porridge for Lu Jianxun and brought it into the room. Of the three sons, Lu Jianxun was the youngest and the most impulsive. Liu Huaxian brought people to scare them. Based on the original owner's character, he didn't fight back and just let them bully him. However, Lu Jianxun was different. He shouted that political power comes from the barrel of a gun and rushed forward to fight.
This infuriated Liu Huaxian and she swung the hoe. Lu Jianxun's injuries were the most serious. When he was sent to the commune hospital, the doctor said that there was no hope for him. He couldn't stand Lu Jianguo's persuasion before he agreed to have a check-up. Fortunately, he was more scared than hurt. Other than the serious injury on his leg, he was fine. His forehead had five stitches, two arms had twelve stitches, and eight stitches on his leg.
She didn't know if it was because of his good foundation, but Lu Jianxun recovered the best out of the three brothers. Xue Huahua took into account his young age and let him lie at home until he was better before going out.
At this time, people's thoughts were not so complicated. Whatever the elders said, no matter how unreasonable or shrewd you were, you had to listen to your own parents.
Xue Huahua watched Lu Jianxun finish his meal and washed the dishes under the moonlight. Just when she was about to carry Xixi back to the room to sleep, there was a fire not far away. Xue Huahua was happy. She weighed Xixi in her arms and said, "Xixi, your mother and the others are back. I don't know if they will give you a younger brother or sister."
After putting Xixi on the bed, she hurriedly went to the kitchen to boil water to cook poached eggs. The fire went out outside the yard, and Mrs. Cui's laughter sounded, "Huahua, your Caizhi made you proud. She gave birth to a boy again."
Before they arrived at the yard, they saw the shadow of fire in the kitchen. Needless to say, Xue Huahua saw them coming back and was making food in the kitchen. Many people in the village didn't have enough to eat, but they never forgot to do favors. For example, they came back with poached eggs. She asked Lu Dewen to help Chao Caizhi into the room to lie down, and she carried the child into the kitchen to let Xue Huahua take care of him.
Seeing the eggs and sugar on the stove, Mrs. Cui smiled from ear to ear, "Hurry up and see your grandson. I will light the fire for you."
As soon as she finished speaking, Sun Guixian had already sat down on the stool, "Let me do it. Huahua, hurry up and see your grandson." She didn't mention a word about Sun Baoqin coming back and leaving.
Xue Huahua also didn't bother to ask. Her mind was on her little grandson. The newborn's little face was wrinkled like an old man. Moreover, the light was dim, so she couldn't see his face clearly. But she still joked with him and asked about Lu Dewen's performance at the commune.
"He's doing well. He did whatever the doctor asked him to do. Guixian and I didn't run errands. On the way back, he even carried his wife for a while." He was already a father of two children. How could he be as lazy as before? Mrs. Cui said, "I see that Dewen is diligent. You will enjoy a good life in the future."
Xue Huahua didn't think much of it. "I don't count on him."
God didn't give her a second life to enjoy a good life. She came back to atone for her sins. She didn't teach her son well. Now that she had the chance to teach him well, she must make them right.
The water boiled. Xue Huahua let Mrs. Cui hold the child and cracked four eggs into the pot. She kept the four rotten eggs alone. She didn't dare to take them out to serve the guests.
The four poached eggs were placed in bowls with a lot of sugar. After eating them, they would still taste sweet with a bowl of soup.
Mrs. Cui and Sun Guixian blew on the soup and sipped it. Their eyes narrowed into slits. Xue Huahua was poor, but she was generous when it came to favors.
In front of Lu Dewen was a small bowl of egg soup. He did not expect that there would be eggs and sugar in it. He was already very grateful that Xue Huahua was willing to scoop out the egg paste and give it to him. He held the bowl and drank two mouthfuls. His tongue came into contact with something hard, and it was scalding. He retracted his tongue and looked up in surprise. "Mom, I also have eggs?"
Xue Huahua sat at the side with the child in her arms. Her expression was indifferent. "Half an egg white. It's a reward for you."
Although it was only half an egg, it was enough to make Lu Dewen dance with joy. He drank the soup first and scooped two bowls of soup from the pot, leaving the egg white in the bowl. After he finished the two bowls of soup, he raised the bowl and took small bites of the egg. It was tender and smooth. He hadn't eaten it for almost half a year.
Delicious!
His mother didn't lie to him. If he wanted to eat, he had to work. He would only be able to eat delicious food after working.
The production team's rations, baskets, hoes, sickles, etc. were all placed in the storage room. They were guarded by the storage staff. They would collect it before work and put it back after work. They moved fast, and no one came back at this time. Seeing the surprise in the storage staff's eyes, the old educated youth got angry again. It's all because of that fool, Lu Dewen. He finished a day's work in half a day. Just wait, he will definitely arrange more land for them in the afternoon.
When he came out of the storage room, Lu Dewen stood in front of him and stared at him. The old educated youth stepped back and pointed at Lu Dewen with one hand on his waist and the other pointing at him. "Comrade Dewen, what are you doing?"
"Can you come home with me to see my mom?" Xue Huahua would listen to a knowledgeable person.
The old educated youth didn't give him face. "I have to work in the afternoon. I don't have time." He didn't know what was wrong with Lu Dewen. He didn't want to work with Lu Dewen. The villagers next door were cheated by his family, and he wouldn't fall for it.
Lu Dewen was disappointed that he couldn't bring the old educated youth home. When he got home, he saw a small bowl of vegetable porridge on the table. He was on the verge of breaking down. "Mom, I've been working for the whole morning, and the new educated youth are all praising me. Can you give me more …" He looked down at the bowl in front of Chao Caizhi and almost vomited blood. Chao Caizhi didn't go to work, but the bowl in front of her was full to the brim. He was exhausted. "Mom, I can't eat my fill."
"You know you can't eat your fill? What were you thinking when you were lazy last year? Eat like this for this month. If you perform well, I'll give you more next month. " Xue Huahua fed her grandson while looking at the sloppy Lu Dewen. She said coldly, "If you don't perform well, I'll reduce your allowance by half next month."
Less than half of this porridge? Didn't she want him to starve to death?
The food was piled up in Xue Huahua's room. Xue Huahua would give him as much as she said. Thinking of this, Lu Dewen's shoulders slumped. He sat down obediently and finished the porridge in a few mouthfuls. He then stared at Chao Caizhi's bowl.
Chao Caizhi also felt that there was a little too much porridge in her bowl. When Xue Huahua was scooping out the porridge, she was beside her. There were two big spoonfuls of porridge. She thought that Xue Huahua was scooping out the porridge for Lu Dewen. Unexpectedly, Xue Huahua placed the bowl in front of her. "You eat."
Chao Caizhi was so surprised that her eyes widened. She didn't dare to reach out to take it. Xue Huahua said that she deserved it after working hard for a year. What else could she say?
She didn't know if it was because her mother-in-law's personality changed a lot after that incident. She often nagged in their ears that working was the most glorious thing. If you don't work, you won't have food to eat. If you starve to death, you deserve it … Her son was so scared that he often said the word "work".
Lu Dewen swallowed his saliva. There were several times when he wanted to ask Chao Caizhi to share some porridge with him. However, he was afraid that Xue Huahua would scold him. He opened his mouth and looked at Chao Caizhi with a drooling expression.
"Caizhi earned whatever she ate. If you didn't slack off last year, you would also be the same as her. Are you done eating? Go back to your room and sleep. I'll call you when it's time to go to work. " Xue Huahua didn't even bat an eyelid. Lu Dewen stood up abruptly and walked out of the living room. As soon as he stepped out of the door, he heard Xue Huahua calling him.
Lu Dewen was ecstatic. He ran back as fast as lightning. "Mom, you called me?" As he spoke, his hand had already picked up the chopsticks beside the bowl. As soon as Xue Huahua gave the order, he started to gulp down the food. The saliva at the corner of his mouth almost flowed into the bowl.
"If you can't sleep, go out and collect firewood …" The corner of Xue Huahua's mouth twitched. She tried her best not to laugh.
Hearing this, Lu Dewen instantly became sluggish again. He didn't want to give up. "Mom, I think Caizhi can't finish eating. Do you want me to help her?"
Chao Caizhi tactfully pushed the bowl towards him. Lu Dewen held the bowl with both hands. He almost put his face on it.
"If you can't finish it, then eat it at night. How much work you have to do? You don't want to sleep, right? Go out and collect firewood …"
"Sleep. I'm going back to my room to sleep." Lu Dewen didn't dawdle. He threw the chopsticks and ran into the room. He took off his shoes, went to bed, covered himself and went to sleep. His actions were smooth.
Compared to a few mouthfuls of rice, he didn't want to collect firewood. He didn't like any laborious work.
Xue Huahua didn't know if she was doing the right thing. But without pressure, there would be no motivation. People in the village liked to say that women could hold up half the sky. She and Chao Caizhi wouldn't be able to support themselves for long. She had to motivate Lu Dewen and the others so that the family's life would get better.
In the afternoon, Lu Dewen went to work. Xue Huahua carried the basket out as usual. She couldn't do any heavy work, but she could cut the pigweed. A pigsty was built next to the storage room. There were four pigs, and the vice-captain was in charge of it. She went to take a look. After a few days of rain, the pigweed had been eaten up. The four pigs heard the footsteps. They arched their heads and sniffed their noses as they walked over.
Cutting the pigweed was done by the villagers after they finished their work in the fields. The pigs were fat, and they could only eat meat during the Lunar New Year. Therefore, the villagers were very motivated.
It was fine during the slack season, but during the busy season, the villagers were so tired that they didn't even remember to cut the pigweed. As a result, the pigs in the village were like humans. During the busy season, they were so skinny that it made people's hearts ache.
She told the vice-captain that cutting the pigweed was counted as work points. The vice-captain's face immediately changed: "No way. Work points are accumulated by the villagers' sweat. If cutting the pigweed is counted as work points, who would be willing to work in the fields?" The vice-captain felt that Xue Huahua was thinking too much. He just wanted to praise Lu Dewen's performance in the morning. Fine. Let's not talk about it.
"Captain, you can't say that. Our team has been rearing pigs for many years. Every year, we bring the pigs to the cooperative because they are too skinny. They are starved during the busy season. Pigs are different from humans. When humans are hungry, they will find food for themselves. Pigs can only starve in the pigsty. Cutting the pigweed is a good way to get work points. No matter how busy they are, they will not forget about the pigs. If you are afraid that the villagers will not accept it, then let everyone take turns to cut the pigweed. No one will say anything. "
The vice-captain thought about it and was a little tempted by Xue Huahua's suggestion. Everything about the production team was good, but they could not keep up with the side jobs. In the end, everyone's focus was still on the fields. No, on earning points.
However, this matter was not up to him. He needed to discuss with Lu Jianguo. Lu Jianguo was the one who had the final say in the production team.
Xue Huahua saw the vice-captain's expression and knew that he was relieved. She continued. "Captain, you have seen my family's situation. My two sons are still lying on the bed. If this matter is settled, can you take care of my family first?"
Lu Mingwen and Lu Jianxun were not young anymore. They could not continue to stay at home. When their injuries were almost healed, they could come out to work and earn as much as they could. It was better than staying at home.
Before the vice-captain said anything, there was a commotion coming from the hill behind. The commotion was far away and could not be heard clearly. It seemed like they were quarreling. Xue Huahua remembered that Lu Dewen was heading in that direction. She was worried and wanted to go and take a look.
Needless to say, Lu Dewen really had a quarrel with someone. The reason was that the old educated youth worked slowly and chatted with the new educated youth next to him from time to time. Lu Dewen had no place to plant the corn and could only stand and wait.
The terrain of this piece of land was high, and the villagers working in the field below could be seen clearly. If he didn't see it, he wouldn't feel it. But when he saw the villagers working hard, he was scared. He was afraid that Lu Jianguo would say that he was lazy and not give him the 8 work points of transplanting rice seedlings. If this news reached his mother's ears, would he still have a good life?
Therefore, he persuaded the old educated youth to move faster. They were all living in the educated youth's room. If they had anything to say, they could talk about it at night. If one night was not enough, they could talk about it for two nights. If two nights were not enough, they could talk about it for three nights. As long as it did not affect their work, they could do whatever they wanted.
Originally, he had good intentions, but the old educated youth was inexplicably angry. He scolded him for selling dog meat and pretending to be diligent. As he spoke, he brought up the matter of him slacking off last year and deducting his work points.
In all honesty, the old educated youth's saliva flew everywhere, but he did not say a word. He just watched from afar as Lu Jianguo came and wanted to find Lu Jianguo to explain the situation. He really did not slack off.
Unexpectedly, the old educated youth scolded him for snitching and grabbed his collar to teach him a lesson.
Lu Dewen hid behind Lu Jianguo with a dirty face. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar figure and quickly pushed Lu Jianguo away. He did not refute the old educated youth's words from beginning to end. He shouted, "Mom, I did not slack off. It was the old educated youth and the new educated youth who delayed me by chatting!"
He knew that his mother must be secretly supervising him. Otherwise, how could Lu Jianguo come to his mother's side? Thinking that he might not even have half a bowl of wild vegetable porridge when he returned home tonight, he immediately became discouraged. Behind him, the old educated youth was still scolding him for being heartless and unscrupulous. Last year, when he was lazy and went to the mountains to dig for bird eggs, he hid it for him. Today, he chatted with his fellow townsman for a bit and he reported him, biting the hand that fed him.
Sharing a common enemy, even the other educated youth looked at Lu Dewen with unkind eyes.
Lu Dewen grabbed his hair in a frenzy and wanted to cry.
"That's enough." Lu Jianguo interrupted the angry old educated youth. "This matter ends here. Everyone, go back to work in the fields."
Lu Dewen was used to eating and doing nothing. Now that he was willing to work actively, as the production team leader, he should encourage him. He turned around and patted Lu Dewen's shoulder. "Tomorrow, I'll get you a diligent partner. Pack up and get to work first."
As for the old educated youth, Lu Jianguo's heart was like a mirror. Usually, he would not be blatantly lazy, but he was not a proactive person either. It was just that in the past, there was Lu Dewen at the bottom, so he could barely get by. Now that Lu Dewen was diligent, he was outdone. Relying on his education, he made Lu Dewen speechless. If he did not help Lu Dewen, he would dispel his enthusiasm for work.
With this thought in mind, Lu Jianguo decided to find a diligent person to work with Lu Dewen.
The old educated youth's face was very ugly. Lu Jianguo's words made it clear that he was lazy. He also had the mood to work in the countryside. It was all Lu Dewen's laziness that had led him astray. He glared at Lu Dewen fiercely and walked away with the hoe.
Lu Dewen was not in the mood to pay attention to her. He walked to Xue Huahua with two tears in his eyes. "Mom, I'm really not lazy."
"Whether you're lazy or not, I'll see. It's none of your business." Xue Huahua softened her tone slightly. "There will be wild vegetable porridge tonight."
Lu Dewen cried tears of joy. "Really?"
Xue Huahua nodded. "More real than pearls."
The surprise caught him off guard. Lu Dewen sniffled and giggled.
Food was the most important thing in the world. As long as there was food to eat, he didn't care what the old educated youth thought of him.
Xue Huahua didn't expect that a bowl of wild vegetable porridge could make Lu Dewen so happy. In the end, her family was too poor. She carried the basket and walked back while digging wild vegetables.
The path was muddy and slippery after the rain. Xue Huahua seemed to be used to it and was not afraid of slipping. When the wild vegetables covered the basket, the deputy team leader asked her about cutting pigweed. Lu Jianguo agreed. In the evening, he told the villagers that if there was no problem, he would start to count the centimeters tomorrow. He asked her if she could do it.
Xue Huahua answered resolutely, "Yes."
She was so bored that she wanted to find something to do.
She thought about it and asked Lu Mingwen to go with her tomorrow. If she couldn't carry all the pigweed in the basket, she would ask Lu Dewen to help her. She just needed to grit her teeth and get through this period.
When she was thinking about it, she heard a shout from her house. It was said that Chao Caizhi had given birth. She tightened the rope of the basket and rushed home …
Lu Mingwen felt embarrassed, especially when he saw Liang Lanfen walking away with a gloomy face. He felt sorry and wanted to stop Liang Lanfen several times. But when he thought of Xue Huahua beside him, he held back.
Xue Huahua was different from before. She said she wouldn't feed anyone. Even his brother was afraid of her, let alone him. He could only sigh and quietly use the sickle to cut the pigweed.
About an hour later, the basket and basket were filled up. Xue Huahua shouted at Lu Dewen who was working in the field. "Dewen, Dewen …"
Lu Dewen was bending over to sow the seeds. When he heard his mother's voice, he immediately shouted, "Mom, I'm coming."
Before he left home, Xue Huahua told him about carrying pigweed. He agreed without thinking. Xue Huahua said that the more people working, the more food the family would get. With more food, he could eat more. So, he put down the basket in his hand and asked Lu Tong to look after it for him. He ran towards Xue Huahua's direction.
Yes, he didn't work with the old educated youth anymore. When he went to the storage room in the morning, the team leader asked him to work with Lu Tong. Lu Tong's father and brother were in charge of carrying manure. The three younger brothers were second-class laborers. The whole family could get a lot of food every year. Their living conditions were considered good in the village. He was working with Lu Tong because the team leader thought highly of him.
As he thought about it, he was filled with energy. Carrying the basket on his back and the basket on his shoulders, he imitated the way Lu Tong's father walked. His shoulders moved up and down as he leisurely walked towards the pig farm. From time to time, he would turn his body to talk to Xue Huahua. "Mom, can I eat more for lunch?"
"You can talk about it when you make up for the work you lost last year."
Lu Dewen said, "Oh." Then, he talked about how he worked with Lu Tong. He had to admit that Lu Tong was really good at work. Unlike the old educated youth who sulked and competed with each other, he swung the hoe easily. Looking at the row of pits neatly arranged in a line, he felt comfortable.
Xue Huahua listened attentively. When she saw him praising Lu Tong, she said, "Lu Tong didn't know how to do it when he was born. He must have been taught by Uncle Jian She. If you learn from him, you can be as good as him in the future."
"Can I?" Lu Dewen didn't have confidence in himself. Lu Tong's family were all very capable. They never took a day off. He couldn't compare to them.
"How would you know if you don't try? We're going to transplant rice seedlings soon. You should ask him how he does it so that you won't panic." Xue Huahua carried the child and followed Lu Dewen to the piggery. She poured out the pigweed from the basket and spread it out to dry. "Carry the basket to Mingwen. I'll come after I'm done."
The pigweed was a little moist. It could only be fed to pigs when the dew had dried. Otherwise, it would be too humid and the pigs would get sick easily.
Lu Dewen obediently carried the basket and left. However, when he reached the field, he couldn't find Lu Mingwen anywhere. The person who was digging told him, "Dewen, Mingwen was called away by the educated youth. You can go to the field at the back to get him." The person who spoke was around fifty years old. He had watched Lu Dewen and his brothers grow up. He sighed a lot about the situation in Xue Huahua's family. Fatherless children were like this. They were wild. If his son dared to be like this, he would break his legs and starve him for three days and three nights.
Lu Dewen still had to do his own work. He didn't have time to look for him. He placed the basket along the road and ran to the field.
When Xue Huahua came back, she saw two wicker baskets on the path and a carrying pole stuck in the ground. She didn't say anything and didn't call Lu Mingwen. She let Xixi play by himself and cut the pigweed seriously.
At noon, she cut another basket of pigweed. Two baskets were not full. Lu Dewen came to pick up Xue Huahua after work. When he mentioned that Lu Mingwen couldn't control himself and helped the educated youth, Lu Dewen asked Xue Huahua, "Second Brother, do you have food to eat?"
"No." Xue Huahua said firmly, "If you don't work, you won't have food to eat."
Lu Dewen heaved a sigh of relief. At least Xue Huahua was fair.
When Xue Huahua got home, she started to cook. She asked Lu Dewen to wash the baby's diapers in the morning. There was a small stream at the back of the mountain. The villagers dug a pond and piled up a few stones to make it easier for the villagers to wash clothes. Lu Dewen carried the basin out and saw Lu Mingwen walking home clumsily with his leg raised.
"Mingwen, Mom said she won't cook for you at noon." Lu Dewen told him.
Lu Mingwen frowned. He helped Liang Lanfen pull the pigweed for the whole morning. His leg was not circulating and was in pain. When he saw his brother, Lu Mingwen looked as if he saw his savior. "Brother, help me. My leg seems to be hurt again."
Lu Dewen quickly put down the basin and carried him back to the kitchen. He called Xue Huahua to come out and take a look.
Xue Huahua poked half of her body out of the door, her face expressionless. "I'll be responsible for whoever I help. I can't even feed myself, let alone take care of others." After saying that, she went to the stove and sat down, no longer looking outside.
Lu Dewen panicked. "Mingwen, look at how angry you made our Mom. If she doesn't care about you, you will starve to death."
In the morning, Lu Tong told him about cutting the pigweed. Many villagers in the village wanted to cut the pigweed. It was easy and they could earn some money. If it wasn't for their family's situation, they would never do this kind of work. Lu Mingwen did not cherish it and went to work for the educated youth. Lu Dewen did not know what to say. He put Lu Mingwen on the bed and turned to leave.
Lu Mingwen, who was behind him, called out, "Big brother, can you put in a good word for me?" He had been working all morning and was so hungry that his chest was sticking to his back.
Lu Dewen was helpless. "It's useless if I say it. It's Mom who says it."
In this family, Xue Huahua was in charge.
Lu Dewen obediently went to the pond to wash his diapers. Xixi's diapers were all washed by Xue Huahua after he was born. She worked during the day and washed them at night. When the diapers could not be dried, they were hung on the stove and roasted over the fire. When he spread out the diapers and rubbed them, he almost vomited. The black feces were thin and looked disgusting.
Fortunately, the pond was big enough. Otherwise, the water would have been dyed black.
He endured the stench and used a wooden mallet to beat it twice before wringing it dry. It did not matter if it was washed or not. It was fine as long as it was washed.
It was still wild vegetable paste, but there was more corn flour added. Xue Huahua sprinkled white sugar in Chao Caizhi and Lu Xixi's bowls. When she carried it into the house, she heard a muffled groan coming from Lu Mingwen's room. She asked in a low voice, "Second Brother, what's wrong?" After waiting for a few seconds, no one answered. She carried the wild vegetable paste in and let Chao Caizhi eat it. She went to Lu Mingwen's room to take a look.
It would have been fine if she did not take a look, but the moment she did, she was shocked. Lu Mingwen was lying on the bed, rolling back and forth. His face was green and covered in sweat. Her heart tightened. "Second Brother, what's wrong?"
Lu Mingwen bit his lips tightly. His body was trembling so much that he could not speak. When Xue Huahua went forward, he immediately grabbed onto Xue Huahua's arm. His eyes were wide open and tears were flowing down his cheeks. Xue Huahua lifted the blanket that was wrapped around his leg. The stitches on the wound had been removed, leaving behind a hideous scar. His ankle was red and swollen with bruises. Xue Huahua hurriedly pulled him up from the bed and patted his face so that he could take a good look.
Lu Mingwen was in so much pain that he was gasping for air. "Mum, mum, it hurts. Is my leg broken?"
"If it's broken, you deserve it. I'll get Dewen to send you to the educated youth section. Whoever you work for will be responsible for your injury. I want to see if anyone cares about your life." Xue Huahua flung his hand away and shouted for Lu Dewen.
Lu Mingwen was afraid. Not only would it be embarrassing to send him to the educated youth section, it would be weird if Liang Lanfen cared about him. He was the one who did not listen to Xue Huahua's words. He grabbed onto the bedside tightly. "Mum, mum, I'm wrong. I won't dare to do it again. Please save me, it's painful."
Xue Huahua was indifferent. "Will you dare to not listen to me next time?"
Lu Mingwen shook his head like a rattle drum. If he knew that he would be in so much pain, he would not have helped even if Xue Huahua said it.
Lu Dewen heard the commotion and came over. He asked him to borrow a wheelbarrow from the village and bring Lu Mingwen to the commune hospital.
"Mum, I'll carry Mingwen."
"You need to work in the afternoon. I'll bring him there. Borrow the wheelbarrow, I'll push him there." The wheelbarrows in the village were used to carry grain during the public grain collection period. It was rare for them to borrow it. The last time they were injured, Lu Jianguo borrowed the wheelbarrow. Xue Huahua did not know if Lu Jianguo was willing to lend it to her. She asked Lu Dewen to carry Lu Mingwen to the road and wait. She went back to the house to pack some rice, and then hurried to Lu Jianguo's house to tell him about Lu Mingwen's poor health.
Lu Jianguo hesitated for a while and agreed. "Last time, it was bloody. It took me a long time to wash it out. If it gets dirty again, you can wash it yourself."
Xue Huahua agreed. Lu Jianguo was afraid that she did not know how to use it, so he helped her push it from the storage room to the road. He reminded her to be careful and not to break it. This wheelbarrow was obtained by Zeng Zhiqing from the educated youth team. The surrounding production teams did not have this wheelbarrow. If it was broken, there was no place to repair it.
Lu Dewen put Lu Mingwen on the wheelbarrow. He was worried about Xue Huahua. "Mum, do you want me to do it?"
"No need. You can ask Lu Tong to teach you how to transplant rice. Do your best." Xue Huahua actually knew how to push a wheelbarrow. She was a sanitation worker. She pushed a wheelbarrow along the street every day. But it was a two-wheeled wheelbarrow, so it was lighter and more flexible. She could not exert strength in her left leg, so she tried to shift her center of gravity to her right foot. At first, it was a little twisted, but after a few steps, it became smooth.
Lu Jianguo saw that she got the hang of it quickly. He did not say much. He just said to Lu Dewen, who was staring at Xue Huahua's back in a daze. "It's not easy for your mother. If you don't work hard in the future, you and your brothers will have a hard time after she leaves." Xue Huahua married into the village at the age of 16. Unlike other women who visited each other when they had nothing to do, she worked all year round and had never taken a break. Many people in the village said that Lu Yongshu had a good life. He found a diligent wife and had three sons. He would definitely live a happy life in the future. Who knew that Lu Yongshu did not survive the famine year and left four children who were not young and old to die.
After Lu Yongshu died, the four children's food was all on Xue Huahua. Xue Huahua did not take a break at all.
There were many people like Xue Huahua in the village. The villagers who had lived for decades did not remember what she looked like. They only remembered that she worked hard and was in the mountains every day …
Lu Dewen was stunned. He sighed when he heard that. Lu Jianguo did not know how much he understood, but he left with a sigh.
On the winding road, Xue Huahua was sweating profusely. The sun shone on her forehead and the wrinkles on her forehead seemed to have deepened.
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