Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Woohoo, my dad and I are really going to starve to death...

It rained for a while ago, but the sun came out today. The sky was especially blue after the rain, the clouds were as thin as gauze, and the sunlight was so bright that it was even a little dazzling.

The father and daughter, one carrying a hoe and the other holding a bamboo basket, walked towards the field under the bright sunlight.

This family was really poor, as they didn't have many useful items at home. Shen Shaoyuan wanted to find a hat for his daughter to block the sun, but he only found half a broken brim, so he could only use a strip of cloth as a rope to tie it on his head. Although it looked weird, it could at least block out some sun.

Shen Shaoyuan looked at his daughter from time to time, feeling very complicated.

Being alive is certainly a great thing, but he doesn't know how much his precious daughter will suffer in the future.

Shen Moer didn't feel anything. The scene in the dream was too scary. Her heart was still pounding when she thought about it. Compared to dying tragically at the hands of a knife, what was a little poverty? Besides, didn't they still have a treasure house?

Compared to this, Shen Moer was more concerned about the differences between this world and Daliang. She recalled the original owner's memory in her heart, and quietly reminded Shen Shaoyuan to be careful in his actions and words, and then urged: "Dad, it's too late, let's go faster."

Shen Shaoyuan was not in a hurry: "It's okay, there must be someone later than us."

Yangliu Village is now called Yangliu Brigade. There are a total of twelve production teams under the brigade, and their family belongs to the eighth production team.

The villagers in the brigade are now called members. The members work according to the brigade's arrangement to earn work points, and then distribute grain according to the ratio of "60% for labor and 40% for work". In other words, the work points earned from working every day only account for 40% of the grain distribution, so the members' enthusiasm for work is not high.

Chen Shaoyuan remembered that when "he" went to the commune to collect public grain, he heard a jingle: Don't pay attention when the whistle is sounded the first time, stretch your head to look when the whistle is sounded the second time, slowly walk away when the whistle is sounded the third time, forget to bring a hoe when you get to the field, and then go home for a walk... It's true that some sneaky members are in this state.

So even though they have wasted a lot of time at home because they need to adapt to the new environment, they are actually not the last ones to go to work.

Sure enough, when they arrived at the field, team leader Zhou Peijun was standing on the edge of the field, cursing and scolding those who had not come to work yet.

Shen Shaoyuan's face was filled with guilt. He stepped forward and explained, "Our house leaked and the mattress was soaked. My daughter caught a cold and was feeling unwell. I hurriedly boiled some herbal medicine for her, but I didn't expect it to be so late..."

Shen Moer cooperated by hanging her head and coughing softly. Zhou Peijun looked at the father and daughter. Shen Laoqi and his daughter always worked hard. He was wondering why they were late today for the first time in history. So this is what happened. His expression eased and he said, "Okay, I won't deduct your work points."

Thinking about how honest the father and daughter were, he kindly reminded them, "If the house is leaking, fix it while the weather is fine. This is serious business. If you can't do it, just take a day off."

He did not persuade Shen Moli to go home and rest. She was only slightly injured and had a cold, so she must go to work.

Shen Shaoyuan showed a silly smile: "Okay, I'll fix it this afternoon."

This means asking for leave in the afternoon.

Zhou Peijun opened his mouth and wanted to say, "You're late anyway, why don't you just take a leave in the morning to go back and fix it?" However, seeing Shen Shaoyuan's timid look, he swallowed the words back.

I thought that since Shen Laoqi was so honest, he definitely wasn't trying to take advantage of the team. He just wasn't a flexible person.

Zhou Peijun didn't know that Shen Shaoyuan had changed the core, and didn't suspect that he did it on purpose.

The working hours are shorter in the morning and longer in the afternoon, and Zhou Peijun has said that there will be no deduction of work points, so of course it is more cost-effective to take leave in the afternoon.

The father and daughter looked at each other. Shen Shaoyuan winked at his daughter, picked up the hoe and went to the right side of the field. Shen Moer curled her lips and went to the left side of the field.

Adult men like Shen Shaoyuan were considered strong laborers and had to go to the left to plow the land. Shen Moer had been weak since childhood and was a female comrade, so she was arranged to pull weeds with the elderly and children.

Shen Moer went down to the field and didn't go to crowded places. She just found an empty corner and squatted down to pull weeds.

The original owner was cowardly and timid, and seldom interacted with outsiders. He never went to crowded places when he went to work, but this was convenient for Shen Moer, as she didn't have to face many people when she first arrived.

Not long after, two more aunts hurried to the field. Zhou Peijun stared at them until his eyes almost popped out, and shouted: "Why don't you come back after the sun sets?!"

Shen Moer looked up and saw two aunts, one with high cheekbones and the other with droopy eyes. The one with high cheekbones was called Tian Fang, the second aunt of the original owner, and the one with droopy eyes was called Cao Mei, the third aunt of the original owner. These two were the ones who stole the food from the family.

Tian Fang would smile when meeting people: "Peijun, I didn't mean it. I didn't feel well when I got up this morning, so I made a bowl of mugwort tea at home and drank it before coming here. Also, your aunt Cao Mei was kind-hearted and came to accompany me because she was afraid that something might happen to me. This is my fault. If you want to deduct work points, deduct only from me."

If Cao Mei had said this, Zhou Peijun would not have believed it at all. Everyone in the team knew that Shen Laosan and his wife were extremely lazy and were always slow to go to work.

But Tian Fang was a kind and hardworking person, and she always had a good reputation in the team. When she said she was not feeling well, Zhou Peijun believed her.

Why are there so many people feeling unwell today?

Thinking of the unpredictable weather recently, Zhou Peijun understood a little bit. Mr. Shen's family probably caught a cold because their mattress got wet, and Aunt Tian probably caught a cold because of the sudden heat today.

Since they were just not feeling well, he certainly wouldn't deduct their work points.

Zhou Peijun waved his hands helplessly: "Hurry up and get to work."

You should not leave the front line if you are only slightly injured. After drinking the mugwort tea, you should naturally continue to work.

Tian Fang said a few more polite words, and after confirming that Zhou Peijun would not deduct their work points, she looked at Cao Mei with pride in her eyes.

It wasn't that she was unwell; she had deliberately washed clothes at home before coming here.

Zhou Peijun is a man who looks strong on the outside but is actually weak on the inside. Although he talks a lot, he is actually the softest-hearted among the twelve team leaders. Isn't it easy for her to fool someone like him?

Tian Fang stood on the ridge and glanced around. She saw Shen Moer in the corner and winked at Cao Mei. Cao Mei immediately said, "Oh, isn't that Moer? She's all alone, with no one to be with her. Sister-in-law, let's go over and keep her company."

Tian Fang: "That's right, let's go and keep her company and help her do more work so that Mo'er can do less work. Look how thin this child is."

As they talked, they ran towards Shen Moer's direction.

Zhou Peijun looked at the two people's backs and thought that among the entire Shen family, it seemed that Aunt Tian was the kind-hearted one who cared about Shen Moer, the poor little girl without a mother.

If Shen Moer knew what Zhou Peijun was thinking, she would definitely call him a fool.

There are indeed few good people in the Shen family, but in fact, Tian Fang is the most vicious one. Take the matter of robbing food for example. On the surface, it was Cao Mei who did it, but in fact, the idea came from Tian Fang. The original owner once heard the two of them discussing how to divide the spoils.

Shen Moer naturally knew that the two people who came over at this time were not really here to help her as they said. On the contrary, they knew that Shen Moer would only bury her head in work and would not dare to say a word when she was wronged, so they deliberately came to work with her so as to take the opportunity to be lazy.

As soon as she got to the field, Cao Mei complained: "You are so slow at work. You have only pulled out so little grass since you started working."

Shen Moer looked at her and said nothing.

Cao Mei didn't find it strange. Old Shen himself couldn't do anything even if he was beaten with three sticks, and his daughter was no different. Today she even looked up at her, whereas she usually didn't even dare to raise her head.

Tian Fang was always a good person. She smiled and said, "Mo'er is weak and can't do much work. You know that. We, as aunts, should just do more."

"Chen Moer" is physically weak but is always willing to work hard. She can't catch up with those who are particularly capable, but she is still average.

But because the Shen family always stole the fruits of her labor when they went to work, and because Tian Fang had been spreading the word for more than ten years that she was too weak to work, everyone in the team really believed that she was in poor health and could not work.

Not to mention the Yangliu Brigade, even the neighboring villages knew that the daughter of Shen Laoqi was in poor health and could not work, so they would never marry such a sickly girl.

The villagers working in the fields secretly glanced at Shen Moli and sighed in their hearts. This child is really pitiful and well-behaved, but it's a pity that she is not in good health.

People in the countryside make a living by working hard, so how can they survive if they are not in good health?

Tian Fang and Cao Mei were not really here to help Shen Moer. Not long after they started working, Cao Mei began to pull the grass from behind Shen Moer to her side, and also gave some to Tian Fang. Tian Fang glanced at them and said nothing.

Shen Moer is not a piece of wood, how could she not know their little tricks?

Tian Fang and Cao Mei didn't think they could hide it from her. They were simply certain that she was timid and wouldn't dare to tell anyone even if she suffered a loss.

Shen Moer secretly glanced at the position, raised her hand to wipe the sweat off her face, and her whole body suddenly began to shake. After shaking for two or three seconds, she fell to the ground with a bang.

At the moment she fell, she cried out "weakly" and "hoarsely": "Dad——"

Before the people in the fields could react, Shen Shaoyuan rushed over from the field across the path, shouting, "Mo'er, my Mo'er..."

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, Shen Laoqi's Mo'er fainted!"

"Oh my god, is he suffering from heat stroke or is he sick? Hurry up and call Lao Liu to come over and take a look!"

The crowd was in a panic, and someone ran to the field of the first team to call the barefoot doctor Lao Liu.

"Why call a doctor? Just pinch the philtrum and he'll wake up." Cao Mei stretched out her hand to pinch it, but was pulled away by Shen Shaoyuan and fell on her buttocks. She said angrily, "Seventh Brother, why did you push me?"

Shen Shaoyuan ignored her and started crying while hugging Shen Moer: "Moer, Moer, what's wrong with you? I only have you as my daughter. What should I do if anything happens to you..."

People around: “…”

Zhou Peijun also came over: "Not really, really not, maybe he just got heat stroke, Uncle Liu will be here soon, don't worry."

Shen Shaoyuan was still crying there, and someone next to him muttered: "Why is this Shen Laoqi so good at crying? Why didn't we notice it before?"

Some people said: "She only has one daughter. How can she not be nervous and cry? People will do anything when they are pushed into a corner."

Shen Moer was afraid that Shen Shaoyuan had overacted, so when she heard the shout of "Uncle Liu is here" from a distance, she "woke up slowly" in time and said "weakly": "Dad, I'm fine..."

Seeing her wake up, the members who were watching immediately breathed a sigh of relief: "Oh, it's good that she woke up, it's good that she woke up!"

Shen Shaoyuan started crying again: "Mo'er, you really scared your father to death..."

Shen Moer grabbed his arm, looking weak but trying to get up: "Dad, I'm fine, I can continue to work, I only did such a little work, how can it be, I can do more..."

When she said this, the others immediately noticed that there was a pile of weeds on the ground where she had fainted.

"Oh my, this is not just a small job, you have done so much in such a short time, it's amazing!"

"I didn't realize that Mo'er is quite capable!"

The onlookers immediately sighed, saying that Shen Laoqi's daughter was weak and couldn't do any work, but now it seems that she is not that bad.

Tian Fang and Cao Mei, who were standing aside and watching the fun, were suddenly dumbfounded. The pile of grass was obviously theirs. Although a lot of it was pulled from Shen Moer, there were also a lot of it that they pulled out!

The problem was that at this critical moment, everyone had fainted, and they couldn't come forward to say that they had pulled out the grass. Besides, Chen Moer happened to be lying on the grass pile, so even if they said it, no one would believe them.

Cao Mei opened her mouth, but was pulled back by Tian Fang, and she closed it unwillingly.

At this time, Doctor Liu also arrived and examined Shen Moli. Based on the father and daughter's own statements, he concluded that she had caught a little cold, but the root cause was hunger.

The onlookers sighed immediately. The chaos outside in recent years had also affected the agricultural production of the commune. The grain output was low, and after paying the public grain tax, the brigade was short of food, and almost every household was not able to get enough food.

However, some people think that even though they are not full, they shouldn't be that hungry. Both father and daughter work hard and honestly, and the family has no other burdens, so life shouldn't be that difficult, right?

Then these people saw that Shen Moer supported her frail body and trembled to get up, grabbed Tian Fang and Cao Mei, and cried out in a sad voice: "Second aunt, third aunt, can you return the food you borrowed from my family to us? Really, it's not that my father and I are stingy, but my family has been out of food for several days. If this continues, my father and I will really starve to death!"

"If I had no other choice, I wouldn't dare to ask you, but I'm really hungry. I can't work properly like this, wuwuwu, I don't want to hold you back..."

Tian Fang and Cao Mei, who were caught off guard, said: "..."