Chapter 90: Fubao gets beaten

Shen Lingning's heart also skipped a beat, but she quickly calmed down.

If she had heard such news a year ago, she would probably have been ecstatic.

Now she has a career.

She looked at the tea mountain behind her, which had just survived a disaster and for which she had poured so much effort, and looked at the expectant eyes of Aunt Sun and Liu Jinfeng, and slowly shook her head.

"Professor Wu, thank you for your kindness. But I still want to stay here and take care of our tea plantation in Songtaogou first.

This is the hard work of the families of our base, and it is also our hope. I think the ecological tea garden you mentioned is the most suitable place to implement it."

Professor Wu was stunned at first, but then his eyes lit up with admiration: "Great! You're ambitious! Then let's try a different way of cooperation! Your Songtaogou tea plantation will serve as our institute's 'Ecological Tea Garden Experimental Demonstration Base'!"

I'll put up a sign for you, and we'll fully support you technically!"

The stubborn old man looked at this scene and was finally completely convinced.

He walked up to Shen Lingning, moved his lips, and finally uttered a sentence after a long time: "You...you girl, you have a way. In the future...if there are any technical issues in Chashan, let's figure it out together."

Shen Lingning smiled: "I'll have to trouble you, the technician Niu, to check it!"

After seeing off the experts from the working team, we established cooperative relations, which made everyone more confident in the tea mountain.

In the summer of 1974, the sun in Qinnan was hotter than in previous years, but the people in Songtaogou Family Compound were full of energy and enthusiasm, as if they were carrying a fire in their hearts.

The tea mountain was completely changed as they worked hard, hoe by hoe.

In addition to the tea garden that is gradually taking shape, the short-term crops that were previously interplanted between the tea seedlings are also ready to be harvested.

The pumpkins are solid, round and green, hidden under the broad leaves;

Bean vines have climbed all over the simple bamboo frame, with densely packed young pods hanging down;

There are also patches of sweet potatoes, the vines covering the ridges of the ground, and the tubers underneath have burst through the soil.

In late summer and early autumn, the vegetable fields at Songtaogou Camp are bustling with activity.

The tomatoes are as red as small lanterns, hanging under the green leaves, and are particularly eye-catching.

Fubao can already walk steadily on her own. The little girl carries a small bamboo basket that is not much bigger than her arm and stays in the vegetable patch all day long.

With his little face tilted up, his big black eyes were fixed on the bright red tomatoes. Once he found his target, he would tiptoe to pick them carefully and put them into the basket like treasures.

Shen Lingning was busy assigning tasks to the tea plantation team, telling them who would weed, who would apply fertilizer, and who would look after the corn and sweet potato fields that were about to mature.

When she had made all the arrangements and wanted to go find Fubao to take home for dinner, she saw a scene in the ditch next to the vegetable field that made her both angry and funny.

Fubao and his little boy Tiedan were sitting side by side on the muddy ground. Each of them was holding a big, red tomato in their hands and was chewing it happily.

The juice flowed down the corners of their mouths, flowed over their chins, and dyed a large area of ​​their chests red.

Fubao saw his mother first, raised his little face, which was covered in red juice, and gave Chen Lingning a bright and innocent smile. He said incoherently, "Mom, persimmons are sweet!"

That look really makes it hard to blame him.

Tiedan, who was standing next to him, stood up hesitantly: "Aunt, it's me who wants to eat it, don't blame my sister..."

Fubao glanced at his brother and said anxiously, "Bao, be good, I want to eat..."

Shen Lingning walked over and looked at Fubao's small basket. In addition to a few tomatoes, there were also a few corn cobs that were obviously not fully grown and the grains were a little shriveled, and a few fist-sized sweet potatoes that had not grown at all!

On the ground next to it, there were a few branches and a small pile of firewood that had obviously just been put out and was still emitting smoke!

Shen Lingning's expression changed instantly.

She pulled Fubao up and said sternly, "Fubao! Did you pick these corn and sweet potatoes? Were you planning to roast them over a fire?"

Fubao was frightened by his mother's sudden harshness. His mouth pursed, but he still nodded stubbornly and whispered, "Roasted, it smells delicious..."

"What a nice smell!"

Shen Lingning was really anxious: "The corn is not ripe yet, and the sweet potatoes are not grown yet. Breaking them off would be a waste of food! It would be a waste of things!

More importantly, who told you to play with fire here? Huh?

There's nothing but dry grass and dead leaves around here. If it catches fire and the wind blows, the whole mountain will catch fire! The tea plantation is finished, our family is finished, and the entire Songtao Valley is finished! Do you know how terrible a wildfire is?!

After saying hello, he carried Fubao and walked towards his home at the foot of the mountain.

Fubao stiffened her neck and didn't say anything because her mother had just been rude to her in someone else's room.

Tiedan was frightened when he saw the usually gentle Shen Lingning get angry. He didn't even bother to pick up the bamboo basket and ran home.

Shen Lingning carried Fubao all the way back to his family compound, and greeted everyone he met on the way with a faint smile.

When she got home, she thought about what happened on the mountain. The more she thought about it, the more scared she became, and she was shaking with anger.

He picked up a thin bamboo stick from the pile of firewood next to him and was about to hit Fubao on the butt.

Fubao knew that he had caused a big disaster and was so scared that he started crying, but his temper also came up and he twisted his body and refused to admit his mistake.

At this moment, a rough big hand reached out and snatched the bamboo stick from Shen Lingning's hand.

It's an old stubborn guy.

After they got to know each other, the stubborn old man accepted Shen Lingning's invitation to live in his home.

He had just heard about what had happened on the tea mountain. He was afraid that Shen Lingning would beat the child, so he followed him all the way back. The old man was still a little out of breath from running.

"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing? The child is still young, what does he know? Can't you just talk to him nicely? Why are you using violence?"

The stubborn old man threw the bamboo stick far away, protected Fubao, who was crying and hiccuping, behind him, and glared at Shen Lingning.

Zhou Weiguo also rushed over after hearing the news. When he saw the scene, he first looked at his crying daughter with heartache, and then saw the pile of firewood ashes, his face became solemn.

He understood his wife's fear, as wildfire was indeed a knife hanging over the heads of all people working in the forest area.

"Lingning, the child is wrong and needs to be educated. But don't be impatient..."

Zhou Weiguo walked up to his wife and put his arm around her shoulders, feeling that she was very angry.

At this time, Tiedan came limping over. He had just been hit hard by his father's shoe at home because he took the lead in stealing corn and sweet potatoes and tried to make a fire. His butt was still sore.

He stood in front of Fubao, stiffened his neck and said to Shen Lingning, "Auntie! Don't hit Fubao! I was the one who started it! I picked the tomatoes for her, and I started the fire! If you want to hit me, hit me!"

Fubao hid behind the old stubborn man and watched his brother and grandfather protecting him. Although his mother was angry, she was stopped by his father.

He sobbed and muttered softly: "...corn...is not sweet...sweet potato...baby...next time...I won't dare..."