Chapter 29 Chapter 29 (Minor Repair)

Wang Xiuping's hands were shaking as she held the two Great Unity notes, and the wrinkled banknotes were softened by sweat.

She still couldn't believe it, "This... is this really earned from selling mushrooms?"

Cheng Xin had a faint smile on her face. "The buyer said that our mushrooms are of special quality and can be sold as high-end goods."

"The supply and marketing cooperative..." Wang Xiuping suddenly grabbed her apron and wiped her eyes, the rough cloth rubbing against her eyelids, "I should have known not to dump the crushed stuff into the ditch."

"Aunt, they just like our quality. The ones in the ditch can't be sold at a good price."

Wang Xiuping nodded randomly: "Yes, you are right, thanks to you, this is twenty yuan."

Xu Fengxia specifically reminded: "Sister-in-law, don't tell anyone about the money you make. You bought mushrooms from the brigade at a low price, I'm afraid others will be jealous."

Wang Xiuping stuffed the money into her trouser pocket and said, "I know if people knew that the mushrooms they sold for a few cents were sold for more than ten yuan by us, they would definitely come and make trouble."

Xu Fengxia didn't even tell Chen Ying, so there was one less person who knew about insurance.

After the aunt left, Cheng Xin started taking things out of the backpack.

She gave the vanishing cream and brown sugar to her mother, the Liberation Shoes to her father, and bought a Monkey King mask for her younger brother.

Xu Fengxia saw her finish taking out the things and asked: "Why didn't you buy anything for yourself?"

Cheng Xin touched the hairpin on her head: "I have this."

Xu Fengxia praised: "It's really beautiful, like a butterfly."

She remembered that Geng Yunye had stuffed a package of things into her backpack. She pulled away the dry straw in the basket and found a brown paper bag at the bottom.

Cheng Xin opened the brown paper bag in front of her parents. The smooth and brightly colored fabric almost fell off her hands. There was also a peach wood comb inside.

Xu Fengxia helped to pick up the cloth: "Is this Dacron? I heard that Dacron has rich colors. Sure enough, it can be recognized at a glance."

Cheng Xin and her mother folded the cloth neatly. Geng Yunye bought two meters of brightly colored cloth and two meters of dull colored cloth.

Xu Fengxia couldn't let go of the fabric, her eyes full of joy: "This material must be four meters long, enough to make four pieces of clothing."

Cheng Xin's cheeks flushed: "I was picking out shoes for my dad and didn't pay attention. I thought he bought them for himself."

Xu Fengxia was an experienced person, so she didn't tease her shy daughter, "Did you send anything to Xiao Geng?"

Cheng Xin's eyes wandered: "I saw that his shoes were unraveling, so I bought him a pair of rubber shoes."

"That's good. We can't always accept things from others. Only when there is give and take can the relationship last. This material is good. I will make you two new clothes. You can keep the rest for important days in the future."

Cheng Xin shook her mother's arm, "Mom, just make a new dress."

Xu Fengxia disagreed: "You are dating now, you can't wear the same clothes as when you work in the fields. Young girls look beautiful and pleasing to the eye. If I were 20 years younger, I would take your clothes away."

Cheng Xin thought about how her mother hadn't bought new clothes for a long time, "Mom, you can take the other two meters of cloth. They won't look fancy if you wear them."

Xu Fengxia smiled and shook her head: "I don't like to wear it. The colorful clothes you young people wear look so ugly on me. I like to wear cotton."

Cheng Xin put the extra fabric into a brown paper bag: "We will go to the provincial capital in a few days and buy you some fabric when we come back. What color do you like?"

"Pull me two meters of solid-colored cotton cloth, which will be durable for use when working at home."

Cheng Xin let it go in one ear and out the other, having her own thoughts in her mind.

Just as my mother said, what girl doesn't love beauty? My mother's eyes were full of love when she touched the Dacron fabric. How could she not like brightly colored clothes?

That night, it rained heavily outside.

A loud thunderclap sounded, and Cheng Xin suddenly sat up from the bed.

Xu Fengxia came out of Chen Ying's room holding a kerosene lamp. "The power is out. Let's go back to sleep. Xiao Geng has helped us reinforce the roof. There are no leaks in the house."

Cheng Cunzhi got out of bed, wrapped in his clothes, and stood under the eaves. The rain was as dense as a door curtain: "It feels like this rain won't stop for a while."

Cheng Xin was so frightened by the thunder that she lost her sleepiness and simply got up to check the water leak in the house with her mother.

The rain is getting heavier and heavier, and tonight is destined to be a sleepless night.

The next day, the rain still didn't stop. I couldn't do any work in the fields and could only sit at home and stare blankly.

Cheng Xin and her brother moved the rabbits to the woodshed. The female rabbit's belly was bulging and she might give birth any day. It would be too late if the accumulated water in the yard flooded the rabbit hive.

Chen Ying was playing cat's tuck with Cheng Lei out of boredom.

Cheng Xin sat under the eaves, feeling worried. The rain had been falling for most of the day and there was no sign of it stopping. She wondered if the cornfield would be flooded. Fortunately, she didn't have to worry about the rice fields, as the grains at home were in the barn.

Wang Fugui paced anxiously in the main room with his hands behind his back, while Wang Jiangang lay in a rocking chair watching TV.

He took a bite of the apple and said, "Dad, you're blocking me from watching TV."

Wang Fugui picked up the palm-leaf fan and waved it twice, still feeling anxious. He pointed at the TV and said, "Turn down the volume, it's too noisy."

Wang Jiangang crossed his legs and asked, "What could make you so worried?"

Wang Fugui glared at his son: "It's all your fault."

Wang Jiangang sat up straight away. "Why are you blaming me? I made the money by leading our team!"

Wang Fugui sat down, fanning himself: "We don't know how long this rain will last, so we shouldn't delay the grain delivery. A few days ago, we went to a meeting at the commune, and the secretary mentioned that there would be a typhoon, but we didn't take it seriously."

Li Xiuqin brought the food to the table. Ever since Wang Jiangang started making money, the meals at home were richer than those at other families.

She put the dishes in order and said, "Let's eat. We are surrounded by mountains on all sides. There is no way a typhoon can blow in."

Wang Jiangang picked his feet and stood up. He sat at the table and picked up the egg pancake with chopsticks. The pancake was just out of the pan. He blew out air from his mouth and turned it back and forth with his left and right hands.

"That's right, we're not that easily affected by typhoons here." As he spoke, his right foot on the bench kept shaking.

Li Xiuqin put egg pancakes in her grandson's bowl and fried corn tortillas in her granddaughter's bowl.

She coaxed her granddaughter: "There are no eggs at home, let grandpa and the others eat them. Your brother is growing up, please let him eat. Fried corn tortillas are also delicious."

Wang Jiangang ignored the children and ate with his mouth and hands full of oil. Wang Fugui glared at him and scolded him: "Don't shake your legs while eating. Put your feet down. You are taking up a bench by yourself."

Wang Fugui was interrupted by his son and wife. He felt that the typhoon would not reach their valley. The summer rain changes faster than a child's face. Maybe it will stop at night.

Wang Jiangang burped loudly after finishing his meal. He touched his loose round belly and said, "Dad, I want to ask you for a note."

Wang Fugui glanced at him and said, "Why? Do you need a hunting rifle to catch pheasants?"

Wang Jiangang knew he couldn't hide it from his father, so he just confessed.

"Just decide whether to approve it or not. I earned fifty dollars for our family. Next time it will be a hundred dollars. Wild boar meat is in great demand."

Wang Fugui had long guessed that his son's excuse for taking people up the mountain to catch pheasants and rabbits was an excuse, but he couldn't expose his own son, so he could only help cover it up.

Someone in the team must have guessed it, and no one is stupid. They accepted the dividends, which was equivalent to tacit consent, and even if they knew it, they would not say it out loud.