Chu Min and Chu Jun both agreed to bring Liu Zhaodi back, so the next morning Chu Tian and Chu Min borrowed a carriage from the brigade and brought Liu Zhaodi back from the hospital. They originally planned to take care of her for a few days, but Chu Jun disagreed. He said that he was the eldest son, and even if his mother was going to die, she should die in his home.

Since Chu Jun said so, Chu Min and Chu Tian did not argue with him anymore. Instead, they each paid ten yuan as care fee for the next month. If there were any other expenses later, they would pay more.

Yao Xiujuan saw Chu Tian coming back and hurriedly went to greet him, "Brother Tian, ​​what did you say?"

Chu Tian walked into the inner room and took off his military coat while speaking, "Ah, what my eldest brother meant is that now that I'm home, I can be taken care of by the whole family, and since he's the eldest son, then he and my eldest sister-in-law should take care of my mother."

After a pause, he continued, "Since we're not contributing, we can't give them less money. My second brother and I originally agreed to give them 20 yuan a month, but my eldest brother and sister-in-law disagreed, saying it was too much. In the end, we agreed to give them 10 yuan a month, and any subsequent expenses will be shared equally by the three of us..."

Yao Xiujuan nodded. "Of course. If we don't take care of her, then we should give her more. However, although I don't need to take care of her every day, I will still go and check on her when I have time."

Chu Tian turned around and looked at Yao Xiujuan, praising her, "You're right to think so. I was afraid you wouldn't be happy!"

Yao Xiujuan glared at Chu Tian, ​​punched him twice on the chest, and scolded him, "Really? What are you talking about? Am I that kind of person?"

Chu Tian grabbed her hand and chuckled, "Okay, you're the best. It's my petty mind."

"But, to be honest, even though my brother and his wife have taken over a lot of the problems, we can't really just do nothing..."

"Especially since Qingkang is not in good health..."

Yao Xiujuan nodded, "I understand, don't worry."

After dinner, the whole family hadn't talked together for a long time, so they all sat in the main room and chatted.

"Mom, we're going to start school tomorrow. Don't forget to give me five dollars tomorrow morning."

After Xinxin finished speaking, she picked up a small piece of apple and slowly began to eat it.

Yao Xiujuan nodded and said, "Okay, I'll give it to you tomorrow morning."

Chu Tian looked at Xinxin in surprise, "Xinxin, you and Pingping are starting school tomorrow? So early? Why don't I remember it being this early in previous years?"

Xinxin blinked. "Early? Not really. Our teacher said that since we have a fifteen-day spring ploughing holiday every year, starting this year, school will start half a month earlier every year. This way, we won't be delayed in going to school. I think it makes sense."

Chu Tian nodded after hearing this, "Yeah, it makes sense."

After a pause, he asked again, "Then, why didn't you do it in advance?"

Pingping raised his hand and replied, "Dad, I heard from our teacher that the principal has been replaced. This principal used to be a teacher in the city primary school."

Chu Tian said "Oh" to indicate that he understood. After chatting about something else, everyone went to bed. After everyone fell asleep, Chu Tian put on his coat and prepared to go out.

"Brother Tian?"

Chu Tian paused in opening the door, turned around to look at Yao Xiujuan, and said with a smile, "You go to sleep first. I'll be out for a while and back soon."

After he finished speaking, he turned around and walked out without waiting for Yao Xiujuan's reaction.

"Bang bang"

"Who is it?"

Chu Tian heard a familiar voice and replied with a smile, "Xiangyang, it's me..."

Before he could finish his words, the door opened from the inside, revealing a familiar and excited little face.

"Uncle Chu..."

Chu Tian smiled and nodded, "It's me..."

"Uncle Chu, I..."

He Xiangyang was very excited. He had a lot to say to Chu Tian, ​​but before he could say it, he heard Chu Tian say it.

"Xiangyang, let's go inside and talk."

"Um, Uncle Chu, come in quickly..."

After Chu Tian walked into the house, He Xiangyang pulled Chu Tian to the kang in the dark and sat down.

Chu Tian blinked in the darkness, "Xiangyang, don't you have an oil lamp?"

After asking this question, Chu Tian wanted to bite off his tongue. Look at what he was asking. Can he afford to buy an oil lamp? Just when he was about to apologize to He Xiangyang, he heard He Xiangyang say.

"Yes, the captain gave me an old oil lamp today, but there is no oil in it."

Chu Tian said "Oh", "Then I'll send you some tomorrow."

“No, no!”

Although he couldn't see clearly, Chu Tian could feel the wind blowing in his face as He Xiangyang waved his hand, so he smiled and said, "You're welcome. Kerosene is not expensive. I have a lot at home. I'll give you some. You can use it to make ends meet first. You can return it to me when you have accumulated enough work points in the future."

He Xiangyang heard this and quickly said, "Uncle Chu, you don't have to pay me later. I can give you the money now."

As He Xiangyang was about to take some money from the cabinet, Chu Tian quickly stopped him and asked in confusion, "Do you have money?"

He Xiangyang hummed and said, "It was given to me by Officer Jiang from the division headquarters. He said it was a settlement allowance from the division headquarters."

"It's a lot! A full fifty dollars!"

"Uncle Chu, when you came to Xinjiang to settle down, did you pay the resettlement fee?"

"Huh? I gave it to you..."

Chu Tian was surprised. Fifty yuan? That was quite a lot. He had forgotten how much resettlement allowance they had received when they moved from their hometown to Xinjiang. However, he remembered that one year after Uncle Chu and his family settled down, the regiment headquarters only gave each family ten yuan in resettlement allowance.

He thought that these fifty yuan might not all be the so-called resettlement allowance given by the division headquarters. Perhaps Director Jiang felt sorry for He Xiangyang and gave it out of his own pocket?

He Xiangyang was delighted when he heard this, "Uncle Chu, Xinjiang is really great..."

Chu Tian chuckled, thought for a moment, and then said, "You must keep the money safe. Don't tell others that you have money on you. Also, lock the door when you go out."

He Xiangyang nodded, "Uncle Chu, I understand. We must always be on guard against others!"

Chu Tian was amused when he heard this. "You know quite a lot? Who taught you?"

He Xiangyang touched his face embarrassedly, "Grandpa Qi and Grandma Lin taught me. They are so amazing and know a lot of things. We lived in the same room in the teacher's office during the New Year..."

"By the way, Uncle Chu, Grandpa Qi and his family of four live next door to me!"

"It's just that they're so nice and know so much, so why do others say they're bad people? The captain even told me today that it's okay to interact with them in private, but during the day, don't act too familiar with them in front of strangers..."

"I don't understand. Why is this happening?"

Chu Tian heard the doubt in his words and was silent for a moment before answering, "Xiangyang, you are still young and don't understand some of the things that happen in that era. However, don't worry too much. I don't think this situation will last too long."

"What you need to do now is to listen to the captain and avoid too much contact with them in front of the other team members during the day."