"Mingqi, what are they doing? Don't they have to work?" After Zhang Qiurui finished using the toilet and rested for half an hour, when she came out and wanted to go back to the cornfield to continue working, she saw the adults in their production team holding hoes, iron hooks, shoulder poles and other things, and walking towards the reservoir in a menacing manner. Zhang Qiurui's face was full of confusion, and she stopped her niece who was a year older than her and asked.
"Aunt, I know about this. The Zhucun Production Team wants to cut off the water supply to the reservoir and not release water to our production team. They are going to the reservoir to find people from the Zhucun Production Team." Before Zhang Mingqi could speak, her eldest nephew Zhang Mingren spoke first.
"So, you don't have to work in the morning. I'm afraid they won't be back for lunch. Mingqi, you help your second aunt cook at noon, and Mingren, you take care of Minghua, Mingduo, and Mingxia. My aunt was sick before and hasn't recovered yet, so go and have a rest first. Call me for lunch." Zhang Qiurui's eyes lit up when she saw that she didn't have to work in the morning.
Ordering them to work gave Zhang Qiurui an indescribable feeling in her heart. As she was about the same age as them and was their elder, she felt a little uncomfortable, but also a sense of accomplishment, and a sense of entitlement.
"Okay, aunt, I know." Zhang Mingqi looked at her aunt's back as she left. She opened her mouth, as if she had something to say.
Zhang Qiurui turned around and went back to her room to rest. There were only five rooms in the Zhang family's house. Her parents lived in one room, her eldest brother and his wife lived in one room, her second brother and his wife lived in one room, she and her two nieces lived in one room, and when her younger brother came back, he would live in one room with Ming Ren.
The house we live in is an adobe house with a thatched roof. The thatch needs to be replaced every year, otherwise it will not be waterproof the following year. The straw and thatch will get moldy or even rot due to being exposed to rain and will collapse, so it must be replaced once a year.
If it is raining heavily, it will be drizzling inside the house. In short, it is hard to describe.
"This family is too poor. We have to think of ways to improve our lives." Zhang Qiurui lay in bed, thinking of many ways to make money or improve her life, but in the end she rejected them one by one.
In this era, if you want to travel far away, you need a letter of recommendation from the brigade. Doing business or small business is simply not possible, as it is speculation. Going to the mountains to hunt game to improve your food is also not allowed.
Firstly, she couldn't hunt without a gun, and secondly, she didn't know how to set traps. Besides, every production brigade had a militia captain who arranged patrols. If they were caught, the whole family would be unable to hold their heads up.
"Why don't I have a golden finger after traveling through time? No, I must go to school." She has to work every day and doesn't have enough to eat. Even the best body will collapse. She doesn't want to die young again.
I graduated from elementary school this year with my niece, Mingqi. How would I describe her grades? Neither good nor bad. I hadn't wanted to continue studying, and her parents weren't planning on letting her go to junior high, but I hadn't objected.
If she wants her parents to agree to let her go to school, she will probably have to put in some effort. Not only does studying cost money, but she also cannot work to earn food. They are girls, and the preference for boys over girls is common in rural areas, which makes it even more difficult.
"Aunt! It's time for lunch." Zhang Qiurui fell asleep in a daze while thinking about something. When she heard her second niece Zhang Minghua from her second brother's family calling her to eat, Zhang Qiurui suddenly woke up with a start.
"Let's go eat." It would have been fine if she hadn't mentioned eating, but as soon as she mentioned eating, she suddenly felt hungry.
When Zhang Qiurui and Zhang Minghua arrived at the main hall, the other members of the Zhang family were already sitting at the dining table, waiting for their mother to share their food.
On the dining table, there was a big pot of porridge, three stacks of pickles, and a dozen sweet potatoes.
At this time, Zhou Guihua was serving porridge to everyone with a spoon, starting with the head of the family Zhang Ercheng, then her eldest brother Zhang Wenguo, eldest sister-in-law Gao Erping, second brother Zhang Wenfu, and second sister-in-law Xie Lin.
As for her younger brother, he is unmarried. After finishing junior high school, he served in the army for a few years and was assigned to a shoe factory in the county as a security team leader. He basically eats and lives in the shoe factory and is not at home on weekdays.
"More, more rice, more." When Zhou Guihua was serving porridge to Zhang Qiurui, Zhang Qiurui stared at her mother's spoon, shouting in her heart, drooling unconsciously, and smacking her lips.
Zhou Guihua didn't know if she heard her little daughter's thoughts. After looking at her little daughter, Zhou Guihua took a spoon and scooped a large spoonful of thick rice from the bottom of the pot, and then gave her a larger piece of dried sweet potato.
Then he continued to give it to Mingqi and Mingren from his eldest brother's family.
Minghua, Mingduo and Mingxia from her second brother's family served the porridge, and finally it was her turn.
The porridge served by her father, eldest brother and second brother was obviously thicker, followed by her mother and two sisters-in-law, and then the children according to their age. The porridge served to her today was obviously of the same quality as that of her father and others. They were taking extra care of her today.
"Okay, it's time to eat." Zhang Ercheng saw that the delicious food was ready, so he called for everyone to eat. Then, the sound of slurping porridge could be heard on the dining table.
Eat it with pickles from time to time.
"Dad, has there been any result with the water release?" After eating half a full meal, Zhang Qiurui thought about this matter and asked with some anticipation.
If it's not resolved, I won't have to work this afternoon and can get another 5 points.
In this era, male labor was scored ten points a day, and female labor was scored eight points a day. Older people or minors were scored based on their age, generally three to six points a day. Her work points for the day were five points.
Work points are recorded, and at the end of the year the growth team will distribute food, money or various tickets based on individual work points.
"It's been resolved. Two production teams will have three people compete in reciting quotations. The winning production team will release water one day earlier, and the next day, they will release water from the reservoir together.
"Qiu Rui, Ming Qi, you've graduated from elementary school, and the production team will definitely be recruiting players to compete. Over the next three days, you should memorize the quotations and represent our production team in the competition. Winning the competition would be the best." Zhou Guixiang, with a gleam in her eyes, spoke to her youngest daughter and her eldest granddaughter, her mind racing.
"Mom, let Qiurui and Mingqi go to the competition. If something happens to them, won't our production team blame them?" Gao Erping said worriedly.
"Whether they can be selected is a question, but there's no harm in trying. It's a way to train them."
"Mom, if we are selected and win this game, will our team get a reward?" Zhang Qiurui knew her mother's personality and knew she would not do meaningless things, so she asked directly to the key point.
"The team leader didn't say anything, but I guess there should be a reward, so I let you try." Zhou Guixiang likes her little girl very much, not only because she is her older daughter, but also because she is smart and has a personality like her. She understands a lot of things at a glance, which makes her worry less.
Another most important reason is that she gave birth to ten children in her life, four of whom died, leaving only three sons and three daughters. A few days ago, her little daughter fell ill, and she thought she would lose her. Unexpectedly, God favored her and made her little daughter recover miraculously.
This made Zhou Guixiang even more convinced that her little girl was a treasure given to her by God and the greatest comfort in her later years.
"Then my eldest niece and I will try it." Zhang Qiurui didn't know what he was thinking of, and a hint of color flashed in his eyes.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com