Xu Qianjiao walked to the door and peeked inside quietly. There was no one in the yard. Everyone had gone to work. She hurried back to her room, changed her clothes, rinsed her mouth, and completely removed the smell of grilled fish from her body.
She sat on the edge of the bed and began to think about what to do next. In the past few days, Grandma Xu asked her to rest at home on the grounds that she was injured, but her injury would heal one day, and she couldn't stop working forever. If she didn't work forever, there would definitely be a commotion in the main house. By then, even Grandma Xu would probably not be able to suppress their anger.
But what kind of work can be done?
She sat on the edge of the bed, thinking for a long time. Suddenly she woke up with a start. It was almost time and she had to cook quickly. She clumsily scooped a spoonful of water from the water tank, washed the sweet potatoes and brown rice, and put them in the pot to cook.
After a few days of teaching from Xu's mother, she can already use the earthen stove very well. Although she can't cook, she can cook porridge. She just puts everything in a bowl, adds a large spoonful of water, and then cooks it slowly over low heat.
She moved a small stool and sat in the kitchen, stuffing firewood into the kitchen with one hand and supporting her cheek with the other, staring blankly.
"Girl, what are you doing?"
Xu Qianjiao was frightened by the sudden sound. When she looked up, she saw Xu's mother standing in front of her. She patted her chest and said with lingering fear, "Mom, what are you doing? You scared me to death."
"Silly girl, you are in your own home, what are you afraid of? What are you thinking about? Why are you so engrossed in it?" Mother Xu rolled her eyes and said unhappily.
Xu Qianjiao looked at her mother eagerly and said pitifully, "Mom, will I have to go to the fields in a few days? Woo woo, I, I don't want to go to the fields."
She tugged at the corner of Xu's mother's clothes and acted coquettishly. Xu's mother reached out and knocked her on the head, saying unhappily, "What are you thinking about? How could your mother let you go to the fields?"
"Really?" Xu Qianjiao looked at Xu's mother with sparkling eyes, "Mom, you are so kind."
"That's right. I, your mother, am the best person in the world to you. You must be filial to me in the future." Mother Xu raised her head proudly. "But you still have to work, but it definitely won't be in the fields."
"Then what should I do?" Although Xu Qianjiao was a little disappointed, she was still satisfied. As long as it wasn't working in the fields, anything else was acceptable. "Is it cutting grass for pigs?"
It would be nice if it really was to pick grass for pigs. At least Qin Guizhi and I would have a companion. Picking grass for pigs is always easier than working in the fields.
Xu's mother shook her head and said, "No, picking grass for pigs is enough for people."
Nonsense, picking grass for pigs is such a simple thing that even children can do it. Children basically do this job to earn some work points after school. Now the girl from the Qin family also does this job, so there are enough people picking grass for pigs.
"What is that?" Xu Qianjiao asked in a depressed tone.
Mother Xu pursed her lips and smiled, then leaned close to Xu Qianjiao's ear mysteriously, "It's to feed the cows."
"Feed the cows?" Xu Qianjiao's eyes widened. She didn't expect to do this. This was even worse than picking grass for pigs.
Seeing her reluctance, Xu's mother knocked her head in frustration and said unhappily, "What else do you want to do? Forget about the job of holding a pen. Even Xu Qianrou can't get that, let alone you. Feeding cows is already a relatively easy job."
Xu Qianjiao thought about it and realized that even Xu Qianrou had to go to the fields to work. Although she didn't have much work to do, she still had to go to the fields. Although she didn't know why she was so insistent on going to the fields, perhaps this was the difference between people.
That’s right, Xu Qianrou didn’t have to go to the fields originally. Her uncle arranged for her to dry the grain in the warehouse, but she insisted on going to the fields with those educated youth, and she said that she wanted to be a brick of socialism, and she would move wherever she was needed. She wanted to contribute to socialism.
Now that she has said this, who would dare to stop her? It's not like she's not afraid of death.
"Okay, it's just a matter of feeding her for another two months. Winter is slowly approaching, and there are still two months until the complete winter break. You won't have to work then." Seeing that she was still unhappy, Xu's mother couldn't help but comfort her.
Xu Qianjiao figured it out, and immediately smiled. She held Xu's mother's hand with her little hand, and gently leaned her head on her shoulder, "I know, mother, my mother is still good to me."
Mother Xu tapped her forehead with her finger. "It's good that you know. Feeding cattle is an easy job. We don't need you to earn a cent. Over the years, the cents your father and I have earned are more than enough to support you."
"Hmm?" Xu Qianjiao looked at Xu's mother with a puzzled look. Hadn't their family always been sucking the blood of the eldest wife? Now it seemed that there seemed to be something hidden.
Seeing Xu Qianjiao still looking confused, Mother Xu's eyes were blazing with anger. She poked her head with her finger and said, "How stupid! How could your father and I give birth to such a stupid girl like you? You have no sense at all."
Then he took her hand and counted on his fingers. "Your father and I don't grow ten centimeters every day, but we still grow seven or eight centimeters a day. How much do we eat in a day for our family of three? Besides, your uncle spent a lot of money when he was the village chief, and how much did Kang Ge'er from the eldest family spend to join the army? Outsiders say that our family is sucking the blood of the eldest family, but if you calculate carefully, it's actually the eldest family who is taking advantage of us."
After hearing this, Xu Qianjiao understood. They usually said that Xu's father and mother were lazy, but they were not lazy actually. They were just lazy compared to hardworking people. Apart from spending some money on their studies, their family basically spent the rest of the money on the eldest wife. Moreover, there were few people in their own family, while there were many people in the eldest wife's family, so it was hard to say who would get the advantage.
It turns out that Xu's father and mother knew all this. They were lazy probably because they knew that their family had been taken advantage of. They knew that even if they worked harder, the money would not fall into their heads, so they just took it easy so quietly.
Mother Xu nodded at Xu Qianjiao's head and said with a look of regret: "You should be more confident in the future, otherwise what will you do when you get married into your husband's family?"
Hearing this, Xu Qianjiao hugged her mother's hand and said nonchalantly, "Then don't get married. I'll stay at home and accompany you and dad."
"Go away, we don't want you to accompany us, just take care of yourself." Xu's mother said with pretended disgust, but she couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth.
Xu's mother stuck her head out to check the sky. "Come, serve the food. Your grandma and the others are getting ready to come back."
"good."
After Xu Qianjiao served the meal and put it on the table, everyone came back one after another. The whole family was seated completely full. The task of distributing the meal was still done by Grandma Xu, who distributed the meal to everyone from the oldest to the youngest.
Xu Qianjiao took her own bowl of rice, but found that she could not eat anymore. After all, she had just finished a grilled fish. She took two symbolic bites and then divided the sweet potato rice among Grandma Xu, Xu's father and Xu's mother.
"Jiaojiao, grandma doesn't want that. Look at you, you're so thin. You need to eat more." Grandma Xu said to Xu Qianjiao with a distressed look on her face.
"Grandma, you eat. Jiaojiao, you stay at home, so you can eat less. Grandma has worked hard, so you should eat more." Xu Qianjiao said with admiration.
Grandma Xu felt warm in her heart when she saw how much Xu Qianjiao cared about her. She thought that her love for this granddaughter was not in vain.
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