It was all her fault that she delayed her daughter's development.
When she thought about how she had never enjoyed a single day of happiness since she was a child and how she died tragically in the end... Du Xiaoying felt so regretful that her intestines turned green. She was the one who harmed her daughter.
Du Xiaoying slapped the kang and said, "Go to school, everyone. Mom also went to school for a few years when she was young. I will teach you how to read at home first, and then you can go to school when school starts in the fall."
Daya and Erya suddenly raised their heads, their big eyes flashing with disbelief.
"But... I'm already this old, won't people laugh at me if I go to school?" Daya bit her lip. She had seen how difficult it had been for her mother over the years and didn't want to add to the burden on her family.
"Don't let your imagination run wild. As long as you want to make progress, it's never too late. Laugh if others laugh. You'll still make a living anyway."
Du Xiaoying hugged Daya and looked at the children tenderly, "Mom doesn't ask you to achieve anything great, I just hope you can be safe and happy in this life, and that your parents are there for you in everything."
Song Guoliang said in a deep voice, "Well, your mother is right. Dad didn't go to school when he was young. It was only after he joined the army that he started to learn to read and write. If he couldn't read, he wouldn't even know the difference between money and notes. It's like today when our house was robbed and we couldn't even tell if there was any money missing."
The sisters nodded in unison, "Mom and Dad, we will study hard."
The couple smiled at each other.
"I'll find some time to go to the scrap yard to see if there are any textbooks or something. Da Ya and Er Ya, take the sisters to wash up and go to bed first. Mom and Dad have something to talk to."
Seeing her daughters leave, Du Xiaoying turned around and was about to speak when she met the man who was sitting upright. He had a serious and tense face, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help twitching. He lowered his voice and quickly recounted the incident.
"What?"
Even the usually calm and serious Song Guoliang's expression changed. He restrained his expression and lowered his voice, "Is that thing still there?"
Du Xiaoying nodded, "Yeah."
"If anyone finds out, our whole family will be ruined. We have to find a good place to hide."
Du Xiaoying narrowed her eyes. "How about hiding it in the cellar? It's more secretive. Even if it's accidentally discovered, we can say it's a legacy left by the old landlord."
"Yeah." Song Guoliang raised his eyebrows, a hint of surprise flashed in his dark eyes. Without thinking too much, he quickly took out the five heavy gold bars from the secret compartment, picked up the flashlight on the kang and went to the dark cellar.
......
"Da Ya's mother, are you really splitting up?"
"Has your Guoliang really retired from the army?"
"You two are really brave. The worst that can happen is just a matter of enduring it. How dare you move into that old house? Aren't you afraid of—" The middle-aged woman swallowed the rest of her words, shuddered, and looked scared.
As soon as she got to work today, Du Xiaoying was surrounded by a group of curious aunts and sisters-in-law, who all asked her about the family division that happened two days ago.
"If I had no other choice, why would I, a woman, move? I'm afraid that if his father and I weren't home one day, all the children would be gone." Du Xiaoying covered her face and sobbed, saying she was forced to do so...
"Aunts and sisters-in-law, you may not know this yet, but my daughter, Daya, is only 14 years old. A few days ago, her grandparents nearly sold her off to get a dowry for my eldest brother's son, Longlong. That old widower could have been Daya's father at that age. If I hadn't returned in time, and since moving in...
At night, the house was filled with ghosts howling and the kids were scared...”
The women immediately thought of the story about the old landlord's house being haunted in the village. Their faces turned pale with fear and they all showed expressions of sympathy.
"This... You can't do such a thing just to exchange for the betrothal gift. After all, they are Daya's grandparents. How can they be so cruel?"
"I don't know either. We have the allowance sent back by my husband from his military service, but he still insisted on selling my eldest daughter..." Du Xiaoying said, covering her mouth in panic, with an expression as if she had accidentally let the cat out of the bag, and forced a smile that was uglier than crying.
"Stop talking so much and get to work."
"This... The Song family is still accusing the second son and his wife of being unfilial. It seems they are just trying to turn the tables."
"The Song family is so wicked, I think it's just their nature."
Listening to the whispers around her, Du Xiaoying lowered her eyes to hide the overwhelming hatred in them. Right and wrong are not determined by what you say. I will also let you taste the feeling of having your spine broken.
......
In the evening, after work, men, women, young and old line up in their respective teams in the threshing ground, waiting to have their work points recorded and their tools returned.
"Mom, look, we have picked a lot of pig grass." San Ya held her two younger sisters' hands, and her small backpack was full.
"Mom, my sister and I got eight work points today, and my sister got five points by herself." Erya also ran over, pulling Daya with her, asking for credit with a blushing face.
Du Xiaoying looked at her eldest daughter, who was embarrassed and lowered her head. There was no joy on her face, only infinite heartache. "Don't work so hard in the future. Take a break when you are tired."
"Mom, Daya is not tired."
The more sensible Daya was, the more distressed Du Xiaoying felt. She raised her hand and touched her daughter's yellow and bare braids, "Be obedient. You are all my precious children. I am so tired and distressed."
When the sisters heard what their mother said, they couldn't stop smiling on their little faces and were very happy.
It was still early when work was over, so adults and children all carried baskets and went up the mountain to pick up branches, wild vegetables and mountain products.
Every household in the village saves firewood and food bit by bit so that they won't suffer from the cold and hunger during the winter.
"You guys pick it up here, I'll go inside." Du Xiaoying put Wu Ya down from her arms and walked to the place where they were last time.
Sure enough, a lot of wood ear mushrooms emerged from the shade of the trees. Du Xiaoying quickly picked them all up and put them into her backpack. Even the wolfberry forest from last time was full of red wolfberries again.
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