Chapter 2

Tang Qingqing ran all the way home, and the villagers only felt a gust of wind blowing past her, and then she disappeared.

"You're really scared! You're running so fast that I thought you were a wild boar coming down the mountain!"

When Old Mrs. Wu saw a shadow suddenly rush into the courtyard, she was really frightened and quickly picked up a wooden stick beside her.

As a result, it turned out to be Tang Qingqing.

Tang Qingqing cried for milk, put the basin on the ground, and ran into her room in a flash, slamming the door shut.

The movements are done in one go without any hiccups.

"What's going on?"

Tang Qingqing shouted in the room, "Grandma, it's okay. Go and do your thing. I'll be out in a while to hang the clothes out."

Old Mrs. Wu was puzzled and didn't ask any further questions, but just said:

"Hurry up and don't delay herding the sheep."

"Grandma, I understand."

Tang Qingqing shouted as she took out the needle and thread.

Five-year-old Tang Qiaoqiao had already woken up at this time. When she saw Tang Qingqing enter the room, she smiled sweetly, but when she saw clearly, her eyes widened.

"Wow, sis! Your pants..."

Tang Qingqing covered her mouth with one hand: "Stop making noise."

If this matter gets out, it will be a disgrace to the adults.

Tang Qiaoqiao nodded repeatedly, and Tang Qingqing finally let go of her hand.

"Sister, why are your pants so torn?" Tang Qiaoqiao asked softly.

Tang Qingqing looked embarrassed and tried to get away with it vaguely.

In the dream, she could bend her legs backwards and pull her calves to the back of her head. She felt it was very magical. Her legs were like vines and she could twist them however she wanted. She felt itchy in her heart and wanted to try it.

But as soon as he lifted his legs, his pants were torn.

Tang Qingqing threaded the needle skillfully, took off her trousers and sewed them.

She only had two pairs of trousers, one of which she had just washed. If she didn't sew the other pair together, she would have nothing to wear when she went out.

The Tang family lived a pretty good life in the village thanks to help from their uncle Tang Jianguo from time to time.

At least girls like them have a change of clothes for every season.

Many of these clothes were discarded by Tang Zhenzhen and her siblings, but they still look very good and some of them don't even have a patch.

Although Zhao Dahua was not happy, Tang Qingqing was the oldest child in the family. If the clothes were to be taken apart and shrunk to be worn by younger children, it would be a shame and was not allowed, so Tang Qingqing often got to wear them first.

It was not until the past two years, when her younger brother Tang Xingwang grew taller and Tang Qingqing became thinner, that Tang Qingqing started to wear the clothes that Tang Xingwang had left behind.

She didn't think it was a big deal. After all, her younger brothers and sisters had worn her clothes before, so she couldn't just be unhappy when it was her turn.

As for the skirts that Tang Zhenzhen discarded, Tang Qingqing basically didn't take any of them, because she thought it was inconvenient to work in a skirt.

The tear was a bit big. Nowadays cotton cloth is not durable, and Tang Xingwang was not a man who took good care of it. By the time it was Tang Qingqing's turn to wear them, the trousers were already very fragile.

This took Tang Qingqing a lot of effort to sew the pants.

Old Mrs. Wu was already outside urging them to leave: "It's getting late. If you don't leave now, it will be too late. Shuanzi from Group 2 has already driven the sheep up the mountain."

“Here it comes!”

Tang Qingqing quickly put on her pants and took a breath while doing so.

The throbbing pain in my thigh must have been caused by the tendons being stretched when I crossed my legs.

"Sister, what's wrong with you?" Tang Qiaoqiao noticed that something was wrong with her.

"It's OK."

Tang Qingqing put on her pants and thought to herself that dancing was not a job for ordinary people. Pressing her legs like this every day was more painful than having her legs chopped off.

When Tang Qingqing walked out of the room, she found that the clothes had been hung out to dry.

Old Mrs. Wu said unhappily, "Your aunt is here to dry the sheep. You should be back soon after you finish drying the sheep. Luckily, your parents went to work early today. If they had seen you procrastinating like this, they would have beaten you to death."

If you delay and lose this job, I'll see how you'll explain it. If it happens again, don't blame me for not speaking up for you in the future."

Old Mrs. Wu turned around and went into the house with her hands behind her back, very dissatisfied with Tang Qingqing's performance today.

Tang Qingqing stuck out her tongue and thanked her aunt Wang Simei again: "Aunt, thank you for your help!"

Aunt Wang Simei was chopping pig grass nearby and smiled at her.

When she saw Old Lady Wu enter the room, she quickly pulled Tang Qingqing to a corner.

Wang Simei was very small, not much taller than the undeveloped Tang Qingqing.

It is not easy for a small person to give birth to a child. She almost lost her life when she gave birth to her first child.

Because of this, it was even more difficult for her to get married for the second time, so she married her disabled uncle Tang Jianshe.

Several years after they got married, Wang Simei gave birth to Tang Qiaoqiao, and then she was never able to get pregnant again.

Wang Simei is small in stature but very hardworking. Not only does she go to the brigade to earn work points, she also does a lot of chores at home and often helps Tang Qingqing.

Wang Simei looked into the room and saw that Old Lady Wu was busy and not paying attention to the outside, so she quickly stuffed two mixed vegetable steamed buns into Tang Qingqing's mouth.

"Aunt, this is too much."

The mixed vegetable steamed buns they made were as big as a fist, and Tang Qingqing was full after eating just one.

When food was tight at home, she could only get half a meal.

When she goes out, she usually only brings one or one and a half with her, and they last for the whole day.

"Take it. The harvest is good this year. We are not as nervous as before."

The autumn harvest has just passed, and piles of grain have been stored in the warehouse. Everyone is more confident than in previous years.

"But if you are discovered..."

Wang Simei also had a hard time in this family. She couldn't give birth to a son in her second marriage and was not welcomed in the countryside.

If she stole the steamed buns and was found out by Old Lady Wu or Zhao Dahua, she would definitely be scolded.

"It's okay, go quickly, don't delay anything."

Wang Simei went back to chop pig grass. Her slender wrists were very powerful and she chopped a lot in a short while.

Tang Qingqing pursed her lips, stuffed the steamed bun into her pocket, and hurried to the brigade's sheepfold.

When she arrived at the sheep farm, the only sheep left were those she was in charge of.

The master who was guarding the sheepfold saw that she was late for sex, but he was not angry.

"Did your parents assign you work again today?"

Tang Qingqing was not liked by her parents. Everyone in the team knew about it, and many people did not take it seriously, thinking that a country girl was worthless.

Zhao Dahua has been assigning Tang Qingqing a lot of work lately, so Tang Qingqing, who was always the first to let the sheep out, is now often the last one. That's why the master mentioned this.

Tang Qingqing smiled at the master and said, "Master, I'm leaving first."

"Go ahead, go ahead. Be careful and don't run too far. I heard that the neighboring brigade encountered wolves while herding sheep a while ago and lost several sheep."

Tang Qingqing responded crisply and whipped the sheep to drive them into the mountains.

There was no grass on the nearby mountains. She arrived late and the grass nearby was already occupied by other flocks of sheep, so she had to hurry to a farther place.

Herding sheep is not an easy job. You have to cross mountains and ridges and keep an eye on the sheep to prevent them from going astray.

If the sheep were lost, it would be a big problem, as the sheep are the collective property of the brigade.

One of the important sources of income for Rongshan Brigade is this flock of sheep.

The autumn heat was fierce. By the time Tang Qingqing drove the sheep to a suitable hilltop, the sun had already risen very high.

She found a shady place to sit down, took out the gourd from her waist and drank some water while chewing a steamed bun with mixed vegetables.

There are a lot of vegetables and cornmeal in the steamed bun, which tastes a bit astringent and needs to be swallowed with water.

Eating half a bun used up half a gourd of water. Her stomach felt full at this point, so Tang Qingqing took out a sickle and cut some reeds nearby.

The wicker is now soft and strong, not easily broken, and very suitable for weaving into baskets.

Not only can the baskets be used at home, but the extra ones can also be sold to supply and marketing cooperatives.

The supply and marketing cooperative collects baskets. Each basket can be sold for one to two or three cents, depending on its size. If you are quick with your hands, you can make several dollars in a month.

We should stock up on reeds now so that we can have time to weave baskets in the winter when we are not so busy.

If you can’t use it up in the current year, you can continue to use it in the next year. Soaking it in water for half a month will restore its toughness.

At this time of year every year, Tang Qingqing would herd sheep while cutting weeds.

After cutting the vines, Tang Qingqing was not idle either. She carried a basket and used tongs made of branches to pick up sheep dung.

Raising sheep not only increases income for the brigade, but also provides a lot of sheep manure as fertilizer.

Therefore, every shepherd not only has to herd the sheep, but also has to pick up the sheep dung.

That day, Tang Qingqing did not stop except for taking a break to eat.

Seeing that the sun was almost setting, Tang Qingqing carried a bundle of twigs on her back and a large basket of sheep dung in her hands, and drove the sheep back.

Because she was not far away, she came back earlier. On the way back, she saw another group of sheep still on the mountain.

Tang Qingqing knew which group of sheep they belonged to as soon as she saw them. She stretched her head to look for the shepherd and soon saw a small figure huddled halfway up the mountain.

"Cao'er, it's getting late. Let's go back together."

Wang Cao'er didn't move, so Tang Qingqing shouted again at the top of her voice.

"Sister Qingqing...wow——"

When Wang Cao'er saw Tang Qingqing, she couldn't hold back her tears any longer.

Tang Qingqing was startled and ran over to see what was going on.

"What's going on? Did Heizi bully you? I'm going to beat him down right away. He's been bullying people all day long!"

Wang Cao'er is only ten years old this year. In their group, two people look after the sheep together, and the number of sheep is a few more than that of Tang Qingqing's group.

Together with Wang Cao'er is her cousin Wang Heizi, who is one year younger than Tang Qingqing and likes to run around like a monkey.

He was a man who loved playing pranks. He had once put earrings on Wang Cao'er's head and rubbed it, causing Wang Cao'er to have to shave her hair. For a while, she had to wear a headscarf before going out.

Tang Qingqing was almost caught in the trap, so she beat Wang Heizi to death, which made the boy dare not provoke her.

When herding sheep, he just wanted to play, and he pushed the tasks of picking up sheep dung and watching the sheep to his cousin who was two years younger than him.

Wang Cao'er saw Tang Qingqing rolling up her sleeves, looking like she was going to fight, and quickly grabbed her clothes.

"That's not the case, Sister Qingqing. I am the one who caused the big trouble this time."

"What's wrong? What happened?"

Wang Cao'er's face was filled with despair, and she sobbed, "The sheep, the sheep, the sheep is lost!"

As a shepherd, if I lost my sheep, it would be a serious matter and I would definitely be criticized by the team.

Not only will work points be deducted, but you will also be made an example of someone else.

The most important thing is that the losses are too great.

She is so scared that she doesn't know what to do and doesn't even dare to go home.

"Don't worry, tell me how and when you lost them? How many were lost?"

"I don't know when I lost them. They were all there when the sun was overhead. I went to cut wicker, and in that short time two sheep were missing."

Wang Cao'er trembled, two sheep!

If she lost this, her family would beat her to death.

She was already disliked by her family because she was a girl, and then she caused such a scene...

Wang Cao'er even wanted to jump into the river, not daring to face what was about to happen.

"What did the two lost sheep look like?"

"ah?"

"Is it a big sheep or a small sheep? Is it white or black? Is it male or female? What does its horns look like? How does it hum? How does it run and jump? The more detailed you know, the better."

Wang Cao'er has been herding sheep for two years. She has always been conscientious and is very familiar with these sheep.

Although she didn't understand why Tang Qingqing asked these questions, she answered honestly:

"Both are rams, both are white, and their horns are like this..."

Wang Cao'er spoke in great detail, which showed that she had been observing carefully.

As she spoke, she felt more and more upset, and tears fell one by one.

"It's all my fault. If I had been keeping an eye on it, this wouldn't have happened."

Wang Cao'er usually kept a close eye on it, but when the vines were ready to be cut, her family let her cut the vines while she was herding sheep.

Many shepherds do this, and Wang Cao'er had no way of refusing, so he distracted himself and did other things.

Unexpectedly, she would encounter such an unfortunate accident!

"Where's Heizi? Did he run away on his own because of you?"

“No, no.” Wang Cao’er waved her hands. “Brother Heizi went to look for the sheep. He asked me to watch over them here.”

"Humph! I'm not that kind of person! Don't underestimate me."

Wang Heizi had just come back when he heard Tang Qingqing say that to him, and he felt very unhappy.

"I, Wang Heizi, am nothing special except that I am extremely loyal! If you really can't find the sheep, just blame it on me, I won't even blink an eye."

Tang Qingqing was also very direct: "I was wrong to blame you, I'm sorry."

When Wang Heizi heard this, he suddenly felt refreshed and his chin was raised high.

"Brother, have you found the sheep?"

Wang Heizi's smug face suddenly fell.

"not……"

Wang Heizi was not afraid of being scolded, but he felt sorry for the sheep.

Not only did he not win honor for the brigade, he also lost important property of the brigade, which made Wang Heizi feel very upset.

The last bit of luster on Wang Cao'er's hopeful little face instantly lost.

Tang Qingqing remained calm: "Don't worry, I will help you get the sheep back."

Wang Heizi pouted: "I just looked around and didn't see a single strand of wool. How could you possibly find it?"

"Just because you can't find it doesn't mean I can't find it."

Tang Qingqing's tone was calm and confident, which gave Wang Cao'er a glimmer of hope.

Wang Heizi still didn't believe it. He had just searched carefully for a long time but found nothing, not even a shadow of it.

Tang Qingqing didn't explain much, "Cao'er, drive all the sheep back and tell the guard that we can get them back within three days."

Wang Heizi frowned: "From what you said, you want to keep it a secret from the brigade and not report it?"

"You know what's going on with Cao'er at home. If the team knew about it, her parents would know about it, and she would be beaten tonight. Even if she is found later, she will still be beaten now."

"But if you can't find the sheep and take so long to report it to the team, you will be held responsible. You will also be dragged into this and criticized. Don't forget that your situation is not much better than Cao'er's."

Before Tang Qingqing could even open her mouth, Wang Caoer quickly interrupted:

"Sister Qingqing, whether I can find it or not, I won't let you down. You just want to help me, so I won't be so ungrateful. I will say it was my idea, and I will take all the punishments and penalties on my own."

Wang Heizi glared: "Do you really believe her?"

Wang Cao'er had a bitter face. She was actually unsure in her heart, but she thought that it was better to delay it for one day than another. It was better to have hope than no hope.

"Cao'er, you have to think carefully. If you say it now, it will be different from what you say two days later."

Wang Cao'er's face wrinkled, "Brother, I really have no other choice. I want to give it a try, and I won't blame anyone if it doesn't work.

When I played hide-and-seek with Sister Qingqing before, she was especially good at finding people. No matter where they hid, she could always find them. When Auntie Zhou's cat was lost, it was Sister Qingqing who found it. Maybe... maybe she can find the sheep."

Wang Heizi said nothing.

Wang Cao'er: "Brother, just pretend you don't know about this. I won't implicate you."

"Am I that kind of person? We were herding sheep together, so I am also responsible if they get lost. I'll give it a try, the worst that can happen is that I'll get beaten up a few times. I don't want to herd sheep anymore, so I can change to something else in the future."

Wang Heizi looked at Tang Qingqing. The two had fought before and their relationship was not good.

At this time, he no longer cared about the little grudges in the past and said seriously:

"If you can really find the sheep, I will recognize you as the boss from now on. If you can't find it, we won't drag you into this."

Tang Qingqing stretched out her fist: "Truth makes you grow taller, lies breaks your legs."

Wang Heizi clenched his fist and hit back, "If I regret it, I will never have meat to eat again."