Chapter 27
Seeing Tang Xingwang in this state, Wu Dazhun decided to send him back to his aunt's house personally and have a talk with her.
It's not good to raise a boy like this, he won't be able to handle anything in the future.
Tang Xingwang never imagined that his uncle's family, who had always been kind to him, could be so terrifying when they got angry.
Tang Qingqing didn't want to go with them, "I still want to go find those two sheep."
Wu Dazhui disagreed: "It's winter and it's snowing, where are you going to find it? You're a girl, stay at home and don't go out and wander around."
Wu Dazhui's wife, Aunt Zhao, also said, "That's right. You are growing up now. Girls can't be frozen. If you damage their roots, you won't be able to have children in the future."
"Why are you telling this to a child?"
"Why can't I tell them? If I don't tell them, they won't take it to heart, and I'll suffer a great loss in the future. I regret not telling Erniu properly at the beginning, and later I hurt myself because of my ignorance. Now I look so old at such a young age."
When talking about the past, Aunt Zhao couldn't help but tear up.
Wu Dazhui was most impatient when women brought up old matters, but at this moment he couldn't say anything.
Tang Qingqing quickly spoke up to resolve the awkward situation: "Uncle, did you hear how our team solved the arson case?"
"I heard it was a little girl..." Wu Dazhui just mentioned it, and immediately reacted, "Could that little girl be you?"
Wu Dazhun was not familiar with Tang Qingqing. He would only visit her aunt occasionally during the Chinese New Year.
But he would just give a gift and leave, he wouldn't stay there long.
As he got older, he often sent his eldest son to visit, and he went less often.
Therefore, he knew that there was such a girl, but he had no idea what she looked like or how old she was. He had to work backwards from Tang Xingwang before he could think of Tang Qingqing.
So when he heard that it was a little girl who found out who set the fire, he never thought of Tang Qingqing at all.
When he asked the eldest son to bring some rice and flour over, no one in my aunt's family mentioned this matter.
"Yes, that's me."
When Tang Xingwang heard Tang Qingqing mention this, he felt that he had finally found his opportunity.
"It's all because she learned some kind of code and asked me to learn it. If I hadn't learned it, I wouldn't be able to chase the sheep if it ran away... Ouch!"
Tang Xingwang was punched by Wu Dazhuan, and unlike the beatings he received at home, this punch was really powerful, and tears burst out of his eyes.
"Uncle, why did you hit me? How did you become like this?"
Wu Dazhui snorted coldly: "If I knew you were such a rascal, I would have disciplined you on behalf of your grandma. You still have the nerve to complain. Your sister learned this skill and wanted to teach you, but instead of being grateful, you blamed her. How could you be so capable?"
Tang Xingwang was not convinced: "Uncle, why are you so partial to her now? She is just a little girl, and I am the eldest son and grandson of our family."
"You know that you are the eldest son and grandson, and the future pillar of the family, but you are still so naive. You always blame others for everything you encounter. If you rely on you, your family will collapse in the future!"
Once Wu Dazhui became serious, especially acting like a patriarch, Tang Xingwang no longer dared to talk back. He shrank aside feeling aggrieved, thinking that he had been extremely unlucky recently.
Wu Dazhu didn't know what a trace was, but knowing that Tang Qingqing had the ability, he didn't stop her.
After all, two sheep are a huge fortune for farmers, and it would be even better if they could catch them.
But he couldn't help but grumble, "Why teach this skill to a girl? A boy would be better."
Tang Qingqing heard it and couldn't help but speak out:
"Uncle, there's nothing I can do about it. God made me learn it, but no boy can do it."
Ever since she became famous for the arson case, many people have been interested and want to learn this skill.
No one dared to disturb the weird old Liu, or if they did go there they would be ignored, so they turned their attention to Tang Qingqing.
Tang Qingqing did not refuse and asked them to observe the sheep in the village. When they could identify the sheep based on their footprints, they should come to find her.
This is how she was initially assessed before being accepted by Old Liu.
During that time, she wished she could live with the sheep. She was closer to them than her brothers, and was even laughed at for being insane.
As a result, no one could keep calm. They squatted on the ground for less than two days before running away.
Even when the elders at home started scolding them, the children were not afraid and shouted, "If you have the ability, go and watch it yourself. If you can't do it yourself, how can your children do it?"
For a while, the team was in chaos and it was very lively.
Wu Dazhuan was choked and spoke after a while:
"Hey, you are a smart one, why aren't you a boy? Your Tang family is really weird, your brains are all on girls' heads. There was a smart one, but he was adopted."
The more Wu Dazhui thought about it, the more he felt that his aunt had done a stupid thing. At that time, his father had said that if he wanted to adopt, he wanted to adopt Tang Jianjun as well. This little son was too delicate and not suitable to support the family.
Tang Jianguo was different. He looked smart and reliable, so he was willing to stay by her side to take care of her in her old age. But her aunt refused to listen.
Look at what the Tang family’s children have become now.
At the moment, the most capable one is a girl, but she is of no use at all.
Wu Dazhuan asked his youngest son Wu Xiaoliu, the only unmarried son, and his eldest grandson Wu Heqing to accompany Tang Qingqing to look for sheep, while he took his eldest son and escorted Tang Xingwang back to Rongshan Brigade.
Wu Xiaoliu is about the same height as Zhai Hongyi, but is half a head shorter.
He was a lively man and kept chattering along the way, asking Tang Qingqing about the arson case.
He had heard about it before. Everyone said it was magical and that the girl who found the arsonist had a pair of divine eyes.
He had always wanted to meet her, but he never expected that the little girl with the divine eyes was actually my aunt's daughter.
This made him very happy, and he kept jumping around Tang Qingqing like Sun Wukong.
On the contrary, Wu Heqing, who was only twelve years old, was mature and would hold his uncle back from time to time, asking him not to cause trouble for Tang Qingqing.
As the night went on, the footprints became harder to find.
Fortunately, the snow had stopped by then, and the sun was high in the sky, so our view was not blocked.
Tang Qingqing found the mark she had made with a stone yesterday, and walked forward for about a mile before she found the sheep's traces, which gave Tang Qingqing a little more confidence.
Tang Qingqing kept bending over, sweeping the snow and checking at the same time. At first Wu Heqing and Wu Xiaoliu were helping, but soon Wu Xiaoliu couldn't stand it anymore.
No wonder Tang Qingqing is the only one who has learned this skill. It is too tiring.
It was completely different from what he had imagined. It was clearly hard work.
Wu Xiaoliu was jumping around and playing, shaking the snow on the trees and letting it fall all over him, and then seeing Tang Qingqing wandering around in the same place without moving, he went to make a snowman.
On the contrary, Wu Heqing followed Tang Qingqing silently and served as her assistant without any impatience.
Tang Qingqing had a very good impression of Wu Heqing. She thought that the Wu family had trained this eldest son and grandson to be the one who could take charge, and that he would be much more reliable in doing things.
The three of them set out early in the morning and searched until about 3:00 p.m. Wu Xiaoliu had already asked countless times:
"Are you done yet? How long will it take?"
This time he couldn't help but say: "I guess we can't find the sheep, let's just give up. It's getting late now, if we don't hurry back it will be dark, and this place will be dangerous."
Tang Qingqing was unwilling, but she had to admit that Wu Xiaoliu's words made sense.
It is still relatively safe during the day, but it may not be the case at night. The wolf howling yesterday was real.
"Let's go back and look back."
Wu Xiaoliu: "Are you still coming?"
"We have to look for it."
Wu Xiaoliu gave her a thumbs up and said, "You are much more reliable than Tang Xingwang."
"Hush!" Wu Heqing suddenly spoke.
Tang Qingqing and Wu Xiaoliu were startled and didn't dare to say a word.
Wu Heqing tilted his ears and listened to something.
Wu Xiaoliu put away his playful smile, pulled out the axe from behind him, protected Tang Qingqing behind him, and stared at the surroundings closely.
"Uncle, sister, over there!"
Wu Heqing suddenly started running, and Tang Qingqing and Wu Xiaoliu hurriedly followed.
After running about a hundred meters, I heard a bleating sound.
Tang Qingqing's eyes lit up, "It's sheep, it must be them!"
The three of them followed the sound and saw two sheep hiding in a narrow gap. They were the two lost sheep!
The two sheep recognized Tang Qingqing and came out quickly when they saw her.
When the two sheep were trying to get out of the narrow gap together, they got squeezed together and got stuck at the entrance of the cave. It took them a long time to get out.
The three found the sheep and laughed happily.
Along the way, Wu Xiaoliu was humming a song, his voice was so loud and clear that it echoed between heaven and earth.
Tang Qingqing: "Uncle, you sing so beautifully, in tunes I've never heard of before."
Wu Xiaoliu laughed cheerfully: "I composed all these songs. How are they? Are they cool?"
"Very powerful."
"There are more exciting ones, but it's a pity that I can't sing them to a little girl like you."
Tang Qingqing was puzzled: "Why?"
Wu Xiaoliu frowned and said, "Don't just say you can't listen, He Qing can't listen either."
Tang Qingqing became even more curious.
Wu Heqing: "Sister, he is always not serious."
Tang Qingqing seemed to have thought of something, with an expression that said, "Why are you that kind of person?"
Wu Xiaoliu was so embarrassed when he was looked at: "I am different from you little brats. In two years, I will be able to get married."
Speaking of this topic, Wu Xiaoliu is full of longing.
"I hope my wife can be good-looking and give me a smart baby. It would be best if she is like Qingqing. If she is like Heqing, it will be a disaster."
Wu Heqing rolled his eyes at him, but he wasn't angry.
Tang Qingqing smiled and said, "If you were a girl like me, you would definitely cry."
"Nonsense, I only like girls, not boys."
Tang Qingqing didn't take his words seriously. She had never seen anyone in the countryside who didn't like boys.
雖然也不是每家都不把女娃娃當人看，很多人家也是很寵着女孩的，可到底還是覺得生男孩更好。
男孩才是家裏撐事的，女娃娃以後就是嫁出去的，是別家的人了。
和唐興旺回大隊，被一群人指着教訓不同。
唐青青領着兩只羊回村，見到的全都嚷嚷了起來。
“哎喲喂，青丫頭把羊找回來了！青丫頭把羊找回來了！”
這一叫喚，引來不少人出門圍觀。
“還真找回來了，這也太能耐了！”
“我早知道青丫頭能找回來，連放火的都能找回來，找羊更容易。”
‘找回來就好，找回來就好，今年已經很難過了，再丢羊可就更難熬了。”
不少人都上前誇贊唐青青能幹，桂花嬸還走到唐青青身邊。
“你這丫頭真是太能耐了，今晚可得讓家裏做點好吃的補補。”
唐青青笑笑沒說話。
桂花嬸卻不在意，繼續道：
“你大弟弟被嚴厲批評了，身上還挂了處分。昨天可把大家夥凍壞了，大家那着急得不行，好家夥他倒是睡得安穩。”
大隊長回來沒說啥，可跟着一塊的人卻是忍不住，尤其是王黑子到處宣揚唐興旺幹的爛事。
桂花嬸一路跟着唐青青回到家，在家門口就故意大聲嚷嚷。
“青青，你立了大功勞，今晚必須獎勵你兩個雞蛋才像樣！”
院子裏沒有動靜看，桂花嬸嗤了一聲。
“看這小氣勁兒。”
吳小六和吳和慶兩叔侄都沒吭聲，跟着唐青青回家了。
兩人以前都來過榕山大隊，所以也不陌生。
此時家裏的氣氛不大好，唐興旺剛被罰了，還被胖揍了一頓，現在躺在炕上蒙頭哭呢。
吳大錘和吳老大看幾人走進來，朝着他們點點頭，面色也還好。
吳老太、唐建軍和趙大花的臉色就不大好看了，看到唐青青也沒啥好臉色。
得知兩只羊被找到，吳大錘發話了。
“青丫頭做得不錯，好歹把你們家的名聲挽回來了。雖然是個丫頭，可也是唐家的驕傲。”
吳大錘說着又望向吳老太：“小姑，女娃娃可以寵，男娃娃尤其是最大的，是不能寵着慣着的，是得捶打的。”
吳大錘雖然是晚輩，可他也沒比吳老太小太多，而且從小就是個撐事的。
父親年紀大之後，整個家就是他在撐着，幾個弟弟妹妹的婚事都是他張羅的，很有大家長做派，在吳老太面前反倒更像長輩。
吳老太低着頭沒吭聲，吳大錘又道：“啥事都撐不起來，你還指望誰給你養老啊？”
吳老太這才緩緩擡頭，雖然依然沒說話，吳大錘卻知道她聽進去了。
“行了，天色已經不早了，小六他們也回來了，我們現在也該走了。”
吳老太連忙道：“咋現在就走了，吃個晚飯再走吧。我們現在就去張羅，老大家的，老大家的……”
吳大錘攔住她：“小姑，不用麻煩了。我們先走了，您也別嫌棄我們多事，我也是恨鐵不成鋼。我爹走的時候，就跟我說得拉拔咱們家的人，尤其是您，從小就是個命苦的，更得照拂着。”
“大侄子，我知道的。”吳老太悄悄抹了一把淚。
雖然再三挽留，吳大錘幾人還是執意要離開。
臨走前，大伯母塞了幾個烤好的番薯讓他們在路上帶着。
幾人也沒有拒絕，全都拿了。
吳大錘離開時，還不忘将唐青青招到跟前。
“你這丫頭一看就是個有主意的，看着點家裏，你們家這麽下去可不行。以後遇到什麽事，就來找大伯。”
唐青青點頭應下。
吳小六竄到唐青青身邊：“小侄女，我回頭來找你玩！來給你撐腰！”
吳家三人風風火火地來，又風風火火地走了。
原本擁擠的屋子，瞬間變得冷清不少。
一直憋着不敢吭聲的趙大花終于忍不住抱怨：“這是我們唐家的事，他們吳家算那根蔥，竟然管起我們家的事。”
吳老太聽這話不樂意了：“要是沒有吳家，就沒有咱們唐家！建軍家的，你再這麽胡咧咧，看我怎麽讓建軍教訓你。”
“我說的難道不對？興旺可是你大孫子，你竟然眼睜睜看着他被打成這樣。”
趙大花又氣又委屈，丢了羊本來就擔驚受怕的，還公開被教訓批評。
他們安撫還來不及，吳大錘就說得動用家法，把唐興旺胖揍一頓，不是自己的子孫，就是不知道心疼。
家法，這是誰家的家法啊！
唐建軍也很不服氣，可他從小就怕這個吳大錘，在他面前一聲不敢吭。
吳老太也很是心疼，可一碼歸一碼。
“我當然心疼，可這也是為了他成才！當初要是沒有吳家，我一個寡婦早就被生吞活剝了，你們這幾個孩子現在還能剩下幾個？
當初建軍還差點被拐子給帶跑了，也是大錘帶着人把他給搶回來的！我們有了吳家做靠山，這才沒有被村裏人欺負，沒有被你們那些叔伯把家裏的東西都給瓜分了！”
這些年她出錢出力維系兩家關系，還不是為了這個家着想。
瞧瞧別的寡婦，哪裏有他們家這麽好的？
丈夫沒走幾天，大晚上就有閑漢在屋外頭扒門了。
被人瞧見，大家只會覺得是寡婦耐不住寂寞，才勾得男人上門。
有男人的女人，看到她都警醒着，生怕她把自己男人給勾走了。
當初家裏孩子還小，老大還是那情況，連地都種不了幾畝，都是靠娘家人尤其是吳大錘一家幫襯的。
吳老太當然知道兒媳在背後覺得自己太喜歡補貼娘家，可這種情況，她是不是該補貼？
唐建軍不耐煩：“媽，這都是啥年月的事了。現在我們家早就立起來了，全大隊的人誰敢欺負？”
“你個忘恩負義的……”
後面吳老太再罵什麽，唐青青也沒聽見了，她直接給溜了。
這些話翻來覆去地說，她聽得耳朵都起繭子了。
唐建軍夫妻也就敢在吳老太面前念叨幾句，一看到吳家人，屁都不敢放一個，慫得要命。
唐青青将襖子脫了下來，敲開大伯的房門。
大伯正坐在炕上，裹着被子在編藤筐。
“大伯。”
大伯擡起頭，朝着她點了點頭。
唐青青将襖子放到炕邊：“大伯，謝謝您的襖子。”
大伯依然只是輕輕點頭，沒說什麽話。
唐青青早已經習慣，他大伯一向很少開口，在唐巧巧面前話也不多。
不過她依然感受到，今天的大伯有些不一樣，平常目光都是望着自己手邊的活，很少擡頭看人。
今天卻時不時瞟她手腕一眼，讓唐青青總覺得別有深意。
“大伯，怎麽了？”
大伯依然沒吭聲，低頭去看自己的編到一半的藤筐，陷入自己的世界裏。
唐青青疑惑不解，從大伯家屋子裏走出來後，一直琢磨這件事，總覺得那幾眼在暗示着什麽。
大約是日有所思夜有所夢，到了晚上的時候唐青青做了相關的夢。
這個夢如同以前那些奇怪的夢一樣，好似在呈現以前發生的事。
只是這一次，夢的時間軸被拉得更前了。
夢中的她大約只有一歲多點，走路還歪歪扭扭的，說話也只會單字單字地往外蹦。
這時候唐珍珍也還在，她卻是完全不同，雖然走路也不是特別穩，可說話卻遠比同齡人厲害。
吐字雖然沒有那麽清晰，可一字一句很明白，如同大人一樣說話十分有條理。
不過奇怪的是，唐珍珍在外人面前并沒有表現得這麽突出，看着跟自個差不多。
每當有人問起，誰是姐姐誰是妹妹，唐珍珍都會積極說自己姐姐。
趙大花糾正，她卻很倔強地堅持自我。
這麽做不算，還堅持讓年幼的自己叫趙大花媽媽。
趙大花不高興，要發脾氣。
唐珍珍一直嚷嚷，“就是媽媽，就是媽媽。我們是姐妹，妹妹就叫你媽媽。”
年幼的自己傻乎乎的，跟着唐珍珍叫媽媽。
趙大花後來都煩了，也就懶得糾正了。
夢中的畫面并不是連貫的，一會跳到這裏一會跳到那裏。
唐青青發現夢中又回到了屋子裏，年幼的自己正在跟唐珍珍一塊玩耍。
然後就看到唐珍珍一直盯着她的手上看，那個眼神讓她在夢中想起了大伯。
她自己也低下了頭，看到了自己手腕上有一個銀镯子。
銀镯子款式很普通常見，一般都是給小孩子戴的，能有祈福辟邪的作用。
上面有一些花紋，看着還挺精美。
這種镯子一般是不會脫下來的，尤其是女孩兒，在成年前是不能脫下來的，有的人甚至要戴一輩子。
咦？她的銀镯子呢？
唐青青很是好奇，不明白她對這個銀镯子一點印象也沒有。
很快她就明白是怎麽一回事，唐珍珍爬了過來，指着镯子道：“妹妹，這個是我的。”
年幼的自己眨着眼，下意識将手縮在身後。
“給姐姐，姐姐就帶你玩哦，否則我不理你了。”
年幼的自己已經知道一些事了，頓時緊張起來。
At this time, Tang Zhenzhen came to get the silver bracelet again. Although the young me pouted in displeasure, I did not cry or make a fuss.
Tang Zhenzhen tried to break the bracelet for a long time before finally pulling it off. Her hands were red and her eyes were filled with tears.
"Don't cry, no one likes a crybaby."
The young me understood it and held back my tears. My eyes were red and I looked very pitiful.
Tang Zhenzhen put the silver bracelet on her hand, and Zhao Dahua was very surprised when he found it.
"Why is the bracelet in your hand?"
"I am the elder sister, and the elder sister has a bracelet."
Zhao Dahua and Tang Jianjun looked at each other, a gleam of light flashing in their eyes, but also a hint of uncertainty.
However, from then on, Zhao Dahua no longer objected to Tang Zhenzhen calling her the older sister, and she no longer objected to Tang Qingqing calling her mother.