Chapter 29
On the twenty-fourth day of the lunar month, dust and sweep the house.
Tang Qingqing sneaked out of the house before dawn in the morning.
If she didn't leave early, she would definitely not be able to go out today and would definitely be forced to clean the house.
In previous years, these tasks were done by Tang Qingqing and her aunt together, and the others just talked.
Not only did he not do anything, he was also very picky, thinking that this was not done well or that was not done cleanly, and then he would scold her.
I wish she could kneel on the ground like the maids in the old days and clean up the dirt on the ground bit by bit.
All the family's clothes and bedding had to be taken out for a thorough wash that day. The water was so cold in the middle of winter that it could almost freeze people to death.
Tang Jianjun was especially vain. He changed his clothes frequently and had a lot of dirty clothes.
Every time after this day, Tang Qingqing would fall ill and would feel listless until the New Year.
Tang Qingqing doesn't want to be the scapegoat now. This year she doesn't care anyway, let them do whatever they want.
If only my aunt was left alone, there wouldn't be so many clothes and mattresses to wash.
After all, it is not easy for the aunt to wash the clothes and bedding of the younger brother-in-law. It would be embarrassing if this got out.
Tang Qingqing ran to the middle of the mountain to find her master, intending to help him clean up the house that day.
The old man looked very young, and when Tang Qingqing came over, he had already gotten up.
The old man was very pleased with Tang Qingqing's appearance.
“It’s long overdue.”
The old man also knew that Tang Qingqing had to suffer on this day in previous years, and he had advised her not to work so hard.
Especially girls should not touch too much cold water in winter, as it is bad for the body.
Although Tang Qingqing listened to it, it was difficult for her to avoid working as long as she was at home.
Tang Qingqing smiled as she put the goat milk she had just squeezed from the sheep pen into the pot, preparing to use tea leaves to remove the mutton smell.
Ever since Zhai Hongyi said that drinking goat's milk was good for the body, Tang Qingqing asked the team leader for some goat's milk and exchanged it for her work points.
The captain now thought highly of her and agreed, but he had to make sure the lamb had milk to drink first.
This year the granaries were burned, causing heavy losses.
Almost all the adult sheep were sold, leaving only a few newly born ewes.
The captain had originally said that he would keep a few sheep at the end of the year and distribute the meat to everyone, but this promise was not fulfilled.
The same thing happened with the other livestock; they were all sold.
Nowadays, we can hardly afford to eat. Although the commune provides subsidies, it is far from enough. Eating meat is too luxurious.
This year's Chinese New Year is destined to be not as lively as last year. With such a huge loss, everyone is in a heavy mood and cannot be happy at all.
Fortunately, they had sheep, otherwise this year would have been even more difficult.
Every time Tang Qingqing brought back goat milk, she would bring it to Old Liu to remove the fishy smell, and then the master and apprentice would share it.
At first Tang Qingqing used vinegar, and later Zhai Hongyi brought tea.
Tang Qingqing was reluctant to do so at first. Tea leaves were so expensive, and it was such a luxury to use them to remove mutton smells.
But Zhai Hongyi said that this was not a good tea, and it was damp before, so it could not be kept for too long, so it would be better to make the best use of it.
Tang Qingqing didn't know much about tea, but seeing that the tea looked good, she still couldn't bring herself to buy it.
As a result, when Zhai Hongyi was boiling goat milk, he grabbed a handful of tea leaves and was about to sprinkle it in. Tang Qingqing hurried over to stop him.
Using so much tea with such a small amount of milk, isn't this a waste of resources?
Tang Qingqing had no choice but to use the tea leaves to remove the odor, so that Zhai Hongyi would not treat it recklessly as if he had a grudge against the tea leaves.
Tang Qingqing also tried to get Zhai Hongyi to drink some goat milk, but Zhai Hongyi directly refused.
His reasons left Tang Qingqing unable to refute. Zhai Hongyi said:
"I'm so tall now, do I still need to supplement? What if I grow up to the sky? It will even waste fabric for making clothes."
Tang Qingqing wanted to share with Wang Heizi, but Wang Heizi said, "I'm not a baby, I don't want to drink milk!"
As for White Rabbit Milk Candy?
That's sugar, not milk.
Old Liu also wanted to refuse. Although the smell was gone, he still didn't like drinking this weird stuff.
But Tang Qingqing was not so easy to talk to at this time. The elderly should drink goat milk to supplement calcium so that their legs and feet will be more flexible.
Old Liu had injured his legs while fleeing, and he would feel terrible pain whenever it rained.
Normally, that leg wasn't working very well, and the old man sometimes wanted to hide it from Tang Qingqing.
But who is Tang Qingqing?
She had inherited the old man's true skills. Even when the old man stood there motionless, she could tell that his legs and feet were not very flexible.
If Old Liu dared not to drink the goat's milk, Tang Qingqing would chase him with the goat's milk, and she would not drink it herself, insisting that Old Liu drink it first before she did.
No matter what Old Liu said to her, Tang Qingqing ignored him. She had no other advantages except that she was very patient.
Old Liu was so annoyed by her that he had no choice but to drink the goat milk obediently.
Now I'm used to drinking it, and I feel uncomfortable if I don't drink it in a day.
It is not known whether goat milk is indeed nutritious or it is just a psychological effect, but after drinking goat milk, the master and apprentice indeed felt a lot stronger.
Tang Qingqing asked Old Liu to rest on the kang while she started to clean the cave.
Ever since Wang Heizi, Zhai Hongyi and others also liked to come here, the originally empty cave has now become full.
Zhai Hongyi also likes to put his things here. There is not much farm work in winter, so everyone spends most of their time here.
So Zhai Hongyi spent most of the day here, and even wanted to move here.
Old Liu was also busy weaving a rattan basket on the kang.
Previously, Tang Qingqing took Zhai Hongyi and Wang Heizi to cut a lot of vines. At the current rate, they can be used until the new vines grow well next year.
Old Liu looked over from time to time and said: "It's good enough, as long as it's habitable. If you wipe it any more, it will fall apart."
"This is just the beginning. I haven't even used 20% of my strength."
Old Liu couldn't help shaking his head when he heard this: "Why do you have to be so meticulous? It's not like we don't clean it regularly."
Tang Qingqing works efficiently and takes care of every corner.
Old Liu felt that he, a poor fellow, was not worthy of Tang Qingqing's seriousness.
Tang Qingqing ignored him. The less dust there was, the cleaner the house would be, and life would be smoother in the coming year.
She also wiped the thermos and other items inside and out.
As soon as Zhai Hongyi arrived, Tang Qingqing called him to fetch a few buckets of water.
Now that everyone is familiar with each other, Tang Qingqing will not hesitate to ask him to do things.
Now it is basically Zhai Hongyi who fetches water. Even though he comes from the city, he still carries the water in a very professional manner.
There is nothing else wrong with Old Liu's place except that it is very inconvenient to use water. He has to walk a long way.
In the past, Old Liu was very frugal with water, but now with Zhai Hongyi, a strong worker, he has become much more generous.
Old Liu quickly stopped them: "Don't bother. There's snow outside."
"The snow is not clean and tastes bad."
Zhai Hongyi picked up the two empty buckets skillfully and left in a hurry.
When Zhai Hongyi came back, there were two girls following him.
Tang Qingqing and Wang Heizi were sweeping snow and tidying up the yard outside the house when they saw this scene from a distance.
Zhai Hongyi was carrying water, but he was walking very fast, and the two girls had to jog to keep up with him.
Wang Heizi saw this and looked mocking.
He nudged Tang Qingqing with his elbow: "Hey, Brother Yi is really lucky."
Tang Qingqing said angrily: "What are you talking about? How can you be so frivolous? What if this gets out?"
"I'm just telling you, do you know who they are?"
Tang Qingqing nodded and shook her head. She had never seen these two girls before, but judging from their clothes, they should be educated youth.
"Do you see that girl in the army green clothes? She is the most beautiful girl in our educated youth camp. You don't know that since she came to our brigade, many unmarried young men have become green-eyed with her.
Whenever she appears, work becomes more exciting than usual."
The three of them gradually approached, and Tang Qingqing saw the girl clearly. She was indeed very beautiful, and had a temperament different from that of a country girl.
Not only is she beautiful, but she also exudes a sense of culture, and you can tell at first glance that she comes from a well-off family.
There were no patches on her clothes either, and she had a thick white scarf around her neck.
In the countryside, no one likes to wear white clothes, for fear that they will get dirty while working and be difficult to wash.
Only people in the city dare to wear such a white scarf, but I have to say it looks very nice and warm.
Tang Qingqing wondered why Zhai Hongyi brought them here. Although Old Liu liked to be accompanied by others, it did not mean that he would be happy with a group of people here.
Tang Qingqing and Wang Heizi both looked at him curiously, wanting to know what was going on.
As a result, before I even got close, I heard Zhai Hongyi scolding impatiently:
"Don't follow me."
Wang Ying heard this and stepped forward to speak righteously: "Zhai Hongyi, how could you do this? Xue Lan is doing this for your own good."
"No need." Zhai Hongyi said impatiently.
Wen Xuelan, who was the most beautiful girl among the educated youth mentioned by Wang Heizi, suddenly had red eyes when she heard this.
She tugged at Wang Ying's sleeve: "Yingying, let's go."
Wang Ying stamped her feet, looking very disappointed:
"You are so soft-tempered! You have good intentions, why does he treat you like this? How will others see you?"
Tang Qingqing and Wang Heizi's ears stood up, and they could see that the other wanted to eat melons.
Wen Xuelan pursed her lips and tried to pull Wang Ying but couldn't move her at all, feeling caught in a dilemma.
Wang Ying: "Zhai Hongyi, you never follow the group and always act on your own. It was Xue Lan who covered for you and prevented your reputation from getting too bad. It's fine if you don't appreciate it, but for such a small matter, you embarrassed her in front of everyone. How can that be justified?"
"She did this just to make you leave early..."
Zhai Hongyi glanced at her indifferently, which made Wang Ying feel uneasy.
But seeing that Zhai Hongyi had no other moves, he stiffened his neck and said, "You must apologize to her."
Zhai Hongyi strode directly into the yard, which he had built with branches, and then kicked the door closed.
Wang Ying and Wen Xuelan were not careful and were almost hit by the door.
"Zhai Hongyi, how could you do this? We tried to reason with you in a nice way, how could you treat us like this?"
Zhai Hongyi walked into the room without saying a word, and didn't even pay attention to Tang Qingqing and Wang Heizi.
"Wow." Wang Heizi exclaimed, and whispered in Tang Qingqing's ear:
"This is the first time I've seen Brother Yi like this. He's really ungrateful. If he continues like this, he'll be single for the rest of his life."
"What do you think they are doing?"
"How would I know? But I know that Brother Yi doesn't get along with many people at the Youth League Center. He has a rather solitary personality."
Tang Qingqing blinked: "Really? Isn't he easy to get along with? He just looks a little fierce."
"Because he treats us like children, do you think he interacts with adults?"
Tang Qingqing thought about it and realized that it was true.
Zhai Hongyi talks more in front of them, but he always looks rebellious in front of others.
Whenever he looked at people, his eyes always seemed to be filled with contempt and ridicule, making him look like a real thorn in the flesh.
"That's true."
The fence is not very high, so people outside can see if there is anyone inside.
Tang Qingqing felt that it would be inappropriate not to go up and say hello.
So he walked forward and opened the gate: "What do you want?"
"We are here to look for Zhai Hongyi." Wang Ying said as she was about to walk in. She thought Tang Qingqing was just a little girl and didn't care much.
Tang Qingqing stood at the door and said, "My master doesn't like outsiders coming in. Sorry."
Old Liu’s nickname of weird old man is not for nothing. In the past, anyone who got close to him would be scolded except Tang Qingqing.
He was able to quickly accept Zhai Hongyi and the others because of her.
Wang Ying's face darkened and he was about to say something when he was stopped by Wen Xuelan.
"Sorry for disturbing you. We will leave now."
Wen Xuelan pulled Wang Ying away. Seeing her firm attitude, Wang Ying left reluctantly.
As she walked, she muttered, "Xue Lan, you are doing this for his own good, why is he so angry..."
Wang Heizi had been secretly observing them from the side. When he saw them go far away, he slipped in front of Tang Qingqing.
"I thought they had to come in, and I was wondering how to stop them."
"He is an educated youth, not a bandit."
Wang Heizi made a clicking sound and waved his index finger in the air:
"That's what you don't understand."
"What don't I understand?"
"You spend all day studying other people's footprints. You really don't know what's going on in the team."
"Don't keep me in suspense, tell me now!"
Wang Heizi raised his chin in the direction of Zhai Hongyi and said, "The guy in our room has charmed so many girls in the brigade. They are all vying to marry him!"
Tang Qingqing was not surprised, after all, Zhai Hongyi's conditions were indeed good.
Not only did he grow up to be tall and handsome, his family was also well off. He received a package almost every month, which contained a lot of delicious food and drinks.
He is smart and good at work.
If I could marry such a man, I would never have to worry about food and clothing in the future.
"That's not the case."
The girls were nothing more than handsome young men with greedy eyes, and few of them had the courage to hit on Zhai Hongyi, so everyone tacitly assumed that he was going back to the city.
"Of course not. If I could be with our brother Yi, maybe I could go to the city with him."
Wang Heizi winked at Tang Qingqing: "Brother Yi's family is much more powerful than we know."
"Isn't he the son of a capitalist?"
"Why didn't anyone spread this?"
Tang Qingqing suddenly realized that this could only mean that Zhai Hongyi's father's family was more powerful, so they were not affected.
Wang Heizi wanted to say something when Zhai Hongyi opened the curtain and walked out of the room.
"Are you going to sweep the snow till the end of time?"
Wang Heizi and Tang Qingqing jumped away instantly, looking as if they were working seriously, as if the gossip in front of them didn't exist.
Wang Heizi smiled flatteringly, "Brother Yi, the two female educated youth have left."
Zhai Hongyi said nothing.
Wang Heizi asked tentatively: "Brother Yi, what happened? Two female educated youths came to our house."
Zhai Hongyi glanced at him and said, "If you have too much free time, go and study the second-grade textbook."
Wang Heizi suddenly fell silent.
On this day, Tang Qingqing and Wang Heizi kept stealing glances at Zhai Hongyi.
Zhai Hongyi remained calm and composed, as if what had happened before had never happened.
Old Liu still didn't like it and said, "Are your eyes slanted? And you specifically slanted them at Yi."
Tang Qingqing and Wang Heizi quickly looked away and laughed foolishly.
Zhai Hongyi still looked calm and didn't seem to have any explanation.
Tang Qingqing and Wang Heizi had no choice but to give up eating this melon and start discussing how to celebrate the New Year this year.
Tang Qingqing must stay with Old Liu. She no longer considers that family as her relatives and doesn't want to spend such a beautiful life with them in a hypocritical manner.
Wang Heizi must stay at home. He can act up as he pleases at other times, but he has to behave himself during the New Year.
But when he heard that Zhai Hongyi also wanted to stay here and celebrate the New Year with the old man, he was also very eager to do so.
"Oh, I want to come here too. When the New Year comes, it's so noisy at my house when we eat the New Year's Eve dinner."
Everyone was short of food and clothing, and could only eat better during the Chinese New Year.
Every time they had the New Year’s Eve dinner, the whole family would fight for food like they were at a war.
I thought it was fun when I was a kid. I could be happy for a whole year if I could grab a piece of meat. But now I think it’s a bit silly.
It is said that you should not be too fussy during the Chinese New Year, otherwise the coming year will be unlucky.
But conflicts are most likely to arise during the Chinese New Year in their family, and one year they even had a fight.
Wang Heizi used to think it was fun, but now he finds it boring.
We are all family, there is nothing to worry about.
After making such a big fuss, you still have to pay for it later. Why bother?
Who knows, plans cannot keep up with changes.
On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, the captain hurried over to find Tang Qingqing.
"Qing girl, you made it so hard for me to find you."
The captain was panting and shouting; he had run all the way here.
Tang Qingqing saw his anxious look and asked in confusion, "Captain, what's wrong?"
"Hurry up and pack your things, and go to the commune while there are still cars in the town."
Wang Heizi: "Grandpa, it's already New Year's Eve next year. If you go to the commune now, you won't be able to come back tomorrow. What are you in such a hurry for?"
Tang Qingqing: "Did something happen in the commune? Why are you so anxious?"
The team leader slapped his knees and said, "Something bad has happened. The commune supply and marketing cooperative was robbed last night!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the room was stunned.
"What? Who is so bold as to steal from the supply and marketing cooperative?"
Wang Heizi was shocked. He had always felt that the supply and marketing cooperatives were something that people both longed for and feared.
There are many good things in the supply and marketing cooperative, and his biggest dream before was to become a salesperson in the supply and marketing cooperative.
But it's also pretty scary there. The sales clerks there are all fierce and you have to think carefully before you speak there, otherwise you will definitely be scolded.
That was public property, yet it was stolen. The thief was so bold.
Zhai Hongyi also looked over, but Old Liu didn't react much and continued to weave his own rattan basket.
"The commune's supply and marketing cooperative was robbed late last night. More than a dozen pieces of blue cloth, green cloth, and canvas were stolen. A lot of valuables such as candies, cigarettes, alcohol, oil, and maltose were also stolen. The thief even broke into the cash box!"
Wang Heizi gasped: "This thief is really stupid. He actually stole so many things!"
"Not only did they steal things, they also beat up the person who was on duty yesterday. He is still in the hospital. Oh, it's New Year's Day, and I guess he will have to stay in the hospital. How unlucky."
Tang Qingqing was surprised: "Did he hurt someone? Was the injury serious? Did he see the thief clearly?"
"He's still unconscious, and we don't know when he'll wake up. He was hit on the back of his head, and he probably fainted without even looking at the thief. We don't have any other clues, so I wanted you to go and see if you can solve the case."
This case is considered a big one in the commune. If it is solved early, the things can be recovered. If it is delayed, it will be troublesome to sell these things.
Besides, the Chinese New Year is coming soon, and one of the cases will be delayed until next year. I just can’t get motivated no matter how I think about it, and my work reports won’t look good.
Even though it happened only in the last few days, it seems like nothing happened at all when the new year comes.
"Captain, I'm going to go home first. I'll go right away after I'm done packing."
"You'll take the donkey cart later. I'm going to catch donkeys now." The team leader left in a hurry.
Tang Qingqing looked at Old Liu with guilt. She had clearly promised to spend the New Year with him this year, but now it seemed that she would have to break her promise.
If it's like previous years, it would be fine if there are no expectations.
Giving him hope would only make things worse, and Tang Qingqing didn't know how to face him.
Old Liu couldn't see her expression like this: "Are you afraid that you can't solve this case?"
"Of course not..."
"Then don't be disgraced. If you are disgraced during the New Year, all your luck for the coming year will be washed away."
"Master, I'm sorry..."
"Stop." Old Liu interrupted her directly, "Girl, since you have chosen this path, you are destined to live this kind of life. Such sneaky and even murderous things will not happen until you are free."
"Master, I understand."
"I only ask one thing of you, that you return in one piece."
Tang Qingqing promised solemnly, "Master, I will definitely do it."
Old Liu gave her a deep look, a look that seemed as if he was looking at her and also looking at someone else through her.
He quickly retracted his gaze and turned to Zhai Hongyi standing beside him:
"Boy, you have practiced before, right?"
Zhai Hongyi nodded: "Yes, I have been practicing with my grandfather since I was a child."
"It looks different."
"What do you want to say?"
"You've been hanging around with me for a while now, so I'm going to have to pay you a little bit."
Wang Heizi and Tang Qingqing both looked at him in surprise, wondering how could this happen.
"You say."
"Guard Qing girl, don't let her be bullied."
"good."
Tang Qingqing: "Master, I went to the commune and there are police guarding it, nothing will happen."
"That's settled." Old Liu completely ignored her opinion.
Back then, his son, a grown man, could get into trouble, and he was really worried about Tang Qingqing, a little girl.
Especially seeing that Tang Qingqing is getting prettier and prettier, Old Liu is even more worried.
Wang Heizi: "Master, what should I do?"
"You?" Old Liu looked him up and down with his one eye. "We'll talk later."
"I can also protect Tang Qingqing! Old man, please don't look down on me."
"Even if you have that ability, would you dare not go home for the New Year?"
Wang Heizi suddenly stopped talking and his shoulders drooped.
But he soon cheered up again: "My dear, I will accompany you now. Don't worry, I will come here often in the next few days and will not let you be lonely."
Tang Qingqing asked Wang Heizi to help look after the old man, and then hurried home to pack the laundry.
After having "that book", Tang Qingqing learned a lot of knowledge that she didn't know before, such as girls' underwear must be changed and washed frequently, otherwise it is easy to get sick.
Although it is inconvenient to take a bath in the winter, Tang Qingqing will insist on washing her buttocks, changing her underwear, and wiping her body with a towel every night.
Zhao Dahua felt very frustrated seeing her rushing out.
I had been planning to talk to her today, but the New Year is almost here and she's been out all day, so I can't find her at all when she's busy.
Unexpectedly, she was called to the commune.
I saw that there was no movement at the Public Security Bureau before, and I thought they had almost forgotten about Tang Qingqing, but I didn't expect that something bad would happen again.
"Don't think you can be so careless just because you are lucky. If you make a mistake, you will have to go in for reform." Zhao Dahua couldn't help but speak.
Tang Qingqing: "Don't worry, if that time ever comes, I won't bring trouble to my family."
Zhao Dahua got angry when he saw her like this, but he resisted the urge to attack her and said:
"If there's any bonus or something at the Public Security Bureau, remember to bring it back! If I find out that you gave all the stuff to that one-eyed old man again, I'll show you how I'll deal with you!"
Everyone now knows that Tang Qingqing received the reward and gave it all to Old Liu.
Everyone in the team said that Tang Qingqing was a grateful person, and it was not in vain that Old Liu taught her so carefully.
After Zhao Dahua found out, he was almost angry to death.
That night, she wanted to prepare a meal of stir-fried bamboo shoots with meat for Tang Qingqing, but Tang Qingqing was very cunning now, and she didn't know where she got the news from. She went out early and came back late those few days, making it impossible for her to catch her.
She later caught him, and Tang Qingqing still shouted:
"Mom, it is my duty to honor my master. If he hadn't taught me skills, I wouldn't have gotten those things. Even if you kill me, I will give them to my master as a thank-you gift!"
The neighbors nearby heard the shout and came over to see what was going on.
It is ungrateful to blame her.
Zhao Dahua recalled that this was his daughter and he was the one who should be most filial to her.
But no one cared. They all said she was dishonest and that her family was ungrateful.
Tang Jianjun was a man who cared a lot about his reputation, so he quickly came out to teach Zhao Dahua a lesson and publicly stated that it was a good thing to be filial to one's master. Only then was the matter over.
Tang Qingqing ignored her, and Zhao Dahahua wanted to come up and pinch her ears.
She was prepared and dodged quickly, then rushed out of the yard without paying attention to what Zhao Dahua was yelling.
The team leader came over pulling a donkey cart. When he saw Zhai Hongyi accompanying him, he immediately felt relieved.
"I was just worried about you, a girl, going to the commune. Now that you have Zhai Zhiqing escorting you, I feel relieved."
Zhai Hongyi is tall and comes from the city. He is not like country people who would be reserved and looked down upon when entering the city. He is indeed more suitable to escort Tang Qingqing.
As for the differences between men and women, Tang Qingqing is still a little girl.
The team leader drove a donkey cart to take them to the town, and the two of them took the bus to the commune.
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