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."
翟弘毅直接大跨步走進了院子裏，這院子還是他用樹枝砌起來的，然後一個腳踢将門給關上。
汪瑩和溫雪蘭一個不查，差點被門給撞到。
“翟弘毅，你怎麽這樣！我們好言好語來跟你講道理，你怎麽能這麽對我們！”
翟弘毅一聲不吭地進屋，連唐青青和王黑子都沒搭理。
“哇嗚。”王黑子驚嘆，他在唐青青耳邊小聲道：
“我還是第一次看到毅哥這個樣子呢，他也忒不惜福了，這樣下去非要一輩子打光棍不可。”
“你說他們這是鬧啥啊？”
“我哪知道，不過我知道毅哥跟知青點很多人都合不來，他這性子就比較獨。”
唐青青眨了眨眼：“有嗎？不是挺好相處的嗎？就是長得兇了點。”
“因為他把咱們當小孩，你看他跟大人來往嗎？”
唐青青想了想，還真是如此。
在他們面前翟弘毅的話還多一點，在別人面前總是一副桀骜不馴的樣子。
他那雙眼睛，看着人的時候，總好像帶着鄙夷和嘲諷，活脫脫一個大刺頭。
“這倒也是。”
圍欄不算高，外頭的人能看到裏面是否有人。
唐青青覺得不上去打招呼，怕是不太合适。
于是走向前去，将院門打開：“你們有什麽事嗎？”
“我們是來找翟弘毅的。”汪瑩說着就要走進來，她看唐青青就是個小丫頭，也沒怎麽在意。
唐青青卻是擋在門口道：“我師父不喜歡有外人進來，抱歉。”
老劉頭怪老頭的稱號不是白來的，以前除了唐青青，誰要是靠近都會挨罵。
他能迅速接受翟弘毅他們，也是看在她的面子上的。
汪瑩臉色沉了下來，正想說什麽被溫雪蘭給攔住了。
“抱歉，是我們打擾了，我們這就離開。”
溫雪蘭拉着汪瑩離開了，汪瑩看她态度堅決，這才不情不願地走了。
她一邊走還一邊嘀咕：“雪蘭，你都是為了他好，他這是什麽态度啊……”
王黑子一直在旁邊偷偷觀察她們，見她們走遠了，才溜到唐青青面前。
“我還以為她們非要進來呢，還想着該怎麽攔着才行。”
“人家是知青，又不是土匪。”
王黑子發出啧啧的聲音，食指在空中擺了擺：
“這就是你不懂了吧。”
“我不懂啥了？”
“你啊，成天都研究別人的腳印，大隊裏有啥風聲你可真是一點都不知道啊。”
“別賣關子，快說！”
王黑子朝着翟弘毅的方向揚了揚下巴：“咱們屋裏的那位，不知道迷倒了多少大隊的姑娘，大家都争着搶着要嫁給他呢！”
唐青青并不奇怪，畢竟翟弘毅的條件确實好。
他不僅長得出衆，家裏的境況也好，每個月基本都有包裹，裏面裝了很多好吃的好喝的。
為人又聰明，幹活也是一把好手。
若是能嫁給這樣的人，以後就衣食無憂了。
“那也不至于吧。”
姑娘們也不過是眼饞帥小夥罷了，沒幾個有勇氣打翟弘毅的主意，大家都是默認他要回城的。
“怎麽不至于，要是能跟咱們毅哥在一起，興許也能一起跟着去城裏呢。”
王黑子朝着唐青青眨眼：“毅哥家裏可比咱們知道的要厲害多呢。”
“不是說他是資本家的孩子嗎？”
“你說為啥沒人傳這事？”
唐青青恍然大悟，這只能說明翟弘毅爸爸家那邊更厲害，所以才沒有受到影響。
王黑子還想說些什麽，翟弘毅掀開簾子從屋子裏走出來。
“你們掃個雪是要掃到天荒地老嗎？”
王黑子和唐青青瞬間彈開，一副我正在認真工作的樣子，仿佛前面的八卦不存在似的。
王黑子讨好笑道：“毅哥，那兩個女知青走了。”
翟弘毅沒吭聲。
王黑子試探地問：“毅哥，這是咋的啦？讓兩個女知青追上門了。”
翟弘毅斜了他一眼：“你要是太閑就去把二年級的課本給學了。”
王黑子頓時不吱聲了。
這一天，唐青青和王黑子都在不停地偷瞄翟弘毅。
翟弘毅面不改色心不跳，好像之前發生的事不存在似的。
還是老劉頭看不順眼，說道：“你們兩個眼睛是長斜了嗎？還專門斜到毅小子身上。”
唐青青和王黑子連忙收回視線，在那傻笑着打哈哈。
翟弘毅依然一臉淡定，沒有解釋的樣子。
唐青青和王黑子只能放棄吃這個瓜，開始讨論今年過年該怎麽過。
唐青青肯定是要陪着老劉頭的，她已經不把那家人當做親人，不想跟他們虛情假意地度過那麽美好的日子。
王黑子肯定是要在家裏的，平常他可以胡鬧，過年的時候就得老實聽話了。
可當他聽到翟弘毅也要留在這裏跟老頭兒一塊守歲，也很是向往。
“哎，我也好想過來啊，我們家一到過年，吃年夜飯的時候那叫個鬧騰。”
大家缺衣少食，也就過年的時候能吃好點。
他們一大家子，每次吃年夜飯的時候跟打仗一樣搶吃的。
小時候覺得很有趣，搶到一塊肉能開心一年，可現在覺得有點傻。
都說大過年的，不能太計較，否則來年不順。
可在他們家大過年的最容易鬧矛盾，有一年還打起來了。
王黑子以前覺得好玩，現在覺得很沒勁。
都是一家人，有啥可鬧的。
鬧得這麽厲害，回頭還要一鍋吃飯，何必呢。
誰知道，計劃趕不上變化。
臘月二十九的時候，大隊長急匆匆過來找唐青青。
“青丫頭，你可讓我好找啊。”
大隊長氣喘籲籲的，他是一路跑過來的。
唐青青看他一臉焦急的樣子，不解問道：“大隊長，怎麽了？”
“你趕快收拾收拾，趁着鎮上還有車，去公社一趟。”
王黑子：“大爺爺，明年都大年三十了，現在去公社明天就回不來了，啥事這麽着急啊？”
唐青青：“是不是公社出啥事了？怎麽這麽着急啊？”
大隊長猛拍膝蓋：“出大事了，昨兒晚上公社供銷社被盜了！”
這話一落，屋子裏的人都愣怔住了。
“啥？誰這麽大膽竟然敢偷到供銷社頭上啊！”
王黑子震驚不已，他一直覺得供銷社是個讓人向往又畏懼的存在。
供銷社裏有很多好東西，他以前最大的夢想就是成為供銷社的售貨員。
可那裏也挺可怕的，裏面的售貨員都兇巴巴的，在那裏說話都得想清楚了才敢說，否則肯定會被破口大罵。
那可是公家的地盤，竟然也被盜了，那小偷也忒膽大了。
翟弘毅也望了過來，只有老劉頭沒有太大反應，繼續編自己的藤筐。
“昨兒後半夜，公社供銷社被盜了。裏面的藍布、青布、畫布、丢了十幾匹，還有很多糖塊、煙酒、油、麥乳精等值錢的東西也被偷了，那小偷還把錢箱子都給撬了！”
王黑子倒吸一口氣：“這小偷是頭驢啊，竟然偷走這麽多的東西！”
“他們不光偷東西，還把昨天值班的人給打傷了，現在還在醫院裏呢。哎，大過年的，估摸得在醫院裏待着，多倒黴啊。”
唐青青驚訝：“還傷了人？傷得重不重？他看清楚小偷的樣子了嗎？”
“現在還昏迷着呢，也不知道啥時候能醒過來。而且他是被敲了後腦勺，估計沒看着小偷就被敲暈了。現在沒有其他線索，就想着讓你去看看，看能不能破。”
這個案子在公社算是個不小的案子了，若是早點破案還能找回東西，若是拖得晚了，這些東西出了手可就麻煩了。
而且這就要過年了，有個案子還要拖到明年，怎麽想都不得勁，工作彙報都不好看。
雖然是最後幾天才出的事，可翻年了就好似一年都沒破似的。
“大隊長，我先回家一趟，收拾好我立馬就去。”
“一會坐驢車去，我現在就去套驢。”大隊長風風火火地走了。
唐青青一臉愧意地看向老劉頭，她明明答應今年要跟他一塊過年，現在看來恐怕是要失約了。
若像往年一樣，沒有期待還好。
偏偏給了希望，這樣會更加難受，這讓唐青青不知道怎麽面對他。
老劉頭看不到她這個樣子：“你這是怕自己破不了這個案子？”
“當然不是……”
“那就別喪個臉，大過年地喪着臉來年運氣都被沖沒了。”
“師父，對不住……”
“打住。”老劉頭直接打斷她的話，“丫頭，你既然要走這條路，就注定要過這樣的日子。這種偷雞摸狗甚至殺人越貨的事，可不看你有空的時候才會出現。”
“師父，我知道了。”
“我對你只有一個要求，全須全尾地回來。”
唐青青鄭重承諾，“師父，我一定會的。”
老劉頭深深看了她一眼，那一眼好似在看她又好似在透過她看別人。
他很快收回目光，改投向一旁的翟弘毅：
“小子，你是練過的吧。”
翟弘毅點頭：“恩，從小跟我爺爺練的。”
“瞧着就不一樣。”
“您想說什麽？”
"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 retorted 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.