The third aunt, thinking of her youngest son, suddenly broke down in tears.
If her husband hadn't stubbornly refused to deduct a single penny or grain from the production brigade, how could her youngest son have become malnourished?!
It was a crucial time for the children to grow, but his family, like all the other villagers, were starving.
Before the village chief's third uncle and third aunt could speak, Cheng Xiaokui quickly ran out of the village chief's yard.
Threatening the village chief and her third aunt was a last resort; she had no other way to get the spot.
After all, the original owner's reputation was so bad that even if all the educated youth could get a spot, it wouldn't be her turn...
But Lin Qiuru couldn't wait any longer...
The pig's head meat and flatbread were her way of thanking her third uncle and aunt for taking care of her over the years.
How hateful was the original owner? She knew better than anyone.
She was a tyrannical bully in the village, stealing food from children. Everyone hated her; even dogs wanted to slap her when they saw her.
But she survived. Not only did she survive, but people only cursed at her; no one came to her door to beat her up.
She knew that it was the village chief's third uncle who secretly helped her gain influence and appease the villagers.
Otherwise, someone like her wouldn't have enough lives to pay off her debts!
When the village chief and his wife came to their senses, they realized that Cheng Xiao Kui had already gone far away.
Auntie San wiped away her tears and said, "Although this child is very naughty and bad, to the point of being rotten, she is also very sensible... Maybe she's just unlucky."
The village chief sighed and said, "Kids from big cities are stuck in this poor, desolate place. Anyone would go crazy in that situation..."
Third Aunt said, "Go and talk to the Party Secretary and the village officials about the situation. If anyone disagrees, let their son marry Cheng Xiao Kui."
You know what, this child's idea is pretty good; it's amazing she came up with such a method.
The village chief nodded and said, "Okay, I'll talk to the Party Secretary right now! See how much money you have at home? Give Cheng Xiaokui two yuan for her journey when she leaves."
Auntie San was in a dilemma; even if she added up all the money in his family's pockets, they probably wouldn't have a single yuan...
The two children and Lin Qiuru couldn't sleep at all; the three of them, grandmother and grandchildren, kept waiting for Cheng Xiaokui.
Xiaolongbao has the sharpest ears; he could hear footsteps in the distance with just one listen.
He immediately jumped off the kang (a heated brick bed) to open the door for Cheng Xiao Kui.
Lin Qiuru walked to the gate and greeted Cheng Xiaokui. When she saw Cheng Xiaokui return, she hurriedly lowered her voice and asked, "How did it go? Did the village chief scold you?"
Although she had little hope, she still couldn't help but ask.
Cheng Xiao Kui took out the list and the certificates and showed them to Lin Qiu Ru.
She said, "I got it! The village chief gave me this spot!"
Lin Qiuru took the list and the certificate. She didn't know many words, but she recognized Cheng Xiaokui's name and the three characters for "certificate". She also recognized the village's big red seal.
She exclaimed excitedly, "Oh my god! It's really yours! How are you going to convince the village chief?"
Cheng Xiaokui said, "My third uncle is a very nice person. He gave it to me after I just said a few words."
"Mom, I'll go to the train station to buy tickets tomorrow. I'll see which day I can get tickets for, and then we'll leave. Also, don't tell anyone in the village before we leave!"
Lin Qiu asked, "Why didn't you notify anyone in the village?"
Cheng Xiaokui said, "Those who are close to us will definitely try to give us money or food when they know we are leaving. Who has enough food to eat these days?"
Those who don't get along with us are resentful, and I'm afraid they'll ruin our plans. Mainly because I used to be so hated..."
She scratched her head helplessly. Who told her not to do good deeds for herself? She was afraid that those who hated her would take revenge on her!
She wasn't afraid of retaliation; she was afraid of implicating Lin Qiuru. Lin Qiuru needed to get to the Imperial Hospital as soon as possible to save her life.
Lin Qiuru nodded and said, "It's good that you're so observant; you thought of that. Indeed, a new brain works better!"
Holding Cheng Xiao Kui's hand, he asked, "Xiao Kui, are we going to the capital? Are we really going to find Daddy?"
Cheng Xiaokui said, "Yes, I'll go buy train tickets first and see which day I can get them for. Whichever day I can get them for, that's the day we'll leave."
In those days, train services were infrequent, and train tickets were scarce; you weren't guaranteed to buy one even if you went there.
For some popular train services, you have to stay at the train station in advance and wait for tickets to be released.
So in those days, it was common to simply lay out a newspaper, grab a military overcoat, and sleep on the floor of a train station.
Cheng Xiaokui called the two children to sleep, and while singing to them, she thought about how to earn some more money along the way.
This is a great opportunity to make money. Anyway, she's figured it out, and they can definitely make enough to cover their train ticket costs.
The next morning, she rode her bicycle to sell potato chips. Today, she could exchange one or two egg coupons for potato chips and sweet potato chips.
In one morning, Cheng Xiaokui exchanged five catties of egg coupons. After she sold out all her potato chips and sweet potato chips, she went to the cooperative and used all her egg coupons to buy five catties of eggs.
She also bought a pound of chicken cakes, flatbread, and braised meat, things that could fill her stomach on the train.
After buying her things, she went to the train station to buy a ticket.
Sure enough, the tickets were really hard to buy. She looked at the long queue in front of the ticket window. If she got to the front of the queue, she wouldn't be able to go home that night.
But if she doesn't go home, Lin Qiuru will definitely be worried and will keep waiting for her.
Although Lin Qiuru didn't say it, she could clearly sense that Lin Qiuru's appetite had started to decline recently.
Although she bought a lot of delicious food in different ways, Lin Qiuru was not very interested in eating, and said that after eating, she felt a bit acidic.
It was just an ordinary sentence, but it felt like a thunderbolt to her.
The early symptoms of pancreatic cancer are the same as those of gastritis: heartburn and acid reflux.
Therefore, pancreatic cancer is difficult to detect in its early stages because almost everyone assumes it is a stomach ailment.
For Lin Qiuru, every day earlier increases her chances of survival, while every day later might mean facing death head-on.
Cheng Xiao Kui stood to the side of the line and pondered for a moment, then bit her lip.
There's no other way but to give it a shot.
He took two eggs out of the cloth bag and put them into his shirt pocket.
She walked straight to the woman who was third in line and said, "Third Aunt! I'm here! We agreed to buy tickets together, how come you got here before me? How long have you been waiting in line?"
"See? It's all my fault for oversleeping! I made you wait in line for so long!"
As she spoke, she affectionately took her third aunt's arm, and with her other hand, she took two eggs out of her pocket and put them into her aunt's hand.
The woman felt the two eggs in her hand, and then looked at Cheng Xiao Kui, whom she didn't recognize.
What did she realize in the next instant?
She smiled and nodded, saying, "It's okay, it's okay. Whether two people are queuing or one person is queuing, it's still queuing. As long as it doesn't cause any delays, it's fine."
"Thank goodness you came! Look at my forgetfulness, I completely forgot you needed to buy tickets for where you're going."
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