Chapter 41 Chapter 41 Humph, you still say you are not dating! ...
The Yangliu Brigade had a good harvest this year. You can see it when you are cutting the rice. The rice ears are heavy and the grains are plump. How can the harvest be bad? Thinking that they can get more food this year, the members are very happy.
Zhou Mancang was also very happy. Of course he was happy about the good harvest, but he was even happier that the kids won awards!
After all, the grain harvest was good, and he was working around the fields every day, so he was mentally prepared. But he really didn't expect that the children would win the prize and enter the finals.
For several days in a row, I had a smile on my face.
Because of this incident, even the big news that Shen Moer's family had an extra bicycle did not cause much of a stir in the village.
Buying a bicycle is indeed a big deal, but this is not the first bicycle in their village. Team leader Zhou Mancang's family has one, and the accountant Ding Shouchang's family, who works as a temporary worker in the commune's textile factory, also has one. Since Shen Laoqi has gone to work in the kiln factory, it is only a matter of time before his family buys a bicycle.
What's more, his bicycle is a second-hand one and no one wants it repaired, so there's nothing surprising about it.
That's normal. Mr. Shen's family has just built a new house. Many people actually have an idea of how much money his family will have left. It is estimated that even for this second-hand bicycle, they will have to sell everything they have to raise the money.
In comparison, it is indeed more shocking that two kids are going to the provincial competition!
Yes, two.
Although there were six people who participated in the preliminary round, only two of them won the prize and entered the finals. One was Zhou Xiaoshuan's daughter Zhou Zhaodi, who won the second prize, and the other was Chen Zhuangzhuang's Chen Yu, also known as Maomao, who won the third prize. The other four also won prizes, but did not enter the finals, but all won an excellent award. It is said that the city, county and commune may give out prizes in the future.
What surprised everyone the most was that Zhou Xiaoshuan's daughter, who was so thin and small that she didn't even dare to speak loudly, actually painted better than anyone else, even better than several boys!
Moreover, Zhou Zhaodi and Chen Yu are going to the provincial capital at such a young age!
You don’t have to pay for it yourself, as the travel expenses and food and drinks are all paid for by the government, so you can go to the provincial capital for free!
You know, many members of the village have only ever been to the commune, and they don’t even know where the county town is, let alone the provincial capital.
I heard that when some kids went to the city, they had white rice, stir-fried shredded pork with carrots, and scrambled eggs with green peppers. The food in the city was so good, I wonder how much better it would be in the provincial capital?!
Even though everyone is very busy and exhausted during the autumn harvest, when they have some free time, they still have to dream a little. Such a young kid can actually see such a big world. Even adults can't help but envy him.
Shen Moer didn't think that the children would definitely win the prize, but she didn't think they would not win the prize either. She was a little surprised at the result, but not as surprised as the villagers.
Although the time was not long, she really put a lot of effort into teaching those little kids. Isn't it reasonable for her to win the award?
As for those students from the commune primary school, they just followed their father like apprentices for a period of time, but two of them won third prizes.
This time, only seven children from the entire county entered the finals, and four of them were from Liuqiao Commune. It is said that the commune leaders were overjoyed.
The next step is naturally to improve the two children's painting skills. However, having said that, nothing is more important than the autumn harvest, and they still have to work. Therefore, Shen Moer can only use the morning class time, or the time before and after meals, to give the two children special lessons.
"Huh, it will take another day or two to harvest the rice, right?" Wang Qiutong sat down on the edge of the field, pounded his stiff shoulders, and said with a sigh.
Their "team of four" had been working together for many days. Wang Qiutong came up to them shamelessly in the beginning, and she was actually secretly quite afraid of Fu Mingze. After all, she had seen with her own eyes that Fu Mingze kicked Shi Wei into the stream, so she was always a little nervous.
However, after a period of time, she was able to gradually integrate into this "small group". She was still afraid of Fu Mingze, but got along well with Shen Moer and Zheng Jiamin.
Shen Moer took out the enamel pot from the bamboo basket and looked at the farmland in the distance while drinking water: "It should be about the same. I heard from the team leader that it will be several days faster than in previous years."
A few days ago, when they were off work, Fu Mingze suddenly took their sickles and said he wanted to take them back to modify them. Then, no one knew how he did it, but the sickles he brought back the next day were very different from the original ones. The handles were longer and the blades had been sharpened, making them much easier to use than the original sickles.
He did explain a lot of mechanics and other things, but unfortunately the other three people didn't understand any of it. But it didn't matter if they didn't understand, as long as the sickle was useful.
They finished their work an hour earlier than usual that day.
Then the captain of Team 12, Shen Zhiguo, told Zhou Mancang about this, and Fu Mingze was dragged away by Zhou Mancang.
Later, the sickles of the brigade members were modified one after another, and the efficiency was indeed improved rapidly.
Wang Qiutong glanced at Fu Mingze secretly and thought to herself that Fu Zhiqing was really amazing, why didn't he show it before?
Zheng Jiamin patted Fu Mingze on the shoulder: "It has to be our old Fu. Don't mention it, Comrade Shen Moer, if you hadn't asked this guy to help you with your studies, I wouldn't have realized that this guy's academic performance is so good before!"
Fu Mingze glanced at him calmly: "You can tell how bad the grades are now, just because you don't understand what I said?"
Zheng Jiamin: “…”
This guy can be really mean sometimes, I don't know if he's ever been beaten for this before.
However, Zheng Jiamin quickly smiled and shifted the blame: "Comrade Shen Moer, did you hear that? Fu Mingze is mocking us for not understanding anything."
Fu Mingze choked and subconsciously glanced at Shen Moer. Seeing that she was smiling and didn't seem to care, he said, "Isn't it normal for people who haven't learned these contents to not understand? You are different. Aren't you a high school student?"
Shen Moer watched them bickering for a while with a smile on her face. Wang Qiutong touched her stomach, leaned over to Shen Moer and whispered, "Comrade Moer, do you want to go to the bathroom?"
Shen Moer glanced at Wang Qiutong and nodded: “Let’s go together.”
She had actually discovered a long time ago that Wang Qiutong seemed to be very afraid of being alone. Whether she was working or going to the toilet, she would try every means to drag someone along. At first, when she didn't realize it, she said she didn't want to go, and as a result, Wang Qiutong didn't go either. She had to wait until she was about to go before she followed along. Judging from her appearance, she must have been very suffocated that time.
After that, as long as she asked, Shen Moer would agree to go together.
After saying something to Fu Mingze and the others, the two of them walked along the ridge of the field towards the nearest dry toilet.
The dry toilet was built behind a small bamboo forest, so even though it was right next to the rice field, it was actually still relatively hidden. It was unlike some brigades' dry toilets, which were built next to the main road and had people squatting inside, and people passing by could see them.
After all, Yangliu Brigade is close to the commune and is one of the best brigades in the entire Liuqiao Commune, so all aspects will consciously move closer to the commune. Even the construction of dry toilets was done by learning from the advanced experience of the commune.
Anyway, this is very friendly to lesbians.
As soon as the two of them walked to the edge of the bamboo forest, they heard someone talking: "...I believe in Comrade Shen's character. You are so kind and responsible. You said those words for the students. After all, who can predict the award in advance?"
Wang Qiutong reacted very quickly. Almost at the same time as she heard the sound, she grabbed Shen Moer and hid in the small bamboo forest next to her. She quickly ran behind a clump of thatch and squatted down with Shen Moer in her arms.
Shen Moer: “…”
Why do you look so skilled?
However, Shen Moer had already heard that the person who was speaking seemed to be Zhang Zhiqiang from the educated youth point. As for who he was talking to, Shen Moer had almost guessed it.
Sure enough, Shen Lingling's voice rang out. She first sighed leisurely, and then said with emotion and grievance: "Zhang Zhiqing, you are really a wise person. Unfortunately, in this culturally barren land, everyone lives in ignorance and stupidity. They can only see the surface but not the essence. It doesn't matter. Even if someone slanders me behind my back, I won't care. After all, I just said what I think is right. Teachers should not only think about showing off themselves, but also ignore the fragile and young hearts of students."
"I know, Comrade Lingling, can I call you that? Comrade Lingling, I know everything. You have a heart of gold, but those people don't understand you." Zhang Zhiqiang's voice sounded a little excited.
"Ah, you can't shout like that in front of people..." Shen Lingling said with a hint of shyness.
"Okay, okay, I'll shout when no one is around. Comrade Lingling, in my heart, you are the kindest and bravest person in the world. You are someone with a will of steel like Pavel Korchagin. You are the kind of person I admire the most." As Zhang Zhiqiang spoke, his voice became lower. "Comrade Lingling, actually, I, actually, I want to..."
Shen Lingling suddenly interrupted him: "Zhang Zhiqing, someone seems to be coming. Let's talk about it another day."
Zhang Zhiqiang: "Ah? Ah! Oh, okay, then, then you go first..."
Then there was a rustling sound of footsteps, as if Shen Lingling was walking away quickly. Then Zhang Zhiqiang sighed in annoyance and followed her away.
Shen Moer and Wang Qiutong who were hiding in the bamboo forest: "..."
They looked at each other in silence.
Wang Qiutong suddenly stood up and stamped her feet: "No, no, I have to go to the toilet."
Shen Moer: “…”
In fact, she also felt a little confused. Couldn't Shen Lingling and Zhang Zhiqiang choose a good place? Why did they have to "open their hearts to each other" in such a place? Look, how much inconvenience it caused to others, and it almost made Wang Zhiqing feel suffocated again.
When the two of them went back, they saw Shen Lingling sitting on the edge of the field peeling a yellow-skinned orange. Not far from her, Zhang Zhiqiang was working hard with a sickle. Occasionally he looked up at Shen Lingling, his square face full of happiness.
Wang Qiutong couldn't bear to watch, and secretly whispered to Shen Moer: "Shen Lingling didn't pay much attention to him before, so he was just being sentimental. Now, I'm afraid he will risk his life for Shen Lingling. Tsk, in fact, she just wanted to coax him to help with the work."
Everyone in the village knew that the relationship between Shen Moer and Shen Lingling's family was very bad, especially with the incidents of Wang Jinbao and the stolen bricks in between. It was good enough that the two families did not regard each other as enemies, so Wang Qiutong was not afraid to tell the truth in front of Shen Moer.
Shen Moer smiled and said, "It's a matter of one willing to fight and the other willing to be beaten. As long as they are willing, no one else can interfere."
Wang Qiutong curled her lips and said, "That's right. Zhang Zhiqiang has a problem with his brain. He is just trying to draw water with a bamboo basket. He will regret it one day."
As the two were talking, a person suddenly emerged from the rice field next to them. Wang Qiutong let out a low cry and quickly ran to the other side of Shen Moer, subconsciously grabbing Shen Moer's clothes with her fingers.
Shen Moer raised her eyebrows and glanced at the young man. She remembered that his name seemed to be Shi Wei. She didn't know him either, so she glanced at him without stopping.
Unexpectedly, Shi Wei suddenly stopped, smiled at her, and said, "Comrade Shen Moer, congratulations on your good performance in the competition."
It is said that you should not hit a smiling person. Shen Moer nodded: "Thank you Shi Zhiqing."
Shi Wei smiled and said, "Then I wish Comrade Shen Moer more success."
Shen Moer didn't say anything else, just smiled and continued walking forward.
Wang Qiutong grabbed Shen Moer's sleeve and refused to let go. She walked a long way away, looked back quietly, and when she didn't see Shi Wei again, she slowly breathed a sigh of relief and let go of Shen Moer's sleeve.
Shen Moer glanced at her and said, "Are you afraid of Shi Zhiqing?"
Wang Qiutong thought for a moment, lowered her voice and said, "He is not a good person. Neither he nor Yang Qingqing are good people. Remember to stay away from them."
Shen Moer looked at her deeply but didn't ask any more questions.
As Chen Moer expected, the rice in the field was harvested in a few days. But the next work was not easy either, threshing, shelling, drying, dusting, and when the rice was completely dried, it was packed into bags and delivered to the government. Only when all the public grain was delivered did the work come to an end.
However, the teachers and students of the brigade primary school no longer had to participate in these tasks, so Shen Moli returned to her original rhythm of a full day of classes. At the same time, she had more time to give Maomao and Zhou Zhaodi special lessons.
At noon that day, after eating, Chen Moer prepared to cook for Maomao and Zhou Zhaodi at home as usual. However, Maomao came for a long time but there was no sign of Zhou Zhaodi.
Chen Moer had no choice but to teach Maomao first. Even when the gong sounded for the afternoon work, Zhou Zhaodi did not show up.
"Let's go to her house."
Chen Moer put away the paper, pen and book on the table, closed the gate and took Maomao to Zhou Zhaodi's house.
Zhou Zhaodi's father was Zhou Xiaoshuan. His brother Zhou Dashuan lived on the other side of the brigade headquarters in a house they built after they got married. Zhou Xiaoshuan lived in the old Zhou family house with his parents.
Generally speaking, parents live with their eldest son, but this is obviously not the case in their family.
It is said that when Zhou Dashuan's wife married into the family, she gave birth to two girls in a row. She suffered a lot from the difficult labor when giving birth to the second girl, so the couple discussed and decided not to have more children. However, the old man of the Zhou family wanted a grandson to carry on the family line, so he forced them to have more children. The two sides became very tense, so Zhou Dashuan and his wife simply moved out.
Zhou Xiaoshuan is said to be a "filial son" who can fully understand his old father's desire for a grandson. His first wife gave birth to three daughters in a row, but she died of heavy bleeding when the third daughter was born. Within a year, he married another one, a widow with a son, and now that woman is five months pregnant.
Because this woman had given birth to a son before, the Zhou family was certain that she would continue to give birth to boys, and the whole family worshipped her like an ancestor.
——These were all what Chen Moer found out from Aunt Chen and the others after she selected Zhou Zhaodi to participate in the competition.
Shen Moer took Maomao's hand and walked to the door of Zhou's old house, and heard a woman's voice in the yard: "Cry, cry, cry, it's so unlucky! Didn't you win the award? You said there would be a prize, but you haven't seen anything yet! Anyway, you can already win the award, why do you still need to study? There are so many chores at home, are you counting on me to do it all?! I'm pregnant with your Zhou family's precious grandson. If I get tired or something happens to my stomach, can you bear it?"
Another thin and weak voice choked with sobs: "I work. I get up early in the morning and go to bed late at night. I can get all the work done. Woo woo woo, I'll find time to go to Teacher Shen's house."
"Isn't it your duty to get up early in the morning and do more work? Your family provides you with food, clothing, and schooling, so can't you make a little contribution to your family? Forget about the night, when it's pitch dark, doesn't it cost money to light a lamp?!"
The woman became angry as she spoke, and cursed, "Zhou Xiaoshuan, you coward, are you just going to listen to this damn girl talking back to me? Do you want her to paint instead? Do you want to tire me to death?!"
The man's voice: "How could that be? Didn't I tell her not to go? Zhaodi, you have to be obedient. You are a girl, so it's enough for you to recognize a few words. Your family can afford your education, so you should be grateful. Your mother is pregnant now, so you should be more considerate of her."
The faint and weak voice could no longer be distinguished, but she continued to sob.
With a clang, something fell to the ground. The woman angrily said, "Are you trying to provoke me on purpose? If you cry again, I will beat you to death!"
There was a commotion inside.
Shen Moer banged on the gate a few times and raised her voice: "Is Zhou Xiaoshuan home?"
The yard was quiet for a moment, and soon someone came to open the door. The man who opened the door looked about the same age as Chen Zhuangzhuang, but his face had a sad expression. When he saw Shen Moer, he was stunned for a moment, and then a little embarrassed: "Teacher Shen."
Shen Moer stood at the door and did not go in. Instead, she said, "I'm here to look for classmate Zhou Zhaodi. She didn't attend the tutoring today. I may have to keep her for another class in the afternoon. Let your parents know in advance."
Zhou Xiaoshuan opened his mouth, frowned, and looked embarrassed.
A woman with a slightly protruding belly came out, holding up her waist, looked Shen Moer up and down, and said, "Teacher Shen, our Zhaodi doesn't want to learn anymore. Drawing this useless painting is not only a waste of paper and pens, but also a waste of time. There is a lot of work at home, and Zhaodi has to help with washing clothes and collecting firewood at home. She has no time for tutoring, so don't bother with her."
Before Shen Moer could say anything, Mao Mao snorted angrily, "You bad woman, you are talking nonsense. The drawing paper and brushes were all bought by the team leader and Sister Moer, not your money! You are an adult and you don't work, but you let Zhou Zhaodi do it, and you don't even give her food, you big bad stepmother!"
The woman's eyebrows immediately raised: "Hey, you little bastard, how can you talk like that?!"
She still had the laundry mallet she had used to hit someone before in her hand, and she raised her hand to hit Maomao. Shen Moer quickly picked up Maomao and took a step back, angrily saying, "Yang, is this your child? Why are you hitting him?!"
Yang Daniu glanced at Maomao, and thinking that Chen Zhuangzhuang and his wife and Aunt Chen were not easy to mess with, she withdrew her hand awkwardly: "I just wanted to scare him, how could I really hit him!"
Shen Moer ignored her and called out "Zhou Zhaodi". Zhou Zhaodi had actually been leaning against the door for a long time. When she heard her call, she immediately rushed out: "Teacher Shen."
Accidentally catching the gaze of her stepmother Yang Danniu, she shrank back and subconsciously hid behind Shen Moer.
Shen Moer patted her head: “It’s time to go to school, let’s go.”
She glanced at Yang Danniu and said, "The competition is not just your business. It is related to the honor of the brigade, the commune, the county and even the city. If you continue to interfere with Zhou Zhaodi's studies, I will have no choice but to tell the captain."
Yang Danniu curled her lips and said, "I don't believe that the city and county can still control us, the little members of the commune?"
In the end, he didn't say anything more.
Chen Moer led the two little ones to school, thinking that she would have to talk to Zhou Mancang about this matter. She had a hunch that Yang Da Nv would not cooperate just because of a few words from her.
Just as he was thinking about it, someone suddenly shouted from behind: “Comrade Shen Moer!”
She turned around and saw Fu Mingze coming from the direction of the educated youth center. When he came to her, Fu Mingze looked at her carefully, frowned slightly, and asked, "Did something happen?"
Shen Moer's frown relaxed, and she smiled and shook her head: "It's just a small matter."
After she finished speaking, she saw Fu Mingze still looking at her, seemingly dissatisfied with the answer, so he patted Zhou Zhaodi's furry head and said, "The student's parents are not very cooperative with our work, but I will discuss it with the team leader and solve it properly as soon as possible."
Zhou Zhaodi touched her head. The skinny little girl’s tense face relaxed visibly.
Maomao stretched out her index finger and poked her frizzy short hair, laughing with joy.
Fu Mingze breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at Zhou Zhaodi, and said, "If parents beat, scold, or abuse their children, you can ask the women's director or the commune women's federation, or you can ask the police at the police station to intervene."
The women's director of their brigade is surnamed Chen, who is a distant relative of Shen Moer. She married into the same village and has the support of both her natal and in-laws' families. She has been working in the position of women's director for more than ten years.
However, Director Shen is a person who likes to smooth things over and does not want to offend anyone. For example, she is always very active in organizing female comrades to study □□, carry out activities to support the military and their families, and visit people in need. However, once it comes to things like conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and abuse of women and children, she starts to play deaf and dumb.
Shen Moer knew that it was useless to look for her, but she could consider the Women's Federation and the police station. After all, that Yang Da Nv dared to attack Maomao with such a big club, so who knows what she would do when she attacks her stepdaughter Zhou Zhaodi.
In Daliang, it was common for parents to beat and scold their children, so Shen Moer didn't know that in this world, parents who beat and scold their children would also be arrested by the police.
The original owner didn't seem to have any impression of this.
However, Shen Moer naturally believed Fu Mingze. She had discovered that Fu Zhiqing actually knew a lot, but he didn't seem to want to attract attention, so most of the time he was unwilling to say much.
"I understand. If they go too far, I will find the public security comrades." Shen Moer said.
Fu Mingze nodded, glanced at the two little ones who were looking at them curiously, took out two oranges from his pocket, and stuffed the round orange-red one into Shen Moer's hand: "Eat it yourself, don't share it with others."
He gave the smaller orange peel, which still had some green and yellow skin, to Maomao: "Share it between the two of you."
Maomao blinked his puppy eyes, inexplicably feeling that this scene was familiar... It was just like this when Fu Zhiqing distributed candy to him and Shun'er before, favoring one over the other.
He couldn't help but say, "Sister Mo'er's oranges are big and red, and ours are small and yellow. Let's split one between us!"
Fu Mingze glanced at him, nodded, and said seriously: "It's because I thought it might be a little sour and not tasty that I didn't give it to her."
"Otherwise, how can a little brat like you have a share?"
Maomao: “…”
Humph, and you still say you’re not dating!
Liar!
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