“Grandpa Village Chief, my stepmother still has some money.
She said that we should eat better in the future because we were too thin and needed to eat more. She said that she would make money in the future and that we children would not have to worry about these things.
He also said that he would send us to study in academy in the future."
"This, this, this..." The village chief was shocked. Was this what Lin Shuang said? Lin Shuang had changed so much.
But it’s better this way, much better than before.
"Okay, there are still some eggs at home, I'll go get them." Eggs are two for one cent, and 40 eggs are only 20 cents.
The village chief picked up the eggs and came out.
"Xiao Ce, here are 40 eggs, take them."
The village chief gently placed the bamboo basket containing eggs on the ground.
Xiao Ce counted out 20 copper coins from his purse and handed them to the village chief.
"Grandpa Village Chief, this is 20 cents, count it."
"Okay." The village chief counted them in front of the children, and there were exactly 20.
The village chief smiled and said, "Xiao Ce is really good at counting, that's great." He glanced at the stone next to Xiao Jingyu and sighed.
Shitou felt uneasy when his grandfather looked at him. He touched his head, confused as to why his grandfather was sighing at him.
"Grandpa Village Chief, let's go now."
"Wait a minute, I'll go with you. You kids don't know where to catch fish."
The village chief walked in front, Shitou's eyes rolled around, and he followed Xiao Jingyu and his group out.
The village chief took them all the way to the river, where a man was fishing.
"Dajiang, are you fishing?" The village chief walked up and greeted him with a polite smile on his face and his hands behind his back.
Several children watched quietly from the side, with Shi Tou right next to Xiao Jingyu.
Uncle Dajiang, with his trouser legs rolled up, was catching fish by the pond. With his dark skin and simple smile, Xiao Ce could tell that this uncle didn't come from a well-off family. He looked old despite his young age.
Xiao Ce knew that most of the villagers' living conditions were not very good. For several poor families, even having enough food to eat was a luxury. However, they did not give up on themselves and still tried hard to love life.
The small pond was surrounded by weeds and a lot of mud. A big tree stood next to it, its lush branches and leaves blocking the hot sunlight and bringing a hint of coolness to the villagers near the pond.
Li Dajiang was trying hard to catch fish. Big beads of sweat were flowing down his skin, slowly dripping onto the ground along the lines of his skin.
Not afraid of the scorching sun, she still has a simple smile on her face.
"Uncle village chief, why are you here? Why don't you take two fish home to eat?" Li Dajiang smiled simply.
He quickly took out a fish from the bucket. The lively crucian carp struggled hard in Li Dajiang's hands, flapping its tail. The splashing water did not make Li Dajiang impatient at all.
"No, no, no, Dajiang, you keep it. The Xiao family's children want to buy your fish. How much is it per pound?"
The village chief waved his hand. Dajiang was already in financial difficulty, so why should he take his things? Besides, fish was fishy and smelly and not tasty at all.
Li Dajiang then looked at Xiao Ce and the others with hesitation, because the fish was very fishy and no one would eat it, so it could not be sold.
Now the Xiao family wants to buy it, isn’t this a scam for them?
Li Dajiang frowned, scratched his head uncomfortably, and looked at Xiao Ce with an apologetic look.
"Xiao Ce, this fish isn't tasty. Your family isn't doing well either. If you don't have anything to eat, I'll give you a few so you don't have to spend money to buy it."
Li Dajiang directly took the fish in the bucket and placed the bucket in front of Xiao Ce.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ce looked at Li Dajiang and felt deeply for Uncle Dajiang's difficulties.
Her little face was tense and she looked at Li Dajiang seriously with a firm look in her eyes.
"Uncle Dajiang, I want all these fish, but I'm buying your fish."
"Uncle Dajiang, just sell it to us. Otherwise, when we go back later, mother will be sad if she doesn't see the fish." Xiao Jingyu said hurriedly, pulling Li Dajiang's arm directly.
"Jing Yu, it's not that uncle doesn't want to sell it to you, it's just that it's not worth much. We are all from the same village, I can't cheat you if you don't understand."
Li Dajiang was distressed. His family was very poor and when he divided his property, he only got a pond and a few acres of land.
My brothers are not in good conditions either. They can barely take care of themselves, so how can they care about others?
However, even in such difficult times, these brothers never thought of harming or cheating others.
"Uncle Dajiang, this is what my mother asked us to buy. She also gave us money. My mother is a great cook. She can make any dish delicious."
Xiao Jingyu always looked proud when talking about Lin Shuang.
"Dajiang, it's true. Just sell it to them. It will be better for everyone."
The village chief also sighed, Dajiang's situation was a true reflection of the entire village.
Many people live like this, but there is no other way. Unless there is a scholar in the family, or at least a scholar, the life of the family will become better.
However, it costs a lot of money to support a scholar, which is something that ordinary families cannot afford. As the village chief, I can only make ends meet and now I have begun to worry about Shitou's future studies.
My daughter-in-law's health deteriorated when she gave birth to Shitou, and she may never get pregnant again. Shitou is the only one of his generation.
Shitou is 5 years old now and can start education, but his family has no money to send him to a private school.
In their opinion, if they want to live a good life, studying is the way out. However, without money, they cannot enter the academy. This is a vicious circle.
"Okay, I'll help you carry it." Li Dajiang nodded, and at the same time he wanted to ask Lin Shuang if she wanted it.
Li Dajiang felt uneasy. On one hand, there was the temptation of money, and on the other hand, he was worried that Xiao Ce would waste money if he bought it.
Xiao Ce nodded, carrying the eggs and following Li Dajiang. The other three children also followed. Shi Tou also wanted to go, so when the village chief wasn't paying attention, he pulled Xiao Jingyu and ran forward together.
The village chief looked at him and shook his head and smiled. Shi Tou just liked to play with Xiao Jingyu, so let him do what he wanted.
Lin Shuang’s change this time may be a good thing.
The group chatted loudly and soon arrived home.
"Mom, we're back." Xiao Jingyu and Shitou rushed to the front and shouted at the top of their lungs when they reached the door of their house.
Lin Shuang came out when she heard the noise and saw Xiao Jingyu and Shitou rushing over enthusiastically, with several children behind them following a man.
"You're back. Did you buy the things?" Lin Shuang also walked in to wipe Xiao Jingyu's sweat. Shi Tou was really shocked watching from the side.
Seeing my aunt wiping Jing Yu's sweat so gently was something I had never seen before.
Looking at Jing Yu at this moment, he seemed to be enjoying himself.
Shitou felt that his aunt really liked Jingyu.
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