Chapter 23 Entering the Mountains
Xie Yun made lunch with her. Zhang Ruifeng planned to keep her promise that she would make dumplings stuffed with leeks and eggs today.
"Mom, you chop the chives while I fry the eggs."
She took two from home, secretly took out one from the space and cracked it in, then threw the eggshell back into the space, leaving two eggshells outside.
She quickly fried the eggs and went to knead the dough.
By the time she had kneaded the dough, Zhang Ruifeng had already mixed the filling and prepared the chopping board and the curtain. Together, the mother and daughter finished wrapping the dumplings quickly.
Xie Shen went home and ate the ready-made dumplings. The young man felt embarrassed and said while eating dumplings: "Washing the pots and dishes is my job, you two should stop it."
He wanted to finish eating quickly so that he could rush to work, but the dumplings were so delicious that he was reluctant to eat them so quickly. He was conflicted and entangled.
Xie Yun told him, "Mom and I are resting for the next two days, so you can have a ready meal. In a few days, I will go to participate in militia training, and Mom will go to the village workshop to work. She may not be back for lunch. You can cook then, and Mom will have a ready meal. I won't be home for dinner during training."
Xie Shen nodded vigorously, "Okay."
After the autumn harvest, the members didn't really have time to rest. After a couple of days' rest, they would return to work. The brigade had collective side jobs, such as basket weaving, rope twisting, composting, ditch digging, silt removal, road repair, and river work. There was so much to do. Of the 365 days in a year, they had to work at least 330 days.
In the past two winters, the brigade has organized its male laborers to go out to work en masse. Road construction and infrastructure projects in the city also require manpower, and when they're shorthanded, they negotiate with the brigade and have them send people to help.
The employer and the brigade settled accounts publicly. Workers who earned enough work points would receive a daily subsidy ranging from 10 to 30 cents, depending on the employer's contribution. In reality, the employer paid the brigade more than that, and the brigade would also receive a certain amount of profit.
So, after two days of rest, Xie Yun and Zhang Ruifeng got busy again.
After finishing his lunch, Xie Shen hurried to wash the pots and dishes, then picked up the basket and ran out. He wanted to seize the time and find more things.
In many cases, it is not an empty saying that children from poor families grow up early.
Of course, this is related to family education. If education goes astray, the situation of "poor children giving up early" may occur.
In Liushu Village, there was a family like this. The man was a lazy man, and he married a wife who was just as lazy. The couple didn't despise each other. After they had children, they were still lazy, and they raised several little lazy boys who wore dirty and ragged clothes every day, almost like beggars.
The brigade will indeed provide food to ensure that people don't starve to death, but that's all. If you want to live a better and more decent life, you still have to find a way yourself.
But the family didn't mind. Summer was fine, but in winter, they took turns wearing the two cotton-padded jackets and going to work.
Because the family couldn't even put together enough clothes, everyone was crammed into two open rooms with no partitions, and the team leader was too embarrassed to visit them to persuade them. He could only wait until they were ready to go to work and try to persuade them, but if they didn't listen, there was nothing he could do.
After all, they are just lazy, but they really don't steal, rob or do anything bad. They will listen happily to whatever you say.
Zhang Ruifeng sometimes envied this family's mentality. She just couldn't do it!
Xie Yun rested for a while after dinner, spread out the polygonatum, rehmannia root, and angelica root she had gathered to dry before leaving. She told Zhang Ruifeng, "Mom, don't go out this afternoon. Take a break. We'll be busy again tomorrow."
"good."
Zhang Ruifeng agreed readily. As soon as Xie Yun left, she took out her sewing basket, took apart the clothes that the adults could no longer wear, cut out whole pieces of cloth that were still usable, and pieced them together to make clothes for Xie Shen.
Xie Shen is still growing, so last year's cotton-padded jacket is no longer wearable this year, so she has to make a new one. Every summer, she takes the old jacket apart, removes the cotton inside, beats it, and exposes it to the sun, then puts it away. In the fall, she makes a new one based on the child's size.
Xie Yun is no longer growing, so her cotton-padded jacket is ready in the summer by simply taking it apart, drying it in the sun, and beating it, and she can wear it at any time.
Now only Xie Shen's is left. Zhang Ruifeng plans to sew it for him this afternoon so that if the temperature drops suddenly, the child will not be left without a cotton coat.
As usual, Xie Yun went to the fields to pick up things, and when Xie Shen came home, he poured the things into his basket, and then went to the mountain alone.
There are mountains to the west and south of Liushutun. They are not very high, but the vegetation is lush and there is no one on the mountains.
She found some wild Polygonatum and Rehmannia root, and took out some angelica from her space. The leaves and stems of the angelica were useless, so she only put the roots in the basket.
The cool autumn wind blew through the mountains, the leaves made a rustling sound, and the air was filled with the scent of pine and cypress. Xie Yun stepped on the fallen leaves, which also made a rustling sound.
She paused, stopped making noise, and just wanted to listen to the sounds of nature.
After a while, there was something else in the sound, as if something was approaching.
Xie Yun released his mental power and discovered a gray hare.
With a thought, a slingshot appeared in her hand. This was a heavy bow with eight rubber bands that she had legally purchased in the country before going to buy weapons for free. She had practiced with it specially and even saved pebbles. She observed, aimed, stretched, and released.
【xiu——】
Xie Yun harvested a rabbit.
The rabbit was not dead, so Xie Yun found another stone to fix it.
She found some dry grass, wrapped the rabbit up and put it in the basket.
After that, she stopped hunting. She rested for a while in the mountains and then went home.
Zhang Ruifeng was stunned.
What luck her daughter has!
"Binbin, ever since you fell ill that day and your mindset changed, your luck has improved! Do we all have to think about enjoying life in order to be blessed by God?"
Xie Yun smiled. Opportunities always come to those who are prepared. It was worth it that she had studied day and night in her previous life, taking specialized shooting courses and even joining a slingshot club for a while, specifically learning how to use a slingshot. She was nearly driven to death! She wished she could be split in half!
I thought this in my heart, but said aloud: "Maybe, because I have let it go and want to enjoy the present moment, my mind is relaxed and not so tense. I walked around the foot of the mountain today and sat there to rest for a while instead of busying myself with work. I heard a sound that seemed strange, and then I saw this rabbit not far away, still looking at me. I picked up a stone and threw it, and it hit me. It was hit and ran slower, so I caught it. I was afraid it would toss around in my basket, and I didn't have a rope to tie it up, so I had to hit it again. Is the skin okay?"
Zhang Ruifeng picked up the rabbit, examined it, and said with a smile, "It's fine. You hit the head, it won't hurt. Wait for me to clean up the skin and sew it to the knees of your cotton pants to protect them from the wind."
"Mom, you and Mumu can sew. Later I'll collect those rags and sew them on my cotton pants to keep me warm. I'm young and don't need this. You do. Besides, maybe I'll see rabbits in the mountains in the future. Then we can sew them together."
Zhang Ruifeng laughed and said, "That's not that easy. Even if we can't catch any rabbits, we can just sew them up. There are rabbit skins for sale at the market. Next time we go, we can buy some."
Xie Yun flattered her: "Mom, you are so kind. You are the best mother in the world."
Zhang Ruifeng smiled and said, "Wait, I'll clean up the rabbit and stew it for you. I can be a better mother!"
Xie Yun was very happy.
She was lucky in her new life. She had no family in her previous life, but in this life she had a wonderful mother and a sensible brother. God had been very kind to her.
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