Chapter 35: Yu Family Past
Her brother and sister-in-law were copying out medical texts from a book. Everything in their home in Beijing had been confiscated and burned, leaving nothing behind. The old man and his wife were devastated. If Wen Rui hadn't arrived in time, they would have likely committed suicide.
"Brother, sister-in-law, there are good things today."
The old lady put down her pen and said, "Is it that girl again? What did you give her?"
"It was she who sent me a wild beehive, which contained a good deal of honey. She also sent me some eggs, wheat, and millet. This will give you boiled eggs every day and millet porridge for a while."
The old lady lowered her eyelids, then quickly raised them again with a gentle smile on her face. She said, "Ziqin, thank you, and thank you Wenrui too. Back then, your brother was so against you two and created so many difficulties for you, yet you and Wenrui still put aside past grudges and took us in. Wenrui even went all the way to the capital to bring us out. I feel so bad."
Mentioning this, the old man put down his pen with a snap, wanting to say something but unable to. He was alone there, trying his luck. Back then, Li Wenrui was an apprentice in his family's clinic. He had some talent, and his father favored him, so he was given more attention. Unexpectedly, this guy was dishonest and had an affair with his sister, instigating her to marry him.
The family couldn't separate the mandarin ducks even with their big sticks.
That damned girl, Yu Ziqin, had even followed him back to his hometown, living in this small town, only going back once every two or three years. But she seemed quite comfortable, still innocent at her age. Her only issue was her attire.
He had always been at odds with Li Wenrui, and he had always been a jerk. Unexpectedly, when he was in trouble, Li Wenrui traveled all the way to the capital to rescue him and hid him here. This kid must have seen the chaos and guessed that his family would not be well off given their financial situation, so he ran over.
The brat he had looked down upon back then, turned out to be a man of integrity and righteousness. He still needed him to rely on him to survive in this chaotic time.
Alas! His mood was also very complicated.
He still feels resentful about Li Wenrui kidnapping his sister, but he is also truly grateful to him.
He wanted to praise him but couldn't bring himself to do so, and scolding him would be a crime. Before, he'd just said "sorry for the trouble" and let it go, but today, the old woman brought up Li Wenrui's affair with his sister, which made him feel very uncomfortable.
The old lady, who was called sister-in-law, rolled her eyes at the old man and said, "Yu Qiushi, what are you doing? You always tell me that this time it's all thanks to Wenrui! So what if you say it out loud? Is your face that important? Wenrui and Ziqin took a huge risk by taking us in. You should reflect on this!"
Old man: “…”
The old lady named Ziqin said, "Sister-in-law, that's all history, let's not talk about it. You just stay here and settle down. We're lucky. We've only been through hard times for a little over a year when we met a kind-hearted young girl to live with us. God won't let a sparrow starve to death, so we can always make ends meet."
The old man snorted coldly, "Who are you calling a blind sparrow?"
Yu Ziqin rolled her eyes and said, "I'm talking about myself, okay?"
She walked away again, carrying the bucket of beehives.
Only the old man and his wife were left in the backyard. The old lady said to him, "You need to change your temper. It's so late now, and you're still making a fuss. What's the matter? Are you still dissatisfied with Wenrui? A friend in need is a friend indeed. Wenrui is very good at doing this! Aren't there many people in the capital who, when faced with disaster, flee, sever ties, and report each other? You looked down on Wenrui before because you thought his family background was too low, but now, family background has become a threat!"
Yu Qiushi sighed, "I understand. I didn't say anything."
"You have a sad face all day long, do you still need to say it?"
"My sad face is not because of him, but because of the world. Look at what I wrote, I have forgotten some of it."
"Don't try to memorize it exactly as it's in the book. Just write down what you know."
The old man was silent for a while, then picked up his pen and continued writing. He was afraid that if he didn't write anymore, he would forget even more.
———☆———
Xie Yun returned home, finished weaving the basket that was still almost finished, and cleaned the basket he used to carry things, wiped it twice with a wet cloth, and put it aside to dry.
I need to bring some things tomorrow, so I still need a basket, otherwise it will be difficult to pack.
Afterwards, she fed the pigs and chickens before Zhang Ruifeng came back from work. She also brought a basket with her, and when she saw Xie Yun, she smiled and said, "I've sped up today too. I usually braid three in two days, but today I can finish two."
Xie Yun praised: "That's amazing! But there's no need to rush."
She came up to Zhang Ruifeng and said with a smile, "Today's beehive sold for 30 yuan!"
"so much!"
"I delivered it directly to his house. He gave me a slightly higher price than the purchasing station. It was over seven kilograms, so he rounded it up to 30 yuan."
As Xie Yun spoke, he handed the money to Zhang Ruifeng, and the rest remained with her.
Zhang Ruifeng looked at Xie Yun with shining eyes: "Let's go up the mountain during our break and pick some beehives!"
Xie Yun laughed and said, "How can there be so much? It's just a coincidence this time. But you can go and have a look. If there is any, pick it up. If not, just pick up some firewood. It won't be a wasted trip."
At this time, nature still gave humanity many gifts. It's just that people haven't fully realized the economic value of these gifts. Or, in other words, they don't have the energy to make use of them.
Because everyone is in the stage of trying hard to have enough food to eat, growing crops consumes most of everyone's energy and vitality. Even if they go into the mountains to find or dig things, they are thinking about filling their stomachs rather than selling them.
Especially in the current policy context of relatively strict control over the private economy, everyone has a deep-rooted fear and resistance to buying and selling.
Most people's minds don't even think about this.
In this sense, modern people who travel back in time have a significant advantage if they have a certain understanding of history. At the very least, they will be bolder, more open-minded, and have more opportunities.
———☆———
The next morning, before daybreak, the brigade's loudspeaker blared, "Members participating in militia training, gather at the brigade headquarters as soon as possible."
There is absolutely no concept of whether it disturbs the public or not. The loudspeaker will be used whenever needed. There is nothing strange about it even if it starts broadcasting in the middle of the night.
Xie Yun had prepared well. She got up early in the morning and bundled her bedding. She placed her toothbrush, toothbrush cup, towel, and tooth powder wrapped in a small paper bag, along with her washbasin, at the bottom of her backpack. She also brought rations, a kilogram per day, half of which she would bring herself and the other half subsidized by the brigade. Xie Yun also brought a kilogram of wheat and six and a half kilograms of corn, which she placed in the basket.
Put a tightly tied blanket on top.
Zhang Ruifeng got up earlier than her. She started to make a fire and cook. She made pancakes and boiled egg soup for Xie Yun, fearing that the pancakes would be too dry for her.
While Xie Yun was eating, she went to her room to check again, fearing that she had missed something.
"You don't have clam oil?"
"No. I'll put it on when I get back. I'm going there for training, or rather, to endure hardships. If I bring clam oil with me, I'm afraid some people will say I'm conceited, indulgent, and petty-bourgeois. I have to be careful."
Not only could she not apply clam oil, she couldn't even take a bath during this period. She could only wipe herself with water like everyone else, and at most wash her hair.
Zhang Ruifeng thought her daughter's words made sense, so she put down the clam oil.
Xie Yun patched up his clothes a few more times last night, adding several layers of patches to areas prone to wear and tear, like his knees and elbows. This protected both himself and his clothes, but it still looked a bit shabby.
After dinner, Zhang Ruifeng wrapped a flatbread in clean white cotton cloth for Xie Yun and stuffed it into her backpack. "Here, who knows what time dinner is served over there? You can have something to eat if you're hungry."
"My mother still loves me. I'm leaving now."
After finishing her meal, she wiped her mouth, picked up her backpack and left.
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