Chapter 22 Pork
Chu Yan shook her head: "Sister, you can just take Chu Chu with you. We need to boil water, and the sweet potatoes are already cut, so they will cook quickly."
After the incident at home, the ten-year-old child suddenly became sensible in just a few months.
They knew that their situation was very dangerous, and that it was only thanks to Secretary Song and his men's care that they were able to avoid being beaten or scolded by others.
Therefore, they were all afraid that Secretary Song’s family would hate them.
They also knew that no one in the countryside had enough food now. If they really went there, what would they do if the Song family was dissatisfied with them?
At the beginning, Chu Hong truly loved Chu Chu and was just a casual fan of the others.
But now, seeing that they all have messy hair, pale and thin faces, and look cautious, I feel very sad.
Especially when I think about the fact that among all of them, Chuchu was the only one left alive, and she was taken home as a child bride.
She suddenly felt in her heart that now that she was here, she must change their fate somehow, right?
She walked over and rubbed their messy heads, then took Chuchu by one hand and Xiaojin by the other: "Hurry up, my grandma cooked too much porridge, so I asked you to eat."
"From now on, you don't have to get up early to light the stove. Just take the tongs and grab a few pieces of burning wood from my stove."
"Also, I want to be paid, so go pick up a few baskets of pine cones later."
In autumn and winter, the pine needles and pine cones on the pine trees will fall to the ground.
Everyone would carry a bamboo rake to rake the pine needles home. Whether used for kindling or burning, the fire would be very strong, unlike burning straw, which would turn into ash.
For children like Chuchu who lack skills, they would go and pick up pine cones and burn them.
You can also break off some shorter pine branches to use for burning.
Fortunately, they were surrounded by low mountains, and there were fir trees, sycamore trees, elm trees, willow trees, poplar trees, pine trees, star anise thorns, and wild shrubs.
Nowadays, burials are mostly done in the ground. Fir and cypress are relatively hard in texture, not easily attacked by insect pests, and have some anti-corrosion properties. They are the main wood materials used to make coffins today.
Therefore, it is strictly forbidden to move these two types of trees.
In winter, everyone will go to the mountains to find dead trees, which are easier to saw and burn, and then they will cut them home to use as firewood.
Those who couldn’t steal the pine trees could only secretly cut down the pine trees and burn them at home.
Although cutting down trees is also prohibited now.
Because all natural resources belong to the Flower Kingdom, you must obtain approval from the Forestry Bureau before you can cut down trees.
After sawing down the good trees and bringing them home, I can still lie with my eyes open: There are a lot of dead trees on the mountain this year.
Villagers were allowed to carry dead trees home and burn them to prevent thunder from causing fires.
No one cares about pine needles and pine cones. Firewood for the twelfth month and next year will be prepared in winter.
Because it is easy to encounter snakes and insects when going into the mountains in spring, summer and autumn, but in winter the snakes and insects hibernate, so it is safer.
Xiao Jin couldn't hide his joy: "We will pick up a lot of pine cones."
Children have very accurate intuition. He has long envied Chu Hong's kindness to Chu Chu. He didn't expect that his sister would hold his hand now. He was so excited.
Chu Yan saw Xiao Jin's messy hair from behind, and quickly used his fingers to comb her hair, and said, "Sister, lend us the machete, we can cut some branches back."
Even though they had only known each other for two months, they already knew that Secretary Song's wife and daughters were not hardworking people.
The work points earned by the mother and her two daughters throughout the year are equivalent to that of one person.
Others could get dozens of dollars, but the mother and daughter didn't get a penny and had to pay out of their own pocket.
I also heard that Secretary Song's family owed debts a few years ago, and it was only after the son-in-law who abandoned Chu Hong gave them a few hundred yuan in compensation that they paid off the debts and their family's life became better.
The women in the village, young and old, all envied Wu Xiu and her daughter.
Not only did Secretary Song not despise Wu Xiu for not being able to give birth to a son, he also envied her parents-in-law for being able to help them. He had never heard of any quarrels in their family or conflicts between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law.
Xiao Jin and his family have only been here for more than two months, but they have already seen the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law quarreling and sisters-in-law fighting several times. From being shocked at the beginning, they have now become accustomed to the deafening howling.
Now they also began to envy Chu Hong and Chu Dan for having such good parents.
Chu Hong didn't want to make them work too hard, so she smiled and said, "Let's go find firewood together later."
Most of the firewood for the family was brought in by their grandparents and father. Wu Xiu and her two daughters would occasionally rake up some pine needles.
Nowadays, people are particularly family-oriented. Chu Hong thought of her own firewood room which was piled with firewood, and estimated that there would be enough firewood for next year.
Now I am accompanying them into the mountains because I want them to feel that they can help.
Mrs. Song also knew that if she was at home, the children would be restrained. When she saw them come in, they obediently called her Grandma Song. She also stood up from behind the stove and patted her patched old coarse cloth apron: "Hey, I washed some vegetables. Put them in the pot after the water boils."
"I'll send some to your second uncle's house, and help you wash the bedding. Don't forget to cook lunch later."
Chu Hong responded: "Then grandma, are you going home for lunch?"
"Let's talk about it later." Old Lady Song was not sure either: "Wait until Xiaodan and the others come back and tell me so that I won't worry about them."
The last time her two granddaughters went to town, something almost happened to them. Today they were going to do business that couldn’t be seen by others, so she felt a little nervous.
Chu Hong responded, and after she left, she asked the three of them to squeeze onto the stools behind the stove to make a fire and warm themselves by the fire.
She lifted the lid of the pot and saw that most of the water mixed with leftover rice had already boiled.
She twitched her lips. There was so much water, and half a bowl of leftover rice. She could imagine how watery it was.
Now I understand why grandma wants to wash the vegetables again.
Chu Hong took out a hand warmer and handed it to Chu Yan: "Put some burning firewood in it and bring it over to boil the water later."
Firewood produces less smoke when burned and can be placed in the house for warming.
Chu Yan responded: "Then I'll wait for Grandpa and the others to come together."
Not long after he left, Gu Ci strode in with a backpack on his back. Seeing Chu Hong combing Chu Chu's hair, he blinked in disbelief: "Why is Chu Chu here?"
Chu Hong smiled when she saw him: "Why are you here so early?"
"You haven't had breakfast yet? Have a bowl of porridge later."
Gu Ci handed her the basket and whispered, "A pig was slaughtered in Lingshang Village yesterday morning. I bought some bones and meat."
Since these educated youth arrived late, naturally they didn't get any meat.
However, many families in the village who were given the meat were reluctant to eat it all, so he went to several houses and bought more than seven pounds of meat, more than five pounds of bones, and four large pieces of pig blood. He quietly delivered them this morning while no one was paying attention.
Chu Hong lifted the bamboo curtain on the backpack and took a look. The pink pork was mostly lean and less fat, and looked particularly tempting.
She couldn't help swallowing: "There's so much meat, enough to eat for a long time."
Gu Ci was a little embarrassed: "Not much, and they were reluctant to sell the fat meat to me."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
