Chapter 25: On the Eve of Joining the Army
Shen Lingning carefully placed the dying man, Shen Yuchuan, on the kang in another room of the house, and then gathered a bunch of corn stalks to heat the kang.
The newly added firewood in the kang crackled, and the orange-red flames reflected her furrowed brows.
This year she also learned how to heat the kang, and the hot pit in southern Shanxi also soothed the gloom in her heart.
She frantically rummaged for the cleanest old cloth and dipped it in the spiritual spring water in the space. When the spring water touched the man's knife wound and broken fingers, the gushing blood strangely slowed down for a moment.
After Shen Lingning cleaned the man's wound, he went into the bedroom to sleep.
Early in the morning, Fubao, wearing a floral jacket, stuck his butt out and crawled to Shen Lingning, grunting and babbling, trying to wake his mother up.
"Mom, baby, I'm hungry..."
After thinking about it, Fubao's hunger overcame his shame. He leaned over in front of Shen Lingning, lifted up the clothes in front of his chest, picked up the bowl of rice and started eating as if he was familiar with it.
Chen Ling, who was sleeping soundly, felt a chill on his chest. He subconsciously reached out to touch it and touched a furry little head that was eating happily, swaying from side to side and sniffing.
After settling Xiao Fubao, Shen Lingning got up and went to the next room, only to see that the kang was empty!
All that remained was a dark brown bloodstain dried by body heat, and a small piece of yellowed straw paper folded neatly in a square on a corner of the kang mat.
Shen Lingning unfolded the scroll, and a line of thin, strong, and powerfully written Slender Gold script leaped onto the paper:
Dear Benefactor:
Shen Yuchuan thanks you for saving my life and will remember it forever.
However, I am indeed a criminal, and I am afraid that staying here will jeopardize the reputation and safety of my benefactor, so I dare not bother you again.
The kindness is as high as a mountain. If I am lucky enough to escape from the predicament in the future, I will do my best to find the benefactor and repay the kindness of giving me a new life.
Carrying an important task, I bid farewell with tears.
——The sinner Yuchuan bows his head
"He has beautiful handwriting, and the wording seems to be from a family of poetry and literature..."
Shen Lingning held the note, feeling mixed emotions.
It’s better to leave, it saves a lot of trouble.
She shook her head, put the note into the corner of the space, and put it out of her mind.
Now that departure is imminent, the warmth of her fellow villagers makes her heart heavy. Although she has only been in Majiaji for a year, she feels the simplicity and kindness of the people in this place.
The year at Majiaji left a deeper mark on her than the twenty years of luxury in Shanghai in the first half of her life.
When she first arrived, she felt resentful towards her biological father and alienated from the yellow land of southern Shanxi.
Even though Zhou Weiguo asked someone to take care of her, there was still a layer of politeness between them. Even though she later established a foothold in Majiaji on her own, there was still no one she was willing to talk to.
But I didn't expect that on the night of the difficult delivery...
The snow and wind blocked the door, and she was on the verge of death. It was Aunt Wang who rushed in and out to deliver her baby. When the Zhou family came, Aunt Wang went out to call for support and called on the villagers to help...
It was the water that Li Tiezhu's wife had boiled all night long, and it was the eggs and brown sugar that the neighbors had saved up for half a year...
It was the old branch secretary who stood in front of her time and time again, protecting her and little Fubao...
That burning, unreasonable "protective" spirit was like a red-hot iron, burning through the ice in her heart.
When Fubao was one month old, the courtyard was crowded with smiling faces in coarse clothes, and eggs and red dates with body temperature were stuffed into the courtyard. Those clumsy blessings brought warmth that Shen Lingning had never expected.
Now, she wants to take Fubao to find Zhou Weiguo and join the army.
The news spread like wildfire throughout the small town of Majiaji. Everyone missed her and felt reluctant and worried about her.
After all, it was Qin Nan, thousands of miles away. She was a young woman bringing her child to a strange place...
Everyone wanted to get her more things.
"Lingning! Are you home?"
Aunt Wang's signature loud voice, accompanied by anxious panting, broke open the gate before she even arrived.
She was carrying a wicker basket that was about to break, and it was heavy and stood in front of Shen Lingning.
The basket was filled with tender shepherd's purse and dandelions covered in fresh black mud and rolled in morning dewdrops, so juicy that it seemed as if water could be squeezed out of them.
"I don't know if Qin Nan has this thing, take it with you! Soak it in water on the way to cool down!"
Without saying anything, he put down the basket.
Li Tiezhu's wife followed closely behind, holding half a basket of radish strips and dried beans that were dried in the sun but still had a scorched aroma.
"I know you don't lack fine grains. These are baked in the autumn sun, and the stewed meat is so delicious that it's going to make you drool!"
She smiled shyly, gently put down the basket, and sat next to Aunt Wang's "magic grass".
Unexpectedly, Aunt Wang and Zhuzi's wife looked at each other, and like a magic trick, they pulled out a bulging bundle of homemade indigo coarse cloth from behind them.
Aunt Wang's hands, covered with calluses and cracks, carefully untied the knotted button.
Crash!
Three pairs of brand new cloth shoes with gleaming cloth luster and soles so thick they could be used as bricks!
The stitching is as dense as marching ants, the upper is made of wear-resistant black twill, and the square toe is matched with exquisite black fine cloth shoe straps.
Next to it was a thick pile of insoles neatly stacked together, with colorful scraps of cloth pieced together to form simple patterns, all of which were woven just as solidly and looked soft.
"I know that a delicate young lady like you from the city is better at using an embroidery needle than an awl!"
Aunt Wang slapped her rough palm on the bundle. The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes turned into dried walnut lines from a smile, and she was very proud. "I'm just a country woman. I don't have any expensive things. I just have this little handicraft inherited from my ancestors. Don't think it's rustic! Come, try it on your feet!"
Before he finished speaking, he had already squatted down and swiftly took off the half-worn cotton shoes on Chen Lingning's feet.
Shen Lingning's feet had long been worn away by the ridges of the fields, but they were still slender.
The cloth shoes were put on my feet, neither too big nor too small, just right, with thick soles that stepped on the ground.
An unprecedented sense of solidity and warmth rushed from the soles of my feet to the top of my head.
This is not a shoe, but the affection that solidifies this yellow earth!
It was Aunt Wang who taught her how to plant seeds, it was Sister Zhuzi who helped her fill the water jar, and it was everyone who saved their food rations during the famine years to keep her and her mother alive...
All the clumsy, scorching warmth is contained in this thousand-layer bottom.
"Auntie...Sister-in-law Zhuzi..."
Shen Lingning's throat suddenly choked, his eyes instantly became hot, and his nose felt sore.
Thousands of words were stuck in my throat, and in the end they turned into a deep, trembling bow.
The moment he bent down, a drop of scalding water fell on the brand new cloth shoes, spreading a small dark spot.
This bow was to help this orphan girl find the warmth of "home" in the ordinary village of Majiaji.
Aunt Wang and Sister Tiezhu quickly helped Shen Lingning up: "Ah, you kid, it's such a big deal, and you still bow to us. It makes Auntie blush."
As a few people were saying goodbye, Fubao grunted as he crawled to the bag, and Xiaopang grabbed it with his hands, trying to see if there was any share for him.
Aunt Wang was delighted when she saw this. She put her hands on Fubao's arms and hugged her tightly, teasing her: "What do you want to see, little one? Is there nothing for you?"
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