Chapter 11 The Bullpen
The little kids in front of him were not even as tall as Chen Zhu's knees, and some of them were carrying babies a few months old with pacifiers on their backs.
Are these the team that mows the pigs?
The person in charge nodded.
"Well, mowing grass for pigs is simple and easy, but the work points are few. If adults don't want to do it, they'll let the children do it. You're not in good health, and you don't need high work points, so this job is perfect for you."
Chen Zhuyi lowered his head and looked into the eyes of the dolls, and finally accepted it reluctantly.
"All right."
When the person in charge saw that all the educated youth had been assigned, he nodded with satisfaction, put his hands behind his back, and left humming a little tune.
Chen Zhu bent down and looked at the radish heads, and asked softly: "When do we start cutting grass for the pigs?"
"We have to wait for the boss to come."
Boss?
Chen Zhu couldn't help laughing. Is this the boss she understood?
A group of kids also has a leader, right?
The next second, a group of children shouted, "The boss is here."
Chen Zhu turned his head and laughed.
It’s an acquaintance!
Yaya didn't expect to meet Chen Zhuyi here, and she ran over quickly with her short legs.
"Sister Shen, why are you here?"
Chen Zhuyi gestured to his backpack and said, "I've been assigned to your team to cut grass for the pigs. I'll be your little brother from now on. Please take care of me, boss!"
So that's how it is.
Yaya still remembered that Chen Zhuyi had given her White Rabbit candy. She patted her chest and said, "Don't worry, Sister Chen. I will protect you."
Looking at the lovely scene, Chen Zhuyi couldn't help laughing again, then reached into his pocket and took out a handful of fruit candies from the space.
All the children's eyes lit up the moment they saw Chen Zhuyi holding out the fruit candy, and some of them couldn't stop drooling.
Chen Zhu gave handfuls of candy to the children one by one.
"This candy is my welcome gift to you. We will cut grass for the pigs together in the next few days. I'm not very skilled at it at first, so please teach me."
Fruit candy!
Something they might not be able to eat during the Chinese New Year. The little carrots stared at the beautiful colorful fruit candies in their palms and nodded their heads.
“Okay Sister Shen, I’ll teach you how to distinguish weeds from pigweed.”
“Sister Shen, I’ll tell you where the pig grass is the most abundant and the most lush!”
“And me, Sister Shen, if you can’t finish cutting, I’ll help you cut it.”
“…”
Chen Zhuyi smiled and agreed to everything. Suddenly, he glanced and swore that there seemed to be a child standing behind a tree not far away.
Yaya followed Chen Zhuyi's gaze and saw the child, waving at him.
Unexpectedly, the child turned around and ran away immediately after seeing it.
"He's the grandson of Grandpa Zhao and Grandma Zhao from the cowshed. He occasionally follows us quietly, but when we call him, he runs away."
Bullpen?
Chen Zhu remembered that at this time in his previous life, due to some policies from above, some people were unjustly reported and sent to the countryside for criticism and struggle. It seems that this also happened here on the island.
Those people are actually not bad people. On the contrary, they may have made outstanding contributions to some fields. Because he has also been engaged in scientific research and understands the hard work and effort involved, Chen Zhuyi admires these people.
"Do you know the specific name of the Grandpa Zhao you mentioned?"
Yaya bit her fingers, thought about it, and said it out loud.
Chen Zhu's pupils shrank sharply.
She had heard of this name in the newspaper in her previous life. It was the name of a giant in the field of biology who had made great literary contributions to the country. However, he seemed to have been depressed because of the death of his wife in his early years. He passed away after inventing the drug.
Chen Zhuyi later took the medicine he developed when he fell ill, and he felt sad and regretful when he heard the news of his death.
"Do you know how Grandpa Zhao is doing?"
"My grandfather once had food delivered to him."
The other children also answered.
"My father also secretly sent food to my family. I overheard it when I got up to go to the bathroom at night."
The rest of the children also said that they had received gifts from their families.
Chen Zhu felt relieved. She had read in the newspaper that in some areas, those who were criticized and sent down to the countryside would suffer inhuman torture and humiliation. It seemed that there was no such thing on the island, and everyone was very kind.
Yaya remembered something at this time.
"But I seem to remember that Grandma Zhao was sick these past few days. My grandfather secretly asked someone to see her, and when he came back he shook his head and sighed."
My heart, which had just calmed down, was lifted up again, and I instantly remembered the news in the newspaper.
Grandpa Zhao’s wife is not dead yet!
Normally, these people who have been demoted are not allowed to see a doctor when they are sick. Since Commander Lu found someone to see them but it didn't work, it means that their illness is serious.
But Commander Lu probably has no way of finding a doctor outside to treat his serious illness, as there are so many eyes watching him.
Grandpa Zhao’s wife most likely died from this serious illness.
When Chen Zhu thought of the medicines in his space and the pharmacology knowledge he learned in his previous life, he secretly kept this matter in his heart.
Chen Zhuyi and the children learned to distinguish pig grass, but they were not very skilled in cutting it for the first time and only filled a small basket in an hour.
Yaya couldn't bear to watch it anymore, so she ordered her younger brothers to give some to Chen Zhu.
Chen Zhuyi expressed that he felt ashamed to accept the decision and promised to work harder tomorrow.
Although there was enough feed for the pigs, the children did not go back. Instead, they began to look for wild vegetables around the foot of the mountain so that they could bring them home for more meals for their families.
Chen Zhu glanced at the sky and thought that if he went back now, the other educated youth would definitely not have returned yet, so he decided to stay with the children and learn something at the same time.
Taking a root of hairy sprout, Chen Zhuyi imitated the child to peel off the white strip inside, put it in his mouth and chew it. Soon, he felt a sweet taste in his mouth.
"tasty!"
Chen Zhu gave a thumbs up.
The little girl who gave Chenzhu a little sprout blushed.
In one afternoon, Chen Zhuyi got to know a lot of wild vegetables and fruits. After handing in his pig feed, he waved goodbye to the children and set off on the road back to the educated youth site.
When Chen Zhu returned, the other educated youth also came back.
When their eyes met, Chen Zhu saw that the educated youth, who had worked all afternoon, looked haggard and covered in mud, with a hint of despair in his eyes. He was stunned for a moment, then took out the wild fruits and vegetables from his basket.
"I picked these on the mountain today. I'll wash them and put them on the table for you to eat. I've also fried some wild vegetables tonight to nourish your bodies."
When the educated youth heard this, they looked at Chen Zhuyi, who was in stark contrast to them, without feeling any resentment and nodded in thanks.
How could they complain? They only had a few work points, and they even brought them food. How thoughtful!
Huang Cuicui also worked all afternoon without stopping for a moment, because there were special scorers checking the ridges of the fields. Once they found you slacking off, points would be deducted directly, so everyone had to work hard.
Now I am so tired that I just want to lie down and take a deep sleep.
Looking at Chen Zhuyi, whose body was still clean, Huang Cuicui clenched her fists, her eyes filled with resentment.
Dinner was prepared very quickly. Everyone was silent during lunch because they felt embarrassed about what happened with Huang Cuicui. At night, they were simply too tired to say a word. After eating, washing up, and lying on the bed, they quickly fell asleep.
Chen Zhuyi was also lying on the bed.
This was her second day on the island. Although she had experienced some bad things, she also met many new friends and things with good intentions.
This feeling is very fulfilling. I no longer feel hopeless about the future or despair about the people around me.
Chen Zhuyi closed his eyes contentedly and fell asleep.
The next day, the educated youth already knew the time to go to work every day. After yesterday's work, everyone was sore all over, but they still had to endure it and get up.
Otherwise, if you don’t have enough work points and have no food to eat, you will starve to death when the food is distributed during the New Year.
Chen Zhuyi, carrying a backpack, reunited with Yaya and the others. With yesterday's experience, he cut grass for the pigs much faster today, but he was still not as fast as the children.
After cutting the grass for the pigs, while the other children were looking for wild vegetables, Chen Zhu asked Yaya in a low voice.
"Ya Ya, do you know where the bullpen is?"
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