Chapter 22 Fishing 1
Li Mingshuan held Fubao's hand and talked for a while, probably asking Fubao to go to school next year, study hard, and contribute to the four modernizations of the motherland in the future.
Fubao knew that Uncle Li was truly kind to him, so he agreed to all his requests.
Li Mingshuan looked at her well-behaved little appearance and felt particularly pity for her. He touched her head and let her go back to the Gu family.
Watching Fubao return to the Gu family, the smile on Li Mingshuan's face slowly faded. "You still need to do more ideological work with the Nie family. They may be a little poor now, but everyone is. No matter how poor, you can't treat a child like that. Fubao is an orphan, and they adopted him. You can't mistreat a child. You need to strengthen the members' education in the future and promote their ideological progress."
What else could Chen Youfu say? He could only nod continuously.
When Fubao returned to the Gu family, as soon as he entered the house, he saw Miao Xiujiu had just baked a cornmeal pancake. The golden cornmeal pancake was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, exuding a fragrance.
Miao Xiuju's face was full of smiles as she called out to Fubao: "Are you tired? Come and eat."
Fubao looked at the bright yellow cornmeal pancake and secretly swallowed his saliva, but still asked, "Grandma, where did this come from? Where are my brothers and sisters?"
She felt embarrassed to eat such delicious food alone.
Miao Xiuju: "Silly child, why are you asking so many questions? Just eat what I give you. Come to the kitchen quickly and eat."
As he said that, he pulled Fubao in and handed her the cake.
Fubao took it in her hand and tasted it gently. The cornmeal pancake was obviously freshly baked, and the edges were still hot. It was soft, sticky and sweet. It was so delicious that she couldn't help but want to take another bite.
But she still handed the cornmeal pancake to Miao Xiuju: "Grandma, try it, it's delicious."
Miao Xiuju was lighting a fire and pulling the bellows, saying nonchalantly, "Well, I want this. I've eaten all kinds of delicious food in my life. I don't want this. You can eat it!"
Miao Xiujiu insisted on not eating, so Fubao held the cornmeal pancake and ate it in small bites.
Miao Xiujiu looked at the satisfaction on Fubao's little face and smiled.
She had already asked around and learned that it wasn't easy to get the title of the city's advanced five-good family. Many people were vying for it. It seemed that if one could get it, one could go to the city to receive a certificate, prizes, and learn some advanced knowledge.
She didn't understand what was going on specifically, but what it meant was that after being recognized as the city's advanced five-good family, the Gu family would suddenly become famous.
Miao Xiujiu was not stupid. She could see that the leaders attached great importance to things like helping the elderly and raising orphans. Their family took good care of Fubao, and the leaders were happy. They thought that the Gu family had good character, so they were willing to give this good opportunity to the Gu family.
Miao Xiujiu looked at Fubao with a smile, and the more she looked at her cute little face, the more she liked her.
Fubao is not as thin as when he first came. His little face is a little chubby and looks rounder. Now he looks more like the little boy next to Guanyin Bodhisattva in the New Year picture.
Miao Xiuju sighed inwardly. Her guess was right. Old Lady Gu's words made sense. The Nie family had been childless, but after adopting Fubao, they soon became pregnant with twins. But the Nie family hadn't treated Fubao well, and that was how she ended up with so much bad luck. Instead of reflecting on her own mistakes, she blamed Fubao for her misfortune.
And the fourth daughter-in-law in my family caught the character group with the word "Fu", which actually means that she caught good fortune into the house. My family treats Fubao well and raises her sincerely, so all kinds of good things come to her.
Miao Xiujiu sighed with satisfaction. I hope the Gu family will have a good life in the future!
Fubao finished eating and everyone else came back. Miao Xiuju helped Fubao wipe his mouth to avoid anyone seeing any traces. She also reminded him, "Don't tell them what grandma gave you to eat, okay?"
Fubao nodded: "I know."
Grandma loved her secretly. Although she felt a little bad because her brothers and sisters had no cornmeal bread to eat while she did, but... the cornmeal bread was really delicious. Fubao licked her tongue with satisfaction, her heart filled with happiness.
Miao Xiujiu checked the corners of Fubao's mouth and found no trace of it, so she went out with Fubao.
After the Gu family came back, they were all very happy. They all knew that their family had been selected as one of the five best families and that it was a good thing.
Shen Hongying's eyes lit up: "We can send someone from our family to study in the city!"
In the city, that’s no small matter!
Shen Hongying felt that if someone had to go to the city to study, it would of course be her man Gu Weiguo. Gu Weiguo was the eldest son, had been to school for two years, and knew some words, so he was the most suitable person to go out.
Miao Xiuju glanced at Shen Hongying. She could see what Shen Hongying was planning at a glance, but she still had to think about who to give the spot to.
So she choked out and said, "You're dreaming of beautiful things when there's nothing to do. Look how beautiful you are. Go get to work!"
Shen Hongying felt a little aggrieved after hearing what Miao Xiujiu said, but when she thought about it, it seemed to be true. Nothing had happened yet, and the leader had only said that he would help report it. What would happen in the end still depended on the city's opinion, so she had no choice but to put it aside for now.
Liu Guizhi didn't think much about it. She was still thinking about the New Year coming soon, and she had to take out the clothes of her children and wash them so that they could wear new clothes during the New Year.
Miao Xiuju stopped Liu Guizhi and said with a smile, "There's no rush about the children's clothes. They don't have to be dressed tomorrow. You should also take care of your health and don't stay up too late. You might damage your eyes."
Naturally, the family couldn't afford candles, so they only used kerosene lamps, which only gave a tiny light. It was easy to damage the eyes when making clothes under such a kerosene lamp.
Liu Guizhi was stunned. She had been married into the Gu family for ten years, but she had never heard Miao Xiuju speak to her like this, like her own mother.
Seeing Liu Guizhi looking at her in surprise, Miao Xiuju became angry and asked, "Why, am I wrong for caring about you?"
Liu Guizhi quickly shook her head, and after shaking her head, she made an "hmmmm" sound with emotion.
Miao Xiujiu smiled. She really liked this mute daughter-in-law now. The mute daughter-in-law was so lucky. When the whole production team was drawing lots, how come she was the one who drew the word "Fu"? She was really great.
After hearing Miao Xiuju's caring words and looking at her smiling at her, Liu Guizhi was really puzzled and began to feel dazed.
What, what is going on?
Why does my mother speak to me so nicely?
This has never happened in the ten years since I got married!
She felt like she was stepping on cotton as she walked into her room in a daze. She saw Fubao folding the clothes that had been washed and hung out to dry.
A little person as cute as a pink ball sat on the kang, folding a huge piece of clothes in an orderly manner with a serious look on his face.
Liu Guizhi usually doesn't want Fubao to work. The child is still young and she is a girl. There are several boys at home who can take care of her. Why should she force this poor child to work?
But Fubao is diligent and does her best to do what she can.
Fubao saw her mother coming in, raised her head and smiled at Liu Guizhi: "Mom, you're back!"
Liu Guizhi took the clothes from Fubao's hand and folded them neatly.
Fubao looked at Liu Guizhi and felt full of love and affection in his heart.
She never had a biological mother, so she didn't know what it was like to have one, but she felt that Liu Guizhi should be the same as her biological mother.
She sat happily on the kang, watching Liu Guizhi folding clothes, and recalled the scene she saw today when she followed Li Mingshuan to Nie Laosan's house.
They are all home, and they were all once your mother, but one home cannot be compared to another, and one mother cannot be compared to another.
Fubao was so happy that she wanted to roll over. She lay on the head of the kang and buried her face in the quilt.
The quilt has been dried in the sun, it is clean and warm, and you can smell the fragrance of the sun.
She smiled: "Mom, I am very happy today."
As she spoke, she really rolled over and rolled into Liu Guizhi's arms, hugging her neck: "I love you so much, Mom!"
Liu Guizhi chuckled. What happened today? The mother was so kind and cheerful, but the daughter was acting like a spoiled little dog!
——
Ever since Nie Shengyin saw Li Mingshuan coming to her house, she became very excited. She finally understood that things were about to happen and everything was finally about to begin.
Although Li Mingshuan brought Fubao with her, she felt that none of this would hinder the progress of history. When her father was involved in an accident while clearing snow for the commune, resulting in a leg injury and confinement to bed, Secretary Li Mingshuan personally visited her home to offer his condolences. Upon returning, he wrote a document and submitted it to the district office, which in turn forwarded it to apply for her family to be recognized as a city-level Advanced Five-Good Family.
With this city's advanced five-good family, my father received a reward of more than 20 yuan, and he also had the opportunity to attend a meeting in the city and see the world.
This is a very important matter, and it can almost be said to be the most significant turning point for the Nie family.
My father went to the city for a meeting, walked around the city, and saw the world. When he came back, his vision was different from before, and he began to think about doing business.
In those days, although private business was discouraged, it was still okay to do small things privately. It was with these small things that my father actually achieved some success. He had a few good luck spells and made small fortunes one after another. Wealth flowed into our family, so much so that our family became one of the largest households in the Pingxi Production Brigade. Later, our family moved to the county town, and our life became even more prosperous.
Shengyin was thinking about this in his mind and didn't even notice that the purslane in his hand was chopped away by the kitchen knife.
Nie Laosan's wife came over and saw the situation. She felt sorry for the purslane and slapped Shengyin in the face: "You're already so old, and you're doing such a job? What do we need a little girl like you for? I think you're even worse than that unlucky Fubao!"
Although Fubao has bad luck in his life, he is good at working!
Shengyin was slapped unexpectedly and felt wronged and angry, but thinking that good days were coming, he had to endure it.
So she held back and said, "Mom, I heard from the people in our production brigade that our production brigade has a quota for the city. Is there going to be good news for our family?"
She felt that her mother should go and find out more and press the matter forward.
If that really happened, her mother wouldn't be so upset and take it out on her.
When Nie Laosan's wife heard this, a surge of evil spirit surged up. She was really furious: "What are you thinking, you damn girl? Are you deliberately trying to piss me off?! ! That quota belongs to the Gu family, how can it be our turn!"
When Shengyin heard this, he was completely stunned.
The quota... is for the Gu family?
It turned out to be from the Gu family!
Shengyin was so shocked by the news that she couldn't react for two or three days. When she understood what was happening, she almost wanted to go directly to Chen Youfu to ask him why he gave the quota that belonged to the Nie family to the Gu family. However, she was too young, and if she asked like that, others would definitely be surprised.
There was no way, she had to endure it.
Shengyin felt very uncomfortable after swallowing her anger. She thought about it carefully and remembered how Fubao was holding Li Mingshuan's hand. She suddenly understood.
It’s Fubao again.
Li Mingshuan treated Fubao very well and liked Fubao. He took Fubao to visit various families. It was unknown what Fubao said to Li Mingshuan. Maybe he said something bad about the Nie family. So the opportunity to become the city's advanced five-good family, which should have belonged to the Nie family, was snatched away by the Gu family.
Shengyin narrowed his eyes when he thought of this.
She couldn't let Fubao go on like this. He belonged to the Nie family and couldn't be taken away like this again.
——
The quota for the advanced five-good family has been reported. According to the information Chen Youfu got from the commune, it is almost certain to be awarded and is just going through the approval process.
The Gu family was naturally happy when they thought about this. Shen Hongying went back to her parents' home and heard a lot of news about how good this opportunity to go to the city for training was. She was very excited when she talked about it.
However, Gu Weiguo didn't care much about it. He just glanced at her and didn't understand why she was so happy.
Seeing the man like this, Shen Hongying was naturally unhappy: "This opportunity is yours, it must be yours. You are the eldest in the family. If not you, who else can go? Didn't they say that everything should be done according to the eldest son? You are the eldest son!"
Gu Weiguo almost burst out laughing when he heard this: "We're a small family that makes a living from the dirt, and you're the eldest son. Do you even know what the eldest son means?"
Shen Hongying gritted her teeth in anger: "I don't know what the eldest son is, but I know you have to go. You've been educated and you can read. If you don't go, who will?"
Gu Weiguo: "I have already returned the few words I know to the teacher. Besides, my mother is the head of our family. When the time comes, it will be up to her to decide who will go."
Shen Hongying: "Your mother has the final say? Then of course your mother is on the side of the fourth brother's family!"
Gu Weiguo frowned: "What are you talking about? Our mother has never been partial."
Chen Hongying snorted: "Don't give me that. I think our mother is biased. She even secretly gave Fubao brown sugar water and put boiled eggs in his arms."
Gu Weiguo certainly didn't believe it: "How is it possible! You know our mother's personality, she is stingy to death. Not to mention Fubao, an adopted child, she wouldn't even give her own son and grandson brown sugar water or boiled eggs! Don't always focus on our mother's mistakes and find fault with her. You should know our mother's character after all these years of marriage. She never favors anyone."
When Shen Hongying heard this, she felt wronged and her eyes turned red. "Why did I marry such a dull man like you? I just wanted you to go to the city and see the world. Maybe you can become a small leader in the production brigade in the future. Isn't that better than being a farmer?"
Gu Weiguo sighed, "You're overthinking it. I'm not cut out for it. Besides, it's too early. I'd better just work hard. God will decide how much a person can earn. Why worry about it?"
Shen Hongying looked at her man, feeling so disappointed that she stomped her feet and walked out angrily.
As soon as he went out, he saw several children in the family carrying bamboo baskets and heading out. The one leading the way was his own son Niu Dan Niu Shuan, and Niu Shuan was actually holding the hand of Fu Bao next to him.
She looked at Fubao, which was really dazzling. She said unhappily, "What are you doing?"
Now that the children at home are on winter vacation, they don’t have to go to school. They go out to the mountains every day, either to dig wild vegetables or to collect firewood, which adds a lot to the family life.
Seeing his mother was unhappy, Niu Dan quickly said, "Mom, we heard that the river in the mountain stream is frozen and all the fish are frozen. We thought of going to break the ice and see if we can get some fish out to improve your diet."
Shen Hongying sneered, showing no curiosity at all: "You thief, you talk so nicely and even improve the food for me, isn't it just that you are greedy?"
Niu Dan chuckled: "Fish is delicious, we all want to eat fish."
Shen Hongying glared at Fubao with a sharp look: "Go ahead, but be careful and don't let anything bad happen to you."
This Fubao was born with bad luck, and he just hoped that his son would not get into trouble with him.
Seeing that his mother said nothing more, Niu Dan quickly took everyone and set off.
There are a total of eleven children in the family, both boys and girls, with different personalities. The ones who went to the mountains to participate in ice-breaking fishing this time were Niu Dan and Niu Shuan from the eldest wife, Tu Sheng from the second wife, and three boys from the fourth wife, Gu Yuejin, Gu Yuehua and Gu Shengtian, as well as the adorable little sister Fu Bao.
Fubao doesn’t usually play with Xiuni and Dongni, and usually hangs out with Gu Shengtian, so this time he followed his brothers to go fishing.
It was a huge group going out. There were six boys in total, from the youngest Gu Shengtian to the oldest Niu Dan. They all took Fubao to the mountains like stars surrounding the moon.
Although the boys are young, they also know what is good-looking and what is not. The other girls in the family, such as Bonnie and Shoni, often fight with the boys, but the boys don’t think that they are girls, but their enemies.
But Fubao is different. Fubao is fair and pretty, with a soft and well-behaved personality. No matter how naughty her brothers are, they can't help but love her more. They think she is a lovely little sister and are willing to take her out to play.
A group of children passed by the stone mill on the street. Some of them were basking in the sun with their sleeves tucked in. They saw it and said with a smile: "Look, Fubao is getting more and more beautiful now. The Gu family treats her well and raises her like their own daughter."
Others thought about it and said, "It's funny. The Nie family didn't want Fubao anymore. Everyone felt sorry for him, but now he's gone to the Gu family. Life has gotten better."
By this time, the Gu family's children had already marched over to Dagunzi Mountain. Someone whispered, "Weren't those children from the Nie family? I saw some money from Nie Lao San's family among them. Why does that child look so pale? He's much thinner than before."
Some people couldn't help but laugh: "In the past, the Nie family made Fubao work all day long. Now that Fubao has been driven away, there is no good laborer, so they can torture their own daughter as much as they want!"
——
After Fubao and his companions entered the mountain, they soon discovered several groups of children who had also come into the mountain. They were all released by their parents during the summer vacation because they had nothing to do. They just wanted to find some wild food to satisfy their cravings.
Since they were all children from the same production brigade, they consciously dispersed and each went to a different place to avoid fighting.
The boys of the Gu family, led by Niu Dan, brought Fubao to a small valley. The river here had already frozen. There must be fish in the ice, but there was a trick to choosing the right spot to break open and get the fish.
Niu Dan and Gu Yuejin crouched down and each chose a spot for careful observation. Finally, Gu Yuejin pointed to a spot and said, "Here, chisel here!"
There are weeds under the ice in this place, and dead branches and leaves on the ice surface, which are places for fish to hide, live and feed. There also appear to be water bubbles in the ice.
The others naturally agreed, so they left two boys here to chop the ice while the others dispersed and continued to search forward.
Fubao and Gu Shengtian were both young, so they teamed up to search along the riverbank, agreeing to go back quickly if they couldn't find it.
The two little guys remembered their brothers' instructions and looked for them as they instructed. However, after walking for a long time, they still didn't see any place that looked like there were fish under the ice.
Fubao was a little discouraged. She raised her hand and rubbed her nose, which was a little red from the cold. "Brother Shengtian, why don't we go back? It's too cold in the mountains. We are young, so we must not get lost."
Gu Shengtian was unwilling to give up: "No, let's go ahead and take some fish back. Let's move on."
Seeing that Gu Shengtian insisted, Fubao had no choice but to go along with him.
Who knew that as they were walking, they saw two children coming out of the woods by the river in front. When they looked over, they found that they were Nie Dazhuang and Nie Shengyin.
Nie Shengyin saw Fubao and smiled: "Fubao, you come to fish too."
Fubao was wary of Nie Shengyin and nodded, "Yeah."
Nie Shengyin: "You should go to the east bank of the river. There are a lot of fish ahead. There is a warm spot. The ice has melted, and many fish are hiding there for the winter."
Da Zhuang, who was standing next to him, heard this and looked at Nie Shengyin in surprise.
Nie Shengyin held Nie Dazhuang's hand and signaled him to keep quiet.
Nie Dazhuang's face suddenly turned red.
Gu Shengtian: "Is this true? Are you so kind?"
Of course he would not forget that Nie Shengyin hated him to death before, and Nie Dazhuang even beat him.
Nie Shengyin: "Of course it's true. Why would I lie to you? If I lie to you, let me fall into an ice hole!"
Nie Dazhuang closed his mouth tightly and his face turned red.
After Nie Shengyin and Nie Dazhuang left, Fubao and Gu Shengtian looked at each other and both felt that Shengyin's behavior was particularly strange.
Gu Shengtian just didn't believe it: "If there was such a good thing, the Nie family would go and grab it, why would they tell us?"
Fubao thinks so, but——
She tilted her head and thought for a moment: "Brother Shengtian, let's go over and take a look. What if there's any? Even if there isn't, we won't suffer any loss. We came out to look around for fish anyway."
Gu Shengtian thought about it and thought that walking a few more steps would not be a big deal, so he accompanied Fubao to the east bank of the river.
As they walked, Fubao frowned.
She saw some wet mud puddles by the riverbank ahead, faintly steaming in the winter. She tilted her head and thought, "Brother Shengtian, we have to be careful here. What if I step on empty space and fall right in?"
Gu Shengtian frowned, thinking of Shengyin's words, and snorted coldly: "This is a lie, deliberately tricking us, wanting us to fall into it. Shengyin is not a big man, but he has a very bad mind."
Fubao stared at the steaming area, and something struck him: "We often run in this mountain, but we've never seen a place like this. Why don't we go forward and take a look? What's going on? It's steaming in the middle of winter."
Gu Shengtian thought about it and it made sense. He was a boy after all, fearless, so naturally he would not be afraid of a small quagmire.
He immediately held Fubao's hand tightly and said, "Okay, let's go forward. Maybe we can find some treasure! Don't run around. Follow me closely."
The story about treasure was a story that Gu Yuejin read in a comic book borrowed from a classmate at school. He once told it to Gu Shengtian, so that Gu Shengtian always felt that he could also find treasure in the mountains.
Fubao nodded slightly, but she had a vague sense of anticipation in her heart. She didn't know why, but she always felt that something was waiting for her.
The brother and sister held hands and walked forward carefully, crossing one small quagmire after another, pushing aside the dead branches, and bypassing the thorny rocks. After walking for an unknown amount of time, they suddenly heard the sound of water rushing in front of them.
How can there be the sound of water in such a cold day?
They took a few quick steps and saw a pool of water right under the rocks next to them, with dense aquatic plants growing beside it.
And among the water plants, big fat and tender fish were swimming around, visible to the naked eye, jumping around happily!
The two looked at each other and saw the surprise in each other's eyes.
Gu Shengtian was overjoyed and almost jumped up with excitement: "I understand now, there is hot spring water flowing through this area. Because of the warm spring water, the water has not frozen, and many fish have come here to spend the winter!"
Fubao trotted over and stood beside the pond, stamping his feet with joy: "Brother Shengtian, I'll be guarding here. Go and call our brothers to come and catch fish!"
Gu Shengtian nodded repeatedly: "Okay!"
It’s a fortune, it’s a fortune, how many fish are there! He must quickly tell his brothers to come and catch fish together!
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