Time flies, and in just a month and a half, Xu Nuo was able to have her cast removed.
Yay! After the cast was removed, I'm a whole, healthy little rice candy again.
The doctor gave a few instructions: "Don't move around for the next few days. You'll need to use crutches recently, and gradually increase your walking distance."
Xu Nuo nodded "Mmm mmm mmm" and went home to rest obediently for two or three days. On the fourth day, Xu Yan went to the city to sell goods and came to see her. Xu Nuo said that she wanted to go to Lu County with her.
She was incredibly bored staying at home all day. Her trip to Lu County was partly to fulfill her promise to Chen Mingxue, and partly to destroy something.
It later fell into Chen Mingxue's hands and was used by Xu Nuo to frame the female lead for having an affair with the second male lead.
Anything that could lead to her being laid off must be nipped in the bud.
Since arriving in this era, she has spent most of her time at home except for the hospital. This time, going to the countryside with Xu Yan has made her regret it to the core.
Dust filled the village paths, and tractors chugged along, making people question their existence.
Several rural women crowded into the back of the truck, all looking at Xu Nuo with surprised eyes.
"Comrade Xu, is this baby your sister?"
Xu Yan looked at Xu Nuo, whose face was deathly pale, and nodded: "Yes, she is my second sister, named Xu Nuo."
"Wow, he's really handsome."
"Yes, yes, her skin is so smooth and her eyes are so bright!"
"This dress is really beautiful; I've never seen such a material before."
Xu Nuo felt extremely unwell, her head was spinning, and her stomach was churning. She didn't dare to speak, afraid that she would vomit if she opened her mouth.
But her face was frighteningly pale. Xu Yan took her water cup out of the small basket: "Nuonuo, have some water."
Xu Nuo shook her head and leaned back into Xu Yan's arms, sobbing softly.
Hopefully, this journey will be over soon, otherwise she really won't be able to hold on.
As the tractor rolled along the dirt road and passed Youlongtan, for some reason, the "putt-putt-putt" sound suddenly stopped.
An elderly woman holding eggs asked, "Da Niu, what's going on?"
Da Niu got off the car, fiddled with it for a while, and said, "It can't move anymore, the output shaft is broken."
"Why did it break again? It's such a long piece."
"There's no other way, Granny Qi, let's go inside."
Everyone complained, but they had no choice but to get off the tractor, take their belongings, and walk back.
Xu Yan lifted Xu Nuo down.
But then they encountered a problem.
What should they do next? Xu Nuo's legs are still unable to walk, and this time, in order to make it easier to go out, she didn't even bring a wheelchair.
"Sister, didn't you say you could borrow an oxcart from the village? Why don't you go first and then ask them to lend you one?"
"But I'm worried about you being here alone."
"It's okay, I'll wait for you over there." Xu Nuo pointed to a spot by the pool.
Besides a pool of water, Youlongtan is an abandoned cowshed. Few people come here except for tractors. Decades ago, a landlord drowned his family of more than ten people in this pool. Since then, few people have dared to come to this place.
Xu Yan thought for a moment, then helped her to a large rock outside the cowshed: "I'll go back and borrow an oxcart to pick you up. Wait here for a while, and don't make a sound or run around, okay?"
Xu Nuo nodded: "Go ahead, I'll wait here."
Xu Nuo sat on a stone on the side of the cowshed, next to a mud wall that was about to collapse.
In the rarely visited cowshed, Duan Laosan looked grim, while the man beside him merely frowned slightly, putting his index finger to his lips, signaling him to be quiet.
They quietly gathered up the blueprints spread out on the ground.
Li Xian's sharp gaze seemed to pierce through the earthen wall, on the other side of which Xu Nuo waited, bored out of her mind.
She was staring blankly, propping her head up with one hand, when she suddenly heard a faint rustling sound coming from behind the rock. She thought of snakes and other insects in the countryside, and her face turned pale with fright. She turned around and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
It's a little lamb eating grass.
"Baa, Little White." Xu Nuo called out in a childish voice, successfully attracting the attention of the little white lamb. She then took out a fragrant piece of milk cake from her little basket and placed it in her palm.
"Come on, baa, here's something delicious for you." The little lamb sniffed around and took a few steps over. Xu Nuo thought it was cute, but she didn't dare to touch it. So she put the milk cake on the ground and pointed at it with her index finger: "Baa, you eat it yourself, just a little bite."
The lamb took a lick, and perhaps finding the taste good, took another lick. Xu Nuo was watching with great interest when she suddenly noticed a thin, bony man walking towards her.
She was startled, but found that the man acted as if he hadn't seen her and walked straight towards the pool.
The man first took the book out of his arms and put it on the ground, then took off his tattered hat, carefully folded it and put it on the ground, then squatted down to take off his shoes. As Xu Nuo watched, she suddenly felt that something was wrong.
Books, folding hats, taking off shoes... a thin, bony old man.
This scene looks a bit like the scene of the protagonist's first encounter.
The female protagonist in the book cleverly persuades an elderly man who is contemplating suicide, leaving a beautiful impression on the male protagonist.
Xu Nuo looked around. Apart from the one who was about to jump into the river, there was only her, who was dumbfounded, and a little lamb munching on its food.
Wait a minute, where's the main character?
Seeing that the person had taken off their shoes and was about to jump, Xu Nuo quickly said, "Wait, wait a minute."
Wait a minute, the main character hasn't appeared yet.
Old Cai then noticed someone beside him, but his eyesight was so bad that he could only vaguely make out a white shadow.
Judging from her voice, she's a very young girl.
He sighed, and then he heard the little girl's voice: "Grandpa, it's getting a bit chilly now, you can't play in the water, you'll get sick."
Old Cai didn't want to answer, but then another voice came from the other end: "Grandpa, are you also from this Luxian village? This is my first time here. I was originally going to visit a friend in Luxian, but the tractor broke down, so I'm waiting here for the oxcart. Oh, by the way, have you ever ridden a tractor?"
Old Cai nodded in her direction.
"So you've ridden one before? This is my first time. I didn't know riding a tractor was so uncomfortable that I almost cried."
As she spoke, she looked toward the main road, but the road where Xu Yan had disappeared was empty.
She was anxious, unsure if her rambling would last until the main character appeared.
"Grandpa, you brought books with you? Can I borrow them to take a look?"
Old Cai spoke up: "You can take it."
Xu Nuo said, "Grandpa, my leg is broken and I can't walk yet. Could you please bring it to me? I don't want to read your books for nothing. Can I exchange them for some snacks?"
Old Cai was indeed starving. He didn't eat any food at home today because he thought that he was going to die soon and shouldn't waste any more food. He decided to give it to his eldest daughter and eldest child. He thought that if he could have some snacks before he died, he would be less hungry on his way to the underworld.
I've been hungry my whole life, I'm terrified of hunger.
He picked up the book and walked over barefoot. Only when he got closer could he see that it was a little girl in white. Although his eyesight was poor, he knew that she was an extremely beautiful girl.
"Grandpa, please sit down." Xu Nuo moved the basket aside and took out a portion of the snacks that were originally meant for Luo Chen.
"Grandpa, this is a sponge cake, made with eggs and flour. Try it."
Old Cai didn't know what a sponge cake was, but he knew that eggs and flour were good things. He hesitated for a moment and said, "I... I don't have any money."
"It's free. I've been looking for this copy of revolutionary poems for a long time but haven't been able to find it. Can I borrow it for a while? I'll trade you these snacks in return, okay?"
Old Cai was taken aback: "Aren't they in the city?"
Xu Nuo lied through her teeth: "Yes, I've been looking for this for a long time, and I've always wanted to see it."
Old Cai seemed embarrassed and said, "Comrade, this book is for you."
"Thank you, Grandpa. Please have a taste of the snacks."
Old Cai picked up a piece, took a small bite, and was momentarily stunned by the unprecedented taste; his eyes immediately turned red.
It's so delicious! It's sweet and fragrant, better than anything he's ever eaten. He's spent his whole life eating tree bark and wild vegetables, and when there's nothing else to eat, he's even chewed up dirt.
He choked up, "It's so delicious! I've never eaten anything this good in my entire life. I can't live anymore. I'm too old to work. I'm wasting food. My eldest son is filial, but he's always hungry."
Xu Nuo felt a little reluctant.
She lived in the best of times, with the best food and clothing, never going hungry or worrying about making a living. She never even imagined that someone would choose to take their own life to save food for their family.
“Grandpa, my grandpa is the same age as you. He used to go hungry too, but things are much better now. He'll get through this. You must be thinking that if you're gone, your eldest child will have an easier time. But in this life, isn't the pain of losing a loved one more painful than hunger? Have you thought about it? If you jump down and find relief, you'll never know anything again. But what about your eldest child? How heartbroken he will be?”
Old Cai's eyes reddened, and Xu Nuo said again, "Instead of thinking about dying, you should grit your teeth and persevere. When your eldest son becomes successful, you can eat your fill every day. Just hang in there, and good days will come soon."
Old Cai asked, "Really? Will we really be able to get enough to eat?"
Xu Nuo nodded.
Old Cai held the pastries in his arms as if they were precious treasures. Suddenly, he didn't want to die anymore. These were such good things, with eggs and flour. He wanted to let his eldest son try them and take them back for him to taste.
Then he stood up, but his bare feet slipped and he was about to fall. Xu Nuo was startled and instinctively tried to pull him up, but she forgot that she couldn't stand steadily at all. After pulling Old Man Cai up, her body fell forward due to inertia.
"Thump."
Xu Nuo fell into the pool.
The snacks fell to the ground, and Old Cai's voice trembled: "Female, female comrade..."
At the same time, a person suddenly rushed out of the quiet cowshed and fell into the water like a nimble cheetah.
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