The farce finally ended after Liang Shengdi finished a whole pot of six-grain porridge.
Lin Wenxuan forced Zhang Xiaonv to take out the small bag of brown sugar. Since Liang Shengdi was still lying there and had little strength, Lin Wenxuan simply poured half of the sugar into the water and gave it to Liang Shengdi to drink.
Zhang Xiaonu was so distressed that she burst into tears.
But before she had the chance to argue with her son, she was pulled out by Dashan's mother and started to receive ideological education.
"I'm talking to Wenxuan's mother." Dashan's mother smacked her lips and frowned at her old sister, not knowing what to say.
"Everyone is suffering right now, but no matter how hard it is, you can't let the child and the mother who feeds the child suffer! The mother needs to have something to eat so she can have milk to feed the child, right?"
"Why didn't I give her any food? I've given her so much!" Zhang Xiaonu was anxious. Why did this old sister stand on the side of the young people? "Brown sugar! Eggs!..."
"Oh, don't talk about your eggs!" Dashan's mother interrupted Zhang Xiaonv. "When did you give her those eggs? When you first came up the mountain, right? Dashan's father said that they were already cooked when you picked them up from the corner. If you don't eat them, can you keep them as offerings to the Buddha?"
"Besides! If the Japanese hadn't invaded and we were still at the foot of the mountain, wouldn't you have cooked a bowl of brown sugar egg noodles for your daughter-in-law every day while she was in confinement?"
Brown sugar and egg noodles are a custom in Yuezhou. It is a postpartum tonic for poor families. Unless the family is really poor and can't even afford to eat, this is basically what they eat during the confinement period.
Zhang Xiaonv stood under the big tree holding her child, using her body to shield her granddaughter from the wind, but she was still a little unconvinced.
"It's not that I don't want to do it for her... You know what the situation is like now. Who knows when we can get down the mountain? The food in the bag is getting less and less. These young people only care about eating today and don't know how to survive tomorrow.
If I don't save some money and let them do what they want... I'll be left with nothing but bitterness! Why doesn't that little dog have a wife..."
"You see, Puppy's family can't even afford to eat, but they're not completely broke. The reason Puppy's mom is digging up grass roots every day is to save some food for her daughter-in-law!"
Dashan's mother sighed and said earnestly,
"You don't know how grateful the puppy's wife is to her mother-in-law. She holds the child and calls her mother-in-law all the time! You, you've gotten into this state now, and you still want your son to remember how well you took care of your granddaughter...
You are making things difficult for yourself!"
Zhang Xiaonv finally fell silent. Looking at her granddaughter in her arms, her old eyes reddened again.
"Who am I doing this for? It's all for everyone to live... Why is my life so miserable?"
Dashan's mother also sighed with envy.
"I don't know what sins we committed in our past lives. Why doesn't God give us a way out..."
…
Lin Wenxuan was also talking about this with Liang Shengdi.
"From now on, I'll give you my share, whether it's porridge or congee. I'll go look for something outside, I'll always be able to fill my stomach."
Liang Shengdi leaned against the stone wall. Although her limbs were still a little weak, she at least didn't feel as panicked as before. She stared outside the cave, at the back of her mother-in-law standing under a tree, holding the child.
Lin Wenxuan looked over and couldn't help but sigh.
You say his mother is stingy, yes, but there's really nothing she can do. Just like she said, grain won't grow in the bag on its own; the more you eat, the less there is. Besides, she has to save some seed for when she comes down the mountain to resume her life.
"The sweet potatoes planted outside the cave will be ready for harvest in the next couple of days, as well as the sunflowers. I work there every day, so I should be able to get a share.
In about ten days, I'll be able to find some winter bamboo shoots in the mountains. It's not much, but it's enough to satisfy your hunger. I'll make some soup for you.
It seems like all the fish in the mountains have been caught... I'll go check again. If I can catch any more, I'll ask the village chief to temporarily give our family a whole one and return it to the village later..."
Lin Wenxuan chattered on and on, whispering to Liang Shengdi about the meal arrangements later, promising that she would never go hungry again.
Liang Shengdi just listened, there was no sound, but tears flowed uncontrollably, and she looked at Lin Wenxuan with a little panic.
"What, what's wrong? You think this arrangement is not good? Then I, then I..." Lin Wenxuan gritted his teeth and said, "How about I go down the mountain..."
Liang Shengdi shook her head, wiped the tears from her face, and said something softly. Lin Wenxuan had sharp ears and still heard it.
"...When will these days...end?"
Who knows?
Everyone hoped that the Japanese would die soon so that they could return to a life where they were not very wealthy, but at least they could farm in peace and have enough to eat.
As the temperature dropped day by day, Lin Youliang sent people or went down the mountain himself to investigate again and again. Finally, after the sweet potatoes and potatoes on the mountain were dug out and divided, Lin Youliang said it was almost time to go down.
Of course, the Japanese did not retreat, and they still occupied the strongholds they should have occupied, but their raids were not as frequent as before. After all, if you squeeze a rapeseed over and over again, you can only get a little oil, and no more.
I also heard that the Japanese army was heading towards Jicheng, Shanxian, and Shandong. Although it was a bit unscrupulous to say so, the fact was that they could now breathe a sigh of relief in the west.
As soon as they heard that they could go home, everyone quickly packed up and prepared to go down the mountain.
They originally thought they would have to celebrate the New Year in the mountains, but now there are at least two months left until the end of the year, which is enough time for them to build a house and repair the roof.
This is how the people of this land are. Even if the Buddha doesn't bless them, what good will it do? They've endured this hardship for thousands of years, and whenever they have a chance, they're always thinking about how to get on with their lives.
During the year they spent in the mountains, they did not completely ignore the affairs of the village below.
The men would gather secretly and go down the mountain, taking advantage of the dark and windy night to rebuild the burned houses one by one. There were also people who kept watch, so if there was any sign of trouble, they would quickly hide or return to the mountain.
Especially in the summer, when the weather is hot and the moon and stars are bright at night, people sleep during the day and work at night. The houses in the village are almost all bricked up, and each house may just need the roof repaired.
Lin Wenxuan asked Liang Shengdi to wait on the mountain with the child. He and Zhang Xiaonv went down first to settle everything, and then quickly fix anything that needed repairs, and then come back to pick her up.
Otherwise, she had just come out of confinement and Yulan was still so young, and she would just be exposed to cold wind if she went down.
Liang Shengdi was just a skeleton, holding the increasingly plump and plump Yulan and nodding obediently.
"Then I'll wait in the cave, hurry up."
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