Chapter 23
They left a pound of sugar at the captain's house. After leaving, they went to Third Aunt's house. Mrs. Wang was even happier than Third Aunt, but she saw more sugar than people. Before leaving, Third Aunt gave Chu Jiujiu two boiled corns and a bag of pickled cowpeas. After leaving Third Aunt's house, it was the last stop, Captain Zhao's house.
Chu Shao bought a total of four pounds of candy, three pounds to give away, and one pound to keep for himself. That day, Captain Zhao helped them catch the human traffickers, and his big black dog saved Chu Jiujiu's life at a critical moment. It was only right that they should come and thank him.
When they knocked on Captain Zhao's door, a pointed-faced woman opened it for them. Chu Jiujiu was too nervous that day and didn't see clearly. Only then did she realize that Captain Zhao's wife was an authentic southern woman, petite and gentle, and her every frown and smile seemed to convey her feelings.
As soon as she saw her, Chu Jiujiu said hello to her aunt. Zhou Xiaohe looked at her and immediately smiled, "Come in quickly. Why are you here so late? Are you looking for Qianjin? He is in the room. Come, let me pour you some water."
Zhou Xiaohe was very warm to them, but Zhao Qianjin looked very businesslike. When he heard that they wanted to give him a thank-you gift, he immediately refused, saying that it was his duty that day and it was not a favor at all.
Zhou Xiaohe saw the two children standing there awkwardly, not knowing what to do for a moment, so she hurried over to smooth things over. She took the initiative and accepted the bag of candy. Zhao Qianjin frowned but didn't say anything.
Captain Zhao's aura was so overwhelming that even Chu Jiujiu didn't know how to chat with him, so after a few words, they left. Zhou Xiaohe accompanied them all the way to the gate. After they left their house, Zhou Xiaohe guiltily held Chu Jiujiu's hand and said, "Jiujiu, I'm so sorry. You ran away to my aunt's house that day, but I didn't see clearly. I thought something big had happened outside and was so scared that I didn't dare to move. Now that I think about it, I regret it so much. I should have held you in my arms, otherwise you wouldn't have suffered so much later."
Her face was full of self-blame. "If you were caught, wouldn't it be all Auntie's fault?"
Seeing her eyes were red, Chu Jiujiu felt embarrassed. "It's okay, auntie, I'm fine now. It's none of your business. It's all the bad guys' fault."
Zhou Xiaohe nodded in agreement, "Exactly, it's all the bad guys' fault."
She squeezed Chu Jiujiu's hand and said goodbye to them. Chu Jiujiu was held by Chu Shao and walked for a distance. She looked back and found that Zhou Xiaohe was still standing there. When he saw her looking at him, he smiled and waved to her.
Chu Jiujiu: “…”
So enthusiastic.
The enthusiasm made her feel uncomfortable.
She doesn't like others being cold to her, but she also doesn't like others being overly enthusiastic towards her. It's fine as long as they can get along normally.
On the way home, Chu Jiujiu suddenly remembered something and asked Chu Shao, "Grandpa, Mrs. Zhang said the other day that she and Captain Zhao almost became a family. What does that mean?"
Chu Shao: "My mother was once engaged to Captain Zhao."
Chu Jiujiu: “…Really?!”
Her eyes widened, and she suddenly realized, "The villagers said she eloped because of Captain Zhao?"
Chu Shao paused, turned around, and said to Chu Jiujiu seriously, "My mother didn't elope. She ran away to go to college. After graduating from college, she met my father. When she was in the village, she went to school all the time and only met Zhao Qianjin a few times. My mother had just graduated from high school when Mrs. Zhang took it upon herself to get them engaged. The two events just happened at the same time and are actually unrelated."
Chu Jiujiu hummed, "It must be because Mrs. Zhang and the others didn't distinguish right from wrong, and the villagers spread rumors, which is why it turned out like this."
Chu Shao stopped talking. These were all things of the past. When a person dies, it is like a light going out. It is futile to pursue these things.
The two continued walking forward. Chu Jiujiu secretly watched him for a while and felt that Chu Shao was in a good mood. So, she tentatively said, "Grandpa, how about we look for great-grandfather?"
She had wanted to bring up this matter for a long time, but there were too many things going on before, and Mrs. Zhang and the others were too annoying, so she always forgot about it. Now that they have settled down and have a foothold in the village, they can try to find their relatives outside.
Of course, there is no need to look for all the relatives, just look for Chu Shao’s father.
Chu Jiujiu had already told Chu Shao everything she knew. Chu Shao couldn't help but frown when he remembered what she said, that in ten years, when he returned to the capital, he would find that his father had passed away and that he had been kicked out by his grandmother.
"Let's talk about it later."
Chu Jiujiu looked anxious when she heard this. "How can we talk about it anymore? Time waits for no one. What if Great Grandfather..."
Chu Shao interrupted her, "Do you know how to find him? I can't look for him at the original address, otherwise I'll be exposed. The country is so big, I don't know which city he is in, so there's no way to find him. Besides-"
After a pause, he turned his head and continued walking forward. "It's hard to say whether he is dead or alive."
Chu Shao has complicated feelings towards his father Chu Liqiang. On the one hand, he worries about his father, Chu Liqiang, whose whereabouts he doesn't know, and on the other hand, he secretly resents him.
She blamed him for wanting a divorce just because he said so, and hated him for not caring about them and their son, and for not even knowing that Zhang Fengjuan had passed away.
Chu Shao even pessimistically thought that he might have already started a new family. After all, in the early days of the movement, marriage and divorce were very common. Whether getting married or divorced, the purpose was to preserve oneself.
Chu Shao knew that Chu Liqiang had his own reasons. He knew it, but he didn't understand. This misunderstanding eventually turned into resentment.
And fear.
He was afraid that if he went to look for her, he would get bad news. As a person with little influence, even if he found her, he would not be able to help Chu Liqiang at all. Instead, he would just worry about her. If that was the case, he might as well not look for her.
Chu Jiujiu felt a little lost. She lowered her head and whispered, "Okay, then wait a little longer."
When will it be? No one knows.
The two returned home. Chu Shao took the sickle he had received from the brigade headquarters and began to chop bamboo. The bamboo he bought was enough to build a fence for his house. Before there was a windlass, people were too lazy to come to their house to fetch water. Now that they have a windlass and a swing, adults and children will definitely come to borrow some bamboo to build a fence, and the situation will be better.
While chopping bamboo, Chu Shao thought to himself that no matter how many fences there were, they were not as useful as one Han Shengyi.
If Han Shengyi came to his house often, other villagers would definitely not come.
Chu Shao imagined the scene and couldn't help laughing. It was dark and no one could see him. Chu Shao turned his head and looked at the quiet house behind him, and then at the cowshed not far away.
They are all little brats.
With a disdainful snort, Chu Shao, who was twelve years old this year, raised his head proudly.
…
The next day, Chu Shao got up before dawn again. Many people in the village followed his schedule. After dinner, everyone went to the fields and continued to harvest the crops in full swing.
The soil in Qingzhu Village is fertile, and the annual harvest is the best in the area. However, even after paying the public grain tax, the grain they receive is only enough for them to eat, and there is nothing left to save for the next year.
The team leader registered Chu Jiujiu's name, and then hurried to the fields. The two deputy team leaders saw that Zhang Qingfa was not very happy, thinking that Chu Jiujiu had taken their food, and Chen Jiefang was still looking dissatisfied.
He said sarcastically, "According to what you're saying, we can't have children in our village anymore, right? Chu Jiujiu is already nine years old. She can earn work points after registration. If you have such a problem with that, why don't you go and talk to the families with nursing children first? Tell them that the old secretary's rule is unreasonable. Nursing children don't eat grain and can't receive head rations. Go quickly."
The rule for distributing grain in Qingzhu Village is that part of it is calculated per person, and part is calculated per work point. The proportion of grain per person is very small, only a few dozen kilograms a year. People will work hard to earn work points because they don't have enough to eat. As for those lazy people who would rather die than earn work points, they are just exceptions.
Children can receive food as soon as they are born. This is a unique rule in Qingzhu Village, which was set by the previous village secretary. One reason is to ensure the prosperity of the population, and the other is to relieve the pressure on some families.
But the children couldn’t earn work points, so they only received per capita rations.
Zhang Qingfa immediately flinched when he heard the word "old secretary." Back when there were still secretaries, the old secretary was the de facto leader of Qingzhu Village. Now that he was no longer secretary, his position was effectively meaningless. However, he was still the patriarch of the Chen family, and his words carried weight throughout the village.
Zhang Qingfa stopped talking and went down to the field in a dejected manner. Chen Jiefang walked behind him, looking as proud as a rooster that had won a fight.
Humph, nothing more than that!
…
Chu Jiujiu was sitting at home, not knowing that her name had officially appeared in the records of this era. From then on, she was a person with a name and a surname whose roots could be traced back.
Today, all the wooden furniture has been made, and those that have been painted are placed outside to dry. The windlass has also been erected and equipped with the rope that Chu Shaoxin bought. Chu Jiujiu tried it out.
It was still difficult, but at least she could pull it up. Before she had the windlass, she couldn't even lift the bucket.
Although the village is built along the river, there are only a few households close to the river, and most are still a little far away. For example, if you want to go to the riverside, you have to walk a mile.
Water is used frequently in summer, and even in winter, half a tank of water is used a day. If you go to the river to fetch water every day, you have to go at least six or seven times back and forth, so it is more convenient to have a well.
All the wood was used up, and Chu Jiujiu swept up the remaining sawdust and fragments to save for making fire later. After the carpenter finished his work, he went to help his brother weave bamboo strips.
In fact, the villagers all picked up bamboo and wove this kind of thing themselves, but Chu Shao and Chu Jiujiu didn't know how to make it, so they had to buy it from others. Chu Shao also said that he would find a skilled old man in the village to order a few mats in a few days, two of which would be spread out, and one would be placed upright in the middle of the bed as a partition.
The cloth that Chu Shao had bought before had been sent to the old lady in the village to be made into clothes. The old lady said that she could make a set of clothes for Chu Jiujiu and also make two small vests for her.
By the time all the wooden furniture and bamboo items were finished, it was already two in the afternoon. Chu Jiujiu confirmed that they had finished everything Chu Shao wanted, and then she handed the five yuan Chu Shao had given her in advance to the carpenter. The carpenter took the money, but instead of leaving, he helped them split the remaining bamboo. Then the two of them worked together to build a fence for the Chu family.
When they walked around to the back of the house, they found a small patch of bamboo behind the Chu family's house. The carpenter laughed and said, "Boy, you should use this kind of small bamboo to make a fence. The big bamboo will not be as strong as the small bamboo after it is split."
Chu Jiujiu shook her head repeatedly, "That won't do. We need to keep these bamboos to grow bamboo shoots."
The carpenter smiled again. Chu Jiujiu didn't understand. This kind of bamboo was an ornamental bamboo. Unlike the bamboo on the mountain, which would sprout shoots when it rained, this kind of bamboo might not even produce a single shoot in a year.
After tying up the fence and leaving space for the door later, the carpenter clapped his hands cheerfully, "Okay, the door is up to you guys. I guess you two have learned how to weave bamboo strips in the past two days."
Chu Shao learned it, but Chu Jiujiu failed.
…
Chu Jiujiu smiled brightly, "Well, thank you for your hard work, masters."
The carpenter looked at Chu Jiujiu's sunny smile, and his expression became kind. He patted Chu Jiujiu's shoulder with his rough big hand. Chu Jiujiu felt pain, but she endured it anyway.
The carpenter said earnestly, "It's not easy for you to make a living with your brother at such a young age, but life is what we have to live. Your new home is so beautiful, and your family's future will surely be even more beautiful."
"Kid, remember this, you must go to school from now on!"
Laughing loudly, the carpenter and his brother waved goodbye to Chu Jiujiu. Chu Jiujiu also waved back vigorously and watched the masters leave. Chu Jiujiu turned around and looked at the house that had gone from empty to full again. Chu Jiujiu couldn't help but curl up the corners of her mouth.
The master is right, her family will definitely be more beautiful in the future.
Everything was in the style of natural wood. Chu Shao had bought colorless varnish, which was more expensive but also of better quality. Chu Jiujiu looked around the main room and felt that her home looked like a modern, natural farmhouse. After admiring it for a while, Chu Jiujiu withdrew her gaze. She stuffed the necklace into her pocket, picked up a fishing basket, and ran to the river.
It's the busy farming season, and even the riverside, which is usually occupied by mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, is now deserted. There are children playing here, but they are all young children under seven years old who cannot do farm work.
Chu Jiujiu was more cautious. She even kept her guard against children because she had learned from a previous experience. If Niu Ailing and the others had spoken behind Qiuhua's back, she would not have known that Zhang Pozi and the others had taken two hundred yuan from her family.
Squatting in a clump of reeds, Chu Jiujiu first put on the necklace, then took the fish basket and approached the river bank.
She moved very carefully because she couldn't swim and was afraid of falling in. She was also afraid of encountering something biting like last time in the lotus pond. She didn't dare to relax for a moment.
After the fish basket was put in, the necklace quickly took effect. Chu Jiujiu caught a few fish and found that there were more and more mosquitoes around. She quickly took off the necklace and walked back with the fish basket.
The fish in the river are much bigger than those in the stream. Any fish that comes in weighs more than half a pound. Chu Jiujiu caught four in total, which is enough for herself and Chu Shao to have a meal. If they want to eat more in the future, they can come back and catch more.
After returning home, Chu Jiujiu used the same method she used on the pheasants to deal with these lively fish. She cruelly (??) beat them to death and then cut off their fins. Chu Jiujiu frowned the whole time while fiddling with these fish. She had seen how Han Shengyi handled the fish. He could just scrape the scales off with a stone. Why was it so difficult for her to do it?
Isn’t this the legendary situation where the brain can do it but the hands can’t?
...Or is she just too stupid?
Chu Jiujiu looked at the fish that she had ravaged to a horrible state with a deep sense of bitterness and hatred. When she thought of Han Shengyi, she couldn't help but think of Han Shengyi's cold and frivolous smile.
Hate it! It’s so annoying!
Chu Jiujiu sat down on the ground. She wiped her face and the fish blood was smeared directly on her face. Chu Jiujiu put down the knife and stopped scraping. She just started to pull off the fish scales one by one.
…
It took her more than half an hour to finally remove all the fish scales. She skillfully lit a fire and threw the wood chips into the stove. Chu Jiujiu waited for a while and when she felt the iron pan was almost hot, she threw a fish in.
Bang!
The horrific-looking fish fell into the pot, landing headfirst, instantly causing a burst of crackling sounds.
She had always cooked porridge before, but this was Chu Jiujiu’s first time trying stir-fry. To be specific, it wasn’t stir-frying, but frying the fish until both sides were golden brown, then pouring hot water into it, and then she could make a delicious and milky fish soup.
It tastes good, is tasty and nutritious.
Chu Jiujiu was determined to provide Chu Shao with nutrition. Meat was the best source of nutrition, and fish was the easiest meat for her to get.
She had a good idea, but she only had a low-end kitchen.
There was no oil or hot water, and even the very important ingredients, green onions and ginger, were wild onions and wild ginger that she found on the roadside. The taste was much worse than those grown by people.
Plus, she's a low-level chef.
…
I can’t say any more. If I say any more, Chu Jiujiu will cry.
She was in a hurry to fry the fish, but fortunately she knew to try first. After she fried the first one until it was burnt and broken into pieces, she was more skilled at frying the next three. After frying for more than ten minutes, she felt that the heat was about right, so Chu Jiujiu quickly poured in the warm water she had prepared.
Why is it warm water? Because it has been in the bucket for most of the day and is now slightly hotter than human body temperature.
Something is better than nothing.
Seeing the warm water start to bubble, Chu Jiujiu wiped the sweat off her forehead and finally covered the pot.
While Chu Jiujiu was competing with the stove, the team leader was also competing with others in the field.
"Chen Erzhu, Chen Sanzhu, if I see you slacking off again, you won't get any work points today!"
Chen Erzhu chuckled but said nothing, while Chen Sanzhu chuckled, "Okay, hurry up and button it. After you're done, I can go home."
The captain was so angry at his reckless attitude that he almost had a heart attack. He really wanted to swing his sickle and beat him up. Someone nearby saw that the captain was really angry and quickly held him back.
"Calm down, calm down, he's been like this for a long time."
Yes, it has been more than one or two days, and the captain has been tolerating him for more than one or two days.
Both brothers were lazy, but Chen Erzhu was not as irritating as Chen Sanzhu. If possible, the team leader really wanted to expel Chen Sanzhu from Qingzhu Village. It was a pity that he was surnamed Chen, but he did not have the hardworking and capable spirit of the old Chen family.
Chen Sanzhu's surname is Chen, but this Chen is not the same Chen. His family fled here during the late Qing Dynasty to escape famine. Because they all happened to have the surname Chen, many people thought they were one family. In the early years, in order to please the Chen family, Chen Sanzhu's father named his first son Chen Dazhu.
The order of the Chen family's characters is "Shou Chang Zhi Yuan Da" and "Zhong Xiao Nai You Rong". They got a big character in the generation name, but were ridiculed by others. His father felt embarrassed, so the next sons became the second and third pillars.
As the saying goes, fortunes change. In the blink of an eye, Chen Dazhu grew up, became a man of strategy, and went to the commune. Later, he was promoted step by step and is now the deputy director of the town’s revolutionary committee. Chen Erzhu and Chen Sanzhu also rose in status. In the entire Qingzhu Village, no one dared to mess with them.
Even the captain could only tolerate them again and again.
There was no sound from the team leader. Chen Sanzhu sat on the ridge of the rice field, watching everyone working. He didn't feel ashamed at all. He squinted his eyes and found a young woman coming to plant rice. He looked at her with a scoundrel look.
He didn't stand up until the person ran away with a red face and unhappiness, and then he stood up with a smile.
The educated youth were also working in the fields. Li Yan straightened her waist, which had been bent for who knows how long, and was pounding the ground when she noticed Chen Sanzhu's gaze turned towards her. Li Yan's body stiffened, and she bent down again, cursing under her breath, "You stinking hooligan!"
Ding Boyun heard it and glanced over there. He then looked away and told Li Yan, "Ignore him."
He was just giving a pure reminder, but Li Yan felt sweet inside when she heard it, thinking that Ding Boyun cared about her. Thinking of this, she gave Ma Wenjuan a victorious look.
Ma Wenjuan: “…”
She had no such intention towards Ding Boyun, and Li Yan obviously didn't either, but she just liked to use this method to irritate her. If you can't afford to provoke her, you can afford to avoid her. Ma Wenjuan wiped the sweat from her face with a towel, turned to Chu Shao and said, "Chu Shao, I'll help you take this rice over."
Chu Shao nodded and said, "Thank you, Ma Zhiqing."
Ma Wenjuan smiled. She piled Chu Shao's harvested rice onto a wheelbarrow and pushed it toward the scorekeeper. During the rice harvest, work points were calculated differently than usual. Normally, they were calculated based on time, then reviewed by the team leaders of each production team. Good performance earned points, while poor performance reduced work points. Now, however, it was purely based on harvest speed; whoever harvested the rice faster earned more work points.
The village scorekeeper is a man in his thirties, but he has been too busy these two days, so he hired an assistant, Zhou Xiaohe.
Everyone agreed that Zhou Xiaohe was too delicate to do such rough work, but if she didn't do it, she wouldn't get any work points, so they asked her to stay with the scorekeeper. The scorekeeper watched the rice while she counted. She was a good person, and as Zhao Qianjin's wife, everyone trusted her.
Ma Wenjuan first divided out her rice, and the scorer could tell the weight at a glance. He was a fair man and was the living scale of Qingzhu Village.
"Half a point!"
Ma Wenjuan: “…”
She pointed out Chu Shao's part to the scorer, who shouted, "One and a half points!"
Ma Wenjuan: “…”
It was simply a public execution. In the same amount of time, she, an adult, did not cut as many as Chu Shao.
Seeing her dejected expression, Zhou Xiaohe gave her a soothing smile. Ma Wenjuan felt embarrassed. She watched Zhou Xiaohe record the amount before returning to work. As soon as she left, Zhou Xiaohe flicked his wrist and, with a calm expression, added a semicircle to the 1.5 in Chu Shao's row, changing it to 0.5.
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