Chapter 44
Chu Jiujiu couldn't believe her ears. "You're so healthy. If you get Alzheimer's, it won't be until the next century. Wouldn't we never have a chance to rest in this lifetime?"
It was Chu Jiujiu who didn't forget to flatter even at this time. Unfortunately, Grandma Han didn't buy it.
She looked at Chu Jiujiu expressionlessly. "You have classes for a maximum of three hours every night, and then you all come back. No one will take care of you the whole day. You're not like Chu Shao and Shengyi, who still have to work. As for you, isn't the most tiring thing you've ever done going up the mountain to collect firewood? The ancients studied from morning till night, hanging their heads on beams and piercing their legs with awls. Even children nowadays have to sit in school all day. If you want to rest, fine, Chu Shao, you can send her to school. School has weekends and there are busy farming seasons, which is perfect for someone like Jiujiu who likes to rest."
Chu Jiujiu: “…”
Chu Shao looked intently at Grandpa Han's bamboo hat hanging on the wall, as if the hat was a landscape painting. Han Shengyi lowered his head, coughed slightly, and kicked Chu Jiujiu under the table.
Chu Jiujiu finally reacted and lowered her head dejectedly, "Grandma Han, I was wrong."
She didn't want to go anywhere, she just didn't want to go to school. It was fine to go to class with Aunt Xiao and the others, as long as they didn't repeat the same thing over and over again. She loved listening to Uncle Fang tell stories and Uncle Deng tell jokes. And with Chu Shao and Han Shengyi accompanying her, she didn't have to worry about classes getting boring.
After thinking about this, the smile on Chu Jiujiu's lips grew wider and wider. She began to excitedly ask for details, such as what books they used, where they had classes, and whether Aunt Xiao and the others would have homework. Grandma Han answered two questions, and then felt tired. She handed Chu Jiujiu to Grandpa Han and asked Grandpa Han to take her to sit on the bed. Grandpa Han was very happy and turned around with Chu Jiujiu in his arms. The two of them went to the bed to enjoy family happiness. Grandma Han, Chu Shao and Han Shengyi were still sitting below.
Grandma Han didn't ask Chu Jiujiu's opinion because she was too young. Grandma Han always treated her as a child and naturally didn't ask her whether she was willing or not. But Chu Shao was half an adult, and if he didn't want to come, Grandma Han wouldn't force him.
"Chu Shao, what do you think?" asked Grandma Han.
Chu Shao was still that cautious character, "Grandma Han, won't people find out if we take classes here?"
They had already thought of this. Grandma Han explained, "No, everyone knows by now that you two like to come to the cowshed. Even if someone saw you, they wouldn't guess you were here for class. Besides, we don't need paper or pen. We're relying purely on oral communication. If we really need to write, we can just write on the ground. We won't leave any written evidence."
It sounds so sad, like the hardship of drilling a hole in the wall to steal light.
…
Chu Shao didn't know what to say for a moment. Despite the hardships, these uncles and aunts were still willing to impart knowledge to him. Chu Shao was deeply moved. He opened his mouth and was about to speak when Han Shengyi next to him said, "Grandma, I know there's a kind of stone you can write on. It's very soft. Writing on other stones is almost like writing with chalk, and once you're done, you can wipe it off. I'll go find some from the mountain tomorrow and share it with everyone."
Chu Shao listened and nodded, "I'll go too."
After saying that, he looked at Grandma Han again and said, "Thank you. I know you and the other uncles and aunts took a big risk by doing this. Jiujiu and I will definitely study hard and not let you down."
His words were enough. Grandma Han was happy in her heart, but she didn't show it on the surface. She just urged the two children, "Alright, hurry up and eat. If you don't eat now, it will get cold."
The next day, this secret private school started classes. It was September 3rd. Chu Shao and Chu Jiujiu had dinner at Han's house, and then walked into the door of the third room in the cowshed with Han Shengyi.
Fang Weiping was a university professor, and all his students were adults with a solid foundation. However, of these three children, one finished school in the third grade, another also finished in the third grade, then studied at home with their mother for two more years, and was currently only at the fifth-grade level. As for the last child, Chu Jiujiu, she was even worse off, having only learned addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division in the second grade, but had never set foot in school again.
Looking at the three bewildered little faces, Fang Weiping nearly choked. Fortunately, Song Chaoxin was watching from the sidelines. He gave Fang Weiping a few words of advice, telling him not to teach such obscure things. Fang Weiping was silent for a moment, then abandoned the teaching method he had repeated in university lecture halls for more than a decade. He began to use the storytelling method he had used before, reciting ancient poems and essays to them, and then explaining their meaning.
It was also from this time that Fang Weiping discovered the talents of these children.
Han Shengyi has a strong ability to understand, and he can draw inferences from one example. Even when Fang Weiping doesn't mention it, he can vaguely understand the feelings of the authors of these masterpieces when they wrote these works.
Ordinary children can't do this.
It was obvious that he was a genius. Fang Weiping was very surprised because when Han Shengyi helped him wash clothes before, he never realized that Han Shengyi was actually the successor of romanticism.
Chu Jiujiu surprised Fang Weiping even more. No matter what he said, Chu Jiujiu could repeat it word for word when he asked her questions later. Fang Weiping didn't realize it at first, but when he found that Chu Jiujiu's memory was beyond description, he asked Chu Jiujiu if she could remember what others said. Chu Jiujiu blinked and told him that it was not only what others said, but also what happened. As long as she saw, heard, and felt it, she would never forget it.
These words almost made Fang Weiping jump up with excitement. As a teacher, the thing that made him happiest was that his students were rare geniuses. Han Shengyi would understand and Chu Jiujiu would remember. He didn't want to agree to Grandma Han at first, but now, he wanted to lock the two children in his room and not share them with Xiao Ning and his wife.
If they can learn from him every day, it won’t be long before two literary masters will be born under his hands!
Fang Weiping had a fanatical look on his face. Han Shengyi and Chu Jiujiu looked at him, feeling a little uneasy. Chu Shao, on the other hand, sat aside with a numb face, watching Fang Weiping enthusiastically asking questions to the two people beside him.
The excitement belongs to others, he has nothing.
…
It's not Fang Weiping's fault. Chu Shao felt like dozing off whenever he heard him talk. He genuinely wasn't interested, and he couldn't understand how Han Shengyi could understand everything he was saying. Chu Shao felt uneasy, scratching his hair and turning around on the bench. He just couldn't stay still. Seeing him like this, Song Chaoxin couldn't help but laugh.
It’s great to be young. Watching the children in class, he couldn’t help but think of his own student days.
I miss it so much.
——
After the busy farming season was over, Chu Jiujiu's job of feeding cattle was taken back by the team leader. Originally, the team leader planned to arrange an easier job for her after the slack season, such as breaking corn, catching insects, etc., but Chu Shao refused the team leader on behalf of Chu Jiujiu. He said that the family's conditions were better now, so Chu Jiujiu would not be allowed to go out to do farm work. The team leader listened but said nothing.
Maybe some people would think that the team leader’s silence means that he understands the family. In fact, it is not the case. He does not understand because it is someone else’s family affair and the other family clearly does not want work points, so he cannot force their children to work.
The team leader was a farmer of the older generation. He always believed that no one should be idle. Regardless of gender, they must always work, otherwise they would become lazy people like Chen Erzhu. There were lazy men and lazy women in the village. He liked Jiujiu very much, but he didn't want her to become a lazy woman that everyone hated when she grew up.
It was the team leader's inadvertently revealed attitude that made Chu Shao change his mind. Originally, ever since Grandma Han said they all had to go to the cowshed for classes, Chu Shao had decided not to work in the fields anymore. He was different from Chu Jiujiu. Chu Jiujiu only cared about not having a day off, but he cared about only having three hours of classes.
Three hours, what can they do? It seems that in addition to attending classes, they also have to study on their own during the day.
Influenced by Zhang Fengjuan, Chu Shao firmly believed that learning was the only way out in life. Going into business as a layman was a last resort. If he could continue studying, he would certainly choose to pick up his books again. As long as his belly was full of knowledge, he would not be worried about where he went in the future. As for the diploma, he already had the knowledge, so why worry about not getting a diploma that he could show off in the future?
Chu Jiujiu had no idea that while she was sound asleep, Chu Shao had been lying beside her, devising a brutal study plan for them, a modern-day version of "rising at the sound of the cock-crow." However, that plan was now on hold, and Chu Shao suddenly realized that they still lived in this village. As long as they stayed there for even a single day, they would have to integrate into the village life. Their proximity to the cowshed had already distorted their impression among the villagers. If neither of them went out to work, the villagers would surely look down on them even more.
If this happens, life will become more troublesome.
Chu Shao changed his plan and decided to go out to work in the morning, come back in the afternoon to read the newspaper and study on his own, and go to class in the evening. When he got home, he would review what he had learned that day. He asked Chu Jiujiu to do this with him, but Chu Jiujiu only persisted for two days before giving up.
It was so tiring! I didn't even have time to rest. And writing under the oil lamp after dark was really bad for my eyes. The next day, Chu Jiujiu even felt like she was seeing double.
She is a modern child. No matter how heavy her life tasks are, she will not work as hard as the children of today. Before her parents divorced, Chu Shao received the elite education of the 1960s, which means studying hard and studying non-stop.
No wonder even a long time later, when people mentioned the veteran college students from the 1960s, they couldn't help but give them a thumbs up, because the value of this was really high.
Chu Jiujiu, however, didn't want to push herself that hard. She preferred to learn flexibly, balancing work and rest. She didn't have such a firm goal. She felt her life was good now, and as long as her future was just as good, she'd be content. Unlike Chu Shao, she wasn't obsessed with climbing the social ladder. Isn't it okay to be just another person? A simple life, doing what you love and eating what you love every day—that's great!
To say this mentality is a salted fish mentality is actually unreasonable, because Chu Jiujiu is still young, she has not encountered anything that can make her burst into passion, she has no dreams, and naturally has no motivation to move forward. But then again, even if she had a dream, Chu Jiujiu would not be like Chu Shao, who is single-mindedly striving for success. She is a person who follows her heart, and the only one who can oppress her is herself, not the outside world or society.
——
Chu Shao studied hard at home, so Chu Jiujiu had to go to town with Han Shengyi. She carried a small basket with a glass jar of lard, lard residue wrapped in oil paper, a whole Ganoderma lucidum dried by Grandma Han, half of a white fungus, and finally, a bamboo tube figurine that Chu Shao had made for Chu Jiujiu a long time ago. The prototype of this figurine was based on what Chu Jiujiu described, a wooden doll on her mother's desk. The doll had no face, but every joint could move. Chu Jiujiu's mother used it to draw, and Chu Jiujiu liked to put the doll into various interesting poses, such as Chang'e flying to the moon and Wu Gang being unemployed.
…
Chu Jiujiu played with the doll for two days, but then lost interest. Last night, she said she was going to send something to Chu Liqiang today, but Chu Shao didn't react much, just gave her five yuan and told her to save it when she got to town.
Chu Jiujiu hinted twice, but Chu Shao pretended not to understand. Later, she told Chu Shao directly that he should also take something he made by hand and send it with her. Chu Shao instantly became very angry and refused to agree no matter what. Chu Jiujiu looked at him suspiciously, and finally rolled her eyes and let him go.
No way.
…
When she went out this morning, she secretly took the doll with her and planned to go to the post office later to buy a piece of letter paper and write a few words to indicate that this was the green Chu Liqiang made by Chu Shao himself. She hoped that after seeing this, Chu Liqiang would be able to understand Chu Shao's ardent longing for him and that he would be happier.
If Chu Shao knew she wrote this, he would definitely beat her up on the spot.
…
After leaving the village, Han Shengyi took Chu Jiujiu's basket halfway. Chu Jiujiu, wearing the slightly larger hat, walked and stopped on the path until she entered Jiefang Street. Then she ran and found the lady who was pushing a bicycle and selling popsicles. Chu Jiujiu happily took out the money.
"One cream, one chocolate!"
She shouted with such pride that those who didn't know her would think these two popsicles were very expensive, but they were actually only one cent.
Chu Jiujiu was already a regular on Jiefang Street; she'd even been to the tobacco shop, only to glance around and leave. The woman lifted the quilt and pulled out two different-colored popsicles. Chu Jiujiu paid for them, taking one in each hand. She took a bite of the creamy one first, and the icy sensation immediately made her teeth tremble.
“It’s so cold!”
Chu Jiujiu closed her eyes tightly, and finally pushed through the icy headache. Then, she handed the chocolate popsicle to Han Shengyi, "Eat half, and leave the other half for me. I'll eat half, and leave the rest for you. We'll switch later."
She likes both chocolate and cream popsicles, but Chu Shao only allows her to eat one at a time, so she can only do this. Han Shengyi pinched the stick under the chocolate popsicle, lowered his head, and took a tentative bite. It turned out to be as bitter as if he had eaten two pounds of coptis chinensis.
Chu Jiujiu was watching from the side. These days, chocolate ice cream is all handmade, and each batch tastes different. Sometimes it's very delicious, and sometimes it's terrible. When Chu Jiujiu saw Han Shengyi's expression, she immediately took two steps away and changed her mind. "Well, it's actually quite troublesome to switch between them. And when you're halfway through, the bottom will melt. It's not good to get it on your hands when you switch. So, Brother Shengyi, let's just eat our own."
After saying that, Chu Jiujiu chuckled twice, passed him, and ran away quickly, as if she was afraid that he would catch up and exchange with her.
Han Shengyi: “…”
You are so cunning.
Han Shengyi licked the ice cream in his hand again. In fact, if he hadn't taken big bites, it wouldn't have been as bitter as before. After figuring out the trick, Han Shengyi walked forward slowly, eating the ice cream leisurely. Chu Jiujiu was less than seven or eight meters in front of him. He kept his eyes on her and was not afraid that they would get separated.
Jiefang Street was crowded, but not yet shoulder-to-shoulder. There weren't separate lanes for motor vehicles and non-motor vehicles these days; everyone walked on the same road. Bicycles weaved in and out among the pedestrians. Every cyclist was a pro, riding one-handed, using variable speeds, and sideways. Everyone had excellent technique and wasn't afraid of being hit. Seeing everyone else so casual, Chu Jiujiu adopted a casual attitude, too. She'd forgotten that road bullies were everywhere.
The sound of "ring-ring-ring" came from far away and got closer. A bicycle came rushing towards them, and its owner kept ringing the bell on the handlebars. People subconsciously looked back and then made way in fear. Chu Jiujiu was only busy eating her popsicle and didn't notice the movement behind her. When she heard the bell, it was already very close.
Before she could turn around, a hand suddenly pulled her aside. She lost her grip and the half-eaten popsicle fell to the ground with a plop. Before Chu Jiujiu could react, the culprit who caused her to lose 25% of her money actually turned around and laughed at her embarrassed look.
But he didn't laugh for long, because he was driving too fast. In less than two seconds, Chu Jiujiu could no longer see him.
Looking at the remains of the popsicle on the ground, Chu Jiujiu was heartbroken: "Ahhhhhhh my popsicle!"
"You son of a bitch! You're riding so fast on Jiefang Street! Hey! The Animal Path won't open today, so it's no use rushing to reincarnate!"
Han Shengyi: “…”
Passersby around: "..."
The expressions of passersby were quite interesting. They probably didn't expect a girl as clean and pretty as Chu Jiujiu to be so sharp-tongued. Han Shengyi tugged at her clothes and whispered to her, "That's Chen Sanzhu."
Chu Jiujiu was still in a state of anger. Not only did he knock her popsicle over, but he even dared to laugh at her. Did he really think she was easy to mess with?
She turned her head and asked angrily, "What Chen Sanzhu? Chen Sanzhu is——"
After a second of hesitation, Chu Jiujiu turned her head back in surprise, but this time, she couldn't find the person who was riding the bicycle at all.
"Are you sure it's him?!"
Han Shengyi nodded. "I've seen him a few times, and he also has a bicycle in the village."
Chu Jiujiu felt very aggrieved. "I don't even have a bicycle, but someone like him actually has one..."
Han Shengyi comforted her, "You are young, and even if I give you a bicycle, you can't ride it."
Chu Jiujiu immediately refuted him, "Who said that? I could ride a bike when I was five. I—never mind, why are you talking about that? Why is Chen Sanzhu here? Is he here to buy something?"
At this point, Chu Jiujiu's eyes lit up, "Is he buying something for Zhou Xiaohe? Then let's go over and take a look. If so, don't we have evidence?"
The supply and marketing cooperative was only a few steps away, but Chen Sanzhu had ridden so far away, so it was obviously not him. Han Shengyi looked up and saw the distance. He frowned and replied, "There are office buildings over there. The Revolutionary Committee, the Administration Bureau, and the Water Conservancy Bureau are all over there. He must be going to look for his brother, Chen Dazhu."
Chu Jiujiu let out a cry of disappointment.
It’s so annoying. Why doesn’t he buy something for Zhou Xiaohe? It would be best if he could buy her a red bellyband. Isn’t that how they catch adulterers in TV dramas?
…
Chu Jiujiu picked up the popsicle stick on the ground, found a trash can, threw it in, and then went to the post office with Han Shengyi.
As Han Shengyi said, Chen Sanzhu went to the Revolutionary Committee to find Chen Dazhu. He waited outside for a long time before Chen Dazhu finally came out.
Seeing Chen Sanzhu standing under the tree, Chen Dazhu's serious square face twisted. He walked over quickly without stopping beside Chen Sanzhu. He pointed in a direction. Chen Sanzhu paused and walked over with him.
They stood outside the Revolutionary Committee's wall, and Chen Sanzhu explained the reason for his visit. The more he spoke, the uglier Chen Dazhu's expression became.
"Brother, my second brother has been held captive by that guy surnamed Zhao. They won't let me in. I told him about you, but he refused to let me go. Zhao doesn't take you seriously at all, otherwise he wouldn't bully my second brother like this. Brother, you're the deputy director now. Isn't it easy to remove a militia company commander? Why don't you just remove him and see if he dares to be so arrogant again?"
Chen Dazhu scolded him: "They removed him and replaced you? Can you two grow your brains and look at what you have done! Did you teach the second brother to sneak into the widow's house? I said, as long as I can get promoted here, I can get you anything you want. The second brother wants a wife, and he can marry whoever he wants when the time comes. Now look, he has done such a shameful thing, and you actually want me to stand up for him. He is lucky that I didn't kill him myself!"
Chen Sanzhu was embarrassed by the scolding, but he was innocent. It was not he who taught him to do that. It was Zhou Xiaohe, that woman, who instigated it. He originally thought that his second brother was alone, and it would be nice if he could really bring home a wife like Chen Dahong, so he did not stop him. Who knew that Chen Dahong was so powerful that she beat Chen Erzhu out directly, and he didn't have any chance at all.
Chen Sanzhu couldn't help but argue for Chen Erzhu: "Brother, we are all born of the same parents, and you raised us two brothers. Second brother has had a weak mind since he was young, and you know this too. At worst, I can lock him up and prevent him from causing trouble again. Besides, after this incident, second brother is afraid, and he won't get into trouble again."
Chen Dazhu's expression eased slightly, and he snorted, "If you do something like this again, don't blame me for disowning you two."
Chen Sanzhu laughed quickly, "No problem, no problem. Big brother, don't you know me? I don't have the courage to make mistakes. Even if I do, they are all minor mistakes. They won't cause any trouble for you, big brother."
That's right. Chen Sanzhu has been a naughty kid since he was little. Although he got him into a lot of trouble, he also did a lot for him. There were things he couldn't bring himself to do, so Chen Sanzhu would do it for him. The three brothers had very different personalities and actions, but they had a good relationship. Even though Chen Dazhu had become very successful, he didn't forget his two younger brothers who lived in the countryside. Chen Sanzhu always helped Chen Erzhu in the village, preventing him from really starving to death.
Finally, Chen Dazhu's expression relaxed. He looked at Chen Sanzhu and smiled knowingly, "You didn't come to see me just for this, did you? If you have anything else, tell me now. I have to go back to the meeting."
Chen Sanzhu chuckled twice: "Big brother is really smart, there is indeed something else. That is, Big brother, you said before that you could let me come to the city to work, have you arranged it for me?"
Guessing this was it, Chen Dazhu chuckled, "It's already been done! Director Wang has been transferred, and all his work has been handed over to me. Now I'm in charge of the dam project, too. You can go to the dam."
Chen Sanzhu was immediately alert when he heard this. "Are they going to ask me to do hard labor and help others build a dam?"
If this is the case, he might as well go back to the village. The dam has been under construction for two years. Due to a shortage of labor and little funding from higher authorities, they can only hire a small number of people to work day and night. The work is too hard, which is why he is unwilling to do it.
"What are you thinking? You're the only one who wants to build a dam. You can just be a transporter, helping others to transport supplies to the dam."
When Chen Sanzhu heard the word "transporter", he immediately clapped his hands, "That's great, can I still learn to drive?"
Chen Dazhu: "Maybe, if you do well, you can learn it."
Chen Sanzhu was completely delighted. Chen Dazhu told him the specific working hours, and Chen Sanzhu wrote them down. When he left, the smile on his face had not yet faded. "Brother, you are really good as the deputy director. They should let you be the director. You were born and raised in our town. No one knows our town better than you. I don't know where that newcomer came from. I think he should get out as soon as possible."
"Need I tell you? Don't worry, he won't be here for a few days. He dares to take my place on my territory. I will definitely pull him down."
Chen Sanzhu heard this and struck while the iron was hot, saying, "In that case, why don't you just pull that kid surnamed Zhao down with you? Big brother, I'm really uncomfortable with him in the village."
Why are we back to this topic again? Chen Dazhu raised his eyebrows. "The militia company commanders are elected by each village themselves, not sent by the Revolutionary Committee. As long as he doesn't make any mistakes, even I can't interfere. I'm telling you, did you listen to me? This is a critical moment. Not only me, but you can't make any mistakes!"
Chen Sanzhu curled his lips. After all, he was just a coward. "Okay, okay, okay, I'll remember that. Big brother, you go ahead and get busy. I'll leave first. I'll come see you on the day I go to work."
After saying that, Chen Sanzhu pushed his bicycle and rode away with his legs spread out. Chen Dazhu also returned to the office with his hands behind his back.
Except for the first few seconds after he got on the bike, his speed was normal. Later, he pedaled very fast and almost hit someone on the road. However, he still had that arrogant look on his face. After the person accidentally fell, he even taunted him, saying, "You deserve it!"
Doesn't he deserve it? Who told him to walk in front of his own wheel? Isn't that asking for a collision?
Someone nearby saw this, rolled up the drawings in his hand, walked over quickly, and helped the person who had fallen up. After helping him up, he realized that he knew this person.
"Director, are you okay?"
Director Yang shook his head and rubbed his leg, which was hurt from the fall. He raised his head and asked, "Chai Gong, why are you out too?"
Chai Yaozu smiled and said, "I went to see my wife. She works at the post office over there. I went to bring her lunch. She left in a hurry this morning and forgot to take it."
Hearing this, Director Yang also laughed. "What a loving couple! The comrades at the post office have a hard life. There's no cafeteria, so they have to bring their own food. Next time, let her eat in our cafeteria and spend a few more food coupons. The firewood workers' wages are so high, your wife wouldn't be reluctant to spend even this, right?"
Chai Yaozu: "You're joking. It's mainly because she's the section chief at the post office and we have to go to her for everything, big or small. She's too busy. Otherwise, I'd also like to have her come to our place for dinner."
The new Director Yang was nearly fifty years old. Unlike the harsh rumors spread by Chen Dazhu, he was actually a very kind person. Chai Yaozu chatted with him as they walked, and they both entered the building of the Revolutionary Committee. Someone saw Chai Yaozu talking and laughing with Director Yang and was very surprised. They quickly reported the matter to Chen Dazhu.
Chu Jiujiu naturally had no idea what kind of drama was going on in the Revolutionary Committee every day. She took two newspapers and wrapped up everything she wanted to send. Then she spent ten cents on packaging at the post office. After watching the staff put her package at the back, Chu Jiujiu walked out with Han Shengyi.
When passing by the supply and marketing cooperative, Chu Jiujiu asked Han Shengyi, "Brother Shengyi, how much is a pound of cotton now?"
Han Shengyi: "Low-grade cotton costs 50 cents per pound, and high-grade cotton costs 80 cents per pound."
Chu Jiujiu had never heard of cotton being classified into different grades. She blinked curiously and asked, "Then how much cotton do we need if we want to make a quilt, a mattress, and two sets of cotton clothes?"
Chu Shao hadn't told her the exact amount, only that he had saved enough and would buy the cotton this month. But she found it strange because Chu Shao usually told her the amount, but this time he was keeping it secret, and she had no idea what he was thinking.
Grandma Han was in charge of the fabrics and cotton in the house, and Han Shengyi was not
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