Chapter 8
In ancient times, farmers believed in working at sunrise and resting at sunset. Of course, this is not the case now. Most people go to bed at eight or nine o'clock. Only a very small number of poor families do not even have kerosene lamps. When it gets dark, you can't see anything, so you can only sleep.
As for Chu Shao and Chu Jiujiu's conditions, let alone kerosene lamps, they didn't even have a bed sheet.
Although Mrs. Zhang treated Chu Shao badly before, he still lived in the big house like other children. Now with the addition of Chu Jiujiu, Mrs. Zhang was so angry that she didn't even let him live in a proper house.
Lying on the straw, Chu Shao did not fall asleep immediately. He was thinking about how to change the situation.
Of course you can't live here all the time. It's okay for a day or two, but if you live here for a long time, you will get sick.
Besides, he didn't want to live under someone else's roof anymore.
Chu Shao couldn't sleep, and neither could Chu Jiujiu. She also felt that this was not a place for human beings to stay. She had finally been accepted by her grandfather, and she couldn't let her grandfather live in such a shabby house forever. She had to find a way.
Chu Jiujiu closed her eyes, her mind working rapidly. She collected and pieced together bit by bit the stories about the Chu family that her father had told her before.
My father didn't know much because everything he knew came from my grandfather, and my grandfather was even more serious as an adult than he is now, and he rarely mentioned things in the past.
All she knew was that the Chu family's ancestors had been soldiers. In the 1960s, her grandfather had gone to the countryside and been separated from the Chu family. He had grown up in the village, having lived a very difficult life. Later, he got a chance to leave the village and returned to the capital, hoping to find his family. But they didn't recognize him and even kicked him out. Furious, her grandfather went south to fight for his fortune, and until his death, he never returned to the capital, let alone mentioned the Chu family.
Chu Jiujiu remembered that it was Chu Shao's grandmother who had driven him out. By then, both Chu Shao's parents had passed away. She had arrived too late, and now Chu Shao's mother was dead, so what about his father? Could he still be alive?
If he were alive, he would still recognize Chu Shao as his son, right?
Alas, distant water cannot quench a nearby fire. They are both children and cannot leave the village for a while. If only great-grandmother were still alive. I heard that great-grandmother was very kind and loved grandpa the most. When she first came to the village, she thought of everything, bought a house, and brought a lot of money. If she were still alive, grandpa would never have suffered so much, and eventually suffered from the damage and died young...
etc.
house? !
Chu Jiujiu suddenly opened her eyes and turned around to ask Chu Shao about this matter, but seeing Chu Shao sleeping soundly, Chu Jiujiu silently closed her mouth and decided to ask tomorrow.
The night passed like this.
Chu Jiujiu had a different schedule from the people in Qingzhu Village. When Chu Shao woke up, she was still sleeping soundly. After walking out of the hut and scooping some water to wash his face, he was scolded by Mrs. Zhang. Chu Shao didn't say anything to her, but walked into the main room and took out three coarse steamed buns from the basket on the table.
When Mrs. Zhang saw this, she cursed even louder: "You're going to die! You took so much, are the others going to eat it?!"
Chu Shao paused and put his hands on the table.
He raised his eyelids and asked, "Are you not letting me eat, or are we all not eating together?"
After Chu Shao came to Zhang's house, he basically didn't speak, but when he spoke, it meant he was serious. Mrs. Zhang's blood vessels in her forehead were pounding because of his threat. Chu Shao took the steamed bread and left. When he met the second brother's family at the door, he ignored them and went straight back to the cottage.
The second daughter-in-law, Zhao Shiliu, saw this and laughed coldly, "Ever since my niece came, my eldest nephew's temper has gotten worse."
He used to tolerate it, but now he actually bites people.
"You damn niece! It's already so late, and you're still waiting for dinner to come over. You're such a lazy bunch. Second son's wife, you'll be cooking from tomorrow. If you don't, don't come over to eat!"
Zhao Shiliu cursed inwardly, but had no choice but to accept it.
In the hut, Chu Jiujiu had been woken up by Mrs. Zhang. She sat on the straw pile and rubbed her eyes. The straw bed was really uncomfortable and she felt prickly all over. Insects bit her in the middle of the night and when she woke up, she had several red bumps on her body.
Chu Shao came in and handed her two steamed buns.
"I'll go pick lotus seeds soon. You stay inside or go out and play. Don't talk to their family or go up the mountain."
To modern people, picking lotus seeds seems like a good job, but it is not. From morning to night, you have to stand on a narrow boat all day long, with the sun shining directly on you. There is no place to hide, and you may get heatstroke if you are not careful.
Chu Jiujiu listened and nodded obediently, "I'll go out and play."
For some reason, Chu Shao always felt that she was a particularly disobedient child, so he emphasized again: "You are not allowed to go up the mountain. There are wolves in the mountain. You are not allowed to go up there alone."
Chu Jiujiu looked at the steamed bread in Chu Shao's hand, and then stuffed another one into his hand. "I know, Grandpa, you eat it. I don't have a big appetite, so one is enough for me."
Chu Shao didn't answer, "Save that for lunch."
Chu Jiujiu refused to accept it no matter what. She could tell that the Zhang family would never give them lunch, and her grandfather still had to work, so the steamed bread had to be given to him.
Chu Shao had no choice but to take it.
Chu Jiujiu smiled and stuffed the steamed bread into her mouth. The rough and strange taste almost made her spit it out.
But thinking that this was given to her by her grandfather, and that his family was so poor that she would starve if she didn't eat it, she struggled for a long time before swallowing the steamed bread in her mouth.
It tastes really bad, like eating a slightly soft stone.
This steamed bread is made of coarse grains, with sweet potato flour and wild vegetables. The taste is hard to describe. Chu Jiujiu took a long time to swallow a mouthful, while Chu Shao had already finished two. In his opinion, this is already a good thing, better than rotten ones.
After eating, Chu Shao went out to pick lotus seeds. Seeing him leave, Chu Jiujiu was about to leave too. After thinking for a while, she took out the necklace from her coat and held it in her hand. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly felt something was wrong in her hand. She rummaged through her pockets again and found half a bag of handkerchiefs, a string of plastic beads, and a bright yellow bracelet.
This was the eighth birthday gift Chu Jiujiu's parents gave her. Chu Jiujiu wore it for a day, but felt it was heavy, so she just put it in her coat pocket.
Chu Jiujiu was stunned for a moment, then her eyes lit up. This thing must be very valuable! Selling it would improve the lives of herself and her grandfather!
But her happiness didn't last for three seconds. Chu Jiujiu remembered what Chu Shao said, that they were not allowed to sell things now. She had no choice but to put the bracelet back and then put the coat behind the wooden board that served as the door.
When she ran out of the hut, Chu Jiujiu saw two girls working in the yard. Both girls were looking at her. They must still remember her heroic battle with Mrs. Zhang and Niu Ailing yesterday.
Chu Jiujiu ignored them and ran out quickly.
The village was much safer than Zhang's. Even if Chu Shao hadn't said anything, Chu Jiujiu wouldn't have stayed alone at Zhang's. She wandered around. The young men had all gone to work in the fields, and the women were no exception. They wouldn't return until almost lunchtime. Chu Jiujiu only encountered a few old ladies in the village. If she was stopped, she would have played the victim.
One of the old ladies was kind-hearted and gave her some freshly picked wild strawberries. Chu Jiujiu ate the strawberries and prepared to go find the team leader from yesterday to ask him whether the great-grandmother had really bought a house.
After receiving the strawberries, her hands were full, so she put the necklace back on her neck. But remembering Chu Shao's words, she stuffed the necklace into her clothes. Fortunately, the clothes were loose enough so that there was no bulge on her chest.
As she was walking, not knowing where she was, Chu Jiujiu suddenly heard a threatening sound from behind her that only animals could make.
Chu Jiujiu paused while chewing the strawberry, turned her head, and found a big black dog behind her.
Chu Jiujiu: “…”
She almost ran away, but then she remembered someone saying that when you meet a dog, you must never run. If you stand still, the dog won't move either.
Chu Jiujiu's body was stiff, not daring to breathe. She watched the black dog crawling towards her, making threatening sounds in her throat.
Chu Jiujiu was in tears. She thought she was going to be in a stalemate with the dog, but the next second, the dog pounced on her.
"Waaaaaaah! Help!!!"
This time it was not fake crying, Chu Jiujiu was really scared. She ran for her life and threw away the remaining strawberries. Unfortunately, there was no house in front of the road, but a vegetable field. Basically no one would come here. From a distance, Chu Jiujiu vaguely saw a person squatting in the vegetable field. She was so scared that her tone changed.
"Help! Help! Help me, ahhhh!"
Han Shengyi raised his head and looked at Chu Jiujiu who was running wildly and the big black dog chasing her with a puzzled look. He didn't understand why Chu Jiujiu was being chased by the dog. When he heard Chu Jiujiu's cry for help, he frowned.
Because his grandmother had told him to do so, he didn't want to care about it, but Chu Jiujiu cried so pitifully that he picked up a stone from the edge of the vegetable patch and threw it out with force.
Good, very accurate, hitting the dog right on the head.
The big black dog felt pain and instantly shifted its target, fixing its dangerous gaze on Han Shengyi.
Han Shengyi: “…”
His task today was to catch insects in the vegetable garden. He didn't even have a hoe, so he had no way to fight the dog. He thought to himself that something was wrong, and before the big black dog rushed over, he turned around and ran. Chu Jiujiu was scared silly, thinking that the big black dog was chasing her. Seeing him running too, she immediately adjusted direction, took a few quick steps back, and caught up with Han Shengyi.
Han Shengyi: “…”
Han Shengyi ran straight up the mountain. Chu Jiujiu was not as fast as him. When she was left behind, he pulled her up. The two of them quickly ran into the mountains. The big black dog barked a few times at the foot of the mountain and finally left reluctantly.
Chu Jiujiu panted and said to Han Shengyi, "Brother, brother... thank you... thank you... thank you... you..."
Han Shengyi was also out of breath, but seeing Chu Jiujiu didn't forget to thank him even though she was out of breath, he felt like laughing again. He supported his knees, and Han Shengyi waved his hand, "It's okay, it's just a piece of cake."
"That's Captain Zhao's dog. It doesn't go up the mountain. If you run into it again, just run up the mountain."
Chu Jiujiu looked frightened and nodded repeatedly, "I'll remember it."
Han Shengyi smiled at her. He was so tired that he didn't care what was on the ground. He sat down, leaned against the tree, and lowered his head to rest. The tree shook when he hit it, and then a strange sound came from the tree, like something tearing.
Han Shengyi and Chu Jiujiu raised their heads at the same time, and then watched a huge black and brown honeycomb fall down.
Han Shengyi: “…”
Chu Jiujiu: “…”
The bees immediately came out in full force, and the two ran away. There were too many obstacles on the mountain, and Chu Jiujiu and Han Shengyi quickly separated. While escaping, Chu Jiujiu looked back and was almost scared to death.
A swarm of bees were chasing her, and there were only a few scattered bees on Han Shengyi's side.
Chu Jiujiu: "Have mercy! It wasn't me, it really wasn't me!"
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