Chapter 057
Lin Xiaohan stood next to her and suddenly said, "Do you really want to take root here?"
Chu Xia turned to look at him, smiled and asked, "What about you? I remember when we first went to the countryside, everyone shouted slogans together, saying that we would stay in the countryside and work for the revolution for the rest of our lives, and you shouted the loudest."
Lin Xiaohan: “…”
He turned around and said, "If we don't leave now, it will be dark."
Upon hearing this, Chuxia turned around and followed him, going back to the educated youth point with him.
***
"get out of class dismissed."
Chuxia closed her textbook and lesson plan at the podium, walked to the corner of the back row of the classroom amid the growing noise, knocked on Li Xisheng's desk and called him, "Come with me to the office."
Li Xisheng raised his head and looked at Chuxia uncertainly for a while.
After confirming that Chuxia was calling him, he quickly got up and followed Chuxia to the office.
Chuxia returned to the office and sat down.
Li Xisheng stood in front of her desk and waited silently for her to speak.
Chu Xia didn't beat around the bush and said to him directly: "Tomorrow is Sunday. Teacher Lin and I are going to the market in the commune to set up a stall to sell noodles. The team wants us to bring two people with us to learn from them, so that we can have someone to set up the noodle stall when we don't have time in the future. I suggested to them that you go with us. Do you want to go?"
Originally, Li Xisheng was hunched over, with his chest hunched and his head lowered.
Hearing Chuxia's words, he slowly raised his head and looked at Chuxia. Even his eyes, which had been dull for years, suddenly brightened up, mixed with surprise.
Growing up, few people were willing to get close to him, let alone take the initiative to take him to do things.
Seeing that he didn't respond, Chu Xia looked at him with a smile and asked again: "Hmm?"
Li Xisheng finally realized what was happening and nodded quickly, "Yes."
Chu Xia smiled and said, "Okay, then come find us in the courtyard of the brigade headquarters tomorrow morning."
Li Xisheng hurriedly bowed to Chu Xia, "Thank you, Teacher Tang."
Watching Li Xisheng leave the office, Chu Xia subconsciously glanced at Lin Xiaohan again.
Lin Xiaohan felt her gaze even without looking at her, and said, "I have no interest in helping others, nor in making friends."
Chu Xia knew who Lin Xiaohan was, so she naturally didn't argue with him about it.
Normally, he would not do anything that was not good for himself, and he was even less likely to be interested in making friends with someone like Li Xisheng who had a bad family background.
Even though they had been together for such a long time, he never said that he considered her a friend.
Chu Xia looked at him and said, "You don't need to help others. Just let him do any work."
Lin Xiaohan looked at Chu Xia, "Then I won't be polite."
***
In addition to Li Xisheng, Chuxia also has to bring Wang Xiaoyan.
Originally, Chuxia planned to talk to Wang Xiaoyan about this matter after school in the evening, but just after sending the students away from school in the evening, Wang Xiaoyan came to the school by herself.
Wang Xiaoyan still came to Chuxia to exchange books.
Over the past six months, with the help of Chuxia, she has learned quite a few words and read quite a few books, and has already escaped from the illiterate and semi-illiterate stage.
Chuxia changed the book for her and told her that she would take her to the market tomorrow. She was also very happy and nodded in agreement.
Naturally, she was very willing to do this kind of great thing, which could earn her work points and broaden her horizons and see the world.
So the next morning, after breakfast, she went to the yard of the brigade early.
As a result, when she arrived at the yard of the brigade headquarters, she found that Li Xisheng had arrived earlier than her.
When Li Xisheng saw her, he became less restrained and looked more relaxed.
There was still some surprise in his eyes, and he took the initiative to ask Wang Xiaoyan: "Did Teacher Tang let you go too?"
Wang Xiaoyan also relaxed in front of Li Xisheng, smiling and nodding at him, "Last time during the Mid-Autumn Festival, she took me with her to the big market. I have some experience and can help."
Li Xisheng said worriedly: "I still... don't understand anything..."
Wang Xiaoyan reassured him, "It's okay, just help with the work. If you don't understand anything, just ask me. I'll tell you what needs to be done. We just need to be diligent."
Li Xisheng felt more at ease after hearing this.
He nodded to Wang Xiaoyan, "Yeah."
The two stood in the yard talking in low voices. After waiting for a while, Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan arrived.
Seeing Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan enter the yard, the two of them became cautious and reserved at the same time, stood side by side, and greeted Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan out loud.
Chu Xia smiled and responded to them: "You came so early."
Wang Xiaoyan had a shy smile on her face, "I was afraid I'd be late, so I came a little early."
The four people gathered here to work, so naturally there was not much chatting.
Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan went to open the door of the storage room, took Wang Xiaoyan and Li Xisheng into the storage room, and did some preparations first.
Wang Xiaoyan and Li Xisheng were naturally very cautious. They watched, listened and studied carefully, and did not dare to slack off at all. Whatever Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan asked them to do, they would start working immediately.
The two of them were diligent, which saved Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan a lot of trouble.
After the preparations were completed, when going to the market, Wang Xiaoyan and Li Xisheng also took the initiative to pull the cart.
When it comes to selling physical strength, Wang Xiaoyan and Li Xisheng are always better than Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan.
The two of them pulled the cart very quickly, while Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan followed behind.
When they were about to reach the market, Chu Xia said to Lin Xiaohan, "With the two of them here, we can handle the work at the stall. When we get to the market, you can just go to the blacksmith shop with peace of mind."
A lot of money has been spent on building the house, so they don't plan to decorate the new house in any way. As long as it can shelter from the wind and rain and provide a place for eating and sleeping, it will be enough.
To satisfy the need for food, of course there needs to be someone who can cook.
Their new kitchen still had a double stove, which required two pots and a spatula.
As for other miscellaneous items, you can just bring them with you and buy them slowly.
Lin Xiaohan had no objection and responded, "Okay."
Instead of having to work hard, he would like to go out for a walk. Why wouldn't he be unhappy about that?
So when they arrived at the market, Chuxia took Wang Xiaoyan and Li Xisheng to clean up the stall and prepare to make a fire to make fried sauce, while Lin Xiaohan went to the blacksmith shop alone.
As soon as Lin Xiaohan left, Wang Xiaoyan and Li Xisheng obviously breathed a sigh of relief.
Chu Xia saw them like this and said with a smile, "Are you so afraid of Teacher Lin?"
Wang Xiaoyan and Li Xisheng didn't expect to be seen by Chu Xia, so they felt a little embarrassed.
Li Xisheng was too embarrassed to speak, so Wang Xiaoyan smiled and explained to Chuxia, "Teacher Lin doesn't seem to like to laugh in private, and doesn't like to talk to people very much. We were afraid of accidentally making him unhappy."
Chuxia could understand the feelings of Wang Xiaoyan and Li Xisheng.
Lin Xiaohan doesn't like to waste time on getting along with others. If it's not useful to him, he will just ignore people. From time to time, he puts on a arrogant and stinky face and doesn't take people seriously.
Wang Xiaoyan and Li Xisheng are naturally inferior in character.
Being in front of someone like him, there is naturally a lot of pressure.
Chu Xia said in a relaxed tone: "He looks a bit fierce and difficult to get along with, but no matter how fierce he is, he won't eat people. You don't have to be so nervous, just do what you need to do."
Wang Xiaoyan and Li Xisheng actually can't do it.
But the two still nodded and responded: "Okay, Teacher Tang."
The stall was packed up, and Chuxia started making fried sauce as before.
When she was making the fried sauce this time, she called Wang Xiaoyan and Li Xisheng to her side and taught them as she made it, letting them watch and learn.
Wang Xiaoyan and Li Xisheng both studied very seriously.
But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't resist the temptation of the aroma of fried sauce and kept swallowing my saliva.
When Chuxia had almost finished teaching, she let Wang Xiaoyan try it out.
The steps are naturally not difficult to remember. The most important thing is to control the heat, to what degree the meat should be fried, and how the sauce should be fried to achieve the best taste.
When Chuxia was teaching Wang Xiaoyan and Li Xisheng how to make fried sauce, Lin Xiaohan came back from the blacksmith shop.
With Wang Xiaoyan and Li Xisheng around, he didn't need to do anything, so he just went to sit on the empty cart, sitting for a while and then lying down for a while, doing whatever he felt comfortable and at ease.
Today is just a normal set, so it's not particularly busy.
But this was the first time for Li Xisheng to come along, and he had rarely come into contact with people since he was a child and had almost never done anything in a crowd, so he seemed a little flustered and at a loss at the beginning.
Liang Youtian was right. He never went out and always kept his head down in front of others.
But after finishing the busiest period at noon, he had somewhat adapted to the situation.
After lunch, Chu Xia, Wang Xiaoyan and Li Xisheng also sat down to rest.
Chu Xia smiled and praised Wang Xiaoyan and Li Xisheng, saying, "My judgment is correct. You two are diligent and smart, and you do a good job. If you come here two more times at most, you will be able to open your own stall."
Being praised by Chu Xia, Wang Xiaoyan and Li Xisheng were both happy and a little embarrassed.
Wang Xiaoyan asked with a shy smile: "Really?"
Chu Xia nodded at her, "Really?"
Wang Xiaoyan was happy and she and Li Xisheng looked at each other.
Li Xisheng was not only happy, he also looked much more cheerful than usual.
He is usually timid, but now he looks like a young man.
Neither Wang Xiaoyan nor Li Xisheng are talkative people.
They are shy and have low self-esteem, which makes them embarrassed to say too much in front of Chuxia.
After speaking a few more words to Chuxia with a reserved and polite manner, the two of them took their books together, sat at the table, read together, and thought about doing their homework together.
Chuxia turned her head and saw Lin Xiaohan still lying on the cart.
She didn't bother him and turned back to chat with the melon seller next to her.
We chatted like this until the evening, when groups of people came to eat noodles, and then we stayed busy for a while longer.
They were so busy that when night fell, all the other stalls had closed and they also packed up and went home.
But they did not leave the commune immediately after closing their stalls.
Instead, he pulled the cart to the blacksmith shop again, put two large iron pots and iron shovels and spoons for cooking on the cart, and pulled them back together.
It was already dark when we returned to the brigade headquarters.
Wang Xiaoyan said goodbye to Li Xisheng and went home first.
Chuxia and Lin Xiaohan were not in a hurry to return to the educated youth site. They unloaded the other things on the cart, leaving only two large iron pots and a shovel, and pulled the cart back to the new house.
***
Over the next week, Chuxia and Lin Xiaohan began to bring the things that could be moved in advance from the educated youth site to the new house one after another.
In addition to moving things one after another, when I had free time, I would go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some small items needed in life, such as kerosene lamps.
On Sunday, they went to the market to set up their stall as usual, and still brought Wang Xiaoyan and Li Xisheng with them.
Because they planned to move all the remaining things today and live in the new house at night, Chuxia and Lin Xiaohan agreed to pack up and go back to the team after lunch and not stay until the evening.
But when Chuxia and Lin Xiaohan were about to close the stall, Wang Xiaoyan hesitated and took the initiative to say to Chuxia: "Teacher Tang, how about you and Teacher Lin go back first, and Xisheng and I will stay here to look after the stall?"
Chu Xia was slightly stunned when she heard her words. She didn't expect that they would have such courage.
However, she had indeed taught almost everything she should teach. Since they had the courage to take the initiative, Chu Xia naturally agreed.
The purpose of bringing them here is to let them learn so that they can be independent.
So Chuxia and Lin Xiaohan left the stall to Wang Xiaoyan and Li Xisheng. The two of them shared the responsibility of carrying the vegetables that Lin Xiaohan had bought at the market in the morning and went back to the team first.
When we returned to the team, the sun was hanging in the western sky.
Chuxia and Lin Xiaohan put the vegetables they bought from the commune in the kitchen of the new house, then borrowed a cart and returned to the educated youth site to move the remaining things.
There aren’t many things left, they were all used up in the morning but not moved away.
The brigade bought some common items for the educated youth site. In addition to moving a table and two benches, they also brought two people's bowls, chopsticks, plates and a medium-sized water tank.
Move all the remaining items onto the cart.
Fearing that something might have been missed, Chuxia checked the educated youth site inside and out again.
After checking to make sure nothing was missed, he finally released the six hens from the chicken coop.
Small animals are all intelligent. They have raised all six hens well, especially the three in early summer, which have names. They will follow you when you call them, so there is no problem taking them to the new house.
So Lin Xiaohan pulled the cart, Chuxia followed beside him and helped push it, and six hens with shiny feathers followed behind the cart, and together they went to their new home.
Although she had lived in the educated youth center for more than half a year, since she awakened her self-awareness, the educated youth center has been the place Chu Xia wanted to escape from. Especially recently, the other people were kept under close watch by Wu Changming, and their lives were extremely hard and they had no freedom at all. The atmosphere in the educated youth center was very dull and depressing every day, so she had no attachment to this place and did not even look back after leaving the yard.
Not only did she not feel any reluctance, but the further she walked, the greater the sense of relief she felt in her heart.
My mood is as bright, cheerful and brilliant as the sunshine.
***
"Into the new home!"
When they arrived at their new home next to the school, Chuxia was the first to drive the six hens into their new pen.
Their new pen is much better than the previous one, it is a small adobe house with a beautiful fence.
After locking up the hens, Chuxia couldn't wait to clean up her room.
With the conditions in place, there wasn't actually a lot to pack, but I suddenly had an entire room, a little world of my own, and I couldn't help but get excited and wanted to do some work with it.
After entering the room, Chuxia was the first to spread her bedding on the new bed.
There is no wardrobe for clothes, so they are kept in travel bags.
The shoes were placed under the bed along the side of the bed, the washbasin and towels were placed on a washbasin rack supported by several pieces of wood, and the remaining toothbrush mugs and books were placed on the table.
Everything was packed up, and Chuxia looked around, feeling relieved and satisfied.
She let go of all the strength in her body, lay down on the bed and breathed a sigh of relief.
She relaxed her whole body and looked at the brand new wooden beams above her head, thinking - she had finally moved out of the educated youth camp. This should be considered the most substantial step she took to break away from the plot of the original novel and towards freedom.
Of course, she couldn't just sit there and relax, after all, she hadn't completely broken free from her shackles.
She will have to keep working hard. When she is completely free from the constraints of the original novel's settings and no longer has to follow Lin Xiaohan every day, she will be completely free!
Thinking of this, Chuxia suddenly sat up from the bed.
She reached out and took the mirror on the table and put it in front of her face.
Although she was with Lin Xiaohan every day, they were separated due to various things such as classes, so they did not spend much time together, so her face in the mirror changed slowly.
Chu Xia said to herself in the mirror: "My facial features are clearer now..."
As he was speaking, his eyes blinked and suddenly, everything that was originally blurry became clear.
Suddenly seeing a pair of clear eyes in the mirror, Chu Xia was stunned.
She thought she was hallucinating and blinked twice.
After blinking, she found that her eyes had indeed become clearer.
My heartbeat suddenly started beating faster.
Chuxia opened her eyes wide and didn't even blink.
I was afraid that if she blinked again, her eyes would become blurry again.
Chuxia stared at the mirror and subconsciously held her breath.
The two eyes in the mirror are very beautiful, with clear and bright eyes full of surprise and agility. The eyelashes are dense and curled, and each one can be seen clearly, including the eyelashes on the lower eyelid.
My heart is about to burst out of my chest.
Chuxia raised her hand and pressed hard on her chest.
My eyes couldn't help but blink, but the eyes in the mirror were still clear.
Chuxia pressed her chest to suppress her heartbeat, and a smile slowly appeared in her eyes.
It was true, she saw her own eyes.
I couldn't help but feel excited, and I couldn't suppress the excitement on my face. Chuxia looked at herself in the mirror for a long time.
After she had enjoyed the view to her heart's content and it no longer felt unreal, she calmed her heart and put the mirror back on the table.
Then she stood up decisively.
He went to Lin Xiaohan's door and stuck his head out to ask, "Lin Xiaohan, do you want to fetch water together?"
Lin Xiaohan's voice came from the room: "Wait a moment."
Chuxia didn't urge him, but just stretched her head and asked, "After we fetch water together, shall we go collect firewood together?"
Lin Xiaohan: “Okay.”
Chuxia: "After we finish collecting firewood together, shall we go dig wild vegetables together?"
Lin Xiaohan: “Okay.”
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