Lianhua didn't eat the chicken leg, and neither did Xu Genqing. It was Qin Shi who ate it while wiping away tears!
Not only the chicken leg, but the entire large, fat chicken was eaten by Qin Shi alone.
But she couldn't eat anymore; she was so full she vomited. She vomited and then ate again, finally swallowing the last bite before saying contentedly, "I'll never study again!"
Whether rich or poor, whether in times of peace or war, the villagers celebrate the New Year.
Li Laoshi paid for the paper, and Xia Xiucai picked up his brush and wrote down the characters, pasting Spring Festival couplets on every household. With the new walls, even though every family was dirt poor, they were still filled with joy.
Although they had separated their households, Xu Genbao and Wang Xiaoju still had a family reunion dinner at their eldest brother's house.
The table was full of adults and children, and there was a whole table of dishes. Compared with previous years, nothing had changed.
The only thing missing was my father, who died on the way and whose remains were never brought back.
This meal was naturally not enjoyable. Liu's eyes were red, and she ate a few bites before getting off the table.
The children were still hungry, and the adults hadn't eaten either. Ms. Tian divided the dishes she had prepared on the table between the two families, and then each family took their own food home.
The two families have now separated, and each has their own yard.
Wang Xiaoju brought the food back.
The newly renovated house was empty and had no furniture. While the food was still hot, she put the bowl directly into a winnowing basket and then placed the basket on the bedside table.
The child was pulled over, and the family of three started eating again.
Having spent half a year outside fluffing cotton, she had long since gotten used to this simple, squatting-on-the-ground eating routine, and even enjoyed eating by the bedside.
Although her home was still in a terrible state, a fire ignited in Wang Xiaoju's heart.
In this house, I can do whatever I want without having to worry about anyone's opinion or offending anyone with a single word.
She chuckled and pulled out meatballs from the bottom of the bowl, giving one to her son and one to her husband: "Genbao, let's go out and travel further next year, earn more money, and add cabinets and wardrobes, as well as a carved bed, an eight-immortal table, an eight-treasure shelf, and a footstool."
"The year after next, I'll be able to pay Leizi's tuition for school in town..."
Wang Xiaoju was excitedly planning to work hard to earn money to fill the empty house and make arrangements for the children.
Xu Genbao was not so cheerful. He was heavy-hearted, thinking about the huge debt he had incurred from repairing his house.
Wang Xiaoju followed him around outside, enduring hardship and facing safety risks.
There are always people with ill intentions circling around young married women.
Moreover, if children are left at home and don't see their parents for months, they'll practically be ruined.
In the days since he returned, he has noticed that his son Leiwa is not close to him and has become spoiled.
The four-year-old boy clings to his grandmother from morning till night, crying and whimpering. He worries that if he continues to raise him, his grandmother will abandon him.
"Xiaoju, you can stay at home next year. Qiangzi and the others said there's a night school in the village. Leizi can learn a few words there, and it'll save a lot of tuition money!"
Upon hearing that she wasn't allowed to go out by herself, Wang Xiaoju's eyes widened immediately, and she exclaimed anxiously, "There are so many things you can't finish by yourself, how will you cook for us every day? How will you wash your face and do your laundry?"
Xu Genbao worked as a cotton flufferer, working for one neighbor one day and another the next.
Sometimes the host is generous, and if it happens to be mealtime, you can share a bowl with them.
If the host family is stingy, the couple will have to cook porridge, make pancakes, and eat something on their own, otherwise they will go hungry.
People who do heavy work can't go hungry. Besides eating, they have to find ways to have some meat from time to time to treat themselves.
Besides boiling water and washing clothes, and helping with hairdressing and styling, Wang Xiaoju usually takes care of all these things.
In other words, without Wang Xiaoju cooking, washing clothes, and helping out, Xu Genbao wouldn't have earned those six taels of silver on his own.
Upon hearing the mention of food and clothing, Xu Genbao frowned and said, "When you're out in the world, you're bound to go hungry and cold. It's nothing like being at home. I wash my clothes after I finish my work at night, so it's okay if they get a little dirty."
Wang Xiaoju shook her head, put down her chopsticks and said, "With me around, you often eat cold food. If you go hungry for a few more meals, you're really asking for trouble."
She followed along outside and knew how hard the work was. Whenever there was work, she barely had time to sleep and had no time to cook.
Not to mention washing clothes, by the end of the day you're covered in dust, itchy and uncomfortable, and if you don't change them for a few more days you'll get sick.
The couple was arguing about going out, while Leiwa, standing nearby, had already put down his chopsticks, his mouth full of rice, looking like he was about to cry.
Wang Xiaoju retorted angrily, "No way! I'm still going out with you next year. While Leiwa can still stay with his grandma for another year, let's pay off our debts and make some furniture. You want me to stay home and farm... how am I supposed to farm? I've never farmed before, I can't do it!"
She wanted to earn money for a year, then shower her sister-in-law with it, and proudly have her brother make her some nice furniture.
If you don't go out, where will the money come from? Do you expect me to lower myself and beg people for money?
Xu Genbao also got anxious: "Nobody is born knowing everything. If you don't know something, you learn it. You can't just watch Leiwazi look so listless every day..."
"Wow!"
Leiwa, who had been pouting and about to cry, finally burst into tears: "Mom, Dad, don't leave! Don't leave! I don't want the house, I don't want the new table, I don't want the clothes! I want you to stay here!"
Because he had never been in good health, he was practically raised in Wang Xiaoju's arms, and they had never been separated since he was a child.
Now not only are we separated, but my parents are gone for one or two months at a time.
For a three- or four-year-old child, that is a very long time. Although he is not hungry or cold at home, he wakes up crying in his dreams when he sees his older siblings with parents.
Wang Xiaoju quickly comforted him, "We're not leaving, we were just kidding!" While coaxing the child, she winked at Xu Genbao, signaling him to also lie to the child a few times.
Xu Genbao didn't cooperate. Instead, he said in a muffled voice, "Leiwa is a boy. He should be sensible by now. What good will it do to deceive him? He'll still cry when you leave."
"Wah!" Leiwa burst into tears, vomiting up the meat and rice he had just eaten.
Wang Xiaoju was so angry that she punched Xu Genbao a few times, then picked up the child and took him to the next room to comfort him.
Xu Genbao sat listlessly for a while, then went to find some wood ash to cover the child's vomit on the ground, cleaned it up, and opened the door to ventilate the room.
A child's crying cannot stop parents from making money.
A few days later, when Leiwa woke up, he found that the huge slingshot that had been in the room was gone, and he immediately ran out of the room crying.
He chased after them on the official road, where no one could be seen anymore, crying and shouting for his parents to come back. Finally, he collapsed on the muddy ground, rolling around in tears, until Liu, who had followed him out, carried him home.
The villagers couldn't help but gossip, saying that Wang Xiaoju and her husband were heartless and pitiful for abandoning their child!
When Jiang Zhi found out about these things, she simply said, "Who hasn't been a left-behind child? If you're holding a child, you can't do manual labor. Maternal love also needs money to support it. Otherwise, you won't even be able to afford a lollipop, and the child will still be dissatisfied."
As she said this, Qiaoyun and Chunfeng listened from the side, exchanging bewildered glances.
They didn't quite understand what their mother meant by saying these things, and just assumed it referred to Xiao Tian, who had been fostered in their family before.
I heard that two years after that woman married into the city, she suddenly brought home a baby who was only a month old, saying that she couldn't raise the child and that she couldn't afford to buy lollipops after that.
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