Qian Xiao was still thinking about the land that hadn't been hoeed yet. She wondered if the temperature in that space had any seasons or anything like that. If it did, she wanted to take advantage of the warmth now and plant the crops. She also wondered if planting crops in that space would shorten their growth time.
She had to verify everything, otherwise she wouldn't even know what her own space was like. Although her family didn't seem to lack food, she was very aware of potential crises and knew that famine was coming, so she always needed to stock up on more food to feel at ease.
...
The heavy snow outside has been falling for three or four days, and she doesn't know when it will stop. She hasn't been out for several days. The snow is so thick that it reaches her chest, even though she's small.
Winter is the hardest time of the year. We can't go anywhere and have to stay at home all day. I looked back at the six little ones sitting side by side, each holding a picture book.
Every time I see Qian Xiao, I can't help but laugh. The six little ones together don't even know five words, but look at how serious they are, as if they can understand everything.
"Big sister, can you tell us what it says up there?" San Dan couldn't help but ask when he noticed his older sister looking at them.
They could recite the pictures in the comic book by heart, but they didn't dare to make a fuss in their eldest sister's room. They were unwilling to go to other rooms, as if being near Qian Xiaoxiao meant they could absorb spiritual energy.
"Alright, come here and I'll explain it to you." Before Qian Xiao regained his memory, he didn't know many more words than a few little kids. But now it's different. It's quite difficult to get a college student to pretend he doesn't know any words.
When Li Guizhi opened her daughter's door, she saw six boys surrounding her daughter listening to stories. Her daughter only knew a few words, but they told the stories as if they were true, and they were quite good at making things up.
Qian Xiao... I really didn't make this up.
She placed a bowl of frozen pears on the kang (a heated brick bed): "Eat up, one for each of you, and one for each of Xiao Ba and Xiao Jiu."
Qian Xiao didn't stand on ceremony, picking one up and starting to eat. The kang (heated brick bed) in the room was so hot it was burning his bottom, and he was incredibly thirsty. He had to keep it warm; there were no heated walls or anything like that in the house, and they relied entirely on this kang for warmth.
"Mom, you should eat too."
"Mother doesn't like it, you guys eat it."
Qian Xiao didn't believe it. Who doesn't like eating fruit? She picked up a frozen pear and stuffed it into her mother's mouth: "Eat, I remember there are still quite a few left."
"You silly child, there are so many people in our family, so one extra cent doesn't make much difference."
"Let's eat together, and I'll bring back more pears next year."
They have a few wild pear trees in the mountains. The pears they bear aren't big, but they taste pretty good. There are two more trees further into the mountains, but the villagers don't go there much. She'll buy them all next year.
"Mom, is Dad coming home for the New Year?"
"You can't come back now, and who knows when you'll have time to come back next time? What? Miss your dad?"
"It's alright, but I'm just wondering, Mom, are you really going to let me go to school next year? What will happen to my little brother if I go to school?"
Li Guizhi... You're talking like you didn't go to school and you only looked after your younger brother. This girl just feels restricted when she goes to school.
"We have so many people in our family, we don't need anyone to look after the kids. You just focus on your studies, you still have more than half a year to play with."
"Hehe, my mom knows me best."
"Mother, do you think anyone from the Wang family will come back?"
Li Guizhi took a bite of the frozen pear and shook her head: "I heard from those people when I went to the commune last time that two members of that family were killed, and the remaining women and children were all sent away. Nobody knows exactly where they went, but I don't think it's a place where they can enjoy themselves."
"What about Old Wang's house?"
"Many people are eyeing it, but it's still undecided who will get it. Anyway, our family isn't interested, so why should we care?"
"Since you're just sitting around doing nothing, why don't I teach you needlework?"
"Okay, from now on you won't have to do any patching, Mom, I can do it myself."
She really didn't know how to sew. In her previous life, she was born into a well-off family. Her parents were both civil servants. They weren't exactly rich, but she was pampered by them. Let alone needlework, there was no need to learn it back then. When clothes were torn, people would just buy new ones. Who would bother with patching?
She only learned to cook when she went to university, and that was because she insisted on learning, and her mother taught her. You could say she grew up without ever lifting a finger.
From the age of seven, he was always thinking about sneaking into the mountains to get food, and never even considered learning needlework.
...
"Ouch~" Qian Xiao put his hand, which was covered in needle marks, to his mouth and blew on it. It really hurt! No wonder they say that the ten fingers are connected to the heart.
Even Li Guizhi, with her hard heart, felt sorry for her: "Why don't you stop learning? I'll help you with needlework from now on."
The old lady was also heartbroken. Looking at her granddaughter, whose fingers were all missing, she said, "That's right. If you can't learn it, then don't. You have your mother and milk at home, and if all else fails, you have your second and third aunts. Why do you have to learn this, you little girl?"
"I'll give it a try. I make my own clothes now. If I can't learn, I'll just feel frustrated. Grandma, do you know how to embroider?"
The old lady tapped her granddaughter's head: "You can't even learn to sew a patch, yet you want to learn embroidery? You'd better just shut up."
Qian Xiao's eyes lit up: "From what you're saying, you really know how to do this? Grandma, how do you know this?"
"What's so difficult about that? What woman doesn't know how to do this?"
Qian Xiao... The way you're saying that makes it sound like I'm not female.
Seeing that her grandmother didn't want to talk about it, Qian Xiao didn't ask any further questions: "Then, can I learn embroidery from you after I can sew the patch?"
"Sure, why not? I'll teach you anything my granddaughter wants to learn." But that's just talk. Look at her eldest granddaughter's hands, they're clumsier than a pig's trotter, and she's trying to embroider?
"Ouch~~" Another needle pricked Qian Xiao's finger. Looking at her swollen and red finger, Qian Xiao put down the cloth in her hand. No, she had to rest. This hurt too much. Why was this thing so hard to learn?
She remembered that when she was in kindergarten, her teachers praised her for being skillful when she did crafts. Could it be that all those praises were well-intentioned lies?
Suddenly remembering something, Qian Xiao slid off the kang (a heated brick bed) and put on the hat her mother had sewn for her.
When Li Guizhi saw this, she asked, "Where are you going again? It's so cold outside, you'll catch a cold. Can't you just stay at home? Look at who goes out all day in the dead of winter."
"Mom, I haven't been out for some fresh air for days. Can I just go out for a little while? I'll be right back."
San Dan and Si Dan on the kang quickly stood up, wanting to go out with their eldest sister. Qian Xiao rolled her eyes: "What are you two doing? I'm not taking you two with me. The snow outside is so deep, you two will drown if you go out."
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