Chapter 135 Borrowing Money
The child was Lu Changgui's granddaughter, Chen Xiuping's eldest daughter. Lu Changgui's family lived not far from Lu Mingjiang's, only about five or six hundred meters away. A small path connected the two homes, just across the hillside. However, they didn't interact much unless there was something important going on.
Lu Changgui's wife, Jian Zhaodi, is a very difficult person to get along with. She is not as picky and assertive as Wang Mingfang, but she is more annoying than that. She is narrow-minded, likes to take advantage of small opportunities, is extremely lazy, and always gossips about other people's affairs. Lu Changgui himself is also a reckless person who speaks without thinking and cannot control his wife.
So, Lu Changgui's family was truly poor, penniless, a veritable poor peasant. When the class status was first determined, the couple were so proud, jumping up and down, as if their poverty was a big deal, as if their poverty meant they could get an extra spoonful of rice from the canteen.
It was really like that at that time. There were two couples, one daughter, three sons and four children. There was not much labor to begin with, but at that time there was a collective big pot meal. If there was not enough labor, others would come to make up the number, and the children in the family could also get food. So this sneaky and cunning nature became more and more mellow.
Later, the canteen was disbanded, and the more you work, the more you get, and the food rations were calculated based on work points. The family became very sad.
The only thing to be thankful for was that by then Lu Dafeng and Lu Mingjian were both grown up and able to work, and they knew that Lu Mingfu and Lu Minghong could also earn a bit of money. The family tightened their belts, relied on rations and loans, and did not starve to death.
But after all, it has a bad reputation and no one looks up to it.
Chen Xiuping married into their family not only because her own family was in poor financial condition, but also because they were being plotted against.
At that time, the educated youth had just gone to the countryside, and there was no place for them to stay in the team, so they had no way to settle down. Several of them were temporarily arranged to live in the homes of the members. The production team leader had no say in which home they would be arranged to, so the members had to draw lots themselves.
Jian Zhaodi luckily got a spot.
That spot belongs to Chen Xiuping.
Upon learning that a young woman from the educated youth program was coming to their home, Jian Zhaodi burst into laughter. The reason was simple: their family had a bad reputation, and Lu Mingjian had long been old enough to marry, yet he still couldn't find a wife. Wasn't this young woman from the educated youth program who was coming to live with them the perfect bride sent by heaven?
Chen Xiuping had just lived in Lu Changgui's house for half a month when something happened. It was said that Lu Mingjian walked into the wrong room in the middle of the night and climbed up into the room where she was sleeping.
Jian Zhaodi denied it, saying that Chen Xiuping was shameless and seduced his son.
No one knew what was going on, but Chen Xiuping was in a difficult position. The two of them were already in bed together; they had to get married or face criticism. Her family situation was already dire, and she couldn't afford to be criticized for her behavior and bring further trouble to her family. So, she and Lu Mingjian got married, and from then on, their difficult lives began.
Not to mention how she suffered at Lu Changfa's house, today was the first day of work for the autumn harvest. Although the sun was not out, it was extremely hot and humid, as if the sky, which had been sunny for a long time, was about to rain.
Breaking corn is divided into three steps. Women are responsible for breaking it, which accounts for eight points of the work. Laborers are responsible for carrying it back, which accounts for ten points. Children like Lu Dongping, who are thirteen or fourteen years old, are responsible for cutting corn stalks, which also accounts for six points of the work.
Chen Xiuping was supposed to carry a basket on her back and break the corn in the field, then pour it into the men's backpacks, which would have been enough work. But Jian Zhaodi scolded her and insisted that she carry the corn to the wheat field like the men.
Chen Xiuping had been feeling unwell for a long time. After running twice, she was completely exhausted. Sweat was dripping down her face, and her face turned pale and slightly blue. When she took the third step, she lost her balance and fell off the edge of the ground.
Everyone in the field was shocked. The stone step was quite high, not to mention that he was carrying a full basket of corn on his back.
When others reacted, they hurriedly pulled the backpack off her and lifted her up. Chen Xiuping's face was covered in blood and she was unconscious.
Jian Zhaodi acted as if nothing had happened and continued to curse, saying all sorts of nonsense like "unlucky star" and so on.
Lu Minghai was too lazy to bother with her and yelled at Lu Mingjian: "Are you dead? Are you blind? Can't you see that your wife is dead? Why don't you take her back quickly?"
Lu Mingjian was a fool, and immediately responded, "Why would I bring him back if he's already dead?"
Lu Minghai was so angry that he picked up the rake in his hand and went up to beat people, but was stopped. Liu Chaoxing scolded Lu Mingjian, and then asked someone to help him get Chen Xiuping back.
She repeatedly urged him to go to the brigade clinic to ask a doctor to come and check her out, but Jian Zhaodi jumped up and said, "Don't go. Such a useless thing is a waste of food if it's alive. It's better for it to be dead." Going to the clinic to ask a doctor would cost at least two cents, and she would not spend money on that stupid woman who couldn't even give birth to a child.
If she refused to give him the money, Lu Mingjian would have no way to find a doctor. Their family was somewhat famous in the production team, and the clinic didn't dare to sell them on credit, so it would be basically impossible for him to get the money if they did.
He doesn't even care for his own wife, so what can others say? Life is hard for everyone these days, and no one wants to be the one who gets taken advantage of. All they can do is sigh a few times after dinner.
When Chen Xiuping first came to Lujiazui, she was a fair and pretty girl. Who would have thought that Lu Changgui's family was so inhumane that they dragged her into the fire pit and ruined her.
Everyone was busy working in the fields, and Chen Xiuping had another incident, so naturally no one cared about Daya.
The little girl was very hungry and wanted to find her mother. After searching for a long time, she ran to Lu Dongping's house through that path.
After she ran out of sight, Wen Wan went back into the house, tidied it up, put the clothes that she and Lu Dongping had taken off the day before into the basket, locked the door, and went to the bamboo forest to wash clothes.
This was the first time she had officially washed Lu Dongping's clothes. Under her request and influence, Lu Dongping changed his clothes more frequently. In the summer, he would sweat all the time if he moved, and if he didn't change his clothes more frequently, the smell would be unbearable. If he was more diligent, his clothes would only get a little sweaty, but he could just rub them with some soap, which was not a big deal.
We start work at three in the afternoon and don't finish work until the sun sets and it's almost dark.
The threshing floor was very lively. Many elderly people who were too old to go to the fields to earn work points were shelling corn with their children.
This is an easy job, and it takes four days to complete. Naturally, I can't just sit idle at home.
Everyone outside was busy. Daya cried in the yard until her throat became hoarse, but she finally woke Chen Xiuping up.
It was difficult to open her eyes. After Lu Mingjian brought her back, he not only didn't call a doctor, but he also didn't wipe the blood off Chen Xiuping's face. The blood had now formed into scabs, growing on her hair and face.
She didn't wake up during lunch, so naturally no one cared about her. Not only did no one care about her, but no one cared about Daya either.
In Jian Zhaodi's eyes, the girl was a money-loser. Lu Mingjian was taught to think the same way. The little girl should not have been born. It would be a waste of food if she was born. Once she grew up, she would be someone else's. Chen Xiuping was a living example.
Daya was so hungry that she picked pig grass on the roadside to eat. After eating, she had diarrhea again. No one wiped her butt, so it was very itchy and uncomfortable. She scratched it with her hands, and the diarrhea was all over the place.
When she felt comfortable scratching herself, she clapped her hands and walked towards the kitchen. She was thirsty, and she remembered that there was something to drink there, and she would not be thirsty after drinking it.
Who knew that when he climbed over the threshold, he didn't climb over it smoothly and got caught.
If you fall and get hurt, you will cry.
The crying woke Chen Xiuping from her fainting.
She opened her eyes with difficulty, looked at the dim roof, listened to the crying outside, and suddenly she didn't want to live anymore.
After holding on for so long, everything collapsed in an instant.
She couldn't go back, and if she lived, she would suffer all her life. But she was unwilling to die like this.
Her life was ruined by this family.
The sky outside was gloomy, and her heart was gloomy too.
No one knew, everyone was busy working in the fields.
Wen Wan kept to a time to light the fire and cook. The blisters on her hands were still painful, but she had to stay still. Everyone in the family was at work, so if she didn't go, she had to do something.
There were still some vegetables picked from her private plot the day before, so she stewed a pot of them, then mixed them with some fine grains to make noodles in the evening.
She wants to go to the commune tomorrow, but she doesn't know where the meat shop is. She wants to buy some meat to make soup or dumplings. It's so hot and tiring, so she has to eat well.
She was busy working while thinking, and even though she had successfully made noodles once in the morning, she still did it very carefully.
Lu Dongping said that three things need to be done when kneading dough: the basin should be smooth, the dough should be smooth, and the hands should be smooth. However, she failed at any of these things. She could barely knead the dough until it was smooth, and her hands and the basin were all sticky.
Before I could clean up, I heard a faint voice outside: "Wen Wan, is Wen Wan home?"
The voice was obviously unstable, as if it could be blown away by a gust of wind.
Wen Wan didn't even have time to fix the noodles on her hand. She turned around and looked outside. A ragged, thin and unrecognizable woman was standing outside, nervously clutching the corner of her clothes.
"Chen Xiuping, what do you want to talk to me about?"
Chen Xiuping looked at her, and dared not look at her again after just one glance. Wen Wan was just like what the book said, the bright moon hanging high in the sky, and she herself had once been a star in the sky, but now, she was just sand on the roadside, trampled upon by everyone.
Her lips, cracked to the point of bleeding, moved twice before she uttered a sound: "Wen Wan, can you, can you lend me fifty cents?"
Borrow money? Wen Wan was stunned for a moment. She was not very familiar with Chen Xiuping. Why would Chen Xiuping think of borrowing money from her?
Seeing that she was slow to speak, Chen Xiuping felt anxious: "I, I have no choice. I don't have any acquaintances here. I will pay you back, I will definitely pay you back." In the next life, I will work like a slave to pay you back.
Wen Wan nodded: "Okay, okay, wait for me."
She still had fifty cents, and she was not sure whether Chen Xiuping could afford to pay it back, but she couldn't bear to say no to this poor woman.
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