Chapter 420 Five Dollars
Hu Qingqing rarely talked back to him. She rubbed her face with her hands and got up.
I stored some pig grass yesterday, so there’s no need to worry if it rains today.
Everyone at home was there, so there was nothing she needed to do. She simply took out the shoe soles and continued knitting.
After feeding the pigs, Lu Dongcai also sat down to weave straw sandals.
Hu Qingqing was a little absent-minded, stealing glances at the man beside her from time to time. Whenever Lu Dongcai moved, she would immediately avert her gaze and pretend to be serious about her needlework.
Once or twice, how could Lu Dongcai not feel it after so many times?
But since everyone in the family is here, I can only bear it and pretend I don’t know.
After breakfast, the rain continued to fall. Hu Qingqing could no longer sit still, so she squatted in the house and helped Chuyi learn how to walk.
It was hot now, and Chuyi was dressed neatly, wearing open-crotch pants that covered half of his legs.
Gao Xiulan raised her well and didn't let her suffer any hardship. Many children couldn't stand up and walk until they were over one year old, but she could stand up by herself by grabbing things before she was even one year old, and her legs were still strong.
But it was still too small, so I had to sit down again after barely standing up.
Hu Qingqing likes to be helped to stand up, and she can even take a step forward with the help of adults' hands.
Teaching a child to walk is more tiring than actual work. You have to accommodate her height and speed. Gao Xiulan can't do it. She doesn't have the time, and her body isn't in good shape. Once she bends down, she can't stand up.
Only Lu Dongfu and Hu Qingqing can do it in the family.
With someone leading him, Chuyi was extremely happy. He walked forward with one foot high and one foot low, clapping his two little hands and making "oh oh" sounds all the time.
Everyone else wanted the rain to give them a break, but Hu Qingqing was extremely irritated.
It's impossible to go out when it rains, because if I go out I'll get soaked. There seems to be nothing else to do except taking care of Chuyi.
In the second half of the day, Lu Dongcai finished weaving the straw sandals after a long time.
Give it to Hu Qingqing: "Try it!"
Hu Qingqing's eyes lit up: "For me?"
"You're the only one in the family who wears something this big. Who else could it be for if not you?"
"Thank you, Brother Dongcai!"
He made the straw sandals based on Hu Qingqing's feet, so how could they not fit?
The pair of straw sandals Hu Qingqing was wearing were originally worn by Lu Chun'e. The heels were almost worn through. When she put on the new straw sandals, she felt like she didn't know where to put her feet.
Sitting on the doorstep, with his two feet side by side, he laughed foolishly: "Brother Dongcai, I found that my feet have become more beautiful all of a sudden."
Gao Xiulan laughed at the side: "Although they are straw sandals, they are still shoes. They will definitely look good on your feet when they are new. Qingqing, work hard to get the soles out of your hands. I will paste the uppers on you later. They will look better when you wear them than the straw sandals you have now."
Hu Qingqing nodded hurriedly.
The rain still didn't stop completely the next day. Lu Dongfu had breakfast at home, put on a straw raincoat and a hat, and went to the commune middle school with Lu Chun'e to get the notice.
The atmosphere at home is a little tense.
Lu Minghai sat on the stool and sighed, "Lu family ancestors, please bless both of our children to pass the exam."
Gao Xiulan sat across from him and said, "Stop nagging me. Dongfu and Chun'e are both good, diligent children. They will definitely pass the exam. What's the point of praying to the ancestors? After trying their best, whether they succeed depends on fate."
Although she said that, she was also feeling very nervous and had no mood to do anything. She simply put away the basket, took the soles of her shoes and ran to visit the neighbor next door.
Zhang Hongying was even more anxious than her.
Lu Dongping accompanied Wen Wan to the capital. She was already feeling very nervous. Then Lu Chun'e graduated. If she could pass the exam, she could live in the city and become a city dweller. If she failed, all the years of studying would be wasted.
The two women were sighing together, and Lu Mingjiang couldn't sit still and ran over to find his brother.
Hu Qingqing felt overwhelmed listening to the two of them nagging over and over again. She held Chuyi in her arms, washed her hands and face, and then carried her into the house to coax her to sleep.
Chuyi was not quite asleep yet, so she coaxed herself to sleep first.
When Lu Dongcai came in, Chuyi suddenly sat up and reached out for a hug, and the people around him were silent.
Lu Dongcai reached out and picked her up and took her out of the house.
Hu Qingqing had a dream in which she swallowed a whole apple. In the dream, she could not remember Lu Dongcai. It was the time when she was at home. She was very hungry and was looking for food at home. Her mother found her and beat her with a bamboo stick. Even though it was a dream, she was scared to death. She ran and ran, fearing that she would be caught. Then, she felt nothing under her feet and woke up from the dream.
She felt warm behind her, being held by Lu Dongcai. It was still light outside, and there was no movement at all.
She moved and Lu Dongcai woke up.
"Are you having a nightmare?" When he came in, he saw that the girl was clearly asleep, but her brows were furrowed, she shivered from time to time, and she was talking incoherently in her sleep.
"Ah, well, I dreamed about my old days at home."
As he said that, he turned over and put his arms around Lu Dongcai's waist.
"Has Dongfu come back?" I didn't know how long I slept, but it felt like a long time. Water was still dripping from the eaves outside, and the rain hadn't stopped.
"No! Not so fast."
"What about the first day of the new year?"
"I'm asleep in my mother's room."
"So you want to sleep now?"
Lu Dongcai lowered his head and kissed her: "I won't sleep, I'll accompany you."
Hu Qingqing nudged herself in her arms: "Brother Dongcai, I noticed that you are different today."
"Um?"
"You're being particularly nice today."
Lu Dongcai laughed out loud: "Isn't it good for me?"
"No, today is a very good day." He gave her shoes and slept with her. Especially when she woke up from a nightmare, the warmth behind her made Hu Qingqing feel more at ease than ever before.
Lu Dongcai thought for a moment, then whispered in her ear, "There must be some difference. We are no longer the same as before."
In the past, he really treated Hu Qingqing like a child. He felt that she had to be taught everything and that she was extremely bold and had to be restrained.
But last night, he didn't know how, but it happened, and he had to face one thing: this girl was his wife, they were going to spend their whole life together, do the most intimate and enjoyable things, and have children.
Well, that's naturally different.
Hu Qingqing knew what he meant. These two nights were the same as the previous ones. They fell asleep kissing each other and woke up in each other's arms.
She climbed up a little, holding her chin with her hand and looking at Lu Dongcai. After a long pause, she quietly asked him, "Brother Dongcai, do you like that?"
It was so direct that even Lu Dongcai, a grown man, couldn't handle it and his ears started burning.
He reached out and touched her head, then said after a long while, "I like it."
Hu Qingqing was still a little embarrassed, and hugged his neck happily with a smile.
Lu Dongfu went to get the notice after breakfast and came back in the afternoon.
As soon as he arrived in the yard and before he even stepped onto the eaves, Lu Dongcai felt his joy.
There was a smile between his eyebrows and eyes.
Lu Dongcai breathed a sigh of relief. It looked like he had passed the exam.
"I'm back!"
Everyone in the room ran out, and Gao Xiulan asked, "Did you pass the exam?"
Lu Dongfu stood in the rain and smiled: "I passed the exam, I passed the exam."
After saying that, she washed off the mud on her straw sandals with the water from the eaves, stepped onto the eaves, took off her bamboo hat and raincoat, and jumped high with her arms around Lu Minghai's shoulders: "Dad, I passed the exam, a technical secondary school, I passed the exam. Are you happy?"
Lu Minghai reached out and patted him: "You little bastard, you have no respect for your age and you don't even know how to stand properly. Behave yourself."
Lu Dongfu chuckled: "Brother, I passed the exam!"
Lu Dongcai also smiled: "It's good that you passed the exam, it's good that you passed the exam."
Lu Dongfu sat next to him and showed him the admission letter: "There are only three of us in our commune."
Lu Dongcai reached out and rubbed his head: "It's good that you passed the exam. Study hard."
Gao Xiulan asked, "Where's Chun'e? How's she?"
"Chun'e also got into high school."
"Oh, this is true. You two have really made it. I'm going to go find Hongying. She's sure to be very happy too."
Lu Minghai leaned against the doorway and looked into the distance. His wrinkled face relaxed, his eyes filled with joy. "The old ancestor has appeared. Smoke is rising from the Lu family's ancestral tomb."
Lu Dongfu was admitted to a technical secondary school, which meant he had to go to school in the city. Technical secondary school guaranteed him a job, and after graduation, he would not return to Lujiazui.
Lu Dongcai knew from the beginning that his elder brother was in the army and would not come back, and Dongfu had passed the exam and would not come back either. He was the only one at home, and he was the only one left with his parents.
He didn't expect that when everything was going well and full of hope, Lu Dongcheng would be injured and retired from the army.
However, there is nothing wrong with this. Being in the county town is closer to home. It is better than staying in the army for three to five years without being able to come back.
In a blink of an eye, it is the twelfth lunar month again. This time of year is a time full of anticipation.
After completing the task, it’s time to distribute rations.
Last year, Lu Minghai's family had received compensation from the production team, so this year they were doing better. With the addition of a child and a family member, the work points were evened out. However, they had previously taken out a loan, and now that they had distributed their rations, they had to pay the loan back to the production team, and now they were struggling again.
Lu Minghai and his wife are very clear about how capable their daughter-in-law Hu Qingqing is.
The reason why food rations are still so tight is entirely to fill the gap from the first year.
Li Laiying has not been able to get out of bed since she became pregnant, then she had another baby, Chuyi, and later she had Gao Xiulan.
Gao Xiulan felt uncomfortable all over when she thought of the bad things that had happened before.
Then he took out five dollars and gave it to Hu Qingqing.
Hu Qingqing blinked at the money in her hand, then looked at her: "Mom, what are you going to do?"
Gao Xiulan didn't know what she wanted to do. "Just take it. You've been busy all year, and you should have earned work points and dividends, but I borrowed grain this year, so I don't have anything else. I also gave the cloth coupons back to your Third Aunt, so I don't have any more. This money is from my savings. I'm giving it to you. Keep it so you can buy something convenient."
What she didn't say was that she gave five dollars when she mentioned Li Laiying.
Hu Qingqing is different from Li Laiying. She was exchanged for food.
However, in Gao Xiulan's heart, she is really satisfied with this daughter-in-law. She is completely different from the first one and cannot be compared.
No matter what, we can't let others suffer losses because of this.
After giving out the five dollars, she felt relieved all over.
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