Chapter 44: What’s so great about having a partner?
Fortunately, Wen Wan did not agree, because neither Lu Minghai nor Lu Mingjiang planned to sell pork this year.
We didn't weigh it, but the New Year pig looked quite plump. After all, since the beginning of winter, we have gradually added some sweet potatoes, potatoes, wheat bran and other things to it, so it has to gain some fat, but it doesn't look like it weighs more than 200 pounds.
Let’s not talk about previous years. This year, Lu Dongcheng came back and planned to hold a wedding banquet at the end of the year. When he left, Lu Minghai and his wife must take some away. In this way, there really won’t be much left.
Although Wen Wan didn't accept Wang Jianmao's money, she still asked Lu Dongping, "Are you going to sell pork this year?"
Lu Dongping turned around and glanced at her: "You don't need to buy meat, right?"
Wen Wan squatted there, shaking her head, poking the mud with a branch in her hand.
"I'll ask for Wang Jianmao and the others."
"Those educated youths?" Lu Dongping picked off all the pig heads in his hand, and then said, "I won't sell them. I'll keep them all and feed you!" As he said that, he deliberately moved closer to Wen Wan. Wen Wan hurriedly dodged to the side and looked back quietly. She was relieved to see that no one who was helping in the yard was looking at her.
Lu Dongping stood up, his hands stained with pig blood: "Help me get some hot water so I can wash my hands?"
Wen Wan responded: "Which one is the wash basin?"
Lu Dongping pointed to an enamel basin not far away: "There."
Wen Wan walked into the house and found the kettle in the kitchen as if she was familiar with the place.
As soon as the water was poured into the basin, Lu Dongping put his hand in.
Wen Wan was startled: "Wait a minute, why are you in such a hurry? It's not hot?"
Lu Dongping smiled and said, "It's not hot! The heat will dissipate after pouring out the water from the past two days."
How could it not be hot? Is it because the skin is thick and the flesh is rough?
Liu Zhaoxing was sitting nearby sorting pig intestines. He turned around and saw the two people huddled together. He turned around and called out to Lu Mingjiang, "Hey, we're going to drink with that kid Lu Dongcheng on the 26th of the twelfth lunar month. When is the party in Dongping?"
Lu Mingjiang said as he was tidying up the yard, "Then you'll have to wait patiently. There's still no sign of the outcome!"
"You're just yelling nonsense. Dongping is a very capable kid. Let me see. He has more than just one stroke. Maybe he has a double stroke as well."
"Don't say that casually. This is a new society, and everything depends on freedom."
The two of them were quiet, so Wen Wan didn't hear them. As she entered the house with the kettle in her hand, Gao Xiulan called out, "Wen Wan, are you cold? If you are, stay inside and warm yourself by the fire. If you're not, why not go out for a walk with Sheng Xia?"
After saying that, he looked at Shengxia and smiled: "Wen Wan is about the same age as you, and has a good personality. You two should be able to get along. I don't know where Dongcheng has gone. You go with her first. When I see him later, I'll ask him to come find you."
Shengxia was a little restrained. She nodded, stood up and looked at Wen Wan: "Then, shall we go for a walk outside?"
Wen Wan glanced at the sky outside. There was still no sun. Perhaps because of the pig slaughter, everyone was so excited that she also got excited. So she really didn't feel cold.
"Then let's go out for a walk!"
Lu Donglin came into the house with an armful of firewood: "Sister Wen Wan, where are you going? I want to go too!"
Wen Wan smiled and said, "Go ahead. If you're alright, let's all go. I don't even know where to go! Can you lead the way?"
"Come on, I'll take you out to play!" With that, he ran away.
Zhang Hongying laughed and scolded: "As soon as I heard about playing, I ran away faster than anyone else!"
"At his age, he's just jumping around and having fun. Everyone in Dongcheng and Dongping was like that when they were little."
Zhang Hongying didn't say anything, because Lu Dongcheng and Lu Dongping were not like this when they were young.
Lu Dongcheng is steady and calm, and has been acting like an adult since he was young. He sits when he sits and stands when he stands. Lu Dongping is a scoundrel, and does everything from mountains to rivers, but he also knows to rake every blade of grass home. Lu Dongcai is honest and filial, Lu Dongfu is smart and studious, and this brat Lu Donglin seems to have all the shortcomings of his brothers.
As Lu Donglin walked out, he bumped into Lu Dongping, who was about to come in, and was grabbed by him: "Why are you running? You're in such a hurry!"
"I'm taking Sister Wenwan and Sister Shengxia out to play."
Lu Dongping grabbed his head randomly and said, "What are you kidding? Can you please use the fire to boil some water in the cauldron to rinse the hair off your head? Look how dirty you are. If not, I'll ask the butcher to rub it with a stone."
After saying that, he planed it to the edge.
Looking at Wen Wan, he said, "Want to go out?"
Wen Wan nodded: "Go for a walk with Shengxia."
Lu Dongping reached out and tugged at her sleeve: "Just walk with me, I don't need you." After saying that, Wen Wan followed his gaze and saw Lu Dongcheng who had returned from the commune.
Lu Dongcheng strode into the yard with two cloth bags in his hands. He greeted everyone, looked at Lu Dongping and then at Shengxia: "Are you going out?"
Lu Dongping asked, "Have you finished shopping? Everything should be fine after you've finished shopping, right? Why don't you take your partner out for a walk? You're in an unfamiliar place, why would you let him sit on the bench all the time?"
Lu Dongcheng glanced at him and said, "You want to teach me how to date?" He couldn't even clean up the shit on his own ass, and he was still meddling in other people's affairs? He was just wasting his time.
Lu Donglin made faces and whispered, "Brother Dongcheng, beat him up, beat him up!"
The two grown men ignored him, looked at each other, and Lu Dongping sneered: "It's none of my business!" Just don't bother Wen Wan.
Lu Dongcheng didn't mind and said to Shengxia, "I'll put my things down and take you for a walk outside."
Then he went into the house.
On the side, Lu Dongping took a hemp rope and gently pulled Wen Wan and went out of the yard.
Wen Wan was a little curious: "Didn't you say you were just going for a walk? Do you still need to go up the mountain to carry firewood?"
Lu Dongping swung the rope in his hand to scare her: "If you don't tie the firewood, I will tie you up so that you can't run away!"
Wen Wan looked frightened and started running. Lu Dongping didn't even bother to run, but quickened his pace to chase after her. The laughter of both of them could be heard from far away.
Shengxia and Lu Dongcheng were walking behind and were stunned for a moment when they saw the two figures running away: "Are they dating?" She and Lu Dongcheng had been dating for two years. Lu Dongcheng was considerate and warm-hearted and treated her very well, but they seemed to have never fought like this before.
Lu Dongcheng said, "They probably haven't gotten together yet. Lu Dongping is pursuing her, but it's probably just a matter of having a crush on her."
Is this the case even before they're even in a relationship? When did the customs in the mountains become so open and liberal, or is it just the way it is here, and different from where they are?
They all left in pairs, leaving Lu Donglin alone staring at the door. What's going on? Do they still have any sense of loyalty? They just threw him away like that? Is having a partner such a big deal?
Wen Wan and Lu Dongping didn't run far before stopping by the bamboo forest's well. "Our two families both get their water from here. Down below is where we wash clothes and irrigate our private plots."
"It's much closer than the water supply at the educated youth camp. But even if it were closer, I wouldn't be able to carry water."
Lu Dongping raised his eyebrows and smiled: "I'm here, why do you need me to fetch water?"
"Lu Dongping, I want to write a letter and send it back."
Lu Dongping walked slowly behind her: "Write it, and I'll help you mail it later."
Wen Wan stopped and turned to look at him: "Let's... forget it!"
She thought about whether she should mention her current situation with Lu Dongping when she went back to write the letter, but then she changed her mind and thought, let's not mention it for now. After spending some time together, if she felt it was really suitable, it would not be too late to mention it later.
"Why did you stop talking now?"
Wen Wan squatted down and plucked a finger-wide piece of grass and played with it in her hand: "I just wrote a letter, can you help me mail it?"
"Okay, I'll send it for you!" Lu Dongping knew that this was not what she was about to say, but she didn't want to say it at the moment, and it was not easy for her to ask.
Not far away, there were several Eucommia trees as thick as teacups. Lu Dongping walked over, tied a hemp rope to them, and waved to Wen Wan, "Come here!"
"What do you want to do?"
Lu Dongping pointed to the tied rope and said, "Go up and sit for a while. I'll push you."
Wen Wan understood immediately: "Swinging, this is good, let me try it, are you tied firmly?"
"Don't worry, if you really fall out, I'll catch you."
Wen Wan grabbed the hemp ropes on both sides and sat on it. Lu Dongping stood behind her and gently pushed her: "Have you ever swung on this thing before?"
Wen Wan nodded. "Yes, there's one in the compound. We can go play there for a while after school. My mom was very strict with me. I had to study this and that all day long. It was okay when I was little, but after I turned ten, I rarely had the chance to go out and play, and there wasn't anything to play with. She said girls should act like girls and not act like wild boys."
Lu Dongping stood behind her, watching her swing back and forth, then a little further back until she fell into his arms, and then swing out again.
"That's really a bit pitiful. After all, when you're a kid, you can only run, jump, play and make noise for a few years. When you grow up, there are more things to do, and you don't have the energy to play anymore."
Wen Wan felt the same way: "That's right. Before, I was controlled, and I longed for it deeply. Later, when no one at home was in charge of me, I no longer had the energy to think about playing."
Xu Ruyin died and Lao Wen was busy with work. She only had an empty house and an aunt to take care of her. No one cared about her.
Later, Lao Wen remarried, and she was no longer alone in the house, but it was no longer her home.
She has no home.
At this moment, Lu Dongping felt that she was a little different from usual.
He always thought that a delicate and soft girl like Wen Wan was raised in the palm of someone's hand, a kind of pampering that he could not imagine. But at this moment, he felt that the little girl was not actually happy.
The movements of her hands sped up little by little, and Wen Wan swung higher and higher. Besides the cold wind blowing in her face and the feeling of flying, she could also hear the man beside her gently coaxing her: "Do you feel fun now? Are you happy?"
Wen Wan felt like she was flying, and her heart was flying with her. How could she not be happy? She had never been so wild in her life. How could she not be happy!
"Higher, Lu Dongping, I want it higher!"
A little higher? Lu Dongping pressed his back teeth. No, that wouldn't work. Any higher and it would fly out. Just about the right height would be fine.
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