A few days later, the two police officers from last time came again. Xuemei happened to be resting at home today, having just come down from the mountain in the afternoon.
I saw two policemen leading two people into the village about five or six meters ahead. One was a gray-haired woman, very thin, who looked to be about fifty years old, carrying a large package on her back; the other was a thin, yellowish little girl, whose age I didn't know.
Xuemei took out her watch from the space and checked the time. It was almost six o'clock, so she didn't follow up to find out what was going on. She went home to cook. When it was almost seven o'clock, Qingya and her two siblings came back first.
As soon as Qingya came back, she ran into the kitchen and said, "Sister, Dad asked you to prepare some more food. Aunt Li Hua and her daughter will come to our place for dinner later!"
Xuemei remembered the two people she had just seen and nodded in confusion, wondering whether Li Hua and the others were going to stay in Liujia Village.
Xuemei made sweet potato porridge and steamed a tray of sweet potatoes tonight. Fearing that it was not enough, she washed some more sweet potatoes and steamed them.
When Liu's father and mother brought Li Hua and her daughter back, the sweet potatoes on the stove were just cooked.
Xuemei and her younger brother and sister brought out the food. Tonight, Xuemei fried some leeks and eggs and stewed eggplant with beans.
Li Hua and her daughter were very reserved. Liu's mother put chairs next to the table and asked them to sit down. Only then did Li Hua sit down, while her daughter stood beside Li Hua and did not dare to sit down. Li Hua's daughter was called Song Xiaoya.
Mother Liu looked at the poor child and said gently, "Xiao Ya, why don't you sit down and eat too?"
"Aunt, can I sit down too? In the past, at home, I had to wait for others to finish their meals before I could eat. Sometimes they had no leftovers, so I could only eat what my mother saved for me!" Song Xiaoya replied weakly.
Li Hua listened and wiped away her tears silently. When Liu's mother heard this, she felt even more sad. She touched Song Xiaoya's head and said, "It's okay. You can sit down and eat at my aunt's house. You can eat whatever you want later."
After Song Xiaoya sat down, she looked at the big bowl of porridge in front of her, swallowed her saliva, and looked at Li Hua. Li Hua saw that everyone had started eating before letting Song Xiaoya drink.
Li Hua and her daughter only drank the porridge and didn't dare to eat any vegetables. After finishing the porridge, the two mother and daughter lowered their heads and looked at their bowls. Liu's mother sighed as she looked at Li Hua and her daughter in front of her. She took four sweet potatoes from the dustpan and placed two in front of each of them. She also used the serving chopsticks to pick up some vegetables for their bowls and said, "Sister Li, Xiaoya, eat! There's still some in this dustpan, if it's not enough, take it yourself!"
Li Hua looked up at Liu's mother with gratitude, and then looked at Liu's father to see that he had no objection, and then she and Song Xiaoya continued to eat.
After eating the sweet potatoes, Liu's mother asked again if they wanted more sweet potatoes. Li Hua and Song Xiaoya refused to eat anymore, saying that they were full.
"Xiao Ya, are you really full? If not, you can eat some more sweet potatoes!" Liu's mother couldn't help but say again when she saw the poor girl. When Liu's mother brought Li Hua and her daughter home, she learned that Song Xiao Ya was already eight years old, but looked like a child of five or six years old, with sparse hair, a body made of bones and skin, and thin and dark.
Li Hua was no longer the generous, bright-looking woman Liu's mother remembered. She was only in her forties, but she looked fifty. Her face was covered in wrinkles, her back was hunched, and she couldn't even lift her head when she walked. One could imagine how hard her life had been for the past eleven years.
"Auntie, I'm full. This is the fullest and best meal I've ever had in my life." Song Xiaoya replied, touching her belly.
Li Hua also said gratefully, "Li Niang, Village Chief, thank you for your hospitality. Food is so precious these days, and we are lucky to have a full meal."
When Liu's mother heard this, she didn't ask any more questions. After all, their food didn't come for free. She just asked Song Xiaoya because the little girl looked so pitiful.
After dinner, Father and Mother Liu sent Qingya and her two siblings back to their rooms. While Xuemei was clearing the table, Father Liu began to speak, "Lihua, since the commune and the police station have allowed you and your daughter to stay in Liujia Village, you are now members of our Liujia Village. As long as you live peacefully, Liujia Village will protect you!"
"Village chief, we mother and daughter will not cause trouble!" Li Hua replied.
"Okay, as long as you understand. After discussion with the village cadres, we've decided to temporarily place you in the educated youth home. There are two empty rooms over there for the female educated youth, so you two can just choose one.
You will eat with the educated youth for a while, but you need to pay rent for the house every month. The villagers understand that it is not easy for you and your daughter. It is already the 29th day of the eighth lunar month, and there are only four months left until the end of the year. You will have to pay one yuan and fifty cents in rent for these four months.
"Our village earned 1.3 yuan per worker last year. With only about 12 workers, your rent will be covered. If you work hard in the village, you won't have to worry about starving to death!" Father Liu said seriously.
When Li Hua heard that there was a house to live in, she felt relieved, but when she heard that she had to pay rent, she became worried again. Now she and her daughter had only an old quilt and two sets of winter clothes that were so torn that they could not be torn any more.
Li Hua had only fifteen yuan, fifty-three cents on her body. Ten of them were given to her by the eldest brother who helped her and her daughter escape from the Song family's den of wolves. The other five were donated by people from the commune police station and the Women's Federation. She only had fifty-three cents on her, which she had secretly hidden for so many years.
Therefore, when Li Hua heard that the current wage for a worker in Liujia Village was 1.3 cents, she felt less worried. She thought that as long as she worked hard, she would be able to support her daughter. Maybe she would even have enough energy to take care of her eldest son. I heard that he was almost ruined by that vicious old woman. But she didn't know whether he would still recognize her. If not, she would just stay with Xiao Ya in the future!
"Thank you, village chief. I will work hard and I can do it tomorrow!" Li Hua's eyes were filled with hope for life again.
"You can start working in the village tomorrow! Rest in the morning, and go to the main force tomorrow morning to collect a month's rations. This is a credit from the village to you and your daughter, and you have to pay it back at the end of the year! Go up early tomorrow morning, otherwise the people from the brigade will go to work!" said Liu's father.
Li Hua had been traveling a lot these past few days and hadn't slept much at night. She thought it would be good to rest up tomorrow morning, fearing that her little girl would get sick from overwork. She quickly nodded to Liu's father and said, "Thank you, Village Chief. I understand!"
Seeing that he had almost finished talking, Father Liu called Ruirui and Feifei out to help carry the packages of the mother and daughter, and to lead them to the educated youth institute.
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