Chapter 14 14

Jiang Xing wandered under the shade of the locust tree and sat on a stone that was a little hot.

The summer breeze was blowing gently. In the distance were endless lotus leaves on the river beach. The sky was blue and bright. There were

a few soft white clouds in the sky, slowly moving with the wind.

It was so beautiful.

The cowherd was leading the cows home, and saw her sitting alone under the locust tree to enjoy the cool air. He greeted her with a smile: "Xing Xing, why are you sitting here alone instead of going home? A mosquito will carry you away soon."

As he spoke, he killed a mosquito with a slap.

People who had seen the excitement before came over and said with a smile: "Her mother beat her. She was probably too scared to go home!"

"She deserved to be beaten!" People who heard what Jiang's mother said said: "Her mother said that it was she who instigated her father to use the farmland to raise lobsters. Isn't that throwing money away? Do you think she should be beaten?"

Everyone who heard it nodded and said, "Of course she should be beaten." Then they asked curiously, "Did he beat her?"

"No, they chased her for several miles with a broom as thick as this!" People who saw the excitement with their own eyes made a gesture as thick as their calf.

"Wow!" The people who heard it exclaimed in amazement, and regretted that they didn't see the excitement: "What happened next?"

"Later, she ran away!" The aunt who saw the excitement earlier pointed at Jiang Liu with her chin: "I don't know how fast she ran." She said: "She will probably be like her father in the future, with long legs, and her legs will kick faster than a flying foot!"

The people who were watching the fun laughed, and the air was filled with the smell of happiness.

After the busy farming season, the villagers had nothing to do, so they liked to sit under the shade of the tree and brag and gossip. Soon, a group of people gathered under the shade of the tree to watch the fun.

Jiang Liu sat under another tree and looked at the swaying lotus in the pond.

She knew that Jiang's mother was still angry at this time, so she must not go back. She could only wait, wait until it was dark, wait until Jiang's mother fell asleep, wait until Jiang's mother calmed down.

You don't know when Jiang's mother calmed down, and whether she really calmed down despite her calm appearance.

Once, Jiang's mother came home, ate and took a bath as usual, and then when she was taking a bath, she suddenly broke in with a thin bamboo stick and started beating her. She was beaten all over her body, as if she had been bitten by countless wild cats, and all were red blood marks.

The beating made you jump on the spot in pain, curl up on the ground with your legs hugged, and cry, "I don't dare to do it again, I don't dare to do it again." But you don't know what you did wrong and what you don't dare to do.

The only thing she did when she was little that she felt guilty about was that she could not remember whether it was because she was greedy or hungry, she secretly picked a peach from her uncle's family.

This secretly picked peach made her remember it for many years.

Later, there was a joke on the Internet called "Eat, sleep and beat Doudou".

Jiang Xi found it very funny at first, and then she fell silent after laughing.

She was that Doudou.

When the eldest brother made trouble, her mother beat her. When the second brother made trouble, her mother beat the second brother and her. When the eldest brother and the second brother made trouble together, she was still beaten.

Because as a younger sister, when the brothers made trouble and made trouble, she did not stop them or persuade them. What's the use of her?

In her mother's words, "If not you, who else should I hit?"

Her mother would not really hurt her body, but would just whip her with a thin bamboo stick.

After being whipped by Jiang's mother while she was taking a shower, she was terrified for many years after that when she took a shower. She didn't know what she was afraid of. She

was just afraid.

It was as if the door that had been confirmed to be locked many times would suddenly break in with a monster that she could not resist.

Jiang's mother was not safe even when she was asleep.

When you came back quietly and thought you were not noticed and fell asleep peacefully, she would grab you and beat you so that you had nowhere to hide.

She couldn't help but reach out and touch her short hair. Hmm..., I guess I can't pull up this hair now.

Thinking of the scene where Jiang's mother tried to pull her hair but caught nothing, Jiang Xi couldn't help laughing, and then she started crying.

She couldn't help laughing again, and she found it funny that she would cry over such a thing.

She wiped away her tears and walked up the mountain step by step.

Let's go to Grandpa's house to sleep at night.

The mountain is quiet and noisy.

Because it is a house for forest rangers, the house cannot be built at the foot of the mountain, nor in the deep mountains, but on the hillside at the entrance of the three mountains. Standing at the door of the house, you can see if anyone is entering the mountain below and which mountain they are going to. There

is only one room in total, with a bed inside, a stove outside, a table and chairs for eating in the middle, and some firewood piled under the stove.

Seeing that it was not completely dark yet, Jiang Wei went to the nearby area to pick up some firewood and boiled water for washing.

Thinking that her grandfather probably had not eaten yet, she quickly cooked a meal. Since there was no vegetable, she stewed some salted fish that she had pickled before and sent it to her grandfather in the dark night.

The forest at night was still very scary, with the cries of various wild animals coming one after another.

Her grandfather didn't know that she was going to sleep in the mountains at night. If he knew, he would have to worry about her. She didn't say anything, and her grandfather didn't ask. They were both silent.

Grandpa took out a stack of money from his shirt pocket, ten cents, twenty cents, fifty cents, stacked them together, rolled them into a ball, and stuffed them into her hands: "School will start in a few days, you can take them to school, buy notebooks and pens, don't be stingy, don't starve yourself." Grandpa said: "If it's not enough, I'll send you more later."

In addition to being a forest ranger, Grandpa would sometimes pick up some scraps to sell when he had free time, and pick mushrooms and ferns from the mountains in spring to sell.

He had an old 飲飲, and occasionally when he caught prey, he would sell the live ones and pickle the dead ones. When Jiang Xi came back during the holidays, he would roast them and bring them to school for Jiang Xi to eat.

He was old and in poor health, so he didn't dare go deep into the mountains. He stayed outside, and it was hard to find any prey. At most, he could catch pheasants and rabbits. Hunting was also prohibited in the mountains in recent years.

Jiang's mother was still scolding Jiang Xiao loudly at home, saying that she would pull out her hair when she came back, and then she used dirty words to scold Jiang Xiao.

Jiang's father was sitting under the stove, lighting a fire and making dinner. Hearing Jiang's mother insulting her daughter with obscene words, he could not help but get angry and shouted, "Are you done yet? She just said one sentence, and you beat and scolded her. You scolded her for such a long time without taking a break?"

This sentence ignited Jiang's mother's anger again: "Where did I hit her? She is now strong and running faster than a rabbit. Why did I hit her? Shouldn't I scold her? What did she say? She just can't see us live a good life!"

Jiang's father didn't think so. Although he didn't know whether it was right to raise crayfish, after all, in the current environment, crayfish are everywhere, and it seems that there is no need to raise them.

But he had a feeling in his heart that it was not like this, and even felt a little moved.

"She just said that." Jiang's father said helplessly.

The failure of the chicken farm seven or eight years ago made him lose the confidence to speak in this family. It was Jiang's mother who worked hard with him to get through those difficult days, so he always followed Jiang's mother in these years, and he really saw Jiang's mother's dedication to the family in these years.

Every time he had an idea, Jiang's mother would always cut off his thoughts at the first time and tell him that it was impossible unless she died.

She was already scared by the high amount of foreign debt. She didn't dare to spend the New Year at home, fearing that someone would come to collect the debt. She hid in the mountains and spent New Year's Eve in the forest ranger's hut. Even so, she was not safe, fearing that someone would find her in the mountains. This continued for several years, year after year.

They didn't dare to go home until all the debts were paid off bit by bit.

Jiang's mother was really scared of the days when she had to save every penny to pay off her debts. She was afraid that Jiang's father would do something to make her pay back.

Thinking about it, Jiang's mother choked up again and said, "She must have forgotten that the debt collectors sat at home and asked her where her parents were. She said they were not at home."

At that time, not only the adults were under great pressure, but the children were also pitiful. The adults went to hide from the debts, leaving only three children at home. The debt collectors couldn't find the adults, so they asked the children and sat in their homes.

The children knew that they were responsible for the losses, so they were trembling with fear.

Hearing Jiang's mother talk about these past events, Jiang's father sighed and stopped talking.

He quickly cooked two dishes, stood on the table at the door, and shouted outside: "Xingxi, come home for dinner! Xingxi, come home for dinner!" He shouted

three times in a row. His voice was heard far away in the quiet little village.

When the neighbors heard him, they came out with their bowls in their hands, and asked with a smile while eating: "Xingxi hasn't come back yet?" When

farmers eat, they always like to hold a bowl and sneak around, or gather together to chat. If someone eats meat, they would like to smear the lard on their mouths and not wipe it off for a whole day, and walk around the village to let everyone know that their family ate meat today.

Such a crude display of wealth is all emotion, not skill.

"She must be so scared of Ailian that she dares not to come back."

The eldest aunt was also at the door of the house, looking around anxiously, and could not help saying, "Ailian is really something. She beat the child so hard and rushed over with such a thick broom. If she was hit by such a thick broom, she would have been hurt. How old is the child, Qingqing?"

She missed the girl but couldn't think of her, and other people didn't cherish her.

It is very common to spank children in rural areas, but most of them use bamboo strips to spank the buttocks, which is painful but will not really hurt the children. The more severe ones use thorny sticks to whip. This is usually used by adults at home to scare children. When they are angry, they will say: "Next time you dare to do this and that, I will whip you with the thorny rattan. One whip will make your buttocks full of blood holes!"

Jiang's father said worriedly: "I don't know where this child has gone. It's time for dinner. She can't stay at someone else's house."

Jiang's aunt said: "You should also persuade Ai Lian more."

Jiang's father went to the home of the brigade secretary and the second wife's pianist to look for her.

Among the class of Jiang Xi, only the three of them are still studying, and they usually play together more.

In the end, they couldn't find her.

"Where did this child go?"

Thinking that she might have gone to the rice field, he went to the rice field to look for Grandpa Jiang, and then he found out that she had brought food to Grandpa Jiang.

Father Jiang slapped his forehead and said, "I was so busy looking for the baby that I forgot to bring you food."

Father Jiang's stomach was also growling with hunger. He had eaten a piece of chive cake at home in the morning, and then hurriedly picked up fish and lobsters to go to the market. He had lunch at his sister's house. He had been busy all afternoon and hadn't even had a sip of water.

Knowing that Jiang Xiao had brought food to Grandpa Jiang, he knew where Jiang Xiao had gone and said, "I'm going to the mountain to find her."

Upon hearing this, Grandpa Jiang immediately knew what had happened: "Did your wife beat Xiao Xiao again?" His nose was sore and he rubbed his eyes with his rough hands and said, "No, Xiao Xiao and I will live alone. I will pay for Xiao Xiao's tuition and send her to school. I don't count on you. I will just build a shed next to the mountain and sleep in the shed. I don't want you to support me in my old age. When I die, you can just bury me wherever you want."

He wiped his tears and choked up, "I'm really afraid that Xiao Xiao will be beaten by your wife and won't come home one day."

There were several girls in the village who ran away with men at a very young age and never came back. No one knew whether they were alive or dead.