Chapter 99 99
He Qiaosheng, like everyone else, turned his head to look at the girl in an ill-fitting blue and white school uniform walking up the stairs at a steady pace. At first he just glanced at her casually without paying much attention. It was not until the person walked in front of the hero monument and faced them that he could see the person's appearance clearly.
At first glance, he thought he was seeing things, so he rubbed his eyes, and then asked the classmate next to him: "This... is it so soon that we are at No. 2 Middle School? Why do I remember that the student representative of No. 1 Middle School hasn't gone up yet?"
The classmate next to him pulled back his clothes: "Didn't you stay up all night in the Internet cafe again last night? This is No. 1 Middle School!"
He Qiaosheng rubbed his eyes: "No, this is obviously No. 2..." Before he could say the word "middle", he heard the girl above take the microphone from the host teacher and introduced herself in a relaxed manner: "Hello everyone, I am Jiang Xi, the student representative of No. 1 Middle School."
He Qiaosheng's mind was full of echoes: I am Jiang Xi, the student representative of No. 1 Middle School.
Student representative Jiang Xi.
Jiang Xi!
He pulled at the boy's clothes in front of him with a look of disbelief, pointed at the girl above and said, "What did she say her name was?"
His voice was a little loud, causing people around to look at him, even his head teacher looked at him sternly, which made He Qiaosheng shrink his neck and make a gesture of begging for mercy towards his head teacher with a sneer.
Only then did his head teacher turn his head away and continue to watch Jiang Qi's speech above.
He Qiaosheng then whispered to his friend: "I didn't hear clearly just now,
what did she say her name is?" "Jiang Gui," his friend said. After saying that, he noticed that He Qiaosheng's face looked wrong, and asked worriedly: "Hey, you're not crying, are you? Don't cry!"
He Qiaosheng slapped his hand away: "Go away! I'm not crying!"
"Do you want me to find a mirror for you to look at yourself? And you still say you didn't cry?"
He Qiaosheng really wanted to cry. He felt that he had broken up before he even fell in love. Wuwuwuwuwuwuwu.
When he first heard Jiang Gui's name, he didn't feel anything. Although their No. 4 Middle School also participated in the joint examination, no one from their school entered the top 200 in the county, so the joint examination did not cause any waves in their school. They only knew that Wuzhong seemed to be suppressed by No. 1 Middle School in this joint examination, and the first place in the county was also taken away by No. 1 Middle School.
The teachers in their school also sighed: "Since No. 1 Middle School changed Principal Sun, the teaching level of No. 1 Middle School has become higher and higher. In this joint examination, No. 1 Middle School accounted for six of the top ten, while Wuzhong only had four."
Such sighs were not only said by their second-year high school teachers, but also by the first-year high school teachers. No. 2 Middle School was also discussing this matter at the time, saying that No. 1 Middle School was not only competing with Wuzhong, but now it was going to surpass it.
He knew there was such a person, but because he was a sophomore, he only paid attention to his grades in the second year of high school. He didn't even know whether the person who surpassed Wu Zhong to get the first place was a boy or a girl, and naturally he never paid attention to her name. So when he heard the name of Jiang Xi from No. 1 Middle School, he was as calm and unfamiliar as he was when he saw all the ordinary students, until he looked up and saw her face.
She was different from every time he met her before. Every time
he met her before, she was wearing very shabby clothes, and her clothes were visibly torn, but now she was standing on the stage with a relaxed expression and a calm posture, as if she was from a completely different world from him.
But before he could get over the joy of finding her, he suddenly heard her say her name was Jiang Xi?
It's okay that the name is fake, but even the school is fake!
She actually told him her name is Ma Dongmei!
He thought her real name was Ma Dongmei, and he went to the gate of No. 2 Middle School every day to wait for her foolishly, to look for her foolishly, and even asked the guard of No. 2 Middle School to help him call her Ma Dongmei.
Wuuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwu!
He Qiaosheng had a boyish heart, and at this moment he was completely hurt by the person on the stage.
It was not until this moment that he suddenly realized that she didn't want to be friends with him.
She didn't even tell him her real name.
She said she was from No. 2 Middle School!
Oh, by the way, she didn't say she was from No. 2 Middle School, he guessed it.
Then she didn't deny it either!
He Qiaosheng looked at the girl on the stage who seemed to be radiating light, and his heart and eyes were full of frustration of being deceived.
What to do? He wanted to write a song again.
Thinking of this period, he went to the gate of No. 2 Middle School every day to look for her, and he was so embarrassed that he wanted to cover his head with his school uniform. It was so embarrassing!
After half a year of eating meat and vegetables, Jiang Xi, who was well-nourished, had grown to 1.6 meters tall, but still not tall. The school uniform on her body did not fit her well. Compared with Song Peifeng from No. 1 Middle School, she was indeed not so outstanding.
She reached out and took the microphone from the host with a smile, thanked the host teacher who handed her the microphone, and then stood in the center of the stage, facing the countless teachers and students of Wucheng below.
She had so many speeches like this in her past life. At first, she wrote for the leaders. She wrote all the speeches for them. She wrote for several years. As the leaders rose up, she was promoted with them. Later, it was her turn to speak at various meetings and occasions. She could talk about the past, the future, or the national policy.
But today, in such an occasion, facing the students, she did not say much. Instead, she said, just like countless people in later generations want to say to these revolutionary martyrs who protected us with their blood and lives: This prosperous era will be as you wish.
She was so relaxed that she even had a light smile on her face in such a solemn atmosphere, as if she was talking to these heroes with a smile, telling them about their current situation, how the motherland was becoming stronger, how people's lives were getting better, how the people no longer had to go hungry, how they no longer had to worry about war, how people had bicycles to ride, and how every household would have a color TV, a mobile phone, and a car to drive.
Jiang Qi was talking about a good life that no one could imagine.
Many people didn't even know what a mobile phone was, and telephones hadn't even been introduced to every household yet. Mobile phones had only been out for less than two years, and they were sky-high in price.
But for some reason, her tone was so calm and resolute in everything she said about the present and the future, as if as long as they worked hard, they would definitely live such a good life.
Her posture was so calm, as if it was not a podium, but a stage for her personal performance. She was not at all stage frightened, not nervous, and was calm.
But her tone was like a friendly conversation with them, a natural dialogue with the heroes and martyrs, making people feel like spring breeze, without any pressure or coercion.
Jiang Hehua looked at the girl on the stage who seemed not to be eye-catching, but made everyone focus on her. She was like a warm pearl, bright but not scorching.
Because she had excellent grades since she was young and was the daughter of the brigade secretary, everyone around her spoke well of her and praised her, and she had a natural arrogance.
Jiang Gangqin was the oldest daughter in the family, and was raised in the palm of her parents' hands, brothers and sisters' hands. Because someone supported her unconditionally, she grew up in love, had a flamboyant and sincere personality, and had a magnetic field that made everyone in the world love her.
Jiang Xi always followed behind the two of them and listened quietly.
She didn't even have a deep impression of her.
What she could remember was that on the way back from school, Jiang Gangqin was always jumping and singing loudly, always wearing the best and most expensive dress of all the girls in the village, wearing the prettiest and best shoes, carefree and in high spirits.
She herself walked forward with her head held high and her chest puffed out, never looking back.
Jiang Xi always followed behind or beside the two of them in silence, as quiet as their shadows.
Only now did she realize that when this shadow walked in front of people, it was so bright, so bright that it was a little dazzling. At
this moment, she felt that her position and Jiang Xi's position seemed to be swapped. Jiang Xi was the light, and she was the shadow behind the light.
It turned out that the shadow covered by the light was so uncomfortable.
Who wants to be a shadow!
She is the light!
But the light became brighter and brighter, completely drowning her.
She suddenly turned her head stubbornly and looked at Song Peifeng.
She was short and lined up in the front of the girls' team. Song Peifeng was tall and lined up behind the boys. She could see the expression on his face at a glance.
Sure enough, he was also looking at her.
He looked at the stage with an admiring smile in his eyes.
This made her, who had always been confident, suddenly feel inferior.
She had always been very confident in the past. Since she was a child, everyone around her had praised her, praised her for her good grades, and praised her for her fair skin. She had always been very proud.
When she was in junior high school, she was out of the village environment and gradually realized that she didn't seem to stand out. But she was still proud, especially in front of Jiang Xi and Jiang Gangqin.
Because her father was the brigade secretary.
After high school, she became more and more indistinguishable. People around her were growing taller, but she was still this tall in junior high school.
The person in the mirror still had white skin, pink and tender, like a flour dumpling.
But her face was also round like a flour dumpling, but she had a pair of small squinting eyes.
Even the most confident person, without the compliments of the villagers, will inevitably feel inferior in their heart after realizing that they look so ordinary but fall in love with someone like Song Peifeng who has good grades, good character and good looks. If
Jiang Wu knew her psychological activities, he might tell her that anyone who makes you feel negative emotions and mental exhaustion is not the right person for you, and you can just like them and admire them.
But Jiang Wu didn't know.
No one has ever told her this, and she became more and more inferior and self-consumed.
She looked at Jiang Wu, who was calm and composed on the stage, and then at Song Peifeng.
Suddenly, she had an illusion in her heart, as if these two people were from the same world, and she, who was obviously Song Peifeng's classmate, was so far away from them.
Jiang Bai was also looking up at Jiang Xi, who was speaking calmly under the monument to the heroes.
Tong Jingang, lying on Jiang Bai's shoulder, looked up at Jiang Xi on the platform and said with admiration: "Our sister is so outstanding. The student representative of our school is actually our sister!"
They could not have imagined it.
They thought it would be a sophomore.
Jiang Bai was also full of pride.
At this moment, his sister seemed very far away from him, so far away that she seemed to be from another world.
The real world is so poor, but his sister seemed to have stood at a height that was out of his reach.
A thunderous applause awakened Jiang Bai. Jiang Bai looked at his sister, who walked back to his world step by step from that unreachable height, as if it was just his illusion.
After Jiang Xi finished her speech and bowed to the audience, she received no less applause than Song Peifeng from Wu Zhong. No one felt that she was not as good as Wu Zhong. Even when she was reading the script, their eyes were all focused on her, and they completely forgot what the previous person had said.
She bowed slightly and handed the microphone back to the host, who was actually Wu Zhong's teacher.
Jiang Xi handed the microphone back with both hands, and the teacher also subconsciously took it back with both hands. Looking at the equally thunderous applause from below, he began to read out the student representatives of the next high school.
Principal Sun and Director Zhang's faces had brightened up. Director Zhang clapped vigorously until his palms turned red. He laughed and said to Principal Sun, "I said we should choose her as the student representative. She has the demeanor of a general! Look, she can even speak without a script." He glanced at Wu Middle School and said, "Old Wang thought that only the student representatives of their school could speak without a script, but our No. 1 Middle School couldn't? He must have been preparing for this day for a long time, and wanted to outdo us in front of all the schools in the city. Haha, his plan failed!"
They were really worried at the time that Jiang Xi would not be able to follow Song Peifeng's speech, and would go up and read the script haltingly. Comparing the two, wouldn't their No. 1 Middle School be far worse than Wu Middle School?
Who knew that Jiang Xi, a young girl, was so calm and composed, and her demeanor was no worse than Song Peifeng from Wuzhong. You have to know that Song Peifeng's father is the top leader in the county. He has seen so many occasions like this since he was a child. They were not surprised that she had such demeanor. However, this girl was admitted from the countryside, and her aura was no less than his. They were really surprised. Shouldn't they be happy?
He even blinked and smiled at Director Wang from Wuzhong.
Director Wang had already restrained his smile at this time. He was stung by Director Zhang's wink. He turned his face away expressionlessly and snorted in his heart: Look at his smug old face, what is he proud of? Is Song Peifeng from their Wuzhong inferior?
When the student representative of No. 2 Middle School went up to give a speech, he was so nervous that he kept reciting the script he had written. Until the moment before he went on stage, he was still struggling whether he should speak without a script or read from the script.
But after he went on stage, he looked at the black heads below and his nervous mind went blank. He couldn't think of any words. He had to take out the script he had written from his pocket and read the script stiffly with the help of the teacher of Wuzhong holding the microphone. He couldn't remember what he said on the stage at all. He even forgot to bow at the end. He walked down the high platform of the Heroes Monument with his hands and feet together.
After that, one school after another went on stage, all reading from scripts, until the last elementary school student finished reading her script with great emotion, and finally began the return journey.
Students whose homes were nearby told the teachers that they would go home on their own.
The teachers were worried and reminded them again and again, asking them to pay attention to safety, and then let them go home.
On the way back, the team was not as neat as when they came, and the atmosphere was not as solemn as when they came in the morning. Instead, they were laughing and joking with each other, and their expressions were relaxed.
Jiang Xi also walked with Xu Xiuli and He Xiaofang. He Xiaofang was still praising Jiang Xi: "Xixi, you and that boy from Wuzhong spoke so well today. You two spoke the best among all the people in the room!"
"Yes, yes, I saw that after that boy finished speaking, the class teacher's face turned black!" Liu Ping said loudly.
Teacher Wang was behind them.
Wang Xia also said: "I couldn't listen to what they said later. It was too long and my legs were weak!" The last time they stood like this was when they stood at military posture during military training.
Liu Ping complained, "My legs are numb. I walked ten kilometers to get here, and I have to walk another ten kilometers back. It would be great if I had a bicycle!"
Lu Xuehua interrupted Liu Ping's complaint and said, "It didn't rain today. If it rained, it would be even harder to walk!"
In previous years, it was really frustrating to come here to sweep the graves when it rained.
At this time, Wuzhong was already walking in the front, followed by No. 1 Middle School, No. 2 Middle School, No. 3 Middle School, and No. 4 Middle School. The school uniforms of each school were different and easy to distinguish.
He Qiaosheng walked through the crowd of No. 3 Middle School, then the crowd of No. 2 Middle School, and finally came to No. 1 Middle School, looking for Jiang Xi in the crowd.
Everyone was wearing school uniforms, and from the back, everyone looked the same.
He kept walking forward, and then looked for her one by one. Finally, he saw Jiang Xi in the crowd. He made a trumpet with his hands and shouted to her loudly: "Ma Dongmei!"
He walked to the middle of the road and called her backwards. When Jiang Xi raised her head, she bumped into a pair of resentful eyes.
Liu Ping was still looking around curiously: "Who is he calling? Who is Ma Dongmei?"
At this time, Uncle Jiang, who was patrolling the mountain with Uncle Jiang, held a big trumpet in his hand. While patrolling the mountain, he shouted to the crowded places: "Prevent forest fires! Everyone is responsible! Sacrifice to the ancestors! Don't leave until the fire is out!"
Many people on the mountain knew this old forest ranger and greeted him with a smile: "Old man, you have worked hard today!"
"Daddy, your voice is hoarse from shouting. Come and have a cigarette and take a break!"
Grandpa Jiang said with a fierce look on his face: "You can't smoke in the mountains. Have you all forgotten the news report about a forest fire caused by a cigarette butt? It hasn't rained in the past few days and the ground is dry. There is a thick layer of leaves from last winter on the ground. A little spark can destroy the entire forest!"
The person who was planning to smoke quickly put away the cigarette in his hand: "Yes, yes, what Grandpa said is right. You can't smoke in the mountains."
At the end of each year and during the Tomb-Sweeping Day, you can see news about forest fires breaking out somewhere.
Some people smiled and said nonchalantly: "How can it not rain on Qingming Festival? If it doesn't rain today, it will definitely rain tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. Look, it's gloomy today. Even if there is a forest fire, it will be extinguished by a rain. The old man is too cautious."
Grandpa Jiang said with a serious face: "This is the mountain at our doorstep. If it really burns, the villages living here will all be burned down. Can you bear the responsibility?"
"Okay, okay, I won't smoke!" Seeing that Grandpa Jiang was really angry, the person who spoke hurriedly put out the lit cigarette.
Grandpa Jiang checked as he walked, and he checked every grave very carefully. When he came across an unburned fire, he quickly shoveled dirt to cover the smoking fire, and then carefully searched the area nearby to see if there were any sparks. Grandpa Jiang
and Uncle Jiang were both patrolling the mountain. Uncle Jiang and his three sons went to the Jiang family's ancestor worship activities. After the ancestor worship work was done, Uncle Jiang habitually took his three sons to help Grandpa Jiang patrol the mountain. It was not until mid-afternoon when there were no people around that Uncle Jiang took a shovel and said to Uncle Jiang, "It's a habit for me to patrol the mountain every Qingming Festival." He smiled and said, "Uncle, I won't come next year. It will be Guoan and Guoliang's turn. Come to help you patrol the mountains. "
Uncle Jiang is very tall, but his three sons all inherited some of their height from Aunt Jiang, and are only of average height. The eldest son's face is a direct copy of Aunt Jiang, and the second son's face is a direct copy of Uncle Jiang. The second son is young, so it is not obvious now. More than 20 years later, Jiang Liu, the previous life, came back for the New Year one year, and the second cousin was a replica of Uncle Jiang.
When Uncle Jiang and his friends left, they were not empty-handed, and went to the back mountain to dig two snakeskin bags of fresh bamboo shoots and brought them back.
Almost everyone who visits the graves during the Qingming Festival will bring a basket and a shovel. The shovel can be used as a walking stick when climbing mountains. Many graves are covered with overgrown weeds and thorns, and there is no path. The shovel must be used to shovel a path. The weeds beside the graves must also be cut and trimmed with the shovel, otherwise the graves may not be found the next year.
The shovel also has another use, which is to dig up flowers and plants.
Azalea, honeysuckle, wild wolfberry, wild hawthorn, many people who settled in Wucheng, neighboring cities, and towns, reluctant to spend money on flowers and grass, went to the mountains to dig a few flower seedlings and brought them back to the city on this day. The bamboo forest on the back mountain was dug into pits and pits, and it was a mess. As long as the fresh bamboo shoots were exposed, no one could escape the iron shovel and claws of humans today.
In the afternoon, there were fewer people on the mountain, and only occasionally could a short firecracker sound be heard.
Seeing that there were no people, Grandpa Jiang carefully patrolled again and met with Uncle Jiang who was patrolling the other side of the mountain. After confirming that there was no problem, the two went to the mountain temple together and put out all the paper piles near the mountain temple.
The mountain temple is at the foot of the mountain, but the road leading up to the mountain temple is full of graves.
The local elders are very careful to protect the mountains and forests in their hometown. They will bury the burned paper piles with soil to extinguish the fire, but many young people don't care about these. Anyway, it's none of their business if the mountain is burned.
After being busy until about four o'clock in the afternoon, Uncle Jiang invited Grandpa Jiang to go back to the cabin for dinner. Grandpa Jiang gave him the iron shovel and said, "I won't go. It's getting dark. I'll go down the mountain to Guixiang's place and have a bite to eat."
Guixiang is the name of Aunt Jiang.
Because there are many people going up the mountain during the Qingming Festival, there are firecrackers everywhere. The jackals and animals in the mountains will run far away. This section of the road down the mountain is not dangerous.
Uncle Jiang said, "During this period, Wei Hong and I have picked a lot of bracken and sour bamboo shoots. I will bring them down for you tomorrow morning."
Uncle Jiang smiled and said cheerfully, "Bamboo shoots are good. I really like eating them."
Uncle Jiang actually doesn't like eating bamboo shoots.
As an old forest ranger who has watched over the mountains for decades, he has eaten everything on the mountain.
In the past, when there was nothing to eat, Grandpa Jiang would dry a lot of bamboo shoots, pickled bamboo shoots, and bracken every year, and send a large bag of bamboo shoots and bracken to every household, including his sister's family, his daughter's family, his brother-in-law's family, his in-laws, and so on.
Bracken grows very fast. Every spring, when the spring rain falls, the mountains and fields are full of bracken heads. If you don't pick them when they are fresh and tender, their leaves will stretch out in less than two days and you can't eat them.
People in the town and the city love to eat bracken, but the locals eat them without even looking at them. There are so many bracken on the mountain that no one picks them, and no one would think of picking them and selling them for money. They all think that if pigs don't eat them, how can they sell them?
But Jiang Liu loves to eat them.
She loves to eat fresh bamboo shoots, sour bamboo shoots, dried bamboo shoots, or dried bracken.
The further Grandpa Jiang went down the mountain, the lighter his steps became.
When they arrived under the old locust tree, there was a cow tied under the tree. On the waterproof platform where the old locust tree was planted, there were many old people sitting there bragging about their boredom. When they saw Grandpa Jiang, they smiled and greeted him: "Old Fa Cai, are you willing to come back? How much money did you get by begging this year?"
Grandpa Jiang boasted casually: "Ten thousand dollars!"
Everyone laughed: "Ten thousand dollars, then you are really old and rich!"
Grandpa Jiang walked up to the platform with a smile and sat in the middle of them. He looked at these laughing old guys happily, and his heart was really lonely like snow!
Alas, I'm telling the truth, why doesn't anyone believe me?
After bragging, Uncle Jiang was in a very good mood and stayed at the house in Jiang's hometown at night.
The next morning, Uncle Jiang came down with two large sacks, one of which was filled with fresh bamboo shoots dug in the morning, and the other was filled with a vegetable garden of pickled sour bamboo shoots, dried bamboo shoots, dried bracken, and tea leaves.
"Shall I carry them to the boat for you?"
The boat was now at the dam not far from the Jiang family paddy field. As the water level had risen, there were many snakes and eels on both sides of the riverbank. There was no need for a fishing net. All you had to do was drag a ball of floating water grass up and throw it onto the dam. Water snakes, rat snakes, fire snakes, eels, and other creatures would quickly emerge from the water grass. You could just pick them up with a plastic bucket.
After picking them up, you would throw the large ball of water grass back into the river and wait until tomorrow to continue dragging water grass to pick up eels and rat snakes.
Grandpa Jiang said, "The boat is right outside my house. I can't even carry it for such a short distance? Go back and patrol your mountain."
Aunt Jiang got up early in the morning and made noodles and poached eggs for Grandpa Jiang and Uncle Jiang.
Uncle Jiang will also take his sons to build a house in Xinjie, Shuibu Town today. They will take the same boat with Grandpa Jiang.
There are a lot of people returning to the city today. There are three boats parked by the river bank.
The rising water level makes sailing a very dangerous thing. The closer to the edge of the village, the more dangerous it is. Because the electric wires that were originally high above people's heads have been submerged by the rising water level. Some of the wires are only one or two meters above the water. If you are not careful, the boat may hit the wires.
Water can conduct electricity.
If the wires hit the handle of the rudder, it is also very dangerous.
So people try to sail during the day and not at night.
Grandpa Jiang finished his meal with satisfaction. Aunt Jiang brought out a big bag of sun-dried rice and flour and gave it to Grandpa Jiang: "Xingxing loves the rice and flour I make the most. Take it to Wucheng for Xiaoxing!"
Uncle Jiang said dissatisfiedly: "You woman, what good things do you have? Why don’t you think about your sons? You always think about Xiaoxing. When Xiaoxing gets married, I don’t know how many times she can come back to see you in a year?" He said with disdain: "You think about the girl all day long. What’s the use of the girl?"
Just like Aunt Jiang herself, because she married from the neighboring county and the journey was far, Aunt Jiang sometimes couldn’t go back to her parents’ home for two years.
Aunt Jiang was so angry that she glared at him: "Can you talk less? You're talking too much just when I bring some rice and flour to Xiaoxiao?"
"Okay, okay, I won't say anything, okay?"
The eldest cousin's wife, who had already separated from the family and lived on her own, couldn't stand her father-in-law's stinginess. Upon hearing this, she smiled and said: "That's right, the rice and flour are all made at home, not bought with money. There is only one girl in this generation, it's normal for her mother to favor her a little. It's not a disaster year and there is no food to eat."
When they mentioned the disaster year, everyone fell silent.
Uncle Jiang looked at the silvery-white river outside the door and said with a worried look on his face: "If the rain continues, it may turn into a disaster year. The water will reach our doorsteps."
To say "doorsteps" is a bit of an exaggeration, because so far, the water has been blocked outside the river bank and has not affected the farmland on this side of the river bank.
Grandpa Jiang said to Uncle Jiang: "Don't sell this year's grain. We have a flood every ten years or so. It hasn't happened in ten years. Even if it's not this year, it will be next year or the year after next. We still need to make some preparations. Don't plant local grain this year. Plant hybrid rice."
Local grain is delicious, but the yield per mu is not high. Hybrid rice doesn't taste as good as local grain, but it is high-yielding. In previous years, they planted half hybrid rice and half local grain. Looking at the situation this year, they should plant hybrid rice.
Uncle Jiang didn't argue this time and nodded in agreement.
His house is a newly built building, and the rice warehouse is built on the upper floor. It is also large and the waterproof platform is also high, so it is not afraid of floods.
"It's to store more food."
Several people left Jiang's house in silence. The bag was carried by the eldest cousin.
It was not far from home to the boat. There were many people on the boat. The cabin was full of things. The eldest cousin also put Grandpa Jiang's things in the cabin. Several people sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the sparkling lake.
After a long time, Uncle Jiang sighed: "Fortunately, we don't just rely on crops to make a living now."
The job they took this time was to build a house in Xinjie, Shuibu Town. Both sides of the street were to be built into identical three-story buildings. The front of the first floor was the shop, the back was the kitchen, the second and third floors were for living, and there were two rooms in the front and back, a total of four rooms, more than enough for a family to live in.
Uncle Jiang wanted to buy a house for his youngest son in Xinjie.
The street was wide and new, very beautiful. Not far from the end of the street was the town junior high school, and not far from the end of the street was the town senior high school, which was a
combination of junior high school and senior high school. It would definitely be popular in the future. When this street was first built, many young people who had earned money from working outside came to buy houses in Xinjie, thinking that Xinjie would gradually replace the old street and become a new prosperous street as planned by the town government.
Who would have known that until 20 or 30 years later, this street was still deserted, with only two or three kittens to be seen. On the contrary, the old street area has been prosperous for decades, and the shops on both sides of the streets above, below, left and right of the intersection have become more and more popular.
Because the old street leads directly to the ferry!
All people on the other side of the river who want to go to the neighboring city or Wucheng have to take a boat to the ferry, then walk through the entire old street area to reach the crossroads where they can take a car. At the crossroads, one hour to the right is the neighboring city, and one and a half hours to the front is Wucheng. How can Xinjie, which has nothing, compare to such a superior geographical location?
Uncle Jiang is now thinking happily that after the house in Xinjie is built, he will buy a house in Xinjie for his third son. In the future, the youngest son will also be a town resident like his younger sister. In the future, he will have a shop in the town and will not have to work hard. Life will be so comfortable.
Thinking about the big houses he had built for his three sons, and the youngest son would have a shop in the town in the future, and looking at his younger brother's family, who still lived in that short, dilapidated half-brick and half-mud house, he felt that what was the point of studying? With the money to send his three sons to study, he might as well build a big house early, so that they could live comfortably and look impressive. It's not like now, who would talk about his younger brother's family behind his back and laugh at him for being stupid? Grandpa Jiang
had no idea that Uncle Jiang was laughing at Father Jiang in his heart, and took a bag of fresh bamboo shoots, dried bamboo shoots, and dried bracken from the snakeskin bag and gave it to Uncle Jiang: "You can take these to Xiaofeng."
Uncle Jiang and his family were going to go to Uncle Jiang's house to ask Uncle Jiang to go to Xinjie to build a house together, which was a convenient thing.
Uncle Jiang took over and said with a smile: "The old man was thinking about Guoping and Xiaofeng, but he didn't remember to feel sorry for your eldest son."
Grandpa Jiang knew that Uncle Jiang was still blaming him for giving all his wages to Jiang's father after the family split, so he didn't say anything and got into the car in silence.
The eldest cousin pulled Uncle Jiang and whispered: "Dad, stop talking."
When they were young, Grandpa loved them all equally. Later, Grandpa Jiang gave all his wages to Second Uncle after Second Uncle's chicken farm went bankrupt and owed debts. So they didn't blame Grandpa Jiang in their hearts, but respected him very much.
"What's wrong? Can't you tell the truth?" Uncle Jiang smiled and happily took his three sons to work.
Grandpa Jiang walked in silence all the way to Wucheng. He originally wanted to carry fresh bamboo shoots back to the store, but a snakeskin bag of fresh bamboo shoots was not light. At this time, he realized that he was really old and could not even carry such a small load.
He didn't know why, but he thought of his father's sudden death when he was twelve or thirteen years old. Facing his mother who was still in confinement and his younger sisters and brothers who were crying for food, he followed the elders in the village to dig coal in the coal mine and supported his family by carrying coal.
Later, they experienced a three-year famine, and the whole family almost starved to death. The riverbeds in their area were all dug up, and he followed the villagers to the riverbeds in the neighboring city dozens of miles away to dig lotus roots. In the cold winter, he stood barefoot in the freezing cold river water. He still remembers the starvation and cold that almost killed him.
He looked up at the Wucheng Bus Station in a daze. Because it was Qingming Festival, many people returned to the city, and the station was very busy with cars coming and going.
This was simply the life he dared not even dream of in the past. It
was really different, really different.
The past sufferings were really over.
When he arrived at the store, Jiang Xi was typing away on the computer. Today was the weekend, and Jiang Xi and Jiang Bai were both in the store.
Before she saw Grandpa Jiang, Tong Jingang had already come to greet him: "Grandpa Jiang is back!"
He enthusiastically took the two large snakeskin bags from Grandpa Jiang's hands, "Wow, what's so heavy? Is it delicious?"
Grandpa Jiang walked into the store slowly with his hands behind his back, and said with a smile: "It's the bamboo shoots that Xixi likes to eat, and the rice and noodles that your aunt gave you. Baizi likes to eat rice and noodles."
He sat down On the recliner, he opened the snakeskin bag and took out things one by one: "Your uncle's grandmother fried tea leaves, dried bracken, dried bamboo shoots, and pickled sour bamboo shoots." He handed the sour bamboo shoots to Jiang Wei: "She knows you like to eat them, so she soaked a large pot of them. You can take them to school to eat."
He took out another bag: "This is rice flour and cypress seeds. Take some out for Jingang to take back. There are also bamboo shoots. Take a few more."
"No, no, no." Tong Jingang waved his hands repeatedly.
Grandpa Jiang smiled and said: "Take it. They are all made at home. The bamboo shoots are also dug from the mountain."
Tong Jingang did not refuse: "Thank you, Grandpa Jiang." After
Grandpa Jiang distributed the things, he sat on the rocking chair again, swaying and looking outside the store.
Jiang Xi used a purple clay pot to make a pot of hot tea for Grandpa Jiang with this year's new tea, and placed it next to him, reminding him: "Grandpa, the tea is just brewed and it's hot, don't drink it directly!"
Grandpa Jiang's distant gaze fell back from outside to Jiang Xi. Seeing his granddaughter nagging, he was happy in his heart, but said: "I know, I know, I'm not a child, do I need you to tell me this?"
Jiang Xi covered Grandpa Jiang's legs with a thick blanket.
Grandpa Jiang's legs hurt as soon as it was cloudy, and now it has eased a little, but it still hurts.
He didn't groan when it hurt, and didn't tell anyone, just endured it and carried it by himself.
Jiang Xi knew that he was in pain. She sat next to his recliner and reached out to massage Grandpa Jiang's legs.
"No need to massage, it's okay, it doesn't hurt." Grandpa Jiang said, "Go read your book."
His eyes fell on the street outside the store, swaying slowly.
His gaze seemed very close, but also seemed very far away.
While Grandpa Jiang was massaging Jiang Xi's legs, he said softly, "Grandpa, we now have a phone in our store. Next time you get to the station, give us a call and we'll pick you up, okay?"
Grandpa Jiang's eyes then turned from afar and fell back on his granddaughter.
When he first held her in his arms, she was not much bigger than a kitten. In the blink of an eye, her granddaughter had grown up so much that she would worry about him and feel sorry for him.
The wrinkles between his eyebrows unwound unconsciously, and he looked at his grandchildren with a kind gaze. He leaned his head back on the recliner contentedly, closed his eyes and rocked back and forth.