Chapter 5
Little Tuanzi had already carried the basin, which was bigger than she was, to the stream by dragging it.
The aunties and aunties in Fenglin Village all love to wash clothes here, and Youyou also wants to do so.
It doesn’t matter where you wash clothes, Youyou wants everyone to see that she has lost weight!
That was the meat that the mother had worked so hard to feed the child, bite by bite, and it disappeared just like that.
Youyou pinched her belly, which was obviously not as round as before, with a worried look in her eyes.
Fenglin Village is not big, who doesn’t know Youyou?
The little guy was chubby and innocent before, why does he look so aggrieved now?
Some of the women were mothers, and when they saw the baby muster up the courage to put his little hands in the basin, and shivering from the cold without complaining or feeling tired, they immediately felt distressed.
The clothes are piled up like a mountain. How can Meng Jinyu bully others like this!
"Baby, what's wrong with you? Why are you so thin?"
"I've never seen you wash clothes before. Don't you roll around on the ground every day, playing like a little clay figure?"
"The clothes she wears aren't pretty anymore, and she doesn't even have pigtails."
It would have been fine if these people didn't say anything, but now they are talking to each other, and Youyou suddenly feels uncomfortable.
The white and soft little face tilted up, the black grape-like eyes blinked, and tears immediately welled up in the eye sockets.
The tears were about to fall, the corners of his mouth were turned down hard, his little head drooped, his hair was not combed, a tuft of soft and silly hair stood up high, his shoulders were still shaking, and he looked extremely pitiful.
No one has cared about Youyou for a long time. The more they coax her, the more the little girl misses her mother.
"Don't be sad. Tell your aunt if you've been wronged."
"Your little hands are all frozen red. Did someone bully you? I'll help you!"
As soon as they finished speaking, the child couldn't hold back any longer. The little ball was very quiet, and the golden beans fell down with a clatter, which was really heartbreaking.
At this moment, Meng Jinyu rushed over in a hurry.
From a distance, seeing Youyou's pitiful appearance, her head felt dizzy.
When she saw the condemning looks of the other women, she became even more panicked.
Finally, she calmed herself down: "Youyou, why are you washing clothes here?"
The next second, the child's reply made the corners of her mouth twitch.
"Youyou, wash it now. Mom can wear it once it's clean." Youyou said softly, then immediately lowered her head and started working grunting.
The women all looked towards the large basin.
All the clothes in there are Meng Jinyu!
Meng Jinyu has been acting weak and timid recently, trying to curry favor with the director of the Women's Federation. She has also been lazy and left work early to let other members take over her work. This has already caused dissatisfaction among several women. Now, everyone's anger is about to explode.
"The child is so young, and you let her carry such heavy clothes to the stream to wash them by herself while you rest in the house. How can you be so cruel?"
"The five-year-old kid from Uncle Tie's family was playing in the reservoir and accidentally fell in. He hasn't been fished out yet!"
"The great leader said that women hold up half the sky, which means we should treat our sons and daughters the same! Your husband is an intellectual, why do you bully your daughter like this?"
Meng Jinyu's temples twitched, and she said anxiously, "Don't talk nonsense. Everyone knows that I love this little girl the most."
The one who loved her daughter was Meng Jinyu in the past, but no one knew it, so when she spoke, she felt justified.
But as soon as she finished speaking, the poor little girl nodded in fear and understanding: "Mom is the best to Youyou, the best..."
Isn't this a case of trying to cover up one's own guilt?
Meng Jinyu was so angry that she almost broke her teeth.
"You loved your daughter, but that was in the past! Now you are such a terrible mother that you don't care about your daughter at all. I don't know why!"
"I know why! Cuizhi from the second branch of the Jiang family told me that the old lady accidentally found out that Jinyu and her husband slept separately, and her husband slept on the floor!! The relationship between the two has always been bad, and she even forced her husband to sleep on the floor. What a powerful person! No wonder her husband didn't come back, she must be so upset!"
Everyone's eyes lit up.
And this strange thing!
Youyou was still washing clothes diligently, like a child laborer, without wasting a moment.
The more Meng Jinyu talked, the more confused she became, and the less people believed her.
She couldn't explain herself even if she had a mouth full of words, her face flushed and she stood frozen in place.
I caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of my eye. It was the Women's Federation leader He Qingmiao, who was standing not far away with a serious look. After listening to the whole story, he shook his head, turned around and left.
Meng Jinyu's heart skipped a beat and her head was buzzing.
"No need to wash. Auntie will take you home for dinner." A chubby aunt said, picking up Youyou and holding her hand as she walked towards her home.
After Youyou left, Meng Jinyu squatted down listlessly like an eggplant hit by frost, and turned around to go home holding the big basin.
Her clothes absorbed water and the basin became heavier. She felt weak and her steps were heavy.
Looking at her back, everyone started talking again.
"Have you noticed that Jin Yu is not as diligent as before? At that time, he carried two baskets by himself and walked with the wind."
"You've become more shameless. You used to be very open-minded, didn't you? It's like you've become a different person now."
…
The fat aunt who took Youyou away was the village chief’s wife, Liu Lanxiang.
How much she loved this child before, how much she felt sorry for him now: "Good child, are you hungry? Auntie will find you something delicious."
These days, life is not easy for everyone. Although the living conditions of the village chief's family are better in comparison, there will be no big fish or meat at home unless it is a festival.
However, Youyou is easy to feed. Just seeing the corn cakes under the basket, her black and white eyes sparkle.
Liu Lanxiang heated up the leftover corn cake from lunch by putting it on the pan and brought it to Youyou: "It's still hot. Wait until it cools down before eating."
Youyou was really hungry.
Her grandmother and two aunts were very thrifty. When they served porridge, they were always very stingy. Even when they distributed coarse grain steamed buns, they would only give Youyou a small piece.
In the past, her mother would secretly save a bite of food and only cook for her after she finished cleaning up and returned to the house.
Now that her mother is not around, Youyou can only starve. Every night when she goes to sleep, she can hear her stomach rumbling.
The corn cake smelled very good. Youyou held it tightly, sniffed it deeply, and took a small bite.
She was reluctant to eat too fast, fearing that she would finish it and still not feel full, so she had to drink it with water to feel full easily.
"Auntie, can you give me a glass of water?" Youyou asked timidly.
Liu Lanxiang's heart almost melted, and she quickly took an enamel cup to get some water.
Aunt Lanxiang is very kind to Youyou. She always asks about her well-being and her eyes are full of concern.
The little dumpling bit the corn tortilla, took a sip of water, and kept thinking about his mother.
I miss my mom so much!
But don’t worry, mom, Youyou will take good care of herself!
When we meet again, she will still be the white and chubby Youyou!
The production team stopped working only after the sun went down.
When Youyou left, she thanked sincerely with a very sweet little mouth, which made Liu Lanxiang's face full of love.
However, as soon as she walked out the door, she bumped into someone.
The person Youyou met was Aunt Lanxiang's daughter-in-law.
She had a long braid and looked very young, delicate and gentle, but her eyes were sad.
This is the saddest adult Youyou has ever seen in this village.
As soon as Xu Weiwei came back, Liu Lanxiang's expression immediately became uneasy.
She prepared the food and said, "Are you starving? Come and eat."
Xu Weiwei ignored her, lowered her head, and sat at the round table.
However, his gaze still fell outside the house, looking at Youyou's small figure.
If it weren't for her mother-in-law, her daughter would probably be the same age as this child.
…
Youyou returned home after eating and drinking.
In the main hall, she happened to meet Meng Jinyu face to face.
Meng Jinyu got angry when she saw her, but she wasn't stupid enough to cause trouble for her in front of so many people. She just glanced at her and turned away.
Youyou was carefree and climbed onto the wooden bench obediently to eat with her family.
This time, she came back with a full stomach, and she could finally eat her fill!
After dinner, Meng Jinyu turned on the water and asked Jiang Cheng and Jiang Guo to help give Jiang Shan a bath.
She looked very relaxed and would splash water on Jiang Shan's little face from time to time.
"Mom! My brother splashed me!" said Jiang Guo.
Meng Jinyu was delighted and picked up the ladle to pour some water on Jiang Cheng.
When Jiang Cheng dodged, Jiang Guo laughed out loud.
Several people were having a great time, and their laughter echoed and didn't fade away for a long time.
Youyou also wants to play with her older brothers, sisters and younger brother.
She took two steps forward, trying to get closer, but was given a sidelong glance by Meng Jinyu.
Meng Jinyu said, "You two behave well and help mom bathe your brother. I will give each of you a White Rabbit cigarette later."
Jiang Cheng and Jiang Guo were both very surprised. Even though they were twelve years old, they couldn't resist the temptation of the candy.
When Jiang Shan saw it, he also looked at it eagerly.
Meng Jinyu smiled and rubbed his head: "Shanshan has it too."
After saying that, she glanced at Youyou calmly and said, "Youyou can't eat White Rabbit without your help."
Youyou turned around and ran away.
She is a brave child!
But--
Youyou, who has a backbone, also wants to eat White Rabbit...
Little Tuanzi lay on the bed feeling aggrieved. The light was still on in the room, but she felt tired and fell into a deep sleep.
That night, Youyou had another dream.
In her dream, she also saw someone.
The man looked troubled and like he needed help.
Youyou didn't even think about it and went forward to help instinctively.
But unexpectedly, she couldn't move, as if she was deeply trapped.
Youyou burst into tears.
Suddenly, the man turned back anxiously.
At this time, Youyou saw it.
It’s mother, her own mother!
But where is mom now?
What exactly happened to my mother?
This was the first time that little Youyou desperately hoped that dreams could give her answers.
"Mom...Mom..." In the dream, the little girl frowned and muttered, with tear marks all over her soft little face.
If mom comes back, Youyou won’t have to fight alone anymore.
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