Chapter 7 Chapter 7 Geng Yunye stepped onto the wooden ladder...
Geng Yunye climbed up the wooden ladder to the roof, revealing a few crooked tiles under the thatched roof that had been blown by the wind. Two wires wrapped in black rubber were exposed to the air. The brigade had just been connected to electricity two years ago, and the insulation layer of the wires was as good as new.
He used tools to knock the tiles straight, and then used dry straw to fill the gaps. He shouted to Cheng's father who was holding the ladder below: "Uncle, a few tiles on the roof are loose. Now they are firmly fixed. Wait until the rainy season is over and then apply a layer of lime to make it more solid."
Cheng Cunzhi said with relief: "Thanks to you, otherwise I would have to put a basin in the house to collect rainwater this summer."
Geng Yunye moved quickly and decisively. He grabbed the ladder rail with one hand and reached the ground in three steps.
Cheng Lei witnessed this scene with his own eyes, his eyes widened, his legs were actually so - long!
Cheng Xin helped Geng Yunye put away and fold his coat. The temperature difference between morning and evening was huge. When he rode his bike over in the morning, his coat was covered in dew, and at noon it was so hot that he felt dizzy.
After Geng Yunye finished helping, it was time to leave. Cheng Xin handed him the clothes and reminded him quietly, "There are several threads coming apart on your clothes. Remember to go find a tailor."
Geng Yunye did not take the clothes, as they were worn out with great difficulty before he went out.
He looked at her straight in the eyes and said, "Why don't you help me sew it? I can't find a tailor for a while."
Cheng Xin raised her chin and said proudly, "You've found the right person to ask me for help. I promise to make your coat look like new."
After Geng Yunye left, Cheng Lei wanted to go to the captain's house to watch TV. His sister definitely wouldn't want to visit, so he asked Chen Ying if she wanted to go.
Chen Ying hesitated for a while and decided to go with Cheng Lei. She wanted to learn about the current policy direction through the news.
Cheng Xin's home is connected to electricity, but she rarely turns on the lights at night and basically still uses the old kerosene lamp.
She found the sewing box, held Geng Yunye's clothes in her arms, sat in front of the kerosene lamp and began to mend them.
Xu Fengxia felt sorry for her, so she turned on the light when she entered the house after washing up.
"Why don't you turn on the light while sewing? Don't you want your eyes at such a young age?"
"Electricity is expensive. I can see more clearly with a kerosene lamp. I'll do it tomorrow."
Cheng Xin put down the clothes in shame. She could actually repair them tomorrow. She had nothing to do at night anyway, so she just held the clothes in her arms...
Xu Fengxia disagreed, "How can I not understand you? I've been through this phase of yours, too. If you don't mend your clothes tonight, you'll be worried all night. It only costs six cents to turn on the light for an hour. Which is more important, your eyes or the electricity bill?"
Cheng Xin's little thoughts were exposed by her mother, so she hugged her arm and said coquettishly: "Mom, please stop talking."
Xu Fengxia urged in a bad mood: "Hurry up and finish mending the clothes and go to bed. Tonight, the two of us will sleep together. Your brother will sleep with your father, and Yingying will sleep in your brother's room."
Cheng Xin couldn't wait to pick up the clothes and work, and asked casually: "Mom, it seems that your cousin has never come to visit our family."
Xu Fengxia glanced at her daughter and sighed, "Now you understand why I am not in a hurry to get you married and why I am not helping you choose a marriage partner myself. I am afraid that you will end up like Liu Cuicui."
Xu Fengxia and Chen Ying's mother Liu Cuicui was a playmate since childhood. Liu Cuicui was rebellious and had her own ideas. She always went against the adults, including insisting on marrying far away, and almost broke off relations with her family because of this.
Liu Cuicui thought she had succeeded in her struggle and gained the freedom to marry, but she didn't know that she had turned around and jumped into a fire pit. Over the years, she was tortured by life and her personality changed drastically.
"Chen Ying is a poor child. The last time I went back to your grandmother's house, I heard that Liu Cuicui was confused and wanted to marry her daughter to a widower."
Cheng Xin's resentment towards Chen Ying eased a little. She originally thought that Chen Ying was a spoiled child at home, which was why she had no manners when eating and bullied her rabbit. She didn't expect that Chen Ying came to her house to visit relatives to seek refuge.
She couldn't help but feel a little worried: "We can let her stay temporarily in our house, but we can't let her stay forever."
Xu Fengxia shook her head: "Your grandmother means that it is best for Chen Ying to find someone of the same age who has the same conditions as us."
Cheng Xin thought her mother's idea was too simple: "Will her family let it go? If you act as a matchmaker, what will happen if Chen Ying's parents rely on the man's family? Our family will be in trouble."
Cheng Xin thought of the posts she often saw in her dreams, and blurted out a sentence: "Respect the fate of others and do not interfere with their karma. If we interfere with the karma of others, what if we are affected by retribution?"
Xu Fengxia was shocked by her: "When did you believe in Buddhism? It can't be that serious, right? Liu Cuicui was brainwashed by her mother-in-law. Her mother-in-law has a very serious idea of favoring boys over girls and doesn't treat her daughter as a human being."
The movement of the needle and sewing in Cheng Xin's hand almost became an afterimage. When the needle tip poked into the coarse cloth, the thread end had already been tied into a knot. She pinched the thimble at the end of the needle with three fingers and pushed and retracted it. The silver needle flew freely between her fingers, and the stitches on the edge of the patch were fine and neat.
"Mom, it's not that I believe in Buddhism, I just think it's best for you and grandma not to interfere in this matter. Our family should just treat her as a relative who is visiting us."
Xu Fengxia couldn't bear to see a good little girl being pushed into the fire pit by her parents.
"You...ah, you don't understand the relationship between Liu Cuicui and me. She must feel bad when she becomes like this."
Liu Cuicui dared to fight with boys when she was a child, so how come she became patriarchal after getting married?
Cheng Xin never thought about convincing her mother. Her mother had her own ideas, and she chose not to interfere or ask.
Cheng Cunzhi came in from outside and couldn't help coughing a few times.
Xu Fengxia complained to him: "It's cold outside at night, what are you doing sitting in the yard?"
Cheng Cunzhi said awkwardly, "I chatted with Tiezhu in the yard."
Tiezhu is our next-door neighbor. The couple works in a brick factory and is not at home during the day.
Cheng Xin changed the topic to her father.
"Mom, I'll give you the money from selling bamboo shoots, and I'll tell you something while I'm at it."
She took out her cloth bag, which contained a total of 27.33 yuan in cash.
Xu Fengxia counted them twice but still felt incredible: "Why did they sell so many? If I had known, I should have picked more bamboo shoots and dried them in the spring."
Cheng Xin pretended to be casual, boasting in her tone that she hadn't noticed: "Thanks to Comrade Geng's help, he divided the bamboo shoots into three parts. The biggest and best ones are sold at a higher price, while the ones of uneven lengths are sold at the same price as the purchasing station."
She also described in detail the process of selling dried bamboo shoots, including how she felt guilty at the time. Xu Fengxia and Cheng Cunzhi listened with great interest.
Xu Fengxia praised him, "As expected of someone who came from the military, he has seen a lot of things and has a good brain."
Cheng Cunzhi was very fond of Geng Yunye: "Comrade Geng is indeed a good person. It's all my fault that I have held you three back." If he were in good health, he would start preparing a dowry for his daughter now.
Cheng Xin changed the subject: "Speaking of Dad's illness, the doctor suggested that we take him to the county hospital for a checkup. Comrade Geng is using his connections to help buy penicillin."
Cheng Cunzhi immediately refused: "I am much better now, I just have a cough, there is no need to spend money to go to a big hospital."
Cheng Xin looked to her mother for help, and Xu Fengxia made the decision without hesitation: "Since the doctor has given her advice, you should listen to it. You can earn money if you lose it. If something happens to you, we can't put all the burden of our family on you."
Since his wife had spoken, Cheng Cunzhi had no choice but to accept reality.
He couldn't help but feel anxious. What if he really had a serious illness, making the already poor family even worse? What would happen to his wife and children?
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