In the yard, Gu Bao was being held back by Gu Tiezhu and was running away, howling like a ghost.
Zhang Cuifen bit the thread, put away the needle, and blew out the kerosene lamp. As her youngest son looked for help, she handed a cane to Gu Tiezhu and said, "Don't be too harsh. You still have to go to work tomorrow."
Gu Bao was completely desperate.
It was almost twelve o'clock and the yard finally became quiet.
Gu Qingqing lay on the bed, looked at the moon obscured by clouds outside the window, and turned over.
People don't sleep as much as they get older. Just as a glimmer of light appeared in the dark sky, Zhang Cuifen tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep.
Hearing the thunderous snoring of Gu Tiezhu next to him, he kicked him on the leg, sat up and put on his cloth shoes.
She opened the curtain and saw a figure moving in the yard, which made her alert. She walked closer and saw that it was her granddaughter carrying firewood and heading to the kitchen, so she breathed a sigh of relief.
"My dear."
"Grandma!" Gu Qingqing was startled by the sudden appearance of Zhang Cuifen. She dropped a few pieces of firewood from her arms, and Zhang Cuifen bent down to pick them up.
"Why don't you sleep a little longer? It's not even daybreak yet."
"I have to go to work in half an hour. I have to get up and cook. I don't know if I can make it in time." Gu Qingqing said helplessly: "It's already half past five. Usually at this time, Master Xu would have already blown the whistle and shouted to get up."
"Huh? It's half past five? Your mother and second aunt haven't woken up yet." Zhang Cuifen looked up at the gradually brightening sky and complained, "What happened to old man Xu today? Did he oversleep?"
As the leader of the production team, Grandpa Xu was always undeterred and unmoved, always patrolling the village and blowing the whistle at 5 o'clock to wake up the villagers, cook and get ready for work.
Such absences are not common today.
"Maybe something has delayed him." Gu Qingqing sat in front of the stove and started a fire. "Grandma, why don't you just steam some sweet potatoes and cook some wild vegetable soup, and then roast some corn and take it to the fields to eat."
It was too late to cook. She got up late and could only eat a few bites and leave. Now she couldn't take care of so many people. She had to go to the threshing ground to harvest grain today.
Zhang Cuifen was a quick-witted person. She was peeling sweet potatoes as soon as her granddaughter finished speaking. "This is the only way. Honey, roast some more corn. It's easy to get hungry because of the heavy work now."
"Hey!" Gu Qingqing added a few more corns with unpeeled green shells into the stove.
The Gu family got up one after another, yawning and rubbing their eyes. Zhang Cuifen wiped her face with a coarse towel and scolded Grandpa. The whole family went out to work while eating sweet potatoes and corn.
As soon as she walked out of the courtyard gate, she ran into Qian Guihua's husband Zhao San. Gu Qingqing bit her corn and said incoherently, "Uncle Zhao."
"It's Qingqing." Zhao San was also chewing a sweet potato and holding a sickle in his left hand. The team did not have enough farm tools, so some villagers had to bring their own.
Glancing at Gu Xiong who was carrying a shoulder pole, Zhao San ate the sweet potato peels clean and threw them into the vegetable patch next to him. He turned to Gu Yin and sighed, "I don't know what happened to Uncle Xu today. I almost slept until noon. If it weren't for the rooster crowing loudly, I would have lost my work points today."
Gu Yin didn't know what was going on with the uncle, he shook his head and said, "We'll know soon."
Seeing that he didn't say anything after saying this, Zhao San remembered that Gu Laoer was a person who couldn't be beaten even with three sticks, so he simply turned around and talked to Gu Xiong.
This kid is much more lively than his father.
Gu Bao was beaten up yesterday, and today he followed Gu Tiezhu and Gu Jin listlessly. Han Lianxin saw the excitement and didn't mind making a fuss: "A Bao, you walk with a limp, how are you going to carry the load later?"
Gu Bao rubbed his butt, looked at the back of his father's head in front of him with resentment, and ignored his second sister-in-law's laughter.
Tiezhu was really cruel, so he could only go to harvest rice today.
Gu Qingqing gave the remaining corn to her mother and said, "I'm going to the threshing ground. I heard that Aunt Zhao is going to be my partner today. I'll check it out then."
Shi Rushuang knew that the lady was talking about her man becoming the captain, so she took the cloth bag and said, "It's not a real thing, don't take it too seriously. If your father can become the captain, then he can be the captain. If he can't, don't be sad." Seeing that the lady was very concerned about this matter, she couldn't help but remind her to avoid being disappointed.
"My daughter knows!" Gu Qingqing ran to another fork in the road and waved back: "I will go to the fields to help you after I finish carting the rice!"
Shi Rushuang saw the young lady disappear in a flash, and shook her head in amusement, "You have such an impetuous temper, I don't know who you inherited it from, neither of your two brothers is as lively as you."
Zhang Cuifen said, "Girls should be energetic. Qingqing has been raised by dozens of grandparents. The Gu family has produced such a precious child in three generations. She should be happy."
Not to mention his own uncles and cousins, even the uncles and cousins from Gu Tiezhu and his brothers' side all love this only child.
When Han Lianxin heard her mother-in-law and sister-in-law talking about her niece, she stopped teasing Gu Bao and came over to ask, "Sister-in-law, our Qingqing will be eighteen next year. When I was her age, Xiong was already two or three years old. Isn't it time to find a marriage for her?"
Without waiting for Shi Rushuang to answer, Zhang Cuifen glanced at her and said, "Someone has asked you about Qingqing, don't promise anything to others outside. Her two brothers are in charge of her marriage, you just need to find a match for Xiongwa, and don't interfere in Qingqing's affairs."
Han Lianxin nodded awkwardly: "It was the matchmaker Wang from the next village who told me that many people were asking about our relationship. Don't worry, mother. I will explain it to her next time."
Zhang Cuifen nodded: "Let's do it this way."
Shi Rushuang was afraid that Han Lian was overthinking, so she said softly, "Don't get me wrong, sister-in-law. Canyang and Qinglie said before they went to the army that they would choose Qingqing's marriage. If there is a guy in the army who likes someone, they will write to the family. So I, as a mother, can't make the decision on Qingqing's marriage."
Han Lianxin was a carefree person to begin with. After hearing what her sister-in-law had said, the knot in her heart was finally untied. She smiled and said, "The one that Canyang and Qinglie like must be the best. Our Qingqing will definitely marry into a good family in the future."
Shi Rushuang hugged her arm and smiled: "Then I'll borrow her good words."
Gu Qingqing arrived at the sun-drying field just as the sun was rising. Before she saw anyone, she heard Qian Guihua's loud and piercing voice:
"My dear! Come quickly, Aunt Zhao wants to tell you something."
Seeing her mysterious attitude, Gu Qingqing quickened her pace: "Aunt Zhao, do you have any good news to tell me?"
Qian Guihua scooped up a handful of millet and poured it into the windmill. She said in a loud voice, "Hey, it's good news. Uncle Xu didn't blow the whistle today. Do you know why?"
She also kept it a secret.
Gu Qingqing shook the windmill, and the dry rice leaves were blown out and fell into a pile. "Why?" She followed Qian Guihua's words.
"Uncle Xu is not in good health and has retired!" Qian Guihua reached into the windmill and rummaged around a few times, letting the grain fall into the windmill. "Your father should have been called to the commune by now. When he comes back, he will be the leader of the production team of Datunzi Village and Dagouzi Village!"
Gu Qingqing's face was full of surprise. No wonder she didn't hear Master Xu blowing the whistle this morning. It turned out that he was going to change people.
Was it really Daddy who took over? In addition to her joy, she was also a little worried.
Dad is indeed a bit stupid, and I don’t know if he can take on this responsibility.
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