At this moment, Dong Letian was no longer in pain and could get up, doing so with remarkable ease.
After getting up, I quickly got to work.
After processing all the bamboo shoots, Mo Yan didn't give them any time to rest and went to cut down bamboo.
The bamboo was remarkably obedient in her hands; once sliced, it became very thin sheets that could be used directly for weaving.
“Weaving baskets and flower baskets requires skills. Why don’t you make a fence for me first? I’ve already taken care of it for you. All you need to do is weave them together.”
The three of them stared blankly at the bamboo on the ground... How do you weave it?
When they started working, they made a complete mess of things, and by nightfall they hadn't accomplished anything and their hands were injured.
At three in the morning, Mo Yan got up again and pulled the three of them out of bed to go pick bamboo shoots.
All three of them had extremely painful feet, especially their calves. Even the slightest touch was excruciating. Dong Letian didn't want to get up, but he was also afraid of being punished.
"Oh, my legs really hurt so much, I can't move them at all."
My legs felt like they were filled with lead; I couldn't lift them at all, and they were incredibly painful. Even turning over was excruciatingly painful.
"This is normal. I used to be like that too. You'll get used to it and it'll be fine."
"Get up quickly! We're an hour early today; let's see if you can make it in time to harvest the bamboo shoots."
Unfortunately, this time it was even slower because they were extremely tired. By the time they reached the mountains, it was already afternoon. They searched the whole area but didn't find many bamboo shoots. When they returned, the bamboo shoot collectors had already left, so they had no choice but to cook them.
They continued this routine every day, and a week later, they finally returned before the bamboo shoot harvesters left. They were almost in tears; during this time, they hadn't seen them for a single day, and they thought they would never earn any money.
The bamboo shoot collectors picked out all the substandard bamboo shoots they saw, including those that were too thin and looked bad, as well as those that had turned green. The three of them earned a total of two yuan and ten cents.
By this time, the one-month bamboo shoot season has ended. Although there will still be bamboo shoots afterward, they will no longer taste good and no one will harvest them.
Each person earned seven cents from harvesting bamboo shoots, and they were still trying to figure out how to do it, but the person wouldn't stay with them anymore; she was going to start harvesting corn.
The corn harvest in the village is like this: today I help your family, tomorrow you help my family.
With everyone working together, we'll finish harvesting soon. Every day, Mo Yan has to go to other people's houses to help, and the three of them also need to help out at home.
Seeing that her daughter had gone out to work, the old lady immediately took her grandson and prepared to go to her other daughters' homes to ask for some money.
She's been really miserable lately. Before, she could at least buy some snacks and give her grandson some pocket money, but now she has nothing.
When they arrived at the second daughter's house, they were very polite and invited them in. They even cooked a meal for them, but they didn't ask for any money.
“I’m your mother, shouldn’t you give me some money to spend? Are you just going to stand by and watch me suffer under your older sister’s thumb?”
The old lady was furious and started scolding her daughter.
"Mom, it's no use saying anything today. I don't even have any money myself. I haven't even settled the tuition fees for my children yet. Where am I supposed to get money for you? My older sister said she'll take care of you. You don't need to spend any money."
old lady:"……"
"You really won't give me any at all."
The second daughter nodded. "No, it's not that I don't want to give it to you, but my other sisters won't either. If you don't believe me, go and try it."
old lady:"……"
The old lady didn't believe her other daughters had done the same thing, so she went to see several more of them, but they didn't get a single penny either, and could only return home in a huff.
Dong Lele and Dong Leyu went to the mountain to pick chestnuts and dig for medicinal herbs with their friends.
They learned from the other children in the village that there are actually many ways to make money. As long as you work hard, you can earn money, even if it's just a few cents sometimes. But little by little, it adds up.
After Mo Yan finished her work, the two girls had earned four cents. They earned it slowly by collecting herbs. The herbs they knew weren't worth much, so they would sell them in town after finding them, and they might only make one or two cents each time.
As for Dong Letian, he just lies at home all day, neither doing any work nor helping out.
Mo Yan hit him so hard he couldn't get out of bed. "If you don't want to get out of bed, then don't."
Mo Yan and two girls made roasted chestnuts and chestnut cakes, which they sold at the market.
The chestnuts were picked from the mountain, which took a lot of effort, flour, and eggs. The mother and daughter got up at four o'clock every day to start making them, and they worked until the day before school started. They were still three yuan short of tuition fees.
"Mom, what should we do?"
Dong Lele and Dong Leyu were a little worried; they finally realized just how difficult it had been for their mother.
How difficult it must have been for their mother to raise them all by herself.
"How about I go and borrow some money from my second uncle?"
Yes, they also have two uncles, but they live in another village. They've never had any contact with each other. They both feel it's shameful for their younger brother to become a live-in son-in-law, so naturally they don't want to associate with him. Of course, there's another matter at play.
Back then, because two of the three children were registered under their father's name, they were naturally eligible to be allocated land in the area. However, the second uncle felt that they shouldn't be allocated land, but Dong Lele's father still took them to the land allocation site.
Originally, when they were first registered residents, they were assigned according to their household registration. It was because they weren't registered in the same household that Dong Lecai would constantly say that they were all outsiders.
In short, because of these things, they stopped having contact and would only exchange greetings if they bumped into each other.
"No need, I'll register you. Please allow me two days, teacher."
Mo Yan's words made the two girls even more upset. "Mom, what about Dong Letian's tuition? Isn't his shortfall even greater?"
"Don't worry, high school tuition can be paid in installments. Just pay it before the end of the semester. Just focus on your studies and don't worry about anything else. Remember to give the school the food you bring every week."
Their school operates like this: students bring food every week, and the school prepares it all. There are also regulations regarding how much rice, flour, vegetables, and meat each child can bring.
When divided among the children, each child receives less.
"Okay." They should have been very happy, but at this moment they felt depressed and very uncomfortable.
The pain is indescribable; it's like I didn't know I was blessed in the past.
Mo Yan took her two daughters to register, handed over the grain, and then went back.
After returning home, I sold some of the grain to pay off my tuition.
Before she even took Dong Letian there, the old lady took out fifty yuan, looking a little embarrassed. "Well, this is my most precious money. Let me tell you, my grandson definitely needs to go to school. You can't let my grandson not go to school."
She knew perfectly well that her daughter didn't have enough money.
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