After winter, the situation in the village became increasingly severe. Fewer and fewer people came to the literacy classes, and even those who came became increasingly sad, as many families had no food to eat.
He saw with his own eyes that villagers went out in groups early in the morning. In the cold winter, there could only be one thing for farmers to go out: begging.
The county requires an increase in per-acre yield. The result of the increase in yield is that more grain has to be paid as public grain. This winter is destined to be another long famine for the people of Qinjiazhuang.
Qin Xiaoyun stood at the door with Qin Huai, watching the long stream of people, tears streaming down her face as she said, "Brother, in previous years I was always the first to go out with everyone. It's so cold walking barefoot on the snow in winter."
Qin Huai said distressedly: "Don't cry, I won't let you beg for food again."
Xiaomi's face was also filled with fear: "Brother, thank goodness you are here." The family had only been out of food for a few days, but the feeling of hunger still lingered in their genes.
Although Qin Laoshuan still came to the literacy class, he was no longer as energetic as when there were many people around. Qin Huai saw him drowsy several times, with several keys jingling on his waistband.
This situation directly led to the commune's originally planned courses not starting, and they had already started rescuing people everywhere.
While cleaning the house, he found a jar on the ground, a large ceramic jar that was more than one meter tall.
Old Man Qin patted the thick wall of the jar and said, "This is the wheat silo passed down from my grandfather. He once said that if this jar could ever be filled with grain, his life would not be in vain. But unfortunately, he never saw the day when it was filled with wheat."
Qin Xiaoyun said, "This jar can probably hold 300 kilograms of grain. If it's full, we won't have to go hungry all winter."
In Qinhuai's time, no one would take 300 kilograms of grain seriously, but it is the dream of every rural person today.
"Teacher Qin, Teacher Qin..." Someone called him outside. When he went out, he saw that it was his neighbor Huang Qiaomei, a tall and thin woman in her thirties with dry long hair and patched clothes. She would take out her pipe from her pocket and take a few puffs like a man at any time.
She is one of Qin Huai's die-hard fans.
Huang Qiaomei, like her two children, is illiterate. The child is said to be less than ten years old, younger than Qin Xiaoyun and her sister. He can only work at home because he has no money to go to school.
In that era, getting married meant working for someone else, having a few more children, and raising them. That was life.
The villagers nicknamed her "Dried Bean." The older you get, the more wrinkled your skin becomes, the more it resembles dried beans. She puffed on her pipe as she spoke, relieving the pressures of life only by smoking.
Although she was very thin, her belly was bulging, as if she was pregnant. Qin Huai didn't know that she had become ill due to hunger. He asked, "Auntie, what's the matter with you?"
"Is the girl home? I'm going to the back mountain to dig grass roots."
Qin Xiaoyun responded from inside, "Auntie, wait a moment, I'll be out soon."
As she spoke, she also walked out of the house carrying a small basket. Qin Huai said, "Auntie, thank you for thinking of us."
Huang Qiaomei said: "Why thank me? We are all from the same village."
Seeing that she seemed to be walking in an abnormal way, Qin Huai said again: "Auntie, there is something wrong with your stomach. Ask Qin Xiaozui to help you take a look. It doesn't look like you are pregnant."
"Country people are not that precious. If you get pregnant, you give birth. If you don't, you die. I have lived enough anyway." Huang Qiaomei said nonchalantly.
Qin Huai said, "Don't talk nonsense. You still have two children that young."
The two children, who were not sure whether they were boys or girls, heard Qin Huai talking about them, grinned and called him, "Brother Qin Huai."
Qin Huai's heart seemed to be blocked by something.
"It's okay, Teacher Qin, don't worry." After she said that, she asked the two children to go with her.
When they came back, Qin Xiaoyun only dug a few tree roots in her basket. Qin Huai asked Huang Qiaomei what she had found, and Qin Xiaoyun said, "She dug some Guanyin soil and a basket of tree leaves. I guess she's going to eat the leaves steamed with Guanyin soil when she gets back."
"Guanyin soil?"
Qin Xiaoyun didn't seem to care and said, "Brother, we've eaten it before, have you forgotten?" As she spoke, she washed the tree roots, put them in a stone mortar, and crushed them hard with a stone hammer.
Watching her skillful movements, Qin Huai didn't stop her but said, "Get up and let me do it. I'm strong."
Qin Xiaoyun said, "Brother, you've never done this before, so let me do it."
Qin Huai sat aside and watched her movements. He exerted too much force and began to sweat on his forehead. Her face had become more rosy than when he first came. After working for a while, she turned to Qin Huai and said, "Brother, you must be thirsty."
Qin Huai shook his head and said, "Just focus on your own things and don't worry about me. We don't have much firewood at home. I'll go to the mountains to chop some."
He didn't dare to stay here any longer, and didn't dare to think about the suffering the little girl had suffered in the past.
Eating tree leaves and Guanyin soil is heartbreaking just thinking about it. Those are things that can kill people. Poor Qin Huai knows better than this. It is already difficult for him to save himself now. If he wants to generously support Huang Qiaomei's family, the people in the village who are short of food will devour them immediately.
Take care of yourself first.
When he came back from the mountain, Qin Xiaoyun and her sister were standing at the door waiting eagerly. Qin Xiaoyun said anxiously, "Brother, let's go to Aunt Huang's house and see her. She's dying."
"How could that be? Wasn't he fine this morning?"
Qin Xiaoyun's face turned pale as she said, "It's made by eating Guanyin soil."
Qin Huai hurriedly put down the firewood and ran to Huang Qiaomei's house, and saw her two children at the door, one of them was sticking out his butt, and the other was reaching into his butt.
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