"Xiaobao." The old lady cleared her throat and was about to say something when she took out a small bowl from the kitchen. Niu Niu with a greasy mouth interrupted her.
"Ma'am, grandma said that the bones in the pot are almost burnt dry, and asked you to go over quickly because she doesn't know how to cook them." The little girl smacked her lips, her face full of satisfaction, and it was obvious that she was very satisfied with the taste of the bowl of lard residue.
"Useless thing, you can't even cook a bowl of spareribs." The old lady stamped her feet and could only swallow the words that were on the tip of her tongue. Before leaving, she did not forget to remind the little devil a few words, "Don't eat it all, leave some for your uncle and your future uncle, no, Aunt Ruan Ruan."
The old lady almost let the cat out of the bag. She slapped her lips and walked into the house in a hurry.
The little girl looked at the bowl with some pain, and saw that there was still half a bowl of lard residue left in the bowl. Her mouth was greasy, and her white and tender little paws were also greasy. Gu Dongmei was afraid that her granddaughter would not be able to hold the chopsticks properly, so she specially washed her hands and let her eat with it. The little girl thought about the pile of small gifts given to her by her uncle and auntie, and grabbed a piece of lard residue with a very difficult expression, tilted her head, raised her chubby little arms high, and motioned Jiang Yiliu and Ruan Ruan to squat down and eat.
How could two adults fight with a four-year-old kid for food? They patted her head and let her go to play. Ruan Congzhao wanted to tease the annoying little girl, but Jiang Yiliu looked at him threateningly, so he could only look at the little girl and watch her jump away.
When Niu Niu saw that her food was saved, she cheered and ran to Dani's side with her big belly. She obediently ate the lard residue in the bowl. She looked so happy.
******
"This place has changed a lot from what I remember."
There was no shortage of manpower in the kitchen, and Grandpa Ruan was chatting happily with Old Man Jiang. Jiang Yilu simply took Ruan Ruan and Ruan Congzhao out for a walk. Niu Niu had already finished her small bowl of lard residue, and couldn't wait to be held by her uncle. Now she was happily nestling in Jiang Yilu's arms, following Ruan Congzhao to be the huge light bulb.
"Over the years, everyone's life has improved, and this village has naturally changed as well."
In Ruan Ruan's memory, most of the villagers in Qingshan Village still lived in mud houses. The houses were not big, and the small courtyards in front of the houses were randomly enclosed by fences. Sometimes children made noise on the roadside and broke the fences, but no one cared and just let them stand crookedly.
Now it has been nine years since she left. During these nine years, the changes in the village are not earth-shaking, but they are huge. First of all, this is reflected in the villagers' houses.
Since the land contract system was introduced in 1978, every household, except for the lazy ones, has been motivated and motivated. Especially after Jiang Yiliu bought vegetables at a high price, every household, in addition to growing enough food for their own consumption and the grain to be handed over to the state, has used the remaining vacant land to grow vegetables and spices needed by Jiang Yiliu, saving a lot of money every year. The villagers have money in their hands, and the first thing they do, besides marrying off their daughters, is to repair their houses.
Now, neatly-repaired brick-walled houses can be seen everywhere in Qingshan Village. Even the poorest families would build a layer of blue bricks outside their mud houses, which looked grand and generous. In the past, when planting things on their own private plots, they had to consider the number of family members and calculate the planting, for fear of accidentally cutting off the tail of capitalism. Now, hardworking women in every household take care of that small piece of private plot and make it full of vitality. Different vegetables are planted in different seasons, and the domestic chickens and ducks leisurely stroll in the small yard to peck insects, just waiting to fatten themselves up and send them to the owner's table.
The craze for black-and-white TVs in the Jiang family has passed. After all, the main hall of the Jiang family is so small that it can't fit dozens of people at most. Many people who went there early every day but couldn't get a seat were tempted by the TV and gritted their teeth to buy one for their family. Now, in the whole Qingshan Village, there are seven households with TVs.
Everyone's life is getting better and better, and they have a future to look forward to. Even their spirit is different from when Ruan Ruan left.
People from other villages envied Qingshan Village for having Jiang Yilu, who could bring such great benefits to the village. Several nearby villages even thought about sending their own vegetables here, but unfortunately the land in Qingshan Village alone was enough to meet Jiang Yilu's needs at that time. With the intervention of Mo Dashuan, they declined the offer but also promised the nearby villagers that their vegetables would be given priority once the production expanded in the future.
Because of this, Old Man Jiang was flattered wherever he went. Old Man Jiang, who had some complaints about Jiang Yiliu's business at the beginning, now had no objection at all. His grandson was not engaging in capitalism at all, this was simply a great thing that benefited the people.
At this moment, a cotton candy in the shape of a doll appeared in Niu Niu's hand from somewhere. Jiang Yilu guessed that Ruan Ruan had stuffed it into the little girl's hand when he didn't know. After all, he had never seen such candy in their area.
Niu Niu's expression was a little hesitant. She was drooling at the beautiful marshmallows, but she didn't dare to eat them: "It will hurt the doll if I eat it." Niu Niu held up the doll-shaped marshmallow in her hand. Jiang Yilu also thought that the candy was really well made. Even the facial features of the doll were carefully outlined with colorful sugar threads. No wonder Niu Niu didn't dare to eat it.
When Ruan Congzhao saw the little girl's conflicted expression, his facial features almost wrinkled together. Thinking of what he had failed to do just now, he couldn't help but start to make mean comments again.
"If you don't eat--"
“Ouch—”
Ruan Congzhao was just about to say that if the child refused to eat it, he could give it to him, but the little girl who had just been saying that she couldn't bear it bit off the baby's head without any hesitation, and chewed it, squinting her eyes happily.
What a terrible little girl! Ruan Congzhao was sweating silently, thinking that this baby would grow up to be a ruthless person.
The three of them were strolling along the country road with a child. Ruan Congzhao, the young master of a wealthy family, seemed like a country bumpkin at this moment. He was curious about everything. When he saw a wild flower or weed he had never seen before, he asked Jiang Yilu about it. After hearing that it was edible, he was eager to pick some to take back and taste it, but was quickly stopped by Jiang Yilu.
How can one or two plants be used to make a dish? If he really wants to eat it, you can go to the mountain and pick more next time so that he can have enough to taste.
"Brother..." Niu Niu ate the candy man very carefully. She ate the head first, then the two arms of the doll. Now she was about to eat the doll's small body, when she saw a doll younger than her on the side of the road staring at her with wide eyes, or perhaps staring at the small candy man in her hand.
Jiang Yilu looked in the direction Niu Niu was pointing, and saw a child about two or three years old standing alone on the edge of the field. Not only was there no adult watching him, but there wasn't even a older child to be seen.
Whose child is this? The adults are too careless. Although there are no kidnappers nowadays, people in the village will be alert when they see strangers. But a child of this age, even if he is not kidnapped, it will be a trouble if he falls or gets hurt.
"Brother eats——"
The little girl saw that the kid was staring at the half-eaten candy in her hand, touched her bulging belly, and thought that she had already eaten half a bowl of lard and half a candy man, and she would not be able to eat the delicious food made by her wife soon. She immediately reached out her hand and moved it towards the little boy, patting Jiang Yilu's shoulder, motioning him to squat and put her down.
"The little girl is quite generous."
Ruan Congzhao didn't realize that Niu Niu was a smart girl. He thought that this girl was quite kind and was willing to share the things she liked with others.
The little boy had a big head but a very thin body, so thin that Jiang Yilu almost felt that his body could not support his head. His clothes were dirty and had not been washed for many days. There was dirt on his cuffs, who knew whether it was snot or something else.
Niu Niu didn't mind at all that this little friend she had never met before was dirty, and she reached out to take the candy figure in her hand.
The little boy was so scared that he stepped back and almost fell off the ridge of the field. Jiang Yilu was quick to catch him.
"Jiujiu." Niu Niu pouted. Hasn't this brother always been looking at her candy man? Why doesn't he want it now that she has given it to him?
What Jiang Yilu wanted to know more was where the child came from so that he could send him back. Maybe the child had sneaked out, and his family had been looking for him anxiously for a long time.
"Whose child are you? What are your parents' names? Uncle will take you home, okay?" Jiang Yilu squatted down and coaxed the little boy softly, but he didn't know what he said to make the little boy unhappy. He scratched the back of Jiang Yilu's hand with his fingertips, and his nails, which had not been trimmed for a long time, cut a shallow cut on the back of his hand. Taking advantage of the pain, Jiang Yilu let go and ran to the other side with unsteady legs.
"Brother Xiaobao——"
"Ninety-nine——"
Several people looked at Jiang Yiliu nervously, especially Niu Niu, who felt very guilty, thinking it was her fault for wanting to give the candy to that bad brother, which led to the scratching of her uncle.
The little girl is not very old, but she knows how painful it feels. Every time she goes to the hospital when she is sick, the nurse gives her an injection. It's just a small hole, but it hurts her so much. How painful must it be for her uncle to have such a big cut on his hand?
"I'm fine." Jiang Yilu waved his hand indifferently. In fact, there were only a few scratches and swellings, and some slight skin breaks. Not even the blood seeped out. After all, the child was still young and could not cause much danger.
"Let's hurry up and keep an eye on the kid."
"No, my brother is bad." The little girl pouted, looking a little unhappy.
"Niuniu, don't be angry. Auntie will give you more candy later." The little girl was a little frightened just now, and the half-eaten candy in her hand fell to the ground. It was covered with mud and could not be eaten.
"Two. No, three." The little girl thought for a moment and held up four fingers. Ruan Ruan's nervousness was dispelled by her funny look. She nodded and agreed to her unreasonable terms.
When the little girl heard Ruan Ruan's agreement, she finally stopped pouting and turned around and stretched out her hand towards Ruan Congzhao.
Uncle's hand was scratched, and Auntie Wawa was a girl so she couldn't hold Ruan Ruan, so this bad uncle had to take care of her.
Ruan Congzhao was flattered, thinking that the little girl had taken a fancy to him. He was very pleased with her move away from darkness and turned to light, and happily reached out to hug her.
Heavy, very heavy, extremely heavy. Ruan Congzhao felt the heavy weight in his arms. He wanted to take back his little pride and return this love that was too heavy to Jiang Yilu who was standing beside him.
The two or three-year-old child had just learned to walk smoothly and could not run fast. Jiang Yilu and a few others followed not far behind until a woman with a hurried look on her face appeared at the bend and anxiously held the child in her arms. Jiang Yilu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"To, to Sister Hong——"
Jiang Yilu was a little reluctant to recognize the woman in front of him who looked to be in her thirties or forties. He remembered that Sister Xiang Hong was only a few years older than his eldest sister. How come she looked so much older after not seeing her for a few years?
"Xiaobao, you're back." Mo Xianghong's eyes were evasive, and he was obviously a little embarrassed.
"This is..." Jiang Yilu looked at the child she was holding tightly in her arms. This child should be her and Rong Jing's son.
"His name is Nian Gui, Rong Nian Gui, and he is the son of me and your brother-in-law." Mo Xianghong had obviously not had an easy time in recent years. Even though the old couple Mo Dashuan were still alive, the overt and covert bullying from her sisters-in-law and the gossips from the women in the village were enough to make this girl, who grew up carefree, suffer a lot.
"Nian Gui?" Jiang Yilu frowned. Sister Xiang Hong hadn't figured out why she gave her son such a name.
"Xiaobao, you have seen a lot when you are out. If you see your brother-in-law, tell him that Niangui and I are fine and tell him not to worry. Once everything is settled, come and pick me and the child up."
When Mo Xianghong mentioned her missing husband, she seemed full of confidence, naive and stupid.
The child in her arms has kept his head buried in her arms since she appeared, looking down on his expression at this moment.
"I have to go back to cook. Xiaobao, remember to keep an eye on your brother-in-law for me. Thank you." Mo Xianghong bowed to Jiang Yilu, then left in a hurry.
"What is she doing?" Ruan Congzhao didn't know the whole story, so he looked at Jiang Yilu in confusion and asked.
"She's just a woman who's dreaming and doesn't want to wake up. It's hard for that child." Jiang Yiliu really had nothing to say about Mo Xianghong. He didn't want to make fun of other people's private affairs, and he didn't explain to Ruan Congzhao. He sighed and took them away.
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