Time passed as the donkey cart swayed slowly. There was a thick mattress in the cart. The people, who had been worried for many days, fell into a deep sleep. When they were woken up by Jiang Dahai, they still looked dizzy and didn't know where they were.
Huo Wu was the first to wake up. He criticized himself for not being alert in his heart, and then turned his attention to Ruan Ruan standing beside him.
The four-year-old girl was sleeping so soundly that even Jiang Dahai's voice did not wake her up. Her little head was resting on the little boy beside her, her cheeks were squeezed flat, her little mouth was slightly open, and there was a suspicious shiny liquid hanging from the corner of her mouth.
This was almost impossible in the past. Since he lost his parents at a very young age, Ruan Ruan has always been a lonely and sensitive child. In the past, he and Ruan Lao were busy with affairs outside and did not know how to take care of a little girl, so they safely handed the child to the wives of Ruan Lao Er and Ruan Lao San to take care of her, and even hired a nanny to help take care of her.
At that time, the Ruan family lived in the old house in Haicheng. All the children played together. Ruan Ruan's food, clothing and other aspects were the best among the children. They never doubted anything. They only hated that those people hid it too well. He and Old Ruan had not discovered what kind of life Ruan Ruan lived for all these years.
Unfortunately, it was too late when he discovered it. Huo Wu closed his eyes and tried not to think about the urge to kill when he first discovered that scene.
Ruan Ruan has become more timid now. She always sleeps uneasily every night and will be woken up by the slightest noise. They have tried many methods and seen many doctors, but to no avail. Heart disease needs to be treated with heart medicine. Since then, he and Old Ruan were no longer at ease to leave Ruan Ruan to others to take care of her, so they simply kept the child with them.
Being away from the people over there, Ruan Ruan's worries naturally eased a little. However, it might also be because of the experiences over the years that the little child became particularly sensible and didn't make any noise, fearing that they would be unhappy. This made him and Old Ruan see it with their own eyes and feel pain in their hearts.
Huo Wu clenched his fists. He still remembered the promise he made to Ruan Ruan's father before his death. In this life, he would protect Ruan Ruan well and would never let her be bullied by anyone. Previous mistakes could not be undone. From today on, he would take good care of Ruan Ruan. Perhaps being demoted was not a bad thing.
Huo Wu looked at the sleeping child with pity. During this period, he and Old Ruan were busy dealing with problems in the outside world and within the family, and were busy arranging a way out for several people. They had neglected Ruan Ruan. She must have been worried and scared these days.
"Be gentle. It's cold at night. Wrap yourself in a blanket to prevent you from catching a cold." Jiang Yiluo gave orders calmly. He took out a thick blanket from somewhere and handed it to Huo Wu, asking him to wrap Ruan Ruan with it.
The little girl wrapped in a thick blanket finally felt at ease. She found the most comfortable position in Huo Wu's arms and fell asleep sweetly.
Huo Wu looked at the little boy who was only as tall as his thigh but was more attentive and caring than him. He was silent for a moment. He felt as if he had just seen the shadow of an old mother in a five-year-old child. This must be his illusion.
"Oh, Dahai, your son is really sensible."
Ruan Yuanjiang, who was standing by, loosened his muscles, which had become stiff from sitting for too long, and said with a smile.
Jiang Dahai touched his head, feeling extremely proud. His son was of course the best. He was a little modest, saying, "This child has always been very sensible. He has always taken care of Si Ni at home. Farmers' children are all like this."
Ruan Yuanjiang paused in rubbing his shoulders, and the smile on his face became a little stiff. If he remembered correctly, Jiang Dahai's fourth daughter seemed to be a little older than Yiliu. Did Dahai say the wrong thing?
Bai Fangqiu smiled and expressed his appreciation for Jiang Yilu's behavior of handing over the blanket. It was rare to find a child so young but so attentive.
However, after spending more time with them, he will see with his own eyes how Jiang Yilu, as a younger brother, protects his sisters like children like an old mother. By then, he will clearly realize how shallow his thoughts were at that time.
The livestock shed is very close to the brigade headquarters.
It was so late. The old man Mo who used to look after the livestock passed away last year. Now there was no one to guard the barn. Each household took turns to patrol. The barn was too old and there was a hole in the roof. It was leaking. Sleeping there in the cold weather could freeze you to death. Few villagers were willing to spend the night there. At most, they would be diligent and get up more often to run around when it was their turn to keep watch.
When Jiang Dahai and a few others went there, it was completely silent except for the snoring of livestock.
As soon as you approach the livestock shed, you will be hit by the stench of feces. In the village, livestock feces are a good thing and are used as fertilizer. Every few days, the villagers will come to clean up the feces accumulated in the shed.
When Old Man Mo was alive, he was very diligent. He would clean the barn every day and pile up the manure, so that the smell would not be so strong. Obviously, no one came to clean up the manure today. The smell made several people who used to live in the metropolis feel like vomiting.
However, they were all experienced people and knew that this smell might be a smell that would often accompany them in the future. They held back their facial expressions and only twitched slightly at the corners of their mouths.
Jiang Yilu had been paying attention to the expressions of several people since he entered the livestock shed. Seeing that they did not show any expressions of disgust or contempt, he felt slightly satisfied.
He was worried that these people could not endure this kind of life, but now it seems that they are all mentally strong people.
Jiang Dahai separated the donkey from the cart, drove the donkey into the donkey shed, and locked the shed to prevent the donkey from escaping. Jiang Yilu helped add some feed to the trough, and after doing everything, he led them to the brigade headquarters, and they arrived not long after.
At this time, the team headquarters was brightly lit. In addition to the team leader Mo Dashuan and Old Man Jiang, there were three other people standing there, all of whom were team cadres and respected elders in the village. One was the team accountant Cheng Ming, one was the women's director Yang Xiu, and the other was a retired veteran Sun Rong. Like Old Man Jiang, he had been on the battlefield to kill the devils. In Qingshan Village, both of them were very prestigious people.
Jiang Cheng was so excited when he saw his old teammate, but the old leader said in the telegram he sent that their relationship had to be kept secret. He was afraid of implicating them, so even though he was excited, he didn't dare to go up and recognize him.
Ruan Yuanjiang and Jiang Dahai had obviously been informed of this. From the moment they stepped into the brigade headquarters, the two sides were like strangers, far from the harmony they had just had.
Jiang Yilu was held in Jiang Dahai's arms, deep in thought.
Mo Dashuan and a few others were sitting around the octagonal table in the lobby of the brigade headquarters. There was a brazier in the room, and the whole room was warm, a far cry from the biting cold outside.
Jiang Yiluo breathed a sigh of relief the moment he entered the door, looked at Ruan Ruan's rosy little face in Huo Wu's arms, and felt relieved.
"Are these the people who were demoted?" Mo Dashuan stepped forward and took the document from Jiang Dahai. He looked at the three people, a thin old man and an elegant old man. It seemed that only the strongest young man was a little dangerous, but looking at the appearance of the three, none of them looked like a bad guy.
"Brother Mo, these three are the stinking ninths assigned to our village by the higher-ups and required to undergo labor reform." Jiang Dahai pointed at the people behind him and said, "This is Bai Fangqiu, the former director of the Ducheng People's Hospital. This is Ruan Yuanjiang, a professor at Huaqing University, who is also a decadent bourgeois. And this Huo Wu is from the army. He violated military discipline and was required to go to the countryside for labor reform."
The people present were a little shocked. What kind of status were these? In the past, they were the imperial physician and the top scholar. They looked at Bai Fangqiu and Ruan Yuanjiang standing there, and suddenly felt that the two looked very different. Their figures suddenly became taller, and they all felt ashamed of themselves. They were just a room of peasants, and they really wanted these nobles to do those menial jobs?
The letter from above stated that these three people were required to live in the most shabby house and do the hardest work, but no matter how you look at it, among these three, only Huo Wu is able to work.
"Captain, what do you think we should do?" Yang Xiu asked, pulling Mo Dashuan's sleeve. He then pointed at the little girl in Huo Wu's arms and said, "Why did you bring a little girl here? What should we do with her?"
Ruan Yuanjiang knew from Jiang Cheng's eyes who was the real boss in the village, and said to Mo Dashuan with a bitter face: "This is my granddaughter. Her parents died in the Vietnam War. I am her only relative. I really have no choice but to bring the child with me. Don't worry, the child will be with me. Just give her some of my food."
People in labor reform also have work points calculated, but they do a lot but get few work points. According to Ruan Yuanjiang's physical condition, I'm afraid the work points he gets are not enough to support himself.
However, the Ruan family was also considered a giant in the past. Although he donated most of his property, he still kept a lot of good things privately. Any one of these things could be exchanged for enough food for their grandparents and grandchildren to eat for a lifetime.
Ruan Yuanjiang felt a little relieved when he thought of the food coupons sewn into the lining of his clothes.
Children of martyrs? Several people did not ask why the father of the martyr was demoted, because they knew the reason in their hearts. However, they inexplicably had a little more respect for the child. People in this era were still very simple and honest. They always looked up to the children of those who sacrificed their lives for the country.
Sun Rong was the best among them. Back then, so many of his comrades died in the artillery fire, leaving behind a family of orphans and widows. Life was particularly difficult. Whenever he could save some money, he would send it to the relatives of those dead comrades. In his eyes, Ruan Ruan was just like the daughter of his comrades.
He had a bad temper and started yelling, "It's just a little girl. Can't our Qingshan Village afford to raise a little girl? Let her live in our village peacefully. As long as I have food to eat, I will never let her go hungry."
Mo Dashuan knew Uncle Sun's temper, so he didn't say anything. Instead, he asked Jiang Cheng, "Uncle Jiang, what do you think?"
Jiang Cheng didn't know how his old friend brought his granddaughter here, and he didn't think much about it. He agreed with Sun Rong's words: "She is a martyr's child, and a child can't eat much food. If the village is unwilling to pay, then I will pay. The old man's monthly subsidy is enough to support a child."
Naturally, no one else had any objection, so Ruan Ruan was decided to stay.
Next, the topic of discussion was about food, accommodation and labor for several people.
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