"Xiaobao, Xiaobao, are you home?"
There were ghostly howling sounds coming from the courtyard. Jiang Yilu's eyelids twitched wildly. Judging from the sound, those people came to his house today.
Jiang Sini, who was sitting next to him, was very happy. She climbed down from the kang swiftly, opened the door, and let in the group of children outside.
"Brother Yiliu--" Ruan Ruan looked at the four children who rushed in, and moved closer to Jiang Yiliu nervously.
The first person who ran in was a little boy wearing a hat and a gray cloth coat. He looked about the same age as Jiang Yilu, thin and small like a monkey, with small eyes that exuded a lively look. His nose was red from the cold. He cheered as he saw the kang was heating up, took off his shoes and climbed up.
He took off his hat, revealing a shiny forehead, and smiled at Jiang Yilu who was lying on the kang, showing a row of white front teeth. When his eyes glanced at Ruan Ruan, he paused.
"Guangpiao, you ran too fast and didn't even wait for me."
The second person to come in was a little fat boy with chubby cheeks. When he ran, the flesh on the sides of his face swayed, making people want to pinch him.
The cotton-padded jacket he was wearing was brand new, clean and beautiful, but it was a little too big and looked a little empty on this little fat boy.
This is also the custom of this era. Whether it is making clothes or shoes, people like to make them a little bigger. Children grow up quickly, and if they are made to fit tightly, they will soon be unable to wear them.
"It's because you're too fat. I'm not saying anything bad to you, Tiedan, but you should eat less in the future. If you have leftovers, you can let me help you eat them." Guangpiao winked at the fat boy and said jokingly.
The little boy called Tiedan ignored him, took off his shoes and climbed onto the kang, glaring at the little boy called Guangpiao.
Then two little girls followed Si Ni in.
A little girl with two pigtails on her head, red lips and white teeth, walked in with a little girl with dry hair and shabby clothes.
They were all four or five years old.
When Jiang Yiliu's eyes turned to the timid little girl, he was dazed for a moment, and then a trace of vigilance flashed across his face. However, in front of so many people, he did not show it. With a smile on his face, he patted the empty seat next to him and asked everyone to come up together.
The first three were children from Qingshan Village. The first bald boy was called Jiang Botong, the grandson of Jiang Cheng’s eldest cousin. He and Jiang Yilu were also distant cousins.
He hated washing his hair the most. Every time he did, it felt like it was going to kill him. He howled like a ghost. So his mother simply took him to the barber at the entrance of the village and had him shaved bald. This way, he didn't have to wash his hair anymore. He could just wipe his hair when he washed his face every day.
Over time, no one called him by his real name anymore, and started calling him Guangpiao instead. He himself quite liked this name, and he would be happy every time someone called him that.
The second little fat boy's full name is Gao Quanshun, nicknamed Tiedan. His family is one of the richest families in Qingshan Village. His father is a soldier and sends a lot of subsidies back every month. He is the only child in the family and all the things are for him, so he has developed this fat body.
The third pretty and lovely girl was called Mo Xiangfang. She was the youngest daughter of the team leader Mo Dashuan. She was also the most beautiful girl in the whole village before Ruan Ruan appeared.
The Mo family has no habit of favoring sons over daughters. They love sons and daughters equally, and daughters are even more favored.
Mo Xiangfang's eldest sister Mo Xianghong is the first girl in the village to go to school. Unfortunately, the junior high school in the city is now suspended. Mo Xianghong, who has completed the primary school curriculum, can only go home and help with housework.
Mo Xiangfang has three older brothers, all of whom are already in their prime. Except for the eldest brother who got married and moved out, the other two brothers still live together. The family earns a lot of work points and is willing to spend money on the youngest sister. Mo Xiangfang has always had the most clothes and hair ornaments in the village, and is the one that the girls in the village envy the most.
These three people are the friends Jiang Yilu made after his rebirth. To be more precise, they are three friends who found him on their own.
In her previous life, Jiang Lai Di had endless work to do every day. She was dark, thin and very timid, so naturally she never made any good friends.
When she was older, Jiang Dazhen took her to the city to go to school. By then, Jiang Laidie had begun to grow up and her temper had improved a lot, but she had completely lost contact with Qingshan Village, let alone making friends with her peers in the village.
Jiang Yilu also didn't know why these three people would take the initiative to stick to him in this life. You know, in the previous life, these three were the leaders of all the children in the village. It would not be an exaggeration to say that among the children in Qingshan Village, they could command the support of almost everyone.
In fact, the reason why they all stuck to him was thanks to his current face.
Loving beauty is everyone's nature. In this life, Jiang Yilu has good food, good clothes and is fair and tender. If Mo Xiangfang is the village flower among the children, then he is the shining village grass.
Moreover, perhaps because he had raised a child himself in his previous life, Jiang Yilu was particularly patient with these noisy little brats. Although they were about the same age, he gave people a sense of security and tolerance. Perhaps because of this, the children in the village liked him very much.
"Xiaobao, I heard that you were beaten by your mother early this morning. I didn't expect that there would be a day when you would get beaten too." Guangpiao winked at Jiang Yilu and reached out to pull down his pants to see if the wound on his butt was serious.
It was common for children in the village to be beaten, but it was unusual for Jiang Yilu to do so.
He was the child of other families in the eyes of all the children in the village. Well-behaved, sensible, and obedient, all the praises they could think of were not enough to describe the perfect image that Jiang Yi left in the eyes of the parents in Qingshan Village.
Which child of this age doesn't act naughty and playful? Instead, he helps his family with things and politely calls the villagers "auntie" and "uncle". Looking at the clean and white Jiang Yilu, and then looking at the skinny black monkey with snot rolling out of the mud, there is really no harm without comparison.
But such a well-behaved and obedient child was beaten today. Isn't this just the sun rising in the west? When the three heard about this, they hurried to the Jiang family.
Jiang Yilu was a girl in her previous life after all, so how could she let others see her butt so easily? She held on to her pants tightly to prevent Guangpiao from succeeding.
"Don't pull Brother Yiliu's pants, he doesn't want you to see." Ruan Ruan blinked her big eyes and looked at Guangpiao as if he was a bad boy. Her voice was so soft that it made people unable to get angry.
"Ahem..." Guangpiao subconsciously let go of his hand, glanced at the little girl who looked like a New Year picture doll, blushed and didn't do anything else, which finally made Jiang Yilu breathe a sigh of relief.
Guangpiao's behavior does not mean he is in love, and he does not have such awareness at this age. It is just a subconscious reaction when he sees a good-looking person of the opposite sex.
"Xiaobao, why did your mother hit you?" Tiedan felt sorry for his friend when he saw him being beaten. "Next time your mother hits you, tell your grandmother. Then she won't dare to hit you anymore."
Tiedan felt that he had come up with a good idea. His mother said that Xiaobao's mother only dared to take action because Grandma Miao was not at home. She would be in trouble when Grandma Miao came back.
Tiedan didn’t know what it meant, but as long as Xiaobao didn’t get beaten anymore, it was fine.
"It's okay, I don't feel any pain at all." Jiang Yiliu grinned and smiled. No matter why his mother beat him, he didn't intend to complain about it.
Firstly, he did do something wrong, and others would forgive him because he was a five-year-old child, but he knew that he was no longer a five-year-old child. Secondly, if his grandmother hated his mother, the family would be in chaos again. He was very satisfied with his current life. Although he might never respect those elders, he would still do everything a child should do.
Mo Xiangfang didn't come here to get beaten up because of Jiang Yilu. She had heard that a very pretty girl had come to the Jiang family. This made Mo Xiangfang, who always thought she was the prettiest, feel a little frustrated. She couldn't help but come over to see what the girl who never went out looked like.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t look at it, Mo Xiangfang will be fascinated by it as soon as she sees it.
This little sister is so cute! When Mo Xiangfang saw her, she remembered the doll she saw in a tall shopping mall when she went to visit relatives in the provincial capital last time.
The doll has fair skin, big blue eyes, curly hair, and many beautiful little dresses to replace.
Unfortunately, the doll was too expensive and required foreign exchange coupons. No matter how much the Mo family loved their daughter, they couldn't afford foreign exchange coupons. Mo Xiangfang had always been obsessed with the cute doll. Now that she saw Ruan Ruan, who was exactly the same as the doll except for the color of her pupils, she was immediately excited.
"Little sister, what's your name?" Mo Xiangfang approached Ruan Ruan like a wolf grandmother and asked softly.
"My name is Ruan Ruan——"
As cute as her name suggests. The fire in Mo Xiangfang's eyes flickered, and Ruan Ruan was so scared that she couldn't help but lean towards her most reliable brother Yiliu.
"Fangfang, don't scare Sister Ruanruan, she is very timid." Si Ni said to Mo Xiangfang.
Mo Xiangfang was a little disappointed. Did she look scary? Why would such a cute little girl be afraid of her?
"Ruan Ruan, this is Sister Xiang Fang. She is warm and considerate. You can treat her as a little sister like Sister Dani and the others."
Jiang Yilu's eyes lit up. Ruan Ruan had not dared to go out since she came to Qingshan Village because Ruan Yuanjiang was worried that the children in the village would mind her reputation as the granddaughter of a bad guy. If Mo Xiangfang, the captain's daughter, was watching over her, she wouldn't have to worry about that.
In Qingshan Village, Mo Dashuan has the most power. The elders of every household will warn their children not to mess with the children of the Mo family. As long as Mo Xiangfang does not cause trouble, she can walk sideways in the village. Ruan Ruan has only benefits and no harm in being on good terms with her.
Ruan Ruan looked at Jiang Yilu's encouraging eyes, then at Mo Xiangfang's friendly expression, smiled at Mo Xiangfang, thought for a moment, slipped to the place where the quilts were folded on the kang, took out a candy wrapped in candy paper from under the quilt, and handed it to Mo Xiangfang.
Good friends should share good things. This is what Ruan Ruan learned from the Jiang family's children after she came to the family. Before, her brothers and sisters would only snatch her things away, and she had never felt the feeling of sharing with each other.
Maybe it was because the kang was too hot, the candy had melted long ago. Mo Xiangfang opened the candy wrapper and her hands were stained with the melted candy. She didn't care at all and licked the candy off her hands.
Mo Xiangfang licked the sugar water off his hands, took out a red rubber band from his trouser pocket, and stuffed it into Ruan Ruan's hand: "After exchanging gifts, we are good friends."
Ruan Ruan took the red hairband and smiled sweetly at Mo Xiangfang. Her adorable little look was so cute that Mo Xiangfang was almost blushing.
The little girl who had been following Mo Xiangfang saw the red hairband that Mo Xiangfang handed to Ruan Ruan, and a hint of jealousy flashed in her eyes.
"You are Xiaobao's friend, and you will be our friend in the future. Don't worry, with me here, no one in this village can bully you." Guangpiao patted his chest and said with his little head raised high.
He also likes this beautiful little sister.
The chubby little Tiedan has always followed the crowd. Seeing that his friends all like the new girl, he also said that he would protect little sister Ruanruan like Guangpiao.
It was the first time that Ruan Ruan met such enthusiastic friends. They surrounded her and chattered, telling her interesting things in the village, their little faces flushed with happiness.
Jiang Yiliu felt relieved. He had overlooked this point before. No matter how quiet and well-behaved Ruan Ruan was, she was just a child. Staying at home every day was not good for her growth. His over-mature playmate didn't know what to play with her. Now that she had these playmates, Ruan Ruan could go out more often and become more cheerful.
"I want to be friends with you, too."
The little girl who appeared behind Mo Xiangfang saw that they were chatting so happily, and lowered her head and spoke in a low voice.
Mo Xiangfang was stunned for a moment, then she remembered that she had not yet introduced the little girl behind her to everyone.
"Her name is Yu Xiaocao, she is Aunt Dazhu's niece, and she will live in our village from now on."
Aunt Dazhu's surname is Yu. She is the first outsider daughter-in-law in the village. She is not from Yuchuan County. It is said that her hometown is in the south. She is the daughter-in-law that Dazhu brought back when he came back from outside. For so many years, no one has seen her contact her parents' home. Everyone thought that there was no one in her family. How come a niece suddenly appeared?
Guangpiao frowned and glanced at the timid little girl. In her expectant eyes, he said dryly, "Since Xiangfang brought you here, you can play with us in the future. But I don't like girls crying, so you have to be more obedient in the future."
Jiang Yilu looked at Guang La, who was standing with his hands on his hips, pretending to be the eldest brother, with amusement. When he turned his eyes to Yu Xiaocao, a hint of obscurity flashed across his eyes.
She is still a child, maybe we should give her a chance.
The group said that they made a fuss for a long time until the adults came back from work.
"It's time for lunch, and we should go home." The children only then realized that it was getting late, so they hurriedly got off the bed and put on their shoes. They made an appointment to meet again in the afternoon, and hurriedly ran towards their home.
*******
"How is it, is Xiaojuan home?"
During lunch, Gu Dongmei put the dishes on the table and asked Jiang Dahai.
Because Old Lady Miao was not at home, Gu Dongmei specifically told her eldest daughter this morning not to come back at noon. Jiang Dani followed her to run around the village to find her son early this morning, and she was exhausted. She could even take a nap on the table at school during such a short time at noon.
Jiang Yilu also looked at Jiang Dahai curiously. Because of the injury on his butt, he could only kneel on the chair when eating. He looked a bit pitiful. Gu Dongmei's eyes swept across her son and a trace of guilt flashed across her eyes.
Jiang Dahai shook his head: "I didn't see her, but I heard from the lady next door that she left early in the morning. Maybe she went to the city." Jiang Dahai took a big bite of the steamed bun. He missed half a day's farm work this morning, so he had to do more at noon to make up for it.
Ruan Yuanjiang heard what he said and frowned slightly: "That won't work. You should go to the county town again this afternoon and bring some clothes for your parents. Dachuan will probably have to stay in the hospital for a long time."
After he finished speaking, he looked at Bai Fangqiu standing beside him. Based on the character that Fan Xiaojuan had shown last night, he was really worried that this matter would involve him, an old friend. However, Ruan Yuanjiang also understood his personality, so he did not stop her last night.
Jiang Dahai patted his head and thought, there is no need to worry about meals, as his younger sister's home is in the city. His mother has already said that she will go to his younger sister's home to inform her when the time comes. After all, Dachuan is his younger sister's second brother, but the spare clothes still have to be brought from his own home.
Anyway, I have already taken half a day off in the morning, so I might as well not go to work today. This will be a good opportunity to send food rations for my parents for the next few days, so as to save my sister from having to work hard.
Jiang Yilu always felt that it was not that simple. His second aunt was the most selfish person. Now that his second uncle's leg was lame, no one knew what she would do. He just hoped that Grandpa Bai would not be implicated.
Jiang Dahai finished his meal in a few bites and hurried towards Mo Dashuan's house. He had a lot of things with him, so he might need to borrow the donkey cart again. This required the captain's approval.
******
"You want to go into the city?" Mo Dashuan was about to go out when he saw Jiang Dahai rushing over. "That's perfect. I have to go to the city again this afternoon."
"Captain, what are you doing in the city?" Jiang Dahai asked curiously.
Mo Dashuan sighed, "I have to go to the city to report. There are so many wild boars coming down the mountain from time to time. The village can't afford it. I plan to gather some young and strong men to go up the mountain to hunt wild boars."
"Big wild boar!" Jiang Dahai's voice was a little heavier. He had a look of joy on his face and rubbed his palms together. "Captain, remember me when the time comes. I have plenty of strength."
A big wild boar weighs about 100 to 180 kilograms. As the one who works hard, you can at least get a dozen kilograms of meat.
Jiang Dahai thought about his five children. They had never eaten meat since they were young. Now it was not allowed to kill game in the mountains at will. You had to get permission from your superiors.
Hunting wild boars is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"Okay, I'll count you in then." Mo Dashuan curled the corner of his mouth. Jiang Dahai was strong and powerful, and he would be counted in even if he didn't speak.
But this wild boar is not so easy to kill, and Mo Dashuan is not sure about it now.
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