Over the course of three days, Jin Jinxiu watched Qian Feng and Qian Yu working in the fields and wanted to earn more work points for her family before leaving. She was reluctant to leave, but it was a helpless situation.
On the morning of the fourth day, seeing her sons dressed in military uniforms, looking so smart and upright, Jin Jinxiu felt both heartache and pride.
Qian Sheng and his elder brother Qian Cai watched Qian Feng and Qian Yu drive away in the military vehicle, their hearts filled with mixed emotions. Jin Jinxiu's eyes reddened, and she ran a few steps quickly. Qian Feng and Qian Yu sat in the car, watching their parents, younger siblings, and family members grow smaller and smaller, their hearts also aching. If they didn't join the army, they would be stuck earning work points, and now the family was struggling to put food on the table—how could they possibly support four grown men? At least in the army, he and his second brother could have enough to eat, and the allowances they received would supplement the family income, allowing their younger siblings to go to school without worry—that would be enough.
Qian Feng said, "Second brother, if we can't be in the same unit, remember to write to me."
Qian Yu nodded and said, "Then, brother, you must write back to me."
His words made everyone around him laugh, and he also earned a big eye roll from Qian Feng.
After school, Qian Duoduo went to the brigade headquarters to find Qian Sheng. She saw a portrait of the great man hanging on the wall of the brigade headquarters and a calendar next to it. This was the only calendar in Beian Village. When she saw the date on the calendar, Qian Duoduo fell silent. This year was September 8, 1969. It was almost harvest time, so Qian Sheng, the village secretary, the brigade accountant, the squad leader, and several other scorekeepers were having a meeting.
Seeing Qian Duoduo enter, Qian Sheng's face immediately lit up with a smile: "Old lady, what brings you here?"
Qian Duoduo greeted the others first, and then looked at Qian Sheng and said, "My mother asked me to call you home for dinner."
The brigade accountant, Li Dafa, asked with a smile, "Duoduo, what delicious food do you eat at home?"
Qian Duoduo said with a smile, "My mom made wild vegetable dumplings. Uncle Li, do you want some too?"
Li Dafa laughed and said, "I thought your mother was making something delicious."
Qian Duoduo said with a smile, "My mother is a good cook. Even her wild vegetable dumplings taste delicious to me."
Li Dafa smiled and stopped teasing the child. Qian Sheng waved his hand and said, "Alright, that's enough for today. Tomorrow, the team leader and the scorekeeper will keep an eye on things."
The others nodded and went out. Qian Sheng walked in front, and Qian Duoduo followed behind. She thought about the rice she had grown on the farm these past few days. Although it wasn't much, it was enough to feed five people a day. But how could she show it off without attracting attention? She hesitated as she walked behind, which puzzled Qian Sheng. Duoduo wasn't usually so quiet; she was usually as talkative as a little swallow. Her silence now seemed strange. Was it because she was reluctant to let her two older brothers leave? And so, a beautiful misunderstanding formed.
Over the next few days, Qian Duoduo resolved to work on the farm, while Qian Sheng would try to make the girl happy whenever he had free time, leaving Jin Jinxiu, who was watching the interaction between the father and daughter, somewhat confused.
Finally, the annual autumn harvest arrived. Qian Duoduo, Qian Rao, and Qian Mao were all on holiday and joined the harvest army. They left home before dawn and returned after dark every day. Jin Jinxiu was a little better off, as she had to come back a little earlier to cook every day. However, the two boys, Qian Mao and Qian Rao, surprised everyone in the village. In the past, everyone thought that the two boys were just average at work, not as good as their older brothers, Qian Feng and Qian Yu. Now that those two were not around, it suddenly became clear that these two boys were not only good at studying but also at working.
Li Dafa's wife, Wang Qiaofen, said to Li Dafa, "Why did Qian Feng and Qian Yu decide to join the army?"
When Li Dafu saw that he was tired as soon as he got home and didn't do any work, even having his daughter-in-law cook for him, the old woman said, "It's other people's business, why are you doing this?"
Wang Qiaofen pushed him and said, "I'm doing this for Xiao Hua. Of the four sons of the brigade leader, Qian Mao and Qian Rao are too young, while Qian Feng and Qian Yu are about the same age. I was originally thinking of becoming in-laws with his family."
Li Dafa turned to look at Wang Qiaofen and said, "The Qian family is indeed well-off, but they seem to value their daughter more than their son. Just look at how the brigade leader treats her like she's made of glass. Even if a new bride comes in, she won't be able to compete with that girl, Qian Duoduo. Besides, I heard from the educated youth teachers in the village that Qian Duoduo is an excellent student."
Wang Qiaofen snorted: "I think the brigade leader's family is superfluous. A little girl, knowing a few words is enough, what does she want to do, go to university or something?"
Li Dafa said, "Who says otherwise?" He looked at his wife, who was still thinking, and said, "Alright, stop thinking about it. The two older members of the Qian family have gone to serve in the army and won't be back for a while. Do you want Xiaohua to live a life of widowhood?"
Wang Qiaofen rolled her eyes at him and said, "That won't do. I'll think about it some more!"
Qian Duoduo had no idea that someone was gossiping about her behind her back. She was currently harvesting rice on her farm. When she saw the warehouse: 1000 rice, she smiled. Thanks to her hard work, her space had upgraded from level 5 to level 6. She had been planting rice for a while and was still a long way from level 7. In addition to free pasture, she also had seeds for cabbage, white radish, wheat, rice, potatoes, eggplant, red dates, tomatoes, lettuce, and other leafy greens. Qian Duoduo wanted to eat them all, but she couldn't afford them right now. She was too young and couldn't do anything outrageous. She was so distressed. She couldn't bring herself to eat them all by herself.
The only thing that makes Qian Duoduo happy is that at level 7, she can unlock the ranch mode, which means she can raise chickens. She can already see the eggs beckoning to her.
The weather was incredibly kind to us; it was perfect during the autumn harvest, which boosted everyone's morale. Finally, after 25 days, the harvest was over. Qian Sheng arranged for the accountant to take money and have someone buy some pork in the county. In addition, the village's old hunter, Uncle Chen, led several skilled young men from the village into the mountains and caught five pheasants and a rabbit. This harvest made the villagers excited; who wouldn't be happy to have meat to eat?
Jin Jinxiu is known in the village for her excellent cooking skills, so she was in charge of cooking for the village banquet this time. The benefit was that all three of her children and her uncle's children could eat meat, which made Qian Duoduo, who had long been hungry, feel really happy.
Qian Gui, who is the same age as Qian Mao, sat with his other younger siblings. He saw that there was only one piece of meat left in Qian Duoduo's bowl. He looked at his own bowl, picked up a piece, and put it in Qian Duoduo's bowl: "Duoduo, eat more. You've lost weight."
Qian Mao saw this and also put a piece from his bowl for his sister. Qian Rao couldn't be left behind and put a piece in his bowl as well. Qian Xiang and Qian Yin also quietly put a piece in Qian Duoduo's bowl. Looking at all the extra meat, Qian Duoduo said that she accepted her brothers' love, but she was too small to eat any more. So, she put the pieces of meat back one by one and said, "Thank you, brothers, but I'm full. I can't eat any more. I'm afraid my stomach will hurt tonight."
Qian Rao asked, "Duo Duo, are you sure you don't want it?" Seeing her nod, he ate the meat with peace of mind, and a happy and blissful expression immediately appeared on his face.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
