Yu Jiu slowly discussed it with her.
"I want to pick them up now, Mom. Look, there are already other children in the field. If I'm too slow, they'll all take them!"
Little An'an pointed to a few scattered children in the field, eager to try it out, really wanting to rush up right now. Since that was the case, Yu Jiu didn't stop her, and helped her straighten her little straw hat to reveal her big eyes.
"Okay, go ahead then. Remember to come back and rest if you get tired."
"Okay! Mom, you wait for me!"
Little An'an, carrying her little basket, skipped and hopped into the field. She carefully picked up the small ears of rice from the furrows and put them into her basket. It was meticulous work, picking them up one by one. Only a child, with her small hands, could manage; an adult's hands would cramp up, and she might not be as fast as a child.
Yu Jiu sat under the tree with little Yuan Yuan in her arms, enjoying the shade while watching Xu Zijiang and little An An working hard. Even just sitting under the tree, she felt the heat was unbearable. It wasn't as cool as inside, because the tree wasn't big enough to provide much shade, and besides, they had an electric fan at home.
But little An'an wanted to experience working life, so Yu Jiu had no choice but to accompany his daughter, even at the cost of his own life.
"Oh, look, Yu, the educated youth, is so lucky. We're working in the fields, while he's enjoying the shade under the trees. It's really infuriating to compare yourself to others."
"Alright, alright, you've been saying such sour things for years. You know he's lucky, that's enough. You can't marry a good man like the team leader, and you're not as capable as Yu, the educated youth. What's there to be so sour about? Hurry up and get to work to earn more work points. You'll be working on your own in the future, and you'll definitely have to work even harder, but as long as we can make our lives better, I'm willing to be a little tired."
Everyone knows Yu Jiu is lucky, but while it's nice to be envious, it's most important to live your own life well. Besides, a wife as fortunate as Yu Jiu isn't staying in the village anymore; she's going back to the big city, so there's no comparison. What's the point of comparing?
"I just wanted to say a few words, why are you blocking me? Honestly, can't I even talk to you?"
"Can't she just stay home because she's so lucky? Does she have to come out with her child and embarrass herself, letting everyone know how well she's doing? Look at her, everyone's working in the fields, and she's the only one sitting under a tree resting. What kind of behavior is that!"
The young wife, a few years older than Yu Jiu, was extremely unhappy. They were both married and living their lives, so why had she ended up like this? She couldn't even catch up with the other woman.
“You just spout nonsense. Didn’t you see An’an picking up rice ears in the field? How old is An’an? It’s normal for Yu Zhiqing to bring the child along because she was worried. Alright, alright, I’m not talking to you anymore. Think what you want. I’m going to get back to work.”
The other young woman ignored him. She drank a few sips of water, had rested enough, and quickly picked up her sickle and bent down to get back to work.
Let's not say that Yu Zhiqing is a good person. Even if Yu Zhiqing is not good, the team leader has been so dedicated to them. For the sake of the team leader, they can't say anything about Yu Zhiqing, otherwise they would be ungrateful.
"All she does is work, work, work. If you're not poor, who is? Her child comes to the field to pick up rice ears, but other people have children who come to pick them up too. Who has an adult watching over them every minute? Besides, the team leader is right here in the field. It's not like she can't keep an eye on things. Does she have to be the one to watch over them? How pretentious!"
The young wife muttered a few curses under her breath, but then went back to her work with her head down. They weren't speaking loudly, so Xu Zijiang and Yu Jiu didn't hear her. Even if they had, they wouldn't have bothered to say anything. In the eyes of jealous people, everything you do is wrong. Anyway, they're leaving soon, so there's no need for these pointless arguments. Your success is the biggest blow to them.
"An'an, An'an, it's been 15 minutes, come back quickly and have some water."
Fifteen minutes had passed, and An'an was still enthusiastically picking up rice ears in the field. Yu Jiu couldn't bear to watch any longer and quickly called her back. In this blazing sun, just standing under it for five minutes would be enough to bake her alive, let alone fifteen minutes. Children's skin is so delicate, and Yu Jiu was really worried that she would get sunburned or suffer from heatstroke.
"Coming, Mom, I'll be right back!"
Little An'an is very obedient. Even when she's having a great time, as soon as Yu Jiu calls her, she immediately wipes the beads of sweat from her forehead and happily runs back with her little basket.
He even showed off his little basket to Yu Jiu, as if it were a treasure.
"Mom, I picked up so many tiny rice ears!"
"Hmm, An'an is really amazing. Here, have some sugar water, sit here for 10 minutes and then go pick it up."
Yu Jiu smiled and took out a handkerchief to wipe her sweat, then took off her little straw hat and fanned her. The child's skin was burning hot, but she didn't seem to feel uncomfortable at all.
"Okay, Mom will have some too~~~"
"Oh, right, I'll take it over so Dad can have some too. He must be thirsty."
"Okay, then go ahead, Mom will help you put your hat on."
An'an was a restless girl. Even though there was water right next to Xu Zijiang, she still insisted on bringing him water. Yu Jiu was too lazy to stop her and just smiled as she put a straw hat on her head.
Then little An'an, carrying her water bottle, happily went to find Xu Zijiang. Yu Jiu took the opportunity to squeeze the rice husks in little An'an's basket; they were all empty, collapsing as soon as she squeezed them. There was no rice inside at all. The child had wasted her time.
However, she only wanted to make her happy by picking them up; she didn't expect her to make a living from them. Yu Jiu thought that when she got back, she would secretly grab a handful of sturdy rice ears and put them in for her to replace the empty rice husks, just to make her happy.
Little An'an was unaware of her mother's painstaking efforts to make her happy. Clutching her water bottle, she happily ran to Xu Zijiang and called out from afar.
"Dad, would you like some water?"
"Drink! This is water that An'an from our family gave me. How can Daddy not drink it!"
Xu Zi laughed heartily, took the water bottle, tilted his head back, and took a few gulps, which indeed quenched his thirst. After finishing the water, he picked up little An'an and lifted her high in the air, making her laugh so hard she couldn't stop, before putting her down.
"Go sit under the tree and rest with Mom for a while. It's really too hot right now. After resting for a bit, go home with Mom first. Come back in the afternoon after you wake up. You can pick up rice ears until evening if you want. It's too hot at noon. Be good and don't make Mom and your brother faint from the heat."
Xu Zijiang tried to persuade her, and even from a distance, he could see that Yu Jiu was extremely hot and was fanning herself frantically under the tree.
"Okay, Dad, I'm off then."
Little An'an was reluctant to leave, but Xu Zijiang's persuasion worked. After a while, Yu Jiu carried little Yuanyuan and led little An'an home. Only when Xu Zijiang saw that no one was under the tree did he feel at ease to continue his work.
He can do the work himself; he can't bear to see his wife and children suffer.
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