Chapter 6 006 He's no good.
It was almost four o'clock in the afternoon. After thanking her cousin, Song Wanxia went to pick up her own broom, put it back by the door, and then took Song Xiaoli home. She got some warm water from the well and washed her hands and face.
"Little Carp, why did you run out by yourself?" Song Wanxia thought of this question after helping her daughter fight off the big bad guy in her eyes.
Song Xiaoli peeked at her mother's expression and, seeing that her mother wasn't angry, she came up with the excuse she had prepared earlier, "Mom, I need to pee, but you're asleep. I know where the toilet is, so I came down by myself."
"Then, then, I saw that there was an exit next to the toilet, so I wanted to go out and play, and then I went out!"
It's normal for children to be curious, and Song Xiaoli's reasoning wasn't logically flawed. As for a three-year-old wanting to go out and play, daring to wander alone in the back mountain and even catching a duck... well, Song Wanxia had never raised children before and didn't really know what a child that age should be like, so she didn't think much of it.
“Okay, then you can’t run around by yourself anymore. I was scared when I woke up and didn’t see you,” Song Wanxia coaxed gently. “You can tell me what you want to do from now on, okay? You can wake me up no matter if I’m sleeping or not.”
"Okay, I love Mom the most!" Song Xiaoli replied, and gave her mother a soft kiss.
Song Wanxia was once again melted by her little girl's sweetness, and her mind went blank for a moment. She smiled foolishly and hugged her daughter, rubbing her tender face for a long time before letting go. "Mommy loves Xiaoli the most too."
Well-behaved and adorable children are truly therapeutic.
As Song Xiaoli thought this, she was already rehearsing a hundred ways to coax her mother.
That afternoon, Song Wanxia overslept. After cuddling with her daughter for a while, she remembered that she hadn't delivered water to the family yet. She quickly put her daughter on a small stool and deftly boiled water and poured it into the teapot. "Xiaoli, Mommy is going to deliver water to Grandpa and Grandma. Can you stay home by yourself and wait for Mommy to come back?"
Song Xiaoli hadn't seen the scenery of what would later be renamed Songshan Village, which was still Songshan Commune, for a long time. She thought about going out with her mother. "Mom, can I come with you? There are big bad guys around. I'm so scared."
It's normal for the child to be a little scared after being bullied by his cousin. Song Wanxia thought for a moment and said, "Okay, but if Mommy has to carry the big basket, she won't be able to hold Xiaoli. Can you walk down by yourself?"
Their house was located on higher ground. To reach the commune's public farmland, one had to descend nearly 100 meters of steps and then walk two or three hundred meters of gentle downhill path. Moreover, family members weren't necessarily assigned to the nearest location; they would have to search for them or ask around after descending.
This distance isn't a problem for my five-year-old cousin who plays outside all day, but it presents a challenge for three-year-old Song Xiaoli.
Song Xiaoli's physical condition is only slightly better than that of other children her age. To walk such a "long" distance, mostly downhill, puts pressure on her. It's not that she can't walk that far, but as a child, she's not very stable walking downhill.
"Mom, can we rest every now and then after walking a short distance?"
That way there won't be any problem.
"Okay, tell Mom if you're tired." After her daughter ran out of the house on her own, Song Wanxia was still a little worried about leaving her alone at home. If she hadn't forgotten to ask her sister-in-law for a strap to keep the child on, she wouldn't have suggested that Song Xiaoli stay.
After doing all that, Song Wanxia carried a basket in one hand, bent down slightly, and took Song Xiaoli's hand with the other, leading her down to the farmland.
At first, the downhill path was quite steep. Song Xiaoli held tightly to her mother's hand, walking on the inside, not daring to misbehave. She remembered that the relatively smooth path was paved with pebbles thanks to her grandfather, who brought back several truckloads of gravel from the river to pave it. The soil beneath the gravel was also tamped down and reinforced. A year later, because her younger cousin was too naughty, he slipped and fell on this path in the rain, cutting his head and leaving a scar. So her grandfather spent a lot of money to have the downhill path paved with bricks and cement into more comfortable steps.
"Little Carp, can you walk this path? If not, Mom will take you down first and then come back for the basket."
"I can do it!" Song Xiaoli hurriedly replied. She was only walking so carefully and slowly because she didn't want to slip and fall and hurt her mother. It wasn't that she couldn't walk. She didn't even pay attention to the mulberry and chestnut trees on the mountain to the right of the road, or the stream below the cliff on her mother's side. She only focused on her feet, lifting her leg and putting it down, lifting her leg and putting it down, taking small steps to follow her mother.
The mother and daughter slowly made their way to the end of the path, both letting out a sigh of relief. The rest of the path was easier; although it was mostly downhill, the slope was gentler and the path became flatter as they walked.
Along the way, we passed a small river. Its water flowed from an opening beneath the road, converging into a roughly oval-shaped pool about five meters long. Some water then overflowed from the other end, washing over the stones surrounding the pool as it continued downstream. The waterway meandered further on, and in the distance, beyond the visible view, were three smaller pools before finally flowing into a larger river further away. That larger river flowed through many communes and wasn't considered the property of Songshan Commune. However, everyone took what they needed from their own territory, and no one made too much of a fuss.
Song Wanxia pointed to the waterway and said, "Xiao Li, there are streams everywhere in the village. In some places, you can't tell how deep or shallow the water is. Please don't go playing in the water, okay?"
"Okay." No matter what her mother taught her, Song Xiaoli always agreed. Whether she could actually do it was another matter entirely.
After walking for a while, Song Xiaoli looked around and spotted her uncle first. She immediately called out, "Uncle!"
Normally, the work in the fields isn't too busy during the period around the Beginning of Summer and Grain Full. My eldest uncle is digging radishes here, while the rest of the family is weeding, watering, and so on. They often take advantage of the team leader and scorekeeper's absence to sit by the field and chat, leaning on their hoes. During this non-busy farming season, the scorekeeper usually turns a blind eye and lets everyone relax as long as they don't neglect their duties.
"It's Xiao Li!" The eldest uncle heard the child's voice, and after a moment's reaction, he straightened up and smiled at his sister and the little child. "Wanxia, why did you bring Xiao Li along?"
“Oh dear, she was just bullied by Dianbao and doesn’t dare to stay home alone,” Song Wanxia said, leading her daughter towards her older brother. “We’ve brought you some water. You drink first, brother. I’ll go to Mom and Dad and sister-in-law’s later.”
"Are you tired, Uncle?" Song Xiaoli followed along eagerly, and seeing her uncle casually wiping his hands on his trouser leg, she asked him in a soft and caring tone.
The uncle smiled and glanced at her. "Not tired." These odd jobs in May are nothing to farmers. However, the care from the cute little girl made the uncle feel quite at ease. He felt it was a pity that he didn't have a daughter.
The eldest uncle took the teacup, filled it with water, drank it all in one gulp, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and asked, "Has Song Dianbao gone home? What did he do to upset our Xiao Li?"
"Xiao Li didn't nap at noon and went to play in the back mountain. She caught a wild duck and happily brought it back. Little did she expect that Dianbao would see it. He thought Xiao Li didn't know anything, so he tricked her and then snatched the duck away." Speaking of this, Song Wanxia was still very unhappy. "That boy Song Dianbao is really something. He even snatched the things from such a little child. He scared Xiao Li quite a bit. She was crying at home just now and she doesn't dare to see ducks anymore."
"Is that so?" My eldest uncle was born in the morning, so his name is Song Dianchen. His name sounds very refined and cultured, but he actually has a rather strong personality. Back then, when his job was taken away, if it weren't for his grandparents and parents keeping him in check, he would have dragged that scoundrel of a cousin out and beaten him half to death. My aunt dares to vent her anger on the family next door every now and then because my eldest uncle clearly dislikes them.
Song Xiaoli knew her uncle was asking her, so she quickly nodded and emphasized, "He's a big bad guy, we have to stay far away from him, a big bad guy!"
"Heh," Uncle Song Dianchen sneered, "That guy's no good. If you piss him off, he'll probably take advantage of being a man and beat you up. Don't mess with him. He got caught stealing at the textile factory and spent a lot of money and used his wife's connections to settle things. He'll probably be staying home for a while until things calm down before going back to the factory. Xiao Li got her ducks stolen. When I get off work, I'll go to his place and demand an explanation."
Song Xiaoli then realized that the reason her cousin Song Dianbao had a job at this time in her previous life, yet stayed at home idly for days, was because he had stolen something from someone at the factory.
No wonder Song Xiaoli felt that the man was too fast when the duck was taken away.
Moreover, Song Dianbao is indeed a person not to be trifled with. Wasn't it because Song Xiaoli refused to give up the duck in her past life that he pushed her down and made her hit a rock?
The uncle told his sister and her mother to keep their distance, because he was afraid they would get hurt.
Unbeknownst to him, Song Wanxia, in a fit of anger, had already grabbed a large broom and beaten the man up.
Judging from his uncle's condition, Song Dianbao will probably get another beating when he gets home tonight.
Song Xiaoli, who was trying her best to play the role of a child, scratched her head and decided that she should stop explaining and not say anything more.
It was getting late, so Song Wanxia didn't linger too long at her brother's place. After letting her brother drink his fill of water, she took her daughter's hand and, following the direction her brother pointed out, went to another area to find her parents.
There were only four families with different surnames in Songshan Commune; the rest were all descendants of the same ancestor and related by blood. After Song Wanxia delivered the water, most of the Song family members knew about Song Dianbao snatching things from the little children.
"That kid is really outrageous, even worse than his father! I don't know what Second Master was thinking, he just likes this family who are lazy and dishonest."
"If you ask me, it's because Second Master spoiled their whole family that they've become like this. Look at their eldest son's children, aren't they all doing quite well?"
"That's true. Sigh, Uncle Mingyi's family has really been dragged down by Second Master and Second Mistress, but thankfully..."
"Hey, don't talk nonsense!"
No matter how bad an elder was, they are dead now, and as their juniors, we shouldn't say things like "it's good that they died" in public.
Song Xiaoli, who had sparked the discussion, paid no attention to the whispers and followed her mother home. She sat on the stone bench by the door and watched her mother bring in the dried clothes and shoes. Then she followed her mother to their vegetable garden on the other side of the stream behind the mountain. She watched her mother pick four cucumbers, then casually pick a handful of wild celery from the stream, and finally gather a handful of scallions to take home.
We'll probably eat these dishes tonight; we still have half of the salted fish left from lunch.
Song Xiaoli rested her chin on her hand, looking worried as she watched her mother's less-than-stellar cooking in the kitchen. She realized it was time to cultivate a good relationship with her cousin so he could take her out for a stroll every day. Only by going out with her easily fooled cousin could she bring back something to cook for the family.
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