Chapter 7 007 The Little Brother Who Became Closer
When the weather wasn't hot, the commune staff would start work at 1 p.m. and finish at 6 p.m. By the time everyone at home returned, Song Wanxia had already prepared the meal.
A large bowl of cucumber and egg stir-fry with some chopped green onions and only one egg, the yolk barely visible amidst the vibrant green; a plate of stir-fried celery with chili peppers; and then reheated pieces of salted fish. The main dish was steamed sweet potatoes.
When Song Dianchen, Song's eldest uncle, returned, he picked up Song Xiaoli and lifted her up, asking, "Where's your little brother?"
"I didn't see it," Song Xiaoli replied.
My cousin has always been a restless child. Except for coming home to eat and sleep, he's basically always playing outside. Even though he's young, he's fast on his feet and can run around a lot. He doesn't just play with the kids in Songshan Commune, but he also goes to other communes to play.
"Sigh, that kid..." Song Dianchen shook his head helplessly and put Song Xiaoli down.
Just then, my younger cousin came home, covered in dust.
The little cousin saw his father treating his new cousin very kindly, and he pouted in dissatisfaction, shouted "I'm back!" and went to sit down at the table without washing his hands.
"Where have you been again? You're never home, and you come back all filthy, sitting on the table like that. Go wash up, how are the others supposed to eat when you're all dirty?"
After being scolded by his father, the little cousin's expression became even uglier. He stuck his tongue out at Song Xiaoli and then went to the kitchen to wash his face and hands. The others who came back from working were all covered in dirt and were washing themselves, but Song Xiaoli and her mother were clean.
Once the food was on the table, everyone else started eating after Grandpa and Grandma had served themselves. Song Xiaoli took half a steamed sweet potato and ate it with cucumber. Her mother picked out a few pieces of egg and put them in her bowl, and then her aunt put more eggs in her son's bowl.
Seeing his sister and wife's actions, Song Dianchen shook his head speechlessly and said nothing to avoid escalating the conflict. After finishing his meal, he was too lazy to stay at the table any longer and said, "I'm going to find that guy Song Dianbao."
"How about we just forget about it?" Zhang Lian paused in clearing the dishes. "Actually, wild duck isn't that tasty. He stole it, and now we have leverage over him. We'll just have to stay away from him from now on. It's our little carp who's been wronged. I'll kill a chicken for him when Sega comes back from his monthly break."
There's more than one child in the family. Although only Song Xiaoli was frightened today, Zhang Lian, as her maternal grandmother and also the grandmother of the other two children, couldn't just kill a chicken to calm her nerves today. These days, it's not easy to get a decent meal, and with one child away from home, the poor conditions at home would leave the child living elsewhere feeling neglected.
“This isn’t about whether wild duck tastes good or not,” Song Dianchen stretched his limbs and went out with a fierce look on his face. “If we just let it go like this, they’ll dare to bully our children again.”
Seeing her uncle go out to settle scores, Song Xiaoli quickly had her mother put her down and followed him, her steps much smoother than yesterday. As for her little cousin, he was even more of a spectator and ran even faster than Song Xiaoli.
The neighbors were still eating; there was a plate of stir-fried duck on the table, but it seemed to smell a bit too fishy.
Song Xiaoli hesitated at the door, thinking that she was too small to go in and cause trouble, lest the adults start arguing and she get caught in the crossfire. Her little cousin was also quick-witted; he snorted at Song Xiaoli and then hid with her by the door next door, peeking inside.
"Oh, the duck you just got, and you're already eating it?" Song Dianchen put one hand on his hip, showing off his strong muscles, and then greeted the elders with a forced smile, "Uncle, Aunt, you don't know yet, Dianbao snatched this duck from my kid, do you?"
This uncle and aunt, back then, were able to take advantage of their parents' favoritism and endlessly exploit their older brother's family. They weren't exactly kind people to begin with, and their skin was thicker than most.
"How dare you talk like that, Dian Chen? What do you mean by 'steal'? It's clearly your little girl who just arrived and caught a wild duck to offer to her uncle."
Hearing this, Song Xiaoli couldn't help but roll her eyes and muttered, "I haven't even paid my respects to my own uncle yet, how come it's this cousin's turn? He's shameless."
"They're shameless to begin with." The younger cousin rarely paid attention to Song Xiaoli, feeling that the new girl was on his side now, so he seized the opportunity to lecture her, "Let me tell you, you should stay away from this family in the future. They don't care if you're a child or not, they'll bully you if they want to. Did you see that ugly old woman who was talking just now? Even though I call her 'Little Grandma,' she forcibly took the candy my dad gave me from my hand when we were paying New Year's greetings."
Children remember the grudges most vividly when they are related to food.
Just as Song Xiaoli was trying to build a good relationship with her cousin, she first spoke with righteous indignation, then said in a pitiful tone, "Look at the meat they're eating, that's the duck I caught today."
"What!" My little cousin went out to play right after lunch this afternoon and didn't know anything about this. When his family mentioned it just now, he was confused. He only knew that the two families had another conflict. Now he found out that his uncle had stolen his cousin's wild duck.
Damn it, if it hadn't been stolen, wouldn't he have been able to eat the duck too?
My little cousin hadn't tasted meat for days, and he was so angry that his breath was practically boiling hot. "That's too much!"
“Yes, that’s too much!” Song Xiaoli chimed in, then, taking advantage of the conversation, she softly tugged at her cousin’s sleeve, “Could you take me with you to play in the future? Mom has to go to work and won’t have time to take me with her. If I’m all alone, they’ll definitely bully me again.”
As she spoke, Song Xiaoli's big eyes became wet, as if she was about to cry.
The younger cousin hesitated. He considered himself a strong, tough guy and rarely hung out with girls. But... but the one making the request was his cousin, who, like him, had been bullied by the neighbor's family—a family he considered acceptable.
"Sigh," the little cousin scratched his bald head in frustration, "but I only play with boys, and they definitely won't agree to me taking you with me. Besides, you're too small; you definitely won't be able to keep up when we run."
"I...I will try my best to keep up!" Song Xiaoli clenched her fist and promised.
Although my little cousin is still young, he already has the beginnings of developing likes and dislikes. He likes hardworking, lively, and courageous people, and dislikes those who are gloomy, selfish, and bully the weak. Moreover, he has a natural desire to protect the weak. Song Xiaoli currently appears weak yet willing to work hard, which both evokes his pity and makes him quite fond of her. He really feels embarrassed to refuse her.
"How about I take you out to play every other day?" the little cousin thought. He could go see his brothers today, take his sister tomorrow, go see his brothers again the day after tomorrow, and take his sister the day after that. That way, he wouldn't miss either day.
This result is already quite good. Song Xiaoli didn't expect her cousin, who likes to go out, to take her out to play every day.
"Okay, thank you, sir. I'll be very good!"
After receiving his sister's thanks, five-year-old Song Shiyi felt a little embarrassed. He straightened his chest, put on the appearance of a reliable older brother, gently patted Song Xiaoli's head, and said in an adult's tone, "Well, you're still young. If you do something wrong, your brother can understand."
Although Song Shiyi was often criticized by his elders for being too naughty and immature, he was actually not a bad person. His older brother, Song Shijia, was a very gentle person by nature and had always been good to his younger brother. Song Shiyi himself admired and liked his brother, but he just didn't like his family always comparing the two brothers.
Now he is learning from his older brother's gentleness towards him and trying to be kind to this little sister.
Imitating his brother, he naturally thought of him, "By the way, Little Carp, we also have an older brother, you know?"
"I know, my mom and grandma both told me, but I can only see it when my older brother is on vacation."
"Yeah, let me tell you, my brother is a really nice guy. Sometimes he does his classmates' homework for them and then brings me candy in return. Next time he comes back, if he has any candy, I can share some with you."
It's already a great kindness that the child is willing to share his candy.
Song Xiaoli nodded vigorously, then recalled that in her previous life, her older cousin's eyesight and physical condition were not very good. Given the Song family's conditions, life would get better and better in the future, so her older cousin's physical condition should not have been affected by malnutrition. In addition, he was the only one in the family to become severely nearsighted. Song Xiaoli suspected that this was related to his habit of doing homework for his classmates and always using the only electric light next to the school toilet.
The light bulbs these days weren't as bright as they would be in the future. The dim, yellowish light, flickering and dim under the shadows of the trees outside the toilet, made it impossible for my older cousin not to become nearsighted if he studied and did his homework under such light. Moreover, to avoid affecting his studies, he basically did his homework for others at night, enduring the stench of the toilet and often being exposed to the wind and cold. Children don't understand that this is harmful to their health, and by the time he realizes it, it's too late.
"Brother, your brother is so kind. How about we go out and look for some wild chicken eggs or duck eggs sometime? If we find any, we can cook them and give them to him. He's been eating at the school cafeteria all month; the food there is definitely not as good as what he gets at home..."
Before Song Xiaoli could finish speaking, her cousin frowned with worry. "Yeah, my brother can't come home this month. The food at school must be terrible. He used to come home every day and bring his own lunch from home."
Compared to his doting older brother, his other playmates weren't so important anymore. His younger cousin, Song Shiyi, turned to look at the back mountain. "But I often go to play in the back mountain myself. Those pheasants and ducks are so clever; I wonder where they lay their eggs."
Even for normal pheasants and ducks, Song Xiaoli wouldn't have a good chance of finding their nests. But when it comes to the fat pheasants and laying ducks she releases, she's very familiar with their habits.
"Brother, I know this!"
"You two have some nerve, coming here to eavesdrop?" Song Dianchen first lifted Song Xiaoli up and shook him, then pinched his youngest son's ear. "Alright, go home."
Song Xiaoli was so focused on talking to her cousin that she didn't pay attention to what was going on inside. She was wondering why things had ended so quickly when she heard a series of arguments coming from inside. It sounded like her maternal grandmother and her cousin's wife were arguing.
Upon his triumphant return, Song Dianchen waved the rooster he was holding in his right hand. "The duck has already been killed and eaten by them," he said, his expression subtle, as if he was trying not to laugh. "I got a rooster from their house as compensation. It's not a big rooster yet. When your eldest brother comes back, I'll make brown sugar chicken for the three of you to share."
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