Chapter 94: It’s Chinese New Year, Give the Children Some Lucky Money
"Xinxin..." As soon as she entered the room, Tian Xin's mother hesitated to speak: "Tell me the truth, do you have any friends?"
What was supposed to happen finally happened. Her mother was still worried about her.
Tian Xin sighed, walked over and held her mother's hand: "Mom, don't worry, if one day I really think it through and want to get married, I will definitely tell you the first time! If not, it must be that I haven't thought it through yet! You must believe me!"
After thinking for a moment, she continued, "I will never do anything to hurt myself, don't worry!"
Her words were sincere, and her mother didn't say anything after seeing them.
Due to delays for several days, the year-end visit to provide warmth to poor households has not been carried out.
After Zhang Feng's family left, she hurried to the village committee.
Ever since Zhang Shuai's accident, she has been running around in the factory, and the workload at the village committee is almost unbearable.
As soon as she entered the village committee, she found that everyone was carrying rice, flour and oil, preparing to go out, so she followed the group out.
"Which one should we go to first?" Tian Xin asked casually.
Tian Fushun was surprised to see her coming: "Didn't your mother say you were going on a blind date today? Why are you here? Are you engaged?"
"Why, Xinxin is getting engaged today?" Li Dongmei ran over and asked, "Whose family is it? When is it? Auntie has a big gift for you!"
Eh~~Are you all so gossipy?
And give a big gift?
"Uncle, aunt, no hurry, I'm not in a hurry yet..." Tian Xin laughed awkwardly.
"What's there to be embarrassed about? I think you are just shy. Tell me quickly, which young man is so lucky? He is going to marry our Xinxin!" Li Dongmei teased.
"Zhang Jiayuan's family is well-off. They say they've even bought a house in the county town. They're worthy of our Xinxin!" Tian Fushun handed the rice, flour, and oil to Tian Xin and Li Dongmei, and instructed them, "Let's go to three of their families today, one at a time, starting with those that are particularly struggling!"
The poor households in the village are all concentrated in the third team. The residents in that area are scattered because the terrain is uneven. There is a slope road running through it, and the residents are scattered on both sides of the road. Each house is not next to each other.
Tian Xin followed Li Dongmei to the family at the top, which had 7 people. The head of the household was Guo Wanshun, who had 3 children and 2 elderly people.
One of the elderly is paralyzed in bed, and the other has difficulty walking. Both need care. Guo Wanshun's wife, Li Xiaoyan, manages the family's needs, while Guo Wanshun works as a forklift driver at a stone quarry.
A family of seven lived in three earthen caves. The elderly couple lived in the westernmost cave, Guo Wanshun's family of five lived in the middle cave, and the eastern cave was used for livestock.
The yard had no walls, but a fence made of wood. Li Xiaoyan was a meticulous person, and even without a wall, she kept the house spotless inside and out.
The cave they entered served as both a bedroom and a guest room. Winter was cold, so they had a stove in the cave, where they cooked and boiled water.
There were two square tables next to the stove, one with a chopping board against the wall and the other with a dining table. There was no other furniture. Tian Xin and Li Dongmei went in and found that there were no extra stools, so they sat next to the earthen kang where they slept.
The family is having lunch.
Seeing someone coming, Li Xiaoyan quickly took two bowls full of corn grits and brought them over, placing them on the table: "Come on, it's time for dinner, sit here and eat something!"
Tian Xin and Li Dongmei quickly declined: "We just ate, hurry up and eat!"
Seeing that no one was coming, Li Xiaoyan said with a smile: "You must be dissatisfied with the food?"
"No, no, they are all the same. My family just ate this too!" Tian Xin hurriedly explained.
This family was indeed in dire straits. Most people's lunch was basically either noodles or rice, with cornmeal being the main meal for breakfast. Apparently, this was a second meal after breakfast.
She looked at the dishes on the table: two plates of pickled radish and a bowl of cold shredded potatoes, with a large plate of corn buns next to them.
Seeing Tian Xin decline, Guo Wanshun stood up and poured tea for the two of them. Tian Xin sat on the edge of the kang and had no place to put the tea, so she just put it on their dining table.
"Xinxin has been busy these days!" Guo Wanshun greeted her.
This person has a rather dull personality and doesn't like to talk. He is a very honest person. Tian Xin saw him several times at the factory, and he just smiled and said nothing.
"Ah, it's the end of the year, let's be a little busy!"
"How is this year? Is the money you earn enough to cover your expenses?" Li Dongmei asked.
"Oh, no, the factory's performance is not good. The wages have been very low in the past few months, and we didn't even get the New Year bonus!" Li Xiaoyan knew that her husband was a dull person, so she interrupted him and spoke for him.
"No bonus?" Tian Xin frowned.
That shouldn't be the case! Although Li Baiwan is a bit stingy, he still knows how to handle important matters. How could he not send out the New Year's benefits, which is such a big deal?
"Didn't everyone receive it?" Tian Xin asked tentatively.
"Who knows? The factory is full of mixed people now, some from the village, some from other places, and all the leaders have relatives. How many of them tell the truth? We haven't been given any, so it's hard to say for others!" Li Xiaoyan said, "You two drink some water."
"Oh oh!" The two people responded quickly.
"How are the persimmon cakes selling? I heard that you have a lot of persimmon trees in your house, and they must be in good demand this year!" Li Dongmei changed the subject.
Li Xiaoyan glanced at Tian Xin, her eyes narrowed into slits as she smiled: "It's all thanks to Xinxin. This year, these persimmon cakes saved my family's lives!"
She took out a few dried persimmons from the hole in the wall and handed them to Tian Xin and Li Dongmei: "We don't have anything to treat you at home, so you two can each have one!"
"You have seen the situation in my family. The baby's grandparents need someone to take care of them. I can't do anything but take care of these few acres of land. The money his father earns this year is only enough for food and drink, and to pay for the baby's tuition. He can't save a penny at all. If it weren't for these persimmon cakes and peppercorns, we wouldn't have been able to survive this year!" Li Xiaoyan sighed with a wry smile.
Guo Wanshun didn't know what to say and kept asking the two of them to drink tea.
Alas! Tian Xin sighed! What a huge gap between the rich and the poor!
If she hadn't made this trip today, she wouldn't have known if what she did had actually helped anyone! Now it seemed like the road ahead was long and arduous!
Guo Wanshun's three children were home for winter break. Tian Xin watched as the soles of their cotton-padded shoes wore through, leaving only a thin layer. Their cotton trousers were so short they barely covered their ankles, which were red from the cold.
When Li Dongmei saw that she had asked almost all the questions, she put down her teacup, pointed at the rice, flour and oil and said: "These are little gifts from the village. Please accept them. We still have to visit a few more houses, so we'll leave first!" After that, she pulled Tian Xin's arm.
"We're leaving now. Please sit for a while. It's a rare occasion for you to come here. I live far away and we only see each other a few times throughout the year!" Li Xiaoyan stretched out her hand to stop him from leaving.
Tian Xin couldn't bear to see this scene. She dug into her trouser pocket, took out 100 yuan and handed it to Guo Wanshun's youngest son: "Here, it's New Year's Day, give the child some New Year's money."
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