Children are the happiest during the Chinese New Year. They have plenty to eat and play with, and they seem to have inexhaustible energy for everything they do.
Mu Jingshu followed Xu Laosan everywhere, and now their group is getting bigger and bigger, because the Xun family's children now also like to follow Xu Laosan around.
After Mu Jingheng and Xu Xinning went out, the Xun family children's homework was handed over to Xu Laosan, Xu Zeyu and Mu Jingshu.
They didn't expect them to teach them anything; they just thought that by learning from each other, the Xun family's children could integrate into the environment more quickly.
The pig for the New Year is being slaughtered, and the children are very curious, each taking the best spot to see what's going on.
Mu Jingshu no longer looks like a city girl. Her skin is dark, she doesn't like to use moisturizer, and her little face is a bit chapped. Plus, with her short hair, you'd think she was a boy.
Only Xun Shichou didn't run off with them; he remained the same old scholar, always with a book in his hand.
If you were to ask Mu Jingshu who she admires most among these children, it would have to be Xun Shichou, because he's the only one she can neither beat nor argue with.
Although the children were curious about slaughtering pigs, they were still terrified when they actually saw the white knife going in and the red knife coming out. Many of the children developed high fevers that night.
Kids these days are tough; adults don't worry if their child gets a fever in the middle of the night. Some people might not even know that their child has had a high fever in the middle of the night.
Those who can hold on will have their fever subside by dawn, while those with weaker constitutions will still feel groggy the next morning.
So Xu Xinning had more work to do the next day.
Since everyone lived in the village, Xu Xinning would carry her medicine kit to their homes to see patients.
Children's illnesses come and go quickly, and once they recover, they're running around the village again.
It's December 28th, and Xu Mingyang is bringing his girlfriend back tomorrow. Grandma Xu is both happy and nervous.
My third aunt's family also came to help. Today's task was arduous: pounding rice cakes.
In the days before machines, pounding rice cakes was hard physical labor.
The rice cakes of that era weren't all made of rice; they were mostly made of sorghum, or sometimes a mixture of sorghum and rice.
Sorghum rice cakes are hard and coarse. If rice cakes are available, children will not want to eat sorghum rice cakes.
The freshest part of the rice cake is the best when it's being pounded.
Old Xu and his gang of kids were just waiting to eat rice cakes.
In previous years, Grandma Xu would not have been so generous. With so many children, how many would they eat if each had a piece of rice cake?
But this year is different. The Xu family has never lacked food. It's strange, but it seems like they have an endless supply of food. She knows that Mu Jingheng and Xu Xinning bought it for them. Every time they go out and come back, she sees them with big bags and small bags.
Grandma Xu was certainly happy to have grain at home, thinking that she wouldn't let Xu Xinning and Mu Jingheng suffer when they got married.
The kids ran off as soon as they got the rice cake heads, and the adults didn't care; they probably went to show them off to others.
Someone came to our door during dinner.
Today we're making rice cakes, and naturally, we're eating rice cakes too.
Shred potatoes, add Chinese cabbage, and freshly made rice cakes to make rice cake soup. The taste is absolutely amazing.
Just as everyone was enjoying the delicious food, it was interrupted by a loud voice.
"Captain, you have to discipline these kids. They're so young and they're already gambling instead of learning good things."
Yang Chunqin was completely bewildered.
gamble?
Who is it?
Yang Chunqin, holding a bowl in her hands, walked into the yard and asked, "What's wrong? What happened?"
"Captain, look, our dog doesn't even have a cotton-padded coat anymore. This is the only decent cotton-padded coat he has. How will he get through the winter without it?"
Yang Chunqin was puzzled. What did it have to do with her how many cotton-padded jackets your dog had? Wasn't that something she, as the mother, should care about?
Just then, another person arrived with a child.
"Captain, our villagers are honest and kind; we can't let this gambling culture exist!"
Gambling? Gambling again. Who gambles in their village?
Seeing that Yang Chunqin had no reaction, the parent continued, "My son Shuanzi was wearing a pair of nearly new cotton pants today, but he lost them all."
Oh! Yang Chunqin understood. It was because the two children had lost their cotton-padded jackets and trousers gambling.
Yang Chunqin suddenly wanted to laugh. What kind of kids are these? They're so naughty! Why didn't they lose their thermal underwear too?
Xu Laosan panicked when these people entered the courtyard, but he secretly despised them.
Coward!
If you can't handle losing, don't come.
Why did they bring their families to cause trouble after losing?
Xu Laosan quickly shoveled the remaining rice cakes into his mouth, then tried to sneak away when no one was looking.
Unfortunately, he encountered a terrible teammate—Mu Jingshu.
Mu Jingshu: "What's going on between you two? Isn't there a saying that you have to accept the consequences of your bet? Are you trying to cheat because you're not as good as the other person?"
Upon hearing Mu Jingshu's words, everyone's eyes turned to her, except for the two children who dared not look at her.
The second-in-command of Xujia Village is no joke; she is practically invincible in the village. Now, what child would dare to challenge her authority?
The two children felt guilty and didn't dare to look at Mu Jingshu.
When Mu Jingshu spoke, the Xu family all thought that the person who won the cotton-padded jacket and trousers in the bet was Mu Jingshu. Everyone looked at her, but no one said anything to blame her.
Why is it that the Xu family favors daughters over sons?
What's wrong with a little girl making a mistake? If a little girl is strong, she won't be bullied in the future, isn't that great!
Mu Jingheng wouldn't spoil her like the Xu family did. The moment he heard that she had won someone's cotton-padded jacket and trousers in a gambling game, Mu Jingheng's adrenaline surged.
Mu Jingheng, his face dark, shouted, "Mu Jingshu, you've grown some guts, haven't you? Just because no one beats you up, you think you can do whatever you want?"
Fearing that Mu Jingshu would be frightened, Yang Chunqin and Old Mrs. Xu immediately covered Mu Jingshu's ears. Old Mrs. Xu gave Mu Jingheng a disapproving look; this was the first time Old Mrs. Xu had given Mu Jingheng such a hard time.
Yang Chunqin: "What's the rush? Did you even find out the truth of the matter? You blame me without even asking. What kind of brother are you?"
Everyone in the courtyard looked at Yang Chunqin. Was this still their incorruptible and efficient team leader?
Mu Jingheng didn't dare to disobey his future mother-in-law and grandmother. He glared at Mu Jingshu and then dared not say a word.
Yang Chunqin then looked at the two children and asked, "You are both good children. Can you tell us what happened?"
Seeing that Grandma Xu and the brigade leader were protecting Mu Jingshu, the two children were no longer so afraid.
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