Shen Anning carried Shen Zixi on her back, afraid that she would be cold, so the lid of the backpack was closed. The little one was babbling inside, singing the songs she had heard from the radio in the past two days.
Shen Anning's pace couldn't help but speed up a bit. This voice was too magical. She couldn't accept it. Like her eldest brother Shen Anyan, the little guy was tone-deaf. Fortunately, her voice was still nice, so the singing was not so harsh.
Liu Jiaman hadn't gone to work yet at this time, so Shen Anning carried Xixi on her back, holding a backpack in her hand, and went directly to where the Liu family lived.
Sure enough, as soon as I knocked on the door, I heard the sound of footsteps coming from inside.
"Hey, An Ning, come in quickly. It's so cold, so don't come over. I'll come to see you after I slaughter the sheep." This year, Liu Jiaman bought a new women's bicycle and she really likes to go to Wangtu Village. In previous years, she rode the bicycle that was discarded by her father, so this year she left it to her younger brothers and sisters.
I got a bicycle that suits my taste, and I love to show it off.
Shen Anning didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Isn't it going to snow soon? After the snow, we don't know when the road will be passable. It will be inconvenient to come here then. I was picking up mountain products in the mountains today. An Yu and An Xuan got a lot of hawthorns. Besides cutting them into slices and drying them for soaking in water, there are still a lot left. Didn't you like canned hawthorns last year? I made a lot more this year. I'll send you a few bottles first."
Putting down both backpacks, before Liu Jiaman could open them, Xixi's chubby little hands lifted the lids and shouted, "Auntie Manman."
Wow!!!
"Oh my God, whose little cutie is this? She's so cute. Baby Xixi is really getting more and more beautiful." Liu Jiaman reached out and pinched Xixi's armpits, then held her and sat her on her lap. She rubbed Shen Zixi's belly and face without hesitation. The child's flesh was soft and felt very comfortable to touch.
Shen Anning resigned herself to her fate and opened the backpack, took out the four cans of hawthorns inside, and put them on the table. "Are you the only one at home today? Isn't it time to go to work yet? Why aren't your uncle and aunt at home?"
"Someone from the county came to deliver documents yesterday. I heard that the county is sending someone to inspect today. My dad and several other uncles went out early in the morning and didn't come back for lunch. My mom went to bring him lunch."
Liu Jiaman got a headache just thinking about the inspection. A few years ago, before Liu's father was transferred to the farm, they lived in the village. When the situation got serious, a group of people would come every now and then. When they saw a wealthy family, they would go in and plunder them. If there was nothing, it would be fine. But if there was something that shouldn't be there, like a plate or a book, they would be in trouble.
She felt sick when she thought of this bunch of hated bastards. She didn't know how many people would be in trouble this time. But there was nothing she could do. The farm was full of cadres sent by the county and the commune to educate the people living in the adobe houses. Although they didn't usually have much to do with things, Liu's father and several other farm leaders who looked down on the Revolutionary Committee could not openly disobey orders from above.
"Okay, don't worry. Uncle Liu has known this for so many years, so he must have his own way of dealing with things. He'll just search for things. If they can't find anything contraband, they naturally can't say anything. But I think the pigs on your farm may be in danger."
When Liu Jiaman heard Shen Anning say this, she laughed. That's right. Tonight, these people who came to inspect didn't have to eat and take anything before they could leave. Otherwise, it would be troublesome if they came here in such a cold weather and got nothing.
Only when Liu Jiaman was about to go to work did Shen Anning take Shen Zixi away. Before leaving, she took away half a basket of beets. For some reason, the beets on the farm tasted better, whether pickled or fried.
Hanging two backpacks on both sides of the frame, fearing that Shen Zixi would be cold, Shen Anning also covered her with a quilt and cotton cloth, "Auntie will ride the bike later. If you feel cold, just ask Auntie to stop, do you know."
"Yeah, I know, auntie."
Just after riding his bike out of the carport and before he had time to go out of the farm gate, Shen Anning saw a group of young people wearing red armbands coming towards him aggressively. Looking at their posture, it was quite intimidating.
Shen Anning was wearing a scarf, with only her eyes exposed. She was not afraid and pushed the car to the open space next to her without blocking the gate. Looking at this group of people, they didn't seem to be very old.
Only the two leaders looked to be in their thirties, the rest were a group of young people in their teens and twenties.
Young people are passionate, but easily impulsive, and do not have much ability to distinguish right from wrong, so Shen Anning was not surprised at all when she saw them. She thought back to when she was in middle school in Beijing, many of her classmates became Red Guards. Every day when they went to school, they liked to show off the fact that they followed their superiors to search houses, and they talked about it in class.
I don’t know if it was because Shen Anning standing there with her cart was too awkward, or because she was too tall to be seen by these people.
Shen Anning was called out without doing anything.
"Hey, the one standing with the cart over there, I'm talking to you. What do you do? Didn't you know we were coming to check on you today? How could you just go out like that?"
Shen Anning was a little puzzled. Before she could respond, she saw the gatekeeper open the door and walk out. This was the first time Shen Anning saw his whole body. Although he was old, his back was straight and he looked very tall, like a trained soldier.
"Everyone, this is an educated youth from Fangshan Commune who went to the countryside to work in the fields. She's in Wangtu Village. She's not from our farm, but she's a good friend of the daughter of our farm manager Liu. She just came over to play."
"Really? Then what are those two backpacks filled with? We need to check them out."
Shen Anning smiled, set up the bicycle, and carried Shen Zixi out first. Anyway, the things had just been transferred to the space by her, so if these people wanted to check, let them check.
Seeing that there was a child in the backpack, several people who came forward to check were stunned.
"This is my relative's child, also from Wangtu Village. There's no one at home to take care of her, so I brought her here just to play with her."
The few people didn't say anything. They rummaged through the two baskets, searching for mattresses and beets. A few of them curled their lips in disappointment. They thought they could find some bad evidence against Deputy Director Liu and make some money, but it was all in vain!
Shen Anning felt their disappointment and suppressed the pride in her heart, "Can I leave now?"
"Let's go, let's go. The things on the farm are the country's wealth. You'd better come here less often in the future. Otherwise, you won't be able to explain if something is lost."
"Okay, I usually come here just to visit Uncle Liu's house, and I haven't been anywhere else." Looking at the doorman's playful eyes, Shen Anning's voice and tone did not change at all.
Watching the group of people walk away, Shen Anning looked at the gatekeeper walking towards the guard room, "Uncle, thank you."
"Thank you, you helped me too."
Ana Shen was stunned for a moment, then smiled, tied the backpack again, and rode home without saying anything else.
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