Although Mr. Shen has not conducted real-time field research in the past two years, he majored in history. There are many mountains in the Northeast, so in addition to working, he also took the time to write down a lot of his own observations. After all, it is not very convenient to hide there.
The busy farming season in 1974 was somewhat different from the past. The harvest this year was particularly good. Even though the grain quota was more than in previous years, the amount distributed to everyone would still be more, not less. The old and young people in the village were all infected by the joy of the harvest.
The school also started the busy farming schedule, with classes only half a day in the morning, and the children were asked to help at home in the afternoon. Rural children generally start school late, and even the youngest first-grade child is seven or eight years old, so it is still possible for them to help the family with things within their ability, such as delivering meals and picking wheat ears.
Shen Zixi has been having a lot of fun recently. In the morning, she was detained at home by Shen Anning and could not go out. In the afternoon, Shen Anyu and Shen Anxuan came back and were like wild horses that had broken free from their reins and could not be stopped.
There was no other way, so Shen An Ning had to prepare sun hats for her and An Xuan. Although she knew that she would run and jump and sweat a lot, and applying sunscreen might not be of much use, she still struggled. Looking at her fair and tender little niece, she couldn't imagine her little niece turning into charcoal after the autumn harvest.
"Xixi, don't take off this hat when you play, okay? Otherwise, the sun will make your little face red, and it will hurt at night." Shen An Ning looked at the little dwarf who was anxious to go out, still a little worried, so he could only remind him again and again.
In the afternoon, Shen Anning was the only one at home. The afternoon sun was too strong and she didn't want to go out, so she stayed at home to process the herbs and organize the things in the space.
Although the family has not saved on food and drink in recent years, there are only ten people in the family after all, and the food is limited, so not much of the food in Shen Anning's space has been eaten. Except for the breakfast shop and the fresh meat shop, the food in other shops is just a drizzle.
Because National Day happens to be during the busy farming season, and now National Day is not a seven or eight-day holiday like in later generations, workers in factories only have one or two days off, so there are no large-scale celebrations in rural areas.
On October 5th, Shen Anyu and Shen Anxuan took lunch and a nap as usual, and then took their little friend Xixi out to play. It was not yet evening, and most children went to the fields to make trouble, so the adults asked them to wait until it was almost time to get off work before picking up wheat ears.
Shen Anyu took Shen Zixi out of the door and hung the kettle on himself first, “Xixi, where are we going to play today?”
The little girl just blinked her eyes, and her expression showed that she was thinking of some "bad ideas".
Shen Anyu was overwhelmed when he saw her like this. He finally understood why his eldest sister was so restrictive towards her niece. Shen Zixi's personality was not at all like that of her eldest brother and sister-in-law. She was a bit like the uncle that her grandfather had talked about when he was a child.
The twins were indeed very taciturn. Shen Anxuan spoke before Shen Zixi could, "You can't go play in the water, and you can't leave the village. Why don't you go back and discuss it with your aunt?"
When Shen Zixi heard this, she waved her hands hurriedly, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, we're not going back, we're not going to the river, and we're not leaving the village. Aunt, uncle, let's go to the mountains. Yesterday I heard Xiaoxue and Dasheng were going to play, picking fruits and wolfberries."
Hearing Shen Zixi say that they were going up the mountain to play, the brother and sister breathed a sigh of relief. Compared with other places, the back mountain is indeed safer, but in order to prevent the little girl from running around, Shen Anyu and Shen Anxuan held her hand and put her in the middle for better control.
Since they had already gone up the mountain, they couldn't go down empty-handed. Shen Anxuan was responsible for taking Xixi to play around and pick fruits to eat, while Shen Anyu was responsible for collecting firewood.
Because she would climb the mountain for exercise every morning, Shen Anxuan was very familiar with the back mountain. She knew where the delicious wild fruits grew. Shen Zixi followed Shen Anxuan and had a lot of fun picking up the ready-made fruits.
"Auntie, hurry up, there are so many fruits here."
Shen Anxuan walked a few steps ahead and heard no sound behind him. He turned around and saw the little girl squatting under a tree, holding a branch in her hand and digging something.
"What are you doing, Xixi? Stop it. If your clothes get too dirty, you'll get beaten when you get home."
Shen Zixi looked up and was reluctant to put down the things in her hand, "Aunt, come here, this is bright and shining."
“It’s just a little hard to dig.”
Shen Anxuan was a little confused. What was so shiny that it was hard to dig it out?
Walking closer and squatting down to take a look, Shen Anxuan took a look and saw that it looked like a box, but it was wrapped with gold edges, so it looked a little shiny in the sun.
She quickly grabbed a handful of leaves to cover it up, "Xixi, listen to your aunt, let's not dig it out for now. Wait a moment, don't move, okay?"
Shen Anxuan looked at the boy who was collecting firewood not far away, walked over and told him about this matter, "Brother, go back and get two large backpacks. We'll dig it out and take a look after they go to the fields to collect wheat ears."
When it got dark, a group of children ran to the fields. Seeing Shen Anyu and Shen Anxuan playing with their little niece, they didn't shout, just said hello and left. They also knew Shen Zixi, the playful little devil.
Shen Anyu dug with a small shovel for about ten minutes and dug out a small square box. Although it had been covered in mud for a long time and looked a little old, he could still recognize its appearance. It was very similar to the jewelry box he had seen in his father's book before, but it was a little bigger than the one in the book.
"Shh, don't make a sound, let's go home and show it to Big Sister."
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