"I don't want to get my leg treated. It's too troublesome to go back and forth to town. If it can't be cured, I might get hit again on the road, and it might even get worse."
"I really think it's no big deal. It's not that I can't walk, I'm just lame. It's better to save money and let the children go to school properly." Song Jianye said calmly.
"Why not get treatment? Let your elder brother accompany you and he will definitely send you to the town safely." Chen Xiuxiu said disapprovingly.
"That's right, Third Brother, don't be afraid to spend money. At worst, when you get better, you can earn it back by weaving some more reed mats."
"You and Jianshe are the only ones in our family who can earn money. You should spend the money you earn. Don't worry about not having enough to eat. Your brother and sister-in-law can still go to work and earn some food." Song Aiguo said.
Song Jianye shook his head: "I really don't want to be treated anymore. I'm open-minded. A foot slouch is nothing."
"That won't do. This isn't a matter of being open-minded or not. Even if you think it's nothing, don't you think about your brother-in-law and the two children? Especially Tian'en. When he grows up, he's bound to feel bad when he thinks about it."
"Let's go to the town hospital and have another look. I'm your elder brother, so you have to listen to me on this matter."
The two sides argued, and finally Feng Guizhi spoke up: "Listen to your eldest brother this time and go to the town to have a look. You can earn money again if you lose it, but take care of yourself first."
Song Jianye had no choice but to agree to wait for two days until the river dug by Song Aiguo was almost finished, and then he would take a day off to take him to the town hospital.
After talking it out, the family had a quiet meal.
When they returned to the west room in the evening, Baoya and Tianen also knew that Song Jianye would go to the town hospital to see his leg in a couple of days. Thinking that their father's leg would be healed by then, the two little ones became happy.
The next day, after the family finished breakfast, Baoya went out with his brothers to look for cicada shells. This time, Tianen didn't stay at home and went with them.
His father is going to get his leg treated soon, which will cost a lot of money, and they also need to find more cicada shells to sell for more money.
Today, a few kids went straight to Nantou to start looking.
"Let's have a competition today. Whoever finds more will be rewarded with malted milk." Song Bowen said after thinking about it.
When I heard about malted milk, the little ones all drooled. Malted milk tastes so good. I was thinking of finding more, and now with the temptation of malted milk, I
Everyone is working hard.
"Let's get started!" Yuanbao smacked his lips and urged.
"right."
Now Baoya can also find cicada shells. Although she is young, she sometimes finds more than her brothers. She thought of the sweet malted milk and licked her lips.
Song Bowen didn't let everyone separate. The younger ones stood a few meters away and started searching around.
By the time the sun was about to set, the children had already gathered quite a bit. Since it was still light, they stayed put, thinking they could find more while they could.
After a while, Yuanbao covered his pants and called out to Song Bowen: "Brother, I want to pee."
After he said that, the others also felt like going. They had been able to hold it in, but now they felt the urge to urinate.
"I want to go, too."
"I'm going too."
Song Bowen looked at Baoya, who shook her head. Song Bowen gave the basket to Baoya and said a little embarrassedly:
"Then you wait here for us brothers. Don't run around. We will be back soon."
Baoya responded, squatted down obediently, held the small basket with her little hands, and waited there.
Seeing her waiting obediently, Song Bowen thought they were not far away, so he went with the others. After all, Baoya was a girl, so they walked a little further away.
When Shen Yibei came over, he saw Baoya squatting on the ground alone. He recognized Baoya and thought that the person she was with should be nearby. He raised his foot and wanted to leave, but he was a little worried.
After looking around and seeing no one around, Shen Yibei walked up to Baoya, squatted down, frowned, and asked her, “Are you alone?”
Baoya looked up at Shen Yibei, recognized him, and shook her head: “He, brother.”
Shen Yibei was still the same as last time, with dirty clothes and a dirty face. But when he got closer, Baoya saw his eyes, which were very beautiful and dark.
"Then why are you here alone?" Shen Yibei felt relieved when he heard Baoya say that she came with her brother.
"Them, shhh."
Shen Yibei still had important things to do. Seeing that it was getting dark soon, he should leave quickly. However, he was a little worried when he saw Baoya staying here alone.
After a moment of hesitation, Shen Yibei chose to wait here with Baoya for a while. However, he didn't just wait here, he could look for it while waiting.
When I was about to get up,
Shen Yibei's eyes swept across the small basket in front of Baoya and stopped immediately.
——Cicada shell.
Although there were some wild vegetables covering it, the cicada shell underneath was also slightly exposed.
Estimating that there should be quite a few, Shen Yibei squatted down again, his voice a little more anxious as he looked at Baoya and asked:
"Can you give me some of this? I can trade it with you."
Baoya blinked, then shook her head gently: “No, things, money.”
Baoya knew that Song Jianye needed money to treat his leg, so she didn't want anything in exchange, she just wanted money.
Shen Yibei frowned, and his voice dropped a little: “I don’t have any money now.”
Thinking of Jiang Qiuli's eyes, Shen Yibei couldn't wait. If he relied on himself to find it, he wouldn't be able to find much at all. Suddenly seeing so much in front of him, he didn't want to give up.
If, if he was a bit mean, seeing that Baoya was small, he could just snatch it away. She wouldn't know him at all, and wouldn't be able to find him then. Or, he could take it away now and borrow it, and then return it later.
But he didn't want to do that in his heart, not even thinking about it. Moreover, he didn't think Baoya was perfunctory because she was young. Instead, he looked at Baoya and said seriously:
"I don't have any money right now, but I will work hard to find a way to earn money for you. I really need it right now. I'll owe you this money first, and I'll double it for you later, okay?"
"Give me money?" Baoya tilted her head and looked at Shen Yibei and asked.
Shen Yibei nodded heavily, "Yes, give the money. But I can't give it now, I have to wait a little longer."
Baoya is still young and doesn’t understand much. When she heard Shen Yibei say that he would give her money, she smiled with her eyes curved.
"Here, then." Baoya pushed the small basket towards Shen Yibei.
Shen Yibei looked at Baoya's innocent smile, and suddenly felt like a deceitful villain in his heart. He couldn't help but pinch her little face, and a faint smile appeared on his cold face:
"You're not afraid that I'll lie to you."
Baoya blinked, not understanding what he meant.
Of course, Shen Yibei knew that he would not lie to her. After rubbing Baoya's head, he reached out and pulled away the wild vegetables on the small basket. He estimated in his mind that he took about one-third of the cicada shells.
He rearranged the wild vegetables, then looked at Baoya and said seriously, "I'll think of a way to deal with the money and try to give it to you as soon as possible."
He thought for a moment and then said, "When will you leave later?"
Baoya thought for a moment and pointed at the sky: "Dark."
Shen Yibei estimated the time in his mind and found that he was almost in time: “Okay, I’ll give you something later as a deposit, but I’m not sure if I can make it back before you leave. If I can’t make it today, I’ll wait here if you come over tomorrow.”
Baoya probably understood what he meant and nodded in agreement.
After a while, Shen Yibei saw someone coming over there, guessing it must be Baoya's brothers, so he got up and left. He still had to deliver the things before they left, and time was very tight.
After walking for a while, Shen Yibei looked back a few times. After confirming that it was Yuanbao and the others, he quickened his pace and headed up the mountain.
After Yuanbao Bowen and the others came back, they did not notice that the cicada shells were missing and continued to look for them.
Seeing that it was getting dark, Song Bowen said, "Let's go back."
The little ones all agreed, but Baoya was reluctant to leave.
"Little Treasure, it's getting dark soon. We have to go home, or else grandma and the others will get worried. Can we come back tomorrow to look for them?"
Baoya still shook her head and was unwilling to leave. She pointed in the direction where Shen Yibei left: “Wait, come back.”
"Who are you waiting for?" Now everyone almost understood what Baoya meant, and they were all a little confused when they heard it.
Baoya reached out and picked up the wild vegetables in the basket, then said, "Brother, give me money and buy them."
Then he pointed to the cicada shell inside.
Only then did Song Bowen and the others realize that there were fewer cicada shells. They thought Baoya had been tricked, and they all became angry:
"Shame on you! You're cheating Little Treasure's sister out of her things! You're a big liar!"
"Sister Xiaobao, do you remember what that guy looks like? When I find out who he is, I'll beat him to death!"
"I'm so angry! The cicada shells we worked so hard to find were stolen by a bad guy."
Baoya saw that they were all angry and became anxious: "Brother, okay, buy it."
"Sister Xiaobao, you've been deceived. That person deceived you."
"That person took all the things and ran away. He will never come back."
Baoya still shook her head. She felt that her brother would not lie.
Song Bowen looked at the cicada shells in the basket, thought for a moment and said, "That man only took a small half, not all of them. Besides, Xiaobao was the only one here at the time. If he wanted to cheat,
, or if you want, you can just take it all away."
"So, maybe he's not lying and what he said is true. Let's wait a little longer and see if he comes back later."
After hearing what Song Bowen said, the other children also felt that he was right, so they decided to wait a little longer.
Shen Yibei ran straight up the mountain, frowning and carefully distinguishing the direction. He remembered seeing it last time. The mountain road was difficult to walk on, and he was worried that Baoya and the others would leave if he was late. He didn't dare to stop along the way. Because he walked too fast, he fell a few times. He didn't mind the pain, and he got up and continued walking.
My eyes kept looking around, searching, where is it, where is it?
......
Seeing that the sky was getting darker and darker, and no one came over. Baoya looked eagerly at the direction where Shen Yibei left, and frowned.
She felt that her brother would definitely come back.
"We can't wait any longer, let's go home. He might not come." If we wait any longer, it will be completely dark, and Feng Guizhi and the others will definitely be worried by then.
"Hmph, you're a liar." Yuanbao said angrily.
"Go back."
Baoya wanted to wait a little longer, but she knew Feng Guizhi and Yang Yulan would be worried when it got dark, so she followed them. She kept looking back along the way, but she didn't see anyone.
Shen Yibei hurried all the way, not daring to rest for a moment, and finally ran to the place where he met Baoya, but there was no one there.
He gasped and looked around, but it was pitch black and he couldn't see anything.
They are gone.
Shen Yibei pinched the things in his hand, feeling a little regretful that he was still late.
He looked around again and finally had to go back.
There was a dim light in the simple cowshed. Seeing Shen Yibei coming back, Zhao Rongsheng finally let go of his worries.
"Xiaobei, why are you back so late today?"
Jiang Qiuli was also worried: "Are you going to look for cicada shells for me again? Don't look for them, grandma is fine, I can bear this little pain."
"No, I was delayed on the way." Shen Yibei didn't say much and took out all the cicada shells he had taken from Baoya.
"How did you find so many?" Zhao Rongsheng was surprised when he saw so many cicada shells.
"I just happened to see someone looking for it, so I exchanged something for it."
"Grandpa, please make some medicine for me."
Seeing that Shen Yibei was unwilling to say more, Zhao Rongsheng did not ask any more questions.
Although his grandson was young, he had probably suffered a lot, so he had grown up very early. He knew that he had a sense of propriety and would not do anything out of line, so he did not ask any more questions.
Zhao Rongsheng first carefully put the cicada shell aside, and then took out the hot food from the pot.
It’s called a meal, but in fact it’s just two black-faced steamed buns and a plate of stir-fried wild vegetables without any oil or water.
"You guys eat first."
Zhao Rongsheng finished speaking and quickly went to process the cicada shells and began to boil medicine. A while ago, Jiang Qiuli had measles, and he made her medicine to cure it, but she was left with some eye pain.
Cicada shells were needed to treat eye pain, but they had to work all day and had no time to look for them. Although Shen Yibei was still a child, he did a lot of work, so he would take advantage of the little time he had every day to go to the back mountain to look for them.
But he was looking for them alone, and cicada shells were not everywhere, so in the end he used them faster than he found them.
Seeing that the medicine was gone, Jiang Qiuli's eyes hurt so much that he felt distressed. So he didn't care about eating at this moment and hurried to boil the medicine.
Jiang Qiuli was eating and looking at her grandson, and her heart ached.
"You are still a child and need someone to take care of you, yet you have to take care of grandma. Alas, it is grandma who is a burden to you."
Jiang Qiuli felt sad when she thought about it. She was still such a young child, but she was sent to this cowshed with them, eating only wild vegetable porridge every day. She never had a good day or a good meal.
"Grandma, please don't say such things in the future. As long as you are all fine, I will be fine too."
"Hey, grandma won't say anymore. Come on and eat."
Lying in bed at night, Shen Yibei didn't fall asleep for a long time. After a while, he turned over and thought to himself that he must bring something to her tomorrow.
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