Of the four sons in the Song family, three grew up under everyone's watch, except the fourth son.
The fourth son of the Song family, Song Jianshe, was born prematurely. He had always been weak, so thin he looked like he could be blown away by the wind. He stayed at home all year round, never going to work, and the entire team rarely saw him throughout the year.
Especially in the past two years, he has appeared less and less in public, and people have been speculating about him behind his back, saying all kinds of things.
Now when she heard Feng Guizhi talking about doing good deeds, Mrs. Tian didn't believe it from the bottom of her heart. Her family couldn't even get enough to eat, so why would she keep a little girl who knew where she came from?
Although the people working over there were a few steps away, they all pricked up their ears to listen to the noise here.
Feng Guizhi stopped what she was doing and looked at Mrs. Tian with a cold look in her eyes: "If you dare to talk nonsense to me again, I will tear your stinky mouth apart!"
Some people, if you give them three points, will give them five more. Feng Guizhi is not a gossipy person and usually doesn't have any conflicts with others, but if someone really wants to cause trouble, she is not afraid at all.
She raised four sons on her own, what hardships had she not endured? What was there to be afraid of?
"What? Dare to do it but not to say it?"
"If that's what you mean, then why don't we go find the captain and talk it out in front of him." Feng Guizhi said with a gloomy face.
"Don't bring up the captain!"
When she heard Feng Guizhi say that she wanted to find the team leader, Tian Pozi's arrogance immediately subsided. It was not because she was really afraid of the team leader Song Yuangang, but because she was still hoping to get more benefits from Song Yuangang, so she did not dare to report everything to him.
She glared at Feng Guizhi, as if she wanted to punch a hole in her face. Then she walked away dejectedly, holding the hoe.
Feng Guizhi glanced at her and was too lazy to look at her again.
The experiences of Tian Pozi and Feng Guizhi were quite similar. Both lost their husbands when they were young, and raised their children alone. However, Tian Pozi had two sons and one daughter, so her burden was slightly smaller than Feng Guizhi's four sons.
The older of the children were only a few years old, and the younger had just been weaned. She had to work to earn work points while also taking care of the children's food, drink, and toileting. She would even save two meals a day, and life was truly difficult.
Mrs. Tian felt that it was really hard, so she went to the brigade to ask the team leader for food and asked him to assign her some easy work, otherwise the whole family would suffer.
Can't survive.
The captain was so annoyed and the situation was really difficult that he agreed. With the care, life at Mrs. Tian's home became much better.
But in comparison, the situation was even more difficult. Feng Guizhi, who raised four sons alone, never complained about the hardship or fatigue. She did whatever work was assigned to her and ate whatever food was available, raising her four sons with her head held high.
Everyone in the brigade talked about these two families after dinner, especially since the food subsidies for Mrs. Tian's family also came from the brigade, which was equivalent to deducting money from their family's labor. Who would be happy about this? There was a lot of talk about them in front of and behind their backs.
Anyone who cursed Mrs. Tian would pity Feng Guizhi the next sentence. Mrs. Tian had heard the same thing many times, and at that time she was full of anger and wanted to step on Feng Guizhi in the future.
A few years ago, Tian Pozi's daughter, who was not yet 18 but 17 years old, was introduced to a new husband. The husband was a second-married man, almost 30 years old. She didn't care, just asked for a 30-yuan betrothal gift and married her daughter off.
At that time, her daughter did not want to get married and begged her for mercy, but was severely scolded by Tian Pozi. In her mind, her daughter was a money-loser. She was not going to let it go after she finally got married and received a betrothal gift.
After this incident, people kept talking about her behind her back, saying she was selling her daughter. When Mrs. Tian heard this, she stood at the door with her hands on her waist and cursed at them.
However, with the thirty yuan betrothal gift, Mrs. Tian married off both of her sons, which increased the labor force in the family and gradually improved their lives. Looking at the old Song family, who were all elderly, weak, and sick, she felt so happy.
Whenever something was related to the Song family, she would intervene and she had no idea how many nasty things she had said.
Feng Guizhi also knew about this, but usually she didn't bother to care about it unless it got to her head. But if she went too far, her sons wouldn't be raised in vain.
Baoya, sitting in the shade of a tree, watched the whole thing. She felt that the grandmother was very fierce and she didn't like her. Then she looked at Feng Guizhi again, stood up, and ran to the field to Feng Guizhi's side.
He stretched out his little hand and pulled the corner of her clothes, then raised his little head and looked at Feng Guizhi.
Feng Guizhi looked down at her, stunned for a moment, and then realized that the girl was comforting her, and her tense face relaxed a lot.
…
After work in the evening, every family started to cook dinner. Smoke rose from the chimney, and the white smoke with the faint aroma of food floated all the way to the sky.
.
Feng Guizhi didn't rush to cook when she got home. She just sat in the main room and waited for the others to come back. After all, there was going to be one more person to feed at home. Although she was the one who made the decisions at home, she still had to let them know.
Chen Xiuxiu and Sun Suyun came back together. As soon as they got home, they saw their mother-in-law sitting in the main room. They turned their heads and looked at each other. They felt a little nervous and wondered what had happened.
The next ones to come back were a few younger ones, carrying baskets full of pig feed and a lot of wild vegetables.
"Mom, grandma, look, we have harvested a lot of pig grass and wild vegetables." Song Wenjie happily reported the achievements of himself and his brothers as soon as he entered the door.
"I...and I...I also picked up two...two bird...bird eggs..." Song Tianen followed closely behind and ran into the main room.
However, the people who were originally joking and trying to take credit for it suddenly fell silent once they entered the room. Sun Suyun pulled Song Wenjie over and made a shushing gesture to him.
Song Tianen also covered his mouth and stood aside, not daring to speak. After the other children entered the room, they felt that the atmosphere was not right and stood aside tacitly.
Today, Yang Yulan was delayed at work and came back a little late. As soon as she got home, she rushed to the kitchen to cook for the whole family, but before she could light the fire, Feng Guizhi called her over.
After the men returned from work, more and more people came into the house. Everyone looked at each other, wondering what big news Feng Guizhi was going to say. However, they also saw that Baoya, who had been found in their haystack that morning, was still standing next to Feng Guizhi, and they all guessed that this might be related to her.
A large group of people stood in the main hall: Song Aiguo from the first wife, his wife Chen Xiuxiu, and their three children, Song Bowen, Song Boyu, and Song Yunduo; Song Aimin from the second wife, his wife Sun Suyun, and their two sons, Song Wenjie and Song Wenzhi.
Song Jianye, from the third room, had broken his leg and was lying in the west room. His wife, Yang Yulan, and their only son, Song Tianen, were there. Song Jianshe, from the fourth room, was also absent. His wife, Li Qingyan, was holding their less than one-year-old daughter, Song Tiantian, and their five-year-old son, Song Yuanbao, was standing next to them.
Seeing that most of the family members were there, Feng Guizhi looked around before speaking, "I went to the brigade headquarters today and asked what arrangements should be made for this child. The brigade leader said that we should place him in our home first until we find his parents."
She didn't mention the work points because she wanted to see everyone's reaction.
Chen Xiuxiu frowned after hearing this. She looked at Baoya, then at Feng Guizhi, hesitantly: "Then...how long are we going to keep her?"
"this
It’s hard to say, let’s see when we can find her parents.”
"If we don't find it, we'll just keep it." Chen Xiuxiu opened her mouth, seemed to be hesitant to speak, and finally said.
Feng Guizhi nodded.
Sun Suyun looked at her sister-in-law Chen Xiuxiu, then at her husband's mother. She wanted to speak, but she didn't know what to say. She had never been very good at speaking.
She just felt that there was not much food at home, and it was okay to feed multiple children for one or two meals a day. But there was no definite number this time, and no one knew how long she would have to stay at home. She couldn't just keep feeding them like this, right?
"Mom, how about...just take the money from me for this child's food. I don't eat much anyway." Looking at the skinny Baoya over there, Yang Yulan from the third room thought for a moment and said softly.
Her husband, Song Jianye, broke his leg a while ago. Not only is he unable to work, but his medical treatment has also cost him a fortune. Because she has to care for Song Jianye, her assigned tasks are lighter, but her work points are correspondingly lower. Compared to the other wives, who have two working children, she feels a bit guilty.
So now that she saw that the family was going to have another baby, and she knew that food was tight, she suggested deducting some from her own food.
"Mother...Mother...I...I can...eat less..." Song Tianen also stuttered after hearing this.
Feng Guizhi glanced at the mother and son. She thought, "Third daughter-in-law isn't the smartest of the wives, but she has the best temperament. She's gentle and dutiful. But in this day and age, people with this temperament are more likely to suffer losses."
Her son's temperament is similar to hers. He's not as mischievous as Wenjie, and he's quite sensible. It's just that he stutters a bit, so when he's out in public, he doesn't dare to speak much and is a bit timid.
"If you want to deduct money, it should be from me. I'm the eldest brother, how can I let you save this meal? Besides, Jianye is still lying in bed recuperating, and you have to take care of him. You can't exhaust yourself by not even having enough to eat." Song Aiguo said.
It is said that the eldest brother is like a father. Since his biological father passed away, Song Aiguo, the eldest brother, sometimes plays the role of a father.
"Brother, it's because Jianye is still sick that we have to deduct money from me. Otherwise, we would be taking advantage of him. You, your sister-in-law, and your second brother and his wife all have to work during the day to support the family. We definitely can't skimp on food. My work is easy every day, so it's okay to eat less."
"You are being too polite when you say that. We are all family, so why take advantage of others? Besides, my third brother is just recuperating for a while, and he will definitely earn a lot of work points later.
.”
Seeing that the two were still arguing, Feng Guizhi waved her hand and said, "Alright, even if our family is poor, we still have enough to eat. Don't fight over it. If you have the strength, do more work to earn some work points."
At this time, Li Qingyan, the fourth daughter-in-law who had previously attended high school and was well-educated, said, "Mom, if this child is raised in our family, didn't the team leader say that he would provide some kind of subsidy?"
Feng Guizhi glanced at her and decided that the fourth daughter-in-law was indeed the smartest and most educated one.
Seeing that the fourth daughter-in-law had asked for the idea, Feng Guizhi did not intend to hide it any longer. She raised her eyes and glanced at everyone's faces, then said:
"The team leader said that this girl will be counted as one work point for every day she stays in our house."
Chen Xiuxiu's mouth opened in surprise. She looked at Baoya. One work point a day? Raising this half-grown girl?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
