We braved the scorching sun all the way to the Yuejin Production Brigade. It was not yet noon and everyone in the brigade was still working in the fields.
Xu Laiying and the others had come to settle accounts with Chen Fengxia, not to visit relatives, so they naturally didn't want to wait until she got off work at noon. After asking someone on the street, they went directly to where Chen Fengxia worked.
After watching the four of them leave, the person who had just replied frowned, thinking they looked familiar. After thinking for a while, he suddenly remembered that he had seen Xu Laiying and her two daughters-in-law before. They were the ones who came back and said Chen Fengxia was selling Baoya.
He clapped his hands immediately, and without caring about going to work, he quickly followed behind to watch the fun.
When Zhang Hongli and Xu Laiying arrived at Chen Fengxia's workstation, they were already followed by quite a few people. Someone working nearby saw so many people coming and couldn't help but walk over and ask:
"Aunt Zhang, why are you all here? What happened?"
The person called Auntie Zhang pulled her over and whispered, "See that over there? Those are the ones who came over last time and said Chen Fengxia was selling Baoya!"
She didn't say much after that, and everyone understood. They were all from the same team, and the last incident had caused such a big stir, so few people didn't know about it. After hearing this, a few more people came to watch the fun.
Xu Laiying and the others were too busy to care about other people's thoughts. They just wanted to ask Chen Fengxia for clarification. Xu Laiying's eldest daughter-in-law put her hands on her waist and shouted at Chen Fengxia who was working in the field:
"Chen Fengxia, come here. We need to talk things over!"
"We just came to ask you, do you still consider us as relatives? How could you do such a thing?"
"Is it easy to take our money? Don't you feel guilty when you spend it? Huh?"
Chen Fengxia heard the voice and turned to see Xu Laiying, her two daughters-in-law, and Zhang Hongli. Her heart skipped a beat. Listening to what they said, Chen Fengxia felt a little guilty, thinking that they might know about Baoya.
Chen Fengxia didn't want to go over there, but if she ran away, she could not escape the temple even if she tried. In the end, she had no choice but to go over there.
"It's my aunt, why are you here? You must be tired after coming all the way here, I'll take you home to rest for a while." Chen Fengxia pretended not to hear those unpleasant words and said to Xu Laiying and the others.
After saying hello, he was about to take the person away.
"Stop playing tricks on me. I just want to ask you, did you sell Baoya to someone else again? Huh?" Xu Laiying's eldest daughter-in-law shook off Chen Fengxia's outstretched hand and said.
If Chen Fengxia had only guessed before, now her thoughts were confirmed; they really knew. Although Chen Xiafeng had never thought that this matter could be kept secret forever, she had never expected that this day would come so soon.
But she certainly didn't dare to admit it. She just laughed dryly and said, "Cousin, what do you mean? I don't understand."
"Don't play dumb. We all know you sold your daughter to someone else again. You sold her to the Red Flag Production Brigade next door for ten yuan. Am I right?"
She spoke softly, but those standing nearby were all there to watch the fun, and they pricked up their ears to listen to what they said, so they could hear it clearly.
The atmosphere immediately exploded: "What? Chen Fengxia sold Baoya again, and sold it for ten yuan?"
"No, didn't they say Baoya ran away and couldn't be found? Why is she being sold now?"
"Could it be that the Baoya wasn't actually lost, but she hid it? When everyone thought the Baoya was lost, she secretly sold it again!"
They recalled what Xu Laiying and the others had said last time, that Baoya might have been hidden by Chen Fengxia. Now, looking at it again, wasn't it?
"That's really cruel! Selling it once wasn't enough, they actually sold the human treasure bud again."
"I've never seen such a motherly person before. She's so cruel!"
“…”
Chen Fengxia heard everything she said clearly and knew that she could no longer hide the truth. Then, she listened to the voices coming from the side and sweat broke out on her forehead. She couldn't tell if it was from the heat or fear.
The last time she was found selling Baoya, the people in the brigade scolded her for a long time, both openly and covertly. Tian Xiufang was so angry that she wanted to send her back to her parents' home. And her husband...
Chen Fengxia said quickly, "I think there might be some misunderstanding here. What's with the Red Flag Production Brigade? And I don't know what's going on with the ten yuan you mentioned. So, cousin-in-law, aunt, and cousin, look at the scorching sun now. If you have anything to say, let's go home and talk about it."
Chen Fengxia wanted to take them all home, close the door and say whatever she wanted to them.
Xu Laiying and her two daughters-in-law looked at each other, then nodded in agreement.
They came here mainly to resolve the issue and get the money back. There was no need to make another fuss, which would not look good.
Chen Fengxia took them home, and Zhang Hongli walked behind, thinking about what to say next.
When the onlookers saw the people leaving, they hurriedly followed. However, when they arrived at the Liu family's door, Chen Fengxia slammed the door shut, locking them all out.
There was no one at home at this time. Chen Fengxia turned around and walked into the main room, sitting directly on the stool. Her expression was completely different from before.
However, Xu Laiying and the others didn't care about this and said directly: "There are no outsiders now, so should I be sure of what I said just now?"
"Did you hide Baoya and then sell her off when no one knew?"
Chen Fengxia: "Baoya ran away on her own. It had nothing to do with me. I thought she was lost at the time, but then I overheard someone say there was a little girl in the production brigade next door, so I went to see her and found out she had run away there."
"So you sold her again and made an extra ten dollars?" Xu Laiying's eldest daughter-in-law said with a sneer.
Chen Fengxia remained silent this time.
"We won't bother with you any more. You have to give us the money today."
"Yes, since you've already sold the child, you have to return the money to us!"
Chen Fengxia was of course unwilling to give away the money she had earned. Just as she was about to speak, she heard Zhang Hongli say:
"No, I don't want money. I just want the Baoya. Fengxia, I can pay the ten yuan, as long as you give me the Baoya."
The eldest son's wife said, "Hongli, why are you still so stupid? The child has already been registered with someone else's family. How can we get him back? Let's get the money back first."
"Yes, Hongli, sister-in-law is right."
Chen Fengxia was tempted to hear that Zhang Hongli was still willing to pay, but she quickly dismissed the idea. This matter had been going on for long enough, and if Liu Youcang found out, he would be furious.
Thinking of the ten yuan given by the Song family, Chen Fengxia gritted her teeth and said, "Okay, I'll give you the rest of the money, but you can't talk about this outside. Just say you admitted your mistake. Otherwise, I'll be scolded for no reason again. If I get angry, I'll go to your team again."
Upon hearing Chen
Fengxia was willing to pay, and Xu Laiying quickly said, "Okay, okay, if you give us the money, we will definitely not tell anyone."
Zhang Hongli looked at Xu Laiying and opened her mouth to say something but was pulled out by her second sister-in-law.
"Hongli, let's forget about this. That child is not meant for you, so let's not force it."
"It took so much effort to get the money back. If you keep saying it, in the end no one will have it, and you won't get the money back either..."
Zhang Hongli felt a little uncomfortable when she heard this. She wanted to say something but didn't know how to say it. Baoya's face appeared in her mind, and she felt very reluctant to let her go.
Moreover, she had a very uncomfortable feeling in her heart, as if something important was about to be lost.
The eldest daughter-in-law in the room hurriedly urged Chen Fengxia to get the money. She turned her head and glanced outside the door, and could not help but urge her again:
"hurry up."
After Chen Fengxia slowly took out the money, Xu Laiying took it and counted it. It was exactly two yuan and fifty cents. She stuffed it into her pocket and couldn't say anything to Chen Fengxia. She turned around and left.
"Let's go."
After Xu Laiying and the others left the house, Zhang Hongli looked back at Chen Fengxia, blinked back her tears, and followed them.
As soon as the door opened, many people were waiting outside to watch the excitement. When they saw them come out, they immediately started asking questions:
"Did Chen Fengxia really sell Baoya again?"
"Baoya didn't get lost. Did Chen Fengxia hide her on purpose? What are you talking about now? How are we going to resolve Baoya's issue?"
"Are you going home now or going to the Red Flag Production Brigade next door? Do you still want Baoya?"
“…”
The eldest son's wife waved her hands and said, "No, we were mistaken. The one we saw was not Baoya. We made a mistake this time. Please make way. We want to go home."
"That's not true. It's a mistake."
After squeezing out, Xu Laiying, Zhang Hongli and the others hurried back along the way they had come. However, Zhang Hongli looked in the direction of the Hongqi Production Brigade, and tears slowly welled up in her eyes again.
After they left, the group looked at each other, confused by what they had just said: "Were we mistaken? So everything we just said was false?"
"I don't think so. Baoya is most likely in the production team next door."
"It's not difficult to know if it's true or not. If Baoya is really in the production team next door, then it must be
It’s true.”
"right."
The two brigades are close to each other and there are many people who know each other. You will find out when the time comes.
Chen Fengxia knew that she could no longer keep this matter secret, so she could only think of a solution quickly so that Liu Youcang would not get too angry when he found out.
......
After returning home, Xu Laiying didn't give the money to Zhang Hongli. She just said, "I'll save this money for you first. You and Dazhi are in this situation now, so you need to save some money. But I'm in charge of something. Your two sisters-in-law took leave in the hot summer and went to the Yuejin Production Brigade twice because of you. They didn't even work. Can you give them two yuan and fifty cents to buy some snacks for your nephew?"
Zhang Hongli had no objection. She had always been generous to her family and always gave them some money every time she came back. In addition, she was really grateful to her two sisters-in-law and felt that she should give them some.
"Listen to my mother."
Hearing that she agreed, Xu Laiying felt relieved.
After that, Zhang Hongli went into the house and stayed alone. In the afternoon, her two sisters-in-law also went to work in the fields.
Zhang Hongli had originally planned to go back to the city today, but now she has no intention of leaving and can only wait until tomorrow.
Zhang Hongli lay in bed all afternoon. When it was already dark in the evening, she lay in bed but couldn't fall asleep. She simply got up, moved a small stool and sat in the yard. She looked up at the stars in the sky, but Baoya's face kept appearing in her mind.
After a while, she heard voices coming from her eldest brother and his wife's room next door. The voices were not loud, but the room was not soundproof. Zhang Hongli quickly got up and prepared to go into the room. At this time, she heard someone say:
"By the way, did you not let your little sister know when you went to ask for money today?"
"No, when Chen Fengxia was giving the money, the second son's wife pulled her out. Then my mother said she was keeping the money, so she didn't know about the two yuan and fifty cents."
Zhang Hongli was stunned when she heard this.
"You said that Chen Fengxia is really shameless. Last time, after such a mess, she was only willing to return half of our money. I thought at least I got half, so it wasn't a loss. I didn't expect her to make another ten yuan..."
Zhang Hongli could no longer hear what was said afterwards. The words just now were echoing in her mind, and she was in a trance for a moment.
It turned out that her mother and sister-in-law had already taken back half of the money without her knowing. However, they had never mentioned this to her. She thought of the two
When her sister-in-law advised her not to ask Baoya to return the money, she suddenly became unsure whether they were really thinking about her or her money.
Zhang Hongli walked into the room in a daze and sat on the bed for a long time. After lying down, she stared at the dark room with her eyes open, tears falling drop by drop onto the pillow.
......
The Song family was relieved that the thing they had been worrying about all day hadn't happened. They were just letting them have their own troubles, so it was best not to disturb them.
As it was getting dark, Feng Guizhi and the others were cooking in the kitchen. Baoya hadn't forgotten her watermelon plant and went to water it carefully. After she finished watering, Yuanbao dragged her to see the corn growing in the private plot behind.
The corn has now grown taller than the Baoya, and one piece is obviously much taller than the ones next to it.
Yuanbao was so happy watching this that he felt that it would not be long before the corn was ready to eat. He could not help but lick his lips and began to think about how to eat it when the time came.
"Let's go back, little sister Xiaobao, and go home for dinner."
Baoya nodded her little head, and the two little ones went back together.
After dinner, the whole family went to bed early. It was already dark outside, with only the twinkling stars and the moon playing hide-and-seek in the sky.
Baoya fell asleep soon, but she had another dream today.
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