The next morning at four o'clock, the alarm clock rang once and was then turned off. Xu An quietly turned his head to look at the two little ones beside him. They were fast asleep and did not seem to have been disturbed at all.
I quietly got out of bed, washed up in the yard, and heard a sound of someone turning over in Grandma's room. I went in and saw that Grandma was already awake.
"Grandma, turn on the light when you wake up. One kilowatt-hour of electricity is enough to keep this light bulb running all day."
Xu An reached out and tugged at the rope by the bedside, and the light bulb emitted a soft yellow light.
"The moonlight is so bright, you can see clearly, don't waste electricity." Grandma Xu raised her hand and pulled the rope, turning off the light.
Since Grandma didn't want to turn on the light, Xu An didn't force her. He helped her sit up against the wall by the moonlight.
“I’m going to pick some vegetables from the garden to sell at the market. I won’t be back until eight or nine o’clock. Yesterday afternoon, they had nightmares while they were sleeping, saying that I didn’t want them anymore. I’m afraid they will wake up and not see me, and then they will cry again.”
"I don't know why, but the two kids have become more and more attached to you these days." Grandma Xu smiled and said, "Maybe they know you're going to university soon, and you'll be away for half a year. They'll cry then."
He paused for a moment while wringing the towel, then squeezed out all the water with a sudden burst of force and handed the wrung-out towel to Grandma Xu.
Grandma Xu took the towel and carefully wiped her face and neck.
Xu An stared blankly at the ripples in the basin of water.
If I go to school by myself, there will be an elderly person with limited mobility and two four-year-old children who can't even walk properly left at home. How will we manage to get by?
If only I could be reborn before the college entrance exam, I wouldn't remember anything, and my score would definitely be too low to get into university, so I could legitimately choose not to go.
Grandma Xu handed the towel to Xu An several times, but Xu An didn't take it. When she turned her head, she saw Xu An staring blankly and assumed that Xu An was worried about the tuition fees.
“I asked the families in the village who got into university, and the tuition for a public university is several thousand yuan a year. Although our family is a bit poor, and my leg injury has cost a lot of money, we can still afford this tuition.”
"I'm not worried about tuition fees. The government provides student loans and poverty subsidies."
"A loan? This is borrowing money from the government."
"Yes, there's no interest. You can pay it back after graduation, and you'll pay back exactly what you borrowed."
"This policy is great."
After Grandma Xu finished washing up, Xu An came out of the room with a basin, poured the water into the yard, and looked at the moon reflected in the water, feeling that this world was a bit messed up.
If I choose to go to university, even if I disagree, my younger siblings will most likely be taken away by my aunt; if I choose not to go to university, I will have a hard time getting past my grandmother, who will definitely think that I and my siblings are a burden to her, and may even secretly send my siblings away.
After all, to Grandma, no matter how sharp-tongued her aunt was, she was still a relative by blood. The two children, while not living a life of luxury at their aunt's house, at least had enough to eat and wear.
Xu An rubbed his face hard.
I don't want to think about it anymore. I'll leave my younger siblings at home first so they don't get taken away by my aunt, and then I'll think about what to do next.
Last night before going to bed, Xu An prepared the things he would need this morning: two baskets and a carrying pole. In the baskets were a small knife, a flashlight, a small wooden stool, and some odds and ends.
With a basket tied to the front and back of the carrying pole and resting on his left shoulder, he held the pole with his left hand for balance and turned on his flashlight with his right hand as he walked toward the vegetable garden.
Xu An was going to the town's morning market, which started at 5:30 and ended around 7:30. After 8:00, urban management officers would come to patrol, and if he wanted to continue setting up his stall, he would have to pay a five-yuan stall fee.
To save the five yuan stall fee, people like Xu An who sell their own homegrown vegetables at this early market day will come.
As you walk along, you can see several vegetable gardens where people are picking vegetables with flashlights. When they see Xu An, they even look up and greet him.
Xu An quickened his pace and entered the vegetable garden to get busy.
The vegetable garden had a good harvest today. The best yield was tomatoes, with more than twenty picked, conservatively estimated to be seven or eight pounds; followed by green peppers, about five pounds; two bitter melons and three eggplants. The remaining corners were planted with leafy greens, just enough for our own consumption.
When we arrived at the market, it was already dawn, and more than a dozen stalls had been set up in the open space in front of the market.
As Xu An was looking for an empty seat, someone waved to him, signaling him to come over. It was Xu Guoqiang, whom he should call "Second Uncle" according to the village's seniority system.
"You're a bit late today. If you're any later, you won't have a seat and will have to find a corner where no one can see you."
"I was a little delayed while picking vegetables, but luckily you came to the market today, Second Uncle."
"It just so happens that the cabbages and green beans are all ripe at the same time. We don't have enough to eat at home, and they'll get too old if we leave them for another two days, so we just picked them up and brought them to the market."
As he spoke, Xu Guoqiang picked up a cabbage and handed it to Xu An, saying smugly, "How about it, isn't it fresh and pretty?"
Every single person in Xujia Village is a skilled farmer, and the vegetables they grow are much fresher and taste better than those from other villages.
"Great, this cabbage looks so healthy, it'll definitely taste delicious."
Hearing Xu An's praise, Xu Guoqiang put the cabbage back on the stall with satisfaction, picked up the spray bottle he carried with him, and sprayed it on the cabbage, making it even more attractive.
Xu An took out the washed red, white, and blue vegetables from the basket and spread them on the ground, arranging them neatly on top. After finishing, he took out a spray bottle and sprayed the vegetables, covering the bright red tomatoes, purple eggplants, and vibrant green peppers and bitter melons with a dense spray of water droplets.
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