Hetou Village returned to peace.
The weather was getting colder. This morning, when I went to school, the pond at the entrance to the village was covered in thick ice. The adults said it was as thick as a little arm. The brave children ran out onto the ice and jumped and danced. Qiuhua, in a hurry to go to school, took a quick look and left.
I was walking along and didn't feel cold. But when I got to the classroom and started class, the heat in my body began to dissipate, and I gradually felt colder and colder, and it felt like I had lost feeling in my toes.
Qiuhua's cotton-padded jacket was modified from an old one of her mother's. Not only was it old, it wasn't very warm. Her hands were covered with chilblains, and her finger joints were swollen like carrots. One of the chilblains had ulcerated and scabbed over. She had to be very careful every time she wrote, for if she exerted a little force, the scab would break and the book would be stained with blood.
You have to be extremely careful when doing embroidery, as the silk thread can easily get caught on the blood scabs on your hands. If the blood flows onto the embroidery, no one will want the embroidery and Qiuhua will have to pay for it. It is said that the compensation is fifty yuan, which she dare not even think about.
In winter, students cannot bear eating cold meals, so the school turns on the stove to heat up their meals. In the morning, everyone puts their lunch boxes on the stove. When it is almost noon, the principal will go to light the fire in the stove, and then turn off the fire after the water in the pot boils. After a while, the students will go out of class.
Liang Qiuhua still had lunch with Zhao Meiying and Zhou Hehua. Their dishes were always better than hers, but Qiuhua was able to bring her own meals recently because Erhua was an apprentice in Tangli Village. His master treated him very well and gave him five yuan as wages every month. He didn't use it himself and brought some back for his mother every time he went home.
She brought rice, radish and steamed sweet potato today. Zhao Meiying picked up a fried egg for her, and Zhou Hehua also picked up some water bamboo and shredded pork for her. The three little ladies ate happily.
After dinner, Zhao Meiying secretly took out a bottle of malted milk and used the water in the steamer to soak a lunch box for each person.
The days of studying are so sweet!
"Qiuhua, how is your mandarin duck embroidery going? Is it almost finished? You have been busy embroidering recently, and it's rare for you to play with us." Zhou Hehua likes to drink sweet drinks. She finished it in a short while. She licked her lips and felt unsatisfied.
Zhao Meiying pushed the bottle of malted milk to her and asked her to add some more, but she shook her head.
"Are you embarrassed yet? Go ahead and charge."
She chuckled and took the lunch box to ask for hot water.
"I was just about to ask you, is the embroidery almost done? Don't take this one after you're done, it's almost Chinese New Year."
Qiuhua took a sip carefully, swallowed it, and said, "It's almost ready. It will be ready in the next two days. Chinese New Year is coming soon. I definitely won't take it before the New Year. I still need to wash and dry it at home when the weather is better."
The two were chatting when they suddenly heard shouting and cursing outside. They thought it was Zhou Hehua, so they ran out to see what was happening. They saw Zhou Hehua and "Black Dog" confronting each other. Her lunch box had fallen to the ground, and malted milk was spilled everywhere.
"Do you look like a human being? I was walking peacefully but you deliberately tripped me. Just wait, I will let my brother give you a meal!" Zhou Hehua was angry and anxious, and picked up the lunch box to hit "Black Dog".
The "Black Dog" was certainly not to be trifled with, shouting, "When did I trip you? Which eye of yours saw it? Anyone who saw it, come forward and testify!"
None of the students who came out to watch the fun spoke. "Black Dog" smiled triumphantly and kicked Zhou Hehua's lunch box away. She watched it fly out and hit the wall, then fall to the ground with a bang, and she burst into tears.
Zhao Meiying ran to teach "Black Dog" a lesson, and Qiuhua hurriedly picked up the lunch box.
"'Black Dog', you're itching for trouble again, aren't you? You're looking for trouble for no reason. My brother didn't beat you into submission last time, right? Just wait!" Zhao Meiying pointed a finger at him, warning him not to take any further action.
"Black Dog" seemed to be afraid for a moment, but he said stubbornly, "I didn't trip her. She wrongly accused a good person. If you have the guts, ask your brother to beat me up right now. I'm not afraid! I'm going to sue the principal for wrongfully accusing me!"
No one noticed that a person was pulled out from the crowd of onlookers. That person spoke coldly:
"I testify that I saw you trip her!"
Qiuhua looked at the man in surprise, and it turned out to be Wu Xin, who usually kept to himself and didn't like to get involved in anything!
Just when "Black Dog" tripped Zhou Hehua, Wu Xin happened to pass by. He glanced at him, but "Black Dog" didn't take him seriously at all. Besides, Wu Xin usually didn't like to talk to anyone in the class, and he would stay out of things that didn't concern him. Unexpectedly, he actually stood up and spoke this time.
"Wu Xin, what do you mean?" he asked provocatively with his eyes wide open.
"It's nothing special. I just want to stand up and testify."
After saying this, Wu Xin turned around and left coldly.
"Don't leave, kid! Explain it clearly, don't leave! You have something against me, right? Come on, let's fight!"
"Black Dog" was furious, like a wild wolf looking for trouble, but Wu Xin ignored him and walked straight back to the classroom to continue reading his book.
At this time, the principal saw the commotion outside, came out and scolded all the students without saying a word, then grabbed the "black dog" by the ear and dragged him outside, telling him to go home.
He walked along, cursing all the way: "Get out if you want to, you old thing, you're pulling my ears. What's the point of going to school? You're all just pretenders, you idiot!"
Qiuhua and the other two were a little grateful to Wu Xin this time. They used to say privately that Wu Xin was a weirdo, unsociable, pretentious, but now they felt that they had gone too far. They didn't expect that although he usually looked very noble, he was willing to step forward when something really happened.
"Black Dog" went back and the classroom became peaceful and quiet again. The afternoon class was completed smoothly, and Qiuhua went home to do embroidery as soon as school was over.
The Chinese New Year is coming soon. If she can finish it before the New Year to earn some money, she can also buy some things for the New Year. Whenever Qiuhua thinks of this, she gets excited. She has already finished embroidering the mandarin ducks, and there are only a few leaves left. She is trying hard to finish it tonight.
Something was on his mind, so he ate dinner very quickly. Dahua had just taken a few bites when Qiuhua put down her bowl and went to work. He hurriedly said, "You're eating so fast. Did the embroidery master come to hurry you up?"
"Don't rush me. There are only a few leaves left. Hurry and finish them so that I can exchange them for money. Chinese New Year is coming soon. I don't have school tomorrow, so I'll go to the street to deliver them."
Speaking of going out on the streets, Dahua's heart moved, and he naturally thought of Zhao Xiaojuan.
"I'll go with you tomorrow."
"Go together? Aren't you going to the team tomorrow?" Qiuhua didn't even raise her head and continued to embroider hard.
Mum was quick to react and interrupted, saying, "Go ahead. There's nothing important happening in the team tomorrow. I'll talk to the captain for you. Go to the street and see if the rice they distributed last time is almost gone. It's still not enough. Buy some."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com