After dinner, Qiuhua felt that his hands and feet were full of strength.
The long-lost warm atmosphere, a full stomach, and the little sister he had been looking forward to for a long time, Qiuhua felt that life was getting better. As long as the family worked hard, any problem could be solved.
After collecting the dishes, Dahua was responsible for washing the dishes, Qiuhua washed the diapers, and Erhua caught a beetle from somewhere for Xiaohua to play with.
Xiaohua watched the beetles crawling slowly on the ground intently, poking them with a piece of dry grass from time to time.
Qiuhua was lost in thought while washing diapers, thinking about the future.
The first and most important thing was the eldest brother's marriage to the wife of the head of the family, which was a matter of several parts. The first and foremost thing was to rebuild the house, prepare the betrothal gifts, and hold the wedding banquet.
Then consider my second brother. If they can change their personalities, the family will be much better off, with an extra, genuine labor force. Actually, my second brother is also at the age where he should marry a wife.
Thinking of Xiaohua again, Dad said that if you can learn, you should learn a little. My older and second older brothers dropped out before graduating from elementary school; they didn't like studying. If Xiaohua is a good material, maybe there will be another educated person in our family.
Despite all this, Qiuhua hadn't considered her own future. She was only thinking about the futures of her two older brothers, who would need a lot of money. But now they had no money, so how could they earn it? This brought her back to her plan: embroidery, raising chickens and ducks, and earning work points.
She thought about this over and over again. By the time the diapers were washed, she had already made several sets of embroidery in her mind and sold them for money. She had also raised hundreds of chickens and ducks. Her eldest and second brothers' houses were completed. Xiaohua had become an educated person. As she thought about it, her heart was filled with joy. She believed that as long as her family worked hard, all these wishes would come true.
At night, when everyone else was asleep, she moved the embroidery frame into the house, lit the kerosene lamp, and began to work. Ever since her mother had given birth to her little sister, Xiaohua had slept with her. Perhaps because she had eaten a full meal tonight, Xiaohua felt sleepy early. She took off her clothes and trousers and crawled into bed, falling asleep soon after.
The kerosene lamp was rather dim, but it did not affect Qiuhua's mood at all as she worked the night shift. The plan she had originally planned before the New Year was overturned by her. She wanted to finish it as quickly as possible, hoping to turn it into money as soon as possible.
"Qiuhua, why are you working at night with the lights on? It can't take it for your eyes." Dad poked his head in from outside and frowned when he saw the situation.
"Dad, I'll go to sleep soon, it's okay." Qiuhua explained. She didn't plan to stay up late.
"Okay, then go to bed early."
After giving his instructions, Dad went back to his room to sleep. Qiuhua was the one that gave him the least worry among his children. She had been sensible since she was young. In the past, he always felt sorry for his child for not having a sister, but now Qiuhua also had a sister.
The next morning, Qiuhua got up at dawn to cook porridge. She used three handfuls of rice and three ladles of water and cooked it for an hour and a half. Usually, she used two handfuls of rice, but this time it was different. Mom needed some nourishment, and Dad brought back a small bag of rice yesterday, so Qiuhua became "generous".
The firewood in the stove was burning brightly. Xiaohua was not wearing any outer clothes and trotted to the stove with sleepy eyes. Qiuhua had just enough time to free herself, so she quickly picked him up and carried him into the house to put on clothes.
"Where are the eldest and second brothers?" Xiaohua asked in a baby voice.
"Going to cut grass for the pigs."
Recently, Qiuhua was needed to take care of the family, so the second brother took the initiative to take on the task of cutting grass for the pigs.
"Where's Dad?"
"Dad is chopping wood."
"Where's Mom?"
"Mom is accompanying my little sister."
Xiaohua vaguely understood who the little sister the girl was talking about. She was probably the one who slept all day and liked to cry for no reason.
"Tomorrow when you wake up, stay in bed. If I'm not there, call me. Call me as hard as you can and I'll come."
Qiuhua helped him put on his clothes and hurried to the back of the stove to check the fire, and then went to the front of the stove to check the porridge. The porridge was almost cooked. She put the burning firewood into another stove, leaving only a little red charcoal without open flames.
The pot was hot, so she scooped a bowl of water into it. When the water was bubbling, she took out an egg from the cupboard. Her aunt had come yesterday, and she gave them ten eggs. They were so precious!
She took the egg and tapped it gently on the stove. The eggshell broke and a little egg white flowed out. She immediately reached into the pot, clasped the crack on the eggshell with both hands and gently broke it open. The egg white and yolk slipped out of the shell and fell into the pot.
"Gurgle gurgle" the egg white immediately turns into a white coat when it meets the boiling water, wrapping up the entire egg yolk. As the water splashes, the egg keeps rising and falling in the pot. After a while, a bowl of boiled eggs is ready.
After drinking the porridge, everyone in the family went out and my mother woke up. Qiuhua took the egg and the soup from the pot, added a little salt and handed it to her. My mother first took a sip of the soup, which was neither hot nor cold, just the right temperature, and then ate the egg in a few bites.
"Is your father out?"
"Everyone's out, Mom, there's still porridge in the pot, you can eat some more." Qiuhua picked up the bowl, turned around and picked up the wooden basin full of diapers.
When Mom saw the twelve-year-old Qiuhua grow up like an adult, her heart suddenly ached and tears began to fall.
"Mom, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell? Do you have a stomachache?"
The scene of her mother giving birth on that day really left a deep shadow on Qiuhua, causing her to think that whenever her mother felt uncomfortable, it must be because of her stomach.
Qiu Zhen wiped her tears and waved her hand, telling Qiu Hua to get busy. She was fine. To be fair, she'd been living quite comfortably these past few days since the hardship she'd endured on the day of childbirth. She'd spent most of her time resting in bed, with Genfa taking care of the child at night and Qiu Hua doing the housework during the day, making fish soup and boiled eggs. Life was like this for a good family, and she felt she should be content.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com