Chapter 12
Jiang Jiang followed He Guijuan into the room and sat down. The large round table in the middle was filled with sugar, tea and fruit. They should be Wang Shuwen's relatives from her mother's side. There was also a chubby little girl sitting at the table, secretly drinking orange juice.
Wang Shuwen was holding the child. When she saw He Guijuan leading a little girl in, she knew it was her new adopted daughter. She handed the child to her husband and smiled, bending over and saying, "Is this Jiang Jiang? She looks like a well-behaved and sensible child."
On the way, He Guijuan taught Jiang Jiang how to call people. Jiang Jiang was stunned for a moment before he remembered and called out crisply, "Hello, Auntie Wang."
"So good." Wang Shuwen grabbed a handful of candy and stuffed it into the child's hand. "How old are you?"
"Auntie, I'm five years old." She answered clearly.
Jiang Jiang's attention was quickly attracted by the little baby in Shi Qianjin's arms. The child was chubby. When Jiang Jiang saw him, he smiled, and there were two dimples on his face when he smiled.
"This is my younger brother, his name is Dongsheng." The little girl who was drinking orange juice came over and took the initiative to introduce him to Jiang Jiang.
"Hello, my name is Shi Xiaoyang."
"My name is Jiang Jiang."
The two children of similar age quickly became familiar with each other, and Shi Xiaoyang even suggested going to her room to read picture books.
"In the kiln where I sleep there are many picture books that my father bought for me in the city. Let's go and have a look together."
Jiang Jiang hadn't read the book yet, and an envious look appeared on her face. She turned around to ask He Guijuan for her opinion, "Mom, is it okay?"
"Go ahead."
Looking at the backs of the two children, Wang Shuwen couldn't help but say, "Jiang Jiang looks attractive and is well-behaved and sensible. You should raise her as a daughter, and she will be considerate of you when she grows up."
"That's exactly what I thought."
They had lunch at Wang Shuwen's house. There were fried cakes and white flour buns, as well as orange juice that Shi Qianjin bought at the supply and marketing cooperative. However, the orange juice was ice cold, and it was winter. He Guijuan was afraid that her daughter would feel uncomfortable if she drank too much, so she only let her take two or three sips to taste it.
After having lunch at Wang Shuwen's house, He Guijuan took Jiang Jiang home.
After returning home, He Guijuan and Lin Youqing talked about another group of educated youth going to the countryside. The cave dwellings at the educated youth site collapsed half a year ago and are still under repair. They are uninhabitable now, and their family may need help to accommodate two people.
"We still have an unused kiln at home. Let them live there."
"It's just that mother is not very happy about it. She says that every year our family has to accommodate so many people..." The educated youth who were accommodated in their family last time had just moved back to the educated youth site, and now two more people were given to their family. He Guijuan didn't mind it, but Grandma Lin was not very happy about it. She cursed at her, but she was embarrassed to say anything about Grandma Lin's affairs in front of Lin Youqing.
"Why should I be unhappy? The educated youth living in our house can help Shuanzhu and Fengzhen with their homework. I'll go talk to mom later."
He Guijuan didn't care. They would be returning to the county after the New Year anyway, so this matter had little to do with them.
The next day's breakfast was black bean porridge and a few steamed sweet potatoes. After a simple meal, everyone started to get busy with other things.
Team leader Zhou Youquan brought two male educated youth to their home. One of them was still wearing a white shirt and leather shoes. He was about seventeen or eighteen years old and looked like a student who had just graduated from high school.
"Aunt, these two are educated youths who came from the city to receive re-education from poor and lower-middle peasants. Thank you for your help."
"You know you're causing trouble for us, but why do you always send so many people here?" Old Mrs. Lin glanced at him and said unhappily.
Zhou Youquan looked a little embarrassed, and so did the two educated youth. They probably knew that this family did not welcome them.
"You have an empty cave, auntie. The caves of other families in the village are all vacant. They are as dilapidated as mountain water caves. They are drafty in the winter and leaky in the summer. They are not suitable for people to live in at all."
Seeing Zhou Youquan's embarrassment, He Guijuan came out with a smile and said, "The accommodation has been prepared. You two can follow me."
"Doctor He?"
The educated youth in the white shirt recognized her and called out to her.
He Guijuan was slightly surprised, "You recognize me?"
"When I was a patient at the county hospital, you diagnosed me with the disease. Hello, Doctor He. My name is Zhong Xing, and I am a student at Qingjian County High School."
He Guijuan sees at least 800 patients a month, if not 1,000. She had no impression of him and nodded slightly, "Hello."
"Hello, Doctor He. My name is Yu Hangyuan. I am also a student at Qingjian County High School and have just graduated from my senior year."
"Hello."
It was obvious that the two of them were city kids since they could come here to join the production team. He Guijuan sighed, saying that joining the production team in the countryside would be a lot of hardship.
The Lin family's house was much better than the one at the educated youth center. It had a pit and was occupied by only the two of them. The beds at the educated youth center were not like those at the educated youth center, but just makeshift beds made of wooden boards. A bunch of people were crammed together, making it stuffy and crowded.
The house had been cleaned in advance and was very clean. Zhong Xing put his bedding and suitcase on the ground, took out five yuan from his pocket and stuffed it into He Guijuan's hand.
"Excuse me, Doctor He. Here's five dollars. Take it as our room fee."
"No need for that. No one lives in this house anyway. You can just live here peacefully without any burden." He Guijuan refused to accept the money. "Besides, if you live here, the team will also provide subsidies for our family."
Seeing that she refused to accept it, Zhong Xing had no choice but to take the money back.
"Doctor He, is this your daughter?" The two men's eyes fell on the little girl beside them.
She had big, bright eyes, long, curled eyelashes, two neat braids, and wore a floral cotton jacket and dark purple corduroy pants. But she was too thin, with skinny arms and legs.
"Yes, my daughter Jiang Jiang, come and call me brother."
"Hello, brothers."
This child is so well-behaved and cute. Just looking at him makes people feel pity for him. Zhong Xing took out the few chocolates from his bag and said, "Jiang Jiang, here are some candies for you."
"Thank you, brother."
Jiang Jiang peeled off the candy wrapper and put a candy into her mouth. This candy tasted different from any candy she had eaten before. It was a little bitter at first, but became sweeter and sweeter later. It was fragrant and rich and melted in her mouth.
He Guijuan smiled and said, "Then you guys pack your things. I'll be out first."
"Thank you, Doctor He."
"Mom, this candy is delicious. I'll give it to you."
When He Guijuan tasted it, she found that it was actually chocolate, a rare commodity. A box would probably cost dozens of yuan. You have to know that an ordinary worker now only earns 30 or 40 yuan a month, and this kind of chocolate can only be bought in the provincial capital.
"It's delicious. You can eat the rest by yourself. Mom doesn't want any more... Jiang Jiang, go play with your sister Feng Zhen. I'm going to prepare dinner."
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