She chopped the sugarcane with a knife from the kitchen, which took her several days of work. She had no choice; she wasn't very strong, so she had to secretly find time to do it.
After Qingming Festival, it's time to sow vegetables in the fields. Grandparents, brothers and sisters become the main force in farming. Last year, she was lying in a basket at the edge of the field, but this year she can sit at the edge of the field and play in the soil.
Because sweet potatoes and potatoes were to be planted this season, the ten acres were not entirely planted with winter wheat; instead, four acres were reserved for potatoes, sweet potatoes, and other miscellaneous grains.
After she turned one year old, her grandmother saw that she no longer wet her pants, so she sewed up all her open-crotch pants. After all, it's better for a girl not to wear open-crotch pants, otherwise how would she sit on the ground and play in the dirt?
The dirt wasn't fun. The little ones playing with her had dirt in their mouths, and she had to pick it out for them. Honestly, she was only a little over a year old herself, why did she have to worry about these little ones like a mother hen?
Even the youngest, Tao An, knows how to help his grandparents with chores, but she is seen as a nuisance and is left to play by herself on the edge of the field. She has to respond to her older siblings' calls from time to time. Because they are worried about her, they have to call her every now and then. At first, they found it novel, but later they became increasingly reluctant to respond.
As a result, the little one next to her reminded her, "Xiao Jiu, your brother is calling you!" He's not very big, but his hearing is quite sharp.
In this day and age, you don't have to worry about children being stolen, especially girls. Boys might be lost, but girls are usually abandoned outside and never brought home. So, families like the Tao family are extremely rare.
The oldest child in the group is two or three years old, and the youngest is only a few months old, still lying in the basin, just like she was when she was born.
The cries were constant, usually from hunger. When she arrived, her grandmother brought her steamed potatoes, telling her to help herself if she was hungry. Since they were outside, they ate whatever others ate, without giving themselves any special treatment.
Xiao Jiu never steals other people's things, nor does she covet what others have. However, when someone stares at her while she's eating, she gets annoyed and decides to stand up and go find the boy. But to her surprise, the boy snatches the potato from her hand as she struggles to get up, and then wolfs it down while running away.
When Xiao Jiu saw this, she couldn't hold back any longer. She wanted to chase after him, but then she realized her legs were too short. In this bumpy, uneven ground, she was no match for the three-year-old. So she burst into tears, crying and shouting, "Dog Egg stole my potatoes! Dog Egg stole my potatoes! Waaah..."
Xiao Jiu's voice was high-pitched and strong. As soon as she shouted, Tao Zui and the others heard it and rushed over. As for Gou Dan himself, when he saw his family arrive, he was choked. It just so happened that he was choked and couldn't breathe. The adults around him quickly came over to pat him on the back.
This time, the older brother had more experience. He ran behind him and put the Heimlich maneuver he had just learned into practice. But before he could even do a couple of repetitions, the family member ran over from a distance, pulled him hard, and pushed him to the ground.
They patted the child's back forcefully, but to no avail. They even carried the child backwards, which terrified Xiao Jiu.
Grandpa ran over and said to the middle-aged man, "Your method won't work. Tao Zui, come here and help him. Hurry, time is of the essence. Look, Gou Dan has already fainted."
These are typical symptoms of hypoxia.
Dog Egg's father, who had been pulled away by his grandfather, clung tightly to his son and refused to let go. His grandfather, enraged, slapped him across the face.
"Do you still want your son's life? My grandson choked a few days ago, and this is how I saved him. Get out of my way!"
After Grandpa pushed Gou Dan's father away, Tao Zui didn't dare to waste any time and quickly and forcefully pressed on his chest. Once, twice, ten or eight times, everyone's heart was in their throat. Gou Dan's mother had already slumped down to the side and started crying, cursing Xiao Jiu while crying. Grandma's face was extremely ugly, but considering that human life was at stake, she didn't say anything.
Finally, on the eighteenth attempt, the potato in Gou Dan's mouth was forced out by the internal pressure. As soon as Gou Dan's breathing returned to normal, the onlookers immediately pushed Tao Zui away. Not only did they not wait for a thank you, but they were also hurling insults at him. Grandma could not tolerate that.
"Dog Egg's mother, you better shut your stinking mouth. If I hear you say another word about my granddaughter, I'll tear your mouth apart."
"You all saw it too, it was Gou Dan who stole my granddaughter's potatoes, ran away feeling guilty, and choked on them. He even accused my granddaughter of harming your son? Now my grandson has saved your son, and instead of being grateful, you all have this disgusting face. How can you be so vile and filthy!"
When Grandma scolded Gou Dan's mother with a stern face, Gou Dan woke up. Seeing that her son was alright, Gou Dan's mother quickly hugged her son and kowtowed to Grandma.
"Auntie, I'm so sorry, I was wrong. I was just flustered, I really was flustered,"
"People only speak the truth when they're desperate. I heard everything you said to my granddaughter. You don't need to tell me that. Just keep your son away from her from now on. Also, bring some food for your child when you go out. Don't try to snatch food from other people. Just because they have something good doesn't mean it's good. You can't even afford to feed your child a potato? This time it's fine, but if something really happened, your family would probably try to extort money from us!"
Grandma is really something; she said those harsh words so casually that the woman couldn't utter a single word.
Dog Egg's dad was also there apologizing to Grandpa, but Grandpa was even more arrogant. He got up, picked her up, and walked into the field, talking as he went.
"Little Jiu, come with Grandpa over there. There's still a potato there. No one will take it from you. Just sit there and eat it slowly by yourself!"
Little Jiu's bright eyes were still filled with tears. When she heard her grandfather comforting her, she wrapped her little arms around his neck and gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you, Grandpa. I won't drink the wine, please give it to Grandpa."
"Oh, my little darling, you're such a sweetheart! Grandpa's not hungry, you eat by yourself, okay?"
Once the tavern owner left, the others started criticizing Gou Dan's family. Gou Dan's mother was only concerned about her son in her arms and didn't bother to listen to what they were saying. She carried her son and ran home. Gou Dan was also terrified because he had choked on his food earlier. He trembled the whole time and clung to his mother, not daring to lift his head.
Dog Egg's father looked at Grandpa Tao, wanting to say something, but the man ignored him and left. He could only look awkwardly at Tao Zui.
"Xiao Zui, thank you. It was my fault just now. Did you hurt yourself?"
Tao Zui glanced at Gou Dan's father indifferently, shook his head, and left with his family. Gou Dan's father felt a burning pain on his face.
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