Tiger smiled with satisfaction, only then noticing the new face to the side, and immediately became wary.
His big eyes darted around, clearly he wasn't up to any good, so I simply slapped his little head.
"Is your dad home? This lady is a new educated youth who wants to change her kang mat."
"Huh?" A group of educated youth came yesterday, and his house was bustling with activity for half a day.
"I thought you were here to see my grandparents."
I'll go call my dad, you all come in quickly.
Watching Xiao Hu leave, Jian Dan felt a bit confused. When there was work to be done, he would go to his grandparents, and now he was going to his dad. He had become popular with both young and old.
Shaking his head, quickly dismissing the thought, Liu Guangming emerged from the backyard, carrying a pitchfork for turning the soil. His trousers were rolled up.
"Uncle Guangming, are you tidying up your garden too?"
Liu Guangming put down the fork, washed his hands (without drying them), and then pulled down his trouser legs.
"Okay, let's tidy up, dig up the potatoes, and it's time to plant the cabbages."
I'm off for a couple of days now, but once things get busy again, I'll be working from dawn till dusk.
It's simple to understand. After being here for over a year, she has a pretty good grasp of the basic rules here. What old farmer doesn't get any rest?
All that time was spent worrying about was the lack of food, firewood, and vegetables. After a year of hard work, they could barely survive. It was a miserable existence.
"I'm just tidying up the garden today, and it'll be a few days before I need your little man to help me!"
Liu Guangming was amused; hiring people like that would lead to endless losses.
"Why be polite with him? If you can use him, just ask him to come. Staying at home is just a waste of time."
As a parent, he wasn't without his own selfish motives. Tiger was just a child; how much could he possibly do? Besides, every time they came, they never let him work for free; he always got to eat good food. What's wrong with doing some work? Isn't that what he should do?
After exchanging a few pleasantries, we got down to business.
"Tiger said, who wants a mat for the kang (heated brick bed)?"
Upon seeing this, Mingzhu decided to stop pretending to be invisible, took two steps forward, and greeted everyone with a simple address.
"Uncle Guangming, I'm a new educated youth, my name is Mingzhu. I'd like to exchange a kang mat. Also, I see you have some cabinets and such, can I exchange some of those too?"
I just told her all this, and she didn't hesitate to say what she needed. She readily gave up the spotlight, and just then the old lady came out, so the two friends, despite their age difference, went to the side to talk.
"Is this a new educated youth? His eyes look quite innocent,"
A simple nod.
"Yeah, she has a good personality too. Otherwise, with my laziness, would I even be able to come out?"
"You, you,"
The old lady pointed directly at her.
"What kind of young girl talks about being lazy all the time? If word gets out, what will people think of you?"
This isn't the first time someone has said something like "simple."
"I'm still a child, I need to grow. Look at how short I am, I'm already growing slowly, if I don't take care of myself, I'll really become a little dwarf!"
"Hmph, you think you're right? Then why are you working here?"
That's a very well-reasoned argument.
“That won’t do. I’m here to contribute to rural development. I can’t let personal interests or gains affect the interests of the collective.”
Old Master Liu came out of the house and burst into laughter in anger.
"You're absolutely right."
Glancing over there, Mingzhu was helping Liu Guangming choose a cabinet. The old man lowered his voice.
"It seems that the old lady in Liujiatun doesn't have many days left. She wants to see Dahei. Liu Jiaxiang came to me, and I said I had to ask about it."
The old man knew that this request was a bit excessive. After all, when they went there, Dahei and the others were already on the verge of death. It could be said that if they hadn't brought them back that time, it was uncertain whether they would even have Dahei now.
But over the years, they knew a lot about him, if not the whole truth. The old lady had placed all her hopes on Dahei, and as long as it wasn't something immoral, he wanted to help her.
That is, in fact, bullying the little girl.
After a quick thought, oh, Big Black's previous owner, she didn't have any reason to disagree.
"Third Master, I noticed Dahei has been rather quiet the other day. He'd stare at the mountains for hours on end without moving. What do you think is wrong?"
"It started from that time, at the village entrance, that day, right?"
After the incident with the black egg, Dahei became absent-minded, and apart from looking after the cubs, he basically just stared blankly.
"Why!"
The old man sighed, and seeing that Mingzhu hadn't come out yet, he explained in a low voice.
"I reckon it's missing the old lady too. This dog is so loyal; it's been with her for half its life. How could it let go of her?"
Jian Dan also fell silent. She had also raised dogs and fought alongside them. Loyalty, dependence, trust, protection—all these positive words were appropriate. However, all of this was directed at the owner, especially since Dahei and its owner had accompanied each other for so many years. It was more than just a pet; it was about companionship.
She simply admitted that she wasn't a good person, but she wasn't heartless or devoid of humanity either.
"Third Master, take Big Black with you. Let Big Black stay with her for the rest of her life. Don't let this become her regret."
The old man sighed.
"There was really no other way. The old lady, well, everyone said that Liu Jiaxiang was filial all his life, and that's true. Knowing that the old lady couldn't let go of Dahei, when he was starving, he would even share his own food with the dog."
For so many years, the old lady has never said anything, which has made things difficult for Liu Jiaxiang.
Everyone says Liujiatun is rich, but it's the same for everyone. There are many people in Liujiatun, and each family only gets a certain amount. Maybe a little more, maybe nothing. The village chief, Liu Jiaxiang, is the same. He has a large family.
On one side was the old lady, and on the other was the hungry child crying loudly. What could he do but starve himself?
The old lady knew that she hadn't seen Dahei after returning from the hospital, but she hadn't asked about it. These past few days, knowing her time was up and hearing that I was the one who took Dahei, she sent someone to tell me.
The old lady sighed as well.
"Tell me, these elderly people are passing away one after another. Tell me, how many more years do we have left to live?"
It's not that I'm afraid of dying, it's just that, what can we still do now to help out? If we're really gone, wouldn't it be even harder for the children?"
The actions of parents are truly selfless, without a trace of selfishness.
The old lady was usually cheerful, but her sudden remark caught the old man off guard, and his face darkened.
"Why are you telling this to the little girl? What, does she think she can't live without us?"
Liu Guangming led Mingzhu around the cabinets, then came over to offer to find a car to deliver them to her. But upon seeing his father's dark face, he immediately hesitated.
"Dad, what's wrong? Who upset you?"
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