People who come are not allowed to come again. There are people blocking the way at all the major and minor intersections. Even if someone does come, they are all sent directly to the commune's gathering point and will not be missed by the villages below.
Mingzhu was very excited.
"The village chief said that the commune has announced that grain has been delivered, and those who fled famine will no longer be coming to the village."
"So fast?"
This speed is something I didn't expect. The goods were only brought back this morning, and in less than a day, the plan has not only been developed but has already been implemented.
"Yes, those children in the village are also being sent back to the commune."
People from several villages were also brought in; they were said to have been sent to the commune a couple of days ago.
"Really? I stayed in the village for a few days and ate all the food from the village."
If we stay a few more days, some of the villagers will probably become unhappy.
"Yes, that's right."
At first, everyone was saying how pitiful the children were, how pitiful this child was, how pitiful that child was.
When they heard that the food was from the village, they felt uncomfortable. The first two days were okay, but then they started to openly and secretly look for Liu Jianshe. They had already handed over several hundred kilograms of grain to the commune, so why did they still have to support these children?
The village doesn't have much grain stored up.
Yesterday, some villagers went to the village office to keep an eye on things. Judging from the situation, if this continues for a few more days, it might really escalate into a major conflict.
Sigh, in the end, the village is still too poor. They can't even feed themselves, so who has the mind to care about others?
However, these past few days have also shown me another side of things.
The three people opened the door and went inside. They quickly added some firewood before sitting down.
"What flower did you spot?"
Since getting married, Mingzhu has always kept a low profile. It wasn't until she returned to Zhoushan a little more in the last two years that she started to go out more often. She is still mostly a former educated youth, but she has also been interacting with the villagers more frequently.
Putting everything else aside, they are much more informed about village news than before.
My understanding of the villagers has become more comprehensive and profound.
"That's not entirely true. But these past few days, although the villagers have been complaining, from what I've seen, several families have been sending things over there."
The Liu family next door sent Tiger over some flatbreads, the village chief's family brought over a bowl of stewed cabbage and potatoes, Aunt Da Lian to the west sent over some pancakes, the neighbor sent over a small bag of sweet potatoes, Old Han sent over two bowls of corn porridge, Old Chen went to see a doctor for his child, and that Second Uncle Liu, the one they called Second Brother, also sent over a bone, saying to make soup for the child.
Several elderly women also brought clothes that their children could no longer wear. Tiger's grandmother from next door also went, as did the young wives who made dolls with her.
I took a look yesterday, and the children's clothes were much cleaner now...
Sigh, I originally thought that these children had also taken their food, so they must have been unhappy, and they were indeed complaining non-stop.
But I truly didn't expect that, under these circumstances, they would still be willing to give something away from their own mouths to give to them. Actually, I was quite surprised.
This is simple and unsurprising; the simplicity and honesty of people over the past sixty years is something that would be praised even in modern times.
"Right? They complain because those are their life-saving food, it's their natural reaction."
However, they were all parents, with no ill intentions, and very soft hearts. Their children were about the same age as their own, and seeing such young children suffering like this, some even with fevers, they simply couldn't bear to see it.
"Yeah, that's right."
Mingzhu's thoughts drifted back to the time when the tragedy struck her family. Her grandmother's fate was still unknown, and her grandfather, clutching his leg and unable to get up, had heartlessly abandoned his family without looking back. Then, her mother published a notice in the newspaper severing ties with them and left. The smile on Mingzhu's face faded considerably.
"People are really different."
Her basic emotional intelligence paled in comparison to her physical prowess; they were practically opposites. However, sensing the awkward atmosphere, she quickly changed the subject.
"By the way, how's your New Year's preparation going? Is anything still missing?"
"Meat, eat meat!"
The adults didn't say anything, but Xiao Huizhou answered crisply first.
"Auntie, I want to eat meat."
Jian Dan immediately smiled.
"Oh, Zhouzhou wants to eat meat?"
"Didn't you two give the child meat?"
Seeing the reproach in Jian Dan's eyes, Mingzhu's thoughts immediately drifted away.
"Don't listen to his nonsense. When has he ever lost any weight? Look at his belly, how fat he is!"
"Go out and look around, where in the village can you find such a fat child?"
Jian Dan had never had a child of her own in either of her two lives. Jian Xin, whom she had raised, was already quite old when she came to live with her, as were the two brothers, Cheng Rui and Cheng Rui. But Xiao Huizhou was different. This child was born from the moment he sprouted in his mother's womb.
From a soft, cuddly baby, to rolling over, sitting, crawling, and taking her first steps, to now running all over the place, she has witnessed and held almost every step of her child's development.
She gave almost all the snacks for little kids in her stash to Xiao Huizhou, except for the ones Jian Xin had eaten. Xiao Huizhou got whatever he wanted, and there were so many snacks that even Lin Dongfang had never seen before.
In their own words, Jian Dan is the most spoiled parent in the family.
They learned this word from Jian Dan, but they thought it was so fitting.
"Don't spoil him anymore, he's gotten so fat! Let me tell you, I haven't dared to let him go out these past few days. If those people see him, what do you think they'll think he is?"
Isn't that an obvious target?
After a quick glance at the chubby little boy, I couldn't honestly say that what his mother said was wrong.
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