Chapter 112 Leaves
Song Lubai has been selecting candidates these past few days, and some young people from Shanghai have also taken the initiative to come to her to show off and recommend themselves.
Song Lubai had two people in mind, one male and one female.
She read out the two names and said to the instructor, "Both of them graduated from junior high school. Li Wei's handwriting isn't as good as Liu Xiaolan's. Otherwise, let Liu Xiaolan come with me tomorrow."
The instructor had no objections. "If you think she's capable, then take her. Okay, let's eat."
After finishing the meal, Song Lubai distributed the names that had been written down by group.
Everyone had finished eating by now. Although it was completely dark, kerosene lamps were lit inside the house.
Normally, the kerosene lamps wouldn't burn for long before everyone went to sleep.
But today there's an extra task: learning to write your own name.
"Everyone should first learn to recognize their own names. When you have free time, just mentally trace them. During the day, trace them on the ground. Don't stay up too late. If you feel sleepy, go to sleep."
Even illiterate and uneducated people care a lot about their names. This time, various groups are crowding together to look at names, making it much more lively than usual.
Song Lubai went to find Liu Xiaolan and said, "Don't go to the fields tomorrow morning, come with me to the farm headquarters for training."
The surprise came so suddenly that Liu Xiaolan stammered, "You...you...will you take...take me with you from now on?"
Song Lubai nodded: "Your handwriting is good, so I recommended you to the instructor."
Liu Xiaolan was so excited she wanted to cry.
She is usually quiet because she stutters when she gets nervous when communicating with people, and over time, she stopped liking to talk to others.
She wasn't assigned to either the vegetable planting team or the cooking team, so she could only work diligently in the fields.
Digging the canal was incredibly hard work. When she first arrived, she cried secretly every day. Although she's gotten used to it now, the hardship hasn't lessened at all.
The bravest thing she ever did was to go up to Song Lubai and volunteer, saying that she wrote well and wanted to learn from her.
She stuttered, but Song Lubai showed no impatience and even recommended her to the instructor.
Liu Xiaolan was so excited that she could hardly speak coherently: "Thank you, thank you, Comrade Song, I am really, really grateful to you."
Someone inside said, "Comrade Song, the education department will be responsible for literacy education in the company. Liu Xiaolan can't even speak properly. Do you think she can do a good job?"
Fearing that someone would ruin this good thing, Liu Xiaolan, who was being questioned, turned around and said urgently, her face flushed, "I can do it! I can do it!"
Song Lubai breathed a sigh of relief.
She was only temporarily in charge of education and culture in the 25th Company. Before leaving, she had to bring out the education and culture of the 25th Company. Choosing Liu Xiaolan was indeed a personal decision.
Liu Xiaolan worked silently in the canal every day, rarely speaking and looking unremarkable. When Song Lubai came to find her, her head was always down. Song Lubai felt a little "pity" for her and wanted to help her.
Fortunately, although Elaine Liu is a low-key and reserved person, she also knows how to seize opportunities.
I didn't stutter when I was angrily arguing with someone just now.
Stuttering isn't a big deal. The more you talk, the less nervous you become, and with more practice, it should get better naturally.
Song Lubai didn't argue with the girls inside. She swatted a mosquito that was sucking blood on her arm and went back to her dormitory.
"I'm going to the farm headquarters tomorrow. I'm writing down what everyone needs to bring now. Give them the money and tickets in advance. Don't expect me to pay for it for you."
To avoid disputes, Song Lubai speaks frankly beforehand. She will strictly follow this rule. Anyone who doesn't give her money or tickets in advance to bring things is considered by her to be trying to take advantage of her.
Some people asked me to buy soap, some asked me to mail letters, and others asked me to buy meat buns from a restaurant.
Song Lubai wrote everything down on a piece of paper, then put the items in her pocket.
When she lay down on the bed and closed her eyes, she had completely forgotten about Lin Shuhong and Lin Jinyao.
She didn't care whether they left at night or whether they ate; she just wanted to never see them again, especially Lin Jinyao.
Before dawn and before the whistle blew, Song Lubai, who was sleeping soundly, was woken up by someone patting her awake.
It's Li Huijun.
"Get up quickly! Your niece spent the night alone in the dugout. Her father is gone. Why didn't you take her back to your dormitory last night? She spent the night alone there. It's so dark and scary in the dugout."
Song Lubai's sleepiness vanished instantly.
That damned Lin Shuhong!
What grudge do they have against her that they would torture her like this?
He abandoned his own daughter in a dugout; how could he do such a thing!
Ahhh!
It was still dark outside, but the girls in the cooking squad were already up and busy.
Li Huijun led her to the shed, her tone inevitably complaining: "What's wrong with you? That child is so small. If I hadn't gone over there to relieve myself and seen her coming up from underneath when I came back, I wouldn't have known she had spent the night down there."
“I asked her why she didn’t come to you, and guess what she said? She said she was scared. Xiao Song, you don’t seem like such a fierce person to me, so why is she so afraid of you?”
Song Lubai kept a sour face and didn't say anything.
The firelight from the stove allowed her to see Lin Jinyao standing in front of the earthen platform.
Song Lubai beckoned to Lin Jinyao and commanded, "Come here."
Lin Jinyao pouted, her eyes filled with fear, and whispered, "Auntie."
Song Lubai: "What time did your dad leave yesterday?"
Lin Jinyao: "He left not long after you left. He told me to stay with you for now and he would come back to pick me up later."
Song Lubai asked expressionlessly, "You stayed in the dugout by yourself all night? Why didn't you come to find me?"
Lin Jinyao honestly said, "I was scared. It was too dark, and I didn't dare to come out of the hole. I only dared to come out when I heard some noise outside."
Li Huijun suddenly realized that what she was afraid of was not Song Lubai, but the darkness in the dugout.
Song Lubai remained silent for a long time. Lin Jinyao couldn't clearly see her expression, but subconsciously felt that her aunt's expression was frightening.
Lin Jinyao shrugged and said, "My dad told me to come find you at dawn before he left."
Song Lubai was so angry at Lin Shuhong's shamelessness that she laughed.
Lin Jinyao hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and stuffed the ten ten-yuan bills she had been clutching into Song Lubai's hand.
"Dad told me to give it to you."
Song Lubai: "Aren't you afraid he won't come back to pick you up if you just listen to him like that?"
Having been terrified all night in the dugout, Lin Jinyao was further hurt by Song Lubai's indifferent attitude. Her young heart could no longer bear it, and she burst into tears.
The female cooks nearby couldn't stand it anymore and said that Song Lubai was treating her niece badly.
They couldn't understand what was going on between the aunt and niece, but since they were relatives, they shouldn't be so indifferent.
Song Lubai explained, "Her father and I don't have the same mother or father. Her father's father is my stepfather, and my mother is her father's stepmother. We have a very bad relationship."
Everyone was almost confused by her, and it took them a while to realize what their relationship was.
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