The mother of a large family
Xu Wanrong glanced at her elder sister, who was sleeping in the hemp ropes. She shook her head and said to Xu Li next to her, "Lili, didn't you say last time that you were tired of reading some comic books?"
Xu Li: "What do you have to exchange with me?"
Xu Wanrong unbuttoned the top two buttons of her dress to show Xu Li the title of the book inside. "Can you change it?"
Xu Li paused while twisting the hemp rope. "Yes."
~
The boring work of twisting hemp rope continued until noon, when Aunt Liu from the cafeteria came over and shouted, "Dinner is ready." Everyone in the room rushed out.
Xu Roujun lay on the untwisted hemp, watching the people rush out. She was puzzled: "What are they doing?"
Ye Fulan said, "Let's go to the brigade cafeteria to eat."
Ye Fulan turned back to look for Xu Wanrong, but she was nowhere to be found. "Where's your sister?"
Xu Roujun said, "It's okay. You can go eat first."
Ye Fulan: "How can that be? I'll help you go to the cafeteria."
Xu Roujun shook her head. She knew clearly that if she left and Xu Wanrong couldn't find her, she might not have the chance to come out again next time.
"I walk slowly, so I'll wait for Wanrong to come back and push the cart to take me there."
Ye Fulan said, "Then you won't be able to eat good food."
"If I go now, I won't be able to come out later."
Ye Fulan was stunned. She looked at Xu Roujun.
Xu Roujun avoided Ye Fulan's eyes and said, "Go by yourself."
Ye Fulan took two steps towards Xu Roujun and grabbed her wrist. "Are you okay?"
Xu Roujun thought about admitting to Ye Fulan that she had recovered, but what next?
It would only add a heavy burden to Ye Fulan's heart. She could take advantage of the situation in her escape plan, but she absolutely could not let her worry about herself.
Xu Roujun lowered her eyebrows and smiled faintly: "Ah?"
The light that flashed in Ye Fulan's eyes gradually faded away, and her good sister was really dumbfounded.
Xu Roujun said, "You go eat by yourself. I'll wait here for Wanrong to come back."
~
During lunch, Xu Wanrong went to Xu Li's house to exchange the books, and then went to the cafeteria to eat.
After finishing her meal, she remembered the promise she had made to her parents in the morning that she would take good care of her elder sister.
Xu Wanrong's heart was pounding and she ran quickly towards the pig farm.
"Bang!"
Xu Wanrong pushed the door open with force, and the door panel collided with the concrete wall with a loud noise.
Xu Wanrong, who was standing at the door, shouted, "Sister!"
Xu Roujun lay on the hemp and looked up at Xu Wanrong at the door: "What are you doing?"
When she heard someone respond to her, Xu Wanrong's heart, which had been hanging in her throat, finally returned to her stomach.
She ran to the hemp and said to Xu Roujun, who was on top of the hemp, "Why are you climbing so high? Come down now."
Xu Roujun was stubborn: "Why are you coming down?"
Xu Wanrong: "I'll take you to eat something delicious."
Only then did Xu Roujun slowly get down from the pile of hemp.
As soon as she came out of the house, Xu Roujun walked towards the cart outside with crutches. She stepped onto the cart and looked at Xu Wanrong.
Xu Wanrong: "..." Isn't she a fool? Why is she so shameless?
Xu Roujun felt that the cart had not left yet, so she looked at Xu Wanrong: "Your book exchange..."
Before she could finish, Xu Wanrong immediately ran over and helped Xu Roujun onto the cart. "Hold on tight, I'm going to pull."
Xu Roujun reached out and grabbed the edge of the cart to keep her balance.
When Xu Roujun arrived at the cafeteria, there were no leftovers.
After Xu Wanrong prepared the meal, she stuffed it directly into Xu Roujun's hands. "Eat it."
Xu Roujun looked at the bowl of braised chili peppers and stir-fried eggplant, chopped greens and bean sprouts.
She took a bite and chewed it twice.
She spat the contents of her mouth into the bowl.
No wonder it was leftovers, it was really unpalatable. The leftovers Ding Hui gave her were more delicious than this.
Xu Wanrong asked from the side: "Why did you vomit? Don't be picky about food, otherwise you will be hungry until dinner time."
Xu Roujun thought to herself that she was not picky about food. She said to Xu Wanrong, "I'm thirsty. Go get me a bowl of water."
Xu Wanrong: "Are you still ordering me around?"
Xu Roujun: "Your book..."
"Do you think egg drop soup is okay?"
Xu Roujun: "Okay."
If the old one can’t be used, can’t the young one handle it?
After dinner, Xu Wanrong pushed a cart to the hemp rope workshop next to the pig farm.
After arriving at the place, Xu Roujun got off the cart again with a crutch.
It was still lunchtime when Xu Wanrong and Xu Roujun came in and heard people discussing Polygonum multiflorum.
Xu Wanrong stopped and listened carefully: ""
Suddenly, someone ran over and shouted, "Experts say that what was dug out from the dead tree on Dongshan Mountain is a thousand-year-old Polygonum multiflorum. How much grain can Polygonum multiflorum be worth?"
"I don't know. People from the municipal government are already rushing to our village."
"We need to set off firecrackers at this height."
"I heard that our village chief will be greatly rewarded this time."
Someone said: "I haven't seen any experts in this field in our village before. Could they be scammers?"
"The experts took the green train all the way to our village, how could they have a day off? Besides, we'll have a chance to see the mayor then!"
"I heard that the place where Polygonum multiflorum is grown is a place of great feng shui. If you die and are buried there, it will bring blessings to future generations."
Xu Wanrong had no intention of listening to the nonsense that followed. She looked in disbelief at her lame elder sister's back as she struggled to climb the hemp pile, muttering to herself, "It's actually true!"
Xu Wanrong quickly walked to the pile of hemp where Xu Roujun was lying. She reached out and pulled Xu Roujun, who was about to take a nap.
Xu Wanrong: "Sister, um, they really dug up Polygonum multiflorum in Dongshan!"
Xu Roujun opened one eye and said, "I told you guys a long time ago, but none of you believed me."
After saying this, she lay down and turned over.
Xu Wanrong climbed up the hemp using both her hands and feet. She moved closer to Xu Roujun. "My dear sister, did you dream of anything good today? Tell me about it."
Xu Roujun said: "How can I dream about it every day? If I have a baby in the future, I will definitely tell you. After all, we are a family."
Xu Wanrong nodded repeatedly: "Our dad is so bad. If they ask you if you have seen the baby in the future, you will say no and tell me."
Xu Roujun tilted her head to look at Xu Wanrong, then nodded in confusion. "Okay."
She repeatedly said that she and Xu Roujun were the best in the world.
Xu Roujun: "..." I don't want to be the best friend in the world with you, it's childish.
Xu Wanrong was already happy today because she had exchanged three of her favorite comic books. She said to Xu Roujun, "Then can you tell me where to return them tonight?"
Xu Roujun nodded.
Xu Wanrong could almost see herself becoming rich in the future.
She came down from the hemp pile and met Ye Fulan.
"Sister Fulan."
Ye Fulan and Xu Wanrong also nodded.
Xu Wanrong was particularly envious of Ye Fulan.
Old Ye and his wife were nearly forty years old, and when they had a daughter, they treasured her like the apple of their eye. She was the only child in the Ye family, and the Ye family only accepted live-in sons-in-law, so even if they had a girl, she would still have the surname of the old Ye family.
The Ye family also planned to recruit a live-in son-in-law for their granddaughter in the future.
Xu Wanrong and Ding Hui also said that they wanted to be like Ye Fulan.
However, Ding Hui didn't allow Xu Wanrong to mention it again.
"Roujun."
Xu Roujun's head was lying flat and silently bent at an angle.
"Have you had lunch yet?"
Xu Wanrong said, "I took my sister there to eat."
Xu Roujun knew Ye Fulan was worried: "Wanrong took me to the cafeteria to eat stir-fried eggplant with peppers, bean sprouts, and egg drop soup."
Ye Fulan touched the lunch box in her cloth bag. She had wanted to give the sweet potato and corn in the lunch box to Xu Roujun, but Xu Roujun only took one corn and ate it.
She felt relieved when she heard Xu Roujun announce the dishes.
Xu Wanrong: "Sister, I'll go over there and twist the hemp rope. If you need anything, you can call me."
Xu Roujun lay on the hemp pile and waved to Xu Wanrong.
Xu Wanrong immediately returned to her workstation and started playing mahjong.
Xu Li, who had exchanged comic strips with Xu Wanrong, now had a closer relationship with her: "Why is your sister so arrogant after she became stupid?"
"Are you cool?" She withdrew her gaze and lowered her head to continue playing mahjong.
"What a cool girl! Especially the way she was lying there and waving at you, you'd think she was the village chief."
Xu Wanrong pointed to her head and said to Xu Li, "The people here who have problems have different tempers than before. It's understandable."
Xu Li nodded: "That's right."
No matter how outrageous the behavior of a mentally ill person is, other people will not find it strange.
Xu Roujun got down from the hemp pile after she had a good sleep on it. She moved step by step to the workbench with the help of crutches. She glanced at Ye Fulan's skillful movements next to her.
She also sat at her workstation and started twisting the hemp rope.
The calluses on her palms and muscle memory helped Xu Roujun get the hang of it quickly.
The speed of twisting the hemp rope is getting faster and faster.
In the evening, the team leader came with a scale and the accountant to record work points.
Tie the twisted hemp rope tightly and put it on the scale to calculate the weight and settle today's work points.
Those with faster hand speed can get six work points, and those with slower hand speed can at least get four work points.
Xu Roujun slept all morning, and only started twisting the hemp rope after she had a good sleep in the afternoon. She took it to the scale to weigh it.
The team leader said, "Xu Roujun, two work points."
The accountant records it accordingly.
After everything was recorded, the members left one after another. Xu Roujun came out with a crutch and climbed onto the cart.
Xu Wanrong pushed the cart towards home.
On the way back, I met Ding Hui who was coming back from the fields.
Ding Hui's cheeks were also covered with sweat.
"How many work points did you earn today?"
Xu Wanrong replied: "I earned five work points today."
"Not bad, not bad. Where's your sister?"
Xu Wanrong said, "Two work points."
"Did your sister make any fool of herself over there?"
Xu Wanrong shook her head: "My sister just fell asleep a little, otherwise she's fine."
"It's good to earn two work points." Ding Hui lowered her voice into Xu Wanrong's ear and asked, "Did you know that the brigade dug up a Polygonum multiflorum from the dead tree on Dongpo Mountain?"
Xu Wanrong nodded: "I know."
"Then your sister was right!" Ding Hui felt very upset when she thought that her family did not listen to Xu Roujun and missed out on a piece of Polygonum multiflorum. How much would that cost!
The mother, daughter and three of them returned home from work together.
The mother and her two daughters returned home.
The Xu family compound was completely silent.
Xu Wanrong sent Xu Roujun to the woodshed, put the cart away, and then quickly went to her own room.
She hasn't read the comic book she just picked up today yet, so she has to read a few pages before it gets dark.
Ding Hui went to the kitchen and found that the fire on the stove was not lit.
She paused, then went behind the stove and touched a match.
She held a small bundle of straw in her hand and stuffed it into the stove, then grabbed another bundle of straw to slide the matches.
The match lit up quickly, and the flames danced upwards with the straw flames.
Ding Hui threw the straw into the stove and put some flammable firewood in it.
The fire was lit quickly.
Wisps of white smoke came out of the Xu family's chimney.
While lighting the stove, she went into the woodshed and carried some firewood to the kitchen.
Xu Roujun: "..." Wait! They all have their own rooms to sleep in, why should I sleep in the woodshed?
Why?
The smell of rice wafted from the Xu family's kitchen, and the second and old Xu ladies came out of the house like dogs smelling meat bones.
Xu Lao Er walked into the kitchen and asked Ding Hui, "Is dinner ready?"
Ding Hui glanced at Xu Laoer's injured hand. "No, you guys go wait outside first."
Xu Lao Er asked again: "Is the bath water heated?"
Ding Hui went out and looked at the small stove outside. It was still not lit. Ding Hui said, "I'll light it right away."
She went out to light a fire for Xiaoluzi, then went to the well to fetch a bucket of water and poured it into the kettle.
The kettle was slowly boiling on the stove. When Ding Hui was about to turn around and go into the kitchen, she saw her eldest daughter sitting on the threshold of the woodshed watching her busy herself.
In the past, the eldest daughter could help her share the housework, but now everything falls on her shoulders.
"well."
Ding Hui let out a breath and went back into the kitchen to work.
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