It wasn't that they were reluctant to give Liu Erya rice and beef. It was just that there was no way to explain it.
"No need, I'm full after finishing this bowl of shredded broad beans. Just give me some pickled vegetables."
While eating, Liu Erya complained to Zhang Hongmei, "Do you think my sister is stupid? She knows that my grandma wanted to suffocate her when she was little. But she still listens to my grandma and my aunt. She doesn't do any dirty or hard work at home, but she works like a slave for my aunt. My dad scolded her again at noon, and she still doesn't accept it."
Zhang Hongmei thought to herself, "He's just plain stupid, he's incredibly dim-witted."
After finishing their meal, the two lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed), and the girl fell asleep shortly afterward.
Zhang Hongmei tossed and turned, unable to sleep. The kang (heated brick bed) was too hard; even lying down was tiring. She decided to sit up and read.
Hearing the bell, Liu Erya sat up in a daze. "Time to go to work."
The afternoon's work was the same, just a bit sunny. Zhang Hongmei wore a straw hat and ignored the stares of others. The UV rays were strong at this time, and she didn't want to get a tan.
In the afternoon, Liu Daya was noticeably more well-behaved than in the morning, but they still didn't work very fast. When the work points were tallied in the afternoon, she and Liu Baomei each had only five centimeters, two centimeters less than Zhang Hongmei and the others. They were so angry that they argued with the scorekeeper. However, no one paid them any attention. It wasn't their own decision; the village chief and team leader told them, and besides, they were really quite upset.
It took the whole village ten days to plant all the sweet potatoes. The remaining two days were for checking for any missing ones and replanting any that had survived.
Zhang Hongmei hadn't lost weight during this time, just gotten a bit tanned, but seeing Er Ya's dark face made her feel better. "I told you to wear a hat but you wouldn't listen, and now you're so tanned it's painful to look at."
"We didn't participate in the monthly exam, the teacher must be unhappy."
"We've finished planting the sweet potatoes and there's not much work to do these past few days. Let's go to the school tomorrow morning and see. If it's not working, we'll take a test. If the teacher doesn't have time, we'll take them back and cook them ourselves."
"Okay, I'll get up early tomorrow to find you, and we'll go together."
"Okay, I'll return all the books I borrowed from Aunt Li at the Women's Federation. I don't need them anymore. But you wanted to read the sixth-grade books, and I've already given those to you, so please return them quickly."
I steamed a pot of goat milk buns tonight, intending to return the books tomorrow as a thank-you gift.
The next day, Zhang Hongmei, carrying a large schoolbag she had made herself, went to school with Liu Erya.
They arrived at school on time and discussed on the way to school that they would attend classes all day.
Zhang Hongmei used her break time to explain to the teacher why she didn't take the exam this time. The teacher didn't make things difficult for her and gave her the monthly exam paper to do at home.
Zhang Hongmei was full after eating one goat milk bun for lunch, and she gave one to Liu Erya. She planned to give the remaining sixteen to Li Juying.
School ended after the second period in the afternoon, and Liu Erya followed Zhang Hongmei to the township government compound, where it was still open for business. Zhang Hongmei entered the Women's Federation office with practiced ease.
"Aunt Li, I've come to return the book."
"Hongmei's here, please sit down and rest for a while. You've grown quite a bit taller and a little plumper. And who is this girl?"
People nowadays love to hear that they've gained weight, and Zhang Hongmei is no exception, so she smiled broadly.
“Aunt Li, she’s from our village, we went to the same school, she’s Liu Maocai’s second daughter.”
"Oh, so you're Liu Maocai's daughter. Please sit down, I'll pour you some water."
"Aunt Li, I'm not thirsty. Is Aunt Wang not here?"
"Aunt Li, I'm not thirsty, don't bother."
"She went to Dawancun to mediate today. She'll go straight home after get off work and doesn't need to come here."
"Aunt Li, when do you get off work? We'll wait for you. This is quite heavy, let me help you carry it."
Li Juying raised her hand to check the time. "There are still twenty minutes until I get off work. Do I need you to help me carry this? You can come with me. I have something to tell you."
Something's wrong? Zhang Hongmei's heart skipped a beat.
"Aunt Li, what's up?"
"I heard that everything has been arranged for your parents?"
"Yes, may he rest in peace."
"That's good. I was just asking about that."
"Aunt Li, you scared me to death! I thought something terrible had happened!"
"What's the big deal about dying at such a young age? I'm relieved to see you're in a good mood. It's the living who are the most important."
"I understand, Aunt Li. With your help in finding a school, and with my uncle and his wife taking care of me in the village, I'm doing just fine."
The two chatted for a while, and when it was time, Li Juying locked the door and the three of them walked home together. Zhang Hongmei wanted to carry her books, but Li Juying wouldn't let her.
When they arrived at the entrance of Kanggezhuang Village, Zhang Hongmei didn't go in. Instead, she handed the steamed buns to Li Juying and Er Ya, and the two of them ran home.
It was dark when they got home. They parted ways and went their separate ways.
I added enough bean stalks to the sheep's food when I left in the morning, so when I got back I just scooped up a basin of water for them. Then I resigned myself to carrying the water on a shoulder pole, mainly because I still had to water the plants.
The sweet potato shed no longer needs to be covered with straw mats, and the plastic film has been removed. They are growing exceptionally well now. I can plant them in my own plot tomorrow. I can finish planting them in a day. I'll take the rest to the mountains to see if there's a place to plant them.
Zhang Hongmei watered everything that needed watering, and the potatoes and seedlings had all sprouted. The seedlings were still very tender, so the plastic film wasn't removed.
The next morning at five o'clock, Zhang Hongmei got up to pull up sweet potato vines, put them in a basket, picked up a hoe, and carried a bucket of water to her private plot.
First, I went to the river to fetch a bucket of water and placed it on the ground. I added a drop of spiritual spring water, then dug a pit. With the experience of working for the team, I can now work quickly and well.
After digging a row, I water it, then plant the rice seedlings, and finally cover them with soil. It's quite tiring to do it all myself, but I'm happy because it's my private property, my property in the open.
There are fifteen rows in a mu (unit of land area), and by seven o'clock Zhang Hongmei had planted five rows. She stood up, straightened her back, and looked at the fruits of her labor with great excitement.
Just then, Liu Erya came over. "I saw the door was locked, so I guessed you came from the reserve. Why didn't you wait for me to come with you?"
"I woke up early and came over since I had nothing to do. Please help me cover the soil, it's too tiring." Zhang Hongmei didn't stand on ceremony and said no, as that would seem too polite, so she directly assigned the task to Liu Erya.
They divided the work: Zhang Hongmei carried water to irrigate the fields, Er Ya planted rice seedlings, and the two of them covered the fields with soil together.
The two of them worked quickly and finished by 10:30.
Back home, Zhang Hongmei decided to cook something delicious: dumplings. They had some pickled cabbage at home, and together they made fifty dumplings. After eating their fill, they lay on the kang (heated brick bed) to aid digestion.
"Sister Erya, I'm going up the mountain tomorrow. You can stay home and read by yourself."
What are you doing up the mountain?
"Just taking a stroll and looking around."
"Then you absolutely must not go into the deep mountains. My dad says there are wolves and bears in the mountains."
"I'm not going to the deep mountains, I'm just burning some paper money for my parents."
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