Chapter 8 Chapter 8 Isn't your flattery very effective? ...

After leaving the village primary school, Shen Moer went to her private plot carrying a bamboo basket containing two high school textbooks.

Because starting today, in addition to the strong laborers, everyone is required to work voluntarily, and the grain was just distributed yesterday, so every household does not have to worry about food for the time being, so apart from the women, the elderly in the village are basically resting at home.

When Shen Moer passed by Aunt Chen's house, she saw a group of old ladies in the village, each waving a large cattail leaf fan in their hands, sitting under a big tree by the roadside and chatting.

Seeing Shen Moer, Aunt Chen waved the cattail leaf fan and asked caringly: "Moer, are you feeling better today? You brought the grain home yesterday, so you should be able to eat a full meal, right?"

"Yeah, I'm full."

Shen Moer smiled shyly: "Thanks to Aunt Chen, Aunt Cai, Aunt Lu, Aunt Wang, Aunt Yang, Aunt Zhang for your help, otherwise it would not be so easy to get the food back. Thank you so much!"

Even though it was just a fun event, Shen Moer thanked them one by one so solemnly that the aunts felt that they had done a good deed. They were so proud that their chins were raised a little bit, and they couldn't help but pull Shen Moer to chat for a while.

Hearing Shen Moer say that she was going to the private plot, the aunts enthusiastically expressed that they wanted to go and take a look together.

The father and daughter almost starved to death in a good year, even if their food was stolen. But in fact, if it were another family, they would not be so hungry, no matter if they went up the mountain or down the river or dug from their private plots.

Sure enough, a group of people ran to the Shen family's private plot and saw that the land was simply terrible. A few stalks of water spinach were cut to only a few roots, a few cowpeas had sparse leaves and even sparse beans, and as for a few sweet potatoes, those buried in the ground could not be seen, and the leaves growing outside were basically plucked out.

The aunts sighed, the father and daughter were really hungry and ate up everything edible in the field.

Moreover, they were too honest.

If it were someone else, even if they had plucked all the pumpkins from their own plots, they would be starving, so they would definitely reach out to their neighbors’ plots, right? But along the way, they saw that other people’s plots were all growing neatly. A pumpkin from Zhou Laoguo’s family next door grew in their plots, and it had become an old pumpkin, but it was still intact.

"Shen Laoqi, he didn't work in the fields much when his mother was alive. After his mother died, there was no one to teach him, so he really can't farm."

Well, the old ladies rolled up their sleeves and got busy. They took farm tools from the nearest Yang's house, and then loosened the soil, watered the fields, and pulled amaranth seedlings, pumpkin seedlings, carrot seedlings from their own private plots... and planted them in Shen Moer's field.

They were all used to doing the work, and their movements were so quick. In the time it took Shen Moer to carry two buckets of water, the private plot was transformed.

Shen Moer didn't expect the old ladies to be so enthusiastic. If she were a princess, she would definitely reward her subordinates for their diligence and thoroughness.

But in this strange world, she had nothing, and they were not from the palace. Helping her tidy up the vegetable plot was purely the so-called proletarian friendship... Shen Moer felt fresh, but after thinking about it, she could only remember this favor and thank them later. To

say that these rural old ladies are annoying when they are annoying, gossiping about other people's affairs, and meddling in other people's business, but when they are enthusiastic, they are also really enthusiastic. Look, Shen Moer didn't say anything. After they helped to tidy up the private plot, they dragged Shen Moer to the captain's house.

The team leader went to work, but his mother and daughter-in-law were at home. The old ladies started to speak up for Shen Moer and his daughter at the team leader's house, pointing at the skinny Shen Moer and scolding the other families of the Shen family for being black-hearted. So when

Zhou Mancang got home from work, his mother and daughter-in-law urged him to fight for the house on behalf of Shen Laoqi and his daughter.

His daughter-in-law, Xu Hongmei, is well-educated and has a high school education. She speaks with a righteous tone: "The people's production team is for the people. The proletariat must unite and not oppress. Boss Shen and the others bullied him like this just because they saw Shen Laoqi being honest and had no one to help him." Who cares about the brigade?"

Zhou Mancang was speechless: "Why didn't I hear you say that before?"

Xu Hongmei: "Then the father and daughter didn't say anything before, so we can't interfere, right?"

The old lady also said, "No, actually, I "I also feel sorry for Moer, but Old Seven Shen kept silent, so we don't need to meddle in other people's business. But now it's different. I heard that if you don't give him justice, he will be hanged in front of your brigade headquarters. Just to avoid loss of life, you have to take care of this matter!"

Zhou Mancang was a little skeptical when he heard that Old Seven Shen had changed his temper overnight and was ready to fight for his only daughter. So yesterday in the sun-drying field, he asked the brothers to negotiate first, with the idea of ​​delaying it.

Maybe after two days, Old Seven Shen's anger would dissipate, and he would be the same as before?

But now the fire not only burned him, but also burned his family. Moreover, Zhou Mancang knew it very well. Although it was his mother and wife who were talking, there were still a group of old ladies behind them.

Of course, what the old lady said was right. If someone really died, then he, the captain, would really have a heavy responsibility.

Originally, he thought it was better to have less trouble than more. Now, Zhou Mancang sat on a low stool and took a puff of cigarette, and said, "Okay, I'll mediate for them in the afternoon."

Shen Moer took a walk outside and not only harvested a brand new private plot, but also harvested vegetables generously donated by the aunts, including cowpeas, water spinach, tender pumpkins, and even a golden melon.

There was not a drop of cooking oil in the house, and there were no other seasonings except salt. Shen Moer washed a handful of water spinach, lit a fire, and made a vegetable soup. She did not cook anything else. For lunch, the father and daughter had a snack with the vegetable soup.

The snacks were made by the cook who was the best at making pastries in the palace. The taste was naturally good, but it was a pity that they were gone after the meal.

Fortunately, the food that was robbed was taken back, and with the food distributed by the team this time, the family would not have to worry about food for the time being.

Of course, the father and daughter were used to a life of being able to eat fine food, so it must be difficult for them to adapt all of a sudden, but they had to adapt slowly. After all, they had to live in this world from now on.

In the evening, before it got dark, every household had dinner.

After finishing her meal, Shen Moer moved a broken chair to the door and sat down, enjoying the refreshing evening breeze. She swiftly unpacked a torn cotton jacket, pulled out the cotton wool that had become even more compacted due to the rain, fluffed it up, and threw it into the bamboo basket at her feet.

Now, the father and daughter were penniless, but this compacted cotton wool could still be used after cleaning it up and exposing it to the sun.

Shen Shaoyuan, who had worked all day, sat against the wall, looked at his precious daughter, and then looked at her again, and couldn't help but sigh.

His little Moer, in Daliang, was a pampered girl who was more favored than the princess. She learned needlework from the best embroiderer in Daliang, not to embroider wedding dresses like other ladies, but just to embroider a purse for her father. Now this skill can only be used to mend some tattered clothes.

Shen Shaoyuan couldn't help feeling sad again.

So when Zhou Mancang came over, he saw this scene: the skinny little girl was holding a patched cotton jacket and unpacking the cotton. The equally skinny Shen Laoqi next to him was so sad that he almost cried when he saw his daughter.

Zhou Mancang could actually understand Shen Shaoyuan's feelings. If it were him, he would cry too if he had raised such a daughter and made her like this, and she almost starved to death.

To say that Zhou Mancang was a bit hasty in taking care of this matter before, he now really wants to help this poor father and daughter.

When the old Shen family gathered and sat in the brigade office, Zhou Mancang unconsciously spoke for the poor father and daughter in his mind.

"The family was divided before the old man passed away. You brothers each had two rooms. At that time, the village cadres and elders were invited to witness it. You can't deny it. As for how you brothers exchanged houses later, as long as you two are willing, we naturally have no right to interfere."

Zhou Mancang continued: "Now the seventh brother wants to exchange the house back. I just asked, and you didn't change the house when you exchanged it. The written agreement did not cover the price difference. It was a loan from the beginning, so it was reasonable for Old Seven to be exchanged back now. "

The eldest Shen was called Shen Shengli. His dark face was full of ravines and there was a deep Sichuan-shaped wrinkle between his brows. He frowned and said, "Captain, this is a matter between us brothers. There is no need for the brigade to interfere. We can just discuss it ourselves."

His family has the largest population. Of the two rooms of Old Seven Shen, his family occupies one and a half.

If he was really exchanged back by Old Seven Shen, the second and third sons of his family would have to sleep on the street.

Shen Shengli regretted it now. If he had known this would happen, he would never have brought his whole family to the Houshangen Brigade for a wedding.

If he had been in the village yesterday, when the food robbing incident broke out, he would have suppressed the third family and apologized to the seventh family, and he would not have allowed the fire to burn the house.

"You are the same, Lao Qi. Although we are not born to the same mother, we are still brothers. Your mother died early and your father is old. Your brother has helped you a lot since you were a child, right? It's their fault that the third family took food from your family. I'll talk to him later and ask the third family to apologize to you and your niece. What do you think?"

Shen Shengli thought that he knew this half-brother very well. He had the same soft temper as his stepmother and had no ill will.

He has been like this since he was a child. A few nice words can coax him into giving out all the good things, and he has been fooled around by several nephews of the same age.

The two rooms were also coaxed in this way.

This time, they were probably forced into a corner by the third brother's family, but Shen Shengli thought that he should find an excuse to delay it first, and wait until the seventh brother's anger subsided, and then the matter would be over.

Before he finished speaking, Shen Shaoyuan waved his hands and spoke: "The food issue was resolved yesterday, so let's not talk about it. Today we are talking about the house. Boss, don't talk about other people anymore. I'm afraid that if you keep talking about it, you will fool me again."

He didn't care what Shen Shengli's expression was when he heard this, and said to Zhou Mancang: "I'm not very smart, but I have figured it out. The people's production team is for the people. If there is any problem, just go to the organization. Captain, this is the case. I believe in the organization, and I believe in you even more. We, father and daughter, are counting on you to give us justice."

Shen Shengli: "..."

What's wrong with you? Aren't you very good at flattering? !