Chapter 2

When Xu Wen drove the well-fed sheep back to the production team's barn, the members of the commune, who had received their tasks for the day, walked out of the yard in front of the production team's public housing, carrying various farm tools in their hands and on their shoulders.

Before starting work every day, everyone has to go to the production team headquarters for a meeting, and can only go to work after the team leader has assigned the work to be done that day.

Before finishing work in the evening, they had to go back to the production team to have the timekeeper record their work points before going home.

Mother Zhu Meizhen came out with the other members of the community. When she saw Xu Wen calling her, she smiled and patted her arm twice: "Wenwen, go home and have dinner before going to bed. I cooked two eggs for you this morning and put them on the square table."

Aunt Zhang, who is close to Zhu Meizhen, joked: "No wonder your little Wenwen's face is as white and tender as a peeled egg. It turns out that he eats eggs every day."

"How could that be possible? Eggs are so precious! How can we, who live on coarse food, afford to eat eggs every day? Today is our birthday." Zhu Meizhen explained.

"No wonder!" Aunt Zhang looked suddenly enlightened.

There was also a gossipy old woman who was stirring up trouble. She asked Sang Xiaoqing, Xu Wen's sister-in-law who was also going to work, "Xiaoqing, see how much your mother-in-law loves your sister-in-law. Do you have any eggs to eat?"

Zhu Meizhen's face suddenly turned a little bad, and she spoke very rudely: "Mrs. Li, did you come out of the toilet after eating? If you can't talk, just say less. You are not good at work, but you are good at making trouble."

Sang Xiaoqing glanced at Xu Wen and said quickly, "I have one too. Mom is the best to me."

This is true. Zhu Meizhen is really good to her. She has everything that Xu Wen has, including Xu Wen's birthday egg today, which she also shared with her, but she didn't want it.

How could she be so ignorant?! Birthdays only come once a year.

Xu Wen smiled and walked forward, holding Zhu Meizhen and Sang Xiaoqing's arms, and said with a smile: "Mom, sister-in-law, don't bother with Aunt Li. Aunt Li has probably never seen a harmonious family, and she probably treats other people the same as her family."

The family of this gossipy Auntie Li was well-known for the discord between the sisters-in-law. Her daughter-in-law and her unmarried daughter often fought in the street.

Aunt Li was squeezed and bullied by the three men, either softly or hard, and she looked embarrassed. Seeing that she couldn't get the upper hand, she said with a fake smile, "It's just a joke. A family of three teamed up to bully others! I can't afford to offend..."

Left in shame.

Aunt Zhang patted Zhu Meizhen on the shoulder and advised, "Everyone knows that she is a chatterbox and can't talk. Why are you angry with her?" Then she turned to look at Xu Wen, "Wenwen will be 19 years old after her birthday, right? She is old enough to marry into a married family! There is no girl prettier than Wenwen in our commune. You just wait for the matchmakers to knock down your door! Good young men must be lining up for you to choose."

Zhu Meizhen frowned and was very resistant, "Ask her, she's still in school! Why are you in such a hurry to find a husband?"

Aunt Zhang glanced at Xu Wen, then pulled Zhu Meizhen toward the field, whispering, "I know you miss Wen and are reluctant to let her go, but a girl should not be kept at home. With the conditions in your family and mine, it's not convenient for a girl to sleep at home. Besides, you've already married a daughter-in-law, and if you have a grandson later, there won't be enough space on your kang..."

Xu Wen went home and fell asleep immediately without eating the expensive eggs.

Mainly because I’m not in the mood to eat.

Aunt Zhang was right when she said that she couldn't sleep on this kang anymore. If she continued sleeping on it, she would die young again.

How to solve this problem?

Xu Wensi fell asleep while thinking about it.

Xu Wen smelled the fragrance of food in a daze, opened his eyes and got off the kang.

There were four dishes and a soup on the table.

This is a treat only available during the Chinese New Year.

It’s not a rare dish, just seasonal vegetables grown in a private plot.

Smashed cucumber, stir-fried beans, braised eggplant, cold sweet potato leaves, and a mushroom and egg drop soup.

The biggest difference from usual is not only the quantity of dishes, but also the fact that meat is added to the main dishes.

Xu Wen was setting up the dishes when she saw Xu Wen calling her, "Are you awake? Go wash your hands and come eat. Mom made fish for you."

Xu Wen swallowed his saliva and obediently washed his hands. When he came back, Zhu Meizhen just brought the braised carp to the table.

Zhu Meizhen wiped her hands on her apron and called to Xu Wen: "I was just about to wake you up for dinner! My family has saved a pound of meat tickets for today's meal. Your brother even went to the river to catch a fish for you."

Xu Wen poured a glass of white wine for Xu Qiushi and half a glass for himself.

Xu Wen gave one of the two eggs to his grandmother and the other to Xu Qie.

Grandma shook her head and refused to accept it. "Birthdays only come once a year, keep it for yourself."

Xu cut the egg quickly, and the egg skin broke on the table. After hearing what grandma said, she reluctantly gave the egg back to Xu Wen: "Sister, you should eat it!"

"Just eat it, I'm not hungry!" Xu Wen pushed the egg back, and grandma and Xu Qie gave it back.

Seeing that no one would eat it, Xu Wen thought for a moment, then peeled the egg, cut it into small pieces and put it in a bowl. She also took some garlic cloves, mashed them into garlic paste, poured it on the crushed eggs and served it on the table, "Here, add another dish for everyone!"

This way everyone can have a bite, so there’s no need to pass it around and be reluctant to eat it.

Xu Qie took a bite of the steamed bun with egg and garlic with great satisfaction, and said to Zhu Meizhen, "Mom, can we have a pure meat meal on my birthday?"

"Little glutton!" Zhu Meizhen tapped Xu Qie's forehead, thought for a moment, and said with a smile, "Wait until your birthday at the end of the year. By then, the pigs in the pen can be slaughtered, and I will definitely cook you a meal of meat."

Xu Qi nodded repeatedly, wishing that tomorrow would be the end of the year.

Made the whole family laugh.

Now people are allowed to raise fish, but there is a rule that you must sell one and keep one.

For example, if you raise two pigs, you have to sell one to the state, and the remaining one can be slaughtered.

If the pigs were sold to the commune's food station, they would be given some money, meat coupons, and grain coupons.

Xu Wen picked up a piece of fish with chopsticks and gave it to Xu to cut. He glared at him and said, "Isn't this meat?"

Xu Qie curled his lips and said, "How can fish and pork be the same? Fish doesn't have any oil or water at all, and it doesn't satisfy your appetite at all."

"Then don't eat it!" Xu Wen dragged the plate in front of Xu Qie and picked up a piece of fish for Xu Wen with his chopsticks. "Happy birthday to our little Wen Wen!" He also picked up a piece of fish for Sang Xiaoqing with his chopsticks.

"Thank you, bro."

Who would have thought that when Sang Xiaoqing smelled the fishy smell in the bowl, her face turned pale, she gulped, covered her mouth and ran out the door.

Xu Wen put down his chopsticks and chased after him.

Zhu Meizhen quickly poured a bowl of cold water while muttering, "What's the point of running away without bringing water when your wife vomited?"

Xu Wen stood up and took the bowl from Zhu Meizhen, "Mom, I'll go!"

She chased outside the house and saw Sang Xiaoqing talking to Xu Wen behind the toilet in the southeast corner.

Rural areas all have dry toilets, and the latrines are generally not built high. The latrine of the Xu family was only at the level of Xu Wen's shoulders.

Just as Xu Wen was about to go forward to offer water, he heard Sang Xiaoqing crying to Xu Wen, "Given our family's situation, how can pregnancy be a good thing? Will the child suffer after the birth of the child? There are seven people in the family, only you and dad are the full laborers, and mom and I can only do one and a half jobs. Grandma is old and has bound feet, so she can't go out to work. Wenwen and Xiaoqie are still in school, and the few work points they earn during the winter and summer vacations are not enough to pay for their tuition.

If I get pregnant again and my belly is so big that I can't go to work, will my family of eight have to live on poverty? It's okay for me to suffer with you, but I really don't want the child to suffer with us.

Besides, if we really have a baby, our kang is so crowded that it's hard to turn over. How can it accommodate eight people?"

Xu Wen sighed softly, "It's my incompetence that made you suffer. When the work is finished tonight, I will apply to the team leader for a part-time job. The team leader also said today that he wants to recruit people to light lamps in the cotton and rice fields at night to catch moths, and collect the moths in the morning. This way, I can earn two more work points. I will go to the grain warehouse to work a few more night shifts, and then I can get more work points."

"How tired are you? Even animals have to work all day and rest at night. How can your body bear the continuous rotation?! Besides, even if you are exhausted to death, the money earned from those work points can't even build a house for our family of three." Sang Xiaoqing wiped her tears, "If you ask me, you are already 20 years old. Even if you don't want to get married, there is no need for you to go to high school, right? You can't earn work points and you have to pay tuition. It's not my fault as a sister-in-law. Where can you find a girl like her in our village?"

Xu Wen disagreed: "Wenwen is just a high school student. There are only eight of them in the whole county. It's amazing!"

"High school students can't take the college entrance exam, and they can't get a job..."

Xu Wen didn't listen any more. He put the bowl in a conspicuous place and turned back to his room.

Zhu Meizhen raised her eyebrows and asked in confusion, "Why are you back again? How is your sister-in-law? Is she too hot today?"

"Rezhe" is the dialect in Wei Zhuang, which means heatstroke.

Xu Wen didn't reply. He looked around the crowded living room again, which was so crowded that there was not even enough space for a single bed, and made a decision after gritted his teeth.

She glanced at Grandma, Xu Qiushi, Zhu Meizhen, and Xu Qie in turn, and said, "Grandma, Dad, Mom, I have two things I want to discuss with you!"

Xu Qiushi took a sip of wine, grimacing at the spicy taste. "Today is your birthday, you are the boss! No need to discuss, we agree with everything you say."

Zhu Meizhen also nodded in agreement: "That's right. You have always had your own ideas since you were young. We support you in whatever you want to do."

Xu Wen took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and said his decision in one breath: "I want to drop out of school! I want to get married!"