Chapter 33

Xu Wen was very surprised, "You sneaked out?"

Dongsheng nodded like a child who had done something wrong: "I want to wait for you."

Xu Wen frowned and was about to scold him when he heard Dongsheng's stomach growling.

All the annoyance disappeared, and he carried Dongsheng onto the bicycle, "Let's go home first!"

Xu Wen was afraid that his uncle and aunt would be worried because they couldn't find Dongsheng, so he wanted to ride his bike to his uncle and aunt's house first to say hello and pick up Dongsheng's spare clothes.

When I got there, I found the door was locked.

Xu Wen asked Dongsheng in confusion: "Your grandpa and grandma are not at home?"

"Yes. They went to work in the fields."

"Who's staying home with you?"

"Myself."

Xu asked: "..."

"You mean that grandpa and grandma left you at home to work?"

"Yeah. My aunt is also in school, so I'm the only one at home."

Dongsheng was willing to choose his uncle and aunt's family because their little daughter was only a few years older than Dongsheng. The two of them could be playmates.

Xu Wen frowned, "Didn't your aunt never go to school before?"

Nowadays, children generally start school late, and it is normal for them to start at the age of nine or ten.

My uncle and aunt’s little daughter is called Wenwen, and she seems to be only seven years old this year?

This question was a bit difficult for Dongsheng, and he shook his head.

Xu Wen got back on his bike and asked Dongsheng as he rode with him: "So how did you get out of your grandparents' house?"

"There was a hole in the fence, and I climbed out secretly." Dongsheng whispered, "Mom, I won't climb out next time, don't be angry."

Xu Wen couldn't bear to be angry with Dong Sheng, so he drove him to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some snacks for Dong Sheng to fill his stomach, and then drove him to buy some vegetables, meat and fruits.

"Did you not eat today?" Xu asked with a frown as Dongsheng was stuffing biscuits into his mouth.

Dongsheng nodded, "I woke up and grandpa and grandma were not at home. I couldn't bite the cold nests at home."

Xu Wen knew that Dongsheng’s teeth were not in good condition. His upper teeth were all black and incomplete.

I also know that many families just eat some cold noodles with pickled vegetables and some boiled water in the morning to save trouble.

This is normal.

But she brought living expenses for Dongsheng? !

Xu Wen brought Dongsheng home, summoned the magic mirror, found two simple recipes to prepare a meal, and let Dongsheng eat first. He went to his uncle and aunt's house to say hello in case they couldn't find Dongsheng and worry about him.

This time, the door of my uncle and aunt's house was open.

As soon as Xu Wen arrived at the door, he heard his uncle and aunt talking inside.

"That brat Dongsheng usually waits for Xu Wen at the intersection, but I didn't see him when I came back today. I don't know where he went!" complained the aunt.

The uncle said impatiently, "That's enough! Stop nagging. He's only three years old. If you leave him alone at home all the time and he runs out and gets into trouble, how am I going to explain this to Zhengzi?"

"What could possibly happen? Didn't our Wenwen often stay home alone when she was four or five years old? Besides, don't I have to go out to earn work points? Do I have to serve Dongsheng as a babysitter if Xu Wen gives me five yuan?"

"Is five yuan too little? Without it, can we send Wenwen to school? Besides, it's only five yuan for five and a half days. Twenty yuan a month is not less than work points, right? I only get 70 cents for a full day of work!"

I say, don't be so careless about the little money in front of you! Can Dongsheng be the same as Wenwen? Wenwen was born and raised here, how long has Dongsheng been here? It will be troublesome if he gets lost!"

"It's not like we have five dollars every week! Dongsheng will go to your eldest brother's house next week. Don't give up on me. At least I cook two meals for him at noon and at night. The children eat whatever we eat. I don't treat him unfairly! It's just that he doesn't like to eat. And your eldest sister-in-law... Haha, she can't spend even one dollar of the five dollars on Dongsheng. She's not as good as me. If you don't believe me, try it."

"Okay, stop nagging and go cook! I'm going to go look for the kids."

Xu Wen quickly stepped back and shouted, "Are uncle and aunt home?"

Just then, my uncle opened the door and saw Xu Wen looking a little uncomfortable. "Wen Wen? Why are you back?"

Xu Wen reminded him: "Today is Saturday. I have the day off."

Auntie heard the commotion and came over with a spatula in hand. "Oh! We were so busy that we forgot about this. Um, are you here to call Dongsheng? Dongsheng and Wenwen went out to play and haven't come back yet. Your uncle was just about to call them back for dinner. You wait at home for a while!"

The uncle also quickly agreed: "Ask, you go into the house and sit for a while, I will go and find the child."

Before Xu Wen could even open his mouth, Wenwen came into the yard carrying a brand new schoolbag. "Mom and Dad? Dongsheng hasn't come back yet? Why didn't I see him at the intersection? He waits for his stepmother at the intersection every day."

The uncle and aunt looked at Xu Wen at the same time, with embarrassed expressions on their faces.

Xu Wen became more and more angry as he listened, but he had to trouble his uncle and aunt before he could get into college, so he could only grit his teeth and endure it, smiling, "I was just about to tell you about this, when I came back and saw Dongsheng standing alone at the intersection, his stomach growling with hunger, so I took him home. I wanted to tell you first, but when I came and saw that no one was home, I cooked for Dongsheng before coming over. I'm sorry to have worried you."

Xu Wen's tone was calm, neither annoyed nor angry, but the accusation in his words was also obvious.

The uncle and aunt looked at each other, both embarrassed.

The aunt explained, "Today the team has a lot of work to do. Someone asked for leave, so I took over for a while. Normally I stay at home to look after Dongsheng."

Xu Wen couldn't help but asked, "Really? Thank you so much, Auntie!" She touched Wenwen's head, "Wenwen, your new clothes and new schoolbag are so nice. Unlike our Dongsheng, who looks like he just crawled out of a mud pit, dirty!"

The uncle and aunt were even more embarrassed. They wanted to refute them, right? Xu Wen didn't blame them, and he felt guilty. If he didn't refute them, he would feel wronged for not taking care of the child.

Just because they didn't say anything didn't mean Xu Wen had nothing to say, "Uncle, aunt, am I not giving you enough living expenses?"

Auntie hurriedly said, "That's enough! It's already a lot. How can Dongsheng eat more at such a young age? We are all family, please don't give money next time! It's so polite."

Xu Wen nodded, pretending to be confused: "Is it enough? Strange, I haven't seen Dongsheng for a week, why do I feel that he has lost weight? I thought the living expenses were not enough! If it is not enough, you must tell me. A family can't always eat and drink for free, right? You also know that I am a stepmother. The child has become thinner with me since I left on the long journey. I am afraid that people will say that I, a stepmother, treat the child harshly. Please pay more attention to him in the future, uncle and aunt."

The uncle said hurriedly: "It should be."

Xu Wen stopped there and thanked them, "Thank you, uncle and aunt, you have been working hard these past few days. I'll take down Dongsheng's clothes."

When Xu Wen left the yard, he heard the auntie spit, "She's a stepmother, who can she talk to? Isn't it possible that Dongsheng and I are closer than she is to her, and yet she can abuse the child?"

"Say less! Wouldn't she be embarrassed if she heard you again?"

"Humph! Look at the wife your good nephew has found! She looks like a goblin, with those dark and scary eyes."

"That's because you feel guilty, right?"

"Lu Daguo, who are you speaking for?"

“…”

Xu Wen went home with a gloomy face.

Dongsheng squatted at the door with his chin in his hand. When he saw her from a distance, he smiled: "Mom!"

Xu Wen's eyes suddenly felt sore.

He walked up to Dongsheng and picked him up, and asked him, "Do you wait for me at the intersection every day?"

Dongsheng nodded.

"Why? Didn't I tell you I wouldn't be back until Saturday?"

Dongsheng lowered his head and twirled his fingers nervously, "But I don't know which day is Saturday."

Xu Wen then remembered that Dongsheng was only three and a half years old. How could he tell the difference between the days of the week and the days of the week?

She pressed Dongsheng into her arms and hugged him tightly.

When the mother and son returned home, Xu Wen locked the door, washed Dongsheng clean and carried him back into the house, then took a shower himself and changed into a pair of cotton short-sleeved home clothes.

When she entered the room, Dongsheng was already asleep.

Xu Wengang gave Dongsheng a bath and made sure that he had really lost weight.

She sat by the bed and fanned Dongsheng lovingly, thinking in her mind how to solve the problem.

Ultimately, it was because she didn't think it through.

I originally thought that giving five yuan would allow the aunt to take good care of Dongsheng, but I forgot that no one would complain that the money was too much, and this did not prevent the aunt from continuing to earn work points.

Besides, as my aunt said, everyone has been there, and children aged four or five can run around and play in the team without the supervision of adults.

Some children as young as six or seven have already started looking after their younger siblings.

This situation is also common in Taoyuan Brigade.

But Dongsheng was not at home. It was uncomfortable for a child living under someone else's roof, especially in a relatively unfamiliar and bad environment.

Dongsheng really missed her, but he must have felt aggrieved, which was why he was looking forward to her coming back so eagerly.

If this matter is not resolved, Xu Wen will not be able to study with peace of mind.

After waking up in the afternoon, Xu Wen took Dongsheng back to her parents' home first.

Only grandma was at home, and Xu Qie also went out to earn work points.

Xu Wen was surprised that Sang Xiaoqing was not at home to earn work points.

Grandma said that everyone at home had advised her not to go, but she insisted on going.

"Grandma, have you settled the homestead issue?"

Grandma nodded and said, "It's done! We spent 100 yuan to buy it. Originally, many families in the team were unwilling to accept it and wanted to fight for this residential land. The team leader was very embarrassed and said that if it didn't work, we should draw lots. As a result, the members came and took a look at the reclamation bay. None of them wanted it, so they gave it to our family."

When Xu Wen heard this, he ran out to see.

The new homestead has just been measured, and the wooden stakes are still there. It is a square piece of homestead, but most of it is in the water.

It can be seen that Xu Qiushi and Xu Wen have not been idle, as a lot of soil has been poured in in just a few days.

Grandma followed him out trembling, "Now your father and your brother only sleep three or four hours a night. They start working as soon as they get home from work every night, and work until one or two in the morning, then take a nap and go back to work."

Xu Wen frowned, "If this continues, will my father and brother be able to bear it?"

"We ordinary people don't have any other skills, we just rely on this strength to make a living. Who doesn't endure this? Besides, if we can build a house after working hard for a few days, it will save our family a lot of worries."

Xu Wen also knew the situation at home, and after thinking for a while, he said, "Then I'll go buy some food to feed my dad and my brother."

Xu Wen went out to buy half a pound of pork head and some lard.

I also bought two kilograms of bulk liquor.

There are vegetables in the private plot, but there is a lack of oil and water.

Xu Wen boiled the lard into oil and separated it from the oil residue, then fried a plate of oil residue eggplant and oil residue beans.

I also cut a handful of leeks from the vegetable garden, chopped them up, and mixed them with oil residue to make dumplings.

It is useless to have a recipe for making dumplings, as this requires practice. Xu Wen doesn't know how to make them, so his grandmother has to be the main person in making dumplings. Xu Wen rolls out the dough.

"You kid!" Grandma looked at the densely packed oil residue in the filling, swallowed her saliva, and said disapprovingly, "If you have money, spend it sparingly! Look, so many oil residues can be eaten for several meals, and you used up most of them in one meal. Let's see if your mother will miss you when she comes back later."

Xu Wen chuckled twice, knowing that his grandmother was not really complaining, but just felt reluctant to eat like that.

Sure enough, when Zhu Meizhen came back from work in the evening, she kept complaining with concern, saying that Xu Wen couldn't make ends meet.

After reading for a while, he suddenly stopped talking, stared at Dongsheng and said, "Why does this child look thinner?"

Xu Wen sighed softly and summarized the conversation between Dongsheng and Lu Yuanzheng's uncle and aunt that he had asked: "Uncle and aunt took five yuan from me and sent their daughter to school, leaving Dongsheng at home alone. The two families have different eating habits. Dongsheng probably can't get used to the food cooked by his aunt and is often hungry. The child is bored at home and misses me, so he comes out of the fence every day and runs to the intersection to wait for me."

Zhu Meizhen was so distressed that she held Dongsheng on her lap and picked out the easy-to-chew pork head from the plate to feed Dongsheng: "Good boy, you've been wronged, eat more!"

Just as Dongsheng opened his mouth and took a bite of the meat, Zhu Meizhen picked up another dumpling.

Xu asked: "..."

You just scolded me for being a spendthrift.

"Ask." Zhu Meizhen looked at her while feeding Dongsheng and said, "I know you feel bad for Dongsheng and he's unhappy. But to be honest, your uncle and aunt haven't gone too far. You know we eat from the same pot just for the work points. Children like Xiaoqie who are eight or nine years old go to work on weekends, and it's not a big problem for Dongsheng to play at home when he's almost four years old. Isn't it the same for everyone? When you were young, you still had Wang Wang watching over you. When Xiaoqie was little, your grandmother was too old to catch up with him and couldn't watch over him, so she just let him run around in the mud. Little boys don't need to be so delicate."

Xu Wen didn't say anything.

Grandma felt sorry for Xu and asked, "Why don't you leave Dongsheng at our house? Xu Qie will be there to keep him company."

"Mom, you should take a break soon! Xiaoqie has to go to school, so Dongsheng still has to stay at home by himself. Besides, we let him go last week, but this week..." Xu Qiushi glanced at Xu Wen, "Wenwen gave her aunt five yuan. What will the uncles and aunts think if you bring Dongsheng to our house now? Don't they think that we have pocketed Xiaozheng's money? Wouldn't Wenwen be embarrassed when she is at the Lu family?"

Xu Wen shook his head. "Grandma, Mom and Dad, don't worry. I've already figured out a solution. I'll try again next week and see how Uncle handles it."