"Mom, you and I weighed the food together. It's just over 100 kilograms, and you didn't take a kilogram more. Can you stop making trouble? Go back quickly." Xu Huaizhi advised helplessly.
"Big brother, Mom really didn't lie. There really is a few hundred kilograms of food missing at home. It's just that there is nothing left." Liu Guifang was eager for her son to believe her.
But Xu Huaizhi thought she was reluctant to give away the food and was deliberately making trouble.
Gu Qinghuan coaxed the little girl, then stood up and said indifferently: "Brother, is this what you call love? If I don't ask mom for food, will you really watch us starve to death?
Until now, my mother is still trying to find ways to get the food back. She really doesn’t want to give us a chance to live.”
She knew very well that it was useless to quarrel with the old woman, because the person with the final say was right next to her, so it would be a waste not to use it.
As expected, Xu Huaizhi's face suddenly turned red, and he touched his toes awkwardly, feeling as if he had been slapped in the face.
Just now I was telling people that her mother loved Huai'an and hoped she could understand her mother's difficulties, but then his mother came to sabotage her and even spared no effort for a little child.
"What are you guys doing? Gu Qinghuan, hand over my food!" Liu Guifang was so angry that she wanted to rush over and make trouble.
Xu Huaizhi was helpless and hurriedly pulled his mother back, not even caring about the bicycle.
"Sister-in-law, you go ahead and get busy."
The two of them walked away pulling each other.
Gu Qinghuan directly moved the food from Xu Huaizhi's bicycle to the borrowed bicycle, and directed the two children to move together.
The original owner's only thing was a large bundle, which contained an old quilt, some daily necessities, worn-out clothes, etc., which he placed on the crossbar in front of the bicycle and could be carried across in one go.
They were essentially driven out of their home, with nothing but the clothes they were wearing and a small bag, and they looked quite destitute.
The two children took the "snacks" they had brought from the mountains and their own simple luggage, and tried hard to help push the cart.
Gu Qinghuan pretended to take out a few White Rabbit candies from her pocket, but actually took them out from her space. She found them in the warehouse of her villa. She had sold White Rabbit products before and the manufacturer gave her several large boxes as a gift.
They obviously knew what it was and looked at her in surprise.
Beibei was the first to speak: "Mom, is this for us?"
Gu Qinghuan didn't expect that the little girl would call her "Mom" so naturally. She was a little uncomfortable with it, because the word "Mom" means a lifelong responsibility.
He nodded awkwardly and motioned for her to take it.
The little girl was overwhelmed with surprise, and her eyes twinkled as she looked at Gu Qinghuan, full of admiration.
Not only because of the candy, but also because Gu Qinghuan did not refuse her from calling her mom.
Children are the most sensitive. Although Gu Qinghuan did not express it in words, they had even had serious exchanges before.
But her behavior intuitively reflects her attitude. She is a real good person. Beibei wants to keep this mother from the bottom of her heart.
All the children in the village had eaten fruit candies or milk candies to some extent, but she and her brother had never received any preferential treatment at any festival and could only look at others with envy.
After that, people also gave them candy.
Beibei gently took two White Rabbits from her mouth and stuffed one into her brother's heart. Then she peeled off her own candy and licked it gently. A smile instantly broke out on her little face.
It’s sweet! Sweeter and more fragrant than sweet fruits.
"Brother, it's so sweet, you come and try it, mommy wants some too." Beibei held her candy in front of Gu Qinghuan and motioned for her to eat it.
Dabao looked at his little sister, the little traitor, and shook his head helplessly. It was all in vain that he taught her so much on weekdays. At the critical moment, she was bribed with two candies.
He didn't want her as his mother, at least not now.
Gu Qinghuan shook her head and stuffed the remaining candies in her mouth into Beibei's mouth: "I don't like eating candies, you keep them and eat them slowly."
She could see that the big guy in front of her was still worried about something, so she decided to take it slow and let people know their true nature.
"What are your two names?"
"Mom, my name is Beibei and my brother's name is Dabao."
…
They walked slowly, talking and laughing all the way, and finally moved their things into their new home.
When they got home, their relationship had developed by leaps and bounds.
Because of the kindness of the two meals before, plus the protection just now, the two children naturally treated her as their own, without any defense, and answered whatever she asked, very well.
It was almost sunset, and I was hungry after working non-stop for the entire afternoon.
Beibei suddenly remembered something, took out a handful of sweet fruits from her pocket, and carefully held them in front of Gu Qinghuan.
"Mom, this is a sweet fruit that my brother and I found in the mountains a while ago. I'm giving it to you."
Seeing how she cherished it, Gu Qinghuan quickly took the red fruit from her mouth. After a closer look, she found that it was a wild berry that she had eaten when she was a child. It was quite sweet.
"Are you really willing to give it to me?"
She originally wanted to tease the child, but she didn't expect to get an answer that made her uncomfortable.
Beibei looked at her with tears in her eyes: "I'm willing to give it to you. In the future, I will pick all the sweet fruits for you. Can you please not leave?"
My brother and I will grow up soon, we can eat less and work hard, okay?"
The child is indeed afraid of pain. When he feels a little warmth, he starts to worry about gains and losses.
Dabao turned away uncomfortably after hearing what his sister said.
Gu Qinghuan took Beibei into her arms and comforted her gently.
The two children are precocious and sensitive, pitiful and lovable.
Finally, she sighed softly and said, "I won't leave. At least I will take care of you until you have the ability to live independently.
You don’t need to eat less, but eat more so that you can grow faster.”
Beibei looked at her in surprise and wiped away her tears: "Really?"
"More real than pearls! Come, taste your sweet fruit."
After they shared the sweet fruit, they felt a step closer.
Sweet fruits alone were definitely not enough, so Gu Qinghuan pretended to take out a few pieces of egg cake from her luggage and shared them with everyone to fill their stomachs.
It was the first time for the children to eat this soft and delicious pastry. They almost choked on it and ate it very happily.
Dabao didn't forget to feed his dad as well.
After eating, the two children looked around their new home curiously.
It seems like a good idea. Do you want to live here from now on?
Gu Qinghuan fetched half a bucket of water from the well in the yard and brought it into the house. He then tore an old washcloth from his original body into two halves and stuffed each into the two small bags.
"Dabao, take Beibei with you, and the two of you should clean up the dust on the floor in the house. I'll go return the bike first. If you finish your task well, you'll be rewarded with roast chicken in the evening. Can you do it?"
Children of this age can start to do things within their ability. For them, this job is not difficult at all.
According to Gu Qinghuan's observation, Dabao takes care of the eating, drinking, defecating and urinating of the madman Kangxiao. The fact that he can serve his father who has been bedridden for many years so neatly shows that this child is a particular person.
Gu Qinghuan had no intention of treating them like pampered children from the beginning; they had to share the housework within their abilities.
"I can do it. Mom, you go ahead. My brother and I will make sure it is clean." Beibei patted his chest and promised seriously.
"I will clean it up well." Dabao also quickly patted his chest to express his opinion.
Gu Qinghuan nodded. She still had a lot of things to do, so she could only rely on the two of them for now.
"Pull the bolt from the inside. Don't open the door unless I tell you to." To prevent the old witch from coming to make trouble again.
After saying hello, Gu Qinghuan rode out.
Before it gets dark, she wants to go to the cowshed in the next village to visit her grandfather.
I don't know if he can handle these two days.
The two villages are close to each other, only a 20-minute walk or a few minutes by bike.
When she was about to reach the cowshed, she found a secluded place and slid a bag of things out of the space.
A handful of noodles, a pound of rice, some leftover chicken soup from lunch, two large apples, and a can of fish.
Everything else was in the villa, except for the canned fish, which was bought from a vending machine so that the fillings wouldn't show.
She also baked a chicken in the oven of the villa. This was a promise she made to her two children and she couldn't go back on her word.
I went to the cowshed but didn't find him, so I knew he must still be working in the fields.
Gu Qinghuan hurried back to the space, made a bowl of chicken noodle soup and put it in the thermos.
Following the original owner's memory, I found the place where he worked before. As expected, I saw the old man working alone in the field. His thin back and bent spine were shocking to the onlookers.
Gu Qinghuan couldn't help feeling very sad. On the one hand, the original owner's feelings were haunting her, and on the other hand, she thought of her grandparents.
"Grandpa." Gu Qinghuan handed him the thermos bucket and took the hoe from his pocket.
"Eat something first and take a rest. I'll do the digging."
"Girl, why are you here again?" Zhong Weiqian held down his trembling right hand, not wanting his granddaughter to see his panic.
After digging a little, I felt numb and shivering uncontrollably.
"Do you want to finish digging this one?" Gu Qinghuan asked without answering.
"Yeah, you go back first. It's too late. Girls shouldn't walk alone at night." Zhong Weiqian opened the thermos with difficulty, and immediately smelled a strong smell of chicken soup.
“Is this chicken soup?”
"Well, I went to the hospital to see mom at noon. The stewed chicken soup was not finished yet, so I made you a mouthful of chicken soup noodles. Eat it while it's hot. It won't taste good if it's clumpy." Gu Qinghuan explained while digging the ground.
"Then I'll just thank my daughter and granddaughter for making this. Girl, it's so delicious."
Zhong Weiqian felt a kind of bittersweet feeling. He never thought that even a sip of chicken soup would be a luxury.
As Gu Qinghuan listened to his grandfather's words, a tear rolled down his cheeks. He should have been enjoying his old age, but why did it end up like this?
From behind I could hear the old man slurping noodles quickly.
Gu Qinghuan swung the hoe with great effort. This job was not a human job. His palms felt numb from every hoe he used. It would take him forever to dig out the dirt.
In addition to working in the fields, he also had to take care of the animals in the cowshed.
No, we can't go on like this, the whole family will be dragged down.
I need to come up with an idea.