"Grandma, we'll leave first. We probably won't be back for lunch, so you don't have to give us anything." After walking out of the house, Zhu Likang turned around and looked at his mother and grandmother who were seeing him off at the door.
Just after breakfast, Mother Zhu stuffed ten yuan into her sons' pockets because she was worried that they would not be able to get back in time for dinner and would be hungry.
Originally Zhu Likang didn't want to accept it, as he believed that their mushrooms could be sold for money. However, he couldn't persuade his mother, so he had to keep the money.
The two men carried the shoulder poles and walked out of the village without meeting any pedestrians. This was a good opportunity for Zhu Likang as he didn't have to explain what was in the bag.
"Team Leader Qin, have you never carried a shoulder pole before?" Walking on the road, Zhu Likang saw Qin Han walking uncomfortably, and asked hurriedly as if he had thought of something.
If you were born in the countryside and say that you have never carried a burden, I am afraid no one would believe you.
Qin Han didn't want Zhu Likang to think that he couldn't even carry a load at his age, so he denied it on the spot: "How is that possible? I am very skilled at carrying a load."
But Zhu Likang clearly heard a hint of guilt in his tone, and knowing that Qin was just trying to save face, he did not expose him. However, from his slowed pace, it could be seen that he was afraid that Qin could not keep up.
If it weren't for squad leader Qin's self-esteem, he could have shouldered the entire burden.
After walking out of the village, I could see passers-by one after another.
However, their appearance did not attract the attention of passers-by. Everyone is busy working for a living, and who has the time to guess what others are picking.
Qin Han secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that no one was paying attention to them. He was quite afraid of being treated like a monkey.
The two men carried their shoulder poles and came to the bus stop. In recent years, the village has started to have public transportation, but not every village has it. In addition, they chose a compromise location in a nearby village so that everyone can get on the bus.
Because of the snow some time ago, many people did not go to town.
So there are an unusually large number of people going to the town these days. When they arrive at the bus stop, there are already quite a few people waiting for the bus there.
Everyone was from a nearby village and knew each other very well. They all gathered together to chat about gossip.
Zhu Likang felt his scalp tingling when he saw this scene. What he feared most was being talked about by others.
However, in order to protect his legs, he still went over.
As I got closer, I found that his aunt was also there, and she had the loudest voice among them.
From a distance I could hear her talking about whose daughter-in-law ran away, or whose chickens were stolen in the middle of the night. She described it vividly, as if she had seen it all with her own eyes.
The others also listened carefully. Regardless of whether the story was true or not, the story really attracted them.
Just as Gao Xiaomei was talking excitedly, she caught sight of her nephew and her classmates.
I saw that they were all carrying things, and their snakeskin bags were bulging, but I didn't know what was in them.
Thinking about the time when the two of them went to the back mountain with the snakeskin bag after school, she suddenly felt that maybe Zhu Likang did not tell her the truth yesterday.
So she quickly changed the subject: "Well, my nephew is here, I'll go see if there's anything I can help with, you guys chat!"
After saying that, she walked towards the two of them with a smile, regardless of other people's reactions.
Looking at the auntie walking towards him, Zhu Likang felt a little headache. It was true that you can avoid her on the first day but not on the fifteenth.
"Li Kang, what good stuff have you and your classmates picked out?" Gao Xiaomei walked in front of Zhu Likang and was about to reach out to touch it.
Zhu Likang dodged and said, "They are just some worthless mountain products. I want to see if I can sell them in town for some money.
If I make some money from selling them, I can buy some New Year goods for my family. Otherwise, I’m afraid I won’t have a good New Year.”
Fearing that the old lady would steal his things, Zhu Likang started to play the victim. Gao Xiaomei didn't know how to respond to him.
Gao Xiaomei, who was originally gossiping about others, immediately became the subject of discussion.
Almost everyone in the nearby villages knows about the Zhu family's affairs.
It is known that Gao Xiaomei and her husband drove out her brother-in-law's wife and children not long after his death. From then on, the mother and children depended on each other and lived in extreme poverty.
Even so, the couple didn't even think about helping out, but instead drove the mother-in-law, who already had no labor force, to her sister-in-law's house.
But this is not their family affair after all, so they shouldn't meddle in it.
Now seeing Gao Xiaomei taking the initiative to approach her brother-in-law’s child, I’m afraid this has bad motives!
Gao Xiaomei didn't expect that this boy would be so careful with his words and talk about their difficulties in front of so many people.
By then, even if the things inside are really valuable, it will be difficult for her to make a profit.
But it would be impossible for her to take the initiative to help them. After all, their family is large and their life is only slightly better than that of ordinary families.
So she calmly changed the subject: "Could this mountain product be what you picked up in the mountains yesterday?"
Zhu Likang knew what she was planning and immediately shook his head: "Where can we get mountain products when the mountain is blocked by snow? These are what grandma and mom found on the mountain before the snow, and then stored them in the cellar, hoping to keep them for the winter.
But our family was so poor that we could barely make ends meet, so grandma asked us to go to town to see if we could sell it.
Auntie, you are interested in mountain products, why don't you sell some? I'll give you a discount." Zhu Likang said carefully, his eyes full of hope.
It was as if all hopes were placed on Gao Xiaomei. If it were an ordinary person, he would have bought it out of spite.
But Gao Xiaomei is a person with a heart harder than stone, otherwise she would not have taken away most of the family property when the family was divided.
She coughed a few times before revealing an embarrassment on her face. "Li Kang, it's not that I don't want to support your business. It's just that I don't have any extra money. I went to town to buy some medicine for your uncle. He's been working too hard lately and his body is almost broken. I don't know how much money I'll have to spend on his recovery!"
She said these words with such sincerity that people who didn't know her believed them. However, only Zhu Likang knew that she was just trying to cover up her stingy words.
It is precisely because he knows that she is not that kind that he plays the victim so that she will not set her sights on their mountain products.
After he expressed his understanding, Gao Xiaomei really took the initiative to stay away from them. She was really heartless.
Seeing that Zhu Likang dismissed his aunt calmly, Qin Han felt that this kid was a little scheming.
However, he did not dislike his behavior. If he still acted weak and vulnerable when dealing with such a person, then he would be truly hopeless.
When others saw that Gao Xiaomei was reluctant to spend even a penny to help her nephew's family after hearing that they were having a hard time, they thought she was too cruel.
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