Chapter 274 She Wants to Find a Way Out
Shen Qing: .....This is really feeding her food!
"It's true that we don't have enough people at home to handle it, but I can't take advantage of you for nothing. How about I pay you for the journey from the bridge to the workshop, or provide you with food?"
It is a common understanding that every household in the village must either contribute manpower or money when building a road. Especially since the land here belongs to their family alone, how can they feel at ease accepting free labor from the entire village?
She was extremely grateful that they were willing to help build the road!
Zheng Huiqin and the others advised, "No need. Isn't it too much for everyone to walk to the workshop? Just repair it together. What's the point of getting paid for it?"
"Xiaoyu and Xiaoshui are both busy working in the workshops, both in the south and the north. They also have so many animals to take care of and a lot of things to do at home, plus the road construction. Just imagine how busy and tiring it would be if you were to take care of the meals too."
The remaining villagers, except those who were too old or too young, could basically help with the road construction work. But if they also had to provide food, it would be a big deal! Just washing, cutting and cooking the vegetables would be too much for several people to handle.
Shen Qing thought about it and realized that it was indeed the case.
Her family is too small, and she can manage the daily tasks, but once there is an extra task, she will be too busy to handle it.
Huo Bing whispered, "Mom, when the time comes, let's make two buckets of brown sugar water and bring them over to warm them up, just to show our appreciation."
Shen Qing thought this was good, effortless and practical, and she had a lot of brown sugar in stock, "Okay."
The road construction project was finalized, and the village, which had been idle for only two days, became busy again.
The first snow is still melting, and the ground is wet and muddy everywhere. It is impossible to burn the earth now, so go collect stones and firewood first.
The women were responsible for the firewood, which was divided into three parts: dry weeds and grass close to the ground that were used to start the fire, bushes and other thin branches in the middle, and thick firewood on top.
Collect the snow when the weather is clear and not too thick and let it air dry. Once the ground is dry, you can directly fire it. If the weather is bad with continuous rain and snow, you can only wait until next year.
The men picked up the stones in batches and pieces. They would rather have small stones than large ones - large stones were difficult to burn through and even more difficult to smash.
So most of them carried a basket, a hoe and a rake. When they came across stones exposed on the ground, they gathered them together and put them in the basket. If there were stones half buried in the dirt road, they would just pry open a corner with the edge of the hoe.
The good ones were carried back by the donkey.
There are only three people permanently stationed on Shen Qing's side to repair the road, she is the eldest and the second eldest, plus the four-person cooking team who work part-time on the day of rest.
The soap business cannot be delayed, Huo Bing and Guan Li are in charge and will not make any changes easily;
The two little granddaughters need to be taken care of, and Jiang Xiangzhong is fully responsible and cannot leave;
The eldest and second oldest brothers could have rested after shoveling the hay, but now they can’t rest either, and the four cooking crew members who are on duty can’t rest either.
As the one with the most free time in the family, Shen Qing couldn't be so shameless as to be lazy and work as a laborer at this moment.
After doing it for three days in a row, she felt pain all over her body and couldn't even straighten her back!
The eldest and second oldest brothers took care of the dirtiest work, while the donkey cart and ox cart took care of the most strenuous part. She only had to bend down to cut weeds and thatch. At the end of the day, her waist felt like it wasn't her own.
But who in the family doesn’t work harder and is more tired than her?
Even Bing and Ali had to take care of the baby one night and take care of the housework the other.
There are not enough people and we are too busy to handle the work, so we can only comfort ourselves: there is nothing comfortable about farm work!
*
"Mom, please eat a few bites. How can your health get better if you don't eat?" Xiao Jin begged, holding a porridge with more vegetables and less corn.
Ping Gu looked at her eldest daughter who was almost unable to stand, shook her head and whispered: "You guys eat it. Mother has done something wrong. I am afraid that the old lady will not be able to keep me.
Listen to what mother said, you and your three sisters should share this food, as long as it can make it through the winter. If you take mother with you, none of the five of us will survive."
She had seen the old lady's methods before, and in her eyes, these servants were like ants.
In the past, the Cao family was wealthy and had no shortage of food and clothing, so supporting them was naturally no big deal. But this year, she failed to buy grain and meat, and she messed up her job and lost money, livestock, and vehicles. The most important injury was her right hand. The old lady was oppressed by the villagers and did not vent her anger, but she always kept it in her heart.
The Cao family was indeed short of food, but if the old lady was willing to intervene, she would not let Cao Da take up half of the food.
If it was divided equally, the family could survive, but the old lady not only ignored it, she even condoned Cao Da's actions. This was a punishment for her, and whoever protected her would suffer with her.
Cao Da must have received a hint, so he never gave up his food and just ate until he was full. The eldest son was willing to give up his food at first, but later on, he gave up less and less.
Only these four girls have the same miserable fate as her, and they cannot see through things without guidance.
"Without mother, what's the point of living?" Xiao Jin couldn't hold back her tears any longer and they fell down.
The old lady is difficult to serve. She has a bad temper, high and detailed demands, and countless ways to punish people. They were born to be servants of the Cao family. Their father doesn't pay them attention. If it weren't for their mother's protection, how could they have any happiness in their lives?
If their mother is gone, they will suffer while they are alive. What difference does it make whether they live one day longer or one day less?
Pinggu's eyes, which had been dead silent, suddenly brightened up. She struggled to sit up and said in a deep voice, "You must live even without your mother!
Live well, only when you are alive can you have hope."
The door was suddenly pushed open, and three skinny little girls rushed in, shaking their heads like rattles, tears and snot streaming down their faces. "Mom, if you're gone, I won't live either."
"I want to be with Mom. Dad doesn't like me, and I don't like Dad either."
"Mom, take me with you. Even if I die, I will be with you."
Children from poor families have to grow up early. Even the youngest, Xiaotie, who is only seven or eight years old, has become sensible at an early age.
She was afraid of being hungry and didn't want to be hungry, but compared to her mother, she would rather be hungry.
Xiao Jin wiped her tears, handed the bowl of porridge forward firmly, and said, "Mom, you eat it. At worst, we can starve to death together one day!"
Pinggu looked at her four daughters gathered in a circle, held back her tears, and her expression turned cold and serious.
She can die, but even if her daughter survives after her death, she will be worse than grass because of a motherless child.
She couldn't accept her fate. For the sake of her children, she had to find a way out.
Not only did he have to find a way to make a living for himself, but he also had to find a new way of life for his four daughters.
*
"What? You want to leave on your own?" Mrs. Cao narrowed her eyes and looked at the woman kneeling in front of her.
Pinggu kowtowed to Mrs. Cao and said weakly, "Yes, if I don't leave, my four daughters won't bear to see me starve. They would rather starve themselves than give me half of my food. I can't watch them starve to death with me.
After I left, they could barely eat half their fill. When spring came and things settled down outside, they would finally have a way to make a living.”
Mrs. Cao raised her eyebrows slightly. Unable to see the expression on the kneeling woman's face, she secretly guessed how much of it was true or false.
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