While packing the boxes, Wang Taozhi turned to Zhao Meiya and expressed his feelings.
"If He Xiaoyou hadn't gone to the countryside, I wouldn't have found a way to clear out all these old things at home. Most of the clothes and things I use are new.
No wonder the living space at home is getting smaller and smaller. Dongbao, if it’s not your sister-in-law who’s telling you, can you use up the things before buying more?
He Ruixue was chewing on a large apple and shook her head, saying, "These are all gifts from others. I don't like to use them, but I'll always need them when I need them, so they won't go to waste."
"People who want to use it don't have any, yet you pick it up. It's because we have a large family, so there will always be someone to pick up your unwanted things, otherwise it will be put away for ages."
Zhao Meiya couldn't stand it any longer. "If you have too many rooms at home and can't fit them all in, just move to my place. You'll have food in your hands and won't be worried. It's the same if you exchange it for things.
What's wrong? You feel uncomfortable when the warehouse is full, and you only feel comfortable when you are so poor that you only have an empty house, right? You don't know how to enjoy your blessings."
"Old lady, I can't make sense to you."
Wang Taozhi stood up and said, "Dongbao, I remember you had two pairs of work trousers, they were quite sturdy. You said the color was too dark and you didn't like it. Where did you put them?"
"In the box next to the sewing machine."
He Chunsheng had someone make the box. It was a one-meter-long camphorwood box with wooden boards dividing the inside. It was Wang Taozhi's treasure box.
On the left were scraps and defective cloth brought back from the factory, and on the right were clothes that the family no longer wore and tattered sheets and curtains.
As for the fine fabrics she bought from the store, she naturally locked them in the cabinet in her bedroom and kept them as heirlooms.
"I've only worn those pants twice, and you don't want them anymore?"
He Ruixue cut the apple in half and handed it to Jiang Yanxu, saying nonchalantly, "No, it won't keep you warm and your legs will look thick."
"The older you get, the more you spend. You can even roll down your trouser legs. They'll last me ten years.
You don't really want it? Then I'll go and alter it for Xiaoyou. It'll be perfect for him to wear when he's working in the fields."
"Anything out of my closet is yours to do with as you please, no need to tell me... Oh, sister-in-law, Xiaoyou's household registration will be moved to the countryside with me, don't forget to go to the street office to change the grain certificate."
"I see. Talking about this makes me angry. The Xiao group hasn't even split up yet, and he's already separated himself before he even comes of age."
Seeing that she was busy, He Ruixue turned and walked into the study, and took out the "Self-study Series of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry" that she had collected over the years. The complete set includes seventeen books including "Algebra", "Physics", "Chemistry", and "Plane Geometry".
It was published in the 1960s, but the print run was not large. It was not until the college entrance examination was resumed that it was truly distributed in large quantities.
He Ruixue asked a flight attendant friend in Shanghai to collect all the information.
There are also her textbooks from recent years, which are full of the notes made by the top student, as well as two sets of notebooks and pens. She will send them to him after he settles down in the countryside.
To be fair, He Xiaoyou's grades are not very good, especially in the liberal arts.
He worked hard before graduating from high school and ranked in the top 20 in his class, which was already his limit.
He Chunsheng sometimes couldn't help but doubt himself, wondering if there was really something wrong with him.
Otherwise, how could she have four children, but not one of them excelled in academics?
He Xiaoai is only in junior high school, but she loves to play too much. She gets distracted three times while doing her homework at home. Her grades have always been in the middle, and she will barely be able to graduate from high school in the future.
He Ruixue had no ambition for her nephews to be admitted to Peking University. After all, people with extraordinary talents are only a minority, so she just hoped that they could get into an ordinary university.
…
During the first month of the lunar year, He Dagen and Zhao Meiya returned to the village and brought a piece of news that was enough to shock the entire He family.
They have a quota for a regular worker in a chemical fiber factory and want to find someone to transfer it to. It doesn't matter if they don't have enough money, they can write an IOU and pay it back slowly after they get a job.
This is equivalent to giving away jobs for free. Although the factory is located in another county, in a village where it is difficult to find a worker in several years, these are opportunities that no one can imagine.
Last year, the team leader's son found a temporary job in the county, helping people unload and move things, earning fifteen yuan a month.
When there is no work, you can't sit idle. Cleaning in the factory is just pure hard labor.
He worked for three months and returned home with the 40 yuan he had saved. The villagers envied him for a long time and competed to find him a wife.
Because of his experience as a worker, he is now a team leader in a production team. People love to talk to him about their experiences in the city and never get tired of listening to him.
Although He Dagen's family has many workers, they have moved away for several years and are too far away from the lives of the villagers.
Every time I go back to my hometown, I see Zhao Meiya's dress and demeanor gradually changing, and the neighbors who used to have conflicts with her also unconsciously have a little more respect for her.
He Dagen has few brothers in his family, and his name tells you that he is the eldest.
But his parents favored the younger son and chose him to take care of them in their old age. He went out to work early and had an average relationship with his family.
His parents died a long time ago, and his two younger brothers also passed away a few years ago. They were all sick but did not go to the hospital for examination.
This is the case for the elderly in rural areas. When they are old, having food to eat is already a filial piety of their children. They have to endure the physical discomfort. When they can't bear it anymore, they will either close their eyes and die or go to the hospital.
Most of them are doing useless work because they are already terminally ill and they will not survive for more than a few years even if they spend a lot of money on treatment.
Everyone would choose to give up, take some painkillers and go home, living as many years as they can.
When the pain becomes unbearable, they will take the initiative to seek death, some by hanging themselves, some by jumping into the river, and some by secretly covering their mouths and noses with pillows if their family disagrees...
Few people drink pesticides. After all, this stuff is expensive and most people can’t find it at home.
Most of He Dagen's brothers and sisters of the same generation are gone, and the families interact less and less. They only get together for a meal during the Chinese New Year to liven things up.
As soon as he heard that the two elders had returned, the team leader He Shan hurried over with his two children.
Holding a pot of homemade wine and a plate of peanuts in his hands, he shouted as soon as he entered the door that everyone should have a drink together.
He Dagen was reluctant to drink the bottled wine that cost only a few dollars in the city. He always took small sips and never felt satisfied. Upon hearing this, he quickly invited him into the house.
The two sat at the table drinking and chatting.
"Come, sister-in-law, you sit down too."
Zhao Meiya opened the package she brought back, took out a bag of fried fish and placed it on the table.
Without being polite with him, she sat down and said, "Come, I'll add more food for you."
"Oh, there are so many of these in the village. You don't need to bring them from the city. I'll let my boy catch two big ones in the river and let you bring them back to make soup."
"You don't know what it is, right? This is made by Qiu Sheng, the taste is different."
"Yeah?"
He Shan picked up one, the fried fish sprinkled with chili powder and sesame seeds, spicy and crispy.
He couldn't help but take a sip of the wine and praised sincerely, "Mm, delicious, no wonder he learned it specially. I didn't know Qiu Sheng had this ability before. It seems that the village has buried him."
"What kind of talent does he have? He's just like everyone else in the village. People invited him to a banquet and paid him three yuan each time, but he refused to go. He insisted on lying at home. What kind of future can he have?"
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