Xu Ning opened the kitchen door, and Xu An went in to light the kerosene lamp. Xu Ning said to Xu's father and mother, who were standing at the door and looking around in the moonlight, "Mom and Dad, the two acres of land at the door are mine and Xiao An's private plots. The cabbages we planted this year are growing very well." Then he pointed to the neatly stacked cabbages under the eaves and showed them to Xu's father and mother, and continued, "I also pickled two large jars of sauerkraut." Then he took Xu's father and mother into the house and continued to talk about the things stored at home, including a jar of bacon he had pickled and a large jar of salted pork. There were duck eggs, a goose and two chickens hanging on the wall, a jar of lard, peanut oil, lard residue, eggs, rice, flour, cornmeal, and the shelves on both walls of the kitchen were full of mountain products. Xu Ning took them to her room. Against the wall was a large and tall shelf like the one in the kitchen. On it were the newly distributed grains, corn, beans, sorghum, wheat, sweet potatoes, potatoes. The shelf was full. Xu Ning opened the two cabinets on the kang and found four beds. A new quilt, two sets of cotton clothes, some cloth, a big bundle of cotton, a few pairs of cotton shoes, a big stack of wool socks, more than a dozen pairs, defective wool yarn bought from the supply and marketing cooperative, a military coat sent by Xu Yang, cotton gloves, and then opened a box next to it, which contained milk powder, canned food, White Rabbit milk candy, brown sugar, rock sugar, egg cake, biscuits, and a big bag of apples. Then he took the two to Xu An's room. Xu An and Xu Mo were playing on the kang. This room was obviously bigger than the one Xu Ning lived in, and there was also a There was a very large shelf, which was also full of mountain products picked up by the brother and sister in the mountains. Xu Ning opened two more cabinets. In one cabinet were four large bags of dried wild vegetables, and in another cabinet were two large bags of dried mushrooms, as well as some dried black fungus, dried beans, and vermicelli that Xu Ning took out from the space. In the corner was a newly bought but unused stove. Xu Ning opened the two cabinets on Xu An's kang, which contained Xu An's cotton-padded jacket, cotton shoes, cotton socks, cotton hat, and a few pieces of cloth.
After reading it, Xu Ning pulled the two people who were still there to sit on the kang and said, "Mom and Dad, Xiao An and I have a good life here. You see the food piled in my room. It was shared by Xiao An and I this year. We also shared more than 100 yuan. You can pick mountain products, wild vegetables, and mushrooms from the mountain. The ones in the kitchen and those in Xiao An's room were all picked by the two of us on the mountain. There are so many of these things on the mountain that even if so many people in the village go to pick them all, they can't be picked up. The winter here is long, so we are only busy for four or five months a year. The rest of the time, we are busy all day long." "I hibernate at home all the time, and I pick up firewood from the mountains. I heat the kang in winter, and the house is warm. I eat the mountain products I pick up from the mountains. These days are so beautiful. Now my parents and Xiao Mo are here too. We will be together as a family in the future, and we will have a good life in the future." While listening to her, Dad Xu looked at the full of food in the house, turned his head and said with red eyes, "My daughter is really capable, and she has suffered a lot," wiped his tears and said, "Xiao An is also capable, and Xiao An is also a good child,"
Mother Xu looked at the two siblings and they were already in tears.
After Xu's father and mother calmed down, Xu An went to fetch water for them to wash their faces. Then they sat on Xiao An's kang and talked. Lin's father asked, "Why did you two think of moving out of the Youth House?"
Xu An said, "We lived with them. They bullied my sister and me because we were young and always asked my sister to help them with the chores. When it was their turn to cook, they deliberately made our steamed corn bread smaller. Once, my sister went to help a female educated youth fetch water and her head was broken. The village chief came, and my sister beat the two female educated youth who bullied us with a stick in front of the village chief. She also complained to the village chief, saying that the two of them bullied us and withheld our food. The village chief was very angry and said that if they dared to do that again, he would send them to the educated youth office and ask her to give the money for my sister's medicine and compensate us with 20 eggs. Once, they said that we shouldn't eat tomatoes from the private plot, so my sister beat the female educated youth with a fire stick again. They were so scared that they never dared to cause trouble for us again. Later, my sister went to find the village chief again and said that we had been separated. The village chief agreed and helped find a Red Army uncle to help us build a house."
After hearing this, Xu's father and mother were very angry. Xu's father clenched his fist and said with a gloomy face, "Which two female educated youth are they? They are so vicious at such a young age."
Xu Ning said hurriedly, "Mom and Dad, it's okay now. I beat them up and vented my anger. Actually, I hit my head that time because I didn't pay attention to my feet and tripped. As for moving out from the educated youth site, it was because several more educated youth came later. There were only two rooms in the educated youth site, and there were more than a dozen people living there. There were many conflicts. You see, the vegetables they planted in one acre of land were not as much as the two mu of vegetables that Xiao An and I harvested. Xiao An and I rarely saw them picking mountain products in the mountains. Mom and Dad, what do you think will happen after so many people eat from the same big pot for a long time? So Xiao An and I moved out. It's so comfortable to live by ourselves behind closed doors,"
Father Xu looked at Xu Ning with satisfaction and smiled, "My daughter has really grown up. This place is great. How did you think of building a house here?"
Xu Ning said, "At that time, I saw a vacant lot here, which was not very big. I thought the village chief would agree. Since I had not left the educated youth point, there was a private plot at the door. It was very convenient. So I went to the city to buy some things and took Xiao An to see the village chief." He also told Xu's father and mother about his visit to Zhao Jianshe's house and the fact that he had been using Zhao Jianshe's banner. Xu's mother was stunned. Xu's father excitedly patted the kang and said "good" twice, "You are worthy of being my daughter, Xu Minghong." Xu's mother rolled her eyes at him and said, "Are you praising your daughter or yourself? You are shameless!" The whole family laughed. Xu Ning saw that everyone was in good spirits and had something to talk about, so he went to wash a few apples. Xiao Mo said, "Sister, these apples are delicious and sweet." Xu's mother said, "Xiao Ning, how did you buy the things you showed me and your father just now? I didn't give you so many tickets when you two went to the countryside!"
Xu Ning thought, here it comes, as a mother is still careful, Xu Ning said, "Mom, these things do not need tickets, they are defective products. The supply and marketing cooperative has a batch of defective products every few days. These defective products are not available for purchase. They are all distributed by the staff in their supply and marketing office. I went to the city some time ago to carry some mountain products to deliver to Brother Jianshe, and Sister Hongmei asked me if I wanted to buy wool yarn. She said it was defective and did not need tickets. I wanted to make a sweater and trousers for my eldest brother, so I asked Sister Hongmei to take me there. That's how I met Hongmei. My sister-in-law's younger sister, Sister Hongying, the people in the city like these mountain products very much. I brought a basket for Sister Hongying when I went to the city a few days ago, and she was very happy. I told her that if their supply and marketing cooperative has any defective products, please leave some for me. I thought that we have a big family, and we need cloth, cotton, and cotton shoes anyway, and they don't require tickets and are not expensive, so I bought some more and brought them back. She asked me to go again in two days, saying that there would be a lot of good things by then." Xu Ning thought, should I let Sister Hongying take the blame? Otherwise, she really couldn't figure out where these things came from.
Then he pointed to the stove in the corner and said, "This stove was bought for me by Sister Hongying, but I used two industrial coupons. There are 500 kilograms of coal in the firewood room, which was also bought for me by Sister Hongying through her connections, without asking for coupons. I also asked the village carpenter to make a big barrel for me to bathe in, so that we can heat the kang and bathe in the house in winter."
The couple listened to their daughter talking with smiles on their faces.
Mother Xu asked, "The money I gave you is almost gone!" Then she took out a stack of banknotes from her pocket and handed it to Xu Ning, saying, "This is all the money left in the family. When your brother left, things were not peaceful, so your father and I asked your brother to take most of the money away. We thought that in case our family was not together, we would ask your brother to send you money every month. Your father and I are inconvenient to do anything now, so leave this money with you, don't be reluctant to spend it. The money your grandfather left for me when he left has not been touched. It was hidden by your father."
Xu Ning said, "Mom, take it! I haven't spent much of the money you and Dad gave us when we went to the countryside. I spent almost 200 yuan on building a house, and I saved the rest. Xiao An and I still have a lot left from the more than 100 yuan we received this year."
Aunt Xu said, "You bought so many things, how come you still have so much money?"
Xu Ning said, "Mom, these things are not expensive. They are defective products in the supply and marketing cooperative. They are only available to people with connections. Otherwise, why would there be so many people fighting for a position in the supply and marketing cooperative? Isn't it because there is so much money to be made?"
Father Xu said, "My daughter, your mother is right. We have no use for the money now. I'll leave it with you. There is also a bicycle ticket in it. Go buy a bicycle. It will be more convenient for you to go out in the future."
Xu Ning was delighted when she heard about the bicycle ticket. She had wanted to buy a bicycle for a long time, but she didn't have a ticket. With a bicycle, it would be convenient to go into the city. She would stay here for seven or eight years. After thinking about it, she took the money and said, "Mom and Dad, leave it with me first. If you need it, come to me and get it. Don't worry, I won't use it carelessly."
Xu Ning saw that it was getting late and they had to get up early tomorrow. His parents and Xiao Mo must be tired after walking such a long way today, so he boiled some hot water and asked them to take a shower and go to bed first.
Xiao Mo insisted on sleeping with her sister, so Xu Ning let her parents and Xu An sleep in that room, and Xiao Mo slept with her. The kang in Xu An's room was big, and it was spacious enough for three people to sleep.
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