Xu Ning slept very soundly, probably because she relaxed after taking a bath last night. When she woke up, it was already daybreak. She saw Xu Mo sleeping beside her, leaning inwards. She thought to herself that this kid went to bed so early yesterday, and he was still asleep now. He must be a good sleeper. So she took the clothes from the kang cabinet and got ready. She lifted the quilt and saw a puddle of wet water underneath. Xu Ning felt her head buzzing. She quickly touched her pajamas and found them dry. She thought to herself, it’s good that I didn’t pee. If he still wet the bed at such an old age, he would be in big trouble. She looked at Xu Mo, who was sticking his butt out and shaking, and said with a smile, "Xiao Mo, are you awake?"
Xu Mo turned around and sat up with a red face and sobbed, saying, "Sister, I'm sorry," and then he started crying.
Xu Ning suppressed his laughter and said, "Xiao Mo, it's okay, you are still young. All children wet the bed, but they won't wet the bed when they grow up."
Xu Mo raised his head and asked Xu Ning, "Sister, did you wet the bed when you were a child?" Ahem, Xu Ning thought to himself, Xiao Mo, did sister tell you that I wet the bed or not?
At this time, Xu An shouted outside, "Sister, Xiao Mo, get up and eat."
Get up, get up! Xu Ning hurriedly shouted outside, thinking, Xiao An, you are really a good and caring brother to me.
She immediately took Xu Mo's clothes and said, "Come, Xiao Mo, I'll help you get dressed. We're going to have dinner! We still have to go up the mountain later. Do you want to pick up mountain products?"
Xu Mo immediately forgot about whether he would wet the bed or not. He stood up and said, "Sister, I'll put it on by myself," and put on the cotton coat. Xu Ning took off his shorts, changed him, and helped him put on his cotton pants.
By the time the two of them got dressed and went out, Xu An had already prepared the meal. Xu An didn't know how to cook much, just some beaten corn paste, steamed steamed cakes, and boiled three eggs.
Just after the three of them finished their meal, Jianmin and Erdan came to find Xu An. Xu Ning took out two pieces of steamed cake and gave one to each of them. Jianmin and Erdan both stared at the steamed cakes and swallowed their saliva, but did not take them. Jianmin said, "Xu Zhiqing, we don't want them. You can keep them for Xiao An. My mother said that snacks are very expensive, and you need a ticket to buy them." Erdan also said that his mother would not let him take them either.
Xu Ning told them, "This is not bought, I made it myself. You can ask Xiao An, this looks big, but it is actually soft and does not require much flour. Look, there is not much left when I pinch it." He then pinched it for them to see.
Xu An also said, "I didn't buy it, my sister made it. You can take it. You used to bring me steamed buns from home." Then he took the two steamed cakes from Xu Ning's hand and gave one to each of them. The two of them took it and said embarrassedly, "Thank you, Xu Zhiqing."
Xu Ning asked the three of them to go first. She took down the quilt, washed it, and hung it on the rope outside. She then filled the water jar and led Xu Mo up the mountain.
When they got to the top of the mountain and didn't see the three of them, Xu Ning decided not to go any further and prepared to chop wood here and let Xiao Mo play nearby. There were very few mountain products left and she didn't want to look for them anymore as her house was almost full. She planned to chop more wood before it snowed and not go up the mountain after that.
When she started to cook lunch, Xu An came back with a basket full of pine cones and chestnuts and a small bundle of firewood in his hand. Xu Ning asked him to wash his hands and prepare for dinner. At noon, they cooked millet porridge, cornmeal cakes, and shredded radish fried with oil residue.
After dinner, Xu Ning went to his private plot and planned to dig out the onions. Xu An was washing the dishes, and Xu Mo put the dug onions together.
After all the onions were peeled, Xu Ning placed them under the eaves and covered them with dry straw. When it snowed heavily, she would bring them into the house. This way they could be eaten all winter without going bad. This was what the aunt in the village told her.
When Jianmin and Erdan came to find Xu An, they were carrying things in their backpacks. Jianmin was carrying two mustard greens, and Erdan was carrying a bowl of pickled carrots. Xu Ning knew that these were gifts in return for the children eating her snacks, so she happily accepted them. Someone gave the two of them some fruit candies, and they went up the mountain together.
On the way, Xu Ning asked Jianmin why he didn't go to school these days? She heard from Xu An that Jianmin was in the third grade, but she saw him going up the mountain every day and not going to school in the past two days.
Jianmin said, "Our classroom has been built for many years, and the soil keeps falling off. The principal is afraid that the snow in winter will be too heavy and the roof will collapse, so we are repairing the roof these days."
After arriving at the mountain, Xu An, Jianmin and Erdan went looking for mountain products. Xu Ning took Xiao Mo to chop wood not far from the foot of the mountain. The people chopping wood here were all aunties and older children. The men liked to go inside, and the people on the periphery were picked up by these women and children.
Xu Ning looked up and saw her father and Uncle Lu coming up with axes. They went up the mountain without even looking at her. Xu Ning continued to chop wood while Xiao Mo helped pick up some small bundles. After they had picked up two large bundles, Xu Ning carried Xiao Mo down the mountain on a shoulder pole.
Xu Ning planned to walk a few more times today, fearing that Xu Mo would be tired, so he did not let him go up the mountain with him when he returned. He gave him an apple to eat and asked him to play with Seventh Grandpa. Seventh Grandpa had difficulty walking and rarely left the cowshed.
After dinner, Xu Ning filled the pot with water and started to boil it. Tonight, her mother and Aunt Lu were coming over to take a bath. At about eight o'clock, the small door at the back was gently pushed open. Her mother and Aunt Lu each came in with a small bag. Xu Ning opened the door and let them in, saying, "Mom, Aunt Lu, I've boiled the water. Who of you wants to go in first and take a bath?"
The two of them argued for a long time about who should go to wash first, until Xu Ning said that the water would get cold if they continued to be polite, so Aunt Lu went in to wash.
After they finished washing, they sat on the kang and talked with Xu Ning and his two siblings. Aunt Lu said, "Xiao Ning, I really don't know how to thank you. You bought so many things for me and your uncle Lu, and sent us food. It's been more than two years since I was sent down here, and I haven't had a comfortable life like this before."
Xu Ning said quickly, "Aunt, please don't say that. Uncle Lu saved Xiao An and I. What's the point of buying you these things? These clothes are defective products from the supply and marketing cooperative. They don't require a ticket and are not expensive. They won't cost much. I will keep the money you give me. I will buy whatever I want next time I see."
Xu's mother also said, "They are our own children, why should we be polite? If you have any questions in the future, just tell her directly."
Mother Lu sighed and said, "If it weren't for Ningning taking care of all this, we wouldn't be able to spend our money here with our identities. Old Lu and I have been here for more than two years, and my two children have never dared to contact them. They still don't know that Old Lu and I are here. I didn't dare let my brother tell them. If my brat knew that Old Lu and I were here, he would have come here a long time ago."
Aunt Xu asked, "Sister, where are your daughter and son now?"
"After Lao Lu and I got into trouble, my brother arranged for my daughter to go to Xinshi to work in the countryside, and my son is serving in the army in Nanshi."
As they talked, they both thought of their children who were not around. They remained silent, and when they calmed down, they saw that it was getting late, so they prepared to go back.
Xu Ning went to her room and took out two large quilts from the space and said, "Aunt Lu, I went to the county town yesterday and bought two quilts, one for you and Uncle Lu, and one for Grandpa Qi. Put your old quilts underneath and this one is new cotton and warm, cover it on top."
Mother Lu thought about it and realized that she had already collected so many things before, so she didn’t want to be pretentious about it now and just took it.
Xu Ning sent the two of them out the door and said, "Let my dad and Uncle Lu come over tomorrow to take a bath and relax," and the two of them agreed and went back.
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