Chapter 32 Taotao's childhood sweetheart
Bai Taotao pestered Song Zhi and asked him clearly how to get into the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University.
Then she counted on her fingers: it has been less than three months since she came here, so there is no way she can get a spot this time. So it will take at least two years before she has the chance to go to the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University?
At the same time, she has to perform well, serve the people, and gain recognition from the whole village to become an advanced element.
Sequence: do good things for the people - become an advanced element - get a recommendation quota - enter the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University.
Great, so how do we get started?
Until now, everyone's view of her is still that she is a little fool who needs care.
Taotao racked her brains to plan a big event so that everyone would recognize her.
What can she do for the villagers? She has been trying hard to learn Russian, but it seems that the villagers don't need her to know Russian?
Wait, Ruyi Village is a village that depends on the weather and has made a living by farming for generations. What my father and brother usually talk about most at the dinner table is how much the village has harvested in a year, and how much the neighboring village has harvested in a year...
So can she find a way to increase grain production in the village?
Taotao went to ask Little Grapevine.
More than three months later, the small grape vine had been transplanted into the yard by Taotao, and had already climbed up along the frame built by Song Zhi, winding around and covering most of the frame, with lush leaves covering the vine.
Taotao pinched a grape leaf.
That sharp and thin voice instantly entered Taotao's ears——
[Peach peach peach!] I have good news for you! In half a month I will bear fruit! However, I am still a young grapevine, and the fruits I bear may be sour... You have to wait for me for a few years, and my fruits will become sweeter and sweeter in a few years! 】
Taotao smiled and said, "That's great! Little Grape, I would like to ask you, is there any way to increase the rice yield in the fields? 】
The little grapevine thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you try feeding them some water with boiled eggs?" Taotao, the water used to boil eggs in shells is so sweet. Every time I drink it, I feel full of energy, so I grow faster than other grape vines! 】
Taotao: ...
There would be no way to irrigate the hundreds of acres of farmland in the village with water used to boil shelled eggs.
Taotao, [So, if you want to increase rice production, fertilizer is very important? 】
Little Grapevine@
, [What is fertilizer? 】
Taotao, [Can you ask the rice? 】
Little grapevine, [No, in our plant kingdom, not all plants have the ability to communicate. In particular, they are all annual. 】
Taotao understood.
——In this matter, she couldn't take shortcuts and could only make up for it with real knowledge.
The little grape vine asked again, "Taotao, grandpa wants to ask you, when can you take out that big iron monster in his stomach?" 】
Taotao, [Wait, I'll go ask and come back to tell you! 】
She carried a backpack and called Huangdou, asking her to carry a small backpack as well. The aunt and niece went out together and first went to the blacksmith shop to ask when someone would come to dismantle the fighter plane that was stuck in the body of the thousand-year-old ginkgo tree.
Song Zhi listened to Tao Tao's words and murmured, "I guess someone should come in half a month."
Tao Tao did not hide her wish to go to the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University, and asked him how to become an advanced member. "Song Zhi, if I want to be an advanced member, do I have to work in the fields like my father and my brother and earn work points?"
"Not really, but no matter what job you do, at least you have to get recognition from the majority of people." Song Zhi said with a smile.
Taotao left depressed.
In rural areas, physical strength is king. People will respect whoever has good physical strength, great power, works harder, and is not afraid of losing out.
——Her father and brother both follow this path.
But Taotao couldn't carry a hoe or fetch water, and she didn't know what she could do to make everyone respect her.
Taotao and Huangdou went to the back mountain, picked some mushrooms and wild fruits, then went down the mountain and ran to play in the fields where the production team worked.
When the uncles and cousins saw Taotao, they hurriedly said, "You two should just stand on the edge of the field and play. Don't go down to the field! There are leeches in the field! Their bites are painful and they will suck your blood!"
Taotao and Huangdou were frightened and dared not go to the fields. They squatted on the edge of the field and watched people work.
During this period of time, everyone has burned a lot of dead grass in a large field behind the village committee. Now there are many people carrying the ashes from the burning and sending them here one by one; then the uncles and aunts will cover the rice seedlings with the ashes.
Tao Tao asked an elder nearby: "Uncle, why do you pile wood ash on the roots of rice seedlings?"
The uncle looked worried and said, "Oh, it looks like rice blight is going to happen... It will be troublesome if it really happens! It happened once a few years ago. At that time, almost the whole village had no harvest. Every household tightened their belts and ate tree bark and wild vegetables for a whole year..."
Tao Tao's eyes widened, "What does rice blast look like?"
Another uncle pulled off a few rice leaves, threw them on the edge of the field, and said, "These are the leaves that have been infected with rice blight. If it were good rice, it would be all green, so beautiful!"
Taotao picked up the white-spotted rice, studied it carefully, put it in her backpack, and prepared to go home to study it further.
But when she was almost at the river with Huangdou, Huangdou refused to turn onto the path up the mountain and dragged her to the river, "Auntie! Hot! Shrimp! Fish! Eat!"
The little guy jumped out word by word.
Taotao, "Then just play for a while!" The weather was really too hot, and she also wanted to go into the water to cool down.
As soon as I reached the river, I heard someone crying and cursing.
"Why are you doing this to me?"
"Ugly! Zhou Xiaoni! No food to eat! Eating mud..."
"Go away! Go away!"
"This river belongs to you. Why are you asking us to leave?"
"I was here first!"
"Oh, it's so hot. We have to take a bath here naked. Do you want to leave?"
"Are you going to leave or not? Are you going to leave or not!"
Taotao looked carefully and saw that several half-grown boys in the village were bullying Zhou Xiaoni, who was only twelve or thirteen years old?
Taotao thought for a moment and shouted, "Aunt Xigua! Where is your little Xigua? Sister Tong, your Qijin is bathing naked in the river again..."
When the boys heard this, they were so scared that they scattered like birds and beasts and ran away.
Zhou Xiaoni was a little panicked. She looked around, not knowing what had happened.
Taotao went over with the soybeans.
Zhou Xiaoni breathed a sigh of relief, "Sister Taotao, Huangdou!"
Taotao, "Did they bully you again?"
Zhou Xiaoni's eyes were red and she didn't say anything.
Tao Tao saw that Zhou Xiaoni's hair was messy, and it was obvious that she had been bullied by those naughty kids just now, so she said: "Your hair is messy, let me tie it up for you!"
Zhou Xiaoni hesitated for a moment, "Thank you Sister Taotao, I'd better wash my hair first!"
Taotao didn't pull her either.
In rural areas, people who are not very particular, especially those with many people, are too lazy to fetch water home and boil it for bathing. In the summer, when it was getting dark, the whole family would go to the river together and wash their hair and take a bath in their clothes.
Taotao's family doesn't have this problem.
——Song Zhi and Dongsheng patrolled the mountain several times, cut a lot of bamboo, and spent a lot of effort and half a month to build the rack and connect dozens of bamboo tubes to bring the stream water from the mountain into the house. As long as it is not the dry season, Taotao's family does not need to fetch water from the stone well at the entrance of the village.
Zhou Xiaoni took off her hair, bent down, dipped her hair in water, and scrubbed it quickly.
Taotao and Huangdou went to the side to catch shrimps.
After Zhou Xiaoni finished washing her hair, she saw Taotao and Huangdou catching shrimps? She came over cautiously and asked, "Sister Taotao, are you guys here to catch fish and shrimp too?"
Taotao said "hmm".
"Sister Taotao, I'm very good at catching small fish and shrimps!" Zhou Xiaoni said courageously.
Taotao thought for a while and said, "I'm very good at picking mushrooms." Indeed, with the little grape vine as a plug-in, Taotao never failed to pick mushrooms, bamboo shoots, or wild vegetables when she went out.
Originally, Little Grape Vine wanted to bring sweet bamboo shoots to Taotao’s new home so that Taotao could also eat sweet bamboo shoots at home. But Taotao considered the destructive power of the sweet bamboo shoots - the house where the eldest son lived in the ancestral home was no longer habitable because the green bamboos had grown too much and too strongly.
So Taotao didn't agree. She just felt that her house was located halfway up the mountain and she was a little afraid of landslides during the rainy season. So she told Xiaopuo that she hoped sweet bamboo shoots could grow all over the hillside behind her house to secure the soil and prevent waterlogging.
Now, the green bamboo forest on the mountain behind my home has grown to a small size. I believe that in two or three years, it will definitely turn into a beautiful green bamboo forest!
Zhou Xiaoni's eyes lit up after hearing Taotao's words, "Sister Taotao, can you teach me how to pick mushrooms? I can teach you how to catch small fish and shrimps."
Taotao: ...
——I rely on Little Grape’s guidance>_<
Zhou Xiaoni has already started talking.
To catch small fish and shrimps, you need to cast a net and put it in a hidden place to avoid being discovered by others. Then put some sweet grass, which the small fish and shrimps like to eat, in the net. After two days, you will be able to catch enough for a large bowl of fish!
As she spoke, Zhou Xiaoni ran to the river bank, moved away two stones, and pulled up a not-so-big net bag. Sure enough, there was half a bag of fresh small fish and shrimps in it. It looked like they could be fried into a large bowl of food.
Taotao exclaimed, "Wow! You are so amazing!"
Zhou Xiaoni's face suddenly turned red, "Sister Taotao, you are amazing! I'll give you all the fish and shrimp in this net bag!"
"That won't do!" Taotao quickly refused.
——Because Zhou Xiaoni’s family is one of the poorest families in the village, their life is much more difficult than Taotao’s!
"Take it, Sister Taotao. To be honest, my family can have a meal of small fish and shrimp like this every now and then, so we don't lack this meal... I would like to ask you to teach me how to pick mushrooms. My family hasn't eaten mushrooms for a long time!" Zhou Xiaoni said.
Tao Tao quickly went over, took out her backpack, and handed it to Zhou Xiaoni. "Then let's exchange! This half basket of mushrooms is for you... However, some mushrooms are poisonous, and the toxicity is quite strong. I can't recognize all of them, so I won't teach you. If you want to eat mushrooms, you can come and ask me out, and we'll go pick them together!"
Zhou Xiaoni looked at the half basket of mushrooms, estimating that they could last for two or three meals. She was very happy and said, "Too many, too many. I don't want so many more..."
Tao Tao, "Then I only want half of your small fish and shrimp."
Zhou Xiaoni hesitated again and smiled, "Okay, then I'll take them all. Thank you, Sister Taotao!"
Just as the two exchanged the things in the backpack, someone shouted in the distance: "Xiao Ni? Xiao Ni is back!"
Zhou Xiaoni responded and said to Taotao: "Thank you, Sister Taotao, my sister called me back!"
Taotao waved at her, played in the water with Huangdou for a while, and then went ashore and went home.
Tang Liren was surprised to see that the aunt and nephew had such a rich harvest today. "What happened today? What big thing happened that scared these small fish and shrimps so much that they went straight into your bamboo baskets?"
"Mom!" Taotao said coquettishly, "There is a skill to catching small fish and shrimps!"
Huang Dou was so anxious that he shouted, "Ni! Ni!"
Tang Liren's attention was attracted by the soybeans.
——Dongsheng had already told her last night that Huangdou could no longer speak. Tang Liren thought about it carefully and observed seriously, and found that what her children said was true. Her heart had sunk to the bottom, but she just followed her children's advice and kept it a secret from her daughter-in-law for the time being. She also made preparations and quickly asked her son to take Huang Dou to the town hospital for a checkup.
At this time, Xiao Huangdou was sweating profusely, but he could only utter one word...
Tang Liren asked softly, "That Ni'er? Is it Xiuni? Or Jiaoni?"
"Xiao...Ni!" Huangdou roared with difficulty.
Tang Liren understood, "Did Zhou Xiaoni give it to you?"
Huang Dou nodded, "Change! Change!"
"What was changed?" Tang Liren asked again.
Soybean, "Fungus!"
"Exchanged for mushrooms?"
Huang Dou nodded repeatedly, his eyes sparkling.
Tang Liren felt bitter.
——In the past, Huangdou would have explained it clearly long ago. Now, it takes so much effort to guess and make people understand what he wants to express.
Tao Tao, "Mom, Zhou Xiaoni is so amazing! She goes up the mountain to collect firewood, goes down to the river to catch small fish... Huang Dou and I together can't do as much as she can!"
"A child without a mother has to grow up early!" said Tang Liren.
After a pause, he added, "By the way, don't get too close to her!"
"Why?" Taotao was puzzled.
——Zhou Xiaoni’s parents both passed away, and the two siblings depended on each other for survival. The oldest child in her family is her brother Zhou Chunsheng, who seems to be the same age as sister Lizi; the second child is Zhou Chunni, who is the same age as Taotao; and the youngest child is Zhou Xiaoni, who seems to be thirteen years old this year.
The three brothers and sisters are also very hardworking, as if they are working non-stop from morning to night.
But the Zhou family, like Taotao's family, is one of the poorest families in the village.
Taotao knew why her family was poor - mainly because before the family split up, the third room provided two laborers and the fourth room only provided one strong laborer, and her family contributed too much, so no matter how hard they worked, they could only barely make ends meet. Now that we have separated, although our family has not yet gotten rid of the predicament in the short term, the future is promising!
But as for the Zhou family, Taotao really couldn’t understand why they were so poor. They were obviously very hardworking people.
Tang Liren whispered, "They are the landlord's children!"
Taotao understood, "It's because their parents bullied the poor in the past, right?"
Tang Liren, "They are their grandparents! But, their grandparents died before liberation!"
Tao Tao didn't understand again, "Then they haven't done anything bad!"
Tang Liren was speechless for a moment.
"Anyway, many people in the village were forced into a dead end by their grandparents. Some were actually forced to death, and they still hold a grudge against them! It's not that I don't allow you to play with Zhou Xiaoni... If you want to play with her, stay away from others. We won't add insult to injury, but there's no need to provoke public anger, understand?"
Taotao was confused.
Tang Liren looked at the small basket of small fish and shrimps and said with a smile, "I will make the shrimp chili sauce today, and then ask Dongsheng to take it to the town tomorrow and send two bottles to your second brother! By the way, have you prepared your sachet?"
Taotao nodded and said, "Mom, make a few more bottles of shrimp chili sauce, and also make some mushroom chili sauce! I'm going to the back mountain to collect firewood!"
Tang Liren responded.
Taotao ran back and forth several times with the soybeans and picked up a lot of dry firewood and branches. Tang Liren also made preparations and started making chili sauce.
To make chili sauce, you need a lot of rapeseed oil.
But there was not much rapeseed oil at home, so Tang Liren boiled a large piece of fatty pork that she had brought from the city into lard in advance, and then went to a few good families in the village to exchange the limited lard for a lot of rapeseed oil.
Cut the dried chili peppers into small pieces, then pound them into powder with a stone pestle. Mix the roasted white sesame seeds and peanuts into the chili powder and set aside. Then heat up a pan with oil, fry the processed small fish and shrimp repeatedly over low heat until they are crispy and fragrant, then add the chili powder. Season with salt and homemade soybean paste, and finally pour boiling hot oil on it.
“Sizzle!”
The hot oil rushes into the chili powder, creating a rich, wonderful and heart-wrenching aroma!
Next, Tang Liren started making mushroom chili sauce. The method is similar to that of shrimp chili sauce, but fried mushrooms are the main ingredient.
Taotao and Huangdou sat at the door of their own kitchen, breathing in the rich aroma of the hot sauce, both intoxicated.
The hot sauce is ready and waiting for it to cool down.
Taotao followed her mother's instructions, cleaned the empty glass bottle that her father had prepared early in the morning after drinking the white wine, and put the cooled chili sauce into the bottle. A bottle of shrimp chili sauce and a bottle of mushroom chili sauce.
For lunch, Taotao's family had fried rice.
Pour the rice into the oily pan and stir-fry it, then add some chopped vegetable leaves and sprinkle some salt... Eating the greasy rice in your mouth is such a great feeling of happiness!
After dinner, Song Zhi said to Tang Liren, "Aunt, today we are going to pay the work points. Please tell me how to collect them so that I can go to the production team to collect them in the afternoon..."
——The production team had a large granary, and members of the production team would collect grain around the 10th of every month based on the work points they earned. You can get rice, various beans or other coarse grains, oil, salt, etc. If you are lucky, you can even exchange them for soap, towels, etc.
Tang Liren was stunned. "No! No, no! You only give me 15 yuan a month for food, how can I finish it all!"
Song Zhi, "But I still live at home."
"That room will be empty even if you don't live in it!"
Song Zhi, "I talked to my uncle and he agreed."
——No, but this is Song Zhi’s good intention. No matter how the Bai family views him, he has already regarded this place as his home, and he also wants to contribute a little to his home.
Tang Liren was stunned.
She and Bai Zhenggan have been married for many years, so they have some tacit understanding.
Her husband would never agree to Song Zhi's request because it would affect Taotao's future.
Tang Liren subconsciously looked at Taotao.
Taotao was holding a mouthful of fried rice, her cheeks bulging and her face full of happiness.
Noticing her mother's gaze, Taotao looked at Tang Liren and then at Song Zhi.
She swallowed the fried rice reluctantly and said to Song Zhi, "Just take the rice and oil, nothing else!"
Song Zhi smiled, "Okay."
Tang Liren: ...
——Hey! Only her silly daughter would be so happy after selling herself.
Song Zhi obviously didn't intend to let it go.
After lunch, Tang Liren went to wash the dishes while Huang Dou took a nap; Song Zhi stopped Taotao and handed her a stack of money.
Money is a good thing!
Taotao took it without understanding why. "What for? The production team still gives out money?"
"No, this is the money I earned this month. I'm giving it to you for safekeeping." Song Zhi said with a smile.
Taotao:? ? ?
Of course she knew that in addition to earning work points, he could also earn money - the last time he worked for the overseas Chinese Wu Ruian for three days, he was paid three hundred yuan; later, Ma Gong from the Red Star Machinery Factory mentioned that the fee paid by the Red Star Factory to hire Song Zhi was based on the highest salary level, and that food, accommodation and transportation were all included. That time he also worked for three days and probably earned around fifty yuan?
"It will always be like this in the future. The work points I earn will be shared by the whole family. The money I earn will be split equally between us," said Song Zhi.
Taotao didn't understand, "Why?"
——She can also make money. This month, the Red Star Electronics Factory paid her a total of two and a half yuan as a temporary worker's salary. She also left some money for Cheng Zhujun to act as a dealer, so that she could get a share of the profits every month.
Although it felt good to take Song Zhi's money, Taotao did not want to give half of the money she earned to Song Zhi.
so--
Tao Tao stuffed the banknotes in her hand back into Song Zhi's hand and said, "Go to the bank in town and deposit them there!"
Song Zhi: ...
"Taotao, have you forgotten?" he asked slowly.
Taotao, "What?"
"In the future...we will get married." Song Zhi said.
Tao Tao put her hands on her hips and said, "I didn't agree, did I?"
Song Zhi's eyes darkened. He stared at her, trying to find any trace of disgust, annoyance, disdain, etc. in her eyes.
But her eyes are clear and her expression is serious?
"Why?" he asked softly.
Taotao was even more confused.
——Isn’t it just a kiss? As for escalating to the point of getting married? Wouldn’t the uncles, aunts, sisters and junior sisters in Mei Sect have to get married hundreds of times?
Tao Tao asked him confidently, "Why?"
Song Zhi's face flushed a little, and he stammered, "I, we have already kissed."
Taotao: Is it really because of this? !
The little beauty showed a naughty smile, "Oh, kiss——"
As she spoke, she stood on tiptoe, raised her chin, and moved closer.
Song Zhi was stunned for a moment.
The alluring peach fragrance made him feel dizzy and intoxicated; the extremely gentle sweet touch made him feel her love, as if he was a poor little thing being cared for and loved by her, making him feel as if he was in the clouds and in a dream.
Taotao knows at least a hundred kissing techniques!
but--
She had just sucked for a while when Tang Liren's loud voice rang out, "Taotao, Song Zhi? Where are you two? Oh, these two... Even if they go back to their own rooms and take a nap, they should at least close the gate, really..."
Taotao and Song Zhi were frightened!
Taotao turned around and ran away!
Song Zhi quickly stuffed the money in his hand into her hand...
The situation was urgent and Taotao had no time to resist. She fled from Song Zhi's house clutching a handful of money. When she was about to run into her own room, she suddenly heard the sound of the bolt on the courtyard door?
Taotao knew very well that she couldn't hide anymore.
In a hurry, she turned around quickly and pretended to have just run out of her room.
Tang Liren closed the gate and turned around to see Taotao running out of her room, a little out of breath, with a handful of banknotes in her hand.
"Taotao, what are you doing?" Tang Liren asked in surprise.
Taotao noticed that her mother's eyes swept over her hands? Looking again, she was still holding a handful of banknotes in her hand?
Tao Tao, feeling extremely guilty, said without blinking, "Mom! Mom...this, this is money, hahahaha!"
"I know this is money. Where did it come from?" Tang Liren walked up to Taotao, took the banknotes from her hand, sorted them out, and found that there were twenty-two yuan and sixty cents?
Tao Tao had no choice but to say, "Song Zhi gave it to me. I, I want you to keep it for me."
Tang Liren frowned, "Why did he give you money?"
Taotao's head drooped. "He, he said that he would let me keep all his money from now on."
Tang Liren: ...
They haven't even gotten married yet! Song Zhi handed the money over to Taotao?
Huh? wrong!
This guy, in the beginning, handed in his work points in order to integrate into this family; now he is handing over money to Taotao... Does he think that since she and Bai Zhenggan have not agreed to his marriage proposal, he wants to give money first and tie Taotao down?
Tang Liren took the roll of banknotes and walked to Song Zhi's house and knocked on the door. "Song Zhi? Song Zhi?"
No one in the room answered.
——Maybe he went out.
Tang Liren sighed and returned the money to Taotao, "Keep this money safe for now, don't lose it. Mom will tell him later, and you can return the money to him, okay?"
Taotao nodded obediently.
Unfortunately, Tang Li was always busy with various trivial matters later on. Sometimes when she remembered and wanted to talk to Song Zhi about this matter, he also looked very busy... Gradually, Tang Li forgot about it.
In the afternoon, Zhou Xiaoni came to find Taotao, "Sister Taotao, are you free this afternoon? Can you take me to pick some more mushrooms?"
Tao Tao asked curiously, "Isn't that half a basket of mushrooms enough for the three people in your family?"
Zhou Xiaoni was a little embarrassed and whispered, "My sister asked me to bring some more back so that I could dry them and take them to town to sell."
Taotao nodded, "Wait for me for a while!"
Huang Dou was taken to his second uncle's house by his brother Dongsheng to visit his mother, and Taotao went out alone with Zhou Xiaoni.
The two went up the back mountain, and Taotao took Zhou Xiaoni to the place where she picked mushrooms in the morning.
It has rained a lot recently, and the forest is extremely humid, so mushrooms are growing everywhere. Zhou Xiaoni was so happy that she picked up a lot. Taotao also picked up half a basket, but her attention was focused on wild mulberries.
——The mulberry jam last night was so delicious! Tomorrow, brother Dongsheng will take Huangdou to town to exchange for sister Lizi and silly Xingxing to come back. Taotao wants to make some more mulberry sweet sauce for the sisters.
Of course Zhou Xiaoni also followed Taotao.
So the two of them continued walking deeper into the dense forest, and found a patch of wild mulberry trees, from which they picked a lot. As a result, the sky gradually became overcast. Tao Tao looked at the sky and said, "I'm afraid it's going to rain. Let's go down the mountain quickly!"
The two of them ran down the mountain.
It was too late, and raindrops as big as beans fell from the sky with a crackling sound, making people feel pain all over.
Tao Tao's home was originally located halfway up the mountain. Seeing the heavy rain, she grabbed Zhou Xiaoni's hand and said, "Let's go to my house and take shelter first!"
Zhou Xiaoni quickly said: "No, no, I'll just go home..."
Taotao had already pulled Zhou Xiaoni around a corner and ran towards her home.
They ran into the yard in one breath and were both soaked.
There is no one at home.
Tao Tao said, "Let's both wash our heads and take a bath, otherwise we'll catch a cold."
Zhou Xiaoni was very reserved, "No, Sister Taotao, I'll just stand here."
Seeing that she didn't know what to do with her hands and feet, Taotao said, "Then you sit here for a while." She then moved a small stool over and placed it under the eaves of the main house. Then she went back to her room to take a bath and wash her hair.
The rain was still pouring heavily, and the temperature seemed to have dropped and became a little cooler.
Taotao went into the kitchen from the back of the bathroom, brought some hot water and put it in the bathroom, then called Zhou Xiaoni, "Come over and take a shower and wash your hair!"
Zhou Xiaoni was shivering from the cold, but she didn't dare to go.
Taotao grabbed her hand and took her into the bath room, pointing at the wooden barrel and saying, "Don't use my bathtub to wash. Here, there is a gourd ladle. This bucket is filled with hot water. Use the gourd ladle to scoop water and pour it over your body to wash. The same goes for washing your hair. First wet your hair and rub it with this cloth bag... There is tea oil residue in it. Stop when it becomes a little slippery and scoop water to rinse it off... If there is not enough water, call me!"
Zhou Xiaoni bit her lip, looking as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself.
Taotao took out a set of her own clothes and said, "I'll lend you my clothes. Please wash them and return them to me later!"
Having said that, she turned and left the bathroom, closing the door.
Zhou Xiaoni had never been treated like this before. For a moment, she felt hot in her eyes, warm in her heart, and a little sore at the tip of her nose.
Tears suddenly welled up in my eyes.
She sobbed softly twice, then quickly undressed and took a shower.
But Zhou Xiaoni went to take a shower, and Taotao sat in the corridor to pack her mulberries. She picked the fruits one by one, and some of them were already ripe...she put them into her mouth and ate them.
She also remembered that mulberries are the fruit that can stain colors, so every time she ate one, she would slowly lick her lips, tongue and teeth... for fear that they would be stained and she would no longer be beautiful.
After a while, the sky gradually cleared up.
Someone shouted in panic, "Xiao Ni? Xiao Ni!"
Taotao could tell that it was Xiaoni's brother Zhou Chunsheng.
She quickly called out, "Hey! Brother Chunsheng! Xiaoni is at our house!"
So he ran over and opened the door.
The person who came was Zhou Chunsheng.
——In the afternoon, Xiao Ni said she wanted to pick mushrooms, and she seemed to have said she was going to look for Bai Taotao. Suddenly, the wind and rain grew strong and heavy. Zhou Chunsheng remembered that the children in the village used to bully his sister, so he couldn't bear it any longer and hurried to look for her.
When he found Taotao's house and knocked on the door, he heard a voice so sweet and melodious that it made his whole body numb?
Then the door opened—
Zhou Chunsheng saw a peerless beauty with fair skin, black hair, starry eyes and cherry lips.
She was wearing a flowery dress.
The upper body is a floral jacket with pink flowers on a dark blue background, and the lower body is a skirt with pink flowers on a white background. Although they are two different colors of floral fabrics, they look particularly harmonious when she puts them together, as if they were supposed to be a complete set of skirts.
[Tao Tao: My mom is a collector of scraps of cloth, and she is particularly keen on collecting floral fabrics to make pants T_T]
Zhou Chunsheng stared with wide eyes.
Taotao was even more surprised, "Brother Chunsheng?"
——Why does this person look so straight?
Zhou Chunsheng came back to his senses, his face flushed, "Ah, that..."
"Xiao Ni is at my house. Brother Chunsheng, please come in first. She is taking a shower, so you may have to wait a while." Taotao said.
Zhou Chunsheng was stunned, "She is..."
Taotao nodded, "We just went to the mountain to pick mushrooms and we are all soaked... You come in first."
She turned sideways and motioned for him to come in.
There was a mad bull in Zhou Chunsheng's heart, roaring and banging wildly, making his head dizzy. He walked into Taotao's yard with a nervous mood.
Tao Tao went to bring a small stool over, "Brother Chunsheng, please sit down. Do you want some water?"
"No! No need..." He was so embarrassed that he didn't know where to put his hands and feet.
Tao Tao, "Then you sit down for a while." She ran to the kitchen, poured a cup of boiling water, put a few tea leaves that her mother Tang Liren had roasted herself into the water, and handed it to Zhou Chunsheng, "Brother Chunsheng, please wait a moment!"
Zhou Chunsheng took the cup with both hands and held it stiffly. Then he saw the little beauty sitting on another small stool beside him, and then she hummed a little tune and started picking... mulberries.
With her slender fingers, which were dazzlingly white and graceful like orchid petals, she quickly picked the mulberries from the branches and put them into a large bowl, like a dancing butterfly! Because the two were so close, Zhou Chunsheng could smell a faint rose scent coming from her...
Zhou Chunsheng's whole body was stiff.
He just felt that even breathing was very difficult.
As if possessed by some strange force, he suddenly said, "Tao, Taotao?"
"Um?"
A charming and lazy nasal sound made Zhou Chunsheng's heart beat wildly!
"Do you still remember... the past?" Zhou Chunsheng didn't have the courage to look at Taotao, so he turned his head to look at the graceful grape vine in the yard, "In the past... we, we were together on the lawn at the west end of the village... Brother Nansheng took us riding, riding cows..."
Taotao has completely forgotten about it.
But she was very curious, "Ride a bull? Will the bull be willing?"
Zhou Chunsheng also laughed, "I don't want to..."
As they were talking, Song Zhi, who was soaking wet, suddenly pushed the door open and walked in.
What caught his eye was a pair of men and women sitting in the corridor, leaning against each other - the man was fair and handsome, and the woman was sweet and pretty. They looked like a very harmonious match.
Song Zhi recognized that the man was Zhou Chunsheng, a young man from the village.
Why does Zhou Chunsheng look so shy and moved?
Why did Taotao sit so close to Zhou Chunsheng? Why is she still smiling at Zhou Chunsheng? Why……
By the way, Zhou Chunsheng is a villager of Ruyi Village. Could it be that he and Taotao... are childhood sweethearts? ? ?
For a moment, Song Zhi clenched his teeth.
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