Chapter 16 Listen to Auntie
Many things are hidden in people's subconscious. An Zhixia has read this novel. Although she couldn't remember the plot for the moment, she was able to subconsciously seek benefits and avoid harm.
She took a deep breath and mustered up the courage to continue recalling.
The eldest son suddenly fell into a deep sleep forever. Fang Yuan was heartbroken and busy with the burial arrangements. When he came to his senses, he found that his sensible second daughter had been hiding her discomfort and had a high fever for several days. She even convulsed in front of him. When he rushed her to the hospital with her on his back, she was already dead.
He dared not live in a daze anymore and put all his energy on his only little girl. But he also needed to work in the fields to earn work points, so he could not stay with her all the time, so he entrusted the child to several old men who lived in the cowshed.
But not long after, the child was stolen from the yard. Someone saw a stranger carrying a sack and riding a bicycle away, but did not think much of it at the time. After the child was gone, Fang Yuan went door to door to ask about the child, and then he pieced together the truth.
In this era, there is no surveillance and tickets do not require real-name registration, so the hope of finding the child is extremely slim.
Thinking about the three well-behaved and sensible children, who ended up with two dead and one missing, she couldn't help but sigh. Although they were just the background of the boss, they really existed in front of her. An Zhixia couldn't know that they were in trouble and not take any action, and selfishly live her own life.
"What are you staring at?" An Zhiqiu washed his hands, and seeing the girl in a daze, he splashed a few drops of warm water on her face and said with a smile: "I'm going out to find someone to build a stove, you go back to the room and rest for a while, maybe we can use it tonight."
An Zhixia responded obediently and went into the house, fumbling for cashmere yarn. Decades ago, the winter in Xiahua Country did not experience the cumulative greenhouse effect, and in a rural area deep in the mountains, the wind was as cold as an ice knife, and it was bone-chillingly cold.
Although the brother and sister wore duck down jackets, they still couldn't stand standing outside for a long time. Besides, there was a transition period before taking off the jackets, so she planned to knit some cashmere sweaters and pants.
Cashmere fabrics are wrinkle-resistant, comfortable to wear next to the body, make you look slim and keep you warm, and are a favorite of people in later generations.
She started by knitting for her brother who went out more often. She chose the versatile black color, squinted her eyes, calculated the number of stitches needed for each part of her brother's body, and then started knitting using the simplest needlework.
Anyone who has been to college knows that when girls get together and have a lot of free time, they especially like to make handicrafts in groups and follow the trend. After gloves and scarves became popular, there was a sweater trend, and everyone had to wear a beautiful sweater in bright colors such as red, turmeric, bean green, haze blue, etc.
The entire spring campus is filled with this silly youth.
Her wrist and fingers coordinated very well. She counted the stitches in her mind and waved the knitting needles quickly. By the time the men in the yard started to make a noise, the cashmere sweater was already two fingers wide.
"...build a stove next to the kitchen, and put up mud walls on the other three sides, and install a wooden door..." An Zhiqiu gestured to the three men, handed each of them a cigarette and lit it, then scratched his head and asked, "Three comrades, how long will it take to finish building it?"
A man took a deep puff of his cigarette and exhaled slowly. "As for the stove, the three of us brothers can make it for you in two or three hours. The three mud walls are a bit more troublesome. It's cold and hard to dig the soil now. We also need to pound the mud and dry it in the sun. However, there are several families who are preparing to build houses in the spring, so they should be able to give you a few mud bricks."
Nie Yichang listened for a while with his arms crossed, then said with a smile, "With all the people in our yard, I guarantee that our sister can use the new kitchen before tonight. No need to thank me, we just distributed the meat yesterday, and let our sister prepare a delicious meal, which is better than any words."
An Zhiqiu was not polite. He thanked them verbally first, asked for the information of those families, and asked them to build the stove first. Then he came to say hello to Zhixia and was about to go out.
An Zhixia quickly poured some water, added some brown sugar, and put some ginger slices on the table, and asked each of them to drink a bowl of water to warm themselves up before working.
After her brother left, she went back to the house to knit a cashmere sweater.
In less than half an hour, a group of men arrived with several carts full of earthen bricks, followed by several children. After unloading the bricks, there were not enough bowls at home, and there was no hot water supply, so An Zhixia simply asked her brother to give each of them a handful of fruit candies as a reward.
An Zhiqiu paid five yuan for the brick and sent the person away. There were three more kids and a tall, thin and handsome man in the yard.
"Zhixia, take the children into the house to warm up, and come out to cook later." Pushing the three children towards An Zhixia, the men stood in the open space next to the kitchen and started gesturing.
Fang Yuan nodded to An Zhixia and said in a low voice: "The children are too young and a little noisy. I'm sorry to bother you, little An Zhiqing."
An Zhixia waved her hands repeatedly, not daring to look him in the eye. She smiled faintly and said, "They are very well behaved."
Fang Yuan patted the heads of the three children and said, "Listen to Aunt Xiao An."
The three children smiled and nodded, then followed An Zhixia into the house.
Although their clothes were worn and ill-fitting, they were starched and clean, but their hands and faces were all frostbitten and swollen. She herself had severe frostbite, and when she lay on the warm kang at night, the pain and itching were very tormenting.
The ointment for treating frostbite in the supermarket is quite effective. After a week, most of the sores had disappeared.
So she couldn't bear it, so she mixed two basins of slightly hot water and let them soak their hands and feet together. The gauze she had cut before was still there, so she also applied hot compresses on their faces.
The children closed their eyes comfortably, but at the same time they were gasping for breath due to the unbearable pain and itchiness of their frostbite caused by the heat.
"Soak for a while and apply the ointment and you'll feel better," An Zhixia smiled and stuffed a White Rabbit candy into each of their mouths. "This year you can take care of your frostbite. Next year, as long as you pay more attention, you won't suffer anymore."
The three children looked at her with obvious joy and affection, and Qi Yunlan couldn't help but say, "I didn't expect that Xiao An, the educated youth, is quite patient with children. If you don't know, you would think they are his biological children."
As soon as these words were spoken, the room immediately became quiet.
The children lost their mother when they were very young and have experienced a lot, so they are very sensitive. At this moment, they lowered their heads to avoid letting others see their red eyes.
Chen Sike sneered: "Some people just like to meddle in other people's business. It seems that everyone else likes to do evil, but she is kind-hearted. She doesn't know how to avoid suspicion. If the wives and mothers outside see this, they will really think that some people are eager to become someone's stepmother..."
Before she finished her words, An Zhixia took two steps forward and slapped her hard in the face twice.
(End of this chapter)
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