Chapter 13
Yang Dani dragged her heavy feet and followed Xu Di to the cornfield step by step.
Yesterday’s experience is still vivid in her mind, and Yang Dani really doesn’t want to step into the cornfield again.
"Dani, hurry up, the captain will criticize you soon."
"knew."
Yang Dani was like a lazy donkey who didn't want to work. Xu Di would whip her from behind with a small whip from time to time.
"Wuwu...Xu Di, when are we going home? I want to go home. I miss my mom."
At night, Yang Dani really broke down. She couldn't do farm work, she really couldn't.
"Okay, stop crying, and go back tomorrow."
Xu Di did not mention going to the countryside. It seemed that from beginning to end, she just brought Yang Dani to get to know the countryside and had no other purpose.
Xu Di was also tired. She hadn't done farm work for decades in her two lifetimes, but she was holding on for the longest time.
"Really, hehe...Xu Di, you are so nice."
What could Xu Di say? He said nothing.
"You go to sleep first. I'm going to go talk to my grandma."
Xu Di still has important things to do, and her eggs are nowhere to be found.
"Grandma, my classmates are going back home, and I'm going back too. I'll come to see you again when we have another holiday."
"Okay, that child has a very upright personality and looks like she was raised in a pampered family. Her parents took a lot of food and she had no chance to eat these past two days, so she cooperated with you."
Grandma Xu felt bad for making the child suffer.
Parents all over the world are so worried about their children.
"It's okay. This time she won't think about going to the countryside, so her parents will be relieved. You keep the food, and I'll bring some vegetables back. The city is short of these."
"Okay, there's still one last crop of vegetables in the garden. I'll pick some more for you tomorrow morning."
Grandma Xu liked the granddaughter she raised more and more.
"Grandma, do you know anyone who has breeding eggs? I want to buy some."
"What do you want to plant eggs for?"
"I found it for an aunt in the family compound. She said it was a folk remedy, but she didn't explain in detail. Eggs are in short supply in the city, and breeding eggs are hard to find."
In order to hatch the chicks, Xu Di had no choice but to make up a little lie.
"Let me think about it. Old Li's family at the head of the village should have one. She has a big rooster and its crowing is very loud."
Grandma Xu knows everything about the village.
"Grandma, shall we go ask?"
"Come on, take the flashlight, it's dark outside."
Holding a flashlight in one hand and supporting her grandmother with the other, Xu Di went to Old Li's house at the entrance of the village.
"Is his Aunt Li asleep?"
"I'm not asleep yet, come in."
In the yard, a middle-aged woman was washing her feet.
"Aunt Xu, what's the matter? Why are you coming here so late at night?"
"It's nothing serious. I was just wondering if you have any eggs left at home. Can I exchange some?"
Grandma Xu whispered the story her granddaughter made up. Nowadays, things are bartered and money is given, but it cannot be said openly.
"That's fine. We actually have twenty eggs at home."
Aunt Li got up and went into the house, taking out a small basket with twenty eggs in it.
"They are all here. I have a big rooster at home, and these are all breeding eggs."
Xu Di didn’t know if it would work, so he decided to give it a try first.
Twenty eggs, four cents each, and Xu Di gave eighty cents.
"Then let's go back. You should take a rest as well. You still have to go to work tomorrow."
Xu Di carried the eggs, and the mother and daughter went back with flashlights.
Aunt Li was also happy. When she took the eggs to the purchasing station, they were sometimes sold for less than four cents each. They were also difficult to carry and easily broke.
The next day, Grandma Xu picked a lot of vegetables and prepared a separate portion for Yang Dani.
Xu Di took advantage of the chaos to smuggle the eggs into the space, carried the vegetables, and took the two of them to take a bus.
"Second sister, let's go back now. I haven't stayed long enough."
Xu Jun has been working in the fields these days. Although it is a bit tiring, it is interesting.
If there was unripe corn in the fields, they would roast it and eat it. His cousin also found him some very sweet corn stalks, which tasted like sugarcane.
"Just play for two days. School starts the day after tomorrow. Have you finished your homework?"
When it comes to homework, Xu Jun becomes dispirited.
After getting off the bus, Yang Dani did not vomit this time. There were not many people on the bus as they were all busy with the autumn harvest.
"Xu Di, I'm home."
"Wait a minute, my grandma picked these vegetables for you, can you carry them?"
Yang Dani tried but couldn't lift it.
"Okay, I'll take you back. Xu Jun, wait for me here, don't run around, okay?"
"Got it, sister, can you buy me a popsicle later?"
"Okay, you wait here."
Xu Di carried the basket of vegetables and took Yang Dani home.
They lived not far from each other. Yang Dani's parents worked in a garment factory not far from the Red Star Machinery Factory, and the children of the two factories went to the same school.
Everyone in the family had gone to work at this time. Yang Dani opened the door and went into the house by herself. Xu Di carried the vegetables in and left without staying long. Xu Jun was still waiting for her.
I passed by the supply and marketing cooperative and bought two popsicles, five cents each.
"Sister, you are so nice."
Xu Jun ate his popsicle and kept saying nice things.
When Xu Di and her friends got home, they took out the vegetables from the bag: eggplants, beans, potatoes, onions, peppers... there were quite a lot.
In this weather, vegetables can't be kept for too long. Xu Di cut the beans into shreds, took them outside to dry, and saved them for eating in the winter.
No one in the family came back at noon, so Xu Di simply made some food. After the siblings filled their stomachs, they went about their own business.
Xu Di found an old duck feather bag. It was made by Xu Jun’s grandmother when he was a child. It was covered with feathers over time.
Xu Di put twenty eggs in a duck feather bag. When the temperature rose, the chicks could hatch easily.
I don't know if the temperature in this space is suitable for crops to grow and eggs to hatch. It's a duck feather bag very similar to that of a mother hen.
Xu Di thought, if it doesn’t work, she will find another way.
In the evening, when everyone in the Xu family came back, Xu Di had already prepared the meal.
At the Yang family, as soon as Yang's mother entered the door, Yang Dani cried and hugged her mother.
"Mom, I miss you. My hands hurt, my face hurts, my shoulders hurt, my legs hurt, everything hurts.
I really can't stay in the countryside. The pit toilets are scary and there are bugs in them.
The corn leaves scratched my face, it was stuffy and hot. Why was it so difficult to crack corn cobs? I saw Xu Di cracking them so easily.
I have to get up before dawn and go home after dark. If I work slowly, I get scolded. I am always breaking corn cobs in my dreams, woo woo..."
Yang Dani's words were incoherent. Although her mother felt distressed, she was thankful that her child could face reality and stop clamoring to go to the countryside.
When Yang's father came back, he felt distressed when he saw his daughter with red eyes from crying.
"Look, with your small stature, you can't build up the countryside at all. You'll only cause trouble for the farmers."
"Okay, I understand, Dad. I won't go. I can't help."
Yang Dani was really scared. It was too scary and she really couldn't do it.
Because Yang Dani changed her mind, Yang's mother was happy and thought about thanking Xu Di very much. What's more, the grandmother also gave me a lot of vegetables.
Dani cannot know about this, for fear that she will become rebellious again and think that they are deliberately trying to make her retreat.
Yang's mother thought for a long time and was afraid that an expensive gift would burden the other party, so she bought some slightly better defective cloth from the factory's defective products. There are floral ones, army green ones, khaki ones, and half a roll of pure cotton that can be used to make underwear. Add them together, and you can make a lot of clothes.
Xu Di was quite puzzled when he was called out, but when he saw it was Yang's mother, he understood.
"Auntie, why are you here? Is there anything wrong with Dani?"
"No, Auntie is here to thank you. If it weren't for you, Dani would have insisted on going to the countryside as soon as she graduated."
Yang's mother whispered that such words should not be said casually as they would affect the policy.
"Auntie, I didn't do anything. I just took Dani to experience real rural life."
"Auntie, I understand. These cloths are defective cloths from our factory. Don't despise them. Keep them and do something with them."
Xu Di knew that she had to accept these as a token of appreciation from Yang's parents.
These defective cloths were not expensive but very practical. Xu Di thanked Aunt Yang and went home with the cloths.
At the corner of the corridor, Xu Di collected some and took the rest back home.
Xu's mother knew what was going on, so she asked Xu Di to keep the cloth himself.
I will give some of it to my grandma later. Just put it aside for now, I won’t need it for now.
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