Chapter 9
Xu Di's grandfather was an accountant for the brigade. When he was young, he worked as a book boy and servant for the young master of a landlord. He is considered an educated person and can read and write.
Later, the landlord's family ran away, and Grandpa Xu returned to the village, married and had children.
"Grandpa, grandma, are you home? Your eldest granddaughter is here!"
Xu Jun rushed into his grandfather's yard, shouting, "My eldest granddaughter is here."
Everyone in the Xu family knows that Xu Di ranks first among his grandparents.
"Xu Jun, where is your sister?"
"Grandma, my sister is behind me."
Xu Jun was in a hurry to find his friends to play with. He often came to his grandfather's house with his sister, and he was familiar with all the children in the village.
"Xu Di, no class today?"
"Grandma, there was an activity this afternoon, so I didn't attend. I did a good deed a few days ago, following Lei Feng's example, and saved a child who fell into the water. People gave me a lot of delicious food, so I'll bring it over for you and grandpa to try."
Xu Di shook the net bag in his hand, and the malted milk, canned fish, and canned meat collided with each other with a loud clang.
"Are you okay? With your doggy paddling skills, you were lucky enough to go into the water and save someone?"
"Grandma, I'm fine. I'm fine."
"What's so good about it? If nothing happened, they would give you such an expensive gift. Are you stupid?"
The old lady was heartbroken. This granddaughter whom she had raised had always been loved and cared for since she was a child.
"Haha...my grandma is not stupid. She is the smartest old lady in the whole brigade."
Xu Di hugged her grandmother, who was much shorter than her, and her emotion was very natural. This old lady in her sixties gave her the illusion that she looked like her mother.
It’s not that Xu Di’s mother in her previous life didn’t love her, she just had old-fashioned ideas and always told her to be patient.
The Grandma Xu in my memory was a powerful old lady who was very protective of her children.
"You're just a good talker. I'll ask Xu Jun later and see how long you can keep it a secret.
Come on, go into the house, grandma will stew chicken for you in the evening. ”
The old lady saw that her granddaughter was happy and clamored to stew the chicken.
"Grandma, don't stew the chicken. Keep it for laying eggs. We only have two chickens in the family."
In the seventies, everything was planned.
Except for pigs, all poultry are raised according to numbers. If there are more, it means you are taking the capitalist route and your tail will be cut off.
"What are you thinking about? The chickens at home have only started laying eggs this year. Your second grandmother has a hen that has not laid eggs for several years and she said she wants to replace it."
Grandma Xu gave Xu Di a look that said you understand. Private transactions are not allowed at this time. But you can barter, commonly known as exchanging.
"Grandma, I'll donate one dollar."
"No need, grandma has money. I save all the pension money your dad gives me every month."
Grandma Xu knew that her granddaughter had some money, and the child had gone through a lot of hardships, going up mountains and down rivers.
"My sister-in-law gave me one dollar to buy some candy, but I haven't spent it yet."
"Keep it for yourself. You'll graduate from high school next year and you'll have plenty of other places to spend the money. Don't be like your sister and go to the countryside on impulse, okay?"
Grandma Xu lowered her voice and reminded Xu Di again.
"I won't go. It's not like I haven't done farm work before. Besides, I can't bear to be so far away from you and Grandpa."
Xu Di's elder sister Xu Mei is two years older than her. After graduating from high school, she happened to catch up with the most popular years of the Down to the Countryside Movement. She was full of enthusiasm and wanted to go to the frontier to build it.
At that time, Xu's mother had already arranged a job for her, as a temporary worker in the canteen, but she secretly signed up to go to the countryside. Xu's mother was very angry but there was nothing she could do.
"Go inside and take a rest. I'm going to go to your second grandmother's house to exchange chickens. Old hens don't like to get mushy, so we need to stew them for a while longer."
Grandma Xu was in good health and walked very fast, but she disappeared in a moment.
Xu Di looked at the yard of his grandfather's house. It was there in his memory, but it was different from the reality.
The main house was built a few years ago and is made of red bricks. At that time, Xu's father also provided support of 100 yuan. There were only a few brick houses like this in the village.
The east and west wing rooms are built with earth bricks and the roofs are covered with thatch.
The main house has four rooms. Grandpa and grandma live in the easternmost one, my second uncle and aunt live in the westernmost one, there is another room that serves as the living room and kitchen, and the other room is left for Xu Di's family.
Later, the children of his second uncle grew up, and Xu Di's parents came back more often than usual, so the house was given to the children to live in.
After looking at the houses, Xu Di began to walk around the family’s private land.
Nowadays, every family has their own private plot of land, mostly in front of or behind their house.
At this season, many vegetables are old, and most of the vegetables planted in private plots are autumn vegetables such as cabbage and radish.
Xu Di found tomatoes in the backyard. They should be the second crop of vegetables her grandmother had grown.
Xu Di pinched it, wiped it with his hand, and took a bite. It was sandy and delicious.
I quickly picked a few ripe ones and smuggled them into the space to keep them as seeds.
In the chive field, the chive seeds have turned black, so get more. After much searching, Xu Di got quite a few vegetable seeds.
"Xu Di, let me give you some to try. The autumn fruits in your second grandmother's yard are ripe and very sweet."
Hearing her grandmother's voice, Xu Di turned back to the front yard.
“This fruit is quite big!”
"Of course not. Your second grandmother has taken good care of you for a year, and she treasures you very much. I heard that you were here, so I picked a few for you to try. No one else has any, and I will take them to the purchasing station in a few days to sell them for money."
Xu Di took a bite and found it quite sweet.
"Grandma, you eat some too. When I leave tomorrow, exchange some with Second Grandma and bring them back for my parents to try."
Fruits are a rare commodity at this time, especially in the north, where they are very scarce.
"Okay, I'll talk to your second grandmother tonight."
Grandma Xu thought it was difficult to buy things in the city, and sometimes it was better to live in the countryside, where they had their own private plots and everything they ate was fresh.
After Xu Di ate the fruit, she smuggled the core into the space. She is now casting a wide net.
In the evening, Grandpa Xu and his second uncle and aunt came back from work. Two cousins from my second uncle's family who were studying in town also came back, and there were suddenly more people in the yard.
Grandpa Xu is a man of few words, which may be determined by the Xu family's genes.
The old man is in his early sixties. He stands straight without any hunchback. Apart from the wrinkles on his face, he looks quite energetic.
"I heard from Xu Jun that you jumped into the water to save someone and nearly lost your life?"
"What? What's the risk of your life?"
When Grandma Xu heard this, she was stunned.
"Grandma, my second sister was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment in order to save others. The doctor said it was horrible, she couldn't even breathe."
Xu Jun, this big mouth, completely forgot what her second sister had told her and blurted out everything.
"Grandma, I'm okay. Really, look at me, I'm fine."
Xu Di hurriedly comforted her grandmother, and did not forget to glare at the nagging Xu Jun.
Xu Jun realized it later and remembered what his second sister had told him, but he had forgotten about it.
Xu Jun chuckled and wondered whether his second sister would punish him when he returned.
Grandma Xu was scared. What if the child couldn’t be saved?
The end result was that at dinner time, Xu Di ate a bowl of chicken, and her grandmother said it was to give her some nourishment.
Xu Di didn't refuse and ate it happily.
Uncle and Aunt also felt sorry for Xu Di. They had been married for only half a year when the child was brought home.
Xu Yong in their family is one year younger than Xu Di. The two children grew up together and have a good relationship.
Xu Di had a delicious meal of authentic farm-cooked chicken and felt that all his unhappiness had disappeared.
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