The work in the fields rotates like this all year round.
As the autumn harvest came to an end, Fang Sandi rummaged through the bottom of a box and found the money he had made from selling grain and rapeseed in the first half of the year, plus the money he had made from selling autumn grain, sweet potatoes, and corn in the second half of the year.
I counted it, it was 125 yuan.
"Jihong, I've checked the bicycles. Phoenix costs 170 yuan, and Yongjiu costs 140 yuan. That's still not enough. I've planted a few more sweet potatoes this year."
Fang Sandi scratched his head, his gaze sweeping over the sweet potatoes in the corner of the ground. "If we sell any more, we won't have any to eat. You wait a little longer, I'll do some odd jobs and save up some more that we can buy before the New Year."
Yu Jihong took Fang Sandi's calloused hand in hers, her brows furrowing slightly. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and when she looked up, her eyelashes trembled. "You've always remembered this?"
"Remember, next January we can ride our bikes to town to take photos."
Yu Jihong smiled through her tears.
When he had a break from farm work, Fang Sandi would go to work at the brick and tile factory.
Yu Jihong didn't stay idle either; she took on embroidery work at home.
The light was better by the door, so Yu Jihong moved to the doorway to cook.
"Fang Yu, you play by yourself over there. Dad works to earn money to buy a bicycle, and Mom works to earn money so we can buy delicious food and make new clothes for the New Year."
Yu Jihong was happy just thinking about it, humming a little tune as she carefully embroidered the flowers.
Fang Yu wound up the bottom of the tin frog a few times.
Then put it on the ground, let go, and the frog, powered by the spring, hopped forward.
"Mom, the frog is here!"
"Oh no, frog, don't bite me! I'm so scared!" Yu Jihong pretended to dodge, playing along with Fang Yu.
The aunt next door passed by the door and exclaimed, "Oh, Jihong, you can embroider?"
"I know a little bit, I'll take my time. Come in and sit down." Yu Jihong took a stool and placed it in front of the door.
The older woman sat opposite Yu Jihong, leaning against the door. She sized Yu Jihong up and down. "Jihong, I don't think you're..."
"Not what?"
"Hehehe, actually you're a really nice person. Look how well this house is tidied up, and you're dressed up so beautifully."
Yu Jihong lowered her head and smiled.
“Take Meixiang from our village, for example. She became mentally challenged as a child and never did any work. Luckily, her parents treated her well. She was also fortunate to marry into this village, and her son and sister helped raise her to adulthood. Huamei used to be okay, but last time she said she was going to run away, and when she came back, she really went crazy.”
The woman paused, then said seriously, "You're different, not like what others say."
Yu Jihong lowered her head, her fingertips brushing against the embroidery cloth. "Auntie, everyone says I'm crazy, so be it."
"Sigh, what's with all this madness? As long as you have enough to eat and enough clothes to wear, that's all that matters."
"Lunch hasn't been cooked yet?" The uncle next door came back from the field to find the aunt.
"Coming, coming, go cook. Jihong, what's your lunch?"
"It'll just be Fang Yu and me at noon. We'll just make something simple for now and get this done first."
Yu Jihong continued to embroider with her head down.
A man named Licai from the village passed by her house on his way back from the fields.
He glanced inside at Yu Jihong, a sudden unease stirring within him. He walked away, then turned back, leaning against the doorframe, squinting at Yu Jihong. "Jihong, are you home alone?"
Yu Jihong raised her eyelids, ignored him, and continued embroidering.
Li Cai looked around to make sure no one was outside, then stepped inside.
"Jihong, I just got back from the fields. Could you come in and take me to your kitchen to ask for a drink of water?"
"Come drink at your own home."
"It's just a sip of water, don't be so stingy!" He moved his face close to Yu Jihong's.
"Get out!" Yu Jihong stood up.
"Jihong, I heard that Third Brother went to work. Don't call him. I'll give you what Third Brother can't. Do you want that thing?" Li Cai's cheeks and ears started to turn red.
He kicked away the chair that the woman next door had just been sitting in and reached behind him to close the door.
Yu Jihong picked up the scissors beside her, point forward, her arm trembling slightly, and stared intently at Li Cai. "What are you going to do?"
Li Cai was taken aback by her stance, but he didn't stop. He put a finger to his lips and said, "Shh, keep your voice down. I won't hurt you. I'll make you happy!"
Li Cai grinned maliciously and closed the door halfway.
Yu Jihong turned the scissors towards her own neck, saying, "If you lock me up again, I'll run me over! If someone dies, you'll go to jail."
Li Cai was stunned for a moment.
"Open the door!" Yu Jihong shouted, then brought the scissors closer to her neck.
"Little girl, what are you pretending to be so proper for? If you were proper, would you have had a daughter without a husband?"
Yu Jihong stared wide-eyed, gritted her teeth, and held the scissors tightly against her neck.
Li Cai still wouldn't give up, "Does she still think she's some kind of virtuous woman?"
When Yu Jihong saw that even with the scissors pressed against her neck, she couldn't intimidate Li Cai, her last remaining hesitation was instantly crushed by despair.
She suddenly raised her foot and kicked the embroidery frame hard. The bamboo frame crashed to the ground with a loud bang, and the half-embroidered cloth fell to the ground, scattering silver needles and threads everywhere.
Immediately afterwards, she turned her wrist so that the tip of the scissors was pointing directly at Li Cai, her eyes gleaming like ice.
Li Cai was forced to take a half step back by her reckless attitude, but he was still unwilling to give up and continued to move forward while cursing.
Fang Yu hid in the corner and cried loudly in fear.
Just as he reached out to grab the scissors, Yu Jihong, without thinking, held the scissors and pushed them forward.
With a "ripping" sound, the sharp blade tore through Li Cai's cotton-padded jacket, leaving a cut on his arm.
Li Cai let out a "howl," his whole body trembling with pain, and fear finally showed in his eyes.
He dared not linger any longer, turned around and rushed out the door, shouting, "Madman, he's a complete madman!"
The aunt next door heard the commotion and rushed over to ask, "Jihong, what's wrong?"
Yu Jihong stood at the door, her chest heaving violently, her hand holding the scissors still trembling.
Seeing Li Cai's flustered figure, the aunt next door roughly understood what had happened.
The older woman went over and picked up Fang Yu, saying, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, be good, it's okay."
Yu Jihong put down the scissors, wiped away her tears, sniffed, and took Fang Yu from the aunt.
The older woman went over and helped to prop up the embroidery frame.
"Auntie, you go ahead and do your work, I can do it myself."
"I don't know how to assemble this shelf, you'll have to put it back yourself later."
The auntie turned back after leaving and said, "Jihong, I cooked a bit too much lunch. I'll bring you a bowl later, so you don't need to cook any more."
"No need to trouble yourself, ma'am!"
"It's okay, it's okay. You comfort Fang Yu and don't scare the child."
Fang Yu's eyelashes were still wet with tears.
Yu Jihong sat on a bamboo chair, holding her daughter. She looked at her daughter's long eyelashes, which resembled butterfly wings covered in morning dew, with the corners of her eyes slightly upturned.
A pretty girl has an extra layer of protection.
"Fang Yu, don't be afraid. There was a bad guy just now, but Mom chased him away." Yu Jihong made a fist gesture in front of her, "Ha, hey, ho ho!"
"A child's face, like the weather in June!" Fang Yu was amused by her and burst into laughter through her tears.
"Mom won! Fang Yu, you have to protect yourself from now on! No, you have to find someone who can protect you, someone who can protect you..."
Yu Jihong was also stunned. "If you can protect me, then who will protect me?" Yu Jihong's nose tingled, she sighed, and gave a bitter smile.
The aunt brought over a bowl of rice. "Jihong, eat!"
"Auntie, no need for that trouble, you actually brought it over."
"No trouble at all, the food still needs to be cooked."
In the evening, Fang Sandi came back and ate dinner. While washing the dishes, Yu Jihong wondered whether she should talk to him.
Li Cai was dragged to his wife's house by her.
"Third brother, your madman injured my Licai's hand today. He can't work for the next few days. You need to give him an explanation for this."
"What? Ji Hong didn't say anything." Fang San Di was stunned.
Yu Jihong heard them talking in the kitchen, took a deep breath, took off her apron and came over.
She gave Li Cai a sharp look, and Li Cai shrank back a little.
"What is it?" Yu Jihong asked calmly.
"What happened? Don't you know what happened? Li Cai said that when he passed by your house, you went crazy and stabbed him with a knife."
"With so many people passing by the door all day long, am I supposed to stab him? Ask him if he stabbed him from outside the door or if he stabbed him after he walked through the door."
"You're a madman and you're still trying to argue? Anyway, you hurt her, so you have to pay for her medical expenses and lost wages."
What if I don't give it to them?
"If you don't go to the government to complain, we'll arrest you, you lunatic."
"Alright, go ahead and report it. Go ahead and report it. I'll go to the brigade's blackboard tomorrow and explain what happened." Yu Jihong twitched the corner of his mouth.
“You,” Li Cai’s wife pointed at Yu Jihong, “who would listen to a madwoman like you?”
"Everyone loves listening to what this madman has to say. Madmen can say anything."
Did Li Cai run into you?
Yu Jihong paused for a moment, then said, "No."
Li Cai's wife choked for a moment, then changed her tune, "Third brother, it's a fact that Li Cai didn't touch your wife, and it's also a fact that your wife stabbed Li Cai. We don't want to make a big deal out of this, so let's talk about it privately. You can just pay some medical expenses and that'll be it."
"No compensation," Yu Jihong said firmly.
“Third brother, I’m not going to talk to that crazy woman. You know that Li Cai’s uncle works in the district committee. We’re all from the same village, and we don’t want to make things awkward. Let’s all be polite and handle it ourselves.”
She then went up to Fang San Di and whispered, "If he really gets arrested, you don't even know what kind of trouble your wife will suffer."
"How much do you want?" Fang Sandi was a little worried about Yu Jihong when he heard her say that.
"We won't ask for much, 60 yuan."
“No, where would an ordinary person get so much money?” Yu Jihong immediately stood up and said.
"Whether you have it or not, if you hurt someone, you have to pay compensation."
The aunt next door heard the noise and came over.
Li Cai's wife quickly said, "Get ready, I'll come to pick it up tomorrow night." She pulled Li Cai along and left.
Upon seeing that it was Li Cai and his wife, the aunt next door immediately said, "Ji Hong, I've come to pick up the bowls from your house for lunch."
"Oh, ma'am, I'll go get it."
The aunt next door followed Yu Jihong to get a bowl. "What are they doing here?"
"Ask me for medical expenses."
"How shameless! Do you want me to...?" The aunt next door wanted to ask if she should be a witness, but she swallowed the words back.
"Auntie, it's alright."
After the aunt left, Yu Jihong told Fang San Di about what had happened that day.
Why didn't you say so before they came?
"I was just wondering whether or not to tell you, and then they arrived. Even if I did tell you, what could you do?"
Fang Sandi couldn't answer either, his brows furrowed and his lips drooping. He pounded his chest with his fist, "It's all my fault for being useless, others bully you."
Yu Jihong grabbed his hand, "Does hitting yourself help?"
"Then, I, I, I'll go fight them." Fang San Di went to get a hoe from the corner of the wall.
"If you win, you pay for medical expenses; if you lose, you still have to pay for medical expenses yourself when you go to the hospital."
Fang San Di lowered his head, his face pale.
“I’ll handle it,” Yu Jihong said.
Fang San Di took out money from the bottom of the box, "Here's all this money for you, but you can't buy a bicycle this year."
"You're really planning to lose money?"
“They have a relative in the district committee, so they won’t let themselves be taken advantage of. We’d better stay out of it. If they really arrest you, you’ll be the one who suffers.”
Yu Jihong looked at Fang Sandi and said, "You lost money this time, what if you come looking for trouble again next time? Is this how you always handle things?"
"I wanted to pay some money to settle things so you wouldn't have any trouble later. I was alone before, and when others talked, I just let them say what they wanted; what they said was true. I'm just glad you're okay."
“We’re willing to swallow this bitter pill this time, but they’ll bully us again in the future. It’s better to get them off our feet than to be beaten a hundred times over. Why didn’t they come in the afternoon but came in the evening? Why did they leave when the aunt came over? They were guilty, they just thought you were easy to bully. I’m crazy.”
Fang Sandi looked at Yu Jihong in surprise, "You're more clear-headed and quick-witted than anyone else, so why did the matchmaker say that you..."
"You think I'm crazy?" Yu Jihong laughed. "I'll be crazy tomorrow."
"What are you going to do?" Fang Sandi panicked even more.
"Go wash up and go to bed early, you have work to do tomorrow, we still need to buy bicycles."
Lying in bed at night, Fang Sandi tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Yu Jihong actually knew everything. She wasn't crazy, and she was beautiful, so why was she willing to marry someone like him?
He understands Yu Jihong less and less.
Yu Jihong, with her back to Fang Sandi, was also lying down, thinking about what to do tomorrow.
Fang Sandi hugged Yu Jihong from behind, pressing his arm against her back.
Yu Jihong pretended not to know, tears welling up in her eyes. This was the path she had chosen, and she would grit her teeth and walk it anyway.
The next morning, Yu Jihong got up and cooked breakfast. Then she picked up the gong hanging on the wall.
She banged the gong and went to Li Cai's house, banging it loudly.
Many people in the village have already followed her.
"Is my third brother's wife going to write down the name of the man looking for her at the front of the brigade?"
"She said the same thing while banging on the gong last year, so someone might really be looking for her."
"This is going to be interesting."
Their faces were full of gossip and schadenfreude.
Li Cai's wife also came out the door.
Yu Jihong banged the gong and stared at her.
Li Cai tugged at his wife's sleeve.
Li Cai's wife wrinkled her nose, pursed her lips, and glanced sideways at Yu Jihong, waving her hand in front of her waist to indicate no.
Yu Jihong smiled contemptuously and smugly, "It's getting cold, everyone wear warm clothes and eat your fill!"
She banged the gong a few more times, then headed home.
"That's it? That's all?"
"I thought there was going to be a good show."
"What a madman! I haven't even finished cooking breakfast yet and he's already come to check on me."
The onlookers dispersed and went home disappointed.
That night, Li Cai and his wife did not come to Fang San Di's house to ask for money.
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