The Day of Moving
After Lan Xin received the transfer order to relocate the tea tray shop, he was puzzled.
Why does he want my family to go to that place? Why is he my family and not someone else's? Who did I offend to make me suffer like this? Is it because I'm not working hard enough? It's only been a few days since I got the title of model worker at the Tieshan Reservoir construction site.
Lan Xin thought of Han Yu's poem," Moving to Lan Guan to Show Grandnephew Xiang ". A letter was sent to the Nine Heavens in the morning, and 8,000 people were demoted to Chaoyang Road in the evening. If you want to eliminate the malpractices for the wise emperor, you should cherish your old age even if you are old! Where is Yunheng Qinling's home? the snow embraced the blue pass and the horse did not move forward. I know that you have come from afar with the intention of collecting my bones by the river. He also thought of Li Bai's poem," I heard that Wang Changling was demoted to Longbiao, and I sent him here." The willow flowers fall and the cuckoo cries. I heard the dragon mark crossing the five streams. I send my sorrowful heart to the bright moon, and with the wind I go to the west of Yelang.
Be it Han Yu or Wang Changling, they were being demoted! Offending someone in an official position and being demoted is an inevitable outcome, but what about me? Not only am I not an official, I am not even a citizen. I am just a commoner!
What Lan Xin did not expect was that his identity as a commoner was the reason why he moved.
The tea tray house was the last team of the Nanshan Brigade. It was located in the center of Maple Ridge, Sun Village, and Yan Village. The tea tray ridge, tea tray ridge, and the mountains and rivers in this area were the land of this team. In the past, the land in this area belonged to an unknown landlord. The landlord built a manor here, and his tenants lived in this manor, planted his land, and paid rent to him. The land no longer belonged to the landlord, and the original tenant became the owner of the land. The problem was that the old tenants were getting old. They could no longer farm. One of their sons had gone to work as a secretary, and another had gone to work as a postman. The rest were women, a frail person, and two young people with mental problems.
The labor force of the tea tray shop was so weak that it was only natural that the Chinese government wanted to transfer labor force to cultivate this land. Yan Village did not belong to the Nanshan Brigade. Sun Village and Teahouse were a little unlucky. Maple Ridge and Teahouse were smooth sailing. Therefore, this small manor began to rely on Maple Ridge.
Lanxin wasn't the only family that moved to the tea tray shop. There was also the wealthy Zhongnong Qizao family and Qimei family. The house given to Lan Xin's family was even worse than Mei Jun's dilapidated houses. It only had one bedroom, a kitchen, and a thatched cottage. There were only a few floors in the house, and there were no floors. The tiles on the roof were sparse. When the wind blew, it would be windy, and when it rained, it would leak.
Lan Xin was already seriously ill when she moved to the teahouse. When she came to the teahouse and saw everything, she became even more dejected. She did things weakly. Her hoe was originally waving like a fan, but now it was as heavy as holding a big tree.
"Uncle Lan Xin, are you sick?"”
" I've been sick for a long time," Lan Xin said." I've been sick ever since I came home from the Iron Mountain Reservoir. It's been almost a year.”
Qi Zao said,"You have to go to Yue Yang to see a doctor, otherwise you will die."”
Lan Xin said," I also know that I need to go for a consultation. Where can I get the money?"”
"Even if you don't have money, you still have to go. The hospital won't just leave you in the lurch!"”
Qi Mei was also persuading him. He said,"You should go. If you die of illness, what will happen to your family?”
When Lan Xin returned home, she discussed with Ju Hua about going to Yue Yang for treatment. There were three children at home, and Ju Hua could not leave home. Lan Xin could only go to Yue Yang alone.
Yueyang County People's Hospital was originally called Puji Hospital. It was built next to the railway station. The small street in front of the hospital's gate was called Xianfeng Road. Lan Xin got off the train and entered the hospital through this street.
Doctor Li took out the stethoscope and listened to Lan Xin for a while. Then, he took him to take an X-ray. Doctor Li looked at Lan Xin for a long time before saying,""You have a very serious case of lung cancer. You should be hospitalized.”
"Will I die?" Lan Xin asked.”
"It's hard to explain. It's too serious," said Doctor Li. Besides, this treatment is very related to the patient's mental state. If you can't let go, the condition will become more and more serious.”
"So I have no hope?" Lan Xin said gloomily. My children are small. If I die, my children will die too. Doctor, please be kind and save me!”
Doctor Li said," Go and settle the procedures. Whether you can live or not depends on yourself."”
Lan Xin said,"I don't have any money. Can I get credit?"”
Doctor Li said," Our hospital was originally called Puji Hospital. If you really have difficulties, you can still pay on credit. You can pay it back when you have money in the future."”
Just like that, Lan Xin stayed in the hospital for more than a month. His illness didn't get better and better, but it got worse and worse. In the end, he was on his last breath.
Doctor Li said to the director," This patient named Lan Xin only has one breath left. I'm afraid there's no hope. My opinion is to throw him into the morgue."”
"Didn't you say that he was still breathing? If he's still breathing, we have to treat him!"”
Doctor Li said," There's a breath of air. It's called lingering on at death's door. In my judgment, he's dead."”
"You're the attending doctor," the director said.”
Doctor Li then asked someone to lift Lan Xin up and throw her into the morgue, leaving her there to die. Jiu Ru happened to be in Yue Yang for some business that day. He heard that Lan Xin was hospitalized, so he went to the hospital to visit Lan Xin. He asked a few doctors, and everyone said that she was Doctor Li's patient, so he found Doctor Li.
Doctor Li said," You're looking for Lan Xin? Who the hell are you?”
Jiu Ru said,"I'm his clan brother. We've been playing very well since we were young.”
" I finally met one of his relatives today," Dr. Li said." He's been staying here for more than a month, but no one has ever visited him. He hasn't paid a single cent for hospitalization fees." This person is always thinking about his children at home, and the more he treats them, the worse it gets. I've already thrown him into the morgue.”
Jiu Ru said,"Is he dead? Is he already dead?"”
Doctor Li said," He's not dead. He's still breathing. He's waiting for death there."”
Jiu Ru said,"You guys are too irresponsible. Is this how you treat a patient?"”
Doctor Li said," His illness is so serious. It's only a matter of time before he dies. Besides, he didn't pay a single cent. It's already a very high treatment to throw him into the morgue. Since you're here, take him back and let him die at home. Let him save a whole corpse. If he dies here, he will be burned."”
Jiu Ru looked around the morgue and finally found Lan Xin. He used his hand to probe Lan Xin's nose. Seeing that she was still breathing, he carried her on his back and got on the train. He couldn't send Lan Xin back to the hospital. If he did, the hospital would still execute him.
Lan Xin woke up when the train shook. She opened her eyes and saw Jiu Ru, saying,""Why is it you? Where are we?”
Jiu Ru said," I went to the hospital to see you today. The hospital had already thrown you into the morgue and let you wait for death there, so I carried you home."”
Lan Xin said,"I'm not dead yet, am I not? This heartless Doctor Li."”
After getting off the train at Xiushui, Jiu Ru carried Lan Xin and left. Poor Jiu Ru, because she didn't have enough to eat, she didn't have much strength. Lan Xin said,""Why don't you support me? You can't carry me.”
Hearing Lan Xin's words, Jiu Ru helped him to walk to the tea tray shop. They walked for several hours. Jiu Ru went back after putting down Lan Xin, and Chrysanthemum sent him out of the door with endless gratitude.
Lan Xin said,"I almost died in the hospital. Why didn't you go and see me?"”
Chrysanthemum said," How can I get away? The oldest Qike is only seven years old, and the youngest Qiyun is only two years old. He still didn't have enough to eat in the canteen, so he had to go to the mountains to dig wild vegetables to make up for his meal.”
"That makes sense!" Lan Xin said. If I really die in the hospital, you won't be able to see me.”
Chrysanthemum said,"You can't die. If you die, what will happen to us mother and son?"”
After returning for a few days, Lan Xin actually recovered without any medical help. He was alive again. He could walk and eat. Although the canteen had run out of rice and there were only a few lumps of fennel in the bowl, he still ate with relish.
After the new year, the year 1960 was the most difficult year. Hunger was like a tiger with its mouth wide open. Its sharp fangs seemed to be about to dig through people's flesh. It seriously threatened the lives of Chinese farmers.
One morning, Qi Zao stood in the middle of the hall and said that the fennel cellar had been stolen last night. Everyone, let's talk about it. Should we investigate? Qi Zao was the captain. He said he wanted to investigate, but in fact, he meant it.
The fast-talking Tao's fourth father said,"Of course we have to investigate. Of course we have to investigate." Tao's fourth father was an old tenant here, so his words carried a lot of weight.
Qi Mei said," We should investigate. Everyone must be innocent. We can't let one person eat until they're full and starve to the point that they're all dead."”
"Who's that? Is it a dog?"”
Uncle Zhong said," Don't you know how to speak human language? How can a dog steal fennel? It's clearly a human!"”
Everyone agreed to investigate. Qi Zao brought people to start from his own house and then checked one by one. When they checked the third house, they found some clues. The third family was Hai Si's brother, the gatekeeper. This gatekeeper was also a fool. He blocked the door and said,"You can't enter my house. I didn't steal the fennel.”
"Every household has to be checked, why can't Zi enter your house?"”
"I'm a poor peasant," said the gatekeeper."How can I steal the fennel?”
"What kind of logic is this?" In the past, those who stole things were all lazy rascals. Weren't lazy rascals all poor farmers? You might not be any better?”
The gatekeeper said,"I didn't steal the fennel. You can't come in!"”
Tao Si's father said,"If you say you didn't steal it, then you didn't steal it. It only counts if we say so."”
Qi Zao pushed open the door and brought people in. He opened the lid of his stove and saw that the fennel skin was still stuck to the stove. He said,"Minister, you still say you didn't steal it. What's with this fennel skin?”
"I don't know what's going on either. It should still be from the old year!"”
Qi Zao said," You're not stupid. You even learned how to lie. This pot is still hot. How do you explain it?"”
The gatekeeper said,"I took it to sleep last night and treated it as my wife."”
Everyone laughed. The gatekeeper stood in the alley with his hands on his hips and scolded,"I'll poke your ancestors for eight or thirteen generations. I'll smash your eyes when I see my stove pot, and I'll smash your mouth when I say I stole the fennel. I'm hungry. Eating a few pieces of fennel is bothering your stomach, and you still want to poke me?”
The person who stole the fennel was found, but there was nothing they could do about it, so they could only disperse and go out to work.
Lan Xin did not participate in the investigation. He was still a patient and could not work. Although he had the strength to speak, he still did not have the strength to do anything. He saw the scene of the investigation and saw the serious consequences of the threat of hunger. He said to Chrysanthemum,"Let's get a divorce. You can take the child and leave!”
Chrysanthemum said,"What are you talking about? Did I hear wrong? You want to divorce me?"”
Lan Xin said calmly," You didn't hear wrongly. I said I wanted to divorce you. You can take the children and leave!"”
Chrysanthemum said: "Why, why, tell me the reason?"”
Lan Xin said," It doesn't make any sense. If you don't get a divorce and take the children away, you'll starve to death here."”
Chrysanthemum said,"You are a well-educated person. You should know that starving to death is a small matter and losing your chastity is a big matter!" I didn't do anything wrong. If you ask me to get a divorce, others will think that you divorced me!”
Lan Xin said," Do you want your child's name? Is your name more important or your life?"”
Chrysanthemum said," In my opinion, fame is more important than life. If you don't have a good reputation, you'll be a dead man if you live in this world."”
Lan Xin said,"You stubborn woman, I'll tell you what to do!" Your life is not important, but the children's lives are important. They will only starve to death if they follow me. You can't let them die!”
Chrysanthemum said," We won't starve to death. There are so many wild vegetables on the mountain. I'll take the children to dig."”
With the topic of divorce, Lan Xin chanted scriptures every day for the next few days. All she could think about was one topic: Chrysanthemum, take the children and find a way out. He said," Leave. I'll let you live. Take the children and leave. Find a good family to marry. This might save the children."”
Chrysanthemum said," Open your eyes and take a look. Where in this world is there a place to eat? Where are there people who don't starve? Where are there people who can support us? If you're not willing to take on the responsibility of supporting the family, who will? Who can take on this responsibility?”
Lan Xin said," I don't care, I don't care. Get lost, get lost far away!"”
Lan Xin said as she threw the furniture and the family's clothes outside. She made a gesture as if she was going to chase the mother and son out. He could not be soft-hearted, so he could only harden his heart for others to see.
Chrysanthemum began to cry. She never thought that a loving couple would be like this when disaster struck. It really fulfilled the old saying," Husband and wife are birds in the same forest, but when disaster strikes, they fly separately." After crying for a while, she returned to Maple Ridge and invited Third Uncle Liren and Lan Xin's father to persuade Lan Xin.
Li Ren said,"Lan Xin, difficulties are always temporary. The hard days will pass."”
In the rain, she said,"Son, Chrysanthemum is such a good girl. Where can you find her with a lantern?"”
Lan Xin said," I asked her to get a divorce for the sake of the mother and son. I'm a sickly person, and times are so difficult. If they follow me, they'll die."”
Li Ren said," Heaven rewards hard work. Chrysanthemum is diligent and capable. She won't let the children starve to death."”
The rain said,"Yes, you have to listen to the old man. We are all doing this for your own good."”
The two elders persuaded her for a while before leaving. As soon as they left, Lan Xin chased Chrysanthemum and her son out of the house. Chrysanthemum took the children to Maple Ridge to hire someone to do Lan Xin's work. This time, he invited Jiu Ru. When Jiu Ru saw Lan Xin, she said," I really shouldn't have carried you back from the morgue. I saved you, but you chased Chrysanthemum and her son out. I did something bad!"”
Lan Xin said," I have no choice. I'm doing a good deed. They will starve to death if they follow me."”
Jiu Ru said," You're not the only one who doesn't have food to eat. The whole world is the same. No one else has driven their family away!”
As Jiu Ru spoke, he brought Chrysanthemum and her son into the house. He said to Lan Xin,""You can't chase them away anymore. If you don't listen to me, I'll send you back to the hospital morgue.”
After sleeping for a night, everyone ate half a bowl of fennel in the cafeteria. When they got home, Lan Xin said to Chrysanthemum,""Just do something good. Take the children and leave. Go find a way to survive. I don't want you to care!”
Chrysanthemum said: "You tell me to go, where do I go, where is the way to live?" Please tell me!"
Lan Xin said," You're a resourceful person. It doesn't matter if I starve to death, but the children can't starve to death.”
Chrysanthemum said,"As long as you don't chase us away, I won't let my family starve to death. You have to believe me."”
Lan Xin said," I won't listen to you. Go, go, go. Get out, get out!”As he spoke, he pushed the chrysanthemum out and then asked the children to follow him out.
Chrysanthemum walked towards Maple Ridge with tears in her eyes. She thought, I must invite someone who can really convince Lan Xin this time. She thought of Mei Yang. Perhaps Mei Yang was the only one who could tame her husband.
Mei Yang listened to Chrysanthemum's narration and said,""Miss Ju, you're really a good woman. If it was someone else, they would have left long ago. What would he do if you leave the child alone with him?”
Chrysanthemum said,"I can't do this. I'm begging you to go and ask Lan Xin to take back her order."”
Mei Yang said," Don't worry about that. I'll make sure he won't mention it again."”
Mei Yang came to the tea tray shop. When he saw Lan Xin, he said,""You're not dead yet. I thought you were dead!”
Lan Xin said,"I'm not dead yet. I'm not far from death. My family is not far from death."”
Mei Yang said," Lan Xin, do you know why I sent you here? I asked you to transform the mountains and rivers here, not to chase away your wife and children." You used to be a league member and a model worker. Our party has never mistreated you, right? Why don't you know how to repay kindness? If you chase your wife and children out, aren't you smearing our party's reputation? Others would say that Lan Xin didn't want her family if she couldn't take care of them. In our country, would something like that happen? If you continue to act like this, we will arrest you and send you to jail for defamation.”
Lan Xin said,"I know I was wrong. I won't be like this anymore."”
Mei Yang left. He was laughing all the way. Taming a person was such a pleasant thing for him. Moreover, this person was Lan Xin. He had read a lot of books and was also a resourceful person.
From then on, Lan Xin no longer mentioned the divorce or chased her family out. The strange thing was that under the extreme shortage of food, his illness gradually improved.
In the late spring, bees buzzed on the mud-brick walls and drilled holes. The hot air pervaded the land of the lower lotus pond. Walking barefoot and doing things did not feel cold anymore. Everything was truly awake. They grew vigorously. The wheat was in the ear, the broad beans were in the flower, and the fruits were full.
A group of children were secretly eating raw beans in the bean field. After eating their fill, they took off their pants and scraped off the shells of the beans in their pockets before carrying them home. Someone told Captain Qi Zao about the situation. Qi Zao went to Uncle Zhong's house to take out the broad beans that He Zi had scraped. He then went to Secretary Jin's house to take out the broad beans that his daughter had scraped. He then went to Lan Xin's house to take out the broad beans that Qi Ying had scraped. The five-year-old Qiying desperately protected his fruit, holding the broad beans in his pocket in his arms, refusing to let the Qi Zao go. Qi Zao carried him and the broad beans to the central room. Qi Ying cried in his arms and kicked Qi Zao with his little feet, scolding him for being a dwarf. Then, he scattered the broad bean shells on the ground. Qi Zao chuckled, a hole of snot stuck to his mouth, and his tongue rolled into his mouth. He put down Qi Ying and went to pick up the broad bean shells. Qi Ying also went to pick them up. When the people in the other rooms saw them, they all went to pick them up. They did not pick them up and give them to Qi Zao, but put them into their own wallets.
Chrysanthemum brought the three children to Wanglang Slope to play with her parents-in-law. Qiying said,"Mother, this is so good. It tastes too bad. Can you change it to something else?”
Chrysanthemum said,"What can I change?" The delicious broad beans belonged to the team and had to be handed over to the country. The wheat noodles were delicious. They belonged to the team and had to be handed over to the country.”
Qike said," It's all the country's. We have to hand it over to the country. What are we going to do?”
Chrysanthemum said,"What do you eat? You still eat rice and vegetables, and you eat in-laws." You have to eat it even if it tastes bad. If you don't eat it, you will starve to death.”
Qi Ying said,"I just can't shit. It hurts my butt."”
Chrysanthemum said,"Don't be anxious. If you want to go, go. It will be better this way."”
"Big Brother will bring me two fennel seeds for school tomorrow," Qike said.”
Chrysanthemum said,"You're not allowed to ask your big brother for food. Don't make it difficult for him to live in that house."”
"I didn't ask him for it. He said he wanted to give it to me."”
The next day, Qike did bring two fennel home from school. He took them out and teased Qiying. Qiying went to pick up the fennel, but Qike retracted his hand. Qiying went to snatch it, and Qike handed the fennel to his mother.
Qi Ying said,"Mother, look at how big brother always bullies me. First, he wants to give it to me, then he doesn't want to give it to me."”
Chrysanthemum said,"That was your brother teasing you. This fennel is for the whole family to eat. You can't eat it alone."”
Qi Ying said,"It's not good for me to eat alone. After eating, I'll be full and energetic."”
Chrysanthemum said,"My son, everyone will enjoy it!"”
"Yes, yes, yes," said Qi Ke,"I ate a rotten sausage alone."”
Qi Ying said,"You're the one who's rotten, rotten, rotten."”As he spoke, he ran after his brother, and the two of them circled around the house.
At this moment, Xiu Wo shouted in the hall,""Miss Ju, Miss Ju, is Miss Ju at home?”
Chrysanthemum came out and said,"I'm at home. What's the matter with Brother Xiuwo?"”
Xiu Wo said,"Come with me to bring your family's baby back home."”Xiu Wo left without looking back. He didn't explain why he wanted Chrysanthemum to bring Qibao Yazi home.
Xiu Wo walked very quickly, and Chrysanthemum couldn't keep up with her. When she arrived at the Golden Hall, she saw Qibao crying alone with his bag. Chrysanthemum walked up and said,"Why are you crying? Did you do something wrong?" If you did something wrong, just admit it!”
At this moment, Xiu Wo's mother, Yan Xi Xi, walked out and said,""Miss Ju, take your son back. Our family lost fennel and our family is unfortunate. Who do you think it could be?”
Chrysanthemum said,"Do you have fennel?" Where did your fennel come from? Everyone has no land, and the team doesn't divide food. How can your family have fennel? You must be lying!"
"Don't worry about where the fennel came from. You only know that I have fennel in my house. You only know that there are thieves in my house. You only know that you can bring your son home."”
Chrysanthemum said," Even if I didn't ask you where the fennel came from, you can't be sure that the fennel was stolen by Qibao. You didn't see it, so how can you be sure that it was stolen by Qibao?”
"Just because he's not from my family?" said Yan Xinxin.”
Chrysanthemum said,"He's been in your house for two years. How is he not a member of your family?"”
Yan Xixi said," Even if he comes for ten or fifty years, he won't be. He's just a child in your house. His heart is on your side."”
Chrysanthemum said,"If you say so, I'll say that your mother-in-law and daughter-in-law stole the fennel back to their parents 'home."”
"Miss Chrysanthemum, don't spout nonsense. You have to have evidence." Take your son back today. We don't want him anymore.”
Merlot's wife, who lived opposite, couldn't stand it anymore. She said,"Miss Ju, just take your son back. He suffered when he came to this family. No one gave him a good look. When he came back from school, he was either plowed or raked. It was his sin to lose things at home.”
"This is my family's business. It's not your place to butt in!" Yan Xinyan said.”
"The road is not smooth," said the Fourth Heir,"but others tread on it! Miss Ju, listen to me and bring your son back. This is a family with no descendants, so just let his family have no descendants!”
Chrysanthemum pulled Qibao and left. They walked past the large terrace and the Nanyuan well. They were still on the ridge of the field when Mei Yang called out to them. Mei Yang caught up and said to Chrysanthemum,""Miss Ju, what are you doing?”
Chrysanthemum said,"Xiu Wo's family doesn't want my son anymore. I'm here to bring him back."”
Mei Yang said," How can this be? I was the one who helped to facilitate this adoption. Those who know will say that your relationship isn't good. Those who don't know will say that I'm useless. I can't even do such a small thing.”
Chrysanthemum said,"This is not you being useless, this is clearly the Xiu Wo family being useless!" I brought my son up to study for him, and his family actually despised him. How ridiculous!”
Mei Yang said,"Miss Ju is right. If you give me Qibao's son, I'll bring him to scold Xiuwo's family to death." Don't worry, there won't be such a thing in the future.”
Chrysanthemum said," This Xiu Wo has already sent me letters many times asking me to take back my son. Today, he went to the tea tray shop personally. If I don't come back to take back my son, he will think that I really don't want my son anymore."”
Mei Yang said," This Xiu Wo is destined to be a lonely old man. Why doesn't he know how to cherish it?" Come, give me Qibao's son, I'll send him back. If anyone in their family says that again, I'll slap their mouth. Whoever chases away Qibao's son, I'll play along with him!”
Chrysanthemum had no choice but to hand Qibao over to Mei Yang. The fate of Qibao's baby from now on could only be left to God.
The days passed day by day, and the summer season had arrived. The rice and vegetables were old, the in-laws on the mountain were old, and the wild fern vines were old. However, the duck feces in the fields were growing vigorously. The women who picked wild vegetables turned their eyes to the paddy fields.
The children were still carefree. In the evening, they carried the bamboo bed to the ground. The third daughter of Secretary Jin's family shook her washed hair and jumped from one bamboo bed to another. Then she stuck out her thumb and sang,"If you want to shit, you can stand up straight.”
Tao Si's father said," It's not like this, it's not like this. It should be sung as 'Poop to make a butt,''fern vine wild vegetables as a side dish.'”
The Qike brothers started to sing along. Some of them learned to sing Third Young Lady's song, while others learned to sing Tao's fourth father's song. Lan Xin's heart ached when she heard that. Although the children were making a scene, she did not have the heart to disturb them.
Lan Xin was much better now. He could work again and had been working in the team for more than a month. The whole family was very happy. On summer nights, his house was as hot as a steamer. The family opened a shop on the ground outside. Mosquitoes buzzed around his family. Fireflies floated in the night sky as if they wanted to bring some light to the dark night. Dew moistened everything on the ground and kissed the whole family.
At daybreak, Long Nose of the Sun Family suddenly shouted like a lion roaring and roaring like thunder. He smashed a hoe on the ground and started to circle around Lan Xin's family's bamboo bed. As he walked, he cursed,""Lan Xin, you rich farmer, why did you open the water in the tea tray yesterday? I'm going to pull out your head this morning!”Of course, Lan Xin heard him. He closed his eyes tightly and pretended to be asleep. He even snored loudly. Qi Ying and the others were frightened and crossed their legs in front of their chests. Long Nose said,"Lan Xin, you're dead. I'm going to dig out an eye and bury you. You'll just be a corpse here. Just you wait!"”
Long Nizi had left. It was unknown if he had gone to dig his eyes or returned to the Sun Village. Lan Xin saw him leave and immediately called the children to carry the bamboo bed home. He was afraid that Long Nizi would come again.
When Qiying was five and a half years old, he brought his younger brother Qiyun to Pan Shishan's kindergarten. From Pan Shishan to the tea tray shop, there were too few people walking, so there was almost no road. The road was seven or eight miles long, half of which was a ridge, and the other half was a mountain road. On both sides of the mountain road were graves. Walking alone here would scare one's soul.
Qiyun was only three years old at that time, and his health was not good. At night, he would always pee on his bed. The kindergarten auntie was very annoyed with him, so she thought of a way to throw him on a pile of grass when he slept at night.
Qi Ying said,"Little brother, you're already three years old. Why do you always pee on the bed?"
Qi Yun said," I keep dreaming at night. I don't wake up no matter what. I play around and pee. I pee against a big tree. When I wake up and touch it, I always pee on my thigh."”
"I'm going home tomorrow. Will you come with me?"”
Qi Yun said,"I don't dare to go back. I'm afraid of Old Master's Ding Gongnao. He will knock my head until it becomes a pagoda."”
Qi Ying said,"I'm not afraid of Old Master beating me. Tomorrow is my birthday, so I'm going back to celebrate it."”
Qiyun said,"Birthday is the youngest son. Is the youngest son called birthday?"”
Qi Ying said,"The day I gave birth to you is called my birthday. Eating something good is my birthday!"”
"Ah, it's like this, then you can eat something good tomorrow?" I'll call you Second Brother every day in the future.”
"I'm your second brother."”
Qi Yun said,"You can walk back. Do you know the way?"”
He didn't dare to say whether he recognized Lu Qiying or not. In general, he still remembered the direction of his home. After breakfast the next day, Qi Ying secretly set off. He passed through the back of the mountain, walked through the ridge road, and came to the grave road at Wanglang Slope. The owl was lying on the fir-tree and making a mournful cry. Qi Ying could not tell if it was a fierce sound or a good sound. He just walked home alone. He wanted to see his parents and wanted to eat something good.
Chrysanthemum saw her son return and asked,""Why did you come back today?"
"It's my birthday today. I'm here to celebrate it."”
Chrysanthemum said,"If you come, what about my brother? Does he know?"”
"I asked my brother to come with me, but he said he couldn't walk, so I came alone."”
Chrysanthemum said," Aren't you afraid of ghosts? There are grave mountains along the way. The graves are full of dead people. The ghosts are wandering on the grave mountains. Didn't you see them?”
"No, no, only the crows."”
Lan Xin also saw her son. He raised the carrying pole in his hand and was about to hit his son. As he raised the carrying pole, he threatened his son and said,"If you don't go back to kindergarten soon, I'll kill you with a carrying pole today.”
Chrysanthemum quickly stopped Lan Xin and said,"Do you know what day it is today? It's his birthday!"”
Lan Xin let out an 'ah' and put down the carrying pole in her hand. He said,""Then I won't hit you today, but you have to go back immediately. You can't stay at home for lunch.”After saying that, Lan Xin went to work again.
Chrysanthemum thought that her son had come home to celebrate his birthday. He just wanted to eat something good. There was not a hundred things at home. She thought for a long time and finally thought of the radishes in the vegetable field.
Chrysanthemum went to the vegetable field and pulled out a radish. Then, she washed it and ground it into shreds. She cooked a bowl of shredded radish for her son to eat as noodles. There was no oil in the shredded radish noodles, only a little salt. Qi Ying tasted so sweet and delicious, as if this was the best delicacy he had eaten in his six years of life.
Qi Ying finished the last drop of soup and wiped his mouth. Then, he looked at his mother and said,"Alright, go back quickly. If your master comes back and finds out that you ate carrots at home, he will beat me to death.”Qi Ying seemed to know the serious consequences of the matter, so he opened the door and set off.
"Son, aren't you afraid?" Chrysanthemum asked from the door.”
"I'm not afraid!" Qiying said without turning his head.”
Her six-year-old son had to walk a dozen miles of unfamiliar roads and pass a ghost slope twice just to eat a bowl of shredded radish noodles. Tears fell from Chrysanthemum's eyes when she thought of this. She had no choice. She had already been delayed for a while because of her son. She could not delay her work anymore.
Hunger gnawed on the flesh of humans and devoured their lives. The Prime Minister of the Tea Plate House starved to death, the Prime Minister's mother, Luo Qiaole, also starved to death, Secretary Jin's old master also starved to death, and Merlot, Yuexing, and Meimo in the Maple Ridge Mansion all starved to death in this year.
The new spring drought had come again, and the grain stored in the warehouse last year was even less. After the Lantern Festival, there was no more rice in the team's warehouse. There were only a few thousand pounds of red fennel in the fennel cellar. Although the tea tray house was only a small team with only 20 to 30 people, it could not stand the melting of the meal! The team could only provide a fixed amount of food. One medium-sized fennel per person, half a serving of bigger fennel per person, and two or three servings of small fennel per person. Everyone could only think of their own ways to meet the needs of the human body with such little food.
There was only one way, and that was to go up the mountain and dig up wild vegetables. Pan Shishan's kindergarten was temporarily closed due to the lack of food. Qi Ying brought Yun Qi's younger brother back to the tea tray shop. He helped his mother's chrysanthemum to dig wild vegetables. In two months, they had dug up all the wild vegetables in the field. If they wanted to dig more, they had to go to a distant place.
Chrysanthemum said to Lan Xin,"We have to think of something. If we can't, our family will starve to death."”
Lan Xin didn't say anything, but his mouth was curled up high. At night, when everyone was asleep, Lan Xin climbed upstairs and stepped on the stairs to the door. The door of his house was open. He took a wooden plank and placed it on the back of the house. Then, he carried a basket and went out. Qi Ying, who was sleeping on the bed, looked at all of this. He could not understand why his master wanted to go out in the middle of the night and take such a dangerous route. The more he couldn't understand, the more he wanted to think. As he thought about it, he fell asleep.
At some point in their sleep, the Qiying brothers were woken up by their mother's anus. She called the children one by one, led them to the fire pit, and whispered to them,"Don't talk. There's delicious food. Don't make any eating sounds, do you hear me?”
After saying that, Chrysanthemum fumbled around and handed bowls of fennel to the children. Each child ate two bowls. They couldn't light up the house, so they ate by touching the food. After they finished eating, they realized that Old Master Lan Xin was sitting at the head of the fire pit. He should have finished eating too.
Where did this fennel come from? Chrysanthemum couldn't say, so she only whispered,""Children, you can't talk about what happened tonight outside. If word gets out, your master will go to jail.”
Chrysanthemum wasn't trying to scare the children by saying this. Lan Xin had stolen the fennel from a fennel field in another city. The fennel seeds had been planted, and Lan Xin was covered in feces. At night, she carried a basket and went to the ground to secretly dig for fennel seeds. When he secretly dug, he was very particular. He would never dig up all the fennel seeds. He would only take one fennel seed from each hill and then paste it with mud. This way, he would not hurt the fennel seeds too much and would not be easily discovered. After digging half a basket, he carried it to the pond to wash the mud and feces, then stepped on the wooden bridge from upstairs to his house.
He did this in secret for two months until the fennel seedlings grew very long fennel vines. Only when the fennel seeds were already very poisonous did he stop digging. Lan Xin's children had not starved for the past two months, and their faces were flushed red. However, the price they had to pay was huge. In Lan Xin's heart, he had always felt a deep sense of guilt. In the past, he did not even dare to think about such a thing. Now that he had actually done it, how would the children view him? He could not hide it from them!
After the new grain appeared, the school reopened. Qingli Primary School had long since resumed teaching. One day, Qi Zao caught Qi Ying, who was running a house, and asked him to go to school. Qi Ying looked at Qi Zao, who had snot all over his face, and said,"I'm not going, I'm not going. I'm starting a family and I'm about to be a groom.”
Qi Zao did not say anything, picked up the eagle and ran away. The eagle kicked and bit him in his armpit, cursing his dwarf. Qi Zao took Qi Ying to the school and pressed him to his seat. Then, she said to the teacher,"I'm handing this eagle to you. Don't let him fly, you have to lock him up!”
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。