pertwk Chapter 27 The parents were extremely moved
Chapter 27 The parents were extremely moved
Mrs. You's expression also turned ugly: "He doesn't even know his family's circumstances! Who does he act so disrespectful to all day? We can't let him abandon us! Otherwise, we'll be the ones who lose face!"
"Yeah, if anyone's going to dump someone, it'll be me dumping Xu Chunsheng!"
Xu Chunsheng had no idea what You Xiaoxia was thinking, and he wasn't interested in it at all.
Xu Chunsheng put the basket on the ground and said to his eldest sister and youngest sister:
"You all wait for me here, I'll take Sanwa to the station."
The streets of Tuanjie Town have a "Y" shaped structure, with the supply and marketing cooperative, the bus station, and the direction home all located on three roads.
"Brother, sister, I can go by myself."
Xu Chunsheng took the cloth bag handed to him by his eldest sister. Inside was the rice that his third brother had packed yesterday. He said, "There are too many people in town, it's not safe. I'll take you there."
On the way, Xu Chunsheng kept telling Xu Sandi, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself with your studies. Grades aren't important. Just take good care of yourself at school so we can feel at ease at home. When you get on the bus, put the rice by your feet and keep an eye on it. When we get to the county, go straight to school. Ask your teacher to keep your living expenses safe..."
Xu Chunsheng's rambling continued until he saw his third brother obediently find a place to stand and wait for the bus. Then he turned around and went back to find his eldest sister and youngest sister to go home together.
Along the way, the three sisters continued to walk and stop frequently. Xu Chunsheng and his eldest sister took turns carrying baskets on their backs and carrying double baskets on their backs.
The basket on my back contains a standard 50-kilogram bag of fertilizer. Carrying it home by myself would be tiring and time-consuming. The other items I bought that morning at the "black market" are also in the tucked-in bag.
The Xu family had used up all their remaining meat coupons some time ago, so if they wanted to buy meat, they could only buy "negotiated meat" at the market, which cost 2.3 yuan per jin, 5 mao more expensive than at the supply and marketing cooperative.
The youngest sister was no exception this time. She followed along obediently, and when her older sister asked if she wanted to be carried, she shook her head like a rattle drum. She would also take the initiative to take the bamboo tube to the houses by the roadside to ask for water.
"Big sister, second brother, have some water."
Xu Yaomei ran towards the two of them, holding a bamboo tube. Her face was red from the sun and her lips were a little dry, but she still let her older brother and sister drink water first.
"Thank you, little sister. Please drink first, little sister. Our little sister is getting better and better."
As he said this, Xu Chunsheng felt a mix of pride and bittersweetness.
I'm so proud of my little sister for being so sensible, but I also feel a pang of sadness because my younger siblings are so sensible too.
Because they spent a lot of time in town today and walked rather slowly, it was past three o'clock when the three sisters got home, and they were all starving.
Xu Chunsheng placed the basket on a high stool, freeing himself from the "pressure" of the basket. He then used both hands to put the basket on the ground before sitting down to catch his breath.
The older sister opened the door, glanced inside, and then came out to hand Xu Chunsheng two plastic bags:
"Mom and Dad left some vegetables. I'll heat them up and boil some leafy greens. I'll just soak the rice in the broth. Put the meat in several bags and put it in the water tank to keep it cold."
Since there were no refrigerators at that time, perishable items like meat could only be placed on the surface of water. Almost every household had a water tank, which not only provided convenient access to water but also served as a place to store things in emergencies.
Xu Chunsheng carried the meat, found a bamboo pole, threaded it through the bag's handle, and placed the pole horizontally over the water vat. He adjusted the height so that the meat was half-floating on the surface. Xu Chunsheng then scooped out a ladle of water and placed a wooden board on top to cover the meat.
"Little sister, quickly bring out your washcloth, brother will wash your face and hands for you."
Xu Chunsheng called into the house, and soon Xu Yaomei came running over with a washcloth, calling out:
"Second brother, here you go."
Then, Xu Yaomei stood aside, tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and obediently waited for Xu Chunsheng to wipe her face and hands.
"Alright, let's go inside."
After Xu Chunsheng finished speaking, he washed his hands and face with water, and his whole body felt much more energetic.
After hanging the towels up to dry, I went into the kitchen and saw my sister serving the dishes, preparing to take them to the main room to eat.
"Let's just eat in the kitchen, I'm too lazy to bring it to the table."
Xu Chunsheng took a tall stool from the side and gestured for his sister to put the dishes on the table. He then went to the next table to bring over a steamer and scooped a ladle of rice into each person's bowl.
Xu Chunsheng felt a bit restless today. After pouring some cold tea into his bowl, he asked Xu Yaomei, "Yaomei, would you like rice soaked in soup or rice soaked in tea?"
Before the youngest sister could answer, the eldest sister spoke up:
"Little sister, how about some rice soaked in soup? You won't be able to sleep at night if you eat rice soaked in tea."
Actually, for Xu Yaomei, eating cold tea-soaked rice in this weather makes her prone to catching a cold, and she even had a fever yesterday. If she were to eat a bowl of cold tea-soaked rice like Xu Chunsheng, she would probably get a fever before evening.
After the eldest sister finished speaking, she rolled her eyes at Xu Chunsheng: "You're so old and you eat like that, how can your younger sister be the same as you?"
Xu Chunsheng then realized that he hadn't thought things through and said somewhat awkwardly, "That's right, little sister needs to sleep at night to grow taller. When you eat hot soup with rice, put the bowls out and I'll pour the soup for you."
After dinner, Xu Chunsheng took out the shoes he bought for his mother and the "Dacron" shoes he bought for his father.
"Oh dear, you can just buy new ones, why buy us shirts? Your dad works every day and never gets a chance to wear them."
Despite saying that, Mr. and Mrs. Xu couldn't hide their joy, and their hands unconsciously touched the things in their hands.
Seeing that her parents hadn't noticed the two pretty pieces of fabric, Xu Yaomei anxiously reminded them, "There's also pretty floral fabric, Mom. You need to make a pretty little dress for Yaomei."
"Yes, yes, I'll make it for you. Once it's done, our little sister can wear her new clothes to school."
That evening, before lying down to rest, Mr. and Mrs. Xu put their shoes and shirts into the back of the wardrobe, covering them with several layers of clothing, preparing to wear them on important occasions in the future.
The two stood in front of the cabinet without closing the door. Mr. and Mrs. Xu exchanged a glance and couldn't help but laugh.
"Pfft."
"You were just telling them not to waste money, and now I don't know who's so eager to spend it."
"Don't you care? Your clothes are practically worn smooth from all that touching."
"My child bought it for me, why can't I touch it?"
Finally, the two said in unison:
"Erwa has really become sensible!"
That night, Mr. and Mrs. Xu slept exceptionally well.
……
It was June, and weeds were growing rampant.
The Xu family had already started weeding at the edge of the field at six in the morning. The cornfield was particularly hot and humid in the summer. Although they had avoided the hottest part of the day, the wind couldn't get in, and the dew from last night had soaked their shoes and trousers, making them sticky and clinging to their legs.
The most uncomfortable thing is that the dense corn leaves keep brushing against your body, and the sharp, hairy edges of the leaves cut your hands, making it itchy and prickly, which is particularly unbearable.
As the sun rose higher, Xu's father lifted the shirt over his stomach, fanned himself, and said, "Chunhua, go back and cook some boiled vegetables to cool. Your mother, Erwa, and I will work a little longer."
The eldest sister straightened up, wiped her forehead with her sleeve, and agreed, "Okay, let's boil some cucumbers. I'll have my younger sister bring some water to the roadside later, and you can come out and get some water."
After saying that, Xu Chunhua used both hands to push aside the corn leaves in front of her and laboriously crawled out of the cornfield.
Sister Xu took off her hat, held it in her hand to fan herself, and walked home.
"Chunhua! Wait a minute, I have something to tell you."
Not long after, Qian Junwei appeared and stopped her.