From Cultivator to Widow

Chapter 96

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Zhou Xiaolei put the feeling of déjà vu aside, stopped Zhang Baoguo who was about to leave, he had seen it all, so it didn't matter, he wanted to talk to someone now.

He didn't want to find his sister, or his second brother said that looking for them was useless except to make everyone feel more depressed and sad.

He wanted to find an outsider to vomit his bitterness.

Just in time, I met Zhang Baoguo.

They received a letter from their eldest brother, saying that their mother was ill and asked them to send some things to their parents if it was convenient for them.

This time, the eldest brother finally let go and gave them the detailed address of his parents. He was afraid that they would be impulsive before, so he would not give it. He only gave a rough address. If you want to write a letter or send something, you have to send it first. Go to the big brother, and he will forward it.

The mother's illness made the three of them very worried, and there was another one, which was said by the eldest brother. His life was difficult and he was unable to help his parents who were far away on the northern farm. The news revealed by this also made the three of them very worried. disturbed.

Before, my elder brother had a formal job, and the salary was not low. When something happened, my parents broke up with my elder brother in time, but my elder brother was still affected. The originally hot job became a casual job, and the salary was definitely not as high as before. No, my sister-in-law has lost her job, and there are three children under her, a family of five, relying on the idle work of the eldest brother, and they can imagine the working environment of the eldest brother, he will definitely be despised and rejected by his former colleagues .

As long as you think about it, if you think about it deeply, you will feel that your heart is being squeezed and you can't breathe.

The mother was ill. It had been so long since the letter had been sent to them, and they still didn’t know the situation on the mother’s side. As soon as they received the letter, they immediately hid some things and money notes in their worn-out clothes and mailed the letter to them. I hope it can be safely delivered to their parents.

The item has been sent, but can it be made in time

It's been so long, has my mother recovered from her illness

All kinds of guesses made him breathless, so he found a corner to cry. Unexpectedly, Zhang Baoguo saw this rare connivance.

When I saw it, I lost my face.

Broken cans.

After Zhou Xiaolei called Zhang Baoguo to stop, the two looked at each other for a while, Zhang Baoguo compromised, and squatted down: "What's wrong?"

What's wrong

As soon as this question was asked, Zhou Xiaolei remembered his sister and second brother's repeated warnings, telling him not to tell the family's situation, because if they did, their situation would definitely change. Squeeze out, be looked down upon by others.

He pursed his lips, lowered his eyes, grabbed the grass on the ground with his hands, and weaved the twenty-centimeter-long grass into a ring.

"... I remembered something." He couldn't talk about family affairs, but he could have another reason.

"When I went to the town before, I saw a person being suppressed by the Revolutionary Committee for self-criticism. Because he had overseas ties, his home was smashed and he lost everything. His children were divorced from him. , his wife and children were separated, and he stood alone on the stage, and was thrown vegetable leaves and rotten eggs."

Zhang Baoguo didn't speak, and continued to listen.

Zhou Xiaolei looked at the ring, dismantled it little by little, and pulled off the leaves: "...seeing him like this, I remembered the past, and I remembered a friend who suffered similarly. Do you think I am ridiculous? Because I There's nothing to help him, he's having a bad time, and he doesn't know if anyone can help him get medicine when he's sick." He looked sad.

Looking at the expression on his face, Zhang Baoguo remained silent. This friend should be his very good friend. Now he didn't shed tears on his face, but the sadness was stronger than when he shed tears.

"What do you say he should do? What can I do to help him?"

Zhang Baoguo immediately followed his words and answered him: "You can send him things. If he is sick, you can send him medicine. If he has nothing to eat, send some dried vegetables and sweet potatoes that he harvested. You can also write letters. Comfort him, send him some special things here to give him spiritual support, knowing that there are friends who miss him like this, he will definitely be very happy."

They have already sent it, leaving what they can barely support. They have sent all their surplus rations, and they have not dared to send them too well. If they have money and tickets, they will stuff them in the corner of old clothes, because the elder brother mentioned before, if The things sent are expensive and will be confiscated, because they are going to be reformed through labor, and they should not eat such good things. That is not reform, but enjoyment.

"I also have something to send to my friend. He has traveled far away, and I want to send him some things from his hometown. Would you like to go into the mountains together?" Zhang Baoguo didn't want to hear him talk too deeply, he just said The kind of rough, just to his liking, a few words of comfort, put forward his own opinion, he quickly put forward.

They move, and he won't pull him to continue talking.

"Okay." It's okay to go to the mountains. If he finds something to eat, he can send it to his parents. It's not easy for the elder brother, so he can send it to him. He grew up in the city, and the food in the city has been fixed. Dead, like my brother's current situation, life is really difficult. He can find some herbs with his parents. He remembers a very simple prescription. If you have a headache, you can try it. Drinking it is harmless to your body.

Seeing Zhou Xiaolei stand up, Zhang Baoguo heaved a sigh of relief, that's great, now there is no need to listen to him continue.

"Okay, let's start now, and we'll have to work in the fields later." So hurry up and don't drag him to continue talking.

When the two of them entered the mountain, Zhang Baoguo would stop for a few seconds when he saw something eye-catching, thinking about whether it was suitable and sending it to Liu Weizhi.

Zhou Xiaolei took a twig and scanned carefully in the grass. The food that can be eaten is good, and the medicinal materials are also good.

But on the outskirts of the mountain, basically all the good things have been looted, so they can only go inside.

Relatively fewer people came from deeper places. Zhang Baoguo found an oval yellow leaf, which was very beautiful and looked like a small fan. He put the leaf away and put it in his pocket. Its meridians are very beautiful. When I go back, I will dig out the meridians, leaving only the meridians, and then stick them on hard paper, which will be a very beautiful bookmark.

Zhou Xiaolei picked a handful of wild fruits, and he wrapped them in a big leaf.

This can be given to the eldest sister.

Then they luckily found a pheasant that came out to look for food. Once they found it, the two of them immediately cheered up.

No more leaves, no more wild fruits.

It was necessary to catch this pheasant. Under the relentless pursuit of the two men, this pheasant successfully fell into the enemy's hands.

One leg was broken, and he lifted it upside down, cooing in despair.

Zhang Baoguo weighed the weight in his hands. This chicken weighed more than one catty, and it was only one catty after the hair was removed. The two people shared it equally, and each of them weighed half a catty.

The chicken was beaten by the two of them together. Zhou Xiaolei swallowed as he looked at it. He hadn't eaten meat for a long time, but he gritted his teeth: "This chicken, my share can be exchanged with you. Some dry sweet potatoes?"

Hearing this, Zhang Baoguo looked at him in surprise, Zhou Xiaolei's face became hot from his gaze, and he stammered.

"I, I don't eat enough there, and I can't fill my stomach, so, so this time, I want to replace the half chicken with some dried sweet potatoes that can fill my stomach..." Lie, his tone was not smooth.

But he was like this, Zhang Baoguo thought he was out of embarrassment, but he didn't think too much, his brows were slightly frowned, he had also heard some rumors that the two brothers couldn't carry their shoulders, they couldn't lift their hands, they were two charming young masters , is it true that the other party is just like the legend? Earn enough food to eat

But is it not enough to eat now? .

What should we do in winter? What about spring

"...not now, but in the future, we have to prepare in advance, today is also an unexpected harvest hahaha." Zhou Xiaolei stammered and explained.

Zhang Baoguo's brows loosened: "How much do you want to change?"

He tentatively put forward a number: "Is it okay to exchange for 3 catties of dried sweet potatoes?"

The price is about the same.

Zhang Baoguo nodded.

"But my family won't trade with you. I can ask someone else's house for you. Your price should be fine. I'll be a middleman. How about it?"

"Okay." Zhou Xiaolei nodded quickly.

There was also a bright smile on his face.

When the time comes, send the dried sweet potatoes to the eldest brother. Their rations are a bit tight, but he and the second brother should be diligent and look for more wild vegetables in the mountains. Dry them and store them to make do with water.

The eldest brother is in the city, but there is nowhere to find even wild vegetables.

Zhang Baoguo exchanged the sweet potato from his own home with him, and after seeking his mother's consent, he exchanged the half pheasant with him in the name of someone else.

There should be some difficulty in his situation. If he wants dried sweet potatoes, just give him some.

Su Hui: "This pheasant was killed and stewed. When the time comes, you can share some with your grandparents."

In most cases, their brothers' harvest is divided into part to honor their grandparents. The amount is not much. If there are two grandparents, it is no problem, but if it is given to a large family, the amount is definitely not enough. Anyway, it will be based on two people. If they want to share it, that is their own business.

"Is it for stewing soup?" Zhang Baoguo said, "How about we have chicken stewed with mushrooms?"

It's okay, seeing that he wants to eat this, Su Hui easily changed the menu, all of them are delicious.

Zhang Baoguo sent the chicken over, Li Manfen had a bright smile on his face, and gave him half of the kidney beans they had just fried.

"Add a dish to your table."

As for the small bowl of chicken he brought, she put it directly into the pot and poured it into the sweet potato porridge, so that the whole family can taste the chicken.

However, she picked out those pieces of meat separately when they were out of the pot. There were only a few pieces of chicken, and she wanted to chop them up. Zhang Gen ate the largest pieces, Zhang Quan and Zhang Jinhua ate smaller ones, and the smallest The girls ate it. Looking at the pieces of chicken, Li Manfen sighed. They only gave away a few pieces of chicken. How could there be enough for a big family

Looking at the 3 catties of dried sweet potatoes brought back by his younger brother, Zhou Xiaodong opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but his throat seemed to be stuffed with cotton, and he couldn't say anything.

In the past few days, their interest was not high, but they couldn't express it yet. They wanted to hide it from other people in the educated youth spot. He was also immersed in his own thoughts and ignored his brother. He didn't expect him to bring this back today.

Listening silently to his younger brother's story, Zhou Xiaodong hugged him, his voice a little hoarse: "It will be fine."

"You've grown up too."

After hearing this, Zhou Xiaolei's eyes turned red, and he replied in a low voice, "Yes."

I grew up.

After that, Zhou Xiaolei seemed to unilaterally think that he and Zhang Baoguo had developed a friendship by leaps and bounds, which troubled Zhang Baoguo a bit, because every rest day, the other party would come over excitedly and say to him: "Let's go into the mountains."

Zhou Xiaolei and his second brother didn't meet a pheasant when they entered the mountain, but met Zhang Baoguo as soon as they entered the mountain. Of course, he wanted to find this lucky star. Maybe there is such a thing as luck in the dark. The first time was a pheasant, the second time was an egg, the third time was a duck egg, and the fourth time was a snake, which was non-poisonous and weighed two catties.

Except for the first pheasant, the latter are divided equally among themselves.

A few eggs, a few duck eggs, can't be exchanged for too many things, it's better to take them home for supplementation.

The snake is also divided equally, and the snake is very sweet.

My sister's health is not very good, but I can also take some supplements.

When Zhou Xiaoqing learned that her younger brother and Zhang Baoguo often hung out together, the surprise on her face was not feigned. Seeing her younger brother talking there with great interest, and then looking at the pot of snake soup in front of her, she remained silent. Yes, the mood is delicate.

Zhang Baoguo is Su Hui's son. She had always wanted to overwhelm Su Hui before. After her parents had an accident, she no longer had this thought, but she was not too happy to hear good news about her.

Seeing the younger brother talking about his good luck going into the mountain with Zhang Baoguo so enthusiastically, she hummed, didn't speak, and just looked at him silently.

As he talked, he noticed his sister's silence, and Zhou Xiaolei's dull nerves finally noticed something was wrong, and asked in a low voice, "Is there something wrong with what I said?" The atmosphere felt a little weird.

Zhou Xiaoqing smiled: "No, there's nothing wrong, just keep talking."

Until leaving his sister's house and walking on the road, Zhou Xiaolei was still a little puzzled. He asked his second brother: "Did I say something wrong just now? I feel that my sister's expression is not right."

Zhou Xiaodong looked at him with pity: "It seems that your nerves are not helpless, don't you know? My sister has never been very convinced by Zhang Baoguo's mother, who is also my sister's second sister-in-law."

"I'm not very convinced, what do you mean?" He repeated.

"... I feel a little uneasy, I can't compare with others."

A self-deprecating smile appeared on Zhou Xiaodong's face: "It's almost like us."

When they went to the countryside, it wasn't that they didn't think about showing off their talents and having a prosperous future, but after arriving here, reality gave them a slap in the face.

Useless is a scholar.

This sentence is not without reason.

Zhou Xiaolei didn't speak, and looked at his calloused palm.

Before, there was nothing here.

After coming here, blisters formed, the blisters burst, and then grew again, and then cocoons grew, and finally there were no blisters.

Are you upset

There must be.

However, he clenched his fists, what's the use of being uneasy, he might as well find more food.

When Liu Weizhi heard that he had a letter, he rushed to get it.

Seeing his appearance, the others laughed.

no offence.

Which of them is not like this.

Seeing him like this is like seeing yourself.

Some even followed.

The same expectation.

"Who gave you the package, did your parents receive it not long ago?"

Almost all of their letters are shared, good guy, among the pile of letters from home, Liu Weizhi's home letter is particularly eye-catching.

Because it is too thick.

His father wrote it, his mother wrote it, his grandparents wrote it, and his uncle... tsk tsk tsk, I was amazed after reading it.

This is too much to write.

Liu Weizhi had a guess, but he couldn't be sure if he didn't see it.

Compared with the big package sent by his parents, this one is small, but when he saw the words Zhang Baoguo, he opened his mouth.

"Zhang Baoguo? Who is this you?"

"Not your relative?"

"It's not my relative, it's my friend." When it comes to the word friend, Liu Weizhi's tone is very different.

Back in the dormitory, a bunch of people gathered around.

"Look, look, what was sent to you, there must be more than a letter."

"I'll take it apart right away, don't worry." In fact, he was the one who was most anxious.

The package is not big, it contains a letter, two jars, a paper bag, a comic book, and a colorful feather shuttlecock.

He sent two bottles of sauce, which he made himself, and a pack of mosquito repellent, which he made himself, a comic book, which he copied, and a chicken feather shuttlecock, which he made from pheasant tail feathers.

"Is this a shiitake mushroom?"

"This is soybeans!"

"Bring you something to eat, let me hear it?"

Speaking of this, Liu Weizhi unconsciously licked his lips, greedy: "His sauce is very fragrant! Smell it, and we will taste it together when we go back to the cafeteria, and you will know."

Someone opened the lid and took a closer look: "It's really fragrant!"

“The steamed buns are delicious!”

“Bibimbap is also delicious!”

"I haven't read this little book before, let us have a look after you finish reading it."

"We can play shuttlecock together."

Everyone is looking at other things, and those who believe in aspirations have not mentioned it.

This letter must be read first by the master.

The content of the letter is not much.

Zhang Baoguo purposely wrote the characters in large size, so that it could reach the second page.

In this way, Liu Weizhi was also satisfied.

For him, Zhang Baoguo has always been a man of few words, and he would feel strange if he wrote a few pages full.

There is nothing that cannot be shown to others, he passed the letter to others: "Do you want to see it?"

Their family letters are circulated to each other.

"If you want, let me see, your friend is fine." The first thing that catches the eye is Zhang Baoguo's correct handwriting.

"Yes, his handwriting has always been very good."

"I didn't write anything. Seeing the smile on your face, I thought I wrote something."

"Hahaha, he wrote me back, shouldn't he be happy hahaha."

When they were ready for dinner, Liu Weizhi brought the mushroom sauce over.

As soon as it opened, it immediately ushered in a mad rush.

"Save it up, it's just so much, it'll be gone after you eat it, hey hey, talking about you, it's too much..."

There is no doubt that when he came to the army, he adapted well and got along well with other people.

In his father's words, since he doesn't know what to say, then don't say it, just listen to what others say, talk less about family affairs and listen more.

In this strange place where no one knows him, so far he has been doing well.

Besides Zhang Baoguo, he also has other friends.

Although they haven't known each other for a long time, they still have a long time to spend together.

...

This winter is colder than ever.

They are located in the south, all year round, winter is the shortest, and snow rarely falls.

This year's winter was extremely cold, and some crops were frozen to death without enough time.

The cold wind blew, and children were hardly seen on the road.

Cotton is too hard to come by, and there are not enough winter clothes. Many families only need one winter coat. Others hide at home and stay in bed during that difficult time. It is not necessary and they do not go out at all.

Even children with strong firepower stay at home obediently under the supervision of adults to cook on the brazier.

They don't have the kang in the north here, and if they want to keep warm, they need a brazier besides the quilt.

There are also coal stoves, but there are very few coal stoves, and they don't burn much coal here, but after changing the coal stoves, a lot of them use carbon.

When the weather is cold, there is another thing that is very popular, and that is a warm water bag.

But hot water bags are not cheap, and some people will collect glass bottles such as medicine bottles to make thermos bottles.

Pour in hot water and make a piston yourself, which is a different kind of warm water bag.

Zhang Gen has a warm water bag.

The old man's energy and blood are not strong in his old age. In the cold winter, his hands and feet may be cold when he sleeps all night, and he sleeps extremely unsteadily. If he has a warm water bag to warm his hands and feet, he will feel much better that night.

Not every family has it. Most people soak in hot water before going to bed, and then get into bed while it is warm.

The winter in the south is not as dry and cold as in the north. It is moist, as if it can be cold to the bone.

Especially when it's raining.

After a rain, it was a few degrees colder.

There is a small stove in Su Hui's house.

Put charcoal on the bottom, and put a few sweet potatoes and taro on it to simmer slowly. You can also put a pot of water, so as long as you pay attention to adding charcoal, the water will be hot at any time.

However, Zhang Baoguo and the others prefer to put sweet potatoes in charcoal instead of putting them on top, so that they cook faster and more fragrant.

Zhang Anguo poked the red sweet potato inside with a small wooden stick, and turned it over.

The other side is still the original color.

Zhang Dingguo stretched out his two hands and placed them in front of the stove to bake, enjoying the warm temperature.

Zhang Weiguo squatted beside him, his face was red from the light of the fire, and he looked down at the comic book on the ground.

Zhang Baoguo was beside him, sitting upright, with a serious face... in a daze.

Su Hui didn't sit around the stove, she was sitting at the table, knitting a sweater.

Her movements were fast, and Zhang Baoguo's expression slowly froze while watching the movements of his mother's hands.

Isn't this too fast

Seeing the eldest brother looking at his mother's hand, Zhang Weiguo turned his head with surprise on his face: "Brother, do you want to knit a sweater???"

Hearing this, Zhang Baoguo turned his head: "???"

His face was inexplicable.

He stared at the sweater, just wanted to knit

When Su Hui heard this, she stopped moving, and the corners of her mouth curled up: "Okay."

OK

What good

Zhang Baoguo and Zhang Weiguo received two bamboo poles from their mother.

The pole is round and has a pointed head.

"You are just learning, I will teach you simple ones, just learn how to weave scarves."

Zhang Baoguo and Zhang Weiguo looked at each other and said quickly, "Wait, Mom, we're not..."

Su Hui blinked her eyes: "I'm knitting sweaters for you. My hands are very tired. The scarves are very simple. You have nothing else to do. Help me share the burden? Isn't there a saying that says you don't overwhelm yourself with too many skills? Baoguo , when you go to the army in the future, there is no one in the army to help you do this, I will teach you how to sew another day, so that you don’t know how to mend your clothes if they fall off.”

Zhang Baoguo: "..."

Zhang Weiguo: "..."

Something is wrong, but I can't tell where.

Zhang Anguo pulled the roasted sweet potatoes out of the charcoal pile, blowing air silently, no matter how many skills he had, in fact, his mother just wanted to be lazy.

Zhang Dingguo also silently pulled the sweet potatoes.

Knitting sweaters, knitting scarves... Although wool is very precious, it is usually made by women, right? But my eldest brother wants to go to the army, and there are basically no women in the army, so it is necessary to learn needlework.

This year, the four brothers all got a sweater vest, made of woolen yarn, which keeps them warm, and they are not afraid of the cold when the cold wind blows.

In the cold wind, the New Year of 1974 came.

With the arrival of the end of the year, everyone's interest is also high, and the cold wind can't blow away everyone's enthusiasm.

This year, the heavy rains damaged the crops, and everyone received less food than last year, but this year they received more money than last year.

This year, Su Hui and his family received more than 27 yuan. This year, Zhang Baoguo and Zhang Weiguo’s tuition fees are 2.5 yuan for a semester, and 5 yuan for a year. The total annual tuition expenditure is 16 yuan, including other miscellaneous expenses, 20 yuan a year.

But next year, Zhang Anguo and the others will go to junior high school, and he will go to high school, and the high school tuition fee will be more expensive, 3.5 yuan. Then next year, the tuition fee will be 19 yuan, including other things. There are more than twenty miscellaneous expenses.

Zhang Baoguo did some calculations, and it seemed that next year, the two younger brothers would also be dragged to work.

After this year, the twins have turned ten years old, and they can be counted as work points. Now their village’s work points are worth a lot. In several nearby villages, they are the first ones. There are also people from other villages who want to learn from the scriptures. Burning tiles, but their village has kept it a secret so far.

Their family only has full work points for Su Hui. He can get seven or eight work points when he comes back on a rest day. Zhang Weiguo goes to work in the afternoon, and he may get two or three work points. That’s twenty-seven yuan. Others get more. Zhao Xialan and his family of five have more than 60 yuan.

With so much money all at once, in a few more years, the next stone house will be built.

Zhang Gen planned to build another room.

Originally they lived in four rooms, but they allocated one room to their youngest son, Zhang Gui, and now they have three rooms. There are eight people living in the three rooms, which is not spacious.

As soon as the money allocated this year arrived, he started planning.

Now there is still time before the Chinese New Year. You can first make the blue bricks and tiles first. After the New Year is over, start immediately. With more people and more strength, it doesn’t take long, and one room can be completed.

As soon as he said it, Li Manfen had no objection, and neither did Zhang Quan and Zhao Laidi.

Once the new year is over, Zhang Jinhua will be sixteen years old, and he is already at an age where we can talk about kissing. If we want to talk about kissing, we must have a separate room by ourselves, otherwise, where will the grandson come from

Zhang Fenghua and the other three sisters are also very happy. With the new room, they can live more comfortably.

With this decision, Zhang Gui and Su Hui were notified and they were free to help.

Zhang Gen also notified his younger brother. This notification, well, it was a coincidence that his younger brother's family also planned to build a house, and he planned to come and ask them to help.

Then Zhang Gen went to ask other people, this is no longer a family, and there are quite a few people in his village who have this plan.

It's because the money has been divided in the past two years, plus the savings from the past, and the strong and labor-intensive families are planning to go. No, once this year's money is in hand, everyone will have to add it up, and they can only schedule separately.

Otherwise, I won't be too busy.

This is a no-brainer. The situation of Zhang Gen's family is not urgent, and they will be queued to the back. Judging from the situation, it is estimated that it will be September or November next year.

After all, the busy farming season and the rainy season are not enough, and there are many times when it is suitable to start construction.

This year has come to an end in a warm atmosphere where everyone is happily talking about the new house.

In 1975, ushered in the beginning.