Lin Qingqing stayed in the hospital for three days before being discharged. On the day of discharge, Lu Cheng drove to pick her up. Lu Cheng carried the luggage and Lin's mother held the baby. On the contrary, she looked relaxed.
In the afternoon when she returned to the family compound, more people came to visit her. Some people had difficulty commuting when she was in the hospital, and some planned to wait until she came back to visit.
However, this is not the point. The point is that the eggs at home have to be counted by baskets.
Giving eggs as a gift when a child is born is a way of expressing gratitude in this era. In addition to eggs, there are also rice, flour, noodles, etc. So in addition to eggs, there are also a lot of these foods in the Lu family.
"What should we do with so many eggs?" Lin's mother worried. "Eggs can't be kept for too long in this weather. What if they go bad?"
Lin Qingqing looked at the worried mother and said, "Why not exchange it for something else?"
"That won't do." Lin's mother said, "It would be bad if we exchanged the things that were sent to us by others and let others know about it."
Lin Qingqing thought about it and agreed: "Then let's make salted eggs. Salted eggs are durable. After they are made, I can bring some back to my mother's hometown so that everyone can taste them together."
When Lin's mother heard this, she thought this was the only way. Otherwise, she would be heartbroken if so many eggs went bad.
Yu Xiuyao was asked to help pickle the salted eggs, and the ingredients were naturally prepared by the Lu family. After the eggs were pickled, Lin's mother breathed a sigh of relief, as the eggs would not go bad after all.
As the eggs were pickled, the Lu family's life became peaceful.
"Mom, I'm going to school..." Lu Haici put on his schoolbag, greeted Lin Qingqing, and looked at the baby again, "Sister, you have to think about your brother today."
The baby, who had already opened her eyes, looked at Lu Haici with her black eyes. It was unknown whether she could see clearly or not. However, this was not important to Lu Haici, because Lu Haici felt that it was enough for his sister to be looking at him. He reluctantly said, "Goodbye, sister. I will be back after school. I will buy a gift for you tomorrow." Tomorrow is Sunday, and he will go to the county town to buy a gift for his sister. He had counted the money in his piggy bank last night, and he had 20 yuan. He had saved this money for four years. From his usual pocket money to his New Year's money, he was very happy when he thought that he could use this money to buy a gift for his sister.
Lin Qingqing lay on the bed, watching him so happy that she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Go to school quickly, Qin Ming and Ji Yang will be waiting anxiously later."
"I'm going." Lu Haici picked up his schoolbag and ran outside. When he reached the door of the hall, he saw Ji Yang coming in from outside.
"You're so slow." Ji Yang complained, "Hurry up, hurry up."
"I know... Grandma, I'm going to school." Lu Haici called out to Lin's mother in the kitchen again.
Lin's mother: "Be careful on the road, don't play around, and go home early after school."
Lu Haici: “I know.”
When Ji Yang and Lu Haici ran to the gate of the family compound, Qin Ming was already waiting there, and there were other friends with him. They all graduated from kindergarten together, went to elementary school together, and lived in the same family compound, so they had a good relationship.
In the past, Qin Ming was the center of their circle. Because of Mr. Qin, the children's parents warned their children not to offend Qin Ming. Later, Lu Haici became the center of their circle. Because of Lin Qingqing's farm, the children's mothers were grateful to Lin Qingqing for giving them jobs, so that they could earn money and food, and add meat and eggs to the family, so they said goodbye to the children and not to quarrel with Lu Haici.
Therefore, when the relationship between parents is harmonious, the relationship between children will naturally be harmonious as well.
"Qin Ming, Ji Yang, please help me think about what gift I should buy for my sister when I go to the county town tomorrow?" Lu Haici was so worried about buying a gift for his sister that several strands of his hair fell out.
Qin Ming thought for a moment and said, "Children like to drink milk powder."
Lu Haici: "We still have several cans of milk powder at home. My sister is so young, she can drink it for a long time. Oh... I said I would buy a hairband for my sister, but my father said that my sister has little hair and can't tie it up. But little girls like hairbands."
"Little girls like skirts." Ji Yang said, "I saw Hu Xiaolan in the class has a skirt, and Yang Xiaomei even borrowed it from her."
Lu Haici hesitated.
Qin Ming said: "Yes, the skirt is good. Your sister is wearing a beautiful skirt. When people ask about it, they will definitely know that you bought it."
"How much does the skirt cost?" Lu Haici was afraid that he didn't have enough money. "I counted the money in my piggy bank yesterday, and there was only twenty-two dollars, fifty-three cents. Is that enough to buy a skirt?" The little boy, who had never worried about money since he was a child, had no idea that some adults in some families didn't even have that much pocket money. If he didn't believe it, he could ask his grandfather if he had any.
"I have money." Ji Yang said, "I'll go home tonight and take out the money from my piggy bank and give it to you."
Their piggy bank is not actually a jar, but made of wood. It was a birthday gift given to Lu Haici by Lin Qingqing when he was six years old. Later, Ji Yang and Qin Ming saw it and liked it very much, so Commander Qin and Ji Changfeng made one for their own children. It has to be said that since they had a piggy bank, the children have liked saving money. Unlike before, when they wanted to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy food as soon as they got the money. Up to now, they have been saving money for three or four years, and they are all "little rich kids" with a little surplus.
Lu Haici thought about it and this was the only solution: "Then lend it to me first, and I'll pay you back when I save up money." Of course, he couldn't ask his parents for money for the gift he sold to his sister.
"No need to return it." Ji Yang said generously, "These are all gifts for our sister."
"That won't work." Lu Haici disagreed, "I must return it to you, otherwise this gift won't be bought by me."
"Okay then." Ji Yang didn't hesitate.
When they arrived at the school, the boys quickly took their seats.
"Lu Haici..." The girl sitting in front of Lu Haici turned around and asked, "Lu Haici, I forgot to bring a pencil today, can you lend me one of yours?" This girl was Hu Xiaolan mentioned by Ji Yang. In this era, if a girl could go to school and wear a skirt, it meant that her family was well off.
Lu Haici took out a pencil from his pencil case: "Here you go, but you have to return it to me after school. This is my favorite pencil my mother bought for me."
"Hey, I'll give it back to you after school." Hu Xiaolan took the pencil, "Thank you, Lu Haici."
"You're welcome." Lu Haici put away his pencil case. He thought for a moment and asked, "Classmate Hu Xiaolan, what gifts do you girls like?"
"Gift?" Gift is a rare adjective these days. "What gift? Are you giving a gift to a girl?" She was so envious; she had never received a gift before.
Lu Haici shook his head first, then nodded. When he was about to speak, a boy next to him said, "Shame on you, Lu Haici, you are still young and you want to give gifts to girls. Are you trying to be an adulteress?"
"Zhang Youcai, you are shameless." Hu Xiaolan said with her hands on her hips, "We are all children, why are we playing dirty tricks? You are so shameless."
"I'm not talking nonsense. I heard you say that Lu Haici wanted to give gifts to girls. Isn't that cheating? My grandma said that some girls are shameless and specifically hook up with guys to give them gifts. That's cheating." Zhang Youcai said confidently.
"You...your grandmother has the worst mouth." Hu Xiaolan and Zhang Youcai were from the same village, and she often heard her family talk about Zhang Youcai's grandmother, who was a scoundrel who would get into any hole she could.
"If you dare to scold my grandma, I will hit you." Zhang Youcai loved his grandma the most. His grandma was the best person to him. Even his parents could not say bad things about her. Now when Hu Xiaolan said that, he rushed forward and hit Hu Xiaolan in the face.
Zhang Youcai's action was so sudden that no one reacted until the sound of slapping was heard.
Snap…
The slap was quite loud, waking everyone up from their shock.
Lu Haici was the first to rush forward and pushed Zhang Youcai away: "How can you hit a girl?" He opened his arms and blocked Hu Xiaolan behind him.
Zhang Youcai took a few steps back. He was used to being a tyrant at home, and he got angry when Lu Haici pushed him. "You dare to push me? I'll beat you to death..." As he said that, he rushed towards Lu Haici.
"Asshole, you dare to hit Lu Haici..." Qin Ming rushed over and directly pushed Zhang Youcai away. "My grandfather said that men can't hit women. You hit women and Lu Haici, you are not a man."
"You are the bastard, so what if I hit you?" Zhang Youcai was not afraid. He got up from the ground and hit Qin Ming.
Lu Haici and Ji Yang also surrounded him, and the four of them quickly became a ball. To be exact, it was three people beating one. However, Lu Haici and his friends didn't hit anyone during the fight. They took off Zhang Youcai's pants and shoes as well. It was just like when they were very young, in kindergarten, and they beat Chen Zhou together.
This kind of beating was not very harmful, but it was extremely insulting. Especially for these proud little men, it was more painful than beating their buttocks to pieces.
“Wuwuwuwu… Grandma… Grandma, help me… Wuwuwuwu…” Zhang Youcai burst into tears in the classroom.
Seeing Zhang Youcai shouting, Qin Ming directly stuffed his pants into Zhang Youcai's mouth.
"What's going on? What's wrong with you?" The teacher rushed in. After Hu Xiaolan was slapped, some students went to call the teacher. When the teacher came in and saw the students fighting, she was dumbfounded. "Stop it, stop it now." Oh my God, how did Zhang Youcai get into a fight with these kids from the army? The teacher was really confused.
When the teacher squeezed in and took a look, he felt relieved. Fortunately, the kids in the group did not hit anyone, but just took off their pants and shoes. Oh... they even stuffed their pants into Zhang Youcai's mouth.
According to Qin Ming's opinion, the smelly socks should be stuffed in, but it is only September and many children have not started wearing socks yet, including Zhang Youcai.
Hearing the teacher's voice, Lu Haici, Qin Ming and Ji Yang immediately let go of Zhang Youcai, and the three of them stood in a row.
The teacher stepped forward and took the pants out of Zhang Youcai's mouth. Even though only one trouser leg was stuffed in, Zhang Youcai looked really miserable.
As soon as his pants were taken off, Zhang Youcai continued to cry loudly. He cried and said, "Teacher, the three of them beat me, wuwuwu... The three of them beat me together, I want to tell my grandma, wuwuwu..."
"Teacher, it was Zhang Youcai who hit Hu Xiaolan first. He slapped Hu Xiaolan, and we stopped Zhang Youcai. We didn't hit Zhang Youcai." Qin Ming said. Grandpa said that to be a good soldier, one must not only obey orders on the battlefield, but also be aware of one's environment. Qin Ming has been aiming to be a hero since he was born, and he listens to his grandfather very much.
"Teacher... wuwuwu..." There were still slap marks on Hu Xiaolan's face. Although it was not very obvious, it was indeed a little red. Zhang Youcai was angry at the time and did not restrain himself when he slapped Hu Xiaolan. Besides, he was used to beating girls at home, and his strength was not light.
The teacher rubbed Hu Xiaolan's face and asked Zhang Youcai: "Did you hit Hu Xiaolan?"
Zhang Youcai said: "She was the first one to scold my grandma. She scolded my grandma, so I beat her. No one can scold my grandma." He did not deny that he beat Hu Xiaolan.
"I didn't curse your grandma." Hu Xiaolan disagreed, "I just said your grandma has a bad mouth, I didn't curse your grandma."
"You are insulting me." Zhang Youcai said fiercely.
"Teacher, it was Zhang Youcai who first said that I was an adulterer, and he also said that it was his grandmother who said that, so Hu Xiaolan said that her grandmother had a bad mouth." Lu Haici took the opportunity to say.
"My grandma said that if a man buys things for a woman, he is an adulterer." Zhang Youcai glared at Lu Haici and said that he would tell his grandma about this when he got home, and then make Lu Haici kneel down and apologize to him. In Zhang Youcai's mind, his grandma is omnipotent.
"I'm buying things for my sister. How can a brother be considered an adulterer when he buys things for his sister?" Lu Haici felt very aggrieved.
"Pah... What are you buying, little girl? They are all worthless things." Grandma said that little girls were used to find marriage for him.
"You are the girl, you are the worthless thing." Hearing Zhang Youcai talking about his sister, Lu Haici's eyes became fierce and threatened angrily, "If you talk about my sister again, I will really beat you up."
"Yes, if you say anything about our sister again, we will beat you up together." Qin Ming also raised his fist.
Ji Yang glanced at Zhang Youcai and said, "Take off your pants as well. Bring them to the playground so that everyone can watch you."
“You…you…wuwuwu…I want to go home and tell my grandma…” Zhang Youcai ran out of the classroom crying.
"Zhang Youcai... Zhang Youcai..." The teacher wanted to chase him out, but she couldn't catch up. She was so angry that she turned around and looked at Lu Haici and others, "You, and Hu Xiaolan, come to the office."
After the teacher called them to the office, she asked them to stand straight, and then called them out one by one to ask questions. Because everyone went out one by one, they couldn't talk to each other, so the teacher quickly found out what happened. After asking clearly, she asked Lu Haici and the other two to write a letter of apology. Zhang Youcai was wrong to beat Hu Xiaolan, but Lu Haici and the other three also bullied Zhang Youcai, which was also wrong. So they had to write this letter of apology.
Nine-year-old Lu Haici, who was in the third grade of primary school, received the first self-criticism letter in his life.
Not only Lu Haici had to write a self-criticism, but Qin Ming and Ji Yang also had to write them, so the three little boys were not very happy on their way home.
"Lu Haici, how do you write a self-criticism?" Qin Ming's academic performance was not good, so he asked Lu Haici directly. Because among the three of them, Lu Haici had the best academic performance.
"I don't know either." Lu Haici sighed. He was originally very happy and was planning to buy a gift for his sister tomorrow, but now, Zhang Youcai has ruined his mood. He will go to the county town to buy a gift tomorrow and come back with a letter of apology. He is not afraid of writing a letter of apology, but he is afraid that his mother will know about it. Will she be angry? "Ah..." Lu Haici sighed. This Zhang Youcai is really annoying and a troublemaker.
"Let's go ask Brother Da Wang." Ji Yang said, "Brother Da Wang will definitely know how to write it."
Lu Haici's eyes lit up: "Then I'll go ask Brother Dawang tonight."
In their minds, has Brother Dawang, who is now in high school, ever written a letter of apology
"Then copy it for me after you finish writing it." Qin Ming said as a matter of course.
"Yes." Lu Haici said generously, "You can't copy it exactly, you have to make some changes."
Qin Ming said, "I know." He was not stupid, and it was not the first time he copied Lu Hai's poems. He had copied Lu Hai's poems in his homework before.
After returning to the family compound, Qin Ming, Lu Haici and Ji Yang separated.
Lu Haici returned home: "Grandma, I'm back."
"You're back. Your sister has been looking for you all day. She didn't see you, so she looked everywhere. She must be missing you." said Lin's mother.
"Really?" Lu Haici's heart, which had been hurt at school, was suddenly nourished.
Lin Qingqing heard what Lin's mother said in the room, and couldn't help but wonder, is her mother really talking about her daughter
"Of course it's true." Lin's mother confirmed and affirmed. Lin's mother's idea was very simple. Bao Bao and Lu Haici were siblings. Although they had the same father but different mothers, Lu Haici was raised by her daughter, and Lu Haici was a good person. It is said that a person's character can be seen at the age of three. In Lin's mother's opinion, Lu Haici was a good person. So Lu Haici and Bao Bao must be related.
Although both the Lin family and the Lu family would treat their daughter well, they would all get old and die one day, and the daughter would still need her brother's support when she got married. Improving their relationship now would only benefit the granddaughter in the future.
Lu Haici put his schoolbag in his room, and then ran to the opposite room to see his sister. "Mom, did your sister call you brother today?"
"It won't happen so soon. We have to wait until next year." Lin Qingqing felt that his son's idea was to go to heaven.
"Then when I'm not around, mom, you have to teach my sister more so that she can call me brother sooner." Thinking of his sister calling him brother in a baby voice, Lu Haici's heart melted.
Lin Qingqing: "Okay, I will teach her every day."
After a while, Lu Cheng came back. Lin's mother, Lu Haici and Lu Cheng were eating together at the table outside, while Lin Qingqing was eating alone at the small table inside.
After dinner, Lu Haici ran out to find Da Wang.
Qin Dawang is in high school this year, studying in a county town high school. Tomorrow is Sunday, so he went home today. On normal days, he would live in the school.
"Brother Da Wang...Is Brother Da Wang here?"
The Qin family had just finished dinner. Qin Dawang heard Lu Haici's voice and came out of the house: "Haici, you're looking for me. Is there something you don't understand in the book?"
Lu Haici didn't dare to speak loudly, and waved at him: "Brother Dawang, come here."