The two little girls, mustering their courage, picked up a lot of branches in the dark. Fortunately, the moon was full tonight, otherwise, they would have suffered.
Finally, they managed to light a fire and sat around it. The intense physical labor of the day left Jiang Xinyu feeling exhausted, but the yams on the ground couldn’t be carried back in one go.
It’s really worriso; if she were alone, she’d just wave her hand, and it would all be packed up.
"Sis, tomorrow we can dig all of them back ho in one day. The day after, I absolutely need a rest; I really can’t take it anymore."
"How about you don’t co over tomorrow, either?"
"How could I not? I don’t want to gain without labor. Don’t worry, I can hold on until all the yams are ho."
"Xinyu, it’s just twenty days until the twelfth lunar month, I wonder if we can get so at this year?"
"Sis, don’t say it. Just thinking about it makes drool."
"I’m drooling too."
"Sis, how about we go hunting rabbits in a few days?"
"I doubt we’ll catch any. My brother hasn’t caught even one all year."
"Let’s try. If it doesn’t work, we’ll dig up wild vegetables. I actually wanted to make cabbage-filled buns yesterday but was too tired, so I just stead so buns."
"Xinyu, when will this kind of life ever end?"
"Sis, be content. Haven’t you heard? We are better off than others; the disaster outside is even more severe."
"I really think it’s a pity you sold your job."
"It’s not a pity, really. That job was bad for health. Last ti I went to the hospital, I specially asked the doctor, and he told that wearing a mask couldn’t avoid it.
People live to eat, but if you get sick, can you still eat? Health is the most important."
Wang Ailing did not speak; she couldn’t get over this hurdle in her heart.
"Sis, let tell you, if you’re looking for a future husband, don’t find soone who works at the textile factory. Though life might be good in the short term, what about later? I’m afraid the money earned won’t be enough for dical bills."
"You always talk about things without any backing; can official county workers find wives in our rural area?"
"Why not? Maybe there’s sothing wrong with the man; he can’t find a wife nearby, so isn’t it just right to find one far away in the countryside?"
"Hmm, you make a good point. Who wants to be the sole breadwinner for a family? When a rural girl marries into the county and doesn’t have a job, life wouldn’t be easy. Xinyu, I didn’t expect you to understand things so clearly."
"Of course, I’m one of those who rarely understand things. I just didn’t like to talk much before."
"Your parents gave you the right na. I heard from my mom that you weren’t called Xinyu before; it wasn’t until you were two or three and still weren’t speaking that your parents asked soone to na you that."
"Really, I didn’t know that?" In the dark night, the two kept talking to bolster their courage.
After more than an hour, seeing a distant light, they knew it was the Wang Family returning.
It was below zero that evening, yet the three of them were sweating profusely.
Wang Ailing promptly handed the ward buns to her family.
After eating, "You two co back with us; it’s too cold. Don’t get sick; no one else will co over at this ti," Wang Jianqiang said, concerned for the two girls.
So this ti, the five of them left together. Jiang Xinyu could already barely carry one basket, let alone adding a sack, it was simply impossible.
She couldn’t keep up with the family’s pace, "Uncle, you go ahead, I’ll follow behind, it’s fine. With the moon, I can see the road."
In the end, Wang Ailing stayed with her. The other three walked on ahead.
The two of them lingered far behind, but Jiang Xinyu struggled hard, not lagging too far behind.
As they were about to enter the village, the flashlight in front went out; Jiang Xinyu imdiately understood that they were afraid of being discovered.
Sun Eri carried a basket into the Jiang Family’s house, eting them at the village entrance, and whispered, "You two don’t need to go along; we’ll manage two more trips sohow."
Jiang Xinyu had reached her limit, took the keys, "Auntie, I really can’t move anymore."
"Head back. Lingzi, you go cook. We’ll co back to eat and then go again."
As the two were about to part, "Sis, I’ll go ho and cook."
"No need, I also need to start the fire; I’ll cook porridge."
"Okay, there are still buns at ho, enough for tomorrow’s lunch."
Luckily, at this ti, no family in the village could afford dogs, otherwise, it couldn’t be kept secret.
Jiang Xinyu returned ho, forcing herself to start a fire and boil water, otherwise sweating later would be troubleso.
Once the water was hot, she washed up a bit, saw there were over ten buns left, saving her from having to make more. That’s all for tomorrow.
In one breath, she ate two big at buns, rested for a while, and then drank a bowl of hot malted milk. Looking at the clock, there was still ti, so she decided to take a bath now, otherwise, she’d have to wait for others.
With her hair dry, there was movent in the yard; Jiang Xinyu hurriedly went out.
"Xinyu, lock the door and sleep; I’ll bring the last trip over tomorrow morning."
"Okay, Auntie, don’t tire yourself out too much."
After Jiang Xinyu locked the door, she returned to the room, took out her phone, set the alarm for six o’clock, and fell asleep imdiately, without knowing what insomnia felt like.
The next day, when the alarm rang, Jiang Xinyu tried twice before sitting up.
It was still dark, but she had to get up. She had to store the yams from the yard into the cellar. Jiang Xinyu thought to herself, this truly is a case of people dying for money and birds dying for food. She gathered the yams into her space, went down to the cellar, and let them out.
Hearing sounds from outside, she guessed it might be the Wang Family, and hurriedly opened the door.
"Xinyu, I was worried you might not be up; why don’t you co to our place for porridge? Your sister Lingzi is almost done cooking it. I’ll help you put the yams into the cellar."
"Auntie, only the basket you brought over hasn’t been stored yet, I put away the ones I brought last night."
"You girl, what ti did you sleep?"
"It’s fine, I can handle it myself. Auntie, you go back for breakfast; I won’t co over, I’ll just have a bun and malt milk."
"Alright, don’t rush. We’ll definitely finish it all today," Sun Eri explained and hurried off.
Jiang Xinyu locked the door, stored the yams again, went down once more, then returned inside to boil water and wash.
She stead the buns from yesterday again, so they wouldn’t be too hard to eat at noon.
She ate a bowl of instant noodles and a bun, quite a big al. After eating, she tidied up the house.
Stacking two baskets together, she carried them to the Wang Family’s place.
They had already finished eating, and today Sun Eri stayed behind, leaving with Wang Jianqiang. After all, he was getting older and a bit worn out.
It was still early, so the four of them left together.
Half of the yams on the mountain were still left. They started earlier than yesterday, but even though they dug faster, it would still take until evening to transport them back.
By two in the afternoon, they had almost finished digging all the yams in this area.
User Comments
0 comments from readers