Today is Sunday. Teacher Lin, who has been busy for a week, finally got free time. He sat on the bench of the village primary school, eating canned pineapple and chatting with Aunt Li.
Outside the village primary school wall, Li Dahe was writing slogans with his mouth.
"Oh, yes, let's just write this...why are your hands shaking? Be more steady, horizontally and vertically——"
Wang Dong, who was accused of causing confusion, felt that something was wrong with him and suggested: "Captain, how about you write one?"
Li Dahe stared: "If I were capable, why would I need to watch you complain?"
In the courtyard, Aunt Li rolled her eyes and complained to Lin Nianhe: "Your uncle just doesn't act on his own and demands to be punished. Sooner or later, someone will put a sack on him and kick him."
Lin Nianhe bit into the pineapple and giggled.
She saw that the stitches on the soles of Aunt Li's shoes were particularly dense, so she asked, "Aunt Li, will we have no more work to do after the autumn harvest?"
"There's not much work left," Aunt Li said. "After grinding corn flour, stocking up sauerkraut, and going up the mountain to chop firewood, we have to last for a whole winter, otherwise there will be heavy snow and there will be nowhere to do it."
Lin Nianhe thought about it and asked, "After all these are done, it will be November, right?"
"That's about right. It's time to cut firewood sooner rather than later. Who knows when it will snow." Aunt Li spoke without any delay in her movements.
Lin Nianhe drank canned water, his head spinning rapidly.
In other words, there are three or four months of leisure time in winter, and a lot of things can be done.
She was doing some calculations in her mind, and after a while she heard Li Dahe calling her: "Girl Lin, someone is looking for you!"
Lin Nianhe said "Hey", said hello to Aunt Li, hugged her cans and ran out.
She thought it was Su Yuncheng or Xie Yufei. She even thought of Sister Zhou, but when she saw the person coming, she was shocked for a moment.
Zheng Lirong, Zheng Shan and Bai Xiaojun stood at the entrance of the village, with tired looks on their faces.
Zheng Lirong only carried a small baggage, and it looked like she couldn't carry much.
Seeing Lin Nianhe coming out, a flash of embarrassment flashed across Zheng Lirong's face. She looked at Lin Nianhe, and after a while she softly called out: "Sister."
Lin Nianhe came to his senses and said hello quickly: "Sister Lirong, you are here."
Li Dahe glanced at them and saw that it was a lesbian who came to see Lin Nianhe, so he didn't think much and continued to direct Wang Dong to work.
Lin Nianhe said: "Sister, go sit at my place for a while."
"OK."
Zheng Lirong and her two children walked silently behind Lin Nianhe.
Lin Nianhe took them back to the educated youth point, poured water first, opened a can and divided it between the two children, and then lit a fire to cook.
Zheng Lirong sat in the courtyard, silent, and never spoke.
Lin Nianhe cooked the noodles, made egg sauce, and mixed in cucumber shreds.
Lunch was eaten in silence. The two little guys had just arrived, but they didn't seem to be curious at all. They just ate in silence without making any sound.
Zheng Lirong was also a little unable to swallow. She stopped her chopsticks several times and looked at Lin Nianhe, but seeing that she was concentrating on eating, she stopped talking.
Zheng Lirong thought, Lin Nianhe was refusing like this.
She was more worried and couldn't eat anymore.
The two children ate slowly. Lin Nianhe waited for them to put down their chopsticks and then said, "Can I get you a little book to read?"
Zheng Shan lowered her head, clutching the corners of her clothes and saying nothing.
Bai Xiaojun glanced at Lin Nianhe, but just glanced at it, then lowered his head and timidly said nothing.
Zheng Lirong frowned: "What's going on with you two? Talk."
"It's okay, it's okay," Lin Nianhe said quickly, "The child has been in the car all the way and is tired."
With that said, she put down her chopsticks and pulled the two children into the room.
She put the kang table in place and asked the two little guys to take off their shoes and get on the kang. She brought them the little book and candies that Niu Wa had left behind, and poured water for them.
"Shanshan, you play with your brother for a while. If you are sleepy, spread out the bedding before sleeping," Lin Nianhe said to Zheng Shan in the gentlest voice, "Your mother and I are outside, if you need anything, just call Us, okay?"
When she spoke, Zheng Shan still lowered her head. It was not until she was asked at the end that she cautiously raised her head and glanced at Lin Nianhe, and nodded almost imperceptibly.
"So good." Lin Nianhe smiled and rubbed her head, then turned to Bai Xiaojun and said, "Xiaojun, listen to your sister and don't play by the edge of the kang."
Bai Xiaojun's reaction was faster, but he also didn't speak.
Lin Nianhe went out and sat back on the small bench.
Zheng Lirong looked at her and was silent for a while before asking: "You told me before that if anything happens, I can come to you...do you still want to count?"
Lin Nianhe suppressed his smile, looked at her, and nodded seriously: "Forget it."
Zheng Lirong took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, seeming to relax a little.
She looked at Lin Nianhe, remained silent for a moment and said, "I want to send Shanshan and Xiaojun to your village's primary school to study."
Lin Nianhe frowned: "What about you?"
"I have to go back to the provincial capital." Zheng Lirong said.
She couldn't let those who were still willing to protect them go without food, nor could she put her future hopes on the only two thousand dollars that were lucky enough not to be confiscated.
She doesn't like black market business, but now, this is all she can do.
The accident has cut off her hobbies, and she can do whatever she wants.
Lin Nianhe looked at her and asked her after a moment of silence: "Do you have any supply?"
Zheng Lirong's eyes flashed slightly and she said, "I won't do that."
Lin Nianhe smiled and said, "Sister, Bai Bo will fall, not because he does business with me, but because he drives up prices and controls the market, and..."
Zheng Lirong's eyebrows trembled slightly, the corners of her eyes were slightly red, and she interrupted Lin Nianhe's words: "Don't mention him."
"Okay, let's not mention him." Lin Nianhe took a sip of water and said, "I do have the supply, but I will have a lot of requirements."
Zheng Lirong smiled bitterly: "Do you think I dare to get goods from you?"
"Why don't you dare?" Lin Nianhe looked at her, "Unless you also want to drive up prices, or become someone else's spy or thorn again, telling people who shouldn't know things that shouldn't be said."
Zheng Lirong was silent.
"Why can they judge so quickly? You should know better than me in the provincial capital." Lin Nianhe put his chin on his hand and looked at the green mountains in the distance. If you die, you will die."
Zheng Lirong didn't answer and turned back to look at the two children in the room.
Zheng Shan still sat where she was, with her head lowered, rubbing the corners of her clothes and saying nothing. Bai Xiaojun bent over and fiddled with the small wooden gun in his arms, but he didn't move.
"Sister, I really want to hate you." Zheng Lirong whispered, "If it weren't for you, that little brat would still be alive right now."
"But I really don't hate you... Even without you, he would have died sooner or later for what he did... I didn't control the man, so I can't blame others."
Zheng Lirong's voice trembled slightly, and tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes.
(End of chapter)
