At sunset, smoke curled up over Zhutao Village. The villagers who had been busy all day also called it a day and went to clean the ditch with their hoes, chatting and laughing.
Especially those who are reclaiming wasteland, their dark and red faces are smiling. For them, today is a very happy day, because they finally moved into the bamboo house, officially declaring the end of their displacement.
There is no need to choose a good day or make a big fanfare. Even the first meal in the new home is almost the same as the one on the escape route. The porridge is so thin that people can be reflected. Despite this, their joy could not be concealed.
At Li Ping'an's house, he happily picked up the bowl and said, "Dad, let's touch one and wish us a prosperous life in the future!"
Li Erlin glanced at Li Ping'an who was playing with treasures, shook his head helplessly and laughed, but he was not disappointed. He picked up the bowl and touched Li Ping'an's bowl.
Xiaoru agreed and was about to pick up his wooden bowl and join in the fun, but his mother stopped him. She was so depressed that she immediately pouted.
Li Ping'an couldn't help but laugh, and touched little Ruyi's bowl with the bowl, "Big brother, let's touch one with Ruyi. We have our own house again. Isn't Ruyi very happy?"
Xiao Ruyi hurriedly nodded vigorously. If the mother next to her hadn't quickly helped her with her quick eyes and hands, she almost hit her forehead on the bamboo woven table.
"If you don't want to eat well, then don't eat." Chen Dajuan cursed. Although she said it to Xiao Ruyi, she was also warning Li Ping'an and the other three children who were ready to make a move.
Li Ping'an winked at his brothers and sisters, and then started eating his dinner honestly.
After eating, he sent his younger brothers and sisters away, and told Li Erlin about giving the money back to Cao Ya. Li Erlin did nothing wrong, "It should be sent back to Cao Ya and let her keep it for herself."
Li Ping'an asked curiously: "Dad, to be honest, have you ever had a heartbeat?"
"No." Li Erlin said without hesitation.
Li Ping'an didn't believe it, "Really? Not even a trace?"
"It's not ours, why should I worry about it?" Li Erlin glanced at Li Ping'an and said in a calm tone, "I'm warning you, if you dare to make a mistake, I will break your legs."
Li Ping'an shrank his neck and muttered: "Am I that kind of person?"
Li Erlin heard it but ignored it. Of course he knew that Li Pingan was not that kind of person, otherwise he would not have let Li Pingan put the money in his box and lock it up.
Li Ping'an wished that his father would ignore him, so he turned around and went to tease Xiao Ruyi. When it got dark, he and Chen Dajuan were preparing to go out, and Cao Ya came over carrying something in her clothes.
"Why are you here? Didn't you say we would send you there?"
"It's not far. I can just come and get it myself." It's indeed not far. Caoya's house is behind Li Ping'an's house and next to Li Dafang's house. When they were choosing their own land, Li Dafang had agreed to be neighbors with Taohua. The Taohua family were all girls, and the eldest Taohua was only twelve years old. If they lived next to each other, Li Dafang could usually take care of them.
Then Cao Ya said: "My eldest sister came back from picking peaches on the mountain, and I just happened to bring some to you."
"You can just keep it for yourself. There are so many wild peach trees on the mountain. We can pick them ourselves if we want to eat them." After saying this, Chen Dajuan quickly brought an empty wooden bucket nearby and asked Cao Ya to put the peaches down. .
Seeing Caoya free her hands, Li Ping'an handed the wooden box into her hand, "I haven't opened it before. You'd better check to see if there is anything missing, and pay attention when you go back."
"No, I haven't seen it myself. I'm going back first." Cao Ya held the box in her arms and hurried away under the moonlight.
Watching Cao Ya's back disappear from sight, Li Ping'an withdrew his gaze, bent over and took out a peach from the bucket.
There are many wild peach trees growing on the mountains around Zhutao Village. It is the season for harvesting fruits now. When he went up the mountain to chop bamboo, he picked them and ate them. The fruits were small and had many black spots on the skin, but he still picked them. The ones that look relatively ripe are not very good in taste. They are sour and slightly bitter, and there are also bugs in them, but the peach flavor is quite strong.
By the light of the oil lamp, Li Ping'an could easily tell that the wild peaches sent by Cao Ya had been carefully selected. They were all close to ripe and in good condition. One look showed that a lot of effort had gone into picking them. Passed.
Rubbing it with his hands, he took a bite. Oh, it was a little sweeter than what he had eaten before, sweet, sour, and bitter. Tomorrow you can go and ask where the peach blossoms are picked, and he will pick some back too, as they can be eaten like this.
Compared with him who was picky, Jixiang and Ruyi were much more relaxed, eating one with one hand and eating without making a sound.
On the other side, Cao Ya, who returned home, quickly dug a hole in the ground in the corner of the house and buried the box while there was no one at home. Regarding the silver, she secretly confessed to Taohua. Knowing that she was going to take the silver home and hide it tonight, Taohua found an excuse to take Zhaodi and the others out.
After she finished, Taohua came back with her people after a while. When she saw Caoya sitting at the door chewing peaches, Chunyu, the youngest of the six children she picked up, ran forward excitedly and extended her empty hand. fist, "Second sister, look, the eldest sister is taking us to catch fireflies."
He spread his hands, and what lay motionless on his palms was something other than a firefly.
"Why are there only two? If you catch more, you can light up the room." Cao Ya said with a smile.
"That's right." Chunyu scratched her head in annoyance, turned to look at Peach Blossom, and licked her lips. After all, she still didn't have the courage to say, "Sister, let's go catch fireflies."
Taohua knew what Chunyu was about to say, so she took the initiative and said, "I'll take you there tomorrow night. It's time to go to bed now."
Chunyu felt happy and said quickly: "Thank you, eldest sister."
Taohua smiled. These children have been teased by adults at home. They are used to being submissive and never dare to make demands. Now that they live together, they are a family. They call her eldest sister. I am also willing to treat them like Cao Ya and Zhao Di.
"Did you hear what the eldest sister said? Go to bed quickly and get up early tomorrow to pull the jelly grass." Cao Ya stood up and stepped out of the door, "We must learn to make jelly as soon as possible and let Brother Ping An sell it for money early. In this way we I’ll have money to buy thick clothes and quilts in winter.”
When everyone heard this, they quickly went into the house and lay down on the dry straw spread on the ground under the moonlight that penetrated the house. This is their temporary bed now. There is not even a thin quilt, let alone a warm quilt to cover it in winter. There is only a thick quilt from Peach Blossom Belt.
When their parents abandoned them, they gave them nothing, not even an extra set of clothes.
Thinking that July is almost halfway through and autumn will start in a while, Taohua can't help but feel a little anxious. There are still ways to deal with the bed, but the weather gets colder after autumn, so it's not okay to not cover yourself with a quilt at night.
She pulled Cao Ya outside and asked quietly: "Have you hidden it?"
"alright."
Taohua's heartbeat suddenly accelerated and her breathing became rapid.
