Above their heads, the light blue sky was high and covered with green leaves.
"Wake up, wake up, girl, where are you from and where do you live?" Seeing her waking up, the round-faced woman in a coarse blue shirt asked kindly.
The woman sat up and looked around. She was under a huge banyan tree. Behind the big banyan tree, low earth-yellow houses could be vaguely seen. There were several aunties and children around her.
"Who are you?" The woman looked alert and clenched her fingers in vain, as if she wanted to grab something, but found nothing.
She was stunned for a moment, a strange feeling flashed in her heart, but she couldn't think of anything strange.
The round-faced aunt smiled kindly: "Don't be afraid, girl, the heavy rain has stopped. We are in Rongshu Village. Were you washed here by the flood?"
heavy rain? flood?
The woman opened her eyes and her mind was at a loss. What is the heavy rain? What flood?
"Second Sister Liu, I'm confused by what you're asking. Let me ask," Mrs. Xu, who was slightly taller in stature, pushed aside the round-faced woman and stood in front of her. "Girl, what is your name and where are you from? "
"My name is..." the woman stopped, what was her name?
She thought carefully, but found that her mind was blank and she could not remember anything.
After the heavy rain, the roads in Rongshu Village were closed. The villagers were busy rebuilding the collapsed houses and had no time to go outside to check the situation.
They originally wanted to ask the beautiful girl who was brought back to the village about the situation outside, but they didn't want the girl to lose her memory and not even know who she was.
Time passed like running water, and half a month passed in a flash. Under the care of the enthusiastic villagers, the amnesiac woman quickly integrated into the life of Rongshu Village, and even gave herself a new name, Green Luo.
Half a month was enough for Luluo to get to know Rongshu Village. She was beautiful and literate, so she was very popular among the villagers. The Lin family made the decision and lent Lin Wenxuan's house to her for a temporary stay.
The girls in the village like her more and ask her to do everything together.
No, early this morning, several girls came to collect firewood from the mountain to prepare for the arrival of winter.
Seeing the girls carrying huge backpacks all over the mountain, so tired that they couldn't even straighten their backs, Luluo was puzzled, "Why do you need to collect firewood?"
She pointed to the tree next to her and said: "Climb up the tree, cut off the big branches and drag them back. After a summer of exposure, they will become dry firewood in winter. If you pick up these small branches, you will have to search all over the mountains and fields to find them. So exhausted.”
Zhao Di said helplessly, "But we are not strong enough and cannot cut it."
Chun Cao also said, "You have to wait until the adults come to chop wood. My father will take half a day to chop wood after finishing his work in the fields."
"Half a day?" Luluo was stunned, "How long can the firewood chopped in half a day be burned?"
The spring grass groaned, "In February or March, my father cuts it twice a year. The rest of the time, the firewood is almost gone, so I come to the mountain to pick it up."
Lu Luo was silent, Chun Cao's age and strength were here, and the firewood she collected was only enough to burn for two or three days. Collecting firewood is a long-term job for girls, and it is not their only long-term job.
"Your dad is so kind. He even helps chop wood. I pick up all the firewood my family burns." Zhao Di looked at Chun Cao with envy.
Luluo was confused, "Isn't your father very good to you? Doesn't he help you chop wood?"
Among the many families in the village that favor sons over daughters, Zhao Di's family is particularly different. Zhao Di's parents treat Zhao Di and her younger brother almost equally.
Zhaodi was stunned for a moment and said: "There are many things at home, and my parents are too busy."
"That's it." Luluo nodded, looked at the big tree next to her and said, "I'll give it a try."
As she spoke, she hugged the tree trunk, used her hands and feet together, and climbed up the tree in twos and twos, shocking a group of girls.
"Sister Luluo, you are so awesome!"
Luluo thought it was nothing, and gestured to Zhaodi to hand the hatchet to her, "Don't you know how to climb trees?"
The girls all shook their heads, "No."
When they were young, they were told that girls should behave like girls, and things like climbing trees and fighting were not allowed.
Luluo took the hatchet handed by Zhaodi, made several gestures to a big branch, and said, "Stand away, I'm going to start."
The girls went to the other side of the branch, and with a click, the forearm-thick branch broke and fell to the ground.
The girls' jaws dropped again in shock, "Sister Luluo, you are so strong!"
All the girls were envious, especially Zhao Di, who looked forward to it: "It would be great if I had the strength of Pothos. When I wash clothes, I don't have to carry water again and again. Every time I wash clothes, I have to do it." It takes ten to wade through the water.”
The girls agreed and added, "Summer is better. You can wash clothes by the river without carrying water."
Luluo stopped chopping firewood. She looked at Zhaodi, and the weird feeling became stronger and stronger. Zhaodi's father treated Zhaodi well. This was the consensus of the villagers, but he didn't feel sorry for his daughter doing heavy work at all.
Those things were just a piece of cake for him and would make Zhaodi much more relaxed, but he was unwilling to do them.
Does dad like this really love Zhaodi?
And the name Zhaodi has a strong patriarchal flavor.
The second most beloved daughter-loving family in the village is Zhang Dapeng's family. The first child in his family is a boy, and there are people who have inherited the family's incense, so they are not so hostile to the girl Niu Niu who was born after him.
His wife, Mrs. Xu, is tall and tall, with a fierce look on her face. She is actually quite cheerful and treats Niuniu well. Niuniu will also have what her son Shuanzi has, it’s just a matter of how much.
Compared with the Zhang family, Zhaodi, the family that loves girls the most in the village, seems to be unworthy of its name.
Luluo fell in love with Zhao Di, and soon learned an old story from the villagers. Zhao Di's family had an old grudge against the Fan family, who lived at the end of the village.
Zhaodi was born around the same time as Fanbei of the Fan family. Both families had pregnant women and were neighbors. They had close contact with each other. People in the village often guessed who would have a boy and who would have a girl.
From the perspective of the old people in the village, Zhao Di's mother is more likely to give birth to a boy, while the Fan family is more likely to give birth to a girl. For this reason, Zhao Di's father is very shy and often shows off to Fan's father.
Unexpectedly, when the two children were born and their genders were reversed, Fan's father was so proud that when his son was born, he specially carried his son to Zhaodi's house to show off, and his saliva sprayed all over Zhaodi's face.
How could Zhaodi's father be so angry? He started a fight with Fan's father and almost caused the Fan family's child to fall to death. From then on, the Fan family and Zhaodi's family had no contact with each other. They would rather walk a few more steps to borrow things on weekdays. Others borrowed it and did not interact with each other.
Luluo was even stranger. Judging from this incident, Zhao Di's father didn't like girls at all. He was ridiculed by his neighbors for having a girl, which made him lose face. According to his temperament, he should have a grudge against Zhao Di. How could Zhao Di and her youngest son be treated equally?
She began to pay attention to Zhaodi's family, and more strange things appeared when she paid attention.
(End of chapter)
