Era: I have a two-world door

Chapter 36, happiness also comes at a price

Wang Qingsong smiled when he saw this and said, "No, I'll wash it myself in a while."

He has been wearing these cotton shoes for a day, and his feet are so cold that they hurt, but he only has this pair of cotton shoes, and he has been enduring it until now.

Seeing this, Xiaozao went over and pulled his socks: "It's all for washing, it's just a pair of socks!"

Seeing her actions, Wang Qingsong had no choice but to take off his socks: "Thank you!!"

"Why are you being polite!"

Then he took his socks and shoes and went out directly.

Widow Feng looked at it and said: "You don't even need a pair of shoes. Tomorrow you will wear Xiao Zao's father's shoes. She usually wears them. You can make do with it. Now you can plant things on your own land. Next year you will plant some cotton." , I will give you a pair when the time comes."

Wang Qingsong thought about it after hearing this, but in the end he was not polite.

"Okay, if the shoes are not dry tomorrow, I will wear Xiao Zao's shoes."

It's not enough to just be so cold, my feet can't stand it.

…………

Wang Dongmei lowered her head and walked home with the things given by her third child in her arms.

By the time I got home, it was already dusk.

But before entering the door, she looked at the things in her hands, thought about it, put the four eggs into her pocket, patted them gently, and felt that they were no longer visible, so she went in.

At this time, the three brothers and the old couple in the main room were sitting there eating.

The remaining two wives were feeding the children there.

There were too many children to sit down, and there were 14 people in the family!
  "Dongmei is back! Let's eat quickly! It'll be cold in a while."

When her mother-in-law saw her coming back, she smiled and greeted her.

"Hey, okay, mother!"

Wang Dong quickly rolled up the dough bag containing the meat and put it in the cupboard next to him without mentioning the meat.

The two sisters-in-law will definitely murmur after a while.

Get it then!
  After finishing it, I took off my hat and gloves, shook my hands, and went to serve the meal.

A steamed bun and rice porridge!
  No need to think about it, it must be this meal.

There is no way, this is much better than those who farm in the countryside. At least they eat rations, although not as much as people in the city.

I only made this steamed bun because I was celebrating the Chinese New Year today.

"Ouch, I made sauerkraut today!"

Wang Dongmei was holding the porridge and looked at the bowl of pickled vegetables on the dining table and smiled.

“It’s Chinese New Year today, why don’t we prepare some food!”

The mother-in-law smiled.

Wang Dongmei smiled and nodded at the front of the store, then sat there and started to eat.

"Hey, from the third child's house, can you go early next time when you go to your brother's house? You won't go until dinner time."

A voice came.

Wang Dongmei naturally knew that she was the daughter-in-law of the second family.

Because the boss gave birth to three girls, he didn’t have the courage to talk to her like this. Didn’t he see that his mother-in-law had just come back to greet her for dinner?

But she wasn't angry, she knew what Lao Erjia meant.

She just ran away while cooking, so she did all the work.

He smiled and said, "I'll wash the pots and dishes later!"

The second child curled his lips, thinking that you should have done it in the first place.

Then he said calmly: "Mom, my brother is having a hard time over there. Do you think you can get some food from home? It doesn't take too much. How about a few kilograms? My brother also gave us half a kilogram of chestnuts." Woolen cloth!!"

Wang Dongmei's eating movements slowed down a bit.

I knew I was dissatisfied with the gift I gave to my brother.

She didn't say anything. After all, it was her fault. Food was her life these days.

The mother-in-law frowned when she saw this and said, "It's not like you don't know what's going on in Dongmei's family. There is only one female laborer in the family with four children."

The second child curled his lips: "Then my brother will give us something! Look at your eldest grandson, he's so hungry."

These words made my mother-in-law feel distressed.

Then he winked at his third son.

Teaching your son in front of you and your wife behind your back are matters of the third child’s own family.

Sun Sanlin saw understanding in my mother's eyes, glanced at his wife, and said nothing.

The voices of children in the room were noisy.

Wang Dongmei broke off some of the cornbread and gave it to the boss: "Changwen, you and your brother have some, so don't eat it alone."

The eldest was only seven years old, so he ended up taking a bite out of the wowotou.

Then I got some for the second child to eat.

She didn't want to mention things at home, so she mentioned the meat at this moment: "Mom, I brought some meat over. You can watch how you cook it! Save it for the New Year."

"Meat? What meat?"

The mother-in-law was surprised.

"Oh, it's in that bag! I'll go to my brother and he gave it to me. He said our second son brought it from the city."

After that, he ate his meal quietly.

The mother-in-law stood up in surprise and walked over.

"Be good! This is so meaty!"

My mother-in-law was surprised when she saw about a pound of leg meat.

"Meat? Where?"

Six children swarmed around him, all clamoring for meat.

Not only him, but several men also gathered around.

Sun Sanlin looked at his wife and asked, "Qinghe really gave it to you!"

Wang Dongmei looked proud: "That's right! The second brother is looking after my sister! He said it was for us to celebrate the New Year."

After saying that, he looked at the second daughter-in-law who had just provoked her.

The other party had just come back from looking at the meat, and when he saw the look in her eyes, he curled his lips.

But the action of swallowing her saliva betrayed her.

Such a big piece of meat!

"Okay, okay, don't look at it anymore, this is for Chinese New Year."

The old lady ignored the crying grandchildren and put the meat away.

There is no use crying at this time.

If they were allowed to eat when they were hungry, the whole family would not be able to survive until now.

My mother-in-law was so happy today that she did it herself without letting Wang Dongmei wash the dishes.

Usually this is done by the wife.

It shows how happy she is today to have a good year!
  After dinner, everyone went back to their homes.

The eldest son lives in the main house and lives with the elder couple, the second eldest son lives in the east wing, and the third son Wang Dongmei lives in the west wing.

Although they are all mud houses, at least they have their own house.

It can be seen that when I was a vegetable farmer, the benefits were pretty good.

"Hey, what are you doing with the salt?"

Back home, Sun Sanlin felt strange for a while as he watched his wife get a bowl and some salt.

"Hey, good thing, keep an eye on it! Don't let anyone come over."

After putting her two sons into the room, she smiled mysteriously and carefully took out a few eggs from her clothes.

"egg?"

Sun Sanlin was surprised for a while, stared outside, and then asked in a low voice: "Did your second son give it to you?"

"Nonsense! Didn't he give it to me, or did you do it?"

Wang Dongmei rolled her eyes at him angrily.

When Sun Sanlin saw this, he was confused for a while: "But you, eating secretly, how embarrassing it is for people to know!"

"What's wrong with eating? It's from the second child's house. Didn't she secretly eat the wild eggs her brother got for her last time? Do you think I don't know? I just didn't say anything."

It's really shameless to throw things away to your parents' house by yourself.

Then continue to rinse the eggs with boiling water.

Looking at the eggs, Sun Sanlin was confused for a while; "That's not good! My mother doesn't treat you badly, right? My sister-in-law and the others don't treat you badly, right? I feel like it's not good to eat secretly!"

These words made Wang Dongmei feel confused for a while.

stopped moving.

After a while, he looked at the hidden eggs and said, "Okay, give it to mom, out of sight, out of mind. But I can't give this to them, it has to be given to Xiao Wen and Xiao Wu. Look at them. How thin have you become?"

When Sun Sanlin heard this, he smiled: "Okay, but I can't give it now and give it tomorrow, otherwise my mother won't be able to blame you!"

"You are smart!"

Wang Dongmei rolled her eyes at him and entered the room with the eggs.

Sun Sanlin closed the door and followed in.

Seeing his wife feeding the child plumeria, he pondered for a moment and said, "Second brother mentioned the separation of the family again!"

These words made her move for a moment, which was not surprising.

The matter of family separation has been mentioned many times.

It was mainly brought up by Lao Er’s family.

Because the second son's son, Sun Erlin, learned to be a carpenter from his brother-in-law a few years ago, and occasionally made some extra money.

So I always wanted to separate.

However, the parents-in-law have been suppressing the family for a long time because they are still living together.

After pondering for a while, he ignored it and continued to feed the child. At the same time, he explained that he could not say that he had eaten eggs tomorrow.

Because it’s useless to care.

The second brother is very determined. He mentioned it occasionally in the past, but in the second half of this year he mentioned it countless times.

The more difficult it is, the more difficult it is.

You must have your own way!
  She can't run a house as a woman!

…………

After dinner, it was just dusk outside.

But the room was already dark.

Widow Feng pointed to the big wooden box at the end of the kang and said, "The match is there. Light the foreign oil lamp to make it brighter." Seeing this, Wang Qingsong stood up and walked to the end of the kang.

He picked up a match and came over to light the kerosene lamp.

The weak light illuminated the room very brightly.

In fact, it is not very bright, mainly because the room was dark just now, but after it was suddenly lit, the room seemed very bright.

It reminded him of the big, extra bright light bulbs he saw in the "future", brighter than the light bulbs at their school.

Unfortunately, there is no electricity in the village.

"Come and wash your face and feet!"

While thinking, Xiaozao had already brought hot water and placed it on the floor in the room.

This made Wang Qingsong a little embarrassed.

His shoes were also taken away and he couldn't get out of bed.

In fact, he didn't need to wash it. It was usually cold and his feet were dry. They were not sticky like in the summer, so he took off his shoes and went directly to the kang.

But now I still have to wash myself in someone else’s house.

Luckily he took a shower a week ago.

Widow Feng saw his expression and knew he was embarrassed, so she smiled and said: "Wash up, you two wash first, and we wash last!!"

When Wang Qingsong saw that the water was coming, he didn't show any pretense and washed his face together with Mai Mai.

After Widow Feng washed her feet, the two of them washed their feet.

After everything was done, Xiaozao added some firewood to the bottom of the kang, came over to wash up and got into bed.

It was completely dark outside at this time.

Can't sleep.

This foreign oil was very expensive, and it was rationed, so I couldn't afford to burn it.

After they all lay down, Xiaomai wrapped itself around him like an eight-clawed snake because his body was warm.

Wang Qingsong didn't care about the little guy, but he would have to get a separate bed for her in the future. When she grew up, she couldn't sleep in the same bed with him every day.

But don’t worry about this, it’s still young.

Then my mind was thinking about the changes in the Bagua Mirror today, but I didn't understand what was going on.

After thinking about it for a while, I didn't figure it out, so I stopped thinking about it. I was thinking about going to the city tomorrow and how to deal with the things in my hands.

Suddenly a question occurred to him.

All my money was exchanged there, and now I don't have a penny in my hand.

After hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke: "Is Auntie asleep?"

"No! What's wrong?"

Widow Feng's voice came from the darkness.

Wang Qingsong hesitated for a moment and then said: "Auntie, I have nothing else to say! I'm going to the city tomorrow and I don't have any money. Do you have two cents here? I'll use it by car tomorrow!!"

"Hey, you're talking about this! Yes! I have 30 cents. I'll give it to you. I originally said it was for you, but I didn't feel embarrassed to say it, so I thought about it and gave it to you later."

Widow Feng said as she prepared to get up.

"Hey, don't worry, just have it. I'll get it when I get up tomorrow morning. Lend me the money for a while. When I go to the city to find my second brother, if he gives me the money, I'll pay it back to you!"

"Hey! What else! I still owe you money!"

"No, it's all about the same thing!"

Hearing this, Widow Feng smiled and said: "Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. By the way, what are your plans next?"

Wang Qingsong pondered for a moment, and finally said: "I don't know, just take it one step at a time. If I pass the technical secondary school, the situation will be better. If I fail, I will have enough strength when I come back the year after next. The production team You can also give me fixed work points.”

That's what he said, but he didn't have the confidence.

Is it so easy to pass the technical secondary school exam?
  You must know that after graduating from technical secondary school, you will enjoy the treatment of cadres. It is a rare job even for urban students, let alone rural people.

Because if you graduate from a high school in the city, you can still get into government agencies and the like.

But you have to start from the lowest level as a 30-level clerk, and the salary is 23 yuan a month, which is equivalent to an apprenticeship in a factory.

However, when I first graduated from technical secondary school and started working as a clerk at grade 26, my salary was 33 yuan a month. After I became a full-time employee in the second year, I was grade 25 and my salary was 37 yuan and cents.

It takes five years for a high school graduate to reach this position.

Therefore, those who were admitted to technical secondary schools at this time were all the top students in their grade, and even county middle schools like theirs only had one or two per year.

People like him are at the top of their grade, but are not top-notch, so they don't have much hope.

The reason why he kept saying that he would wait until he was admitted to a technical secondary school was to encourage and put pressure on himself.

Because he has no way out.

Widow Feng also sighed after hearing this: "That's what you said. When you graduate from junior high school, you will be 16 and you will be considered a labor force. Then find a wife and let your sister work at home instead of going to school. Raise wheat until you are married. This is an explanation to your mother."

In the darkness, Wang Qingsong sighed when he heard this.

He didn't think much about his sister going to school. After all, most girls in rural areas no longer go to school.

Even jujube.

Not to mention girls, even boys rarely finish elementary school. Most of them have stayed at home since junior high school.

Part of the reason is that there is a tuition fee to go to school.

The tuition fee for primary school is 2 yuan, which means it costs yuan a year.

Junior high schools are more expensive, with tuition fees of 5 yuan per semester. Plus tuition, fees, pen and paper, it costs 15 or 6 yuan a year.

Another reason is that even if you are admitted to high school, if you are not admitted to university or junior college, because you have a rural household registration, you will have to return to the countryside after graduation.

I was so exhausted that I found a job in the commune.

It's not like city dwellers can get into work units, or at worst, into factories.

But are jobs in communes that easy to find?

They are all related households.

Therefore, in such a large county with a population of hundreds of thousands, there are only two classes per grade in junior high school.

Most of them are children from communes and counties, and there are very few in rural areas.

Now because of natural disasters, only half of the people going to school have gone to school.

Not everyone has the support of brothers like him, and has a second brother with a rich father-in-law.

But in the future, I still have to have my younger sister go to school.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Widow Feng also sighed: "Okay, go to bed and take it one step at a time!"

At this time, she also thought of her daughter. If she died, he would be the only little girl left. How would she live?

Xiaozao is not like Wang Qingsong who has his brother to help him.

No, I can't die.

Wang Qingsong stared at the roof with his eyes wide open in the darkness, thinking about things there.

Now his mind was occupied with the future.

Drowsily, he slowly fell asleep. After all, he got up too early this morning.

"Brother, my stomach hurts~"

In his sleep, Wang Qingsong suddenly heard his sister's voice. He was confused and sat up suddenly.

"what happened?"

“My stomach just hurts!!”

"Ah? Are you feeling full after eating?"

"I do not know!"

What answered him was the aggrieved voice of the little girl.

"Don't worry, I guess it's been too long without oil and water. Xiaozao, your stomach hurts too, right? Take Xiaomai over and carry the poke to the main room."

While thinking, Widow Feng suddenly spoke.

Because she also heard Xiaozao's hissing sound, she must have been in pain.

"Oh!"

Hearing this, Xiaozao groped his way up and lit the kerosene lamp.

He put on his clothes and got off the kang: "Wheat, let's go, come with me!"

Xiaomai hurriedly got up from the kang, put on his clothes and got off the kang. He followed Xiaozao and carried the wooden toilet to the main room.

Wang Qingsong saw Widow Feng frowning from time to time and asked quickly: "Auntie, your stomach hurts too? Is it because of bad food? But I don't seem to be in pain!"

In his subconscious mind, it was a matter of meat.

Because he remembered Zhou Ying said that the meat had been stored for a long time, and he didn't know if that was the reason.

Widow Feng shook her head: "No, it's just that we haven't had any oil or water for too long. We ate so much oil that we got upset."

After saying that, he looked at him: "You can still get some oil and water at school. The oil you had yesterday wasn't too big, so you'll be fine."

When Wang Qingsong heard this, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Don't get in trouble if you eat too much.

"Hiss!! It's so cold!!"

After waiting for a while, the two little guys came back shivering.

Xiaomai threw off his cotton shoes, got into bed and hugged his thighs. Fortunately, he was wearing a thin layer of long johns, otherwise he would be freezing.

Xiaozao climbed onto the kang and said, "Do you want to get on?"

He hurriedly hid in the bed and covered himself tightly.

Seeing this, Widow Feng hurriedly asked: "Are you in a hurry? If not, I'll go first."

"Auntie, please go quickly. My stomach doesn't hurt."

Hearing this, she quickly lifted the quilt and got off the kang, and quickly went to the main room.

There is still a look of illness.

He retracted his gaze and looked at Mai: "Does your stomach still hurt?"

Mai shook her head: "It doesn't hurt anymore, but my stomach is still growling!"

"It's okay! If you feel uncomfortable at night, remember to call me! Go to sleep!"

"Ok!"

After waiting for a while, Widow Feng came back with a relaxed look on her face, unlike the frown she had before.

"Okay, go to sleep! There will probably be some trouble tonight."

After getting on the kang, I lit the kerosene lamp.

Sure enough, just as she said, she got up several times that night.

It's a lot of trouble.

Happiness also comes at a price!

(End of this chapter)