life struggle

The sky cleared, the weather was muggy, and the cicadas were singing loudly. 【 】Led by accountant Zhang, he went through the eight companies smoothly without much effort.

The last student to be investigated by this village is Zhang Zhiguo, who is also the most heart-wrenching and sad family during this trip.His house is located on a hillside outside the village, surrounded by fences to form a small courtyard, which looks very desolate.There is an open shed built with thatched grass in the courtyard. Under the shed is a rather simple stove. The three cave dwellings are completely devastated.

After entering the courtyard, Accountant Zhang shouted loudly, "I am Accountant Zhang from the school, is the idiot at home?"

"Accountant Zhang? He's not here. What's the matter?" A 35-year-old woman in shabby clothes with red, swollen and straight eyes came out of the cave. Where did the young man come from and why did he come here? His expression was quite nervous, and he was stunned for a moment.

Accountant Zhang said with a smile, "Xiulan is at home. These are two college students from Pingxi. Don't be nervous if you want to know how Zhiguo received assistance from the Hope Project. Just answer truthfully what they ask."

Xiulan was in shock, and said timidly, "That's right, there are no trees outside, it's very hot, come to the kiln." Then she moved in, and hurriedly pulled out three small sheets from under the bed. Wipe the dirt on the stool with the corner of his coat, put it in front of the three of them, and then stand aside with his hands drooping.

The inside of the room was dark, but it was clean and tidy. Except for a few broken hard board beds, there was hardly any decent furniture. If you value it, all the belongings are not worth 200 yuan.Seeing Xiulan's nervous expression, Wu Xiaojun was worried about hurting her self-esteem, so he stretched out his hand to pull the stool over, regardless of whether it was dirty or not, and sat down. The accountant kept waving his cattail fan and stood at the door.

Bai Lingyan looked at Xiulan with a smile on her face, and said softly, "Sister-in-law, don't be nervous, we have no other purpose in coming here, we are here to check on the situation of your family in accordance with the requirements of the county, and see if we can give you some advice. More help and care."

Xiulan looked at the two young men with smiles on their faces, their attitude was very easy-going, and they spoke more politely. They were not like the family planning team in the village, collecting and withdrawing money, and the aggressive and domineering bandit-like work team. Staring at the ground, he tried to ask in a low voice, "What do you want to ask?"

Wu Xiaojun smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, don't be afraid, just tell me about your family's situation."

Xiulan suddenly squatted at the base of the wall, burst into tears, and said sadly, "There are three Zhiguo brothers, two older brothers are in the second and first year of middle school in the town, and Zhiguo is in the fourth grade of village novels."

Bai Lingyan asked, "Are the three brothers studying hard, and how are their grades?"

Xiulan said, "These three brothers have learned a lot in school, their grades are particularly good, and they have always performed well in school. The teachers at the school like them very much, and their relatives and neighbors often give them money and care. Not only that, but also in the village school. Applying for the aid of the Hope Project for the Zhiguo, the three children can not drop out of school early and study with peace of mind."

Wu Xiaojun said, "Seeing the situation in your family is very distressing. Why are other people's conditions much better than yours?"

Xiulan sighed and said, "My child's father and I are both honest and honest farmers. Most of the several acres of farmland in our family are distributed in places where it is difficult to grow good crops. Years with good weather are better. When there is a drought, the harvest will be better." It will be significantly reduced, and sometimes the food you can see after a year of hard work can hardly meet the basic rations."

Bai Lingyan said, "There are more mines here, and you can go to work in your free time and earn some money to supplement your family. It's not like it is now."

Xiulan looked at the two of them in a trance, and said helplessly, "Our family used to be able to get by and live a decent life, but when Zhiguo was born, it was the wheat harvest season, and within two days I died. I went to the field to harvest wheat, but fell into a gynecological disease. Over the years, our relatives and neighbors have borrowed money everywhere, sold all the property in the family that can be exchanged for money, and went to the county to seek medical treatment in Pingxi, but it was not completely cured. I took medicine every day The child's father works day and night to earn money, but it can't match my bottomless pit."

Wu Xiaojun said, "Apart from medicine and schooling, do you have any other expenses?"

Xiulan said, "There are a lot of them. In recent years, there are many fines for family planning, withdrawal of funds, road repair fees, kitchen renovation fees, five insurance fees, school building fees, broadcasting fees, etc. There are apportionments on both ends of the three days, a little slower. Hand in, the work team is either leading the cows or taking things. If they are not allowed to take them, the police station will arrest and beat them. Everyone is afraid. Two years ago, my family also raised a big cow, which gave birth to a calf every year. It sold for thousands of dollars, but was taken away by the village and sold for only 150 yuan. You can’t even buy a goat, let alone a cow.”

Hearing what Xiulan said, Wu Xiaojun felt very solemn, and immediately remembered an incident that happened in his hometown last year.

Rural cadres went to the home of a 70-year-old man and woman in a neighboring village to collect family planning fees and withdrawals. Leaning on crutches and holding a stack of Ming coins to find the work team, the staff of the work team looked dumbfounded, and a village cadre said fiercely, "You are fooling the devil, what kind of mind do you have. "

The old lady said disapprovingly, "My old couple just gave money to the little ghost, and only the little ghost asks us coffins for money. If you don't want to send the little ghost, who will you send?"

It can be seen that the situation in various places is similar. The village committee, the township committee, and the family planning committee are three mountains that press down on the peasants, making them breathless. The stark contrast between the poor living environment and the difficult life can be seen.

Wu Xiaojun said, "We have also seen in the past few days that many children drop out of school early because of poor family conditions. Your family is so difficult, do you plan to prevent your children from going to school, do odd jobs for others, and earn some money to take care of yourself? , to lighten the burden on some families."

Xiulan's eyes widened, and she said excitedly, "It's true that our family is poor, but what can we do? We have to get on day by day. Zhiguo and I have always made up our minds that no matter how poor or miserable we are, No matter how hard it is, I will try my best to get my child to go to school, and I can’t delay my child’s studies. Even if there is a glimmer of hope, even if I risk my life, I still want my child to be successful, so that one day I can stand out and change the poverty and backwardness of my family.”

Bai Lingyan said deeply, "It's rare for you to have such an idea. Your three children are your greatest hope and sustenance. They will definitely have great achievements in the future. The difficulties will definitely pass, and life will always get better day by day."

Xiulan said helplessly, "As long as the child is promising in the future, he will not be bullied and have a good life. For this, the two of us can bear all kinds of anger and suffer all kinds of hardships. After all, we have to look at the gangsters Village cadres can run amok for days.”

Wu Xiaojun said eloquently, "Please don't be too pessimistic. There is no hurdle that cannot be overcome. We have fully understood the situation of your family and will definitely report to the county according to the truth. I believe your family will soon get better."