Yoshida Mii

Chapter 40 Burning paper money

"Who is this water enough to drink? Why don't you hurry up and bring over another can!" Uncle Song ordered with his chin behind his back, as if he was the head of the family.

"Understood." Dong Bao replied, and put the jar in the back basket. Li Shi hadn't drank yet. No matter what, she had to come here again. She couldn't drink it because of Song Ershu, who was tired. No access to water.

Dong Bao ran back and forth twice and delivered water twice, only to hear Uncle Song standing under the shade of a tree with a bowl on his hips, drinking water and yelling, "Working with girls is tiring, it's been a long time I haven't finished plowing this bit of land, it's a waste of time..."

Li Shi pursed her lips and remained silent, standing there blushing and turning pale. Dong Bao took her hand and whispered, "Mother, don't listen to his nonsense."

As long as Uncle Song, who is so lazy and has no shame at home, is allowed to work in the field, even if the plow in front is a strong ox, he will be picky.

Li Shi smiled at Dongbao, his yellow and thin face was flushed red after doing so much heavy work in the sun, sweat trickled down the hair on the sideburns, and there were already a few white hairs on the sideburns Among the black hair, it is particularly dazzling.

No way, Mrs. Li is not yet 35. Two days ago, Mrs. Li was sleeping with her arms around her. She hadn't noticed that Mrs. Li had gray hair. How could Mrs. Li have aged so much in one night.

Seeing Li Shi's white hair on the sideburns, Dong Bao felt a wave of shock in his heart, remembering that Li Shi was worried and worried because of the Shan family's denial of this marriage these two days, he tossed and turned and couldn't sleep last night, and he was so worried overnight. white hair!

Dong Bao's heart throbbed, because of this matter, she had a big quarrel with Mrs. Li, she objected to Mrs. Li's insistence on going to Shan's house to ask for clarification, and she hated it. People neglected and humiliated them, Dong Bao was not angry, and even had a kind of secret joy in his heart that "Finally let Li see the truth clearly".

Dong Bao has always looked at things with the eyes of a modern adult, but forgot that Mrs. Li is just a rural woman who loves her daughters like her life and has little knowledge. Of course she also has dignity, but as long as Dong Bao can live a good life, No longer acting like a cow and a horse digging in the dirt like her, no matter how humiliating she suffers, she will not take it seriously.

When Mrs. Li and Uncle Song arrived home carrying the plow, it was completely dark. Farmers were holding back their breath when doing farm work, and they would never wait until the next day for what they could finish in one day, even if it was getting late. If you don't sleep after eating, you have to finish the work. If you leave the work in the field and go home when it's time to eat, then in the eyes of the farmers, you will be absolutely lazy and bum.

Mrs. Huang knew that it was impossible for Mrs. Li to come back to cook. She asked Dong Bao to light the fire, and went to the stove to cook sorghum pancakes. She picked up a large bowl of pickled cucumbers and garlic cloves from the Westinghouse pickle jar at home. Think about yourself His son was very tired from working in the field. After hesitating for a long time, Huang pulled out a handful of garlic sprouts from the ground, washed and cut them into sections, turned around and went to the main room, stepped on a stool and took out a yellow garlic sprout from the bamboo basket hanging from the beam of the main room. A crock pot, scooped out a spoonful of white things, put it into the big pot of cooking.

Dong Bao recognized this kind of thing as solidified lard, which turned into oil after a while in the pot.Few modern people eat lard, but it was a good thing in ancient times when there was a lack of oil and meat.The Song family seldom puts oil in their cooking, and the oil they eat is also dark rapeseed oil, which is not as fragrant as lard.

Huang's craftsmanship is naturally better than Second Aunt Song's. A piece of lard is fried with garlic sprouts. The stove is full of smoke, and the aroma spreads far away. Da Mao Ermao stands at the door, dripping with greedy saliva.Seeing the greedy faces of the two sweethearts, Huang couldn't help laughing and cursing: "Go away, wait for your father to come back and eat!"

When Mrs. Li and Uncle Song came back through the night, Dong Bao had already brought all the food into the house. Uncle Song dropped the things as soon as he entered the door, yelling, "I'm so hungry!" Mrs. Li lowered her head and said nothing. I moved back and forth twice, and moved all the farm tools into the Westinghouse.

Standing at the door of the main room, Mrs. Huang said, "Hurry up and eat." Looking at Mrs. Li who was silent, Mrs. Huang groaned in her heart, as if she was addicted, and couldn't help but stab a few words, "I'm just You are born to work hard and have no luck, you have to work hard all your life, and you have to serve each of you when you are old!"

Dong Bao pondered that the most suitable job for the Huang family would be the empress dowager in the palace. No matter what she did, a group of court ladies, eunuchs, concubines, concubines, princes, grandchildren... and the emperor would respectfully thank her for her great kindness. It's a pity that Huang's life is not very good. He was born in a peasant family. When the scholar's father was around, he would write a few sour poems to thank her. Now there are only the heartless second wife and the silent Li. and Dongbao.

During the meal, Mrs. Huang distributed sorghum pancakes, put the bowl of fried garlic sprouts in lard with two chopsticks into Old Man Song's bowl, and put the bowl in front of Uncle Song and Ermao.In fact, without her deliberate action, neither Li Shi nor Dong Bao would pick up the dishes in that bowl.It's really not worth eating lard and being served by Huang's spitting stars for half a day.

Before going to bed at night, Mrs. Li sat on the edge of the bed, with a tired face, and said to Dongbao, "Bao'er, bring mother a basin of warm water, mother is sweating, wipe her body."

Dong Bao went away at the sound, scooped up hot water from the big pot, mixed it with well water, and brought it in. Li Shi took off his clothes and wiped his body with a handkerchief dipped in water. Dong Bao was going to help Li Shi wiped her body, but was pushed away by Shi Li, "I don't need you, go to bed quickly."

When Li Shi also went to bed, and the two of them lay down, Dong Bao quietly lifted Li Shi's underwear, and saw two deep purple-red strangle marks on the left and right of Li Shi's shoulders through the starlight. Pulling the plow in the afternoon.No wonder Mrs. Li asked for warm water to wipe her body, presumably the pain was unbearable.

"Bao'er, what are you doing? Why don't you sleep?" Li Shi turned around and asked.

It turned out that Li Shi hadn't slept yet, Dong Bao looked at the strangle marks on Li Shi's body, his eye circles were red with distress, "Mother, you need medicine on your body!"

"Is there any medicine for not getting sick? Farmers have a lot of bumps and bumps in farming, how can they be so delicate." Li Shi laughed, seeing Dong Bao's worried face, Li Shi comforted: "This It’s such a big deal, I’ll go down by myself in two days.”

Dong Bao looked at the strangle marks on Li Shi's shoulder, and he was afraid that there would be no one who worked harder than Li Shi in Tagouji. No, no, it should be someone who worked hard.

"Mom, what are you doing so hard?" Dong Bao whispered, "The more honest you are, the more they bully you. Look at Second Uncle, what is he doing?"

Mrs. Li laughed, tiredness flashed across her eyes, and she patted Dong Bao's shoulder, "Bao'er, it won't hurt you to do more work. The family cares about so much, how can we live? Mother has strength, and she earns enough for us." My mother and I eat, and our mother and father are also very straight."

"I can't do this anymore, I'll get sick from exhaustion." Dong Bao said while holding Li Shi's rough hand. Li Shi's hand was bleeding from pulling the plow today. Uncle Song didn't work hard, and Aunt Song didn't go out at home. , a family of ten people, counting on old man Song and Mrs. Li to work, and Mrs. Li works so desperately, sooner or later she will be drained to the last drop of blood.

Mrs. Li smiled and touched Dong Bao's head, "Mother is in good health, so why would she get tired and sick if she does some work? That lazy person who doesn't work all day is only sick!"

That being said, after Dong Bao lay down, he was awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of Li Shi sighing, and heard Li Shi tossing and turning on the bed, sighing sadly, making it difficult to fall asleep.

Dong Bao couldn't talk about it even if he wanted to comfort her. How could a girl in this era talk about her own marriage, even if she accidentally heard it, she would cover her face and run away shyly.A good marriage has gone so badly, and all the hopes in Li Shi's heart have been shattered, and I'm afraid it will be hard to let go of it for a while.

When Dong Bao woke up the next day, he saw that Li's eyes were dark circles, and he probably didn't sleep much all night.

In two days, it will be the Ching Ming Festival. Although the Huang family is stingy, but still generous to the dead eldest son, he went to the grocery store of the old family in the village and bought a knife of yellow paper for three Wen, and asked Guodongbao to fold it into paper money.

Origami money is very simple, just fold the boxy thin jute paper in half, but be careful not to fold it into a triangle along the diagonal, and leave a gap two fingers wide on one side.

Looking at the piece of yellow paper, Mrs. Li felt that the sacrifices were a little short, so she took Dong Bao down to the ditch, found a few wild peach trees, picked a few wild peaches, and prepared to enshrine them in front of Song Xiucai's grave.

Most of the wild peaches that can be eaten have been picked by others. The ones that Li Shi took Dongbao to find were all leftovers. They were not very good, small in size, and tasted sour, although people could not eat them. , as a sacrifice should be no problem.

After coming here for so long, Dong Bao went to Song Xiucai's grave with the Song family for the first time.The tomb of Song Xiucai is easier to recognize. There is a stone tablet in front of the tomb, on which is written "Tomb of Aizi Song Yang" inscribed with red lacquer. time.

Although Song Yang has a daughter, in the eyes of people at this time, he is considered to be the last child without a son. Dong Bao is not qualified to erect a monument for his father, and the Li family has no status in the Song family. Old man Song.

Since early morning, the sky has been gloomy, and it looks like it will rain.Mrs. Li picked a few ruddy and plump wild peaches and put them in front of Song Xiucai's stele. Mrs. Huang found a wooden stick, drew an unsealed circle on the ground in front of Song Xiucai's grave, and ignited the paper money with a fire pocket. Take them one by one and burn them.

Along with burning paper money, one of the most important steps is to cry at the grave. If any family member burns paper money and does not cry, it is not virtuous and affectionate, and someone will poke the spine.

While burning, Huang wiped away tears, "Yang'er, mother sent you money..." Before she finished speaking, she was already sobbing.Mrs. Li even knelt in front of the grave, lying on the stele and crying loudly, as if she wanted to vent all the bitterness and grievances that had been suppressed in her heart for many days.

(End of this chapter)