Yoshida Mii

Chapter 41

The sky was overcast and it was about to rain, and the Song family came early to burn paper. At this time, only two or three villagers carried baskets to the post to burn paper. Hearing Li's mournful wail, many people stopped to look at it for a while, then shook their heads and began to burn paper. away.

The black paper ashes from the jute paper floated up with the wind, like flying black butterflies. Dong Bao knelt beside Li Shi, with two lines of teardrops hanging on his face.It's not that she has any deep feelings for this talented father who only appears in memory, tears seem to be a spontaneous reaction of this body.

Second Uncle Song led his two sons and stood in front of the grave with folded hands, pretending to say, "Brother, don't worry, we will still have me at home after you leave. With me and your two nephews, our old Song family will not fall!" After speaking, in order to show his sadness, he blew his nose vigorously and wiped his eyes.

He played hard, but his two sons were not so sensible. They broke off a few willow branches and started chasing each other, and finally ran to the nearby grave to play. Huang was so scared that he couldn't care less about crying. Hengmei stared and cursed: "Come down quickly! You two little bastards, beware of ghosts coming to you at night!"

The two children stuck out their tongues, made faces, and ran down from the grave.

Children have no taboos, but they frightened the superstitious Huang. When Da Mao Ermao came down, she hurried to the grave that Da Mao Ermao had stepped on, bowed to the dead to make amends, and muttered something, telling the elders not to be with her. Children are generally sensible, so don't go to her two grandchildren at night, so as not to frighten the children.

Being made such a fuss by Da Mao and Er Mao, Dong Bao's little bit of sadness was gone.Song Xiucai loved these two nephews the most during his lifetime, and left them all the delicious food. He didn't know how Song Xiucai would feel when he saw his nephew, who he regarded as his lifeblood, visit his grave like this.

Looking at the cold tombstone and the raised grave, Dong Bao didn't know whether the departure of Xiucai's father was good or bad for Li Shi and Dong Bao.He left, leaving orphans and widows to be bullied by the Song family, but even if he was here, he still didn't fulfill his responsibilities as a father and husband.

Mrs. Li dug a shovel of soil with a shovel, and the soil was covered with weeds. He put the adobe on the shovel on Song Yang's grave, adding a grave to Song Yang, and messed up the weeds growing on the grave. Pulled out a few.The graves are all piled up with loess. If there is no one in the family who burns paper to add to the grave, it will take three or four years at most, and they will be washed away by the rain.

Mrs. Huang was tired after crying for a long time, wiped the tears and snot from her face, looked back at the basket, there were still a few pieces of jute paper left, and saw that Mrs. Li was still sobbing. It's not good to urge her to hurry up, so she said to Mrs. Li: "Let's go and burn paper for your grandpa and grandma first. After you cry for the scholar's grave, go home and cook lunch."

"Your grandpa and grandma" in Huang's mouth are old man Song's parents. According to the rules of Tagouji, Dongbao will call them "grandfather and grandma". They passed away long before Li Shi married. Because she couldn't get along with the pungent and unforgiving Huang, she simply separated and built another yard and house for her son.

And their house is at the western end of the village, and no one has lived in it for more than ten years, and the original adobe houses are even more dilapidated.

When they got home, it began to rain lightly, and the rain became heavier and heavier. The temperature seemed to drop several degrees at once, and it was back to the beginning of spring again.

Old man Song was standing under the eaves, frowning and smoking a dry cigarette, surrounded by green smoke, his dark and thin wrinkled face was full of worry.

"Master, what's the matter with you, what are you doing?" Dong Bao asked.

Old Man Song shook his head and sighed, "It's cold in spring now, and it's probably going to be cold for two more days... I'm afraid the harvest of wheat this year may not be as good as before."

Dong Bao also looked up at the gloomy sky, as if a black cast iron cauldron was buckled on it. Old man Song is an old hand at crops. He said so. I'm afraid this year's grain harvest is really not good.

At night, Dong Bao heard Li's tossing and turning, sighing again.Early the next morning, Dong Bao heard Li Shi's subdued cough in a daze, opened his eyes, Li Shi covered his mouth with the corner of the quilt, and his face flushed from coughing.

"Mom, why are you coughing so badly?" Dong Bao quickly got up.

Mrs. Li waved her hands, coughed so badly that she couldn't speak, and it took a long time to calm down, and said: "It's nothing, I just choked on my saliva." But before he finished speaking, he coughed a few more times.

"Did it rain and it was cold yesterday?" Dong Bao was a little worried, and patted Li's back to make him feel better. At this time, there is a lack of medical care and medicine. If you catch a cold, there is no cold medicine to drink.

"No." Mrs. Li shook her head, "I just choked, just drink some water and swallow it."

"Then I'll boil hot water for you to drink." Dong Bao put on his shoes and went out, the east was already glowing fish-belly, Dong Bao picked up a bucket of water, scooped a ladle and poured it into the cauldron.It has been rainy for the past few days, and the firewood has become damp. Dong Bao wiped the flint several times before starting the fire. After the wet corn stalks were filled into the stove, after a while, a lot of white smoke gushed out of the stove.

After the water was boiled, Dongbao scooped out a bowl and brought it to Mrs. Li, holding back a cough, her face turned red, she breathed slowly, drank a large bowl of hot water, and came out With hot sweat all over his head, his complexion gradually improved.

"It's okay." Li Shi smiled and touched Dong Bao's head, "Mother, just drink a bowl of hot water."

Only then did Dong Bao feel relieved. Li's health has always been very good, and he has almost never suffered from any illness. The farmers live frugally, and only go to the town's medical center to see a doctor and get some medicines unless the illness is severe. , I went to see a doctor if I didn't have a headache.

After breakfast, the rain that had been raining for almost a day gradually stopped, and the clouds in the sky seemed not as thick as yesterday.Dong Bao brought the washing pot water from the stove to mix the pig food with the pigs. At this meeting, Quan Zi ran in, ran up to Dong Bao with a few steps, and said to Dong Bao with a smile: "Sister Dong Bao, my brother wants to bring some I'm going to pick up mushrooms in the ditch, let me ask if you want to go?"

It just rained and the air was humid and warm. The mushrooms emerged from the soil overnight and opened the plump umbrella cover. Now is a good time to pick mushrooms.Dong Bao thought about the sliced ​​oyster mushroom soup he used to make in his previous life, stewed chicken with shiitake mushrooms, if he was lucky enough to pick up matsutake, cut into slices and roasted on the fire, it would be a rare delicacy.Just thinking about it, Dong Bao was so greedy that he almost drooled, nodded quickly, "I'll go, go!"

Even if there is no meat, just mushrooms, stewed soup and stir-fried vegetables are delicious, very delicious.

"Where are you going?" Song Zhaodi asked, opening the curtain of the west wing.

Dong Bao and Quan Zi were stunned for a while, they subconsciously didn't want her to know, and no one answered Song Zhaodi's words.

Song Zhaodi simply walked towards the two of them, smiled kindly, and asked Quanzi, "Quanzi, where are you and your brother going?"

Quanzi rubbed his feet back and forth on the ground, without looking at Song Zhaodi, he reluctantly said: "My brother wants to take me to the ditch to pick mushrooms."

"That's great!" Song Zhaodi exclaimed in surprise, "Let's go together! I just want to pick mushrooms too!"

Quanzi curled his lips, who told you "we"! "I went to ask my brother, and he only asked me to be called Sister Dongbao."

Song Zhaodi was a little upset, when she couldn't see what Quanzi was thinking, when she became this kid's sister-in-law, how would she deal with him!However, he was joking with a smile on his face, "What's the point of asking? Why, Dong Bao is your sister, so I'm not your sister? Why is Dong Bao only allowed to go and not me?"

"That's not true." Quan Zi said hastily.

"Then it's settled." Song Zhaodi seemed afraid that Quanzi would go back on his word, "Wait for me a while!" Said and ran to the West Room, picked up two baskets, handed one to Dongbao, and carried it on his body , "Let's go."

Dashi was standing at the door of Lin's house with his back on his back, and was a little surprised when he saw Quanzi bring Dongbao and Zhaodi two girls over, but he didn't show it on his face.

"Brother Dashi." Zhaodi walked to Dashi's side in three steps and two steps, and walked forward side by side with him, "Dongbao and I will go pick mushrooms with you."

"Okay." Dashi nodded with a smile, took a small step to the side, opened the distance from Zhaodi, turned around and smiled at Dongbao, and took another look at Quanzi.

Receiving the look of "knife" in the big brother's smile, Quanzi pouted, and pouted at Zhaodi unhappily. It was because Zhaodi had the cheek to follow, and it was none of his business.

Distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors. The Lin family and the Song family have been neighbors for many years, and they know each other well. Dashi has a bad impression of Zhaodi, and it is even more impossible for him to have any thoughts. Keeping a distance and knowing how to avoid suspicion, he just remembered that Zhao Di was two years younger than him, and was almost at the age of marriage.

Looking at the handsome Dashi, Zhaodi's whole face was flushed, the freckles on her face seemed to have turned red, and the tip of her nose was sweating, she was only up to Dashi's shoulders, he was really tall ah!Zhaodi was a little nervous and tugged on the floral cloth short gown she was wearing. The gown was remade from Aunt Song's old clothes, so it must not look good. I don't know if Brother Dashi would despise her, but Song Zhaodi thought about it, Although my clothes are old and faded and turned white after washing, they are better than Dong Bao's old aunt's leftover clothes that are patched and patched.

Dong Bao pulled Quan Zi and walked behind, Quan Zi carried a small bamboo basket, and the two of them heard Zhaodi's excited and slightly distorted voice, pestering Lin Shi to ask questions, laughing loudly, and chattering all the way .Quanzi grumbled and kicked the stone under his feet unhappily, "It's so noisy!" Quanzi muttered.

The 12-year-old Zhaodi has already begun to grow taller, and her trousers have been shortened, revealing a section of her ankle. Dong Bao walked behind her, only seeing the two thin braids tied with red strings at the back of her head. Her laughter faltered.

The girl's heart has sprouted!
(End of this chapter)