Lin Yuexi chose to return, but sent a gossip expert to gather firsthand information.
For this, she contributed a pocket of sunflower seeds and a pocket of peanuts.
Two hours passed. Lin Yuexi had already slept, and the villagers at the field, after eating lunch and resting, returned to their work. The little know-it-all came back with dried sour dates in her mouth and a basket in her hand.
"Sister Lin, my mom made you chicken soup noodles, they're so fragrant, and there are also peaches that my younger brother picked this morning. I specifically picked the sweet ones for you."
As she spoke, she took the items from the basket and placed them on the table in the main hall. A large bowl of glistening chicken soup noodles, with less noodles and more meat, and two large chicken legs were the most eye-catching. The peaches were not large, all with small red tips.
Why did this child's mother kill the chicken?
However, after learning that Xiao Jingjing was the granddaughter of the Captain, she understood why her brother's home was built next to this child's.
The Captain has four sons and one daughter. The second son was adopted from his older male cousin. He enlisted in the army in his early years, and later transferred to civilian work due to injury. He is now the Director of Security at the county's steel mill.
Xiao Jingjing's father is this second son, and he is also the most successful among the Captain's surviving children.
Old Master Leng and the Captain's father were comrades-in-arms from the same trench. Although one's official position grew larger and the other injured his leg and returned to his hometown, their connection never broke. They often sent each other things, and her home frequently received mountain goods sent by the Captain's family.
Old Master Leng's intention in arranging her here was also very clear: not only would the Captain's family take better care of her, but this was also Hero Village, with a good atmosphere.
Many messy things from the outside had not yet affected the village, and there was a high possibility they would never affect it.
And the Captain's family indeed lived up to Old Master Leng's wishes. The most capable person in their family was Xiao Jingjing's father, so they placed her nearby.
Although the two families had never met, their friendship spanned decades. Lin Yuexi did not refuse the items brought by Xiao Jingjing, otherwise, they might think she looked down on their family.
The status gap between the two families was too large, and it was sometimes necessary to be careful about how to handle the balance.
However, "Xiao Jingjing, Sister has accepted the chicken soup noodles and peaches. Please thank your mother for me when you get home. It's just that my body cannot eat these right now. Will Sister let Brother eat them on her behalf?"
"Huh? You can't even eat the chicken legs?" Xiao Jingjing felt a little sad for Sister Lin. Chicken legs were so delicious, why couldn't Sister Lin eat them?
Lin Yuexi slowly walked over and sat down. "Sister has a bad stomach and cannot eat anything hard for now."
That's why she always had millet porridge for her three meals, and occasionally steamed egg custard.
Once, her mother saw she had good spirits and tried to stew a bowl of minced meat egg custard. She thought it should be fine, but good heavens, she vomited so much that her stomach almost came out with it.
She is very thin, and one reason is that her stomach is too fragile.
"Okay, then I'll go get the porridge for Sister Lin to eat."
Xiao Jingjing expressed understanding. Her mother had told her that Sister Lin's health was very poor, and she had to listen to Sister Lin herself about what she could eat, not just because she thought it was good.
Since Lin Yuexi didn't stop her from entering the kitchen to wash dishes that morning, Xiao Qingqing understood that she had obtained permission to enter the kitchen.
Of course, she still couldn't casually touch the food, but she no longer had to avoid the kitchen when doing things at Sister Lin's house.
She put the chicken soup noodles and peaches back into the basket, went to the kitchen to exchange them for millet porridge, and brought it in.
"Sister Lin, eat slowly. While you eat, I'll tell you about Aunt Sun's family."
"Okay."
Great, there's something to eat with the meal.
Not only that, but there was also a decent performance. The young girl was sometimes Aunt Sun, sometimes Li Sanzhu, and sometimes Li Er Ban.
Li Sanzhu and Aunt Sun had three sons and one daughter: Da Ban, Er Ban, San Ban, and the youngest daughter, Si Ni.
Da Ban married someone from the same village and has two sons. San Ban married an Educated Youth and has one son and one daughter. The youngest daughter, Si Ni, married into the commune two years ago and gave birth to a healthy baby girl last year.
Only Er Ban, because his temperament was relatively dull and his appearance was ordinary, only got married at the end of last year through an introduction to a wife from the neighboring team.
At this time, most people were married without choice, relying entirely on the matchmaker's words, and Er Ban was no exception.
Who knew this wife was a leech on her maternal family? Er Ban's family paid eighty-eight yuan in betrothal gifts, but she only wore a ragged outfit and brought nothing when she got married. After being honest for only two days, she started taking things to her maternal family, a few eggs today, a few pounds of rice tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, she took a piece of cloth to make clothes for her nephew.
Every household is struggling now. Few people in the city can even eat their fill. Who can tolerate such a wife?!
But it wasn't easy for Er Ban to get a wife, and Er Ban himself cherished her, so they couldn't just break up.
Therefore, the whole family guarded their belongings tightly, especially grain, which was locked up securely, to prevent Er Ban's wife from taking anything back to her maternal family.
Two months ago, Er Ban's wife said she was pregnant. Er Ban was already thirty-two years old, and he could finally be a father. Not only was Er Ban happy, but his whole family was happy for him. So what if his wife was a bit demanding? She was just leeching on her maternal family; as long as they watched her, maybe after giving birth, she would learn to care for her own child.
But who knew that after Er Ban's wife became pregnant, she became even more demanding? She wanted to eat this today and that tomorrow. If she didn't get it, she would fuss, cry out in pain about her stomach, or lie in bed all day without coming out to eat, saying she would starve the baby in her womb.
But if you gave her what she wanted, she would hoard it without eating or using it herself, and then send it to her maternal family.
Aunt Sun became ruthless. "Fine, I'll give you whatever you want, but you have to eat it in front of me. If you don't eat it, I'll have my two daughters-in-law force-feed you."
Unable to get what she wanted at home, Er Ban's wife started extorting outside.
Yes, extorting!
"My mom is in the field, very far from here. She fell down and said my mom knocked her over, and my mom even compensated her with six eggs."
Xiao Jingjing was very wronged. Six eggs! That was enough for her and her younger brother to eat boiled eggs in water for three days.
Lin Yuexi put a Milk Candy Block into her mouth as comfort.
Yesterday, Er Ban's wife again complained of stomach pain in the field. Aunt Sun could not stand it anymore and did not let her go to work today. Who knew Er Ban's wife had the audacity to directly smash the lock on the family's grain cabinet? A person who was supposedly having stomach pain in the field tied to a wheat stalk could still walk with a strong gait carrying over a hundred pounds of grain.
Er Ban's wife's maternal home was closer through the Back Mountain. There were several young girls gathering pig feed on the Back Mountain. Seeing her carrying a large bag of things and heading to her maternal home again, they quickly ran to inform Aunt Sun and the others.
Er Ban's workplace was closest to the Back Mountain, so he was the first to catch up.
"Uncle Er Ban said..."
Xiao Jingjing struck a pose, bent over slightly, rubbed her hands, and put on a simple, honest smile.
"After I caught up to her, I wanted to take the grain bag down first and put it away. I was worried about the baby in her belly. She cried in pain every day, and I didn't know if it was real pain, but carrying over a hundred pounds would definitely not be good for a pregnant woman."
"I didn't expect that as soon as I turned my head and squatted down, she hit me with a stone. She really wanted me dead! Uncle Da You, look, right in the middle of my forehead. She just didn't have much strength; if she had more, I would be dead."
Then Xiao Jingjing transformed into Aunt Sun, pulled a long bench over to sit down, crossed her legs in a typical Northeast style, and patted her thigh with her right hand, her expression full of anger.
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