Chapter 76 ☆ Little Lamb (Part 2)

Cheng Yaoyao secretly sweated. Fortunately, she had given the ginseng to Liu Xiaoli that day; otherwise, this baby might not have made it. The baby seemed to sense Cheng Yaoyao’s doubts and burst into tears. He clenched his fists and struggled against her chest, turning red.

Cheng Yaoyao was at a loss. “What… what should I do?”

“Oh, the little one is hungry.” Liu Xiaoli took the baby and rubbed her chest before lifting her clothes. “It’s time for milk.”

Cheng Yaoyao almost fainted and quickly turned her head away.

There were thermos bottles, thermoses, and several bags of canned fruit on the bedside. Cheng Yaoyao placed the items she had brought on the bedside. “This is what I brought for you. They were all freshly picked and are very fresh.”

Cheng Yaoyao brought some tomatoes and green vegetables picked from the vegetable garden. She selected the most beautiful ones, which were fresh and appetizing at first sight.

Liu Xiaoli said happily, “Thank you so much! These tomatoes are so fresh; they are the best in the countryside. Where can you find such fresh vegetables in the city?”

Cheng Yaoyao smiled and said, “I know you don’t need canned malted milk or anything like that, so I brought some specialties from the countryside. Here’s also half a bag of millet and red beans; you can use them to make porridge for your confinement.”

“That’s just what I need!” Liu Xiaoli smiled genuinely. “You don’t know; now the hospital gives each pregnant woman two taels of soybeans, and we can’t even distribute that. It’s better to be in the countryside, where food and vegetables are easy to get.”

Cheng Yaoyao thought, you don’t know how hard it is for the old farmers to get a piece of soap or cloth. This is the besieged city^[1]refers to the city that is surrounded and under attack. The farmers envy the city dwellers for eating commercial grain, and the city dwellers envy the farmers for having grain and land.

After a while, Cheng Yaoyao said goodbye. Liu Xiaoli called her back and said, “Yaoyao, our family is very grateful to you. My father-in-law heard that you have a sister who is looking for a job, and he might be able to help.”

Cheng Yaoyao asked eagerly, “Where?”

“A textile factory,” Liu Xiaoli said with a smile. “It’s just for a few months. The factory is looking for workers.”

Cheng Yaoyao asked, “Do you need to prepare anything?”

Liu Xiaoli smiled and said, “No need! The director of the textile factory is an old acquaintance of my father-in-law. Just wait for my letter.”

The textile factory was a very attractive company, and Liu Xiaoli must have helped out to repay her favor. Cheng Yaoyao didn’t argue, knowing there would be plenty of opportunities to repay her.

When Cheng Yaoyao arrived at the hospital entrance, Xie Zhao was already waiting there. Since Xie Zhao couldn’t drive yet, they took a bullock cart back to the village.

As soon as they got home, Grandma Xie asked, “How is your wound healing?”

Xie Zhao said, “The doctor said it’s healing very well.”

Grandma Xie smiled and said, “That’s good! Go get some grapefruit juice and wipe your body to get rid of the bad luck!”

Summer time was long and leisurely. The two of them were reviewing textbooks for the third year of high school. Some exercises were difficult; even Zhang Xiaofeng couldn’t do them, but Xie Zhao could always solve them.

That day, under Cheng Yaoyao’s insistence, Xie Zhao finally relented: “Do you want to see the lamb?”

Cheng Yaoyao was excited at the mention. As long as she didn’t have to study at home, she would do anything. Xie Zhao picked a basket of vegetables, took an empty can, and led Cheng Yaoyao to the cowshed.

The cowshed in the village not only raises cattle but also sheep. A few old men live there, working with the cattle and sheep, and doing firewood collection and repair work, so they can be self-sufficient.

The political atmosphere in the village is not strong. The old people admire scholars, and some soft-hearted women send food from time to time. Although these intellectuals lead a hard life, compared with the “stinking ninth category” in other places, they live relatively well.

There was only one skinny middle-aged man in the cowshed named Li Xiangming. Xie Zhao knew him well and immediately started asking him questions without introducing Cheng Yaoyao.

Cheng Yaoyao understood that these so-called “stinky old nines” were Xie Zhao’s secret weapon.

Her attention was focused on the lamb. The newborn lamb was very cute, with white fur and black eyes. Cheng Yaoyao took out some fresh green vegetables from the basket to feed it.

Xie Zhao said, “It’s still young and only drinks goat’s milk…”

Before he finished speaking, the little lamb raised its head and dragged the vegetables from Cheng Yaoyao’s hand, chewed a few bites, and swallowed them. It then came to Cheng Yaoyao’s legs and rubbed against her.

The lamb bleated, and Cheng Yaoyao deliberately held the greens high to prevent it from eating. The lamb stamped its feet, walked around Cheng Yaoyao anxiously, and bleated. Seeing this, the ewe came over and gently licked the lamb’s snow-white fur.

Cheng Yaoyao laughed and then opened the basket she had brought. Inside were juicy cucumbers and tomatoes, as well as a few handfuls of fresh green vegetables. The vegetables and fruits from the Xie family were all watered with spiritual spring water, making them look exceptionally good.

Li Xiangming, who was pale and thin, looked over immediately. Cheng Yaoyao broke open a tomato, and the pink, juicy flesh oozed juice with a refreshing fragrance. The ewe raised her head suddenly, and Cheng Yaoyao put half a tomato to the ewe’s mouth. The ewe held it in her mouth and lowered her head. The lamb quickly raised its head and opened its mouth wide to hold it.

But the tomato was too big and fell to the ground. The lamb bleated and lowered its head to pick up the tomato, eating it with its fur around its mouth dyed pink.

Cheng Yaoyao patted the ewe’s head and said, “This half is for you to eat.”

The ewe took the tomato and ate it in a few bites, rubbing her head against Cheng Yaoyao’s knees. Cheng Yaoyao smiled and took some vegetables to feed the ewe slowly.

The lamb was very picky, eating only the freshest and tenderest vegetable hearts. The mother sheep loved her child, so after eating all the leaves, she would feed the lamb the vegetable hearts. The lamb nudged its mother and then came to Cheng Yaoyao’s hand to ask for more food. It was very busy.

Li Xiangming swallowed hard. He lived in this cowshed and barely had enough food and clothing. Seeing Cheng Yaoyao feeding the sheep with such good fruits and vegetables, he sighed. And this Xie Zhao, who was like a half-master to him, hadn’t even thought of giving him a favor!

Li Xiangming, irritated, suddenly became serious while teaching Xie Zhao: “I’ve explained this formula to you twice. Why did you get it wrong again? Take these questions back and give them to me when you’re done!”

Xie Zhao calmly packed up the crumpled questions and handed two pencil stubs and half a notebook to Li Xiangming. “Today is July 14th, and tomorrow is the Ghost Festival ^[2]also known as Zhongyuan Festival, a traditional festival to honor deceased ancestors.. I won’t come.”

Li Xiangming stretched and fell on the broken haystack. “Go ahead, I have no food in my stomach and need to sleep.”

Cheng Yaoyao hugged the little lamb and was reluctant to let go. “Are you leaving now? I want to hold Xiaome^[3]refers to little lamb. longer.”

Xie Zhao looked at the little lamb, which was coquettishly lying in Cheng Yaoyao’s arms and sticking its tongue out at him. Xie Zhao felt a hint of provocation.

Xie Zhao said, “It’s getting dark. Tomorrow is the Zhongyuan Festival, and grandma won’t let us stay outside for too long. I’ll bring you here in a few days.”

Cheng Yaoyao groaned, “Can’t we take Xiaome back with us?”

Li Xiangming smiled and said, “I actually want you to take it back. This little thing is so noisy; it runs over us in the middle of the night and steps on us. The other day, it even chewed Lao Yang’s hair as if it were grass.”

Xie Zhao said to Li Xiangming, “Squeeze some goat milk.”

Li Xiangming replied with a smile, “Buying goat milk? This goat milk smells fishy. Last time, the wife of the branch secretary bought a can, and her grandson wouldn’t drink it and poured it out.”

Cheng Yaoyao then remembered an important matter: “Yes, squeeze more. I have a way to make it taste good.”

The ewe had given birth to only one lamb. While the ewe had plenty of milk, it had a fishy taste, and no one liked to drink it. A large can of milk cost only 10 cents. Li Xiangming washed his hands and squeezed a can of milk.

When the lamb saw its food being taken away, it became upset with Cheng Yaoyao. It bleated and chased after the can of goat milk, even hitting Xie Zhao’s leg with its head. Xie Zhao covered the can and put it in the basket, protecting Cheng Yaoyao: “Let’s go.”

Cheng Yaoyao said angrily, “I will never bring you vegetables again!”

Li Xiangming laughed and hugged the little lamb, “The little thing has a bad temper. You should leave quickly.”

Cheng Yaoyao and Xie Zhao walked side by side. Li Xiangming stroked the lamb’s wool and sighed, “Okay, you have someone to feed you vegetables and milk, but I’m still hungry.”

The lamb fluttered and jumped to the ground, digging for tomatoes. Li Xiangming then noticed that the half basket of tomatoes and cucumbers Cheng Yaoyao had brought was piled on the ground, with a paper bag on top. He opened the bag and saw a few pieces of bread with pickles inside, smelling like lard.

Li Xiangming quickly hid the bread and took the tomatoes and cucumbers to the yard to wash. Just then, several other men returned and were surprised to see the pile of fruits and vegetables. “Whose kind sister-in-law sent us something again?”

Li Xiangming laughed and generously invited them, “Let’s have a good holiday today!”

“Okay, okay,” the others said with a smile. “I still have half a bottle of wine hidden. Let’s take it out!”

Cheng Yaoyao and Xie Zhao left the cowshed and walked towards the village. It was already dark outside, and the woods on both sides were pitch black, as if countless pairs of eyes were watching them.

Cheng Yaoyao remembered Grandma Xie’s advice: On July 15th, the gates of hell open, so don’t stay outside too late.

Cheng Yaoyao swallowed nervously. Not afraid! A gust of wind whistled past, and the forest made a rustling sound. Cheng Yaoyao immediately stuck close to Xie Zhao.

Xie Zhao held her hand in return.

Cheng Yaoyao regained some of her courage and asked, “Why is it so dark?”

Xie Zhao held her hand calmly and replied, “It’s the Ghost Festival.”

“I’m not afraid!” Cheng Yaoyao said angrily. Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of a white figure floating out of the woods and let out a scream.