Chapter 106: The Background of Shitou

Under the big willow tree in Qingshan Village, it has been very lively these days. Of course, everyone’s topic of discussion is the cost of Zhang Degang’s roof repair this time. It is said that just for Gao Shunyi and Qiao Congshan’s hospitalization, it cost nearly a hundred yuan.

Li Xiulan stubbornly stayed in the hospital until an extra thirty yuan were extorted from them before agreeing to discharge. Moreover, during her hospitalization, Zhao Degang’s son and daughter-in-law had to substitute for her. Anyway, now that she’s discharged, it’s agreed that there will be no further involvement with the Zhang family.

In fact, the doctor at the commune health center said that Gao Shunyi’s injury looked frightening. If the bleeding hadn’t been stopped in time, it could have been fatal. But now that the bleeding has been stopped, he just needs to rest well for a few days and he’ll be fine.

Li Xiulan didn’t care about all that. She stubbornly waited until Zhang’s family hired someone to negotiate compensation before agreeing to discharge. She thought she had taken a big advantage, but she didn’t realize she had offended the village secretary.

Li Xiulan kept saying she only settled for thirty yuan out of respect for the secretary’s face, feeling quite pleased with herself. She thought about how her husband got injured just to help Zhang Degang repair the house, so from now on, the secretary would have to take better care of their family.

During this time, someone worked in their fields, and living in the health center wasn’t bad either. Although her husband was indeed in serious danger at the time, he was lucky to survive. Now they’ve also received thirty yuan in compensation. She felt so happy in her heart.

Luo Qiao prepared a delicious meal at home that day. She had arranged with Xiao Shitou to come over for lunch. Although the child was young, he was clever and well-behaved. Luo Qiao decided to help this child.

Speaking of Xiao Shitou, he was indeed a pitiful child. His father was an educated youth who had returned to the city two years ago, promising to settle down before bringing them to the city. However, due to family opposition after his return, the plan to move them to the city kept getting delayed.

A year ago, his irresponsible father came back briefly to help his mother with divorce proceedings and then disappeared. His uncle and aunt originally wanted his mother to move on and find someone else to marry, mainly to collect another dowry. However, his mother refused for his sake. Half a year ago, his mother had an accident in the city and passed away, leaving him alone.

But his mother’s compensation was divided among the three uncles. It was agreed that each family would take turns taking care of him each month, but no family welcomed him, and he barely had enough to eat.

Luo Qiao only recently learned about his background. She had been looking for him these past few days without success, until finally meeting him yesterday. She found out he had to go up the mountain every day to cut pigweed.

They had agreed he would come over for lunch today, so Luo Qiao steamed pumpkin mantou, stir-fried zucchini with eggs, braised fish, garlic oil wheatgrass, and made porridge.

When the meal was ready, Xiao Shitou arrived. Luo Qiao greeted him and said, “Have you washed in the river before coming?”

Shitou felt a bit embarrassed and said, “Uh, otherwise I’m covered in dust, it’s too shabby.”

Luo Qiao smiled and said, “Just sit there, I’ll go get the food.”

Shitou insisted, “Sister Luo Qiao, let me help you.”

Luo Qiao quite liked this child. He was honest, kind, clever, and especially thoughtful.

There was a large stone in the yard that previous educated youth used as a table for meals. Today’s dishes were placed there.

Shitou saw the abundant food and couldn’t help but swallow his saliva. He touched his head and said, “Sister Luo Qiao, this is too much.”

Luo Qiao smiled faintly and said, “You’ve helped me so much. I just want to thank you. Don’t think too much about it. Sit down and eat. You have to go up the mountain to cut pigweed in the afternoon. Finish eating earlier so you can rest for a while when you go back.”