Chapter 13

Yang Dani dragged her heavy feet, shuffling along behind Xu Di to the cornfield.

Yesterday’s experience was still fresh in her mind, Yang Dani really didn’t want to step into the cornfield again.

“Dani, hurry up, the team leader will be here to criticize us soon.”

“I know.”

Yang Dani was like a lazy donkey unwilling to work, Xu Di occasionally used a small whip to give her a couple of whacks from behind.

“Waa… Xu Di, when are we going home? I want to go home, I miss my mom.”

At night, Yang Dani finally broke down, she couldn’t do farm work, she really couldn’t.

“Alright, stop crying, we’ll go back tomorrow.”

Xu Di didn’t mention going to the countryside, it was as if she had only brought Yang Dani to experience the countryside, with no other purpose.

Xu Di was also tired, she hadn’t done farm work for decades, in both her lives combined, she was just holding on.

“Really? Hehe… Xu Di, you’re so nice.”

What could Xu Di say? She said nothing.

“You go to sleep first, I’ll go tell my grandma.”

Xu Di still had important things to do, she hadn’t found any hatching eggs yet.

“Grandma, my classmate is going back, I’m going back too. I’ll come see you again when we have another break.”

“Okay, that girl has a straightforward personality, she looks like she was raised in a pampered environment. Her parents brought a lot of grain, they haven’t had a chance to eat it in the past two days, they just cooperated with you.”

Grandma Xu felt bad, she had made the child suffer.

Parents all over the world are the same, they worry about their children, who knows how worried they are at home.

“It’s okay, this time she won’t want to go to the countryside, her parents will be relieved. Keep the grain, I’ll take some vegetables back, they’re scarce in the city.”

“Okay, there’s one last crop in the vegetable garden, I’ll pick some for you tomorrow morning.”

Grandma Xu looked at the granddaughter she had raised, she couldn’t get enough of her.

“Grandma, do you know who has hatching eggs? I want to buy some.”

“What do you want hatching eggs for?”

“I’m helping the aunties in the family housing compound, they said there’s some kind of folk remedy, she didn’t explain it in detail. Eggs are already scarce in the city, hatching eggs are impossible to find.”

Xu Di had no choice but to tell a little white lie to get hatching eggs.

“Let me think, Old Li’s wife at the end of the village should have some, she has a big rooster, his crowing is really loud.”

Grandma Xu knew everything about the village.

“Grandma, let’s go ask?”

“Let’s go, take the flashlight, it’s dark outside.”

Xu Di held the flashlight in one hand and her grandmother’s arm in the other, and they went to Old Li’s house at the end of the village.

“Is Auntie Li asleep?”

“She’s not asleep, come in.”

In the courtyard, a middle-aged woman was washing her feet.

“Auntie Xu, what’s wrong? You’re here so late at night?”

“Nothing serious, I was wondering if you have any eggs, I want to trade some?”

Grandma Xu whispered the story her granddaughter had made up, bartering was the norm now, you couldn’t talk about money openly.

“Okay, I actually have twenty eggs at home.”

Auntie Li got up and went inside, she brought out a small basket with twenty eggs in it.

“They’re all here, we have a big rooster, these are all hatching eggs.”

Xu Di didn’t know if it would work, she would try it first.

Twenty eggs, four cents each, Xu Di gave her eight dimes.

“We’ll go back now, you rest, you have to work tomorrow.”

Xu Di carried the eggs, and the two of them went back home with their flashlights.

Auntie Li was also happy, sometimes she couldn’t even sell eggs for four cents each at the purchasing station, and they were difficult to carry, they could easily break.

The next day, Grandma Xu picked a lot of vegetables, she prepared a separate portion for Yang Dani.

Xu Di took advantage of the chaos and smuggled the eggs into her space, she carried the vegetables and took the two of them to the bus stop.

“Second Sister, we’re going back now, I haven’t had enough time.”

Xu Jun had been helping in the fields these past few days, although he was tired, it was fun.

There was some corn in the field that hadn’t grown well, they took it to roast and eat. His cousin even found him a very sweet corn stalk, like sugarcane.

“Two days is enough, school starts the day after tomorrow, have you finished your homework?”

As soon as homework was mentioned, Xu Jun wilted.

They got off the bus, Yang Dani didn’t vomit this time, there weren’t as many people on the bus, everyone was busy with the autumn harvest.

“Xu Di, I’m going home.”

“Wait, these vegetables were picked by my grandma for you, can you carry them?”

Yang Dani tried, she couldn’t carry them.

“Okay, I’ll walk you home. Xu Jun, wait for me here, don’t run around, okay?”

“Okay, Sister, buy me a popsicle later.”

“Okay, wait here.”

Xu Di carried the basket of vegetables and walked Yang Dani home.

Their homes weren’t far apart, Yang Dani’s parents worked at the clothing factory not far from the Red Star Machinery Factory, and the children of both factories went to the same school.

Everyone was at work at this time, Yang Dani opened the door and went inside, Xu Di carried the vegetables in, she didn’t stay long and left, Xu Jun was waiting for her.

She passed by the supply and marketing cooperative and bought two popsicles, five cents each.

“Sister, you’re so nice.”

Xu Jun ate his popsicle, praising her endlessly.

When they got home, Xu Di took the vegetables out of the bag, eggplant, green beans, potatoes, scallions, chili peppers… there were quite a few.

In this weather, vegetables wouldn’t last long. Xu Di sliced the green beans and put them out to dry, to eat in the winter.

No one in the family was coming home for lunch, Xu Di made a simple meal, the siblings filled their stomachs, and then each went about their own business.

Xu Di found an old duck feather bag, it was made by her grandmother when Xu Jun was little, it was old and the feathers were coming out.

Xu Di put the twenty eggs in the duck feather bag, the temperature would rise, and the chicks would hatch easily.

She didn’t know if the temperature in the space would work, crops could grow, eggs should be able to hatch too, and it was a duck feather bag, which was similar to a hen’s nest.

Xu Di thought, if it didn’t work, she would figure out another way.

When the Xu family came back at night, Xu Di had already prepared dinner.

At the Yang family, as soon as Yang Dani’s mother came in, Yang Dani cried and hugged her.

“Mom, I miss you, my hands hurt, my face hurts, my shoulders hurt, my legs hurt, everything hurts.

I can’t stay in the countryside, the outhouse is scary, there are bugs in it.

The corn leaves scratch my face, it’s stuffy and hot, and the corn cobs are so hard to break, I saw Xu Di break them so easily.

We get up before dawn and don’t get home until nightfall, if we’re slow, we get scolded, I’m breaking corn cobs in my dreams, Waa…”

Yang Dani was incoherent, her mother felt sorry for her, but thinking that her daughter had realized the reality and wouldn’t clamor to go to the countryside anymore, she was grateful.

When Yang Dani’s father came back, he saw his daughter crying with red eyes, he felt sorry for her too.

“Look at you, your little body, you can’t build the countryside, you’re just going to cause trouble for the farmers.”

“Yeah, I know, Dad, I won’t go, I can’t help.”

Yang Dani was really scared, it was too scary, she really couldn’t do it.

Because Yang Dani had changed her mind, her mother was happy, she thought she should thank Xu Di properly. Besides, her grandmother had brought a lot of vegetables.

She couldn’t let Dani know, she was afraid she would have a rebellious reaction and think they were deliberately trying to make her back down.

Yang Dani’s mother thought for a long time, she was afraid that a gift that was too expensive would be a burden, so she bought some slightly better quality defective fabric from the factory. There were floral patterns, army green, khaki, and half a roll of cotton fabric, suitable for making underwear. All together, they could make quite a few clothes.

Xu Di was called out, she was quite puzzled, when she saw Yang Dani’s mother, she understood.

“Auntie, why are you here? Did Dani have something to tell me?”

“No, Auntie is here to thank you. If it weren’t for you, Dani would have been clamoring to go to the countryside after graduation.”

Yang Dani’s mother whispered, she couldn’t say this casually, it would affect the policy.

“Auntie, I didn’t do anything, I just took Dani to experience real rural life.”

“Auntie understands, this fabric is defective fabric from our factory. Don’t dislike it, keep it and make something with it.”

Xu Di knew she had to accept this, it was a gesture of kindness from Yang Dani’s parents.

This defective fabric wasn’t expensive but it was practical, Xu Di thanked Auntie Yang, hugged the fabric, and went home.

In the corner of the hallway, Xu Di put some away, and took the rest home.

Her mother knew what was going on, she let Xu Di keep the fabric.

She would give some to her grandmother later, she would keep it for now, she didn’t need it for the time being.