Chapter 9

Xu Di’s grandfather was the accountant of the production team. When he was young, he served as a book boy and a servant for the young master of a landlord family. He was considered a cultured person, literate and able to read and write.

Later, the landlord family fled, and Xu Di’s grandfather returned to the village, married a wife, and had children.

“Grandpa, Grandma, are you home? Your granddaughter is here!”

Xu Jun rushed into the courtyard of his grandfather’s house, shouting that his granddaughter had arrived.

Everyone in the Xu family knew that Xu Di was the most important granddaughter to her grandparents.

“Xu Jun, where’s your sister?”

“Grandma, my sister is behind me.”

Xu Jun was eager to go play with his friends, he often came to his grandfather’s house with his sister, he knew all the children in the village.

“Xu Di, aren’t you going to school today?”

“Grandma, I have an activity in the afternoon, I didn’t go. I did a good deed and saved a child who fell into the water a few days ago, they sent a lot of delicious things, I brought some for you and Grandpa to try.”

Xu Di shook the net bag in her hand, malted milk, canned fish, canned meat clinked together, making a loud noise.

“Are you alright? With your dog-paddling skills, you dared to go into the water to save someone?”

“Grandma, I’m fine, I’m good.”

“What’s good about it? If you were fine, they wouldn’t send such expensive things, are you and your grandma stupid?”

The old lady was heartbroken, this granddaughter she had raised, she was always loved and cherished by everyone, she knew how to care for others.

“Hehe… My grandma is not stupid, she’s the smartest old lady in the whole production team.”

Xu Di hugged her grandmother, who was much shorter than her, their affection was natural. This sixty-year-old woman gave her a feeling of her mother.

Xu Di’s mother in her previous life wasn’t unloving, she was just old-fashioned, always telling her to just endure it.

But in her memory, Xu Di’s grandmother was a formidable woman, very protective of her family.

“You’re just good with your mouth, I’ll ask Xu Jun later, see how long you can hide it.

Come on, go inside, Grandma will make you chicken soup tonight.”

The old lady was happy to see her granddaughter, she was already shouting about making chicken soup.

“Grandma, don’t make chicken soup, save it for laying eggs, we only have two chickens.”

In the 1970s, everything was done according to a plan.

Apart from pigs, all poultry were raised according to a set number. If there were more, it would be considered taking the capitalist road, and you would be punished.

“What are you thinking about? The chickens at home are only starting to lay eggs this year. It’s your second grandma’s house, they have a hen that hasn’t laid eggs for years, she said she wants to trade it away.”

Grandma Xu gave Xu Di a knowing look, private trading wasn’t allowed at this time. But you could barter, commonly known as trading away.

“Grandma, I’ll contribute a yuan.”

“No need, Grandma has money. Your dad gives me a pension every month, I’ve been saving it.”

Grandma Xu knew that her granddaughter had some money, she had been climbing mountains and swimming rivers, she had been busy.

“My sister-in-law gave me a yuan to buy candy, I haven’t spent it yet.”

“Keep it for yourself, you’ll need money next year when you graduate from high school. Don’t follow your sister’s example, get carried away and go to the countryside, you understand?”

Grandma Xu lowered her voice and warned Xu Di again.

“I’m not going, I’ve done farm work before. Besides, I can’t bear to leave you and Grandpa so far away.”

Xu Di’s older sister, Xu Mei, was two years older than her. After graduating from high school, she was caught up in the craze of going to the mountains and countryside, she was full of enthusiasm to go build the frontier.

At the time, her mother had even arranged a job for her, a temporary job at the canteen, but she secretly signed up to go to the countryside, her mother was furious but couldn’t do anything about it.

“Go inside and rest, Grandma will go to your second grandma’s house to trade for a chicken. Old hens don’t cook well, they need to be stewed for a longer time.”

Grandma Xu was in good health and walked briskly, she was gone in a flash.

Xu Di looked around her grandfather’s courtyard, she had memories of it, but it was different from reality.

The main house was built a few years ago, with red bricks. Her father had even contributed one hundred yuan at the time. There weren’t many brick houses like this in the village.

The annex on the west side was made of mud bricks, and the roof was thatched with straw.

The main house had four rooms, her grandparents lived in the easternmost room, her second uncle and aunt lived in the westernmost room, one room was the living room and kitchen, and the other was reserved for Xu Di’s family.

Later, her second uncle’s children grew up, and Xu Di’s parents didn’t come back often, so that room was given to the children.

After looking at the house, Xu Di started to wander around the family’s private plot.

Every family had a private plot, usually in front or behind their houses.

At this time of year, many vegetables were old, the private plot was mostly planted with autumn vegetables like cabbage and radishes.

Xu Di found some tomatoes in the backyard, they must have been her grandmother’s second crop.

Xu Di picked one, wiped it with her hand, took a bite, it was juicy and delicious.

She quickly picked a few ripe ones, smuggled them into her space, and kept the seeds.

In the chives patch, the chives seeds were also black, she took a lot of them. After searching around, Xu Di got a lot of vegetable seeds.

“Xu Di, try this, your second grandma’s autumn fruit is ripe, it’s very sweet.”

Hearing her grandmother’s voice, Xu Di turned back to the front yard.

“These fruits are quite big!”

“Of course, your second grandma has been carefully tending them for a year, she treasures them. She heard you were coming, so she picked a few for you to try, no one else has any, she’s going to sell them to the purchasing station in a few days.”

Xu Di took a bite, it was quite sweet.

“Grandma, you have some too. When I leave tomorrow, I’ll trade some with your second grandma, take some back for Mom and Dad to try.”

Fruit was a rare commodity at this time, especially in the north, it was scarce.

“Okay, I’ll tell your second grandma tonight.”

Grandma Xu thought that it was also difficult to buy things in the city, sometimes it was better in the countryside, they had private plots, and they ate fresh food.

After Xu Di finished the fruit, she smuggled the seeds into her space, she was casting a wide net now.

In the evening, Xu Di’s grandfather and second uncle and aunt came back from work. Her two cousins who were studying in town also came back, and the courtyard suddenly became crowded.

Xu Di’s grandfather was a man of few words, this was probably a Xu family gene.

The sixty-year-old man had a straight back, he wasn’t hunched over, except for the wrinkles on his face, he looked quite energetic.

“I heard Xu Jun say that you went into the water to save someone, and almost lost your life?”

“What? What lost your life?”

Grandma Xu was stunned when she heard this.

“Grandma, my second sister saved someone, and she was also sent to the hospital for emergency treatment. The doctor said it was scary, she stopped breathing.”

Xu Jun, the big mouth, completely forgot what his second sister had told him, he blabbed everything.

“Grandma, I’m fine, really, look, I’m fine now.”

Xu Di quickly reassured her grandmother, not forgetting to glare at Xu Jun, the chatterbox.

Xu Jun realized what his second sister had told him, he had forgotten.

Xu Jun chuckled, wondering if his second sister would beat him up when he went back.

Grandma Xu was scared, what if she hadn’t been saved?

In the end, at dinner, Xu Di ate a bowl of chicken, her grandmother said she needed to replenish her.

Xu Di didn’t refuse, she ate it happily.

Her second uncle and aunt also felt sorry for Xu Di, she was only half a year old when they got married and she was brought to their house.

Their son, Xu Yong, was one year younger than Xu Di, the two children grew up together and had a good relationship.

Xu Di ate a delicious bowl of authentic farm-raised chicken, and she felt all her worries disappear.