Chapter 17

When Zhou Pingguo woke up the next day, she originally wanted to go home immediately. But then she thought, today is Sunday, and the children don’t need to go to school, so why should she go home so early?

The car was parked at the guesthouse without worrying about being stolen. Zhou Pingguo and Zhou Sen checked out, taking their valuables with them and leaving the rest at the front desk of the guesthouse. Originally, the lady at the guesthouse was not very willing to keep their things for them, but Zhou Pingguo gave her an apple that she had bought for the children yesterday, and she agreed.

Speaking of buying apples, it was also a coincidence. Everyone knows that Zhou apples are called Zhou apples, but they are southern children and have no chance to see real apples.

After they finished their business at the civil affairs department of the county government, someone happened to be at the door with a truckload of apples shipped from the north, so Zhou Pingguo took the initiative and bought four.

It didn’t taste good. Zhou Jing ate it obediently. Zhou Lei finished the first bite and refused to eat the rest. Zhou Sen ate it anyway. There were two left, so Zhou Pingguo said he would take them home and cook them with some rock sugar. They would taste like canned apples and be barely edible.

It’s just right to give it out as a favor. Otherwise, no one would like to eat those things, so just give them away.

The county town was much better than theirs, with six-story houses already built, which were welfare houses allocated to workers by the best local machinery factory. There was also a department store and a small park, where one could even go boating.

But everything costs money. Although the children are interested in everything, they also know that the current family situation does not allow them to be too lavish, so they just take a look.

He bought a candied haws for each of the two children, “Do you want one?” Zhou Pingguo asked Zhou Sen.

“No.” Zhou Sen pursed his lips tightly. If he hadn’t stopped this spendthrift woman, she would have spent the 200 yuan that she had saved for half a year.

“Brother, have one. Sister-in-law will have one too.” Zhou Jing couldn’t eat too much, so he held it up and handed it to Zhou Pingguo. Zhou Pingguo didn’t show any emotion, so she took a bite and gave it to Zhou Sen, “Your sister’s gift, how about one?”

Zhou Sen took one reluctantly and walked away, shaking his head as he ate. It was made of gold and cost three cents per piece.

“Your brother doesn’t like it, Jingjing, eat it slowly.” Zhou Pingguo returned the candied haws to Zhou Jing. When they finished eating, they walked to the Xinhua Bookstore, picked out a few books, and went back to pull the cart.

After Zhou Pingguo returned home with her brother and sister, she called back Goudan from the next door. Goudan, the same age as Zhou Jing and Zhou Lei, was not yet in the first grade. He had been a big eater since he was young and was very strong. Among the children of the same age in their village, he was a bully.

“Look what this is?” Zhou Pingguo took out a candy.

“Big White Rabbit!” Goudan sucked his fingers and his saliva was about to flow out.

“If you hear anyone say bad things about our Leilei and Jingjing, come and tell me. If I can catch them in the act, I’ll give you a bag of candy. Remember, you have to catch them in the act. If I go over there and they don’t say anything, it won’t count.”

“How many are there in one bag?” Gou Daner thought about it with his not-so-smart head, and he realized that this task was not that easy. So even though he was greedy, he still had to ask for clarification.

“There are twelve in a bag, and yours will be included.” Zhou Pingguo said.

“So many!” Gou’er said exaggeratedly.

“So you have to work hard. Come and tell me earlier, and I’ll give you the candy sooner.” Zhou Pingguo said.

“Okay, I’ll remember that.” Gou’er stared at the candy in Zhou Pingguo’s hand, “Can you give me this first?”

“Okay, I’ll give it to you! It’s considered a deposit. After the job is done, I’ll give you the next eleven.” Zhou Pingguo said.

Gou Daner took the candy from Zhou Pingguo, opened the candy bag with his black little hands as fast as lightning, and stuffed it into his mouth. He was so fast that Zhou Pingguo didn’t even notice that his cheeks were already bulging.

“Hurry up, if you are too slow, Leilei and Jingjing will eat all the candies.”

“I know.” Gou’er answered vaguely with candy in his mouth.

Slowly, the busy farming season began.

Spring rain is as precious as oil, and this is the time when it comes. Although Zhou Pingguo does not farm, he still has to take care of the small piece of land at home.

For someone who is used to city life, returning to nature and bending down to plant crops is quite interesting. But it is limited to a small area of ​​land. If it is too large, it will only be hard work, and there will be no fun.

One day, Zhou Pingguo was working on her sewing machine and listening to the radio when she heard a knock on the door. Zhou Pingguo went to open the door and a dark little head popped out. It was Goudaner.

“Sister Apple, come here. Zhou Songguo’s mother is in Xikou setting up a plot against your family.” Goudan’s White Rabbit milk candy was not eaten in vain, as it actually provided information.

“I’ll go there now.” Zhou Pingguo quickly put on her shoes, picked up the fire poker, and followed Goudan to the creek mouth.

Except for those families like Zhou Pingguo who have dug a well and can pump water themselves, the rest of the villagers generally get water from the Xiaoma Creek which runs through the entire village.

There are several large stones at the mouth of the stream, which are particularly suitable for washing clothes. Therefore, the women in the village like to gather there to wash clothes.

When there are many women, they like to talk about trivial matters. It is also the gossip center of the whole village.

When Zhou Pingguo arrived, Zhou Songguo’s mother Cai Lihua was talking excitedly, saying that Zhou Lei and Zhou Jing were born with bad luck, and that Zhou Pingguo looked like she would bring bad luck to her husband, as if she could tell fortunes.

At first, there were a few people around Cai Lihua who responded to her, but later it became quieter and quieter. Cai Lihua felt something was wrong and turned around, only to be greeted by a sudden beating.

“I told you to stop talking nonsense! I told you to stop talking nonsense! You conscienceless gossip, according to what you said, all the people from our village who went to work in the mine and got into trouble were evil and deserved to die. Are their relatives doomed to die?!”

Zhou Pingguo knows how to expand conflicts. The mining industry, especially the mining industry at this time, is definitely a high-risk industry. Over the years, no less than 20 people from their village have died in the mines.

Zhou Sen’s family is just one of them. What’s even worse for them is that they encounter accidents one after another.

Cai Lihua was beaten by Zhou Pingguo and had nowhere to escape. She was in so much pain that she could only jump into the water.

Zhou Pingguo didn’t want to dirty her clothes, so she didn’t chase after him. It was satisfying to beat a drowning dog, but the water was still freezing cold, so she decided not to joke with her own body.