Luo Xuan went to school in Hongxing Township very early.
I thought I had left early enough, but unexpectedly, I saw two classmates, a boy and a girl, who got up earlier than me.
In the morning mist.
Luo Xuan saw two figures from afar. One of them was standing on the roadside.
But another person was busy in a pond next to the road. It felt like he was washing his feet or face.
Now, because I have been drinking space spring water for a long time, my senses are extremely sharp.
Luo Xuan was far away and heard the female classmate standing on the roadside whisper, "Someone is coming, hide quickly."
Hidden?
When Luo Xuan heard this sentence, he couldn't help but feel curious: Hide and seek in the pond?
In later generations, Luo Xuan had heard that some people hid in ponds and ponds in order to avoid family planning, and as a result, one person died and two people died.
But there is no such thing now, and it is too late to encourage childbirth.
So what are these two people doing?
When Luo Xuan reached the pond, he pretended to wash his hands and was about to walk down the stone steps of the pond.
At this moment,
Standing on the roadside, the female classmate who was responsible for the lookout said: "Student, the water in the morning is very cold. You have warmed up after walking, so you can't wash your face with cold water all at once. Otherwise, you will get rheumatism in the future.
...Hey, your name is Luo Xuan, right?"
Before the female classmate finished speaking, she immediately recognized Luo Xuan.
"Well, my name is Luo Xuan."
Luo Xuan nodded, and then asked her, "Do you know me?"
The female classmate smiled slightly and said, "Yeah, maybe you don't know me, but I know you. My name is Qiu Guiying, and I am from the Hongguang Production Team who lives behind your Zhengxing Production Team.
It’s just that I’m from the May 1st class, so you may not have noticed me usually, so you don’t know me.”
Luo Xuan asked, "If you don't hurry up, what are you doing here?"
Qiu Guiying smiled softly, "My brother and I are getting hot after walking, and we are planning to wash our feet here to cool down before leaving."
Hearing this, Luo Xuan snorted coldly in his heart: Just now you were trying to persuade me not to wash my feet in cold water when my whole body was hot.
Now you guys are...
When something goes wrong, there must be a monster.
Luo Xuan walked along the stone steps and prepared to walk into the pond.
"Classmate Luo Xuan, don't get cold water in the morning!"
When Qiu Guiying saw this, she couldn't help shouting anxiously, "I also heard that there is a 'water monkey' in this pond! It, it will pull children into the water."
pull?
Is it the 'Water Monkey' who pulled the trigger, or you?
Seeing the other party's anxious and worried expression, Luo Xuan's doubts deepened.
"Plop——"
At this moment, I only heard the sound of water in the pond!
Luo Xuan turned around and saw ripples on the water and a big splash.
In the middle of the splash, a large grass carp with its belly turned over was extremely eye-catching.
Luo Xuan stared at the child who was also standing on the stone steps, looking at him nervously, and asked him, "Are you so good at catching fish?"
In summer ponds, the water will be deprived of oxygen due to the hot weather.
Therefore, there will be many fish floating on the surface of the water in groups to breathe.
Morning,
These fish will also surface to look for food. At this time, if you have a homemade bamboo javelin and shoot it into the water, you may be able to catch big fish.
But Luo Xuan looked left and right, but he didn't see Qiu Guiying's younger brother, Qiu Xiaogang, who looked like he had a javelin in his hand.
"You can catch fish with your bare hands?"
Seeing that Qiu Xiaogang did not dare to answer him, Luo Xuan asked him again, "The frog market is not open today. Even if you catch the fish, where can you sell it?"
Qiu Xiaogang blushed, lowered his head and said cowardly, "I used a slingshot to catch fish, and then...then..."
"Xiao Gang!"
Qiu Guiying, who was standing on the edge of the pond, stamped her feet anxiously, "We promised not to tell people's names. If we tell them, we will do it!"
"Even if we are arrested and beaten by the cadres of this production team, we can't say anything! Maoyun, do you know?"
When Qiu Xiaogang heard this, he trembled with fear, "Sister, I...I know..."
Qiu Guiying's scolding voice just now caught Luo Xuan's attention.
Because Qiu Guiying looks very thin, she is actually not short and very good-looking.
But Qiu Guiying's dry face, due to long-term malnutrition, made her nose appear unusually strong and her eyes particularly large.
He looked up at Luo Xuan, who was standing on the stone slope beside the pond, and looked into her pure eyes.
Suddenly Luo Xuan felt his heart soften.
Qiu Guiying and Xiaocao are so similar!
There is a soft place in everyone's heart.
There were no wars, no hunger, no intrigues, and no harsh conditions.
There are flowers blooming there.
The water in the creek is clear, and various colorful fish swim leisurely in it.
The grassy hillside is covered with small flowers of various colors.
The breeze is coming slowly, and the gentle breeze is blowing.
Countless butterflies and bees were flying among them, and the heaven and earth were filled with all kinds of charming floral fragrances and the ripe smell of wheat fields...
The breeze is not dry and the sun is just right.
Luo Xuan sighed slightly, "You brothers and sisters, are you going to catch a few fish, take them to the Red Star farm, and find someone to exchange them for food?"
"I didn't catch a few! I only caught one, which is enough for my sister and I's lunch today."
Qiu Xiaogang raised his head stubbornly, "If you want to complain to the production team, go ahead. I just beg you, don't go to school and don't let the teacher know about it, okay?"
He deliberately did not say "steal", but said "catch fish" because Luo Xuan did not want to hurt the self-esteem of Qiu Guiying and his two siblings.
In fact, the poorest people often have stronger self-esteem.
Because... it is one of the few things they have left that is worthy of their desperate defense.
Luo Xuan nodded, "Don't worry, I won't tell you. But stealing things is always bad, and it won't last long."
"Although if you catch a fish now, sell it and exchange it for food, you can have something to eat at noon."
"But over time, if you get used to doing this, you will develop dependence. Over time, you will feel that taking other people's things is right and natural. This is not good and will destroy you sooner or later."
Luo Xuan reached out and pulled Qiu Xiaogang up, "Let's go, I'll pay for your lunch today."
Qiu Xiaogang put away his slingshot and pointed at the grass carp with its white belly turned over in the water.
A fish like this that was injured by Qiu Xiaogang's slingshot would probably have a hard time surviving.
He couldn't bear to part with that fish.
Luo Xuan shook his head, "That's not your thing."
Qiu Xiaogang glanced at his sister, followed Luo Xuan up the stone steps with a slumped head.
Then, Luo Xuan, Qiu Xiaogang and Qiu Guiying, who was blushing with embarrassment, walked to the school.
along the way,
Luo Xuan asked the two siblings: How do they usually solve the food problem during their school days?
Qiu Xiaogang timidly glanced at his sister Qiu Guiying, and then whispered: "If it rains in the summer, we will go to the woods on the roadside to see if there are wild mushrooms, wild fungus, etc., and then take them to the street to exchange money to buy them
food.
If it doesn't rain, we will dig out bird's nests and catch voles. But there are so many bird eggs, and why should I catch voles?
Therefore, I occasionally catch a fish in this pond and take it to the street."
Luo Xuan asked him, "How much can you sell a fish for?"
Qiu Xiaogang shook his head, "How can I make money selling it? I always go to several households..."
Speaking of which,
Qiu Xiaogang timidly glanced at Qiu Guiying, who was just busy on her way. Seeing that she had no reaction, he dared to continue: "I will take the fish and exchange it with them for half a pound of cornmeal, which will be our lunch for my sister and me."
"One piece of fish in exchange for half a pound of cornmeal? And you don't eat vegetables for lunch?"
Luo Xuan was a little surprised, "You are so good at catching fish, why don't you get yourself a fish to eat as a dish?"
Qiu Xiaogang smiled bitterly, "Those people bullied us as children. They also knew that our fish came from irregular sources, so they only gave me half a kilogram of cornmeal. If the fish they caught weighed less than two kilograms, they would complain about me.
Sentence!"
"We'll have this as a dish for lunch."
As he said that, Qiu Xiaogang took out a small, jet-black glass bottle from his schoolbag, with two pieces of wilted salted radish inside.
The glass bottle Qiu Xiaogang has on hand looks like the small medicine bottle used to hold atropine in the health room.
The two siblings picked it up, washed it, and used it as a vegetable bottle.
Luo Xuan felt a little curious, "Then why don't you catch an extra fish and make it your meal?"
"Sister won't let me."
When Qiu Xiaogang says something, he always glances at Qiu Guiying who is walking in front.
Then he whispered, "My sister said that we caught fish to solve our lunch problem, not for our own enjoyment."
It's late summer and early autumn now.
The corn on both sides of the road was lush and green, and it was almost the harvest season.
But these two siblings have never thought about those corn cobs...
And there are countless sweet potatoes planted between the rows of corn.
At this time of year, the sweet potatoes are not too big, but there is no problem in using them to satisfy hunger.
It seems that these two siblings are still up to something.
While walking on the road, Luo Xuan asked Qiu Xiaogang, "How do you solve the problem of lunch in winter?"
In winter, fish will basically not float to the surface of the water. With the simple slingshot in Qiu Xiaogang's hand, it is no longer possible to catch fish in exchange for food.
"In winter, we get up earlier and walk along the field where the production team has dug sweet potatoes, looking for sweet potato seedlings among the rows of wheat seedlings."
Qiu Xiaogang replied: "If we can find the sweet potatoes that the members dug up, we will have food at noon. If we cannot dig out the sweet potatoes, we will have to drink some cold water to satisfy our hunger at noon that day."
After hearing this, Luo Xuan couldn't help but sigh secretly.
At this time, everyone is really too poor!
The situation like that of Qiu Guiying and his two siblings is actually very common.
Just like yesterday, when I passed by the school kitchen, I saw two or three classmates lying on the water tank outside the kitchen to drink water.
At that time, I thought they were just thirsty.
Now that I think about it, it's actually the kind of students whose families are really in difficulty, who rely on drinking cold water to satisfy their hunger...
These two siblings actually live farther away than themselves.
But they may be because their families are too poor and cannot afford to live on campus.
I just bring some food to school at noon and steam rice to eat.
The Qiu Guiying siblings have to walk more than 20 miles every morning and night to go to school, which is hard enough.
How can your body cope with eating when you are always full and hungry every now and again?
Looking at the emaciated figures of the two siblings.
Luo Xuan suddenly screamed, "Ouch, hiss~"
Qiu Guiying, who had been walking in front of Luo Xuan and Qiu Xiaogang, five or six meters away, suddenly turned her head when she heard Luo Xuan's exclamation!
He rushed to Luo Xuan, grabbed Luo Xuan's arm, and asked with concern, "What's wrong with you?"
Luo Xuan bent down, holding his ankle, hissing in pain, "Oh, I may have sprained my ankle."
"Then sit down quickly and let me rub it for you."
There are a lot of gravels on the roadside.
Qiu Guiying and her brother helped Luo Xuan sit on a stone.
Qiu Guiying knelt down and used her hands as thin as dry wood to rub Luo Xuan's ankles.
After rubbing it for a few times, Qiu Guiying raised her head and asked, "How are you doing? Do you feel better now?"
Seeing that it was getting late, Luo Xuan stood up limpingly.
Pulling off the schoolbag from his shoulder, he handed it to Qiu Xiaogang, "My feet hurt, so please help me carry it."
Finished.
Luo Xuan limped ahead and hurried towards the school.
Wait until you get to school.
Luo Xuan asked his two siblings, Qiu Xiaogang, to help him back to the dormitory first.
Then, I took out about a kilogram of rice from the bamboo tube rice vat.
Luo Xuan stuffed rice into Qiu Xiaogang's lunch box, "This is a little reward for helping me just now."
Qiu Xiaogang's face was full of surprise, "Wow, so much rice?"
Qiu Guiying smiled faintly and said, "Xiao Gang, give it back to others. Let's help a classmate along the way. How can we accept payment from others?"
When Qiu Xiaogang heard this, he was filled with reluctance and coyly refused to take it out!
"Give it back!"
Qiu Guiying's face darkened, "Otherwise, I won't help you pay your tuition next semester!"
When Qiu Xiaogang heard this, even though he was unwilling to do so, he could only slowly take out the lunch box and prepare to return the rice in it to Luo Xuan.
He and his sister's tuition fees were paid by Qiu Guiying going to the mountains to pick mushrooms, picking lichens, collecting medicinal materials during holidays, and even secretly going to coal mines to pick up coal from gangue to sell.
Just accumulated it little by little...
Seeing that his kindness was not appreciated, Luo Xuan couldn't help but feel a little angry.
Hey!
Have you encountered a problem?
Luo Xuan stretched out his hand and stopped Qiu Xiaogang from pouring rice into the bamboo tube. "How can I take back what I took out? Xiaogang helped me walk so far this morning. I won't let his help go in vain."
of."
Qiu Guiying stood at the door of the dormitory and said in a calm tone, "Okay, Xiaogang, just accept 20 meters, which is regarded as accepting this favor from classmate Luo Xuan."
Qiu Xiaogang obediently poured the rice in the lunch box back into the bamboo tube, leaving only a little bit in the lunch box.
Qiu Guiying stood at the door of the dormitory, carefully looking at the rice left by her brother, which was about 2 taels, and the expression on her face relaxed.
Then Qiu Guiying gave Luo Xuan a meaningful look, turned around and left.
Just leave one sentence: "From now on, when your ankle is not red or swollen, don't say that you have a sprained foot..."
Luo Xuan asked Qiu Xiaogang in a low voice, "How can you two eat this little rice?"
"It's okay!"
There was actually rice to eat at noon today. Qiu Xiaogang was so happy that his face turned red, "I'll add a little more water. My sister and I will have rice porridge to eat at noon today!"
After saying that, Qiu Xiaogang jumped up and ran to the kitchen, "Come on, sister, let's steam rice..."
