Chapter 228 transplanting rice seedlings
Indeed, as she had expected, Zheng Minglong, who had returned to the li family's old house, moved a chair and sat quietly under the sycamore tree, looking at the orange sunset and pondering.
Zhao Chunlan went to the kitchen to cook. Li Wei and brother li zhi were playing with frogs and tadpoles by the fields. Li Fugui also moved a wooden chair and sat down. When he saw his grandson looking sad, he was a little upset. "Minglong, you saw her today too. What are you going to do?"
Grandpa, she and her parents signed a letter of guarantee. They didn't disturb each other's lives. Naturally, I couldn't disturb her life. When I came here this time, I just wanted to see her living environment since she was a child and understand how she grew up, but I didn't expect to see her again. Although I haven't spoken to her, I can tell from her speech that her uncle is right. She's much better than her sister."
Zheng Minglong could not tell what he felt in his heart. They knew each other was his own brother and sister, but they could not recognize each other. He wanted to, but she would never want to. Uncle said that the most wrong thing mom and dad did was to abandon her. Although mom and dad had too much to do at that time, she was still the victim.
If he had suffered so much as a child because of his parents'relationship and heard so much abuse, he might have transferred this resentment to his parents, plus the fact that they broke their relationship with money, he would probably hate them from now on.
Speaking of Zheng Mingfeng, Li Fugui irritably lit a cigarette, took two deep puffs, and the wrinkles on his forehead became deep. "Mingfeng is spoiled. I wonder if your father will make a difference if he pushes him so hard."
Zheng minglong was sure that his sister was frightened by his father's anger and attitude. As for whether she would change, he was really not sure.
There is a saying that one cannot change one's nature. Eighteen years of education has not improved. How can one become better after one scare?
When Li Haitang went to his third uncle's house for dinner tonight, the two of them also talked about Zheng Minglong and praised him for being a good boy. However, she still used the same words to reply to them. She told auntie er zhu about the letter of guarantee. Sooner or later, it would be spread throughout the village, so she told the two elders again.
The morning in the countryside was the most tranquil and charming time. Every family's rooster scrambled to "Woo woo woo" and the frogs and pheasants in the fields were also chirping, as if they were waking the sleeping people.
The old people who had worked all their lives had little sleep. They got up at dawn and went to the fields with their hoes to weed and irrigate. Some of them went to cut grass to feed cows and sheep.
It was Li Haitang who got up earlier than them. She got up and ran at dawn. She was wearing a pair of light, loose shorts and a small bag around her waist, with a palm-length radio playing french poetry while she ran along.
Running on the muddy road, she only waved her hand to the people she met on the road, whether she knew them or not, and then continued to run as she read.
Almost everyone in the nearby villages knew her. Three years ago, she was the top liberal arts student in the provincial college entrance examination, the only Beijing university university student in Shaoxian. Seeing that she was still studying so hard in such a good school, parents immediately seized the opportunity to teach their children to learn from her.
Now that the neighbors mentioned Li Jianping, who wouldn't be envious and jealous? In his life, he had four children, three daughters were foster daughters, but there were two college students, and the other one was a stain, but it wasn't his education, it was her own mother who killed her. His only son was admitted to college, and his family's honor was unique throughout the county.
Running straight along the familiar village road, Li Haitang turned around and ran back again, estimating that he had run nearly ten miles.
Li Fugui's family had breakfast very early, and he got up early too. He liked to walk around on the road and exercise his muscles. The two little grandchildren were still sleeping in, Zhao Chunhua was doing the laundry at home, and Zheng Minglong was still holding a steamed bun in his hand. He was a little sleepy-eyed and accompanied grandpa to go out to exercise.
The two of them were walking in front when they suddenly heard the radio behind them. They stood on the side of the road and looked back. They saw that Li Haitang was running, sweating profusely, his clothes were all wet, and his mouth was still reading a foreign language that they could not understand.
After running for nearly ten kilometers, sweat blurred her eyes. Li Haitang found two people standing in front of her by the roadside, wiping their eyelids with wet hands. Only then did he see that they were their grandparents. She stopped in front of them and gasped, "Morning, sixth grandpa." Wiping the sweat off his face, he also nodded to zheng minglong, who had a slightly dull expression.
"Uh, good morning." Li Fugui put her hands behind her back and watched her hair drenched in dew. She must have gotten up early in the morning. "How far did she run this morning?"
Li Haitang took two deep breaths and turned off the radio in his bag before answering, "It should be ten kilometers."
Zheng Minglong's face twitched. Ten kilometers, ten thousand meters. Did she start running in the middle of the night?
Just as Li Fugui was about to speak, li qian, who came out early in the morning to herd the cows, was not far away. She shouted, "Sister hoi tong, it's almost time for breakfast."
"Okay." Li Haitang answered and then said goodbye to their grandparents, "Sixth grandpa, I'll go back first. We'll talk next time."
"Yes."
Turning around, she turned on the radio again and continued to run home while reading.
Grandpa, didn't the villagers say that she went to the english department of the Beijing university? But she didn't just read english." Zheng Minglong pricked her ears and listened to a few words to make sure it wasn't english.
"Not english?" Li Fugui couldn't understand it anyway, "She's an english major. She'll be a senior in the second half of the year."
Zheng Minglong thought of a possibility and her eyes lit up, "I'm sure she didn't just read english. I've heard from my brother that there are other languages to learn. Jingda majored in small languages. She may have learned a foreign language as well as english."
"This person has limited energy. Can she learn so much?" Li Fugui frowned.
Zheng Minglong chuckled and said, "She is the top liberal arts student in the provincial college entrance examination. Her brain must be much smarter than the average person. It is possible to learn two foreign languages."
Li Haitang returned home and took a warm bath. He quickly washed his clothes and dried them before going to his third uncle's house for breakfast. After breakfast, she drove out again.
In the morning, Zheng Minglong came to look for her, but he met a closed door.
Li Haitang went out that day and didn't come back until dark. She went to Shaoxian to send something for duan meifang to her parents. The duan family was very polite and warm, and they dragged her through lunch and chatted warmly until the afternoon before letting her go.
The next morning, at dawn, she was still running along that road, and Zheng Minglong had noticed it at the door. He estimated that it was almost time for her to go home for breakfast, so he greeted his grandparents and went to the li family alone to look for her.
Li Haitang had breakfast at his second uncle's house in the morning. It was relatively simple. It was cooked by Li Hui, who was 12 years old. The taste was naturally very ordinary. Zhao Chunhua used to be a little sneaky, but she was very diligent. There were more than ten sheep in the house, four or five acres of paddy field and a lot of vegetable fields. She took care of them all by herself, so she went to work in the fields in the morning when it was not hot.
It was almost a week ago that the early rice was harvested, and the families with more labor had already planted the seedlings, but the men of the li family were all earning money in the provincial capital, so they had to hire people to do the harvesting and plowing, so they had to spend a few days at night. Zhao Chunhua was the only one in the second uncle's house with Li Ya and Li Hui, and there were many fields, so there was still an acre of land that hadn't been planted.
During the meal, Li Haitang asked about the situation. This morning, Zhao Chunhua took li ya to fix the seedlings, and planned to finish them in two days. It was rare for her to come back, and she didn't want to eat and drink in their house for nothing, so she decided to help out in the fields.
She was very fast, so when Zheng Minglong found her, he only saw her change into a pair of long clothes and pants, wearing a straw hat, and carrying a pot of water to the field.
Zheng Minglong stood there and blinked. She was going to work in the fields? Without much thought, she immediately followed him.
By the time he arrived panting, Li Haitang had already gone down to the fields and did not notice anyone following him. She had the memory of the original owner and was familiar with the transplanting. Although she hadn't been down in six or seven years and was a little rusty, she soon mastered the skills.
Li Ya was also working in the field. When she saw the handsome brother coming, she wiped the sweat off her face and stared at Li Haitang who was bending down at the front to plant the seedlings with a strange expression. She called out in a small voice, "Sister hoi tong."
Li Haitang had a bunch of seedlings in his left hand and a small one in his right. He turned to look at her. "Li Ya, what's the matter?"
Li Ya winked at her and motioned her to look ahead.
Li Haitang was wearing a straw hat, and the brim of the hat in front of her just blocked her vision. She followed her gaze and turned her head, then looked up slightly, and saw Zheng Minglong, who was dressed very loosely and casually, standing on the edge of the field two or three meters ahead of her with a slight smile. There was still a slight sweat on his forehead. It was obvious that he had been here for a while.
What is he doing here? Such a question popped up in her mind.
Zheng Minglong seemed to understand her doubts and explained shyly, "Uh, sister, I'm here to see you plant seedlings."
Li Haitang's eyes sparkled. His "Sister" was really smooth, but why was she so upset when she heard it? He was just a child, and his parents had nothing to do with him. Naturally, she wouldn't treat him badly. She nodded at him faintly, and her eyes fell on a small cottage built by the villagers on the side of the road to temporarily rest and cool down. She pointed to the other side. "The sun is too bright. Go over there and take a stool to sit and watch."
"Okay."
Zheng Minglong was tall, taller than Li Tao, probably more than 1.8 meters tall. Family conditions were good, and they had never done hard work, so they looked very thin, and their skin was very white. Plus, they smiled at each other, which made them feel very polite and elegant.
Li Haitang looked at the shy and brilliant smile on his face, and the awkwardness in his heart was gone. The couple were not very good. This son was well educated, but he didn't know what happened to the other daughter. She thought that it should be a good thing, or else she wouldn't be so eager to break up with her, afraid that she would disturb their happy life.
It had nothing to do with her.
When he turned around and went to the hut, she continued to bend over and plant the seedlings.
A lot of villagers were weeding and fertilizing in the fields nearby, so they naturally noticed the situation here. Everyone was gossiping in twos and threes, and even Zhao Chunhua stopped to stare at their biological siblings who were related by blood for a while.