CH 13

He Xiaoyun fell over and Wei Jianwei moved, she reacted and immediately got up in a hurry, but because it was dark, she didn't know where the person was, where the bed was. She slipped and stepped on Wei Jianwei a few more times in the meantime.

In the end, Wei Jianwei sat up and helped her avoid more embarrassment. He Xiaoyun's face burned like fire and for a while, she began to rejoice that it's dark and that no one could see her embarrassment, "I'm sorry..."

Wei Jianwei just hummed and his voice seemed to be deeper than the night. He Xiaoyun quickly slipped back to the bed and pulled the quilt up to cover her face, only revealing a pair of eyes. She held her breath and attentively listened to the movement at the other end of the room, when she heard him lying down, she felt relieved and her breathing slowed.

The next day, Wei Jianhua went back to school before dawn. Wang Chunhua sent him away and then counted the eggs they had saved in recent days, she decided to go to the market.

The commune collects food every five days and many people take the eggs and vegetables they grow at home to collect and exchange them for daily necessities such as salt and oil.

This small-scale private transaction is permitted by the state, but if someone buys the farmers’ eggs and resells them, it won't work. After being discovered, they will be sent to the quarry for labor reform.

When He Xiaoyun first came, she also thought about whether she could do something to earn some money. After all, life without money on hand is always frustrating. Later, she passed the quarry by chance and saw those who were "re-education through labor". She immediately dismissed her idea.

Now she focuses on reading and studying hard to make progress every day.

She and Wang Chunhua went to the market together. Wei Yuanhang, the little tail naturally followed. In addition to a dozen eggs, they also carried some cabbage and pickles.

There are many people at the market, there are farmers who sell things like them, and some come from communes and counties to buy things.

Wang Chunhua chose a place, put down the back basket, and asked He Xiaoyun to show Wei Yuanhang around, "I'll do it alone here. You and Xiaohang will go shopping to see if there's anything you want to buy." She said that she wanted to take out some change for them.

He Xiaoyun hurriedly said, "I have money here."

"Then you go, don't go too far."

He Xiaoyun nodded and led Wei Yuanhang to walk slowly. In fact, there is nothing to look at. The only things that farmers sell are those that are not their own products, but they are picked from the mountains and fished in the water. Pork and grain are not allowed to be traded privately, so they cannot be seen in the market.

Wei Yuanhang is different. He's happy as long as he can go out, saying that He Xiaoyun led him around was a lie, in fact, he dragged his mother to run forward, squatting in front of other people's stalls for a while, watching the live fish in the bucket, and then ran to watch others catch them.

"Dang—Dang—Dang—" There was a sound of iron flicks in a corner of the market, and He Xiaoyun looked at it. It turned out that someone was selling maltose, and the stall was surrounded by children.

Wei Yuanhang's eyes lit up and he quickly trots over there with her hand. The snow-white maltose is packed in a shallow iron plate. If someone wants to buy it, the stall owner will knock a piece of it with an iron piece and cut it into small pieces.

He Xiaoyun had eaten this kind of candy when she was a child. At that time, they could bargain it with something they didn't need at home. She once exchanged a pair of broken shoes for a small piece of candy.

Although there are many children onlookers, few just actually buy them, because the price of sugar is not cheap. After all, it is made of grain, these days, grain is more precious than anything.

A child was annoying his mother for a long time, crying and making trouble, insisting on buying sweets. The woman couldn't help but scold and finally used two eggs for a piece of candy the size of a child's palm.

"Mom..." Wei Yuanhang shook He Xiaoyun's hand and looked at her eagerly. He Xiaoyun said, "Don't you still have orange candies at home?"

"But..." The child narrowed his mouth and swallowed exaggeratedly, "I haven't eaten this candy before." His reason was so straightforward that He Xiaoyun didn't know how to argue back.

She didn't plan to buy it for him. What if he became spoiled? But then thinking about it, who can be spoiled in such a time of nothing? It's better to spend a little money to cheer up the child, to save him from thinking about it later.

However, she still told the child in advance, "You can only buy a little bit. After you buy the candy, you can't buy again."

"Hmm!" Wei Yuanhang agreed. He Xiaoyun bought a copy for 30 cents, and the stall owner cut it up and wrapped it in the newspaper. She gave the paper bag to Wei Yuanhang, when the child got it, he first gave her a piece, "Mom, eat it."

He Xiaoyun looked down at him and smiled, bent over and opened her mouth to take it, she then said, "Thank you, remember to give grandma a piece later."

"I know." The chubby kid nodded, he held the small paper bag and walked and jumped around, when he saw someone selling baby chicks, he squatted and watched for a long time but remembered what He Xiaoyun said, he didn't make a fuss about buying it.

The market wasn't big so the two went to see Wang Chunhua after they went shopping.

The eggs brought by the family have been sold out. Eggs have always been a hot product. Most of the people who come to buy them are factory workers or grassroots civil servants. Because they need tickets to buy eggs in the supply and marketing cooperatives, they will come to the market to buy them.

When Wang Chunhua saw that Wei Yuanhang was holding maltose in his hand, she was about to say something when the little grandson had already stuffed a piece of candy in her mouth, "Grandma, eat some candy!"

She couldn't say what she wanted to say anymore. The three rushed home before noon. Feng Qiuyue had already prepared lunch and washed the dishes. He Xiaoyun took Wei Yuanhang back to the room.

After walking for a long time today, the child was obviously tired, otherwise, he would have already run out to play at this time.

"Mom, where's Dad?" He Xiaoyun smiled, "Your father has disappeared for most of a day, but you only found out now?" Wei Yuanhang stopped playing with the quilt and asked, "Is my father a soldier again?" 

In the past when Wei Jianwei was away, Wang Chunhua would always point to the pictures in the hall to teach her little grandson that her father would serve as a soldier in the army, and when he returned home, he would bring delicious food. So in the child's head, if his father is not at home, he went to serve as a soldier.

He Xiaoyun teased him: "Yes, Dad has gone as a soldier." Wei Yuanhang pouted, "He didn't even say goodbye to me."

"Are you reluctant to see your dad left?"

"Reluctant." The child nodded.

He Xiaoyun: "Now that dad is gone, you don't have to worry about him coming to grab your bed."

The kid thought for a while, his thoughts goes like this: If his father isn't there, his mother and the bed all belong to him. Although Dad would buy him orange candies and make wooden boxes for him... But compared with his favorite mother and bed, Dad should go as a soldier.

He figured it all out and loudly said: "Then father should go."

He Xiaoyun laughed out loud, rubbing his head, and said: "You're funny. Your father will return to the army, but not now, he went to his comrades-in-arms house today."

Wei Yuanhang couldn't understand what the comrade-in-arms meant but it didn't prevent him from knowing that his mother was lying to him again.

He snorted and turned over to point at He Xiaoyun and muttered: "Humph! I'm not talking to mom anymore."

He Xiaoyun stretched out her hand and patted his little ass. The child was still muttering at first but quieted. He Xiaoyun probe him and found the child was already asleep.

She pulled up his little quilt and covered him with it. The sky was getting darker. He Xiaoyun stood up and got ready to take a book to read but saw Wei Jianwei walk in from outside.

"You came back so early?" She asked in a low voice. In the morning, she heard that he was going to visit his comrades in the county and thought it would take a whole day.

Wei Jianwei nodded and glanced at Wei Yuanhang's back, "Asleep?"

"Yeah." He Xiaoyun stopped her hand holding the book and decided to go out instead. What happened last night, she still feels a little embarrassed when she thinks about it. This guy is the kind of person who can make you a bad person. If he makes fun of her, then her face will be lost. It's better to hide.

Before leaving the room, she remembered to ask, "Have you eaten lunch?"

Wei Jianwei had walked to the big box and seemed to be looking for something. Hearing her question, he answered, "I have."

He Xiaoyun walked to the yard, Wang Chunhua happened to come out of the backyard: "Jianwei just came back, I forgot to ask him if he had eaten any food."

"I asked, he has already eaten."

"That's good." Wang Chunhua said, nodding her head secretly. In the past, her daughter-in-law never cared about her son. Now she can ask him whether he has eaten or not. It seems that the relationship between the two is getting better. If the juniors can be in harmony, she's naturally happy as an elder.

The vegetables in the yard were harvested for the first two days. You can pick the pickles after they are exposed to the sun. He Xiaoyun laid hands-on Wang Chunhua and spent a long time busy picking up this year's pickles.

After that, she went back to the room, ready to call Wei Yuanhang up, to prevent sleep too long during the day and not able to sleep at night.

Wei Jianwei was no longer there. He Xiaoyun walked to the bed and was about to speak when she suddenly found an iron flashlight next to the pillow. She picked it up and pressed it, and the bright light shone on the bed.

She had seen this flashlight before, it was placed under the suitcase. Although many people don't have flashlights in their rural areas because they can’t replace the batteries and small light bulbs, very few people actually use them. This one is in her hand because the battery is empty, has been idle.

She seems to remember that Wei Jianwei was looking for something in his suitcase. So he bought the battery and replaced it?

He Xiaoyun was a little touched. Just now, she mistakenly thought that the other party would make fun of her about what happened last night, but he unexpectedly prepared a flashlight for her.

"You shouldn't wake me up next time."

While she was feeling moved, Wei Jianwei appeared from nowhere and said such a sentence.

The moved heart of  He Xiaoyun was immediately banished by him, this guy is still so annoying!