Chapter 9： go too far

Chapter 9 Deceiving Too Much

Sunrise mist.

The sound of birds singing.

Wake up in the early morning in the countryside.

A new day begins.

By the river at the entrance of Taoxi Village, a group of women who came to wash clothes gathered, and the sound of clubs and hammers kept coming and going.

A group of ducks in the lower reaches of the river swam freely in the water, quacking.

Across the river bank, there were also a few big buffaloes scattered, burying their heads in eating fresh grass, and mooing from time to time.

When Zhang Xifeng arrived with Qiqi, the large stone slabs specially built for laundry by the river were almost full.

Qiqi's sharp eyes saw that there was still a space between the two old women, "Mother-in-law, here!"

When the laundry women heard the voice, they all turned their heads and looked over. When their eyes fell on Qi Qi, they took a good look.

The little boy was wearing a button-up shirt, with short, yellow hair tied into a small bun. Although he was small and thin, his appearance was so delicate that the big guy had never seen it before.

"He, Aunt Zhang, is this the baby you picked up two days ago? She looks so good-looking, and she is also clever." On the big stone board, an old woman with the same gray hair smiled and stepped back a little, leaving There is a bigger space in the middle for Zhang Xifeng, "Come here and squeeze, there will be more and more people later, it will be difficult to occupy a good place."

Zhang Xifeng was cheerful and not polite.

Every day at this time in the village, the river is full of people who come to wash clothes.

More people will inevitably be crowded, and the big guys will take care of each other humbly, chatting while washing clothes, talking about family matters, it can be regarded as a little leisure time for women like them.

Qi Qi was praised by the strange mother-in-law, a little shy, her little face was red.

It works very neatly.

Squatting next to Zhang Xifeng, took out the dirty clothes from the wooden bucket and put them into the water, carried them up, soaped them, rubbed the cuffs and necklines and other parts that get dirty, and then grabbed the wooden stick and mallet with two small hands and beat the clothes , turn it over, and beat it again.

Zhang Xifeng never had a chance to do anything.

"..." The women next to her were dumbfounded.

Although the children in the farm family have to help with some work at a young age, they are also simple and light, such as collecting firewood, herding cattle, and driving ducks.

There are almost no people in the village who help wash clothes at such a young age as Qi Qi.

And judging by the baby's posture, she is as proficient and agile as these women, and she is clearly trained by doing these jobs often.

"Aunt Zhang, how old is this kid?"

Zhang Xifeng pursed her lips, "Four and a half years old."

The cheerful smile on her face has faded, and anger and pity are suppressed in her eyes.

Only those who are waiting to grind their children will make such a young child do heavy work.

At first, she only thought that Qi Qi had suffered a lot while wandering, but it seems that the truth is far more than that.

"Qiqi, let the mother-in-law do the laundry. You are still young, play next to me, just a few clothes, and the mother-in-law will wash them in a while." Zhang Xifeng reached out and took the mallet.

The mallets used for laundry in the farmhouse are all made of solid wood, thicker than the baby's two arms combined, and very heavy.

It takes a lot of effort for an adult, let alone a baby.

Qiqi did not fight for it, but squatted aside, and when the clothes were washed, they took them and soaked them in water.

The clothes are shaken in the water and washed by the river water. As the dirt dissipates, the clothes are clean and clear.

There are four or five pieces of clothes for one old and one young, all of which are thin summer shirts, and they wash quickly.

With Qi Qi as a little helper, Zhang Xifeng finished washing the clothes, saving nearly half of the time and effort than usual.

The sun had already risen at this time, and the golden sunlight evaporated the morning mist, and sprinkled on people's bodies to be hot but not burnt.

The baby washed the soap box and the mallet and put them in the bucket, wiped the sweat off his face casually with his little hands, raised his head in the sun, and smiled with crooked eyes.

"Grandma, let's go home, the piglets haven't been fed yet."

"Okay, let's go home and feed the little piglets." Zhang Xifeng carried the bucket in one hand and the little baby in the other, said something to the women around, and took the baby home.

One old and one young, their backs are thin and thin under the sun.

The two walked a little slowly, but there were laughter from time to time, and the atmosphere between the two was harmonious and warm.

The sound of the club by the river weakened for a moment and then sounded rhythmically again, and the topic of the women and wives naturally turned to that place.

"His Aunt Zhang has been widowed for decades and has no children under her knees. It might be a good thing to find such a sensible little doll now."

"That's right, Qi Qi works so neatly, I'm afraid that three of my Xi girls can't keep up. With her help in the field work at home, his Aunt Zhang will also be able to relax."

"I don't think it may be easy. Raising a baby costs money. Where does the Zhang family get money? Relying on her two pigs a year and a vegetable garden? Relying on her two acres of sweet potato fields? She used to live alone. It's still tight, now... oh."

"That's what I said too. That baby is still too young to tell, but when she grows up, can she really be filial to Zhang's mother-in-law? If the parents grow up and turn around and leave, where will you go to complain?"

The atmosphere became a little serious, and someone changed the topic, "Didn't you say that people from Xizhong Village came today and are going to report the price of melons and fruits? Wash your clothes quickly, and we will go to the village chief's house to check later, Let’s see what price we can get this year.”

"Hey, I almost forgot about this, hurry up and wash it up!"

…

Zhang Xifeng and Qiqi returned home, dried the clothes, and the temperature of the pot of pork stew boiled in the morning dropped just right.

Little Piggy did not have diarrhea that night, which completely relieved her.

While feeding the pigs, she turned her head and looked behind her. Xiao Qiqi really couldn't rest for a moment. He was already holding a bamboo broom taller than her and started cleaning the yard.

"Qiqi, let's take a break from the meeting first. After breakfast, let's go to the old village chief's house."

"Grandma, what are you going to do?"

"The people from the next door village want to come to our village to make an offer today, and they will collect what we grow in our field. My mother-in-law has two acres of sweet potatoes, and they harvested them in previous years." Zhang Xifeng explained seriously without perfunctory, "Let's go and see if we can sell them this year. What's the price."

If the price can be better, Zhang Xifeng plans to take the baby to the town to go to the market and buy some things for her.

Regardless of whether the baby is willing to stay or not in the end, she wants to treat her better and love her more.

Qi Qi blinked her eyes, not knowing what her mother-in-law was thinking, but the way her mother-in-law looked at her made her feel sour.

It's like... she's her baby doll.

The old and the young went to the village head's house after a simple breakfast. When they arrived, many people had already come in the yard, and the scene was noisy and noisy.

Qiqi heard angry questions from the crowd.

"In previous years, it's fine to lower our price by 30%, and everyone gritted their teeth to get through it. This year, it will be lowered by half. It's obviously boiling oil with our bones! Xizhong Village, you bully people too much!"