Crossing 70: Fish in the Pond Have Good News

"Look at you, this is the first time you meet this kid, but your first reaction is to stay away from him. You resist strangers approaching you from the bottom of your heart." Xue Li guessed that Jiang Yu's life must have been very difficult before. No one is born with a strong sense of vigilance. Only after being constantly hurt and betrayed will they resist like this.

Jiang Yu wanted to say no, she had never resisted Xue Li and Chen Jinghan, but she couldn't explain why. Maybe it was to fit in, or she felt there was no threat. In short, she accepted Xue Li and the others, which was a big improvement.

As for the others...we'll talk about it later.

"You said he is the orphan of a martyr? Then why is he living such a miserable life?" She couldn't argue with Xue Li, so she could only change the subject to avoid giving her the opportunity to lecture her on a bunch of moral truths.

Xue Li's spirits were high immediately. She and Jiang Yu were standing in a relatively remote place, and there were not many people around. However, she still said in a sneaky voice, "The child's father is a soldier, and his mother is the only girl in the three generations of the old village chief's family. His father was a comrade-in-arms of the only son of the sixth uncle. One year, he passed by here on a mission and helped deliver a letter to the sixth uncle's family. He saved the village chief's granddaughter who fell into the river. That's how the two got together. But the year before last, the man went to fight disasters and was taken away by the flood. The man's parents in his hometown died a long time ago, and he grew up eating at hundreds of families in the village. The village chief's granddaughter was originally spoiled and grew up. She has never suffered in her life, and it is impossible for her to be a widow with a child. She said she wanted to send the child away, but there was no place to send her. Last year, the sixth uncle's daughter-in-law died in childbirth, leaving two lives. The village chief's granddaughter got together with the widower, and she followed the army with her baggage, leaving the child at the old village chief's house without anyone to take care of her."

"Didn't they say that martyrs get subsidies?" Jiang Yu was shocked. She only cared about giving birth but not raising her, just like Jiang Dazhu! I'll kill her with a hoe! What a piece of rubbish!

"His mother took it away. Even the monthly allowance was collected by his mother. She must have taken the household registration book with her. Who would complain about having too much money?" Xue Li felt very sad when he saw the child avoiding the crowd and wolfing down peanuts.

There was a glimmer of cruelty in Jiang Yu's eyes. "She really didn't leave any way out for the child."

"Who says it's not true? This child has to work in the fields at such a young age. The old village chief's family says nice things to others, saying that the child is sensible and obedient, but anyone can tell what kind of faces they have under the fig leaf." Xue Li made a pooh sound and turned his head away from the child. If he looked at the child too much, he would definitely become soft-hearted.

Jiang Yu didn't care much about the villagers. Most of them she just wanted to know. The old village chief sounded impressive, but he was not actually an incumbent village cadre, so she couldn't even remember his face. But it didn't matter. She didn't know, but Xue Li knew.

"Look, look at the woman behind the butcher, the one in the blue cotton jacket with gray patches, the one who lowered her head and looked very timid. She's the only one with a conscience in the family." Xue Li nodded with his chin, and after seeing that Jiang Yu had probably found the person, he continued, "Last time I saw her give a child a rotten sweet potato, hiding it in her clothes like a thief, and secretly stuffed it into his pocket. She's also a poor person, she's been married for three years and hasn't given birth to a child. The old village chief's wife was frantically cursing her ancestors, and the noise was so loud that the villagers said they could hear it clearly even from behind the mountain."

"Isn't it said that men and women are equal now and women can't be beaten or scolded at will?" Jiang Yu was puzzled. Besides, this is the Northeast. Are the Northeast women easy to mess with?

Xue Li smacked his lips. "She can't stand up on her own. Look at Aunt Cui and the others in the village. They are disgusted when they see female educated youth washing clothes for men. How can they ignore this matter? But she consciously lowers her head. No matter how much others say, it's useless. Pity her misfortune and be angry at her for not fighting. This saying just applies to her."

Jiang Yu seemed to understand a little, but soon came to his own conclusion: Don't let anyone pee on your neck. If anyone is brave enough to try, get him!

As they were chatting, the butcher over there started wielding his white knife in and his red knife out.

"Ah——" It was the first time that Jiang Yu heard such a tragic cry. It was the last howl from a pig.

There was a warm cheer from the crowd, and then everyone started to get busy, some boiling water, some collecting the pig's blood, some putting the pig on the table. In short, except for the teenagers, all the adults were busy.

"Xiaolu, Xiaolu, do you have a bowl?" Xue Li saw an old lady coming out with a jar of sauerkraut, and cautiously approached behind a tree to ask the child who was peeking at the pig being slaughtered.

Xiaolu is the orphan of the martyr. He has no name, but his father’s surname is Lu, so Xue Li calls him Xiaolu.

Xiaolu shook his head, but then reacted, his round eyes sparkling, "I can borrow one, but..." His voice lowered, "They probably won't make the butcher's meal for me. In the past, my great-grandmother would bring it home directly and share it with everyone." He was never given a share.

Xue Li frowned, then looked at the ladies busy behind the makeshift stove, and suddenly realized that almost all of them were familiar with the old village chief's wife.

When Jiang Yu saw Chen Jinghan coming, he pointed to where Xue Li was, then turned around and went up the mountain.

Chen Jinghan walked over and saw that he was indeed talking to Xiaolu, so she stepped aside to help Xue Li block the wind.

When Jiang Yu walked outside the wooden house, she heard Tuanzi calling Yi Chi inside. She immediately felt better and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Yi Chi put down the rolling pin in his hand, covered himself tightly with a clean cloth, and then went to open the door.

He was asking even though he knew the answer. Tuanzi was very alert. If he didn't know that the person outside was Jiangyu, he would definitely not make any noise.

Jiang Yu was wearing a black cotton coat and trousers, standing in the pale snow, with a cold face, and did not answer.

When Yi Chi pushed open the door and saw her, the corners of his mouth curled up subconsciously, "Jiang Yu, come in~" His voice was cheerful and full of joy.

The moment Jiang Yu entered the room and closed the door, Tuanzi threw himself on her and started howling.

She subconsciously reached out to catch the big cat and stroked it twice. "It keeps barking. What's it doing?"

"I was making dumplings, and it was just greedy, wanting to eat all the stuffing." Yi Chi lifted the cloth, then made a cup of malted milk for Jiang Yu, "I heard that a pig was being slaughtered in the village, why did you come up at this time?"

Jiang Yu held the naughty Tuanzi and sat on the edge of the kang. "No one needs our help. The villagers are all very capable. I just came out for a walk."

Yi Chi glanced at her expression and saw that she looked relaxed, so nothing bad should have happened. He put down the cup and continued to make dumplings. "I made some cabbage and meat dumplings. I wanted to give you some. Since you are here, you can take some away later."

"Okay." Jiang Yu nodded. "I bought a lot of food last time. I'll share some with you later. There are also books..." Jiang Yu had just put the dumpling back on the kang and was about to get a cup to warm his hands when he saw the foreign language book spread out on the table. "Where is this text from?"