Jiang Yue (4)
The two little radishes held hands and walked on the ridge together, looking like little things who could fall down at any time.
The weather was hot at noon; even the naughtiest children would hide in the house and not want to go out. Even the adults working in the fields would avoid the hottest noon time and chose to enjoy the shade under the trees. They would wait for the worst part of the day to pass before continuing to work.
Therefore, when these two children appeared here, they attracted the attention of a large number of people.
âJiang Yue and Jiang Xing, what are you doing here?â
âDid you bring food for your mom?â
âI havenât seen you for a while, youâve grown so big.â
Everyone was chattering and calling at them.
Jiang Xing was relatively timid, hiding behind his sister, poking his head and not daring to speak. Jiang Yue said boldly, âWe, we want to help my mother pick up rice.â
When rice was threshed, some of the grains would fall outside, and someone would need to pick them up afterwards. It was meticulous and time-consuming, but because it didnât give a lot of work points, no one was doing it. Hearing these two children say this, the adults were silent for a while. Originally, they wanted to say that they were still young and couldnât do much work, but after thinking about it, the situation of the Jiang family was really pretty bad. Thinking about how ruthless Jiang Xiumei was with herself these days, they didnât say anything.
Someone pointed to a field ridge, âThere, they were just threshing there and no one has gone to pick stuff up yet. Go there and pick them up, and remember to go to the captain to record your work points.â
Jiang Yue thanked him and ran over with Jiang Xing.
They originally thought that these two children would not be able to endure the hardships. As soon as the sun became too hot, they would definitely give up. No one expected that they would stay here for the entire afternoon. When the adults finished work in the evening, they also managed to pick up a basket of rice.
Even the captain was stunned for a moment, then he looked at the two of them and praised, âThese two children are really good, they can work at such a young age.â
Although boys in the family could be considered half an adult, they would only start working when they were seven or eight years old. And even if you called it work, itâs not like they were willing to do it. You had to hit them with a bamboo pole first before they would work, just as if you were a foreman.
Jiang Yue and Jiang Xing were so well behaved; the adults liked them very much.
The captain had a wowotou left from lunch, and he would go home later to eat dinner. After thinking about it, he took it out and gave it to them. âUncle still has one wowotou left. You can take it and eat it. Itâs not easy to do a dayâs work.â
Saying that, he also gave them half a work point, under Jiang Xiumeiâs name.
Jiang Yueâs eyes were sparkling, and she pulled Jiang Xing to run home.
The next day, Jiang Yue came with Jiang Xing again.
The siblings didnât cry or make trouble. They could do whatever the adults wanted. Sometimes they helped fetch a sickle, run errands, and so on. They were very diligent.
Originally, the captain was afraid that the children were too young and would get in trouble, but gradually he acquiesced and also let them work to earn points.
Jiang Xiumei still worked like a horse, transporting rice diligently. By the time she knew about it, it was already the second day.
She found Jiang Yue, stared at her sternly, and did not say anything.
Jiang Yue was frightened, sobbing with tears welling up.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Xiumei didnât say anything. After looking at her for a long time, she just sighed and said, âItâs our fault. If we were capable, how could we let you endure hardships at such a young age? The village chiefâs children are in school. The village secretaryâs children are also going to school. All the children from families with a bit of background are going to school. Meanwhile, itâs not easy for us just to have a spoonful of rice, we canât hope for any luxury. Originally, your father and I planned to send you to school during fall next year. You would be at the right age by then. You would be able to learn a little bit, get to know a few letters and be able to count. When you grow up, you could be an accountant in the team and settle accounts, so you donât have to work hard in the field. Unfortunately your father didnât have a good fate.â
Jiang Yue heard that her mother was not scolding her, and said timidly, âI donât want to study anymore, I donât want to study, I just want to be with Mother.â
But when Jiang Xiumei heard it, she slapped her fiercely, âIs that all you can do!? Isnât this just because thereâs no choice? If thereâs a choice and you say something like this, Iâll beat you to death! You donât want to be someone at the top, and only want to be someone whose feet are covered in mud?â
Jiang Yue was startled again.
âForget it, I canât explain it to you clearly.â
Jiang Xiumei sighed again and said, âHave you seen the person who usually keeps track of work points? Why can he make money and get paid without working in the field? Isnât it because he studied? If only I knew how to read, hmph!â
âDo you not need to work so bitterly anymore if you could read?â
Jiang Xiumei gestured at the thick calluses on her hands and the bloodstains on her shoulders, and said, âI donât know if the work is going to be hard or not, but what Iâm currently doing is certainly hard.â
Yes, it was definitely very hard work.
Jiang Yue could see it.
She really wanted to help her mother; she wanted her mother to live a good life, and she didnât want to be given away.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Could she achieve all of that if she studied? Anyways, it was a possible path. She was too young to think of any other way.
But school fees were very expensive.
Jiang Yue thought, she had to think of a way. She couldnât just sit still and wait to die.