V1.Chapter 5 (1/2)

20 catties of sweet potatoes for two people can't support for a few days.

This year's new grain hasn't come down yet. When Xia Dajun comes back, he must go back to Liu Fen, but will the Xia family forgive Xiaolan? Liu Fen is thinking of going back to her mother's house tomorrow to find a way. The Liu family is also poor, but Uncle Xia Xiaolan is poor and generous. He will not watch his niece starve to death.

Just planning, Xia Xiaolan came back with a pile of dry branches. Her eyes were bright and said she wanted to eat baked sweet potatoes. Liu Fen sees that she is in good spirits. No matter how hard she is, she is willing to:

”OK, mom will bake you sweet potatoes.”

But Xia Xiaolan pulled away the firewood and revealed the wild duck eggs.

Liu Fen was also very happy. The wild duck egg was about the same size as the egg. It was found in the reed marsh. With this duck egg, Xia Xiaolan can replenish her body. Now the thin wind can blow down, and Liu Fen is distressed.

”Cook you another duck egg.”

There is no pot in the old dilapidated house. The country people don't pay attention to it. It's absolutely OK to cook an egg in an enamel jar. Xia Xiaolan stopped her mother: ”duck eggs can't be eaten now. Our good days fall on the wild duck eggs. Now the villagers are thinking about the food in the field and haven't had time to cut reeds. I want to find more wild duck eggs to sell in the city... We'll go to the reed marsh tonight. It's good to catch two wild ducks.”

Liu Fen has never done such a thing.

The Xia family didn't separate. Her mother-in-law and sister-in-law took all the eggs she saved to sell in the city. It takes two hours to walk from Dahe village to the county. If it's all right, everyone won't go to the city. But Xia Xiaolan was eloquent. Liu Fen said that she couldn't help her daughter. She was used to obedience and couldn't find a rebuttal.

The mother and daughter each ate a sweet potato. Liu Fen thought that if she wanted to sell duck eggs in the city, she had to have at least two baskets. She ran outside to get some reed poles and came back. Liu Fen made up two small baskets:

”I don't have tools and I haven't soaked in water. It must be broken in less than a month.”

Liu Fen presses the reed basket with a stone and puts it in the river to soak. She still hates her craft. Xia Xiaolan already thinks it's a weaving craft. Anyway, neither Xia Xiaolan can do it!

Mother and daughter are going to be ”egg thieves” at night. After making up the basket, they hurry to sleep. The door was unlocked and supported with wood. There was no bed in the house. Xia Xiaolan spread a clean reed pole on the ground. Fortunately, it's August, otherwise the old leaky house will have to freeze people out of order.

There was no alarm clock. There was something in her heart. She didn't sleep long. Xia Xiaolan was awakened by the rustling sound. It turned out that Liu Fen had fished back the reed basket from the river.

”If you sleep a little longer, mom will find it first.”

Reed leaves cut on people are very hot. Otherwise, no one will pick up wild duck eggs there? It was a hard job. Liu Fen didn't want her daughter to suffer. Xia Xiaolan was also charming and didn't do much farm work.

Xia Xiaolan shook her head, ”two people go together.”

They found it fast and safe. They didn't even have a flashlight. They could only see the moonlight. Fortunately, the moonlight is awesome tonight, and tomorrow will be a sunny day again.

Xia Xiaolan's mother and daughter carried a small basket and tried to find it in a remote place. When you meet the reed marsh, wild ducks are scared to fly. It's not easy to touch the wild duck's nest. It's empty.

When he found the first nest of eggs, he surprised the dog in the cowshed.

Looking at the lonely old Wang in the cowshed, he was very alert: ”who is there!”

The flashlight flashed twice. Liu Fen blocked Xia Xiaolan behind her. She was very shameless: ”... Uncle, it's me. Pick up some duck eggs for the child.”

”Da Jun's?”

Lao Wang looked at his mother and daughter. They were covered with grass scraps.

Dahe village knows that Xia Xiaolan was driven out of the house. Lao Wang doesn't like Xia Xiaolan very much. Even if there is no style problem, the girl has no elders in her eyes and doesn't even cry on weekdays. However, Liu Fen was pitiful. Xia Xiaolan's forehead was wrapped with bleeding gauze. Lao Wang thought about it and handed Liu Fen the flashlight:

”Pay me back tomorrow.”

Liu Fen's grateful eyes are red.

Xia Xiaolan thought that Dahe village is not all bastards. She is also very sincere:

”Thank you, Grandpa Wang.”

Lao Wang was a little surprised. He looked at Xia Xiaolan and took the dog back to the cowshed. He no longer cared about mother and daughter.