On the day of the summer solstice, the position of the sun directly hitting the ground reaches the northernmost point of the year, almost directly hitting the Tropic of Capricorn, and from today, the days are longer and the nights are shorter!

But this is not good news for Shufen. The girl, who was disfigured on the left side of her face and had large scars on her back and arms, preferred long dark nights. When she goes out during the day, she always wears a straw hat, even on such a hot day.

Shufen is still the women's director of Yangjiawan Village, receiving a salary of 19 yuan a month. However, she rarely goes to the village committee and other groups to publicize the family planning policy, and most of the villagers consciously go to the health center for sterilization or environmental protection. Since October last year, there have been only seven couples in the village who are pregnant with their second or third child, which is a 90 percent drop from previous years. This can be regarded as Shufen's work achievement. Everyone admires Shufen's act of sacrificing herself to save others, who wants to make trouble for this kind girl?

However, the ensuing honors did not heal Shufen's physical and mental wounds. Advanced family planning workers, outstanding women directors, and outstanding village cadres at the county, district, and township levels...... The awards that were carefully pasted to the wall by Yang Zegui have been spit out with white silk by a few naughty silkworms and stained with a few oval cocoons.

The pear orchard is as fruitful as last year. Although Shufenniang was so tired that she couldn't straighten her waist, she still had no regrets. Now there are two disabled people in the family, and it is impossible for one of them to help her carry pears to the market; The other stiff facial muscles were as paralyzed, and he was unwilling to show his face, so at most he sent a back of pears to the head of the stone bridge and went home. Fortunately, with the eldest son-in-law Guoqiang and the kind-hearted Wang Guangwen, these hundreds of catties of pears can be regarded as almost sold.

The beautiful face that once made many men sing mountain songs was left to the eighteen-year-old past, and the merciless fire destroyed a girl's most beautiful youth. The left side of the face is paralyzed, the mouth is twisted, and the left eye is almost blind; The hair is like a mess of weeds, sparsely tied on a scarred scalp; Because of the large burn on her back, she has not really straightened her waist since she got off the hospital bed.

How cruel God is! Since you too have been tied to the cross and whipped, you should know the piercing pain. So, why did you let such a kind person be tricked by fate and leave this painless and unforgettable pain in the most beautiful years?

The sun still rises in the direction of the Bay of Human Life, soothing God's people. The peasants, who got up at dawn, had finished harvesting a field seedling and walked home with a hoe.

In the mottled shade there are a few chirping sparrows, foraging in the dark earth. Suddenly a hurricane blew on the ridge, and a huge eagle carried away two poor finches with its sharp talons.

Shufen put the mulberry leaves on the large table in the hall and took off the straw hat with a scarf. This straw hat has become her belongings - although the sun's rays have not yet shone under the inkstone mountain, the straw hat is like the clothes she wears on her body, no matter spring, summer, autumn and winter, as long as she goes out, she will be inseparable.

Shufen spread the fresh mulberry leaves on the silkworm dust, and the silkworm babies who had not eaten all night did not eat like they did in the past. Shufen patted her head - ah, that fire burned out her brain, right? It's time for them to sit and sleep today!

She put on her straw hat again, filled half a litre of deflated husks from the cabinet on the other side of the hall, and walked to the chicken coop outside the dam—a round fence made of bamboo strips, in which there were seven or eight old hens—which had been locked up for the time being to protect the tender green vegetables in her own field. Seeing their master coming, these creatures who had lost their freedom rushed to Shufen, sticking out their long necks from the holes in the fence and "clucking".

These simple chores became complicated after her injury. The left hand has lost its former flexibility, and it is difficult to straighten the back and it is difficult to bear a weight of more than 50 pounds.

Shufen returned to the hall and took the beautiful straw hat in her hand. This is made by Guangwen from the reeds by the Xiaoshui River; The scarf on the brim of the hat was also sewn by Guangwen himself. He knew that Shufen didn't like bright colors, so the straw hat and scarf were quiet white.

Shufen holds the draft hat with her left hand. The index and middle fingers of the left hand are almost glued together, and they may have lost consciousness. The other three fingers struggled to protect the top of the hat, and in his right hand he held a towel, gently wiping a little white pulp from the brim of the hat - that was probably splashed when he had just picked a mulberry leaf, right?

"Shufen......" A familiar voice came from behind the room.

"Huh......" Shufen replied, then put on her straw hat and walked to the back of the house. Brother Guangwen, let's sit in the house and drink saliva first, and then pick it up! ”

Guangwen put the basket in the pear orchard and followed Shufen to the eaves.

"Brother Guangwen, you said last year that you wanted to plant pear trees, why don't you plant them?" Shufen didn't take off her straw hat, unless it was her own family, she usually wore a hat in front of outsiders.

"If you don't plant it, the problem of oranges is solved, and there are so many more sugarcanes...... In the summer, I came to your house to pick up pears and sell them, and they were ready-made! Guangwen was sweating profusely and scooped water in the water tank with a wooden scoop to drink.

"Why don't you drink raw water? Come, Eagle Tea! Shufen poured a glass of water from the house, and saw Guangwen pouring it by the water tank, and hurriedly stepped forward to stop it.

Half of Shufen's pears were sold to Guangwen, a special buyer who not only picked up the goods himself, but sometimes brought a group of people with him. The price they offer is the same as in the market. Shufen knew in her heart that Brother Guangwen was sincerely helping her.

"Hehe......" Hirofumi grinned, revealing a row of white teeth.

"Brother Guangwen, I want to comfort you, or many pears will rot to the ground!"

"It's okay, your pears are really sweet, I'll sell them on Chahe Street, and they sell very ......."

"Are your oranges hanging fruit?"

"It's hanging, the knot is very good, this year I fertilized according to the method of the county magistrate Nie, and some time ago I took the soil to the county for testing, and it is already suitable for the growth of yellow oranges!"

Guangwen rested for a while, and then went to the garden to pick pears. Because the high-quality pears bloom early and the growth period is short, when other pears are not on the market, Shufen's pears have almost sold out.

"Guangwen is here?" When Shufenniang came back from the field, she saw this old acquaintance and greeted him from afar.

"Fourth sister-in-law, Guangwen is really a good doll, in my opinion, one day I will go to Chahe to talk about the matchmaker and forget about the marriage!" With Shufenniang is her third sister-in-law.

"Hey, I'm afraid that the second child of our family didn't get this blessing. The young man has sound limbs, and he looks like a peugeot, it's better if you don't say it, as soon as you go and say it, how can your father and mother agree! ”

"I see him coming to your house from such a long distance every day, and his father and mother disagree, but the doll must have this meaning!"

"Forget it, our family Shufen doesn't want to, it's not that she picks it, but she feels that she can't afford Guangwen in her heart. I told her that day that she was still angry with me and told me not to hurt others, and she would be at home for the rest of her life...... You said these words...... "Shufenniang couldn't help but wipe away tears.

Guangwen carried more than 80 catties of pears and walked a few miles to the hydropower station to take a boat. He bought pears at Shufen's house, never weighed them, filled two baskets, paid the bill by 100 catties, and then went to Chahechang without eating lunch.

It was already past one o'clock in the afternoon when I got to the fork of the river. Pears brought in by the forest have taken over the market. It was already seven or eight o'clock in the evening after Guangwen sold the more than 80 catties of pears, and he had to fold a few yuan each time. But he likes to do this loss-making business.

It was already past ten o'clock when I got home in the dark. Guangwen's father and mother had forgiven him a long time ago, and last winter he moved back from the mountain pass to spend the New Year with his father, and his elderly father also sold hundreds of catties of sugarcane with him. But not long after he returned, he had an awkward relationship with his family again.

Before he could enter the house, he heard his father and mother arguing.

"Why did you give birth to such an unsuccessful thing, even if you don't study, you will admit it when you come back to engage in agriculture, now it's good, go to a place dozens of miles away to find a person and woman who has no face to fish...... When he comes back tonight, Lao Tzu will break his foot! ”

"The baby is not my life, you yourself have not been educated well, this Ha'er is here to complain about me...... Why don't you break it, even I will die together......"

Guangwen pushed open the door, saw the broken bowl on the ground, and walked towards the leaning house without looking back.

"Stand up to Lao Tzu!" Lao Wang reprimanded angrily.

Guangwen stopped, his eyes closed, he knew that his father was going to pick up the bamboo block and beat him again. Sure enough, the bamboo block in the hands of the angry old Wang fell on Guangwen's back, and Guangwenniang no longer came to persuade him as before, but just sat on the stool and cried.

"Did you run to the stone bridge again?" Lao Wang lifted the bamboo block high again, hoping that this "rebel" would turn around and admit his mistake.

"Yes!" Guangwenqiang held back tears. He had become accustomed to his father's way of upbringing, and knew his own mistakes, and if the beating had made his parents feel better, he would rather suffer the pain of his heart.

"What are you doing?"

"Went to my aunt's house......"

"You fart, your aunt came to our house in the morning and just left in the afternoon...... Are you going to Yangjiawan again? ”

"No, Dad. I'm going to the fork of the river......"

"Pop ......" the bamboo piece fell heavily on the back again. You tell Lao Tzu that from tomorrow onwards, you will farm with Lao Tzu every day, and you are not allowed to go anywhere. The day after tomorrow, I will go to Liulong with your mother, and your sister will tell you a mother-in-law over there......" Lao Wang threw the bamboo block and pulled Guangwen Niang to the back room.

Guangwen stood in place, tears finally flowing uncontrollably.

The fifteen-watt incandescent lamp under the tiled roof glowed with a yellowish glow, the walls were plastered with his elementary school awards, and on the silkworm trellis on the right side of the hall, the silkworms in the dustpan were spinning. Around the lamp, a few moths frantically pounced on the light......