Chapter 9: The Village Cottage
Before you know it, the happy summer vacation is coming to an end. For the strange and curious junior high school, Hu Xiaona can't be said to be not nervous, or a little scared is more appropriate, Hu Xiaona is afraid that she can't adapt to the unknown junior high school life.
Hu Xiaona only knew that her sister Hu Xiaoli went to school early and came back late every day, and was rarely late. Is it that the top students are not often late, Hu Xiaona thought to herself that it must be like this, and silently said come on to herself.
Entering junior high school made her feel scared, but the hut in the village made Hu Xiaona feel even more scared. Hu Xiaona later heard Wang Erni say that she was not the only one who was afraid of the hut in their village, but other friends who passed by their village felt scared and would run fast.
Hu Xiaona sometimes thinks that Wang Erni's news is very smart, If you say that the person with the most intelligent news, Hu Xiaona thinks it must be Wang Dong, but Wang Dong never talks to her about the shortcomings of the family, so she is embarrassed to ask Wang Dong. Hu Xiaona just doesn't know if what Wang Erni said is true or false, is that really the case?
If it was true, Hu Xiaona felt that the old woman was so pitiful!
No one cared about her, she ate and lived in that hut alone, and I heard that the old woman's pot had never been brushed, so was there no one to carry water for her? Or did she have no water tank in her house, just a bed and a broken pot? Hu Xiaona couldn't imagine how hard the old man was!
The little friends in the village, no one has ever been to the old woman's hut, and listening to Wang Erni, it seems that no one in the village has ever been to that hut, and they are all afraid. I can't tell what I'm afraid of, maybe the people in the village are afraid to see the old woman living a bleak and pitiful life, and the smart Hu Xiaona thinks that the real reason why people are afraid is that they are afraid of their old age, and they are afraid that they will live like that old woman in the future.
But in those days, no one cared much about other people's affairs, and the stories of those old people suing their children on TV were just legends in real life.
I don't know how long it took, the old woman passed away, five boys and two women, I heard that no one came to take care of her funeral, she didn't treat the old man well before she died, and the old man passed away, and there was no repentance and conscience at all? Hu Xiaona is not a curious person, but she just wants to know if there is a child who will take care of the old man's funeral. However, she knew that Wang Erni was capable of this, and she couldn't inquire about it. I can only ask Wang Dong about this, Wang Dong definitely has the potential to be a policeman.
But in those days, the line between boys and girls was very clear, and no one gossiped unless a group of people were together. Hu Xiaona really wants to know about the old woman, she can't wait for school to start, she can't wait for junior high school to be classified, I have to say that Hu Xiaona's temper is really anxious.
On this day, Hu Xiaona called Wang Erni and her neighbor Zhang Yile to discuss how to call Wang Dong. Wang Erni proposed to let Zhang Yile call Wang Dong, but Zhang Yile said that he was not familiar with Wang Dong, and he just said hello.
Hu Xiaona became even more anxious when she heard this, what should she do, just when she was anxious, Zhang Yile patted her head and said in surprise: "Hu Xiaona, I know who is a neighbor with Wang Dong?" ”
Afraid of the sudden silence in the air, Hu Xiaona yelled impatiently at Zhang Yile: "You said it!" Zhang Yile shook his handsome hairstyle and said proudly: "Guess! Hu Xiaona thought to herself, it turned out to be a seller, okay, just let you scream, turn around and leave.
Zhang Yile panicked now, he hurriedly compensated Hu Xiaona, Hu Xiaona was originally pretending, she saw Wang Erni snickering on the side, knowing that Wang Erni saw her careful thoughts, and Zhang Yile couldn't see it, judging from the current situation, Zhang Yile is not Hu Xiaona's opponent. Therefore, Hu Xiaona quickly knew the right person to be named Wang Dong.
Yes, it was Wang Sanshui, the naughtiest student in their class, whose original name everyone had almost forgotten, and only when he was criticized by the teacher by name, everyone remembered it. It turns out that he and Wang Dongjia are neighbors, so what are you waiting for, Hu Xiaona and her party discussed it, and Zhang Yile was responsible for calling Wang Sanshui, and then asked Wang Sanshui to help.
As a result, Zhang Yile ran to Wang Sanshui's house sweating profusely and learned that he had gone to a relative's house and would not come back until tomorrow. Therefore, the plan had to be postponed, Hu Xiaona was really angry, if there was a magical existence of the telephone today, she would definitely call Wang Dong's phone until it was automatically turned off. However, in those days when information tools were scarce, writing a letter had to travel a long way, and the town's post office was like a distant dream.
Wang Erni persuaded Hu Xiaona not to be so anxious, take her time in everything, it's useless to be anxious, wait a minute, won't Wang Sanshui come back tomorrow. Hu Xiaona nodded, and everyone disbanded and went home. Along the way, Hu Xiaona was very worried, there were acquaintances on the road who greeted her, she didn't hear it, she walked over, and then came back to her senses, she thought to herself What was wrong, why was she so worried?
When she got home, her parents and sister were waiting for her to eat, and Hu Xiaona explained that she went out to play and jumped rubber bands and came back late, and she went to wash her face after speaking. In fact, she lied, for fear of being discovered by her family, and she didn't want to lie, but she always felt that no one wanted to hear the truth, and maybe her parents and sister blamed her for being curious.
Hu Xiaona felt that she had never been a nosy person, but why she paid so much attention to the old woman's affairs this time, it may be that she felt that the old woman was too pitiful. She must know if any of her nine children have a little conscience. The old people worked hard to raise them to grow up, and when they are old, no one cares?
The more Hu Xiaona thought about it, the more angry she became, she didn't want to eat dinner, and she didn't feel hungry, dinner was noodles, she liked to eat, but today she only ate a little food, and she said to her parents that she had a little headache and didn't go to other people's houses to watch TV, and her sister Hu Xiaoli said to her impatiently: "You have a lot of business, don't go to watch TV and wait for us at home!" After Hu Xiaoli finished speaking, she muttered in a low voice: "I don't know when we will have a TV in our house!" ”
Hu Xiaoli's voice was very small, but Hu Xiaona's hearing was very good, and she heard it word for word, Hu Xiaona said: "When will our family buy a TV?" Parents were stunned for a moment when they heard their little daughter's words, and then Hu Xiaoli said: "Xiao Na, did your parents say when you will buy a TV?" What a hurry? Hu Xiaona saw Hu Xiaoli's dissatisfied eyes, she thought to herself, didn't her sister say it first, but she forgot, Hu Xiaoli whispered, who is like her, can't even think about it, and can't talk with brains?
Hu Xiaona regretted it a little, her parents must be unhappy, this unhappiness is not a new schoolbag for the beginning of junior high school, and there is no drama. Of course Hu Xiaona knew, and she definitely couldn't ask. So, she walked away with her head down. She came to the yard and wanted to water the willow tree in the yard, and before she knew it, the willow tree had grown a lot taller. Hu Xiaona always felt that Liu Shu understood her best, as if she could understand what she said. Especially when the wind was blowing, she felt that the willow tree was talking to her.
The next day, Wang Erni came to Hu Xiaona's house to call her before eight o'clock, and Zhang Yile also came over after a while. Mom and Dad went to the ground, Hu Xiaoli went to play with other friends, Hu Xiaona cleaned up the dishes and chopsticks, finished the housework, and discussed today's matter with her friends. It's still yesterday's plan, Zhang Yile is in charge of calling Wang Sanshui, Wang Erni and Hu Xiaona are waiting for him in the east of the village.
After a while, Zhang Yile came back, and Wang Sanshui came with him. Hu Xiaona and Wang Sanshui are not familiar with each other, but Hu Xiaona still remembers that when she was the squad leader, Wang Sanshui's words of instigating that class flower were also because of Wang Sanshui's praise for her, and Hu Xiaona was not disgusted with him. Everyone discussed how to call Wang Dong over, and Wang Sanshui said that he would definitely be able to do it, but he didn't know if Wang Dong was at home.
After waiting for a while, Wang Sanshui came back, but Wang Dong did not come. It turned out that Wang Dong had been living at his grandmother's house for a while, and he heard Wang Dong's family say that he might not come back until school started. Well, Hu Xiaona announced that everyone was disbanded, and there was no other way but to wait, right? At this time, Wang Sanshui said that he would go to Wang Dong's house tomorrow to see, and his family did not say which day he would come back, so it could only be like this.
Hu Xiaona felt that time had passed really long, many years later, she knew why she was so anxious to see Wang Dong at that time, in addition to wanting to inquire about the old woman, she was also worried about Wang Dong, because she already knew Wang Dong's family situation at that time, she knew that Wang Dong must be very unhappy, and she didn't want Wang Dong to have a bad time. She wanted to persuade Wang Dong to open a little, she wanted to tell Wang Dong that in addition to his family, he also had friends, and it was not that no one cared about him.
In this way, after waiting for two more days, he finally waited for the good news of Wang Sanshui, and Wang Dong came back from his grandmother's house. This morning, Hu Xiaona didn't care about cleaning up the dishes and chopsticks at home, so she ran out quickly, she heard her sister tell her to stop, and she didn't care about her, she was still in a hurry to have a meeting with her friends, yes, I was ready to have a meeting, and I would discuss the matter of calling Wang Donglai.
Wang Sanshui went to call Wang Dong, Hu Xiaona, Wang Erni, and Zhang Yile were waiting for him here, the three of them were talking and laughing, and after a while, Wang Sanshui and Wang Dong came over together. Hu Xiaona felt very sad when she saw Wang Dong lose weight, and at this time Wang Dong greeted everyone separately and asked him what was going on.
Hu Xiaona told him what happened, Wang Dong listened, smiled bitterly, and said to Hu Xiaona: "You know, what's the use, it's useless!" ”
Hu Xiaona shook her head and said to Wang Dong: "Although we know it, it's useless, but I want to know the truth, the old man has seven children, and none of them will give her a pension and send her to the end of his life?" Wang Dong listened to Hu Xiaona's words, and everyone signaled while walking, they walked to the river at the edge of the village, it was too hot today, Hu Xiaona proposed to go to the river to enjoy the cool, but made it clear that she would not go to the river to play, because the last time her sandals were washed away, it is still fresh in her memory, and she can't say that she is not afraid.
Soon, the five of them came to the river, Hu Xiaona knew Wang Dong's temper, and she was not in a hurry to ask him, waiting for him to say it himself.
The weather is very hot today, Hu Xiaona and her group of five came to the river, it is really cool here, Hu Xiaona did not forget the business, she asked Wang Dong: "When the old woman was dying, did she have no children by her side?" Wang Dong pondered for a while, and said to Hu Xiaona: "The old woman has a total of seven children, five of whom are adults and do not come back, and two children do not care about her ...... at home."
Before Wang Dong finished speaking, Wang Erni took the lead and asked, "Why don't the two children at home care about the old woman?" "
This is also what Hu Xiaona wanted to ask, at this time Wang Dong said: "The two daughters at home don't care about her, it's good to come to see her once in half a year!" ”
Everyone is embarrassed, and they are all angry for the old woman! Why is the old woman's life so bitter!
I was most afraid of the sudden silence in the air, at this time, Zhang Yile spoke, and he asked what happened later? After Wang Dong's description, everyone knows about what happened.
Everyone fell into deep thought, such a hot weather, but why did Hu Xiaona feel cold!