Chrysanthemum saw that her brother was going to the village tomorrow to help repair the ancestral hall, and after the repair, he would go to school and study, so who would pick up the acorns all over the mountain? If she were alone, she wouldn't be exhausted to death! Well, her mother can help when the time comes; Dad may not be able to, but the work in the field alone is enough for him to be busy.

"Brother, let's go pick up some more acorns. I thought that this time I would soak it in water for about ten days to get rid of some of the astringency. Save water to boil, but also cost firewood! She said the reasons she had in mind.

Aoki saw that his sister was so confident in this acorn that it was not good to splash her cold water, and thought to himself, he would know whether the pig would eat this thing or not in two days, and it would be nothing to pick up some first, so he should play with his sister.

So, he nodded and said, "Okay, anyway, there are mountains all over the back, and it's cheap to pick up." ”

Chrysanthemum knew that he was not very enthusiastic, and he didn't explain, thinking that when the pig eats this pig food made of acorn fruit, you will have to get up early and pick up this thing greedily.

In the middle of the afternoon, the two siblings picked up four large bags of acorns. Mixed with the acorns peeled in the morning, I dug a big pit in the courtyard near the fence wall, picked a few loads of water and poured them in, and soaked the acorns in the shell.

The next day, after breakfast, Aoki went to the village to repair the ancestral hall, and Yang went to Qingbei Village to ask Mrs. Wang to do big things, but Chrysanthemum and her father were busy at home.

After the chrysanthemum finished feeding the pigs, she washed her clothes, ran to the pile of dung, took two branches and played with them, and saw the wriggling crickets inside, and she was very uncomfortable.

That thing has grown a lot. Chrysanthemum called her dad to come and see.

Zheng Changhe ran over with a "bang", and couldn't help grinning when he saw that the thing that his daughter was messing with was really good.

"Get some for the chickens! Chickens love to lay eggs when they eat this! He said impatiently to Chrysanthemum.

Chrysanthemum hurriedly said, "No, Dad." If you feed the chickens like this, you may get sick. I thought, wash this thing with water, take boiling water and scald it again, and when it dies, put it in the sun to dry and mash it. When feeding chickens, mixing vegetable leaves and corn residue is also less economical than feeding crickets alone. But I'm uncomfortable looking at this thing, and I have to get my dad to get it! ”

Zheng Changhe hurriedly said: "I'll get it, I'll get it!" Your little girl is disgusted when she sees this. Daddy must do what you say. ”

Chrysanthemum said again: "Dad, pick out the big ones first, and move the small ones to that pile of dung." If you put this pile of manure in the ground, it will definitely be very fat. You see, where there are crickets, the soil is more fertile. ”

Zheng Changhe said approvingly: "That's the case! In the woodpile, the more crickets there are, the more fertile they are, and the soil is black and loose! If this pile of dung is picked up in that wasteland, the vegetables will definitely grow well! ”

He rolled up his sleeves and got busy. Chrysanthemum ran away early.

At noon, Yang hadn't come back yet, Chrysanthemum cooked the meal, and said to Zheng Changhe: "Dad, you eat first, I'll go and deliver food to my brother." "Originally, the Yang family went to deliver it, but she hasn't come back yet, so she can't let her brother starve!

Zheng Changhe hurriedly threw down the hoe in his hand and ran over—he was picking up the pile of dung—and said to Chrysanthemum: "I'd better go!" You eat! ”

Chrysanthemum knew that he was afraid that the people in the village would laugh at him - the original owner of this body could hardly go to the village once a year, and he was afraid of people's jokes - but he was not afraid! Even if you hate other people's gossip, then you have to face the difficulties head-on, what's the use of hiding? Can you hide for the rest of your life?

Chrysanthemum said softly and resolutely to Zheng Changhe: "Dad, I don't care. No matter what others laugh at me, I'm not afraid of others laughing in the future. ”

Zheng Changhe opened his mouth wide and looked at his daughter, distressed and sad: "Flower, it's good that you have this ambition!" Let's let Dad go - let's not be angry with anyone! ”

Chrysanthemum pursed her lips and smiled: "It's okay, Dad, let me go!" You eat first, there's a lot to do! After saying that, he carried the basket and went out of the courtyard.

Zheng Changhe looked at the back of the chrysanthemum, and his heart went up and down - I don't know if she will be angry and come back.

Chrysanthemum carries a bamboo basket and strolls along the dirt road leading to the village.

How long has it been since you've been to the village? She recalled carefully, as if it had been a long time. She doesn't go to the village once a year, and it feels extremely strange to be so close to the village!

Autumn is stronger, the red, yellow and green branches of the treetops are brilliantly colored, from time to time there are leaves flying down, and the weeds on the roadside are also turning yellow and withering; In the paddy fields farther away, the rice has already been harvested, and only the neatly arranged rice stubble stumps remain, and only those wild chrysanthemums seem to be tenaciously blooming in the world.

Looking at the end of the path, the village with houses and trees and bamboo forests intertwined, the curling smoke rising, the birds singing in the treetops, and the dogs barking at the firewood door, if you are not so poor, the mountain behind you, the village in front of you, and the water next to the village are all beautiful scenery in the poem and painting!

She thought all the way, according to the vague impression in her memory, and tried to find a way to the old ancestral hall - no way, she forgot it all. There was a main road in the middle of the village, but Chrysanthemum remembered that the ancestral hall was not on this line, but near the north side of the village.

Turning around the corners, she looked around as she went, looking at the scattered houses and courtyards in the village, or mud houses or brick houses, with trees and bamboo forests in front of and behind the houses. The daily movement between neighbors has stepped on small paths that spread throughout the village like cobwebs, making families connected and connected.

was looking for it, and there was a person walking in front of him, it was Qin Feng! He was dressed in a black short suit today, carrying a medicine box, and he was very neat.

Seeing Chrysanthemum, he greeted with some surprise: "Chrysanthemum, you are ......"

Seeing him looking at himself with scrutinizing eyes, Chrysanthemum pouted secretly, and said in her heart, Does it seem so strange if I come out for a trip?

"Go to the ancestral hall and bring food to my brother!" After Chrysanthemum finished speaking, she turned sideways slightly to make way for him.

Qin Feng smiled and said, "Oh, go to the ancestral hall!" Over there! He reached out and pointed to his left.

Chrysanthemum thanked him softly and walked over with the basket.

Qin Feng turned around and looked at her back, feeling more and more that this chrysanthemum was very different from before.

She walked quietly and answered quietly, the whole person was comfortable and quiet, without the inferiority complex and panic of the past, like the wild chrysanthemum blooming in the field, gently swaying and quietly blooming!

Dressed in shabby gray clothes and pants, full of patches, at a glance, I knew that her brother Aoki had worn the rest of the changes. She stood there, pursing her lips and looking at him quietly, except for the ugly skin on her face as always, those eyes were as clear as the water of Mirror Lake, which made him shake for a moment, and almost drowned in it!

He shook his head, pushed the strange thought out of his mind, and turned to walk towards his lodgings. While thinking about the letter I sent to the master last time, I asked about the leprosy on Chrysanthemum's face, and I don't know if the master has a way to cure it. If it can be cured, then this poor little girl will be able to get married, and she will be considered a good deed.

Under Qin Feng's guidance, Chrysanthemum finally touched the construction site of the ancestral hall. Looking at the noisy courtyard in front of me, I thought that I had found the right one.

Closer to here, there are more people coming and going, and people come and go from time to time. Everyone greeted her warmly when they saw Chrysanthemum, but they couldn't help but stare at her face, and then look at her expression, and see that she was generous and didn't dodge her gaze, secretly strange!

Most of these people didn't know Chrysanthemum, and even if they saw it, they didn't know who it was, so she ignored them and walked straight into the ancestral compound.

The yard was filled with fine sand and all sorts of old and new timber brought from the river; Facing the courtyard gate is a slippery house, about five or six, and the appearance looks very dilapidated.

It seems that this is the ancestral hall, and it really needs to be repaired, otherwise it will not be able to be used as a school.

There was a commotion in the courtyard, and all kinds of farmers and men of all ages were smiling, which showed that they were happy and full of hope to build this dilapidated ancestral hall. Some people are eating; Some people get together to brag and fart; Others are still busy stirring the sediment; Chrysanthemum sees that Aoki is picking up soil.

Zhao Sanzheng was chatting with people, and when he saw the chrysanthemum, he hurriedly stood up and shouted to Aoki, "Aoki, come here." Chrysanthemum has brought you food. Chrysanthemum, come here and sit down first! ”

Chrysanthemum raised her head and pursed her lips and smiled at her brother who stopped to look over, and walked over to Zhao San. Along the way, she carefully avoided the waterlogged depressions and worn bricks, for fear of soiling the cloth shoes under her feet - the main reason was that making shoes was too hard, so she always cherished them.

Zhao San saw her coming, and hurriedly put a slightly clean wooden board on the ground, and Chrysanthemum put the basket on it. Zhao San took another wooden board for Chrysanthemum to sit on.

He smiled and said to Chrysanthemum: "I said let Aoki eat with me, but he refused to live or die!" ”

Someone next to him stared at Chrysanthemum - carefully studying her face, but Zhao San glared at him fiercely and glared him away.

Chrysanthemum didn't say a word when she saw it, and took out a large casserole in the basket, and a small deep-mouthed jar for soup. She picked these two things to give to the food, because she was afraid that the food and soup would be cold.

When Aoki saw Chrysanthemum coming, she was shocked, for fear that others would laugh at her and make her sad and cry. He hurriedly threw down the bamboo basket and beckoned to an older man, "Uncle Li, I'm going to eat." ”

The man looked at the chrysanthemum and raised his voice, "Go ahead, take a break after eating." You've been doing it all morning. ”

Aoki said yes and turned around and ran.

That Uncle Li turned his head to a short man next to him who was shoveling soil and said, "Aoki, this baby is good!" The work is real, the people are real, and she is a good doll! ”

The dwarf's surname is Zhou, because he is not tall, he is called Zhou Dwarf.

He said with a smile: "If you want to talk about the male children in the village, this batch is Aoki and Huaizi are top-notch. I don't know which girl will be blessed to marry them in the future. ”

Uncle Li is the younger brother of the village chief Li Gengtian, and his name is Li Gengtian.

He sighed, "It's just that the family is poorer." Otherwise, the last time I went back to Huaizi's house to propose marriage to Liu'er's family, Liu'er's mother didn't agree! ”

Zhou Xiaozi pouted disdainfully and said: "The old lady of the loser - shallow eyelids!" As the saying goes, 'don't bully young people into poverty', as long as the character is good, how can there be an accurate way to live a life, and people will not be prosperous? No one is born rich. Sun Jinshan was tossed by his mother-in-law, and sooner or later he would toss his daughter miserably - is a big family so easy to marry? ”

Li Gengar glanced at Zhou Xiaozi approvingly, knocked the pipe in his hand, and continued: "This is reasonable!" That mother-in-law wants to be like this all the time, when she cries! Glancing at Aoki's back, he said, "The two babies of the Changhe family are good. That chrysanthemum is also a good one. - It's a pity for that face! ”

Zhou Xiaozi also said sympathetically: "Isn't it! How can anything in this world be perfect? Xu is God also thinks that the two dolls are too good, so he let Chrysanthemum suffer this! ”

Not to mention that the two men were there to judge the Chrysanthemum brothers and sisters, but said that Aoki rushed to Chrysanthemum in a hurry, looked her up and down, and saw that she looked calm and did not look aggrieved, so he asked her, "Why are you here to deliver food?" Mother? ”