What about lotus flowers? She is a very sensible and very diligent and very shrewd little girl, she keeps asking what things can be exchanged for money in order to let Wang Zhongyu have books to read, she will always inquire about the east and west, and the inquiry is very auspicious, digging out half summer in the spring, wheat winter, collecting cat skins (a kind of plant skin) in summer, picking up tung oil seeds, wooden roll seeds, and wood oak seeds (the raw materials used for roasting wine at that time) in autumn. Banxia, wheat Dong (they are all commonly used Chinese medicinal materials), and then inquire how to process, how to sell, where to sell, at that time to buy these things are supply and marketing cooperatives. Processing Banxia is not an easy task, the fresh Banxia should be put into a small amount of hydrated lime, Banxia is slightly toxic, scrubbing for a long time, and the hands are itchy. Stir well, rinse and scrub, and remove the outer skin of Banxia. Scrubbing is also very particular, and the force should be just right: too much force is easy to damage Banxia; If the force is too small, it can't be peeled, which affects the quality. Rinse it off and dry it directly over fire or in the sun.

The processing of these medicinal materials is much simpler, as long as the roots are pulled out, the particles on the roots are broken off and washed, and then dried, but the wheat is grown in the cracks of the stones, and the harvest is not very easy. These things can be sold as long as they are dry enough, and the normal quality ones are uniform and white in size; When she learned that the supply and marketing cooperatives accept cat skins (a raw material used for rough paper), and the price is still expensive. However, it is not easy to collect it, but in order to help Zhongzhong, she has added a little more bravery to her natural character that is not afraid of heaven and earth. Every day after school, she carries a basket on her back and goes up the mountain, climbs the cliff to collect, and then picks the cats and chickens back and then peels them, and the peeled skins are dried in the cold and sun the next day, and finally packed and sold to the supply and marketing cooperatives.

She is even busier in autumn, because many things are harvested in autumn, so the lotus should seize the opportunity of autumn, such as picking up the tung oil fruit that people have dropped on the ground, stacking the tung oil fruit together and waiting for the skin to rot, and then get the seeds inside to dry, and then take it to the fried oil room to sell it, and the master of the oil room uses it to fry the tung oil is an industrial product (widely used in industry); At the same time, you can pick up wooden roll seeds, and then sell the wooden roll seeds to the frying oil room, wooden roll seeds are also industrial products (wooden roll seeds were mainly used to make soap at that time), and at the same time it is also edible oil (be careful when used as edible oil, this oil has slight toxicity), be especially careful when making edible oil, boil oil must be boiled until there is no oil bubble at all, before you can eat, otherwise it is easy to have diarrhea; But Wang Zhongyu's family can't eat this kind of oil, and he hasn't eaten a few meals of oil stars a year, but only during the Spring Festival can he enjoy such a high level. Wood oak seeds are the raw material for roasted wine. In this way, Lotus finally raised all the expenses for Wang Zhongyu and himself to go to school.

At that time, the tuition fee was two yuan and five yuan for the first and second grades, and only three yuan and eight yuan for the third, fourth and fifth grades, and even for junior high school, it was only seven or eight yuan, and there was no sixth grade. But in addition to tuition, he also needs homework books, and he has to study at night and have to be illuminated, and Wang Zhongyu's family has no money to buy kerosene, so his house has not been lit at night, and the whole family is curled up in a very broken quilt at night. Usually straw handles, or sunflower branches, or whatever, are used when needed, and anyway, as long as they can be lit up, these things are only used to take care of the mother, and as for kerosene, there is no more. At that time, the school had to engage in work-study, so they knew that tung oil seeds and wooden roll seeds could be sold for money, so they went to pick up lotus flowers in addition to school.

Wang Zhongyu also took care of his mother and picked it up whenever he had free time. Anyway, the two of them are always looking for an opportunity to make money, even if it is for a few minutes, and then they will take the things they find and sell them. This solves small problems and uses the redundant elsewhere.

For example, buy a few large needles and small needles, buy a few strings of thread, at that time, the big needle was two cents a piece, the small needle was two pennies, and the blue line and white line were a string. Buy these mending clothes and pants, and the big needle is generally used to mend the quilt and large things. At that time, people did not know how many patches were patched on their clothes, and one piece of clothing was worn and worn, and mended and mended. In addition, the washing material is lacking, and a piece of soap is unaffordable, which makes the astringent (a small animal attached to the human body to suck blood), fleas (also a small blood-sucking animal, it can jump) and bed bugs, these parasites, are more toxic, after sucking the blood on the human body, not only itchy, but also have a big rash, but also easy to infect, and the bed bug can also fly, it is difficult to catch.

There is a chance to take advantage of it, so it is easy to hide. Due to various reasons and conditions, there are a lot of various parasites in Wang Zhongyu's home, and there is no one to take care of them and wash them often, so Wang Zhongyu's home is a paradise for these parasites. This is also a kind of foreshadowing and enlightenment on his life path. Lay a solid foundation and spiritual backing for the future life path. Long-term life self-improvement, so that the lotus has developed a tenacious character, for the later life to prepare unique conditions, this is not adversity out of talent, poor children early in charge of the house!

Of course, the first semester is over, but what about the second semester and the future? and Wang Zhongyu's mother's illness is getting worse and worse, and she needs to be taken care of more often, and these problems are entangled in Lotus's heart all the time. She didn't think about her own affairs, of course, she didn't need to think about her own affairs, and all her wisdom could only be exerted and displayed in a family like Wang Zhongyu. He can't help but be loyal to school, of course, loyal is also very diligent and hardworking, and he also knows that it is not easy for him to study and the dedication of the lotus and the lotus family. He was also a very sensible child, every day after school, while taking care of his mother, he silently read what the teacher said that day, and occasionally used wooden sticks to write and draw on the ground to review his homework. If he has extra time, he learns to cut the ground and grow some vegetables and the like, although it is not very decent, he can finally make do with it. This kind of labor made Wang Zhong's knowledge broader, his body stronger, and he knew more about the importance of knowledge, and he also knew more that knowledge was the most basic and best condition for changing his fate.

As they continue to grow older, the two have gradually grown up, and Lotus and Wang Zhongyu are both in junior high school, and they are both more mature in helping each other, and they know how to take care of each other, understand and respect each other. Maybe this is the poor man's child who is in charge of the house early! In this way, the childlike feelings of the two have evolved into another noble emotion.

They have also become the main labor force in the family, they have also studied harder, and they have to find time for housework, and they have to find ways to earn their own education expenses, and the vitality of youth is flourishing and turbulent. Wang Zhongyu's home also got up with the help of lotus flowers and changed. No wonder it is said that "youth is capital", which is good, and its energy is particularly vigorous. Sometimes it is necessary to supplement the family, and the lotus at this time is already a slim rural girl with buds to be released, with affection and veins, and buds to be released.

The girl's spring heart is also developing towards the advanced process of human beings. It is said that women mature earlier than men. Yes, that's not false at all. It is in this way that a big girl always runs to other people's houses all day long, which is a bit unusual, and this kind of exchange will attract a lot of criticism, and she has also become a topic of conversation after people have tea and dinner. Although the lotus doesn't care, but the family can't do it, especially when parents, not to mention that every parent's heart hopes that they have a happy future, there is such a thing, knowing that it is a fire pit, but also trying to jump in, what kind of person is this, unless there is a disease, but the lotus is like a sick person. Therefore, because of the lotus's practice, people can not get the consent of their own families, cool and supportive, and the lotus is digging character, and after the parents and family are stiff, they simply don't do it, and they are not ashamed, and they move to Wang Zhongyu's parents to live. Wang Zhongyu also persuaded her to go back, but Lotus insisted on doing so, and Wang Zhongyu said that he couldn't help her, so he had to go with her.

Wang Zhongyu also knows his mission of studying and the conditions and difficulties of his family, his father is getting older and older, and his work is becoming more and more difficult, so the efficiency of work is also reduced, so he is ready to take care of his mother to his younger brother and younger sister, and he has to find some time to earn some money, and he can't completely rely on the help of lotus, so it is not good for the long run, she has paid too much, it is not good to always do this, she has to rely on herself to stand up and take the initiative to save the responsibility of the family, and find a way to make money. He inquired and finally found out that selling coal was a very good errand, and that it was feasible, and that it was just in time, because the people who bought coal in the city bought the coal in the morning and then went to work. Therefore, it is completely necessary to wait until the end of school to rush to the coal plant and before the end of work, buy the coal, and transport it home.

A little early in the morning, around four o'clock, the coal can be transported to the county seat to be sold, and then come back to class again. Relatively speaking, the profit is also a bit large, the cost is also small, hexagonal four cents and one hundred catties, if you carry forty or fifty catties, it is only three or four cents, so you can earn seven or eight cents at a time. I just don't know how much I can carry? The local coal factory is not far from home, first see if you are carrying thirty pounds, and then slowly increase? As soon as he didn't have time to eat after school, he set off from school to the coal factory about a kilometer away to carry coal, he bought 30 catties of the money he usually saved, and finally put the coal on the ground, picked out a little better coal and sold it the next day, got up before dawn, and then carried the prepared coal to the county seat about three to four kilometers away and sold it and came back to school again.

When Wang Zhongyu got the money he earned with his own labor for the first time, he didn't know how happy he was, and he wanted to tell this joy to the lotus, and then made all the arrangements, and the younger siblings could take care of each other's mother. But this incident made Lotus furious, and he was still confused by the second monk. This was the first time he had seen Lotus have such a big temper. But Wang Zhongyu doesn't care about her, he still does his own thing, he can't survive with the help of lotus flowers for a long time, not to mention that he is a man, a man who stands up to the sky, he also believes that she can understand. He studied and sold coal at the same time. What about lotus flowers? While learning, he is looking for ways to help him and find new ways to earn money and new ways. Lotus is a natural expert at housework, she puts something edible in her meal, and tries to put less staple food. Although the staple food of a meal is small, it is carefully blended by lotus flowers to make it very sweet and delicious, and for their family, every meal is a delicacy.

In this way, until the graduation of junior high school, at the time of graduation, the state resumed the examination system, which brought a ray of hope to Wang Zhongyu and Lotus. However, there are still conditions in the enrollment matter, such as internal recruitment, and many additional conditions for candidates, etc., plus there were not many students enrolled at that time, 70 normal students, 20 technical secondary schools, and less than 500 high school students. In this case, of course, Wang Zhongyu took the teacher examination as the first choice, but when the results of the top one or two of his two came out, the notice of the lotus was obtained, and Wang Zhongyu's notice was not there, and he was not admitted. The inquirer came back and said:

"According to the actual situation of our county, first solve a condition is more superior, the quota is also full, the enrollment conditions are: priority to solve the internal recruitment, and then solve the problem that the parents are cadres, and then the parents are workers, and the parents are party members, although he has good grades, but he has to come step by step, he was not admitted this year. Let's see next year's enrollment! He'll reread it next year. ”

In this way, he was turned away from the gates of the normal school. Lotus, I heard that Wang Zhongyu was not admitted, I was so angry that I was about to go crazy, and I went to the admissions office, she wanted to give the quota to Wang Zhongyu, and the people in the admissions office said that the notice was also issued, and it had been reported and could not be changed. That's it, she made a fuss, it didn't work, just accept her fate! She didn't go at all, and on the way back, she thought about going to high school. Just as the admission letter is being received, the form of China is constantly changing. The college entrance examination system was also restored, and the former production mode with the production team as the collective economy was transformed into a contract responsibility system for households, which was nothing more than a good thing for the poor people, but it was not the same thing for Wang Zhongyu.

Because the land is contracted to the household, more major labor is needed, and my father is no longer good, and a lot of farm work cannot be done, and my mother is about to die, and it is only a matter of time. Under the pressure of multiple factors, Wang Zhongyu's choice is faced, in the face of such conditions, his only choice is to give up his studies, but when Lotus knows about it, how can he not let him give up, she said:

"Shall I give up? After all, I'm a girl, I graduated from junior high school, it's enough, there must still be feudal consciousness in real life, and there are a lot of people talking behind their backs. Do you think girls read so many books? No matter how much you read, it's someone else's, and this is the so-called "marry a girl and splash water." “

Besides, there are not many girls studying now." But Wang Zhongyu disagreed, he said to Lotus: "Lotus, our family also owes you, and we owe you a lot, I'm afraid I won't be able to pay it off in my life, let me choose this time?" But Lotus disagreed from beginning to end, and asked him to go to school no matter what, Wang Zhong was not good at words, so he had to compromise, and the matter was negotiated.

The lotus looked at the blue sky, and felt very uncomfortable. I will be destined to be with the mountain. I really want to cry, but what about crying? Won't there be many people's sympathy and help? Will only add to other people's jokes? In this way, it is better to do this. All of this is your own choice, although your heart is bleeding, you still have to pretend that everything is wrong on the surface, and persuade others how to do it? Do you think it's better to have a better time like this? The lotus slowly calmed down his heart, and only when he was happy, Wang Zhongyu could be happy, and only when Wang Zhongyu was happy, all of Wang Zhongyu was happy, and he chose this path, no matter how hard and tired he was, he had to go on, and he had to support it, and he must not let people see jokes, and he was broken with his family. Do you have to let your family see how beautiful and happy you are? And how happy? And Wang Zhongyu is also thinking, what can I do? Lotus provokes herself with difficulties, puts down all her future and pursuits, and lets all her efforts go to waste, what about me? Only to love her twice as much, and to let it go is another expression of love, which may be what people often say about tolerance!

Wang Zhongyu secretly made up his mind, and a promise not to marry her arose in Wang Zhongyu's heart. Wang Zhongyu looked at the lotus in silence, and his heart was also angry, and from today onwards, the lives of both of us will be rewritten. Only by redoubling my efforts to do what I should do, and trying to do it well, can I be worthy of the lotus, and can I make the lotus's heart calm and comforted. I have to do this, and this is the only choice I have, and there is no other way to go, okay! Let's fight against the tide and break the boat! To carve out our own sky. Wang Zhongyu said softly:

"Alright! So be it! Listen to you. ”

Wang Zhongyu looked at the lotus, tears rolled out at once, and the lotus held Wang Zhongyu's face and said:

"It's a shame that you're still a man, what a big deal this is! You have to believe that we can all hold on until the clouds are gone and there is a world of our own. “

Since then, the lotus has undertaken all the farm work of Wang Zhong's family, in addition to the land, taking care of the housework, she does all the work herself, especially in the busy farming season, the lotus is more strengthened to play the spiritual support, ploughing the field can not ask anyone to help, she will do it herself, so that the family is finally maintained, and this is about to fall, almost in the glass of the broken home, dragged back.