"Eat slowly, there's still another bowl left." Li Wen said funnyly as he watched his sister eat all the bean paste on her face.

"Third brother, this dumpling is so delicious!" Li Ping, the second daughter of the second uncle's family, raised her head and said.

Li Wen raised his head and glanced at this sister, but he didn't expect her to speak today.

Li Ping is 13 years old this year and is one year younger than Li Wen, but she said they grew up playing together and had a good relationship when they were young.

However, when Li Ping was six or seven years old, she fell into a reservoir while playing and developed a high fever. From then on, she spoke very little.

Because he usually doesn't talk, he stopped studying in elementary school before graduating from elementary school. He usually just follows his mother and second aunt around.

Li Ping rarely talks at home and only knows how to work hard. She only whispers a few words when she and her sister Li Xia are in the room.

My father and second uncle also took Li Ping to see a doctor in a large hospital in Chang'an City, and they spent a lot of money.

In the end, the doctor said it was a child with a mental disorder that could not be treated. After returning home, he would get better if his family members paid more attention and enlightened him.

The family doesn’t understand either. They only know that the child is fine, but he doesn’t like to talk and communicate with others. Because he is busy on weekdays, he doesn’t pay much attention to it.

Li Wen's family had many children, and his parents, uncle and aunt had to support a large family, so they took little care of Li Ping.

On weekdays, the second sisters Li Xia and Li Ping live in the same house and take care of her.

Li Wen knew that this sister had autism, which was probably caused by fright.

Recently, my family bought a radio, and Li Ping often listened silently, smiling from time to time.

During the fireworks show today, I actually walked out of the house and asked Li Xia for a firework, and then happily set it off with the little girl and the others.

This made the second uncle and second aunt extremely happy and wanted to talk to their daughter. However, Li Wen refused. Li Ping's recovery was a process.

"If it's delicious, eat more. I'll give you some fruit candies. You can always sweeten your mouth if you have nothing to do." Li Wen handed over five or six more candies.

Seeing Ping timidly wanting to take it but not daring to take it, Li Wen motioned to Xiao Li Juan for help.

"Sister, get it quickly! The candy is so sweet." The little girl patted Li Ping's arm and said.

Li Ping and the little girl are also very familiar with each other on weekdays, and they sometimes talk quietly.

The little girl put the candy directly into Li Ping's pocket.

Li Wen looked at Li Ping with a smile on his face. He knew that the child's mind was being repaired and he was slowly beginning to dare to contact others.

The family members were very happy to see Li Ping's change. After all, it would be a problem for a taciturn girl to get married in the future.

Time flies, February has passed in the blink of an eye. The ground has begun to thaw, the willow trees on the roadside have quietly sprouted, and spring has arrived.

However, the weather is still very cold recently, and there is always a late spring cold.

My father, Li Deyou, and my second uncle, Li Dezhong, along with many people from the village, went to the county to build waterways and work as river carriers.

The reason why it is called river hauling work is because there was no investment in construction machinery in this era, and no matter how large the project volume was, it had to be carried out manually by hand and carts.

In recent years, water conservancy projects have been built every year during the off-season, and everyone has been running around the county. It was not completed in autumn and winter, and will be continued in spring.

The farmers who participated in the construction of the reservoir were not paid and worked voluntarily. They were not paid for the construction of the reservoir.

Instead, the production team where you work will give you work points, which are the same as those for working in the fields on weekdays, and dividends will be settled at the end of the year.

Due to the famine in recent years, the higher authorities have been calling on everyone to fight against natural disasters on their own.

Working people are very active in opening up wasteland and building water conservancy projects. After all, they are closely related to their own lives.

Moreover, everyone is very united at this time, and if called upon to do anything, everyone will work hard and do it.

Another important reason is that digging reservoirs can provide enough food.

The Chinese New Year has just ended, and spring is coming again, and many people are starting to run out of food at home. Strong laborers have a lot to eat, so digging reservoirs can give them enough to eat, which also reduces the burden on their families.

Reservoir work consumes a lot of money, so the country will provide good food. Not to mention white flour steamed buns and meat, at least sweet potato noodles, corn flour, and sorghum flour steamed buns can make people full.

Within a week or so, white flour steamed buns, stir-fried vegetables and vermicelli were provided to improve life. Everyone was very satisfied, after all, the food was much better than at home.

As for meat, don't even think about it. When the project is completed, it will be good to have a big stew with some meat in it.

After all, the rations for digging rivers are all saved by the county, communes and villages, and then divided some for use. It is also very rare.

Brothers Li Deyou and Li Dezhong move back and forth carrying nearly 200 kilograms of boulders every day. Thanks to their good food and strong health during this period.

However, this is how everyone works on the reservoir. People carry horses, and machinery is rarely involved. Occasionally, it is a semi-manual mechanical lifting device.

From time to time, chants sounded in the reservoir, which were the laborers who were laying foundations shouting slogans.

A stone ram (hang) weighing 60 to 70 kilograms was tied with a rope. Eight laborers around him shouted slogans and worked together to lift the stone ram to a height of nearly two meters and then dropped it heavily.

Looking at it, there are hundreds of such combinations, and the loud chants resound throughout the construction site, bringing motivation to other people who are shouldering the burden.

The trumpet sounded, work began, and the day ended under darkness.

"Go home after work!"

Li Dezhong put the towel around his neck on his shoulders and laughed happily.

The two brothers did not live in the reservoir, but went home with the production team's oxcart in the evening.

Working in the reservoir, they had very little food at night. After working for a day, the brothers would have something to eat when they got home. After all, Li Wen's family still had enough food.

It's still very cold outside now, and the shacks built in the reservoir are relatively crude. If you get sick, the few work points you earn will be in vain.

I didn’t see that all the cadres and those whose families were in better condition had gone home. Only those whose families were far away and those in poor conditions were left in the reservoir.

When the moon passed over the branches, the two brothers Li Deyou finally went home. After taking off the fatigue of the day, they quickly lit a pot of dry cigarettes and started smoking.

Li Wen was also very discerning. He made low-end tea that he bought in the county town and brought it to his father and second uncle.

It's not that Li Wen didn't want to buy good tea, he couldn't buy it. He had to ask a friend to get half a catty of tea stamps and bought some big leaf tea. That was all.

In the past, my father and my second uncle drank some mulberry leaves and dandelion leaves. These were roasted tea leaves, which had no taste and had to be boiled to drink.

During the Chinese New Year, my mother would also go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some broken tea leaves to satisfy her cravings or to entertain guests.

Nowadays, the conditions for drinking broken tea are considered good, and most of the tea is exported for foreign exchange.

Fortunately, the southern part of the province is a famous tea-producing area in the country. Ziyang tea and Fu tea in this province are well-known throughout the country. The output is also large, so it is relatively easy for locals to get some broken tea leaves and large-leaf tea.

"This tea still has flavor! It's comfortable to drink, much better than the local tea we make ourselves." Second uncle Li Dezhong took a sip of tea and said with a smile.

"You kid, you put so many tea leaves in a pot of tea, you are a prodigal! These good teas total less than half a catty." ωωw..net

Li Deyou saw a lot of tea leaves in the teapot, opened his eyes wide and scolded Li Wen.

"You old guy is still yelling at my son. If it weren't for Awen, would you be able to drink such good tea? Son, buy him some shit next time."

Wang Chunmei came out with a noodle bowl and saw Li Deyou yelling at Li Wen and said angrily.

"Hey, isn't it that Awen caught too much? Just put six or seven sticks in a pot of tea to satisfy your cravings. Too much is too wasteful." Li Deyou hurriedly apologized with a smile.

"Hurry up and eat, Wang Chunmei put the rice bowl on the table. I'm getting blinder day by day. Six or seven sticks smell like tea, so I know it's my son." Wang Chunmei put down the rice bowl and took away the teapot.

"Next time Awen, don't buy something for this old guy. It's hard to drink the good stuff."

"Haha, Mom is fine. My dad must be reluctant to let go of so much. Don't worry, you can drink it. I'll find a friend to make it after you finish it. It's not the best tea, just ordinary big-leaf tea." Li Wen didn't get angry with his father.

, it’s just a family joke.

"You boy, I heard what I said, but you still protected that old thing, little white-eyed wolf." Wang Chunmei angrily returned to the room carrying the teapot.

Li Wen hurriedly followed to make his mother happy.
Chapter completed!