"Go and take a nap. I have to work in the afternoon. I'm not mentally refreshed. If you fall asleep during work, the team leader won't spare you lazy students."
Ma Guifang pointed at the girls and pretended to be serious while reminding them.
The girls were no longer afraid of her. They laughed and swarmed into the dormitory door. They were quite obedient.
Outside the gate, only Chun Niang and Ma Guifang were left.
Ma Guifang nodded at her and motioned for her to follow her.
The two came to the edge of the field under the school. Chun Niang couldn't help but stopped and asked tentatively: "Director Ma, do you have something to do with me?"
Ma Guifang did not nod or shake her head. She just pointed at the neat fields in front of her that had been sown and had green branches sprouting out:
"The food would not have grown so well in previous years. Before the Xu family came, it was sparse and lacked water and fertilizer. Every time it didn't get through to the autumn harvest, people on the farm would die."
"It's hard to dig wild vegetables and eat them to survive the winter, but a lot of people will freeze to death."
"At that time, when the snow melts and spring comes, people are everywhere wrapped in straw mats and being buried..."
"Later, the village owner sold Zhuangzi to the Xu family. Just after the autumn harvest, the village owner took away all the grain. He didn't benefit the Xu family at all, and he didn't leave half a catty of grain for us tenant farmers."
"Do you know what I was thinking when I was holding my skinny boy?" Ma Guifang looked at Chun Niang and asked softly.
Chun Niang grew up in the city. Her father was the accountant of Gongsun Zan's house, and her mother was the daughter of a wealthy family in the city. Although her living conditions were not as good as those of other ladies, they were much better than those of ordinary people in the city.
At least, she, a girl, in this era, has not been rejected by her parents and can survive well, which proves that their family's conditions are good.
Not to mention teaching her arithmetic and having two little maids to take care of her daily life, things that only a family who dotes on their daughter would do.
Growing up, the furthest home Chun Niang had ever traveled was from Yuyang County to Xujiazhuang, three miles away.
She had heard the two little maids talk about everything outside, but she had no idea what it was like.
When Ma Guifang asked this question, the girl couldn't answer it at all. She just deduced in her mind, "She can't eat, she has a child, and the cold winter is coming, then..."
"Do you want to take your child with you to seek death?" Chun Niang asked tremblingly, fearing that the result she derived was too cruel.
Ma Guifang shook her head, with a bitter smile on her lips, "I am just a rough country woman, and the one in my family is just an ordinary mud-legged person. We people fled from the south to the north just to survive."
Chun Niang looked at Ma Guifang in surprise, "Don't you want to die? Then what do you think?"
Ma Guifang raised her eyelids, stared at her with her dark brown pupils, and said word by word:
"What the head of the family and I want to do is to exchange our child with the daughter of Zheng Lai's family next door. When we can't bear it any longer, we can use the exchange to get rid of the broken bones to survive this winter."
Chun Niang was so frightened by this look that she couldn't help but step back and almost fell off the field. Ma Guifang stretched out her hand and pulled her, which scared Chun Niang and screamed "Ah".
After shouting, he realized that his reaction was too big, so he hurriedly covered his mouth and looked at Ma Guifang in shock, wondering why she would tell him such a thing.
Ma Guifang waited for her to calm down before continuing: "Then the Xu family came."
Her eyes changed. From the darkness in the desperate situation just now, light gradually emerged.
"Madam asked the big guys to build the road, and they will provide food for the road construction. Although it is not much, two bowls of gruel per person per day, but with this two bowls of gruel per person per day, my children do not have to go to Zheng's house.
Made and bone rotten.”
"We thought it would be good if someone had a stutter. Unexpectedly, the Xu family started to build a kang and build a house for everyone. They also prepared warm clothes for everyone before winter came..."
"You don't know, this is the most peaceful winter I have ever had in my life. The third lady raised a big fat pig and killed it all for us bitches to eat. The baby in the family tasted meat for the first time and was very happy.
You have to go straight in circles..."
"And all these can be obtained by us bitches working hard... Work hard. Who didn't work hard in the past? You guys want to risk your life to do it, just thinking about the boss during the autumn harvest.
After collecting 50% of the grain, there will be more left at home."
However, no matter how much they work, they will only get less and less. In the end, they can no longer survive and become refugees.
In this world, it is extremely difficult for untouchables like them to beg for food, and it seems that they can never have enough to eat.
At midnight, she woke up from a nightmare. She was afraid that she was still in the dream. She had to wait for dawn. Only when she heard the school bell ringing and saw the smoke rising from the window did she dare to believe that the Xu family was
It's really here.
Chun Niang was stunned when she heard this. She looked around and suddenly found that the Zhuangzi in front of her was different from what she had seen before.
The blast furnace of the factory in the southeast corner works day and night. Although the big men coming in and out are covered in sweat, there is no trace of dissatisfaction or complaint on their faces.
All they have in their eyes is sparkling energy and hope.
The expectation for a better life in the future supports them to work continuously and tirelessly.
Because they now see a brand new path, a path in which as long as farmers keep working hard, they can own their own land, cultivate it, and enjoy the fruits of their hard work.
Chun Niang recalled the new words taught in school that she could not understand before - equality and justice. These were the two words she could not understand the most before.
Isn’t this world divided into classes from the beginning? How can we talk about equality and justice?
Zhou Li teaches people that the king is the king, and the ministers are ministers. The ministers must be loyal to the king, and the king must love his ministers. If there is any violation, it will violate the etiquette and law.
Qinglu tells people that powerful and powerful families have more rights. Civilian slaves cannot disobey powerful families and must obey them. Only then are they good slaves and good civilians.
Chun Niang's thoughts were confused. She could not control her chaotic brain at the moment. She subconsciously followed what she was thinking and asked:
"What is Heguroan?"
Ma Guifang explained to her that He Gulan is a slang term for cannibalism. People who are eaten are always called two-legged sheep. Men always call them Rao Bahuo, women call them "Don't Envy Sheep", and children are called He Gulan.
Chun Niang vomited the dinner on that day, as well as the breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next two days. And because Xujiazhuang stipulated that no one was allowed to waste food, she was afraid of being sent to the mines to work as coolies, so she could only ask the cook for a few bowls.
Soup, barely swallowed.
Until the third day, when she saw Fu Bao and other female students eating heavily, she suddenly seemed to have figured out something, so she also picked up her rice bowl and started eating.
After all, only when you are full can you have the strength to work hard in the afternoon.
.
In the Yuyang County government office, Gongsun Zan, who had not received a reply from Wang for a long time, was a little irritable. He called Zhao Bei and asked him:
"It's been a month. How are the two concubines sent to the Xu family? Are Wang Pingping making trouble?"
Zhao Bei glanced at Gongsun Zan first. He really couldn't bear to tell him the cruel truth, so he just put it all together, lowered his head, closed his eyes and replied:
"They are now working as female workers in the Xu family textile factory. They have graduated from the elementary literacy class and have separated from their status as concubines of the Xu family. Now they work 16 points a day, have food and shelter, and look much better.
Chun Niang also became Mrs. Xu's personal accountant, the accounting clerk..."
Gongsun Zan's face darkened, and he raised his hand to signal Zhao Bei to stop talking and get out of here, he wanted to be alone!
