Xu Erlong interrupted her recollection of hardships and sweetness: "Nai, you have to look forward. In the past, everyone still ate in big pots and collective canteens. Now, we have implemented household responsibility system..."
Mrs. Xu was so choked that she didn't know how to answer the question.
"Erlong, I don't know what's wrong with you today. You insist on separating the family. Listen to my brother's advice. Grandma is old. You should obey her and don't make her angry." Xu Damin persuaded.
Xu Erlong said: "Well, you speak nicely, please speak more and persuade me to divide the family. Otherwise, I will faint, and it will cost money to go to the hospital. The family already owes so much debt, it is impossible to owe more."
"
"You bastard, are you cursing your grandma to death?" Xu Dongsheng scolded him: "Get out of here."
Mrs. Xu was so angry that she waved her hands and shouted: "Yes, let him go. There is no way to separate the family. This family is all earned by me, and he can't even take away a match."
Amid the commotion, the separation of the families was finally decided.
Xu Xiaoling timidly stood next to Xu Erlong and pulled him by the lapel: "Brother, I'll go with you."
Xu Erlong reached out and rubbed the top of her head: "Of course you follow me."
Xu Dongsheng glared at Zhang Jinfang: "This treacherous son is going to separate the family life and death. From now on, you are not allowed to help him. He won't know that the pot is made of iron until he has finished his meal."
Zhang Jinfang also lowered his head timidly.
Here is my son and daughter, and over there is the entire Xu family, including my husband.
Bite her scalp, she suppressed a sentence: "I, I will live with my son."
"What?" Mrs. Xu and Xu Dongsheng were both surprised.
"What are you talking about? You heartless white-eyed wolf, I kindly adopted you in the first place, and this is how you repay me? Are you going to break up the family? Do you want to make me angry to death?" Old Mrs. Xu asked.
Zhang Jinfang bit her lip and lowered her head: "Mom, I know I'm wrong, but Erlong and Xiaoling are my children. I can't ignore them. Just think I'm sorry for you."
Xu Dongsheng's eyes burst into flames.
This woman has always been submissive and submissive, but today she actually dared to go against the grain.
"Zhang Jinfang, are you going to make trouble with them? Do you not want to live with me anymore?" Xu Dongsheng asked.
Even though Zhang Jinfang was trembling all over, he still stood there bravely and refused to give in.
This is because I am determined to be with my children.
****
Xu Erlong, mother and son, lived in the storage room of the production team.
The storage room is quite spacious. It used to be a place where the production team kept various tools and farm implements. Now, after the production materials are distributed to the members, this room is temporarily vacant.
Of course, I won't let you live there unconditionally. After all, this is a member of the team and you can't take advantage of it in vain.
"Second brother, are we going to live here from now on?" Xu Xiaoling carried a small baggage, which contained all her belongings.
"Well, I'll stay here for two days temporarily. I believe my second brother will definitely let you live in a big house in the future, and you will have everything you want." Xu Erlong said.
Xu Xiaoling nodded.
The little girl has a delicate oval face, curved eyebrows, big and black eyes, like grapes washed by September rain in the mountains, with small dimples on her cheeks, and she smiles sweetly.
In fact, both of them, brother and sister, have an awkward status in the family. They are neither the eldest nor the youngest among the grandchildren, so they are invisibly ignored by others.
Especially Xu Xiaoling, she is just a girl in a movie and has no sense of existence.
Now that she could follow her second brother out, deep down in her heart, she was a little excited.
Zhang Jinfang is in a different mood.
She doesn't really look forward to splitting up and living alone.
When she was young, she wanted to separate the family, but now that her children are grown up, she is not used to it anymore.
She looked around a storage room.
It had been unoccupied for so long, and the storage room was in a dilapidated state. The corners of the walls were covered with large and small spider webs, and the big spiders were bigger than mahjong pieces.
Zhang Jinfang found a long stick and began to sweep away the spider webs. Xu Xiaoling helped and started sweeping the floor.
Xu Erlong borrowed a bucket from his neighbor Yu Ping's house and went out to fetch water.
The storage room is simple, but it barely has a wooden bed. The place where the custodian used to rest can also be used for sleeping.
The three of them worked together for a while, and finally managed to tidy up the storage room, which was barely habitable.
Several young men who had always been good friends with Xu Erlong came to know him when they heard that Xu Erlong had separated and was living alone.
Everyone helps him get some daily necessities, so he can barely survive here.
Xu Erlong asked Xiaoling to cook red sweet potatoes for dinner.
"Second brother, peel two red sweet potatoes and boil them in a little more water." Xiaoling said.
"Add the chopped corn, otherwise you won't be full."
"We have to save money. We only have this little food ration."
Xu Erlong is funny, but he is sad in his heart. At a young age, his sister has to plan her life carefully.
It's a pity that she died too early in her previous life, and she didn't even have a full meal before her death.
"Don't worry, my second brother won't let you go hungry. Just open your stomach and eat."
While eating, Xu Erlong thought silently.
The first step is to separate the family, and the goal is achieved. From now on, the unitary will no longer let his family suck blood.
The second step is to find ways to make money quickly.
After the meal, Zhang Jinfang washed the dishes and packed things, while Xu Erlong took Xu Xiaoling to the fields.
This season is the season when eels and loaches are at their most plentiful. Xu Erlong took the tool and led Xu Xiaoling to step on the ground with one foot deep and one shallow.
"Second brother, there is one here." Xu Xiaoling pointed to the eel cave entrance on the ground and gestured with Xu Erlong.
Xu Erlong took aim, bent his two fingers like pincers, and caught the eel. The slippery eel was thrown into the fish basket.
"There are some here too."
Not long after, I caught a basket full of eels.
Signaling Xiaoling to go back to sleep first, Xu Erlong went to the river, ready to try his luck.
You can rely on mountains to eat mountains, and you can rely on water to eat water.
Country children, going down rivers to catch fish and shrimps, climbing trees to catch birds and snakes, these are all basic operations.
After a night of hard work, Xu Erlong gained a good harvest.
In addition to the common grass carp and carp, there is also a turtle.
The wild turtles these days are a good thing.
In the past, these things were brought home and eaten by the whole family.
He even deliberately left the best bits to Xu Damin, lest he study hard and waste his brain.
Now, haha...
Xu Erlong looked at the few fish, threaded a straw rope through their gills, and carried them into a string. Then he put the soft-shell turtles individually on the straw rope and hung them up.
Then, he lowered the water cage into the water again, tied a rope to it, and buried the rope in the soil so that no one could see it at a glance.
When you come back, you just need to close the cage. If you are lucky, there will be some fish netted inside.
Xu Erlong carried his things and hurried towards the city. He wanted to exchange this turtle for money.
However, he did not choose the conventional roadside market, but found another strange way.