Chapter 14 of 100
Chapter 14
12 min read3,111 words
PS: The book has already been signed, so please feel free to add it to your collection. I sincerely request your support. Thank you to everyone who has passed by!
The next morning, when Xiao Fei woke up, he found that the village street, which had been crowded with people last night, was now empty, leaving only him sleeping alone on the roadside, with the sheet wrapped around him almost soaked by the dew.
The sun had already risen, a bright red orb hiding behind the trees to the east of the village, scattering rays of light.
At this moment, the heat had not yet risen, and it was quite cool. The wind even brought a chill.
On the surrounding trees, little birds hopped and chirped, and occasionally, newly hatched cicadas with tender green wings would fly by, screeching through the air.
A few snot-nosed children squatted not far from Xiao Fei, watching him and giggling. Their snot bubbles would be sucked back into their noses and then plop down from their nostrils.
Everything was so warm and beautiful.
By Xiao Fei's biological clock, it was only about 6 o'clock.
His brother had gotten up at some point and hadn't woken him. Xiao Fei got up, rolled up the mat, and walked home. No one was there, and it was clear they had gone to the cotton fields to catch pests while it was still cool.
Xiao Fei hesitated for a moment. In the end, he decided that going to the fields to catch those ugly little bugs would be a waste of effort. He decided not to go and instead stay home to cook breakfast for the family. With over ten years of experience in household chores from his previous life, Xiao Fei could certainly handle a simple home-cooked meal.
His family didn't have a dedicated kitchen. The earthen stove was built in the yard, with a shed on top, open on all sides. In winter, his father would weave grass mats to hang around to block the cold wind. This revealed the poverty of their home.
Xiao Fei cooked a pot of corn porridge.
He ladled it into a large ceramic basin, covered it with a lid, and placed it on the well platform to cool.
He then washed the pot and picked a few eggplants from the vegetable garden in the yard, cooking them.
While frying the eggplants, his sister returned. Seeing Xiao Fei cooking, she was amazed: "Brother, is the sun rising in the west today? You're actually cooking!"
In this family, Xiao Fei was the youngest and had always been pampered, never doing heavy work or cooking.
" Sister, you underestimate me too much. I have quite a talent for cooking!" Xiao Fei said, smiling as he ladled the fried eggplants into a stainless steel basin.
Xiao Yan came over and sniffed: "It smells pretty good, and it looks nice, but I wonder if it tastes good."
"Try it and you'll know." Xiao Fei handed her a pair of chopsticks.
Xiao Yan picked up a piece and tasted it: "Mm! It's really fragrant! Brother, Mom will scold you, you used too much oil. At this rate, we'll use ten times more oil than usual!"
At around 8:30 in the morning, when the sun was high in the sky, Father and Mother returned home, their steps weary.
Their faces were not good. The bollworms in the fields seemed to have increased, and they had just sprayed the pesticide a few days ago! They had spent the whole night catching moths, but where were the bugs coming from? This made them think of the story Xiao Fei told last night about the ghost woman spreading bollworms, sending shivers down their spines.
Xiao Yan drew cool water from the well for them to wash their hands and face, and told them about Xiao Fei cooking.
Father smiled and looked at Xiao Fei, showing his approval: "Finally, you're helping out around the house."
Mother, seeing the eggplants Xiao Fei had fried, grumbled for a long time, complaining that Xiao Fei didn't know how to manage the household, using so much oil to fry vegetables, and wasting money.
When Xiao Fei set the square table and served the food with Xiao Yan, his brother returned home, looking angry, riding his bicycle.
His brother had gone to the township agricultural supply station to get pesticides on credit.
His brother angrily said that the people at the supply station said they wouldn't give him any more pesticides unless he paid off the previous debt.
His brother said he had tried his best, saying all the nice words and acting like a孙子 (grandson), but still couldn't get the pesticides on credit.
Father sighed: "Yang, I'm not saying this to criticize you, but you need to change your temper. You're like a fuse, ready to explode at any moment. It's no wonder they wouldn't give you the pesticides. After we eat, I'll go and see. You don't need to worry about it."
After the family finished eating,
Father got up and rode his bike to the township.
The pest infestation was so severe that they couldn't afford not to get the pesticides.
Without pesticides, the cotton fields would definitely fail, affecting the family's livelihood for the year.
"Xiao Fei, are you not planning to go to the fields?" Mother saw Xiao Fei turn to clean the square table, take out a stack of manuscripts, and sit down, frowning.
"Mom, I have something to do." Xiao Fei said sheepishly.
"Mom, let him do his thing. I and my brother can work faster and do more. It's not a problem." Xiao Yan said.
Xiao Yang also nodded: "Fei is writing an article. That's important work, Mom. Don't you remember? Fei can earn money from writing. He once earned 75 yuan for an article!"
Xiao Yang was referring to the article Xiao Fei wrote in his second year of high school, which was published in "Middle School Times" and earned him the reputation of a talented student.
"Alright, we never expected you to do much work anyway. Just stay home and write. It would be great if you could earn some money." Mother finally agreed after hearing Xiao Yang's words.
After the family left, Xiao Fei began to copy the ten manuscripts he had written the night before.
In this era, unlike the internet age where manuscripts were written on a computer and submitted via email, there was no need to worry about keeping a copy.
In the age of handwritten manuscripts, if you wanted to keep a copy, you had to write it out again.
It took Xiao Fei nearly three hours to copy the ten manuscripts, which were a bit over ten thousand words.
Naturally, he was drenched in sweat. After checking that there were no errors in the copied manuscripts, he put them in a large brown envelope.
The ten manuscripts, over forty pages, were thick and substantial.
A sense of accomplishment welled up inside him.
Since Father had taken the only bicycle, Xiao Fei had to walk to the township.
Xili Village was under the jurisdiction of Dongping Township, and the township government was located in Dongping Village, forming a small political and economic center where all the township's lower-level agencies were concentrated.
The post office was no exception.
Xili Village was only about three miles from Dongping Village, and it didn't take long to walk.
On the way, Xiao Fei became a chatterbox, greeting the villagers and telling them the story he claimed to have heard in the county.
The ghost woman was spreading bollworms.
The bollworms had become spirits, immune to all poisons.
A half-immortal who had accurately predicted many major events had lost several years of his life and predicted that 99% of the cotton in Heyang County would fail this year.
As he walked, he spread the rumors.
When he arrived in the township, Xiao Fei was satisfied, thinking that good news doesn't leave the house, but bad news travels a thousand miles. These rumors would surely spread quickly.
Smart people should think carefully.
"Fei, where are you going?"
At the entrance to the Dongping market, Xiao Fei met his father, who was holding several bottles of pesticides. His face was as red as a pig's liver, and his eyes showed a hint of shame.
"Father, I'm going to the post office. Did you get the pesticides on credit?" Xiao Fei looked at his father's unusual expression, feeling a bit suspicious.
"Yes! As long as you beg, you can get it." Father planted one foot on the ground and puffed out his chest. "Go ahead, I need to go back and spray the pesticides."
After Father left, Xiao Fei's face suddenly turned dark.
Father thought he didn't know, but how could the reborn Xiao Fei not know? Father's "begging" meant kneeling and bowing, a humiliating plea for help.
In his previous life, Xiao Fei had heard the villagers talk about his father's humiliating behavior at the agricultural supply station: kneeling on the ground, bowing and kowtowing, and hugging the legs of the people there.
Hearing this, Xiao Fei's heart ached.
After sending the manuscripts to the post office, Xiao Fei was still quite agitated on his way back to the village. He urgently needed to earn some money; he could no longer tolerate his father and family being mocked by others!
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