radicalducati Chapter 294 Retrieving Milk Powder
Chapter 294 Retrieving Milk Powder
At daybreak, the ox carts in the village were already harnessed, ready to deliver grain to the county. Liu Erniu, who was going to the county to transport fertilizer, was slowly packing up the ox cart with a grass root in his mouth. He looked up and saw Banggeng hurriedly approaching.
"Hey, Jia Zhiqing, you're here so early?" Liu Erniu patted the dust off his hands, "What are you doing?"
"Take advantage of your car to go to the county."
"Captain Li sent you to the county to do some work?"
Banggeng said "hmm" vaguely and jumped onto the cart. Liu Erniu didn't ask any more questions, but cracked the whip and the old ox started to walk slowly.
When the sun climbed over the mountain, Captain Li walked around the field with a hoe on his shoulder, his brows furrowed deeper and deeper.
“Tie Niu,” he waved at his eldest son, “Where is Jia Geng? The bean field that was allocated to him yesterday hasn’t even been weeded clean!”
Li Tieniu wiped his sweat and said, "I haven't seen him since this morning. I thought you sent him to do other work."
Captain Li's face darkened: "Go ask Maya's family! If this kid dares to skip work, I will deduct his work points!"
Maya was cooking porridge in front of the stove, Liuxu was lying on her back, babbling and playing with her braids. When her eldest brother suddenly came in, her hands trembled, and the spoon made a harsh sound in the pot.
"Brother, why are you here at this time?"
Li Tieniu looked around: "Where's Banggeng? Dad is looking for him."
Maya clutched the corner of her apron: "He...he went to the county and said that he had sent milk powder from Beijing and he had to go to the post office to pick it up..."
Li Tieniu was stunned: "You even quit your job just for this?" Seeing his sister lowered her head and said nothing, he sighed, "Okay, I'll tell Dad."
"Get the milk powder?" Captain Li's expression eased after hearing the report, "Why didn't you tell me earlier about this kid..." He turned and shouted to the scorekeeper, "Old Zhao! Give Jia Geng half a day's work today!"
The scorekeeper curled his lips and scribbled a few times on the notebook. Everyone in the village knew that Captain Li loved his granddaughter Liu Xu like the apple of his eye. Whenever there was anything related to the child, the old man would give the green light.
Banggeng came back from the county with a gloomy face, carrying a cloth package in his hand and a stack of scattered banknotes in his pocket.
"Is that all?" Bang Geng remembered that when he opened the letter in the post office, a stack of banknotes fell out of it. He was seen picking up the banknotes on the ground, which was embarrassing... He remembered that Qin Huairu said in the letter that this was the money she had finally got back from Jia Zhangshi, but after counting it, it was less than twenty yuan.
"Pah!" he spat fiercely, "you're just sending away beggars!"
At the entrance of the village, Captain Li was walking with his hands behind his back. He saw the stick from afar and immediately went to meet him and asked, "Did you get it?"
Banggeng quickly changed his expression and forced a smile: "I got it, Dad. Look, here are the milk powder sent from Beijing, and the money my mom sent." He deliberately patted his pockets, which were full of money.
Captain Li's eyes were blurry, so he didn't look closely. He patted Banggeng's shoulder cheerfully and said, "Good! Good! I knew you were reliable!" He turned around and showed off to the villagers passing by, "Look at my son-in-law, he's from Beijing, he has connections!"
Banggeng smiled apologetically, but cursed in his heart - this old man really thinks this little money and milk powder are something great? If it weren't for the Li family, would he be able to live so comfortably in the village?
Maya was squatting in front of the stove, lighting the fire. When she saw her husband coming back, she quickly wiped her hands and went to greet him: "Boss, are you tired? The meal will be ready soon..."
Banggeng threw the milk powder on the table and put the money back into his pocket: "It's so hot, get a basin of water!"
Maya hurried to pour water, while Liuxu babbled on the kang and reached out for a hug. Banggeng glanced at his daughter, suddenly remembered something, and took out a letter from the package.
The letter was written by Qin Huairu, with crooked handwriting, obviously written in her spare time at the factory. The letter said that the money was saved by her frugal life, and she also specifically told Banggeng not to spend it carelessly, and to buy something good for Liuxu...
"So much nonsense!" Banggeng crumpled the letter into a ball and threw it into the stove. The flames jumped up and instantly engulfed the letter.
Maya came in with a basin of water and saw this scene. She moved her lips but didn't dare to say anything in the end.
"What are you standing there for?" Banggeng stomped his foot into the basin, splashing water all over Maya. "Pinch your feet. You're so tired from walking all day!"
In the dead of night, Banggeng lay on the kang, staring at the dark beams in a daze. He thought of the courtyard, the smell of meat from Shazhu's house, and Xu Damao's smug face...
"Sooner or later one day..." He gritted his teeth and slammed his fist on the kang mat.
Maya, who was beside him, was awakened and asked in a daze, "Boss, what's wrong?"
"Go to sleep!" Banggeng turned over and faced her.
The moonlight shines through the window paper, casting a pale light on the ground. Banggeng doesn't know that at this moment in the courtyard of Beijing, Qin Huairu is sitting in front of Jia Zhang and begging: "Mom, it's not easy for Banggeng in the Northeast. Liuxu is still young and needs nutrition. Please give me some more money..."
Jia Zhang picked at her toes and didn't even raise her eyelids: "Money? You've almost taken all my coffin money!"
Captain Li happily walked around the village holding Liu Xu, showing off to everyone he met: "Look, my granddaughter eats milk powder from Beijing! Isn't my son-in-law capable?"
The wives in the village were so envious that they smacked their lips: "Captain Li must have had a sharp eye. He took on the pressure to recruit such a live-in son-in-law. How lucky he is now!"
Li Tieniu and his two brothers were squatting on the ground eating steamed bread. From a distance they saw Banggeng walking towards them with a grass stem in his mouth, followed by Ma Ya carrying a hoe. They were immediately furious.
"Brother, look at that boy!" The second brother Li Tiezhu stood up and pointed at the two men, "Our sister is as tired as a donkey, but he is like a big boss!"
Li Tieniu squinted his eyes and said nothing, but the veins on his hand holding the steamed bread were bulging. The third brother, Li Tieshuan, was the most irritable. He stood up and was about to rush over, but was grabbed by Li Tieniu.
"Don't be impulsive," Li Tieniu lowered his voice, "Dad treats him like a treasure now, we can't force him."
Bang Geng came closer, caught a glimpse of the three brothers' gloomy faces, and deliberately raised his voice: "Ma Ya, give me the kettle."
Maya quickly put down her hoe and took out a warm kettle from her bosom and handed it to him. The blisters on her palms had not yet disappeared, and there was mud between her fingers.
Li Tieshuan couldn't help it: "Jia Geng, don't you have hands? You don't even carry the hoe or the water bottle. Are you here to be a young master?"
Banggeng took a sip of water calmly and grinned, "Third brother, what are you talking about? I have a backache. I went into the mountains to pick wild fruits for Liuxu yesterday and got hurt."
"Bullshit!" Li Tiezhu stood up suddenly, "You were clearly playing cards with Liu Erniu at Tunkou yesterday!"
Maya hurriedly stood in the middle: "Second brother, the boss really went into the mountains, and he even picked hawthorns for me..."
Li Tieniu looked at his sister's red face, and felt like a knife was cutting his heart. He remembered how fierce Maya was when she was little, chasing rabbits in the mountains and catching catfish in the river. How could she be controlled by this bastard now?
"My God," Li Tieniu suppressed his anger, "Dad asked you to go back at noon, saying that he missed Liu Xu."
After Maya hurried away, Li Tieniu grabbed Banggeng by the collar and said, "Mr. Jia, don't think that we in the Li family are easy to fool! If I see you bullying my sister again..."
"Brother!" Banggeng's expression suddenly changed, with a look of grievance, "God and Heaven are my conscience! I love Maya so much!" He lowered his voice, "You don't know, Maya always has nightmares at night, and she can only fall asleep when she holds me. I'm just afraid that she will be tired..."
The three brothers were shocked by the shameless words. Li Tieshuan was so angry that he trembled: "You, you..."
Scorer Lao Zhao shouted from afar: "Get to work! What are you dawdling for!"
Banggeng took the opportunity to slip away, and before leaving, he took the kettle that Maya dropped. Li Tieniu stared at his back and suddenly said, "I'm going to find my dad tonight."
After dinner, Li Tieniu squatted on the threshold and smoked. Captain Li held the catkins and teased them, and the little girl giggled and scratched her grandfather's beard.
"Dad," Li Tieniu finally spoke, "Jia Geng that kid..."
"I know what you want to say," Captain Li said without even looking up. "You just complain that he doesn't do enough work. It's good enough for the educated youth from Beijing to settle down in our village!"
Li Tieniu was anxious: "But he asked Maya..."
"You know shit!" Captain Li suddenly glared, "Are you a jerk? Besides, people from Beijing always send money and things to you. If it were other educated youth, who would care about your life or death?"
In the inner room, Banggeng was eavesdropping on the door with a sneer on his face. He had long understood Captain Li's weakness - the old man regarded his daughter and granddaughter as his lifeblood, and now he only needed to capture Maya and everything would be fine.
The next day, Maya had a high fever and couldn't get up from bed. Banggeng didn't go to work either, saying he was taking care of Maya at home, even though he didn't do anything all day.