Siheyuan: Sizhu starts blindly and takes a new path

Chapter 276 Banggeng is suffering

"Zhu Zi, this kid is so handsome!" The third uncle pushed his glasses and said something honest, "He's much better than you."

Sha Zhu was not annoyed, and took the red sugar cheerfully: "Uncle, what you said is true, of course my daughter takes after her mother!"

In the evening, Sha Zhu set up a small table at the door of his house, put peanuts and melon seeds on it, and invited a few neighbors to chat.

Xu Damao did not oppose the offer for the first time, and even contributed half a bottle of Erguotou. The men chatted with each other over peanuts.

"If you ask me, the feng shui of our yard is good this year." Old Ma took a sip of wine and said seriously, "After Bang Geng left, there are fewer mice."

Everyone laughed, but Sha Zhu waved his hand and said, "Uncle Ma, you can't say that. It's not easy for the child to be out there."

Xu Damao curled his lips and said, "Him? He's a nuisance wherever he goes..." Before he could finish his words, Qin Jingru kicked him under the table.

As they were talking, Liuyi and Qiyi were playing hopscotch with a few other kids in the yard, their laughter was clear. Shouye's hand injury had long since healed, so he also ran around, no longer having to worry about being bullied.

The evening breeze blew gently, the locust tree in the yard rustled, and a few new green leaves fell.

Yu Li stood at the door holding Mudan, and suddenly felt relieved when she saw this scene. She lowered her head and kissed her daughter's face, saying softly, "Mudan, our courtyard will get better and better..."

In the northeast in September, the wind was already piercingly cold. Banggeng was hunched over, swinging his sickle in a golden wheat field, sweat mixed with dust running down his cheeks. His palms were covered with cracked calluses, his knuckles were thick and deformed, and there was a bloody scratch on his wrist caused by the wheat straw, which scabbed and cracked again and again, repeatedly, causing excruciating pain.

"Jia Geng! What are you dawdling for!" The captain shouted from the ridge, "At your speed, you won't be able to finish mowing the field before dark!"

Banggeng gritted his teeth and said nothing, swinging the sickle in his hand more quickly. However, his movements were clumsy, and the straw was cut unevenly, and he almost cut his legs several times.

Chen Weidong, who was standing next to him, couldn't bear to see this, so he came over and whispered, "Don't be so stiff with your wrist, just follow the force of the straw."

Bang Geng shook off his hand fiercely: "Do I need you to teach me?!"

Chen Weidong shook his head and walked away. In the past six months, the educated youth had already figured out Banggeng's temper - he had little ability, but a bad temper, and he deserved to starve.

When the whistle for the end of work sounded, Banggeng could no longer straighten his back.

He dragged his feet towards the village, and his knees felt like being pricked by needles with every step he took. The root of the disease he contracted when he came to the countryside to work at the beginning of the year, coupled with the day and night labor after the weather warmed up, completely broke his body. On rainy days, his lungs felt like they were stuffed with cotton, and his breathing was accompanied by a hissing noise.

In the team headquarters, the accountant was calculating work points.

"Jia Geng, six work points today." The accountant made a note in the account book without even looking up.

Bang Geng slammed the table and said, "Why?! I worked for a whole day and it's only worth six work points?!"

The accountant sneered: "Look at the field you mowed. The stubble is so high. How much food has been wasted? Giving you six work points is just to take care of you!"

Bang Geng wanted to argue, but his stomach suddenly ached. He had been hungry and full for the past six months, and his stomach had been damaged. Now that he was anxious, the familiar burning sensation came up again.

He hunched over, took the work point ticket in a dejected manner, and went to the granary to exchange it for two black flour steamed buns and a handful of pickles.

On the earthen kang at the educated youth site, Banggeng curled up in a corner and ate a steamed bun.

The black noodles irritated his throat, so he had to swallow them with cold water. He had long since spent the thirty yuan Qin Huairu had given him—first he secretly went to the county to buy cigarettes and alcohol, then he bought painkillers, and later, he didn't even have enough money to go to the commune clinic for medical treatment.

"Cough, cough, cough..." A violent cough suddenly hit Bang Geng, who quickly covered his mouth with his sleeve. When he stopped coughing, there was blood on his sleeve.

After finally getting through the autumn harvest, the men have to stockpile more firewood before winter and start going into the mountains to chop firewood.

Banggeng stood at the entrance of the village, looking at the dark forest in the distance, and the white breath from his mouth instantly dissipated in the cold wind. The men in the village were already carrying axes and saws and heading into the forest, while the women were carrying baskets, preparing to go into the mountains to collect pine nuts and hazelnuts to store food for the long winter.

"Jia Geng! Don't just stand there!" The captain shouted at the front of the team, "Today you go to the forest on the north slope and form a group with Lao Zhaotou!"

Banggeng followed with a gloomy face, holding an axe. His cotton-padded jacket had long been torn to pieces, with cotton wool frayed out of the cuffs and collar, and the cold wind was blowing in. The rubber shoes on his feet were also cracked, and snow water seeped in with every step he took, making his toes numb from the cold.

The forest on the north slope was more difficult to walk through than Banggeng had imagined.

The snow was above his calves, and every step required a lot of effort. Old Zhao was a villager in his sixties. Although his hair was gray, he was much more agile than Bang Geng when walking on mountain roads.

"Boy, look for dead trees before you chop them down." Old Zhao pointed to a few bare birch trees in front of him. "This kind of wood is hard and can burn for a long time."

Banggeng didn't say anything, he just swung his axe and started chopping. But his movements were still clumsy, and the axe only went in an inch, sending wood chips flying.

Old Zhao shook his head: "You need to use your wrist skillfully, not just do it brute force like you did."

Bang Geng turned a deaf ear to him and continued chopping. His palms had long been covered with calluses, but every time he swung the axe, his knuckles still hurt.

During the lunch break, Old Zhao took out a cloth bag from his arms, which contained two cornmeal cakes and a piece of pickled cabbage.

"Eat it, it'll fill your stomach." Old Zhao broke off half of the rice and handed it to Bang Geng.

Bang Geng was stunned for a moment and didn't answer.

"What's the matter? Do you think it's not enough?" Old Zhao frowned.

Banggeng stared at the half cake, his throat moved, and finally reached out to take it. He took a bite, and the roughness of the cornmeal scratched his throat, but he still wolfed it down.

"Slow down, don't choke." Old Zhao sighed, "You are too stubborn, and you are the one who suffers."

Bang Geng didn't say anything, he just lowered his head and ate the biscuit.

The work in the afternoon is heavier.

Banggeng followed Lao Zhao in sawing the felled trees into pieces, tying them up and carrying them back to the village. His shoulders had been worn out long ago, and now they felt a burning pain whenever he touched firewood.

"Hold on, just carry two more trips and we'll be done." Old Zhao patted him on the shoulder.

Banggeng gritted his teeth and carried a bundle of firewood, staggering with every step. His vision began to blur, his ears were buzzing, and his lungs felt like they were filled with cotton, making it increasingly difficult to breathe.

Suddenly, his feet went weak and he fell into the snow.

"Jia Geng!" Old Zhao quickly threw down the firewood and went to help him.

Banggeng wanted to get up, but his hands and feet felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead. His eyes went dark, and the voice of Lao Zhao in his ears became increasingly distant...

When Banggeng woke up again, he was already lying on the kang at the educated youth camp.

Chen Weidong was adding firewood to the stove. Seeing that he had woken up, he poured a bowl of hot water and handed it to him: "Drink something hot and take your time."

Bang Geng didn't answer, but just asked in a hoarse voice: "What's wrong with me?"

"You fainted in the woods." Chen Weidong stuffed the bowl into his hands. "Old Zhao carried you back. The barefoot doctor in the team said you were tired and malnourished."

Bang Geng stared at the hot water in the bowl. In the steam, he suddenly thought of the courtyard and the millet porridge cooked by Qin Huairu...

"Don't go to work tomorrow, take a day off." said Chen Weidong.

Bang Geng raised his head suddenly: "No!"

If he didn't work, he would have no work points, and if he didn't have work points, he couldn't buy food. He was already afraid of starvation.