Stepmother

When Song Zhaodi arrived at the non-staple food factory, it was not even ten o'clock, but it felt like the stall was closing. Because the people of this era did not dare to buy and buy them with a lot of money, the non-staple food factory was naturally deserted.

When Zhong Jianguo was on the island, he always came out to buy things, which caused Song Zhaodi to come to the non-staple food factory only a few times.

Even so, when she appeared at the door of the non-staple food factory with Sanwa in her arms, the workers of the non-staple food factory recognized Song Zhaodi, the most educated teacher on the island.

The man who looked after the pork stall was around fifty years old. He was wearing gray overalls. He was average in appearance, with small eyes and protruding teeth. Strictly speaking, it was a bit ugly. Seeing Song Zhaodi walking towards him, her small eyes laughed into a line, and before Song Zhaodi approached, she greeted, "Mr. Song, what should I buy?"

"I want to buy some pork, but it's only halfway through this month, so I don't dare to buy any more." Song Zhaodi is not stupid, of course it is impossible to go straight to the destination as soon as she comes in.

I looked around at random, saw a man selling pork, and remembered Zhong Jianguo said that every time he came to buy pork, the man who sold pork would shake his hands when cutting the pork, causing a pound of pork There will always be two or two. Song Zhaodi thought that he should really like Zhong Jianguo, so she walked towards him.

Walking to the booth, Song Zhaodi glanced around seemingly casually, but didn't see the woman about her age, she was very puzzled, is it possible that the stall has been harvested? So he asked, "When do you all close your stalls?"

"We close the stall in the evening when we sell dry goods, and we close the stall when we sell fresh goods." The man pointed at the chopping board, "There are still more than ten pounds, soon."

Sanwa can walk now, but it is not stable, but he finally learned to walk, so he doesn't like to ask Song Zhaodi to hug him. When Song Zhaodi stopped, he struggled to get down.

Song Zhaodi bent down and put him on the ground, the child was like a bird flying out of the cage. Song Zhaodi also saw that under the chopping board, there were many shaved big bone sticks in the basin: "Uncle, are the pork bones here at the same price as pork?"

The man smiled and said, "How is that possible? You don't need a ticket for pig bones, you can buy as many as you want. But, it's the same price as fat meat." Trying to keep your eyes open, "Mr. Song wants it?"

"I heard that children can grow up eating pork bone soup, so I always wanted to buy some, but I was afraid to buy meat tickets like pork, so I didn't dare to buy it." Song Zhaodi really thinks so.

The man waved his hand and brought the basin up: "This thing has no oil and water, if you want meat tickets, the pig bones on my stall have already piled up into mountains. Teacher Song, how much is required, I will give it your name."

"Wait for me." Song Zhaodi hurriedly brought back Sanwa, who had been wandering far away for a while, "Give me two. Uncle, I don't have a machete for cutting bones at home, can you please help me cut it?" a bit."

The man said ok, took the fifty cents handed over by Song Zhaodi, waved the machete and asked, "Mr. Song, what's the use of this child learning foreign languages? We don't go abroad."

"It's useful not to go abroad." Song Zhaodi noticed that the fish seller was looking this way, and quietly raised the volume, "For example, your child will join the army in the future and seize Lao Jiang's ship. It’s all in foreign languages, and if you don’t understand a single word, you can’t operate it.”

Most people on the island know that Lao Jiang is supported by Americans, and the man who sells pork also heard that Lao Jiang's weapons were provided by Americans, and nodded repeatedly: "Mr. Song said That's right, that's the reason." Putting down the machete, he found that Song Zhaodi didn't take the back basket, "Mr. Song, you can use this back basket of mine first, and give it to me when you come to buy pork tomorrow."

Song Zhaodi smiled and said, "Thank you. I'll ask Lao Zhong to deliver it to you tomorrow. I'll take a look over there."

"Mr. Song, don't you want to buy a fish?" The fish seller who pricked up his ears and listened to Song Zhaodi's words suddenly said.

Song Zhaodi turned around and raised her eyebrows in surprise. How could she feel like everyone knew her: "Is there a perch?"

"...No." The man was embarrassed, "There is a hairtail, do you want it?"

Song Zhaodi shook her head again and again: "There are so many fish bones, a few children can't eat them."

"You are so kind to these children." The man blurted out.

Zhong Jianguo has a high position and a high degree of education. When he comes to the non-staple food factory to buy things and talk to the workers of the non-staple food factory, he has no official authority. When the workers weighed things, Zhong Jianguo hardly looked at the scales. He gave the money and walked away with the things. It's neat and tidy, without any hesitation.

The workers of the non-staple food factory deal with all kinds of housewives every day, and most of the housewives also care about things. After all, life is not well-off, and I can't help but care about eating more meat for my family. As a result, the workers were not only tired physically, but also tired in their hearts, and their brains were hurting too—noisily.

Compared with them, Zhong Jianguo is like a clear stream in the "vegetable market". As a result, the workers liked Zhong Jianguo very much, wishing that all the guests were Zhong Jianguo.

Because I like it, I will inevitably mention Zhong Jianguo when I am idle. When I mention Zhong Jianguo, I can't help but talk about his newly married daughter-in-law, and I can't help worrying about Zhong Jianguo. The daughter-in-law is not good to several children.

The man who sells fish is one of them. He pricked up his ears just now, not listening to Song Zhaodi and the pork seller talking, but to observe whether Song Zhaodi is real or fake.

A bald snort, the tone of voice is a little unbelievable that Song Zhaodi is so kind to children, the man who sells fish is embarrassed, "I don't mean anything else, that is, Teacher Song is so young, I didn't expect to be very good at it. babysitting."

"I'm not very good at taking care of children." Song Zhaodi laughed, "However, my nephew is about the same size as Lao Zhong's children. I often take care of them, and I learned a little from my elder sister. I see. You have a pomfret here, can you sell it to me?"

"Yes, yes." The man who bought the fish quickly said, "I'll find a rope to tie you up. Teacher Song, do you want anything else?"

Song Zhaodi gave him the money and looked around: "No need. I'll take a look at the counter that sells dry goods over there."

Song Zhaodi planned to go to the dry goods counter to take a look. Seeing what he said, she stopped and asked in a low voice, "Why has the counter changed? I remember that the counter over there is about the same size as me. What is the woman watching?"

"I didn't come today." The man said, "I heard she was ill. However, I was very energetic when I saw her yesterday. Go to work, lie to ghosts. I guess I want to be lazy and say I am sick."

Song Zhaodi raised her eyebrows, the market is indeed the most well-informed place: "Aren't you afraid of fines?"

"Don't be afraid!" The man didn't lower his voice at all, "That girl has a good relationship with Head Qian, and the director of the non-staple food factory also hopes to send her son to the army, for fear that the woman will be in front of Head Qian in the future. Nonsense, I dare not punish her at all."

Song Zhaodi was surprised: "Captain Qian doesn't care about recruiting troops, what is he afraid of?"

Song Zhaodi nodded again and again: "That's right. However, how could she, a young girl, know Head Qian?"

"Headmaster Qian often comes to buy vegetables." The middle-aged women selling live chickens gathered around automatically.

Song Zhaodi was happy, and sure enough, no matter what era people like to gossip: "Qian is also here to buy vegetables?" He pretended to be surprised, "Our old Zhong actually told me to come to the non-staple food factory in the morning. He is the only man who buys vegetables, he feels like he stands out from the crowd, he is lying to me."

"Captain Zhong didn't lie to you." The man who sold the fish quickly said, "He is indeed the only man who buys vegetables. That person, Captain Qian, he is buying vegetables by the way. Come here. Just chat with her."

Seeing the other two nodded, Song Zhaodi was very curious: "I see that you all know that Head Qian really comes here often? He, he admires that girl?"

"Xiao Zhao can talk and have troubles. Head Qian likes to chat with her." The middle-aged woman who sold chicken said.

Song Zhaodi: "So it is. I heard your accents are all from the island, so is Xiao Zhao?"

"No." The woman who just arrived next to the pork stall said suddenly.

Song Zhaodi was taken aback and tentatively said: "No? She is a young girl coming here, her parents can rest assured. When I come here with Lao Zhong, my parents are not at ease. , Lao Zhong is still my cousin, we both know the truth."

"Mr. Song is Captain Zhong's cousin?!" The chicken seller exclaimed. Everyone looked over.

Sanwa was a little scared, Song Zhaodi quickly hugged him and patted his back.

Bai Hua used to get close to Mrs. Duan, and Zhong Jianguo was also a soldier of Master Liu. The Liu family knew that Zhong Jianguo had a bad relationship with the family, so Song Zhaodi was not surprised.

Most of the military members are not people with broken mouths, and it is normal for ordinary people to not know about Zhong Jian's country. Song Zhaodi said: "Yes. I'm eight years younger than him. When the big baby was born, I was still in high school." After a while, "Don't talk about me, what happened to that Xiao Zhao?"

Song Zhaodi doesn't come to the non-staple food factory very often, and Xiao Zhao is not a special person who can't say it, and everyone is curious when they see her. The eldest sister who sold chicken said: "Xiao Zhao is from Hangcheng, and she has relatives on the island. When the army built this non-staple food factory, Xiao Zhao happened to be at her relative's house.

"Xiao Zhao has been studying for a few years, she is not timid, she can talk, the director sees that she is not bad, so he asks her to come to work here. I usually keep an account and follow the director to receive the goods , work is a good hand, but sometimes it's too lazy."

"I didn't get married?" Song Zhaodi pretended to be surprised.

The eldest sister who sold chicken waved her hand, looking like she didn't want to say more.

Song Zhaodi looked at the others and didn't want to mention it, she deliberately pretended to be more puzzled: "What's wrong?"

"There's nothing to say about this." The woman who said that Xiao Zhao was not from the island spoke again, "That Xiao Zhao has high eyes. Once I went to the hospital to get medicine, I heard her talk to the nurse. I inquired about the officers of our army and wanted to marry an officer. She got so close to Colonel Qian because she wanted to ask Colonel Qian to introduce her to someone."

Song Zhaodi suddenly realized: "No wonder. Oh, no, she really wants to marry an officer, why doesn't she marry the big baby's father? As far as the conditions of our family's old bell are placed, it is very good. "

"Your old Zhong has three children." The woman said, "I used to wonder how you, a college student, would be willing to marry Head Zhong, so you are cousins."

Song Zhaodi does not understand the relationship between the two: "Cousin can explain it?"

"Of course." The woman said, "When the big baby grows up, I don't want to call your mother, but I have to call your aunt. No matter how you break it, the relationship between you is constantly breaking, Zhong Tuan The older children must be filial to you.

"To be a stepmother, the most worrying thing is that I am afraid that a few children will not be raised. Like you, you don't have to worry about how many children are not raised. If it is me, I should also be happy. If you Jia Lao Zhong is very kind to me."

Cousin or cousin? It also deceives people who don't know.

Song Zhaodi did not want her half-truths to be exposed in the future, when everyone thought she was a liar, they said: "Don't think about it. I have to go back to school later Baby and Erwa, go buy some dried mushrooms first, and we'll talk to you tomorrow." He waved to a few people and went to buy something.

Dry goods, seafood and other things do not need tickets or non-staple food books, the price is relatively high, and there are not many people buying them. Song Zhaodi saw that the good kelp was not picked away. Many of the kelp were thick and large. I really wanted to buy more and go back to make kelp soup. However, everyone is very frugal, Song Zhaodi didn't do anything special, and went back after buying a little bit.

Captain Qian's concubine was not seen, Song Zhaodi didn't want to waste her saliva on Teacher Yao, when Zhong Jianguo came back at night, Song Zhaodi said to him, "I want to take Teacher Yao out to see. "

"Look at the situation outside?" Zhong Jianguo picked a piece of fish for his third son, "You are very concerned about her."

Song Zhaodi sighed: "I don't want to either. But as soon as I see the headmaster and the others worrying about sleep and sleep, I'll be more tired."

"Mr. Xiao Song, what about them?" Zhong Jianguo reminded.

Song Zhaodi: "I'm going out on Sunday. Ask Aunt Liu to help me take care of it for a day. Big baby, second baby, I have something to do in a few days. You can help grandma to take care of my brother together, okay?"

Zhong Jianguo and Song Zhaodi's expressions were very serious, Dawa knew that if he dared to shake his head at this time, his father would really beat him, and nodded: "You come back early."

"I try to come back before dark." Song Zhaodi did not go to Teacher Yao directly, but made the forest pass.

When Mr. Yao came, Qian Qinghua also came.

Song Zhaodi noticed that Qian Qinghua was walking a little wobbly, and frowned slightly: "Why are you here? The injury on your body is healed?"

Head Qian didn't admit or deny, but he took off the belt and beat Qian Qinghua, cursing and scolding as he walked.

Qian Qinghua was very disappointed with his father, and he didn't mention it.

Mr. Qian was not a careful person. He didn't realize that the letter was lost, and he gave Qian Qinghua time to hide the letter. As soon as he saw Lin Zhong today, Qian Qinghua knew that Song Zhaodi had sent him here.

Qian Qinghua mistakenly thought that there was a new situation on his father's concubine, and regardless of the injuries on his **** and back, he followed his mother.

Song Zhaodi saw the anxiety in Qian Qinghua's eyes, and couldn't help sighing, it was the child who was hurt the most by the parents' discord: "I want to take your mother to Hangzhou, and I will also stop by to see that Can I buy some cloth? The three children are getting taller every day, so I need to prepare more cloth. Can you go?"

"Yes." Qian Qinghua said, "I'll go with you."

Zhong Jianguo is the head of the regiment and Song Zhaodi is the teacher. The food and food stamps given by the school and the army cannot be eaten by their family. Her mother's family had private plots, so she didn't need Song Zhaodi to help her, so Song Zhaodi saved up the food stamps and planned to go out and exchange them for those who could get rid of them.

With cloth tickets and money in her pocket, Song Zhaodi said, "Let's go."

Nowadays, the cloth that everyone gets every year is only enough for an adult to make a set of clothes. Even if you don't want to wear old clothes, everyone has to wear old clothes. Song Zhaodi's clothes have patches, and Yao and Qian Qinghua's clothes also have patches.

The three of them looked like no one else. When they arrived in Hangcheng, no one stared at them.

Song Zhaodi came here once a year ago, and when she came back again, she found that the atmosphere was more tense than before.

Teacher Yao and Qian Qinghua came out for the first time, and saw the streets and alleys covered with big-character posters and people with red armbands everywhere, Qian Qinghua subconsciously grabbed his mother's arm.

Song Zhaodi noticed that Teacher Yao was nervous and scared, and sighed: "Mr. Yao, now you know that I didn't scare you."

"Thank you, Teacher Song." Seeing the words posted on the wall, Qian Qinghua couldn't help but whisper, "Mr. Song, let's go back."

Song Zhaodi: "My ancestors were poor peasants, you can follow me. I will recite the chairman's quotations, don't be afraid. Let's go to the cooperative now."

I came here once, Song Zhaodi knows where there are cloth sellers. It's been hot these few days, and it feels like it's jumping straight from spring into summer. Song Zhaodi wants to try her luck at the cooperative to see if she can get seasonal cloth or exchange food stamps.

Arriving at the cooperative, Song Zhaodi picked a good-looking eldest lady and asked in a low voice if she wanted food stamps, which could be exchanged for cloth stamps.

The lady at the counter lit up and asked her how much she had.

Song Zhaodi wanted to say that she weighed 30 pounds, but when the words came to her mouth, her tongue twisted and she said that she only weighed 10 pounds.

The other party was overjoyed and quickly told Song Zhaodi to wait for her for a while.

About ten minutes, she brought a woman in her forties from outside. At this time, Song Zhaodi also separated the 30 catties of food stamps.

Song Zhaodi saw someone coming, took a look, and took out ten catties of food stamps to exchange for cloth stamps with her. After they left, Song Zhaodi gave the eldest sister at the counter a pound of food stamps. Without waiting for the other party to ask questions, Song Zhaodi asked if there was a change of seasons, not the cloth and rags of the ticket.

deal with.

The other party went to ask the leader for instructions, and came back and told Song Zhaodi that he could not sell her too much.

Song Zhaodi didn't need much, just enough to make a set of clothes for three children.

Seeing that Song Zhaodi was so good at talking, the other party thought about it, and gave Song Zhaodi half a bag of the rags he had saved, and confiscated Song Zhaodi's money. However, Song Zhaodi gave the other party a dime while they were not paying attention.

Mr. Yao and Qian Qinghua watched Song Zhaodi and the eldest sister at the counter come and go, their eyes widened, as if they knew Song Zhaodi for the first time.

Before leaving, the lady at the counter greeted Song Zhaodi, come back next time.

Mr. Yao couldn't help but sigh: "Mr. Song, you are really amazing." After a while, "I saw you staring at the woman just now, are you sure she has a cloth ticket? How can you tell? of?"

"Her clothes are unpatched and her complexion is sallow. At first glance, there is no shortage of people who need clothes and food." Song Zhaodi said, "When I talk to her, her mouth has a smell, that smell is Only for those who haven't eaten breakfast."

Teacher Yao opened his mouth and said, "You are so careful."

Song Zhaodi said with a smile: "I'm not careful. Last year, I came back with Lao Zhong and took the train for one day and two nights. There was nothing to eat on the way. When I arrived at the station in the morning, the smell was in my mouth. As for her Her face is very similar to someone in our village with a large population and not enough food. Only I can conclude that she is short of food stamps."

"Then you are good enough." Qian Qinghua admired.

Song Zhaodi thought to herself, I was in the fashion circle in my previous life, and my eyes were not very bright. Even with the help of nobles, I would not want to go to Milan to Cannes.

"Do you want to buy something?" Song Zhaodi asked, "I actually have food stamps."

Mr. Yao: "We also have them in our house. If we need something in the future, we will come here to exchange it. However, I also hope that Teacher Song can join us. If you want me to come alone, I dare not come."

"I really want to promise you, but I can't. The three children can't do without me." Song Zhaodi really doesn't appreciate Mr. Yao's character, and doesn't want to get too close to Mr. Yao, "We are on the island. The people who come out often come out, and Teacher Yao can join them. When you get here, don’t talk, don’t look around, and don’t mind your own business, nothing will happen.”

Three babies are still young, so Mr. Yao has no doubts about Song Zhaodi's words.

After getting off the boat and arriving on the island, Song Zhaodi asked, "What are you going to do about Head Qian?"

"I can't get a divorce." Qian Qinghua went out and became more determined, "If my father forces my mother again, I will write to the commander."

Song Zhaodi said "um": "My opinion is that no matter what happens, you can't change your career and go back to your place."

"I know." Qian Qinghua said, "My eldest brother is also a soldier, I will consult with him."

Seeing this, Song Zhaodi was completely relieved. Seeing that her house was coming, she waved to Teacher Yao and put the cloth in the room before going to the next door to pick up a few children. Colonel Qian's concubine came out of the Lin house next door.

Song Zhaodi hid behind the fence and waited for the woman to walk away before asking the mother in the forest: "Sister Chen, isn't that Xiao Zhao who collects money at the counter of the non-staple food factory? You know her very well. ?"