755 Hiding Something
Wang Qin got up from the ground shakily and did not say anything. She quietly went to the bed to sleep. She finally knew why Shen Ge had not fought back after being beaten up by Qiao Zhuang for so many years. The difference in physical strength between men and women was simply too great.
Qiao Mei went to the backyard early in the morning to feed the chickens and ducks. Recently, the three children were busy with school, so she had to clean up her own courtyard. If she did not clean it up soon, she would smell bad odors when she opened the window.
After sweeping up the poultry’s excrement in the backyard, she started making breakfast. She made a pot of thick medicinal soup for Qiao Qiang and then took out the blankets from the house to air them in the sun. Then, she packed up the dusty things in the storeroom.
The morning passed quickly.
Qiao Mei realized that it had been a long time since she went to visit Zhang Miao. She wondered if they had finished using the ointment made from 100-year-old ginseng.
“Mom, what are you doing at home?” Qiao Mei entered the house and saw Li Gui standing in front of the kitchen cabinet and secretly hiding something.
Li Gui had such a fright that the bag of flour in her hand fell to the ground. Fortunately, the bag was tied up, otherwise the flour would have been wasted.
“You don’t make any sound when you walk. You scared me to death!” Li Gui said as she patted her chest.
“What’s wrong? Why are you suddenly putting the flour away?” Qiao Mei asked.
Li Gui sighed and then continued to hide the flour. Recently, Zhao Hong had found out that the three children were going to school. She had come to kneel outside Li Gui’s door, begging for food for her two daughters who were about to starve to death.
Li Gui told Zhao Hong that she no longer cared about anything related to Old Madam Li’s family. From now on, she would not give Old Madam Li any money for retirement or eye any bit of inheritance. She steeled her heart and returned to the house after saying that, leaving Zhao Hong at the door.
During the autumn harvest period in the village, she really had no time to go to the fields because of Zhang Miao, so she asked Auntie Dong to help her with the harvesting. She then went to the village office to inform Zhao Liang.
She was only gone for a short while and she found that the flour at home had gone missing when she returned home. That was why she decided to hide all her things.
There were indeed thieves in the village, but thieves usually stole valuable things. They had never cared about rice and flour. Furthermore, there was still a child in the house. Also, everyone knew that she was Qiao Mei’s mother, so no one would dare to steal from her house.
Zhao Hong must have taken advantage of the time when Li Gui was not around to enter the house and take the flour. Li Gui could only suffer in silence this time round and to make it a point not to let Zhao Hong enter the village again.
“I don’t want to argue with her over a little bit of flour. Even if I take this matter to the village office, it won’t be worth the time and effort,” Li Gui said with a sigh.
She had already troubled Zhao Liang enough with regard to her children. There was no way she could go and ask Zhao Liang for help about losing some flour.
The crops that she planted at home were all growing well. She had secretly gone to the black market to sell them a few times and the family expenses were not an issue for her at the moment. The children had enough food to eat and they were also especially well-behaved. After school, they would go into the mountains to pick things like hazelnuts and chestnuts. They had even sold those for a grand total of six dollars!
“Let me talk to Uncle Zhao Liang about this,” Qiao Mei said.
“Hey! Don’t do it. Let’s just forget about this matter. Let’s not look for Zhao Liang. He has so many things to do every day,” Li Gui said.
When she found out that there was a burglary at home, she had actually wanted to go and look for Zhao Liang while still in a fit of anger. Now that Wang Qin was not in the village office, Zhao Liang had to do everything, including all the calculations for work points. He was so busy that he almost had to sleep in the village office, so how could she ask him to waste his time on such a trivial matter?
“I’m not going to cause trouble for her. I have something else in mind. Don’t worry.” Qiao Mei patted Li Gui’s shoulder to comfort her.
Suddenly, a new thought flashed across Qiao Mei’s mind. Next year was the year when the village would re-select the village office accountant. If she kept Wang Qin from being elected…
“Mom, how’s your mathematics?” Qiao Mei asked curiously.
“I often go to the black market to sell things, so my mathematics is not too bad. If I don’t know how to do the sums, how do I do business?” Li Gui looked at Qiao Mei and said with a smile.
“Then… do you know how to write?” Qiao Mei asked.
“I know how to write my own name, but I don’t know anything else,” Li Gui said honestly.
There was still half a year before the next election. It would not be difficult to learn a few commonly used words and words in half a year and Zhang Wei would be able to teach Li Gui how to read. She just did not know if Li Gui had the guts to take that position.
She had to take care of four young children on her own. It was not enough to just rely on farm work.
