It had been drizzling for several days, and the riverbank was still a bit damp. The calm water in the river awoke from the starkness of winter, adorned more lushly by the colors of nature.
"You damn girl, these are my brother's and my clothes. If you don't finish washing them, don't expect to have lunch." A sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl looked arrogantly at another girl, who was a head shorter than her.
"Big sister, your clothes are usually washed by Aunt, I only need to wash our family's clothes." Xu Wan bit her lip in grievance, too angry to speak, her eyes brimming with tears. She had already helped her big sister wash clothes many times.
Besides washing clothes, she also had to gather firewood and pick wild vegetables. If she didn't gather enough firewood, she surely wouldn't be able to have lunch.
"Your clothes should be washed by yourselves. We're not washing them for you." Another slightly taller girl looked angrily at Xu Mumu, then threw the basin Xu Mumu had brought by her feet.
"This is outrageous. I'm going to tell Grandma you're bullying me." Xu Mumu rolled her eyes and prepared to run to tell on them.
"You're not allowed to go." Xu Xue was frightened. Grandma held absolute authority in the Old Xu family, and more importantly, Grandma doted on Xu Mumu.
Xu Xue reached out to grab Xu Mumu's clothes. Xu Mumu was standing on a stone covered in moss.
Xu Mumu was determined to go forward, and Xu Xue didn't have a firm grip.
There was a sudden splash, and Xu Mumu was thrashing in the water, shouting "Help."
Suddenly, her ankle cramped, and Xu Mumu lost her strength, slowly sinking down.
Xu Xue and Xu Wan were both still in a daze, standing where they were, scared out of their wits.
Suddenly, a tall figure ran over quickly and jumped into the water.
"Sister, big sister, she fell into the water." Xu Wan was trembling, extremely frightened.
"Wanwan, don't be afraid. It seemed like someone jumped in to rescue big sister just now." Xu Xue was also very scared at this moment.
"I saw it, it seemed to be Zhiqing." Xu Wan bit her lip, silently praying in her heart that her big sister would be okay. If anything happened to her, Grandma would definitely beat her and her sister to death.
As soon as the words were out, a youthful-faced young man came swimming up, quickly heading to the shore while holding a girl.
"You must be from the Xu family, right? I've brought the person up." Yin Yang wiped the water off his face and looked at Xu Xue and Xu Wan.
"Thank you, Yin Zhiqing. Could you help us take big sister to the village health center?" Xu Xue looked at Yin Yang gratefully.
Xu Xue had already recognized Yin Yang. Yin Yang had been a Zhiqing who came to the village two years ago. He was good-looking, had a good personality, and had a great reputation in the village, getting along well with everyone.
"No problem, serving the people after all." Yin Yang flashed a bright, clean, and sunny smile.
Yin Yang picked Xu Mumu up. This girl was quite heavy, and he had heard that the Xu family's days were going well. He had never found an opportunity to exchange grain; now that he had saved a girl from the Xu family, their relationship would surely improve, and he could try to feel them out.
Yin Yang was calculating in his mind. Initially, he wasn't planning on bothering with such matters, but seeing Xu Xue and Xu Wan in shock, if he didn't go save the person, the girl might have drowned.
Now that the person was saved, he naturally wanted to make the most of it.
He often heard about how Xu Mumu was spoiled; he had seen the Xu family around the village, often working together.
The Xu family was relatively large with many children. Although not everyone earned full work points, there were many working members, so they naturally received more grain during the year-end settlement.
Yin Yang quietly calculated the Xu family's grain. The black market was too risky; it was more reliable to directly exchange grain with villagers.
Yin Yang swiftly carried Xu Mumu towards the village health center, with Xu Xue and Xu Wan nervously following behind.
"Wanwan, you go with Yin Zhiqing to the health center first, I'll go inform Grandma and the others." Xu Xue suddenly stopped.
"Okay, sister, go quickly." Xu Wan nodded seriously. They indeed needed to inform Grandpa and Grandma, though she still feared their sister might get beaten by Grandma.
Xu Xue patted Xu Wan's head, then turned and ran towards the fields.
The fields were bustling, planting soybeans and sweet potatoes, with the corn already planted but needing a few more days before the seedlings were ready.
"Grandpa, Grandma, something bad has happened." Xu Xue called out anxiously.
"What happened?" Old Xu continued planting beans in the pit with a frown, looking at Xu Xue. What was going on? Shouldn't they be home gathering firewood and digging for wild vegetables?
Spring wild vegetables were tender and fresh. This was indeed Xu Xue and Xu Wan's task. While gathering wild vegetables, they were also responsible for gathering firewood. The family also kept two hens, for which they needed to collect fresh grass and bring it back home.
The work burdening the two sisters was indeed considerable.
However, regarding rural children, who wasn't like this? In the second family, both children were girls, and it was fortunate enough they had grown up safely to this point; other families would throw away baby girls at birth or directly drown them.
"Big sister fell into the river." As she spoke the last sentence, Xu Xue instantly felt several deathly glares. Needless to say, these glares came from the three in the big family and the two old Xu family elders.
"What did you say? Where's Mumu?" Madam Chen's sharp voice was almost piercing her eardrums, attracting the attention of surrounding workers.
"Big sister was rescued by Yin Zhiqing, she should be at the health center now." Xu Xue shrank her neck, feeling like she was being torn apart by the glare from Madam Chen and the others.
"Dad, Mom, Mumu fell into the water, we need to go see her. If anything happens to Mumu, I'll tear this damn girl apart." Li Caixia said anxiously.
"Yes, Grandma, we need to see our sister." Xu Minghui immediately said, also worried. Looking at Xu Xue coming over so urgently, how could he feel at ease?
"I'm going too. Old man, you stay and work, Mistress Four, you go inform the brigade leader for us." Madam Chen quickly started arranging.
"Yes, Mom, I'll go right away." Old Fourth's wife Sun Huiping immediately said, then put down what she was doing and went to find the brigade leader.
The people from the big family, including Madam Chen, headed eagerly toward the health center.
Meanwhile, Xu Mumu had already expelled the water from her lungs and come back to life.
When Xu Mumu woke up, her head hurt, her throat felt uncomfortable, and she felt generally unwell.
She looked at the walls around her, covered in old newspapers, and the room had a faint medicinal smell.
"Big sister, are you alright?" Xu Wan cautiously looked at Xu Mumu. Xu Mumu had been dazing out for quite a while after waking up.
"I'm fine." Xu Mumu shook her head, her mood slightly complicated.