Xu Xiuyu looked at Xu's mother blankly, recognizing for the first time the person who gave birth to her and raised her.
Xu's mother felt guilty when she saw her, and said in a soft voice, "You also know that your third brother will be old soon. If he doesn't have a job, he will have to go to the countryside sooner or later. How can he bear the pain and fatigue of going to the countryside?" Come on."
"This man is a steward at a soy sauce factory in the county. As long as you marry him, he will be willing to arrange a job for your brother. Besides, his family is in good condition, so you won't have to suffer if you marry him, and you can come back from the countryside. "
"Mom, this is all for your own good. Think carefully about whether this is true."
Xu Xiuyu was speechless for a long time, feeling as if her heart had been hollowed out. She closed her eyes and her voice trembled, "Are you really doing it for me? Or are you using me to pave the way for your precious son?"
"I still don't understand why you can be so cruel to me. Am I not your child?!"
She almost yelled the last sentence.
Mother Xu's face was a little confused for a moment, and she said angrily, "You have hardened your wings now, right? I tell you, since I gave birth to you and raised you, whatever I ask you to do is what you should do, otherwise you will never do anything else from now on." Recognize me as mother!"
Xu Xiuyu sneered and said sadly, "If you don't admit it, don't admit it! I should have paid you back long ago."
After saying that, he shook off Xu's mother's hand, turned around and left.
Xu's mother said angrily, "Don't enter the house if you can. Aren't you stubborn?"
Xu Xiuyu paused for a moment, but did not look back. She walked forward faster and faster, and finally started running.
She walked on the sparsely populated streets, feeling desolate in her heart. She wanted to cry but couldn't. She just felt that it was extremely cold today, even colder than the night she came back.
What's ridiculous is that her only idea now is to escape back to the educated youth center, but she has nowhere else to go.
She ran back as fast as she could to pack her things and rushed to the train station. Fortunately, there was a train to Beicheng in half an hour.
Without any hesitation or nostalgia, she came with joy but left with devastation.
Xu Jiayi didn't know until night that she had packed her things and left. Xu's mother was so angry that she cursed in the room.
Xu Xiuyu was alone when she returned to the Educated Youth Point. Everyone ran out of firewood when they left, so she had no firewood to burn the kang. She was so cold that night that she shivered all over and kept her eyes open until dawn.
The next day she had to risk going to the back mountain to collect firewood, otherwise she wouldn't even be able to eat. The mountain was still covered with snow. She walked carefully on the outermost edge and collected enough for a meal in more than an hour.
She was about to stand up and take a breath, but her feet slipped and she rolled down. Fortunately, she didn't climb high and wore thick winter clothes. She didn't suffer any injuries, but her hands were bruised by the gravel on the ground. Fuzzy, burning pain.
The emotions that had been suppressed for many days finally broke out at this moment. She knelt on the ground and cried loudly. The pain in her body could never compare to the pain in her heart.
She didn't know how long it took, but when she was completely immersed in her emotions, she saw a pair of military green shoes in front of her with tears in her eyes, and then a voice came from above her head, "Are you okay?"
She looked up blankly and saw a tall and straight man standing in front of her. At this moment, she just wanted to escape. She quickly stood up and walked around him to leave, not even caring about the firewood she had been busy with for a long time. He said again, "Your hand is injured. Remember to take care of it when you get back."
She still didn't speak and passed by him with her head lowered.
Xu Xiuyu still had to succumb to reality in the afternoon. She came to the foot of the mountain again, but unexpectedly she met the man from the morning again. He had a machete and a hemp rope in his hand, and he didn't know what he was going to do.
He looked at the girl standing there and said warmly, "Are you here to collect firewood again?"
Then he looked at the snow-covered mountains, frowned and said, "There is still snow on the mountains now, it's too dangerous."
He paused and said, "Wait here for a while and help me take care of these things. I'll be back soon."
After saying that, he turned around and left, leaving Xu Xiuyu looking at the things on the ground at a loss.
When he came back, he had two bundles of firewood on his shoulders.
He walked up to her and asked, "These should be enough for you for a few days. Don't run up the mountain anymore."
Xu Xiuyu opened her mouth and said after a while, "...I don't want it."
He curled his lips and looked at her, "I've already taken care of the reaction for you. It's up to you to deal with it as you wish."
Before Xu Xiuyu could speak, he added, "I'll leave first if I have something else to do, so I won't help you carry it home. Being seen by others won't be good for you."
Then she picked up the things on the ground and walked in the other direction. Only when his figure disappeared did she realize what was going on.
In the end, she carried the two bundles of firewood back. There was really nothing she could do.
Only later did Xu Xiuyu find out that his name was Liu Qingshan. He had joined the army very early. He was the son of Liu, a lame man in the village.
Since then, she has never returned home, and no one at home has sent her a word. Sometimes she thinks that this is good, she can live a life without worries, and she no longer has to wrong herself for others.
The second time she saw him again was in autumn. Every time at this time, she would go up to the mountain to cut firewood and save it for herself during the New Year.
She was holding a machete against a thick branch when a familiar voice suddenly came from behind her, "Why do you always chop wood every time I see you?"
He asked again, "Are you an educated youth in the village?"
Xu Xiuyu looked at him and nodded after a long while.
He also nodded before saying, "You don't know how long it will last if you chop like this-"
He stretched out his hand and said, "Give me the knife."
Xu Xiuyu hesitated for a moment, then slowly handed over the machete in her hand. She saw him lifting the machete and lowering it. The branch she had just chopped down was broken into two sections.
He smiled and said, "You are too weak. Men should do things like chopping firewood."
"You go and stand aside for a while."
Xu Xiuyu said quickly, "No, I can do it myself."
Liu Qingshan kept moving and said, "I'm very scary when I chop wood. Please stay away and I won't hurt you."
Xu Xiuyu curled her lower lip helplessly, "What's so scary about this."
He didn't respond, but the movements of his hands sped up a lot.
Perhaps it was as he said that this job was suitable for men. What she had to work on for a whole day, he could finish in an hour.
After he carried the chopped firewood down the mountain, he asked again, "Do you need me to help you take it back?"
Xu Xiuyu shook her head quickly, "No, I've already troubled you a lot today, thank you."
He twitched the corners of his lips and said, "It's okay."
Then he handed the machete in her hand and turned back to the mountain.
Later, she met him several times when she was chopping firewood. Each time, he took the machete from her hand without saying a word and started working quietly.
