Chapter 48 On difficult days (9)

The real winter has arrived. The cold snap from Siberia crossed the grasslands and deserts of Inner Mongolia and hit the south of the Great Wall as usual.From the middle school geography book, we don't have any mountains here to block the storm going south.Here is the first line of defense.The exposed barren mountains are like naked giants, with brass-like chests, let the cold wind whip at will.If the sky is cloudy, the more sunny the weather, the lower the temperature will be.The bitter wind swept the dust and dead branches and leaves on the ground to nowhere.The wind was so clear that there were few signs of it, only its harsh screams and whimpers could be heard in Dachuan Road and at the corners of alleys and houses.The sun became very pale, shining with a light as cold as the moon, which could no longer give people a trace of warmth.

Winter, how many disasters and misfortunes you have added to this hungry earth! My thin clothes immediately became as useless as paper in the cold wind, and I often shivered all over from the cold, and the hungrier I was, the colder I felt.But no matter what, I still wear cotton clothes when I am not busy.I don't dare to put on my cotton padded clothes until I can't bear it anymore. I wrapped all the other clothes except cotton clothes and meals around my body. As a result, because the clothes in different seasons were of different lengths and sizes, I was stretched and twisted and uncomfortable.But I feel fortunate that I now have a way out: I can subsidize myself by doing odd jobs outside of class.This is not the food that comes with a sigh of relief!I will exchange my labor for payment.Fortunately, Wu Yaling found such an errand for me.Wu Yaling, what a nice person!

In the afternoon, I went to the Armed Forces Department with anxiety. I happened to meet her at the gate.I was taken aback: I saw that she was wearing an old military uniform that had been tailored and patched, and a male and female military cap on her head, with all her hair tucked into the cap, like a boy.She was pumping up a van.It seems that she really wants to be a "temporary worker".I thought she had said it offhand that night.When she saw me, she pumped up her breath a few times, straightened her waist and shouted happily: "Ah, I thought you wouldn't come!" She walked over from the shelf cart, rubbed her hands that were red with cold, and said, "First Go to my house and warm up!" I said, "No. I'm going to work, where are you?"

She hesitated for a moment and said: "That's good, it won't be cold when you work. I have prepared all the cave dwellings, ladders, shovels, and shovels below, and I also found a shelf cart to go out. Transport mud and soil. Come on, you put the shelf cart on the road!" We came to the row of cave dwellings below, and got to work quickly. This job is not difficult, dig out the damaged parts of the mud skin on the wall, and then dump these things on the garbage dump outside on the shelf truck. I dug on the wall, and Wu Yaling transported it out on a shelf truck. Working alone with a girl for the first time felt awkward, but Wu Yaling didn't.She also seemed to see my restraint, so she thought about chatting with me: "Do you like singing?" She asked behind my back.

"Hi... like." I stood on the ladder and replied timidly. "But you don't usually sing. Listening to you, I know that you have a good resonance. I think singing should be more introverted. Like Zhou Wenming, his voice is okay, but when he sings, it's like a donkey barking, which is extremely unpleasant. You Maybe I don’t know, Teacher Li originally wanted me to be the cultural and sports officer, but your rambunctious deskmate insisted on it. Why? Isn’t it for the limelight?…” She was talking endlessly, and I rarely answered.On the one hand, it is restrained, on the other hand, it is because of hunger. "Hey, Ma Jianqiang! Can you sing a song now? Anything is fine, let me listen to it. The school is planning an opera recently. Maybe you can be the hero!"

I immediately became a little angry: you talk too much!People are so hungry, how can they sing! Looks like she's still waiting for me to sing!I had no choice but to say: "I really..." I suddenly felt dizzy, my body shook, and I folded my back and held it down from the ladder!I heard Wu Yaling scream, and then I felt two not very strong arms lift me up from behind. When I struggled to break free from her hand, a kind of panic like electric shock made me forget the pain in my body, leaning on the kang stone, just wiping the sweat from my head. "Ah, I see, you are hungry!" She wiped off the hat on her head, and ran out of the dusty cave like flying.

I leaned against the rock on the kang, panting for breath, and guessed: She probably went home to fetch something for me.No, I won't eat it. Wu Yaling will be back soon.She didn't take anything to eat, but put a few RMB into my hand and said: "This is your wages for today and tomorrow. I have already taken mine. Take it and go to the street to buy something." Let's eat!" I looked at the money in my hand and was speechless for a long time in surprise.God!How can I believe that there is so much wages for two days? Wu Yaling was afraid that I would put the money into her hands again, and she had already retreated to the threshold. As she continued to retreat, she turned her head and said to me: "You will come again tomorrow afternoon! Don't forget, tomorrow's wages will be paid by you." It's been paid in advance!" She smiled slyly at me and ran away.I held the stack of money blankly, knowing what was going on in my heart.She didn't take her wages at all, but gave both of them to me, and maybe even stuffed her family's money into it.In this way, she still gave me her money, and I have nothing to say!

I patted the dust off my body, left the cave, and came to the yard.Suddenly, I heard David Zheng’s voice from the courtyard above—— "Yaling, where did you go just now? It made me look for you all over the school, making my classmates laugh at me!" "Why are you looking for me?" This is Wu Yaling's voice. "Oh, you man! How did you forget? Today is my birthday! Didn't you say it well the day before yesterday, and you came to my house for dinner this afternoon, and our whole family waited for a long time, and the stir-fry was steamed again! " "Oh, I really forgot... What are you in a hurry for? If your family has something delicious, I'll eat it every day!" "I hope so!" "Hahaha..." "Hee hee..." A burst of joyful laughter full of emotion!

I laughed too.I am happy for Wu Yaling, I am happy for David Zheng, and I am also happy for myself.The flowers of youth, friendship and love bloom vigorously even in the midst of hunger and severe cold!I ran towards the state-run cafeteria; I felt the blood in my whole body boil like burning, and my long-sunken chest suddenly swelled up. I bought four bowls of stewed vegetables and eight steamed buns in the cafeteria, and put them on a table in the corner. Eat profusely!Eat it in a sweat!Eat desperately!eat! Just as I drank the last bit of soup left on the bottom of the bowl, I felt someone slap me on the shoulder.Looking back, it was Zhou Wenming!

It's him again, what the hell!No matter where I go, I can meet him!Zhou Wenming grinned mischievously, and said, "It's nothing, brother, you can eat yours, you're lucky! But, be careful that David Zheng slaps you on the ear!" He whistled mischievously again, and shouted towards the back of the cafeteria: "Dad! Is my dish ready?" "Okay, you glutton! Hurry up and eat!" This was his father's voice.He staggered away.I walked out of the cafeteria with a stomach full of displeasure, and glanced at myself in the glass at the door in a hurry: a face that was too thin and dejected covered it...