Chapter 243 Xuemei
When Ji Ling woke up, the sun was already shining on her butt.

Chunlan was doing her winter vacation homework on the desk in front of the window, her expression focused, but she still heard the noise, she tilted her head and said: "Sister Ji Ling, are you awake?"

"Hey, has your second brother gotten up yet?" Ji Ling turned over, lay on the soft big bed and rubbed her eyes. A strand of thin and soft bangs swayed in front of her, so beautiful that it was frightening.

Chunlan smiled and said, "He never sleeps in. He goes out early in the morning. He is just so busy all day long that I don't know what he is doing."

Ji Ling held her delicate chin with both hands and said, "He is very tired. He has been busy with the cooperative affairs in Yunxi Village these days. He wants to help the people in his hometown make more money."

Chunlan tilted her head: "Cooperative? What cooperative?"

Ji Ling has never been very interested in this matter: "I don't know much about it either. It seems that your second brother called on the people in your village to contribute money to build an economic production organization, and then sell the peanuts and soybeans they grow to the canning factory to make money."

Chunlan curled her lips when she heard this and said, "My second brother is really something. I feel that anything that asks the villagers to pay for something is unreliable. Not to mention the hard work, they won't appreciate it after helping them, and they will even criticize them if something goes wrong. I have seen through the faces of some people in the village. In short, it's a thankless job."

Ji Ling sat at the head of the bed, hugging her slender legs, and said, "There's nothing wrong with what you said, but we can't define your second brother from this perspective. He is different."

Chunlan paused while she was ticking on her math workbook. After a while, she said "hmm" and smiled, "Are you up yet? Sister Ji Ling, I'll get you a towel and toothbrush."

Ji Ling nodded: "Thank you!"

Chunlan added, "The warm water, milk, and apples you want to drink are all on the table. Do you want to cook some noodles? You don't eat peppers, onions, or garlic, right?"

Ji Ling was startled: "How did you know?"

Chunlan said: "My second brother told me before he left."

Ji Ling smiled.

At that time, the sky outside the window was clear and bright.

After getting up and getting dressed, Ji Ling walked out of Chunlan's bedroom. She had heard that Zhang Yunqi's father had returned, but she didn't see him, and there was no one else at home. She rinsed her mouth and washed her face in the bathroom. While eating breakfast, Ji Ling suddenly said, "Chunlan, shall we go to Ximen Street for a walk this morning? The New Year is coming soon, don't stay at home reading books every day."

"Just the two of us?"

"And Xiaoxiao, call me Chujian again."

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This was the first time Ji Ling came to Hongshan Lane since he was old enough to understand.

A series of low and dilapidated tile-roofed huts were connected by a bumpy mud road. On the road, there were a group of unkempt children wearing tattered clothes covered with patches. Some children only wore thin single clothes, and some did not even have shoes. They were fighting and wrestling in the mud. Their tone was more arrogant than that of the gangsters in society. They would say "Fuck you! Fuck your mother's crutches!"

Although the cold winter had long passed, the weather was still cold, and the flowers of the motherland, which symbolized hope, seemed to be far from blooming. Along the way, Ji Ling and Chunlan didn't talk much.

They wanted to go shopping with Chu Jian, but they didn't have his contact information. Fortunately, Zhang Xiaoxiao led the way and took them to Hongshan Lane to find Chu Jian. This little girl was brave and took Chu Jian's sister Chu Xin to play together every day, running around all over the place. She also went to Chu Jian's home many times with Jiang Feng.

When arriving at Chu Jian's house, what caught Ji Ling's eyes was a small courtyard with three tiled houses close together, low and old. It had rained a few days ago, and the uncemented ground was muddy. Chu Jian's family were in the yard, slaughtering a pig for the New Year.

The pig was not big, probably only about 100 pounds. But even so, without any help, Chu Jian, her mother Jiang Feng, and her ruffian stepfather Chu Dapeng had a hard time holding the pig down by pressing its feet and pulling its tail. Finally, they tied up the pig's legs with hemp rope and passed a carrying pole under the ropes on the front and back legs. Jiang Feng and Chu Dapeng, who were in a mess, freed up a hand each and grabbed one end of the carrying pole. The three of them worked together to lift the pig up and flatten it on the two stools that had been prepared.

Chu Jian immediately picked up the prepared wooden basin and placed it under the pig's head. Chu Dapeng took a butcher knife from the chopping board and stabbed it directly under the pig's neck. Then he pulled it out. The shrill howl stopped abruptly and blood spurted out immediately. Most of it shot into the wooden basin below, and some splashed on Chu Jian's white and transparent face, which was bright red like a rose in the snow.

"First time meeting you, sister!"

I heard a small voice when I first saw it.

She took two breaths and turned her head to see Zhang Xiaoxiao jumping over with Ji Ling and Chunlan. She was stunned for a moment and subconsciously wanted to wipe off the mud on her body, the sweat and blood on her face, but when she raised her arms, she smelled a disgusting stench on her hands, which was from when she grabbed the pig's feet.

She didn't know why, but she felt a little sad.

It wasn't embarrassment, nor was it vanity. It was just that a young girl didn't want to show her not-so-good side to her good friends, making them feel that she was not living a good life and feel sad for her.

Ji Ling really didn't feel like going out shopping anymore.

She walked into the yard and handed the juice she bought to Chu Xin, who was staring at her with wide eyes. She squinted her eyes and smiled, rubbed her little head, and then helped Chu Jian with chores together with Chunlan.

Ji Ling was not very good at housework, or perhaps she had never done it before. Living in a powerful family like hers, with food and clothing taken care of by the nanny, it was rare for her to be so sincere and enthusiastic towards her friends. But Chunlan was obviously different. She was very skillful at doing housework. She was good at burning firewood, laying straw, and scraping pig hair.

In fact, these things are just ordinary housework for this girl. You know, when she was still unable to walk steadily, she had already followed her brothers and sisters to pick tobacco leaves in the tobacco fields. That is the most tiring farm work in the eyes of farmers. Once you go into the tobacco fields, you will definitely be covered in extremely smelly tobacco oil when you come out.

When they first met Chunlan, her mother Jiang Feng and her ruffian stepfather Chu Dapeng were frightened by her diligence. In their eyes, Chunlan was a noble lady. As for the other pretty girl with short hair, the way she spoke and the temperament she exuded did not seem like a girl from an ordinary family.

However, they could not stop the two enthusiastic girls. Seeing them talking and laughing with Chu Jian while working, they had no choice but to let them go.

After the pig was cleaned, Chu Jian's mother Jiang Feng began to prepare the pig-killing dishes and asked Ji Ling and Chunlan Xiaoxiao to have lunch at home. Ji Ling wanted to call Zhang Yunqi over, so she told Chu Jian about it.

Chu Jian, who was always thoughtful, was stunned for a moment and immediately agreed.

Ji Ling smiled and said, "Is there a place to make a phone call here? I'll go give him a call."

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(End of this chapter)