Chronicle of the 70s
Chapter 123 - 120 siblings-in-law at the second watch

Chapter 123: 120 siblings-in-law at the second watch

Throughout the entire month of March, Xu Wu stayed at Qin Xi’s home, sharing meals with Li family’s grandpa and grandson. This child indeed had a large appetite, but he was very diligent, helping with fetching water and even dragging back two dead trees from the woods in the east, which made the firewood at home suddenly abundant.

The child was also quite peculiar, especially obedient to Li Xianglu’s words, treating them as if they were imperial edicts. Whatever she said, he would do, and whatever she forbade, he would resolutely refrain from doing.

Just now, Qin Zhen was trying to take Xu Wu to the river to catch fish, as the weather was getting warmer and the ice on the river had melted. Many from the village with good swimming skills went to the riverside to catch fish, to add a dish to their family’s meal.

However, Xu Wu was squatting on the ground, writing characters without moving an inch, and no matter how much you talked, he wouldn’t budge.

Li Xianglu, who had just finished making dough, came out and asked, "Have you learned it?"

Xu Wu stood up immediately like a voice-controlled robot and nodded, "I’ve learned it all."

Seeing this, Li Xianglu smiled and touched his scabby gourd-like head, which had its dressing changed twice, "Okay, let’s do a dictation."

Xu Wu swiftly walked to the side basin, washed his hands, dried them, and then sat in front of the dining table in the kitchen. He opened a notebook that was already half-written in and began to write characters attentively, stroke by stroke.

Li Xianglu was truly astonished. The child was really intelligent. She had always thought that people with photographic memories were only in legends, but now she did not doubt it at all. This child could solidly remember the sentences from the texts you read to him and could instantly remember the words you taught him, like a sponge placed in water, soaking everything up in an instant.

During this time, nobody talked about sending him back, nor did anyone come to pick up the child, so Li Xianglu simply taught him literacy and mathematics.

Twenty days passed, and under intense learning, the child showed no signs of saturation. Apart from parts that needed understanding, there was almost nothing he couldn’t accomplish that required rote memorization.

Just like now, Li Xianglu believed that once a person has learned basic cultural knowledge, they must learn the history of the world. Learning history enables one to discern loyalty and treachery, right from wrong, and good from evil.

So she taught him historical dynasty mnemonics when Xu Wu had a sufficient vocabulary, starting with mnemonics and then discussing each historical period. This was not difficult at all for Li Xianglu, who was an archaeology student.

This notebook was bought for Xu Wu by Li Xianglu at the big store in the commune. On each page, Li Xianglu would first write down the characters for dictation, followed by the characters written by Xu Wu, as well as the scores marked by Li Xianglu’s pen. Twenty or so pages of perfect hundred-point scores, neat and tidy, and the child cherished it, not allowing anyone to touch it.

Watching him write down the dynasty mnemonics without a single mistake, Qin Zhen ran back panting and said, "Chou Xiang, something’s not right. My brother said someone from Xu Wu’s family has come to take him back." After speaking, he ran outside.

Li Xianglu was stunned for a moment, and when she turned her head, she saw the usually obedient child suddenly stiffening there, his whole body trembling.

Li Xianglu wanted to get some food for him, but no, that wouldn’t work, she had heard from Qin Xi about his family; even if she gave him food, it wouldn’t end up in Xu Wu’s stomach. Right, give him money.

Li Xianglu quickly took out two banknotes and five jin of food tickets, rolled them into a thin strip, and handed them to Xu Wu, "Hide the money well. When they don’t give you food, go to the state-owned canteen at the commune to buy something. Remember to hide it well."

Xu Wu clenched them tightly in his hand, his eyes fixed on Li Xianglu.

Originally, Li Xianglu wanted to give Xu Wu something more to eat, but noises from outside were already coming in.

Li Xianglu turned around and walked to the door, only to see four or five people already surrounding the entrance. At that moment, Mr. Li also hurried back from behind the mountain ridge. Seeing a crowd gathered in front of his house, he couldn’t help but ask, "What’s all this for? Why are you all crowding around my home?"

The man leading the group looked to be in his forties. First, he glanced at Mr. Li’s respectable Sun Yat-Sen suit, then cracked a smile showing his yellow teeth: "Well, we are Xu Wu’s paternal cousins. We’ve come to take him back with us."

Mr. Li was startled, gave a glance at the small figure hidden behind Li Xianglu, sighed, and thought to himself that whatever was bound to come, would come eventually. Xiangxiang had been putting so much effort into caring for this child recently. If he were to leave now, she would be heartbroken.

Qin Zhen widened his eyes in disbelief and said with incredulity, "Who are you trying to fool? You’re Xu Wu’s paternal cousins? You look like you’re at least fifty years old, don’t you?"

A burst of laughter rose from the crowd.

The man wasn’t upset and patiently explained, "Indeed, we are Xu Wu’s older brother and sister-in-law. It’s just that working in the fields makes us look older."

Qin Zhen was at a loss for words in the face of such shamelessness, but Qin Xi, who had followed behind, took one look at the couple and asked coldly, "Are you sure that you are Xu Wu’s family?"

The two immediately nodded respectfully, "Yes, definitely, without a doubt."

Qin Xi’s lips curled into a smirk: "That’s good to hear. Xu Wu has been living at our place for a month and has been eating at Grandpa Li’s house for a month. The team leader mentioned that when the time comes to pick him up, we’d settle the cost of his meals."

This caught the couple off guard, and they were dumbfounded. The initially cordial pair’s faces immediately soured, and the woman impatiently rolled her eyes and said, "Weren’t you talking about adopting my little uncle? Like what you arranged with Li Erfu’s house, five jin of white flour, six hundred yuan, and we’ll hand over the person to you. Otherwise, don’t even think about it!"

Adoption? What does that have to do with anything?

Qin Xi laughed, "He’s been eating for a month, and you plan to pay nothing for it? Well, then I might as well inquire at the county about how to handle this situation. Isn’t dining at the State-owned canteen without paying money or providing food tickets equivalent to robbery?"

The couple was taken aback. Didn’t the messenger tell them that the cursed child, Xu Wu, was now being raised by Huai Ren of Li Family Village, planning to adopt him as his grandson to smash the ’earthen pot’ (a metaphor for assuming the family’s lineage) after death? Why were they suddenly talking about settling the cost of meals?

Li Huai Ren glanced at the couple standing there with cold expressions and asked, "You two are Xu Wu’s paternal cousins?"

The man, seeing Li Huai Ren’s neat appearance, which resembled that of a county official, became somewhat intimidated and nervously rubbed his hands, "Yes, yes. After this boy caused his family’s death, we’ve been taking care of him and have raised him until now. We are the ones who can make decisions regarding his matters."

Li Huai Ren looked at the man before him and coldly inquired, "When the child was rescued, there was a scar as big as an egg on his head. I heard it was caused by you beating him?"

Xu Wu’s paternal cousin immediately waved his hands in denial, "No, no, it wasn’t that. He was just being naughty and got hurt from a fall."

Li Huai Ren snorted, "Reporting this to the police is considered a crime and could lead to reeducation through labor."

Hearing this, Xu Wu’s paternal cousin quickly waved his hands, "No, no, we didn’t hit him. Ever since my Mom passed away, I’ve been the one raising him. How could I hit him?"

The woman beside him also hastily explained, "We’ve raised him for so long, using up so much food. How could we possibly hit him? Look, if you really like him, just keep him. Just give us some food in exchange."

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