Chapter 132: Created a news story

Listening to the cheerful voices in his ears, Xiang Yubao paused and looked at his little friends.

"Why didn't you call me and Gu Hangbao?"

Yuan Bao looked at his little black hands and said in a low voice: "Your family was all there, and they were talking, so we didn't dare to call."

Mao Dan'er was silent, his expression a little complex.

He had suggested calling, but the other children didn't agree and even shrank back.

Hu Po couldn't bear to watch and used his feet to nudge them and his head to push them, but unfortunately, it was useless.

"What's there to be afraid of? My family is all very, very good and doesn't bully children. You can just call us directly in the future, and we'll come out when we hear you," Xiang Yubao said with a serious expression.

"Okay," the children responded.

Gu Hangbao took out the photos of Yuan Bao, Da Zhuang, and the others, his voice cheerful, "Yuan Bao, Da Zhuang... your photos!"

"Wow!"

The children touched the photos, cheers erupting from their mouths.

"Yuan Bao is printed on a small piece of paper, and there's a big banyan tree behind him!"

"Yuan Bao is being carried on someone's shoulders, and there's a big red flower, hee hee hee..."

Yuan Bao felt uncomfortable being laughed at by his little friends and said loudly: "Stop laughing, let's listen to songs."

He even knew how to change the subject.

Xiang Yubao was very thoughtful; he knew that taking photos cost money, and even Village Chief Grandpa felt the pinch. Fearing that Yuan Bao and the others would get the photos wet, he suggested: "Yuan Bao, Ye Tie Niu, Da Zhuang... you guys take the photos home first, then we'll listen to the radio. We won't listen yet, we'll wait here for you. Photos will get wet if held in your hands, and they'll get wrinkled if put in your pockets."

Gu Hangbao added: "A photo is very expensive."

Hearing this, the children didn't dare to delay and hurried home.

After running a few steps, they stopped abruptly.

They turned back.

"Xiang Yubao, Gu Hangbao, you guys wait for us."

The children's voices were sweet and soft. Lin Zhao had just left the house and was charmed into a smile.

The twins saw her, and both cubs stood up with a swoosh, "Mom, where are you going?"

"I'm just going for a stroll, want to come along?" Lin Zhao smiled.

The children who hadn't taken photos grabbed Xiang Yubao and Gu Hangbao's hands, shook them, and pleaded in a low voice: "We want to listen to the radio!"

"I remember," Xiang Yubao answered his little friends.

Then he looked at Lin Zhao, "Mom, we aren't going. Gu Hangbao and I promised the children we'd listen to the radio with them. You go, walk slowly, and come home when you're tired."

Lin Zhao: "..."

What was up with that second half? Why did it sound like she was the child?

"Got it, you guys play," Lin Zhao waved her hand and left unhurriedly, walking toward the foot of the mountain.

Xiang Yubao stared at her back for a long while.

He thought Mom was a bit strange.

Mom used to like lying down after work, and even when Dad asked her to go out for a walk, she wouldn't want to. Why has she been going out so much these past two days? Was there something good on the mountain?

Before long, Yuan Bao, Ye Tie Niu, and the others ran over, accompanied by loud children's voices.

"Twins, we're here."

"Wow, you really waited for us."

Xiang Yubao said seriously: "I promised you guys. You must do what you promise others; my dad says this is a matter of credibility."

"My mom never does what she promises me," Yuan Bao clenched his little hands, very angry, "She said she'd take me to the city to play, but she didn't take me at all, big liar."

"Your mom has to work in the fields to earn work points. If she doesn't work for a day, she doesn't get work points for a day; if she doesn't work for two days, she doesn't get work points for two days. Only with work points can you get grain and money. Yuan Bao, your mom is saving money, and when she saves enough, she'll take you," Xiang Yubao often heard Gu Fu muttering and knew how important work points were to country people.

He still felt that being a city person was better.

Hearing his little friend's words, Yuan Bao wasn't angry anymore, "Okay."

Ye Tie Niu was extremely anxious and urged: "When can we listen to the radio?"

Gu Hangbao reached his little hand toward the radio switch, turned it, and a revolutionary song rang out. He turned up the volume, and now the sound could be heard from several meters away.

The adults in the village were attracted by the sound.

"Seeing Seeing Dazai, is this a radio?" The person's tone was shocked and incredulous.

No, way?!

Who would give a radio worth several hundred yuan to cubs to play with?

Xiang Yubao frowned, "I'm not Seeing Seeing Dazai, I'm Gu Zhiyu."

"Uncle, you can call me Xiang Yubao," he emphasized again.

The middle-aged man didn't care at all; Seeing Seeing Dazai, Xiang Yubao, weren't they both Chenghuai's eldest? Why be so fussy.

"This is a radio? It's fake, right?"

"It's not fake!" Gu Hangbao retorted loudly, "This is a gift from my great-uncle to me and my brother, it is a radio."

The little guy felt his great-uncle was being looked down upon and refuted the villager's words very seriously.

Another person said: "I've seen a radio, it's a big iron box, this one of yours..."

He looked at the black and white kitty, his face full of disbelief.

Xiang Yubao looked at this person and said reasonably: "If it's not, why can it make sound? Besides a radio, what else can make sound?"

How would the villagers know? They were stumped by the question.

"This is something my great-uncle found someone to help assemble. He thought the radios sold weren't good-looking and weren't suitable for children to use, and after learning from Uncle Yuncheng that Gu Hangbao and I liked kitties, he made a kitty radio. This is a radio!" Xiang Yubao explained and emphasized again, tirelessly.

"Fine, fine, it's a radio," the villager saw the little cub was so serious and went along with him.

Changing the subject, he added: "Besides listening to songs, does this have any other use?"

Xiang Yubao felt he had convinced the other party and happily curled his lips, "Yes, it can also play books, news, operas... there's a lot you can listen to!"

The ignorant child was exaggerating; radios these days couldn't pick up many programs.

The villagers didn't go out much and were even more ignorant than Xiang Yubao, so the group felt it was impressive without knowing why.

"What's news?" someone asked.

The twins didn't know either.

Xiang Yubao sat on the large rock, swinging his legs, his cute little face serious.

"I forgot to ask."

Gu Hangbao said: "I forgot to ask too."

Just then, Gu Chenghuai walked out of the Gu family's front door, his cold, sharp eyes glancing at the children at the entrance, then he withdrew his gaze indifferently, intending to go to the new house.

But he was called out by Gu Hangbao.

"Dad!"

Gu Chenghuai stopped and looked at him, "What is it?"

Gu Hangbao asked anxiously: "Dad, do you know what news is? Great-uncle said a radio can play news."

"News is the latest information," Gu Chenghuai answered his son, "For example, you and your brother having a radio, this is news for our village. News can be big or small, and the news played on the radio is all big, on a provincial or municipal scale."

The children didn't understand at first, but after he gave an example, they understood.

"My brother and I created a news story?" Gu Hangbao's eyes were bright, and he looked at his dad proudly, "Is that right?"

"..."

Understanding it that way... wasn't wrong either.

"Right," Gu Chenghuai responded and strode away.

Xiang Yubao looked calmly at the uncle who had just asked the question and said: "My dad answered."

The man he called uncle stared at the kitty radio in disbelief, exclaiming: "According to your dad, with this radio, you two can know what's happening across the country without leaving the house?"

Xiang Yubao thought for a moment, "Yes."

"Your mom's uncle is really generous," Uncle Changsheng said.

He was also one of the onlookers.

"It's my mom's uncle, and also my and my brother's great-uncle!" Gu Hangbao said loudly, his tone full of pride, "My great-aunt is also very, very good, she even made us delicious meat. By the way, my great-aunt is also a worker."

Everyone present: No need to emphasize that specifically.

The excited little cub continued talking non-stop, "And my uncles, I mean Uncle Yuncheng and Uncle Yunjin, they are also very good, they bought us sweet ice cream and even took us skating.

Skating is so much fun, I didn't have enough of it, my mom can skate too, my mom skates so well, she can slide really far with a swoosh, I want to skate that well too, my mom said if I skate a few more times... I can skate that well too, she also said she'd take us again later."

When he got excited, he even used gestures, making it vivid.

The villagers had just finished work and hadn't heard the twins talk about the city, and they weren't in a hurry to go home to eat, so they just stopped to listen to him.

"Gu Hangbao, your great-uncle lives in a building, right?"

Gu Hangbao gestured with his hands, "That's right, such a tall building, you have to climb stairs, my great-uncle lives on the third floor."

"It must be comfortable living there," the person speaking said with envy.

Others were also envious; these days, there was no one who didn't want to be a city person.

"I don't know if it's comfortable or not, I didn't live there, Seeing Qian Bao and Yao Bao lived there, you have to ask them," Gu Hangbao thought the sofa was quite comfortable.

Uncle Changsheng looked at the third cub sitting there squeezing a ball, whistled at him, and after attracting the little bun's attention, said in a joking tone: "Is your great-uncle's house comfortable to live in?"

He asked, but didn't expect the third cub to answer.

Such a small cub, not even as tall as his thigh, what would he know? He probably didn't even know what he was asking.

But unexpectedly, the short, chubby little guy said calmly: "Comfortable."

"Whoa, you can understand what I'm saying." Uncle Changsheng looked surprised.

Xiang Yubao touched his younger brother's head, his hand light, his expression proud, "Seeing Qian Bao is smart, he can understand whatever adults say."

His younger brother was smarter than him, and as an older brother, he didn't mind at all, but was instead very happy.

This was his own younger brother.

"You four cubs, tsk tsk!" Uncle Changsheng clicked his tongue in wonder.

He had heard people say the third cub was smart, holding a book to read when he was just a tiny thing, and he had thought the villagers were exaggerating, but after just one conversation, he knew it was a fact.

The young man looked at his silly nephew, crossed his arms, and said with disdain: "Sure enough, you can tell if someone is smart when they are very young."

Changsheng was listening to the radio well when he was suddenly looked down upon by his uncle, and he jumped in anger, shouting: "Uncle! What did I do again!?"

"Learn properly from the four cubs," Uncle Changsheng patted his head, "Silly boy."

Ever since he was disciplined by Lin Zhao, Changsheng had been isolated by the other children, and his personality had become much more likable. Uncle Changsheng found this cub slightly more pleasing to the eye; before, he couldn't be bothered to pay attention to him.

Changsheng looked at the fourth cub playing with a cloth tiger, scratched his head, and thought, little girl's toys, I don't want to learn that!

Under the influence of the twins, Changsheng never used insulting words like 'little girl' or 'money-losing goods' again, and gradually stopped thinking that way in his heart.

The entrance to the Gu home was lively, but there was no one at the foot of the mountain.

Lin Zhao found her fourth brother and stuffed two White Rabbit Creamy Candies into Meng Jiusi's hand, "Fourth Brother, eat a candy to replenish your energy."

Meng Jiusi was cutting pig grass, clumsy but serious.

"Thank you." He wiped his sweat, cleaned his hands, took the candy, unwrapped it, and put it in his mouth. Tasting the sweetness, he squinted his eyes in enjoyment.

"No need to thank me," Lin Zhao said.

She pointed to the pig grass, "Do you want me to help you?"

Meng Jiusi didn't expect his younger sister to help him and asked amusingly: "You know how?"

Lin Zhao gave him a 'don't be so surprised' look, "I'm a country girl after all, I still know basic farm work, okay. I can even cut wheat, break corn..."

"Can't tell." Meng Jiusi's eyes were full of smiles.

He felt it was very easy and comfortable to get along with the Lin family.

Even though his situation was difficult, his sister's appearance could calm his mind.

"You look like a city girl, the kind who doesn't know what wheat looks like."

Lin Zhao took it as her fourth brother praising her beauty, her brows curving, "Can't help it, I grew up in love."

Meng Jiusi didn't associate it with himself and feel self-pity, but instead felt happy for his sister, "That's great."

"Fourth Brother, why aren't you... resentful at all, and have no dissatisfaction?" Lin Zhao really didn't understand. Most people who received a life script like her fourth brother's would have a lot of injustice, would feel the whole world owed them, but her fourth brother was so peaceful as if he could accept anything.

"Resentful of what? Dissatisfied with what?" Meng Jiusi's expression was peaceful.

"I am unfortunate, but meeting my grandfather was fortunate. Knowing I wasn't abandoned, that my family has been looking for me, I have no regrets in my heart, so what is there to be dissatisfied with."

He looked at Lin Zhao, "You are my own sister, I hope you are well."

Especially since he knew that nine out of ten country girls weren't valued, had no chance to go to school, no chance to see the world, and grew up revolving around the family, unable to escape the fate of being traded for a bride price when they reached the right age...

His sister looked like she had been raised very well by her family, and he was very happy. He could also feel that his family was very good, and he felt from the bottom of his heart that having such a family was his blessing.

Meng Jiusi couldn't say 'love' as easily as Lin Zhao; he only thought about it silently in his heart.

"Fourth Brother..." Lin Zhao knew everything he said was sincere, and waves rose in her heart.

"Although I think you're a bit silly, I like you even more, Fourth Brother."

Meng Jiusi was stunned, his face even feeling a bit hot.

His ex-wife had never said such mushy things to him.

His lips curled up involuntarily.

Except for Grandpa Meng, the others in the Meng family didn't like him and bullied him openly and secretly. Before, he thought this was his fate, perhaps he was born unlikable...

His sister's words of liking him made Meng Jiusi feel that he didn't seem so bad after all.

Lin Zhao took out the spirit needles she had brought, "Fourth Brother, I brought you needles, see if you can use them?"

The needles in the needle bag were of different lengths and thicknesses.

She didn't know medicine and didn't know if her fourth brother could use them.

Meng Jiusi saw the needles his sister gave him, his gaze burning.

"Useful. Zhao Zhao, this set of needles is very precious, it can be a family heirloom."

Lin Zhao was stunned, not expecting her fourth brother to rate these needles so highly, and smiled: "Okay, let it be a family heirloom for you then."

Her tone was casual yet serious.

Meng Jiusi looked at her suddenly, his eyes full of disapproval, "I'm your brother, how can I take advantage of my sister? You keep them yourself, and when you're short on money, sell them, they can be exchanged for quite a lot of money."

Clearly, he was the one talking about selling them, but the one full of reluctance was also him.

He wasn't greedy, but thought about these needles falling into the hands of someone who didn't know their value, and felt heartbroken.

"I'm not short on money," Lin Zhao replied.

"These needles are more valuable in the hands of someone who knows traditional Chinese medicine. Fourth Brother, you keep them, study your medicine well, and become a famous doctor in the future. There will be plenty of people stuffing money into your hands. If you have money, can you not spend it on your only sister?"

Meng Jiusi said immediately: "Definitely not, I'm willing to give you anything I have."

"Then that's it, don't nag, you keep the needles. If you're afraid of losing them, dig a hole and hide them, you might use them someday," Lin Zhao's attitude was unrefusable.

She was thinking that perhaps her fourth brother would have the chance to become a brigade doctor in the future and wouldn't have to do that manual labor to waste his time.

There were still ten years left.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 133 =====