bayedsolid Chapter 501: Cannon Fodder in the War
Chapter 501: Cannon Fodder in the War
Ning Xiaoxiao took the opportunity to count the family's property. All the property was just three yuan and some small pieces of legal currency, a silver bracelet, and some broken silver coins cut with scissors. She fell into deep thought, how much is this pile of stuff worth?
It is now the autumn of the 19th year of the Republic of China. The currency market is quite chaotic at this time. Many villagers in the village and town are bartering. She doesn't know how much this money can buy now.
I just remember someone saying that in the early days of the People's Republic of China, the legal tender was quite worthless. One hundred legal tenders could only buy four grains of rice. That's right, four grains of rice.
What about now? Is it worth it now?
It seems that some coins are quite valuable in later generations, such as the round big-head and small-head coins. It seems that I have to find time to exchange more and keep them. Later, I can sell them for big money.
Never mind, let it be!
She looked at the original owner's clothes again and couldn't bear to look at them. It was bad enough that they were covered with patches, but the main thing was that they were incredibly ugly.
Especially these cotton pants, fat, torn, and gray. They were worn by her father, then by her mother, and then altered by her mother to be hers. Just this made the original owner happy for a long time. At least her legs and feet were not so cold in the winter. As for other people, who cared? Everyone lived like this anyway.
Ning Xiaoxiao knew that the peasants were poor at that time, but she had never imagined they were this poor. She had just gone from being a princess adorned with jewels to being a beggar. The drop was truly enormous.
She closed her eyes and looked away from those ugly clothes. Well, at this time, food and clothing are a problem, so how can there be so much beauty and ugliness?
Ning Xiaoxiao fetched water to wash her sheets and quilts. After the quilt cover was dry, she replaced it with the soft quilt in the space.
I cleaned the house inside and out, and wiped a few simple pieces of furniture carefully. It doesn’t matter if I’m poor, at least it’s clean!
After working for a whole morning, I went to check the food reserves at home.
There were only three bags of sweet potatoes, a bag of cornmeal, a small bag of rice and one or two pounds of white flour left in the wooden warehouse behind the kitchen. The rice and white flour were specially exchanged by my father and were prepared for my mother to eat during her confinement.
Everything else was fine, but Ning Xiaoxiao didn't want to treat herself badly when it came to food; that was her bottom line. At noon, although she only made some simple porridge, she took out some cold dishes and two pots of meat dishes from her space and ate them with the porridge.
She thought about the wars going on everywhere, so she ran to the space during lunch break and began to instruct the robots to plant sweet potatoes, corn, pumpkins, and potatoes on all the land, planting whichever ones had a high yield and as much as possible, so as not to waste any edible materials.
Anyway, she is familiar with this matter and has done it once a long time ago. Besides, the situation is much better now than before. With robots, she doesn't need to farm herself.
He then instructed another robot to start making buns with various fillings, steamed buns, whole grain buns, white flour buns, meat pies, and rice balls of all sizes. He also set up a pot and started steaming tender corn cobs, telling the robot to keep cooking until it could cook as much as it could.
Once cooked, store them in the warehouse for preservation!
Then I ran to the warehouse to look at those containers that had been stored for hundreds of years. They were densely packed, of different sizes and colors. It was time to move them and make use of them.
Ning Xiaoxiao arranged things, but she was not idle either. She was busy in the space removing the logos of thermal underwear, down jackets, snow boots, and fur boots. This took two or three hours.
Ning Xiaoxiao then came out of the space, carrying an axe and a rope, and prepared to go to the mountain to chop wood.
"Xiaoxiao, go collect firewood!" Grandma Liao, the old lady with bound feet who was at home watching her grandson not go to work, greeted her with her crutches!
"Yes, Grandma Liao, I need to prepare firewood for the winter." Ning Xiaoxiao was not planning to talk to her any more.
"Okay, be careful and don't go into the mountains. Alas, you girl have a miserable life. These damn devils are not afraid of being struck by lightning." Grandma Liao started nagging again!
Ning Xiaoxiao was familiar with the way up the mountain. As soon as she got up the mountain, she used her mental power to observe the surroundings and went straight into the mountains. Along the way, she picked up dead trees and firewood and put them into her space. She also collected all the edible persimmons and pears she found. If there were any precious medicinal herbs, she would dig them up and plant them in the medicine field in her space. She also did not let go of any prey she saw. Although she had space, she would never have too much.
By the way, she used teleportation to carefully observe several nearby hills, giving her a general idea of where there was water, where there were caves, and where there were wild vegetables.
Seeing that it was getting late, he carried a load of firewood out of the mountain and went home!
On the way back, she met her grandmother, Li Xiufeng, "Grandma!"
"I went to your house looking for you just now, but you weren't there. It turns out you went to the mountains!" Li Xiufeng looked at her sideways!
"Grandma, do you have something to talk to me about?" Ning Xiaoxiao asked straight to the point without any further ado.
"I'm worried that you'd be scared living alone, so I thought of asking Sister Xiuxiu to move in with you at night to keep you company. Without parents and brothers to support you, you'd be left without support, and you'd be looked down upon when you marry into your husband's family."
Grandma thought about it and said that for your future life, the only people you can rely on are your uncle and third uncle. If you want to rely on them in the future, you will have to pay something.
Your brothers Mingzhi and Mingde are both growing up and don't have enough to eat. Now that your parents are gone, you definitely can't finish all the food in your home by yourself. You can send some to them.
"You should be more diligent and do more things on weekdays. If you have time, go to your uncle's house and help him out. They will also help you in the future... How can you, a girl, live without an elder brother to look after you?" The old lady began to chatter.
"Grandma, I don't need Sister Xiuxiu to keep me company anymore. I'm not afraid. Now I'm the only one left at home, and I have to learn to grow up. As for food..." As for food, she thought about it carefully. Although she didn't like her grandmother's tone, she had no opinion on her uncle and third uncle.
She still remembered how her uncle had carried her all the way when she first arrived, and even hidden her in the firewood chopping board! After her parents died, her uncles and cousins had also helped to take care of their funeral arrangements.
The coffins used to bury her parents were those of her grandparents, which was considered unlucky in the village. This was a great favor, so she had to remember it.
In the original owner's memory, because their family split up early, their grandparents followed their uncle, so there were no disagreements between the three brothers, and if one family encountered problems, they would help each other.
She could send a bag of grains, since she didn't need them anyway, but she wouldn't do anything for them. She was a person who could distinguish between gratitude and resentment, and it was okay for her to help out relatives who were unreasonable and looking for trouble, as long as they didn't interfere in her affairs.
After thinking things through, Ning Xiaoxiao spoke. "As for the food, I'll send a bag to my eldest and third uncles later. But, Grandma, as you can see, my parents are gone too. I have to chop wood, fetch water, cook, grow vegetables, and work to support myself. I wish I had eight arms to help my uncles, but I'm afraid I'm not capable enough." Ning Xiaoxiao didn't like to hide things, so she spoke directly.
"Let's leave it at that for now! Anyway, remember, who else can you rely on besides your uncles and brothers? Who else can help you? You are not a child anymore, you should understand these social customs." Li Xiufeng said nothing, then walked away with her crutches and twisted her body!
Most of the old ladies in this village had bound feet, but they walked no slower than ordinary people. She still remembered that she could see the old ladies with bound feet busy in the fields!
Ning Xiaoxiao returned home, closed the door, went into the space to take a shower, carried out two bags of sweet potatoes, thought for a while, opened the box that locked her father's clothes, and took out her father's clothes and pants.
The clothes were packed in two packages, one for each of her uncles, a bag of sweet potatoes and one for her parents. She said nicely that the food was a thank you for her uncles' care and that they had taken care of her parents' affairs.
She handed over the clothes again and said, "Father is gone, and she won't need these things of his anymore. If your uncles don't mind that the clothes are worn out, you can take them and wear them!"
Her eldest uncle Ning Damu and her uncle Ning Dashu did not refuse their father's clothes and accepted them happily. As for the food, they did not want it: "You can carry the food back and eat it slowly. Now that your parents are gone, you can only rely on yourself in the future.
Your uncles and aunts may not be able to help you in any way, but they shouldn't eat the food your parents left for you. Isn't that a sin? Although your uncles and aunts are poor, they all have hands and feet and won't starve to death!
If there's anything at home that you can't make up your mind about, just call us. Your father is our brother, and now he only has you as his only child. We won't let you be bullied no matter what." Uncle San also nodded in agreement.
It must be said that his uncle and third uncle were both very good people. After hearing what his uncle said, Ning Xiaoxiao's last bit of discomfort caused by her grandmother's words disappeared, and she was willing to give the food.
"Uncle, Third Uncle, don't worry, I still have food. The autumn harvest is coming soon, and this year's new grain will be here. The grain distributed from Dad's previous work is enough for me to eat for a year. Uncle, Third Uncle, you can accept these coarse grains without worry. It's getting late now, I'll go back to cook." After saying this, she didn't give them a chance to refuse, and turned around and left quickly.
"Hey, kid, why don't you..." Uncle stretched out his hand, ready to call her.
"Eldest brother, third brother, just accept it! If she has any problems in the future, you just need to help her." Old man Ning Tianfu also began to speak.
Ning Xiaoxiao returned home. Before it got dark, she needed to light a fire to cook, otherwise it would arouse other people's suspicion. She directly took out some of the steamed noodle steamers in the space and started steaming buns.
When it was completely dark, I locked the door and went straight into the space to start warming up and exercising.
When you're tired, drink spiritual spring water. While you're waiting to recover, use your wood-based abilities to accelerate the growth of food, fruits, and vegetables. If they're ripe, use your mental energy to pick them. Once you've recovered, continue training!
When I was hungry, I ate. After filling my stomach, I started practicing my spear and whip again. I hadn't practiced these things for a long time, so my hands were very unfamiliar. Anyway, in this space, I was racing against time to train my body and various skills.
She strives to familiarize herself with and master her body as quickly as possible, and to train her physical fitness, endurance, speed, and strength to the best level for her age.
Occasionally, I would add some weapons to the training to cultivate a sense of coordination between the body and the weapons, and strive to hone myself into a sharp sword that could be inserted into the enemy's heart when necessary.
Two days later, she was so tired that she couldn't move a finger. She drank two bowls of spiritual spring water before crawling out of the space to rest.
Taking advantage of the fact that she didn't have to work for the past two days, she picked up more firewood for the winter. While taking the opportunity to practice her wood-related abilities in the mountains, she also expanded the area of her mountain search!
When it was time to eat, she would just steam the buns, after all, this method produced the least smell, but she always ate luxurious meals!
Anyway, there is always endless work to do day and night, so my life is very fulfilling!
On the third day, she also went to work with everyone else. Although she was not very old, she could still get six work points, which was not difficult for her now. The intensity of her work was not as great as the intensity of her self-training!
Ning Xiaoxiao was not planning to do much to show herself. The character she established for herself in the village was that of a poor orphan with a weak presence, great strength and a taciturn personality.
She also observed the villagers carefully. Apart from a few unpleasant scoundrels and gossipy women, they were harmless and existed in every village. They posed no threat to her.
There is also a widespread phenomenon of favoring boys over girls in the village, but under the heavy pressure of the village chief, there is no phenomenon of abandoning or drowning girls. It's just that the lives of girls are not so easy, but it is much better than in other villages, isn't it?
No wonder one of the original owner's wishes was for her to protect the people in the village!
The village chief was also a very clear-headed person. She had known this since her first day there! The village chief played an indispensable role in successfully saving the villagers from the Japanese guns that day!
After a few busy days, Ning Xiaoxiao became familiar with the situation in the village, and Ningshan'ao Village finally ushered in this year's autumn harvest!
At the village chief's command, the villagers rushed to the fields like wolves and tigers! Their faces showed no fear of the hard work, but only joy for the harvest.
After several days of exercise, Ning Xiaoxiao's body gradually got used to the intensity of the exercise, and she did not stop exercising in the evening space because of the hard work of the autumn harvest.
After more than forty days of harvest, even Ning Xiaoxiao, with her naturally pale skin that never tanned, had darkened two shades, her bald head almost looking like a boiled egg. But all this hard work wasn't without results; the muscles in her arms were becoming more defined.
After the autumn harvest, she was in the mood to pay attention to the situation of the Japanese. More than 200 people disappeared here out of thin air. No one saw them alive, and no bodies were found dead. It was impossible not to attract the attention of the Japanese.
She was just waiting for their arrival!
Before they arrived, she followed the villagers to pay the public grain tax. Afterwards, the village chief presided over the distribution of the grain, and each household stored the grain in their own cellar. Only then did everyone feel completely relieved.
Next, everyone started to pickle sauerkraut, chop firewood, tidy up the roof, and prepare food for the winter.
Ning Xiaoxiao was also among those chopping wood, but she didn't join the villagers. Instead, she went it alone. She continued teleporting through the mountains, gradually moving further and further away from the village where she lived.
But on this day, she discovered traces of the Japanese devils' activities in a hidden cave, which immediately aroused her vigilance.
Ning Xiaoxiao directly cast an invisibility talisman on herself and approached them. The closer she got, the more she found that there were several people defending here. She only remembered their location and ignored them. She went directly to the center of their activities and used her mental power to explore the situation inside the cave.