Chapter 144: A Bow Will Do
Shirley Yu’s adobe house wasn’t big, with just two rooms and a slightly lower kitchen, and even the courtyard walls weren’t finished yet. The thatch used for constructing the house was millet straw from the village’s autumn harvest, with Lu Debang, Zhang Hongfa, and Guo Xiuxin leading the effort. Many people helped build the house. Everyone had a hard time making ends meet. Those who had given money before did so, and those who didn’t have money gave away some unused items from their own homes.
A bowl with a chipped edge, two pairs of idle chopsticks, a few old luffa scrubs, a pocketful of dried wild vegetables—all these odds and ends pieced together somehow made life manageable.
Half a month later, Shirley Yu was discharged from the hospital and moved into the adobe house, which hadn’t dried yet. In her home were two old quilts with holes and a kang cabinet that Guo Xiuxin had snatched from Lai Zi’s house. Apart from these, there was no other decent piece of furniture.
The village was busy turning manure pits to prepare for spring sowing and fertilizing, and with the New Year approaching, they were preoccupied with their own affairs. No one knew she had been discharged.
When Uncle Guai left, he stealthily stuffed 50 cents into Xiao Ya’s pocket. When they divided the family property, they had given quite a lot to Huang Maochun and Lu Xingchang, and they were quite strapped for cash. Lu Xiangxiang had already given some money, but seeing Shirley Yu with her two children and her injuries, he couldn’t help but feel pity, offering the greatest kindness he was capable of.
Shirley Yu looked at her new home, feeling like she had survived a calamity, tightly holding the hands of her two children.
"Daya, Xiao Ya, this will be our home from now on. Mom will definitely work hard to earn work points and take good care of you. We won’t have to suffer any more abuse. Remember, the folks from Lu Family Village have been our benefactors. Today, I will take you to thank them, going door to door to express our gratitude, alright?"
"Mom, my sister and I will go with you. I will bow to them and thank them, Mom."