Every month, the two children brought new surprises to the family.
By six months, Xiao Bei had also started crawling.
Xiao Nan was a good older brother—whenever he found something fun, he would always include his younger brother.
Of course, Xiao Bei wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about moving around.
Moreover, Xiao Nan had a special fondness for chewing on his own feet.
Once he could sit up, he would often grab his chubby little feet and gnaw on them. While doing so, he’d sometimes topple backward, which looked especially amusing.
Song Wei had taken photos of them every month since their birth to document their growth.
She even prepared a dedicated photo album.
She also sent many photos of the twins to her brother and uncle.
Some of the cultivated tea saplings had died, but many had survived.
Keeping this in mind, Song Wei waited until the tea saplings had developed strong enough roots. Then, together with Lin Zhen and a few strong young men from Great-Grandpa’s family, they ventured deep into the mountains.
They cleared a patch of land a little distance away from the old tea trees and planted the cultivated tea saplings.
The reason for not planting them too close to the old tea trees was mainly to avoid the new saplings competing for nutrients. If the old trees suffered as a result, it would be truly heartbreaking.
They had cultivated over three hundred tea saplings, and the planting process took several days.
As the autumn harvest season approached, both children could now stand by holding onto things, and tiny rice grain-like teeth had begun to appear in their mouths.
Xiao Nan, who loved to move, attempted to walk every day after learning to stand.
But he wasn’t quite there yet—he would stand shakily for a short while before plopping back down.
However, he never got discouraged and practiced standing by holding onto the wall every day on the kang bed.
Xiao Bei, on the other hand, was quite lazy and unwilling to try. He preferred to continue crawling or simply lie on the kang bed watching his brother attempt to stand.
He would laugh gleefully whenever his brother stumbled.
It wasn’t until the autumn harvest season that Xiao Nan could barely walk slowly with the support of adults.
Xiao Bei still refused to walk.
This year, with these two little ones clinging to her, Song Wei had few opportunities to go into the mountains to search for medicinal herbs, mushrooms, or wild fruits.
However, the family lacked neither food nor money, and Song Wei found joy in playing with the two little ones without feeling bored.
The autumn harvest was another busy season. With one child in her arms and another on her back, Song Wei would bring food and cooling treats like mung bean soup or sour plum juice to Lin Zhen, who was working in the fields.
The sour plum juice recipe was something she had obtained from Elder Ji. It contained some Chinese herbal medicine, making it not only delicious but also effective in clearing heat and relieving summer heat.
Song Wei’s meals were also diverse. Although she didn’t have time to hunt in the mountains anymore, the household had skilled hunters.
The white eagle had grown even more capable and would bring back wild rabbits or pheasants from time to time.
Then there were the family’s wolves—a pack of seven strong and robust wolves, essentially a small wolf pack.
When they ventured into the deep mountains, as long as they didn’t encounter tigers, bears, or other unfamiliar wolf packs, they were almost always successful.
Coupled with the wolf pack led by Wolf One and Wolf Two’s biological father in the mountains, during seasons with abundant prey, they could bring back two large prey animals per month for the family.
For example, silly roe deer or deer.
Little Bear wasn’t idle either. It didn’t hunt in the deep mountains but preferred to catch fish in the water.
When it craved meat, it would go to Reed Lake to catch fish on its own. If it caught more than it could eat, it would bring the extra fish home.
So… Song Wei’s household never lacked meat.
During the autumn harvest season, their meals were especially rich and hearty.
The rest of the production brigade had grown numb to it—the word “envy” had been uttered so often it had lost its meaning.
After the busy work of delivering the public grain quota was completed, everyone finally relaxed.
That day, the whole family was resting at home. Lin Ping’an was doing his homework, while Song Wei and Lin Zhen were teaching the children to walk.
The radio was playing in the room.
Suddenly, a news bulletin from the radio made both Lin Zhen and Song Wei freeze, their eyes fixed intently on the radio.
Lin Zhen was so overwhelmed with emotion that he trembled slightly.
“Did… did you hear that just now?”
Song Wei also nodded excitedly. “I heard it. Wait, it seems like they’re still talking about it. Let’s listen carefully.”
Holding the children, they moved closer to the radio. Lin Ping’an didn’t understand what was happening, but seeing how serious his older brother and sister-in-law looked, he also sat down beside them.
After listening to the content of the radio broadcast, Lin Zhen struggled to contain his excitement, barely stopping himself from shouting out loud.
But his eyes shone brilliantly.
Song Wei felt the same way.
“It’s true… they’ve really been crushed.”
“The four mountains have been moved.”
Song Wei thought to herself that, from this point on, many wrongfully accused people would gradually begin to be rehabilitated.
It probably wouldn’t be long before her uncle’s name was cleared as well.
Lin Zhen picked up the radio. “I’m going to find the production brigade leader.”
Without a radio, it would take quite some time for this news to reach their production brigade.
But their family had a radio.
Song Wei held Xiao Bei. “I’m coming too.”
Xiao Nan was held in Lin Zhen’s other arm as he carried the radio and hurried out.
When they arrived at the production brigade leader’s house, they excitedly turned on the radio. Under the bewildered gaze of the brigade leader’s family, they began tuning the station.
Such major news would undoubtedly be broadcast on more than just the station Song Wei and the others had been listening to, and it certainly wouldn’t be broadcast only once.
They quickly found the news. After hearing the content, the brigade leader’s family also widened their eyes in shock.
They hurriedly leaned closer to the radio to listen carefully.
Then, they became just as excited as Lin Zhen and the others.
“Is it true? Have they really been crushed?”
“Of course! The news on the radio can’t be wrong!”
This news was incredibly thrilling.
So many people had been arrested over trivial matters because of those individuals, and various social chaos had also originated from them.
Now, finally, they were free. Never again would people be arrested over minor issues. How could anyone not feel excited and exhilarated?
The most excited were undoubtedly those who had been wrongfully accused and reported.
They finally saw hope.
After the brigade leader and his family had calmed down somewhat, Lin Zhen went to share the news with Elder Ji and the others.
Elder Ji, who had been sorting medicinal herbs, froze upon hearing the news, his hands trembling so much that the herbs he was holding fell to the ground.
But he didn’t care. He immediately grabbed Lin Zhen’s shoulders and asked if it was true.
Lin Zhen confirmed it. “We heard the news on the radio. The brigade leader heard it too. It might take some time for the news to spread from the central government, but once the newspapers come out, everyone should know.”
After verifying the authenticity of the news, Elder Ji covered his face and wept.
“This is wonderful… sob… this is truly wonderful.”
He was lucky to have survived, to have made it through.
The period when he was arrested and subjected to various humiliations was the darkest time of his life. He had thought he wouldn’t make it.
But luckily, he encountered kind-hearted people.
He survived, but his close friend did not.
Seeing Elder Ji cry like this, Lin Zhen also felt a pang of sorrow.
But this was ultimately good news. After venting his emotions, Elder Ji would feel much better.
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