As soon as Li Cuiying entered the courtyard, she saw Jiang Mengxue squatting in the corridor, her eyes focused on something.

"What are you looking at? Why are you out in such cold weather? I'll light up the coal stove later so we can warm up inside."

Jiang Mengxue took the vegetable basket from Li Cuiying's hand, opened the cloth covering it, and inside was a piece of pork belly weighing about two pounds.

Jiang Mengxue was puzzled: "Where did Er Niang buy it? The meat at the butcher stall should have been sold out by now, right?"

Li Cuiying used a towel to brush off the snow on her body and stomped her feet.

"It's so hard to buy meat from a butcher's shop right now. I'm trading it with someone in the alley. It's snowing today, so I need to make dumplings. It's cold today, so I'll make some extra and freeze them for you tomorrow. If you don't feel like cooking when you get home, just make some dumplings."

Li Cuiying started busying herself as soon as she got home, kneading the dough and chopping the stuffing.

Jiang Mengxue washed the sauerkraut, squeezed out the water, chopped it into pieces, and poured more oil into it without Li Cuiying's knowledge.

She really can't stand the fact that many people now cook with only a little bit of oil. It's okay for a day or two, but if it lasts for a long time, she really can't get used to it.

However, Li Cuiying and her husband have always had a pretty good standard of living. At least they are willing to spend money on fine grains or cooking ingredients, so Jiang Mengxue didn't feel uncomfortable during the time she lived here.

Whenever she sees something used up at home, she will buy it back. She doesn't like living together where one party always gives and the other enjoys. This is not a way to get along in the long run.

The two chatted while working.

Li Cuiying rolled the dough into long strips, cut it into small pieces and flattened them.

"You see, day after day, the couple is not living a good life. This morning, the couple from the Chen family in the east had a fight. They were reluctant to hit each other and smashed things in the house.

The water tank was broken, the pot was smashed, and even the children who passed by were beaten. What can we do all day long?"

ah?

"Then why are they fighting?" Jiang Mengxue thought it was domestic violence again. Women will definitely suffer in a fight, and the people from the Women's Federation might have been called to help.

"What else could it be? The man from that family always helps the young widow with work at the factory, but as soon as he gets home, they start quarreling.

In fact, everyone knew that there was nothing going on between him and the young widow, but which wife could stand her husband always helping other women with their work?

It’s nothing serious, I just felt mad and wanted to have a fight.”

Jiang Mengxue was speechless. One of them was soft-hearted and wanted to help others when she saw that they were having difficulties, while the other one knew the specific situation but felt uncomfortable.

"In fact, every couple quarrels. If every family had an easy life, what would we in the Women's Federation do?

But I can finally step down now. My head hurts from dealing with all the noise and fuss every day."

Jiang Mengxue stopped what she was doing and looked at Li Cuiying eagerly.

"Second Mother, why did you join the Women's Federation back then?"

Li Cuiying looked thoughtful and recalled something.

"I remember there were a lot of jobs available back then, and I thought sitting in an office would be easier than working in a workshop.

Plus, I didn't have much education, and other jobs required a high level of education, while the Women's Federation required a lower level. In fact, at that time, I had no idea what the Women's Federation did, and I learned step by step from the seniors.

Li Cuiying lowered her head and smiled, thinking that so many years had passed.

"At that time, your second uncle was still in junior high school. We originally wanted to arrange for him to teach in an elementary school, but after one semester, he felt it was not suitable. He couldn't stand looking at a room full of children chattering all day, so he found someone to transfer him to work at the Education Bureau.

Well, back then, we didn’t know much. As long as we had a job that could support our family, we were good. But at that time, no one thought about moving to the city, so we were lucky.

It was not safe anywhere at that time, and everyone felt that it was safer in the countryside near the mountains.

Later, when the country was founded, every household was allocated land.

For farmers, nothing is more important than the focus, and no one is willing to give up their hometown to work in the city.

Later, when the situation stabilized, people saw that the lives of workers in the city were much better than those in the countryside, and they began to look for opportunities to move to the city.

But it’s not easy to find a job at this time.

Jiang Mengxue actually didn't know much about things in that era, and the little she knew came from novels.

—

It wasn't even five o'clock yet and the sky was already gray. It looked like it would be dark soon.

The two of them sat in the main room, roasting the stove and making dumplings. It was a rare moment of quiet time.

When Gu Zhenjiang got home, the dumplings were already out of the pot and he could eat after washing his hands.

Li Cuiying told Gu Zhenjiang that Jiang Mengxue planned to go back tomorrow, and they would take a leave of absence and send her back together.

Gu Zhenjiang was stunned for a moment, obviously not expecting Jiang Mengxue to leave so soon.

But he nodded without saying anything.

During this period, as long as the two are free, they will meet in the space at night.

But Gu Qingbei left a letter today saying that he had to be on duty in the evening and asked Jiang Mengxue to go to bed early.

Jiang Mengxue had originally planned to have dumplings with him, but she could only go back to the house and sleep in disappointment.

Jiang Mengxue didn't wake up until seven o'clock the next morning, so there was no need to rush for the nine o'clock bus.

The dumplings I made last night were frozen outside for about an hour and are now in a bag. If I can’t finish them, I can just put them in the corridor and eat them whenever I want.

Li Cuiying also brought a few pears that Jiang Mengxue had left outside to freeze.

Jiang Mengxue didn't dare to push the bike without wearing gloves, as she felt that the iron on the bike could freeze her hands off.

The three of them pushed two bicycles towards the bus station.

After a night, the ground was covered with snow. The bike was not very convenient to ride except for storing some things.

After the weather got colder, Jiang Mengxue was not as carsick as before. Although she still felt the smell was unpleasant, it was much better.

The car was swaying on the snow and was not driving fast. It took almost an hour to reach Jiang Mengxue's home.

The driver came down to help get the bicycle off the roof. Li Cuiying pushed Jiang Mengxue's bike and let her walk by herself.

I didn't expect that the yard was quite lively, as if there was a wedding going on.

Jiang Mengxue was a little confused. It had only been a short time since she came back, and she didn't even know about such a big thing happening in the yard.

"Xiaoxue, it looks like there's a wedding going on in your compound. Logically, shouldn't you go and give a gift? Oh, thank goodness you're back today. Let's go in and see who it is."

Jiang Mengxue met Aunt Zhang, who lived in the outer courtyard, rubbing her coat in the snow outside the yard.

There are also her twin granddaughters Zhang Yidan and Zhang Yibai. The two little girls are making a snowman in the yard.

From outside, you can hear the bustling sounds from the bell courtyard and the aroma of food wafting from the big pot.