Chapter 76 Mother-in-law arrives.

This is the first time that Cheng's mother has come here since her son was transferred to this military region.

She left the train station and saw her son getting on a car. She looked at the scenery passing by quickly outside the car window and sighed: "Your place is a bit remote, but it doesn't look desolate. It has everything you need."

She saw supply and marketing cooperatives, grocery stores, department stores, state-owned restaurants, cinemas, etc. It was quite lively with people coming and going.

Cheng Shi drove the car while holding the steering wheel, and replied: "The living conditions in the county are not bad here, and in order to ensure the lives of the soldiers and their families in the military region, supplies are all equipped, so it's naturally not bad."

Mother Cheng looked at her son's skillful driving and said with a smile: "Come to think of it, this is my first time riding in a car, and you were the one driving it."

The food factory had a car, and her husband would ride in that car when he was on business trips, but as the director of a street office in a family compound, she had no chance to ride in a car, so this was quite new to her.

Cheng Shi smiled and said, "Driving is a skill we must learn. Today, one of our comrades who is in charge of driving is on break, so I was able to borrow a car to pick you up. Otherwise, it would be a bit troublesome."

"Then I'll thank you very much, my comrade-in-arms, later." Mother Cheng said, and asked about Susu's recent situation.

She came here mainly to see her daughter-in-law. After all, her daughter-in-law is pregnant, and as a mother-in-law, she has to come and take a look, not to mention helping to take care of her.

Cheng Shi told his mother about Susu's condition over the past few months.

Mother Cheng listened carefully, and when she heard that her daughter-in-law's morning sickness was finally over, she breathed a sigh of relief and smiled: "Morning sickness is the most uncomfortable. When it's serious, you can't eat. You vomit until there's nothing left in your stomach, and even bile has to come out. Susu should feel much better after this period. But in the next few months, she will have cramps easily when she sleeps at night. You have to help massage her more. There are still many things to face."

Cheng's mother is an experienced person and knows the hardship of pregnancy. She also feels sorry for her daughter-in-law, so she can't help but explain more.

Cheng Shi had seen this before in the book Two or Three Things About Pregnancy, so he nodded and said, "Mom, I know, don't worry."

As we were talking, we arrived at the military area. After verifying our identities, the car drove directly along the main road to the family area.

Mother Cheng looked along the way and said, "Your family compound looks pretty good, clean, and the buildings are newer than ours."

When we got off the car and arrived at the door of our son's house, we felt comfortable just looking at the yard from the outside. Cheng Shi opened the door and his mother followed him in.

He Susu heard the noise and came out to greet her: "Mom is here, come in and sit down."

Mother Cheng saw that her daughter-in-law was also happy. Seeing that she looked good, she felt relieved and said, "Go slowly, don't rush."

She held Susu's hand and said, "I am glad to see you at last. You have worked hard during this period. Your father and I were very happy to receive your letter. I replied to your letter and said I would come to see you, but there were too many things to do on the street. I have not had a rest for several months. I finally saved up some vacation time to come and see you. This time, I can stay here for more than a week, excluding the round trip."

He Susu nodded to show her understanding: "Mom, we all know how busy the streets are. We are very happy that you can come to see us. You can stay here this week and see how we live our daily lives. You will feel relieved when you go back."

Mother Cheng responded with a smile.

Cheng Shi saw Susu chatting with her mother, so he said hello and went to return the car first.

Mother Cheng looked at the peach and osmanthus trees planted in the yard, the grape vines climbing up the bamboo racks showing their tenacious vitality, and the various green vegetables growing in the vegetable garden: "Your yard is really nice, and you can even open up a vegetable garden. If you want to eat any vegetables, you can just pick them at the doorstep and cook them in the pan. It also saves money."

The staff quarters are so crowded that it's impossible to grow vegetables. If we want to eat vegetables at home, we have to go to the grocery store and buy them every day.

He Susu smiled and said, "This vegetable garden is taken care of by Cheng Shi. In the spring, he turns the soil and plants the seeds. He waters it with a hose and weeds it occasionally. Vegetables grow one after another. He can grow whatever vegetables he wants. All the houses in our family quarters have yards. We can just move some soil from the yard to grow vegetables. Other buildings have their own plots for the wives of soldiers to grow vegetables, which can also relieve the pressure of life."

Mother Cheng said repeatedly: "Very good."

He Susu called out, "Mom, please come in and sit down. You must be tired after sitting on the train for more than a day."

"I'm fine. I bought a sleeper berth. If I really had to take a bus, my old waist wouldn't be able to take it." Mother Cheng smiled and went into the house with her daughter-in-law. She saw that the living room and dining area were connected and it was clean and tidy. She was very satisfied.

She took off the package she was carrying and opened it. "I didn't know what to buy when I came here, but I thought it would be best for you to drink milk powder to supplement your nutrition, so I bought two more cans of milk powder and brought them here. These cotton fabrics have nice colors and are comfortable to touch, so I bought two pieces for you to make clothes with. There are also some specialties from Shanghai, all of which are food. Half are for your third brother, and you can decide on the remaining half later. You can keep it for yourself or give it to the neighbors who usually help you."

Milk powder is rare, but given the Cheng family's financial situation, it is not difficult to get tickets to buy it.

He Susu smiled and said, "Thank you, mother. I've been drinking milk powder almost every day since I got pregnant. The two cans you gave me are almost finished. I was just thinking of asking Cheng Shi to buy more, and you bought two more cans. It's just in time. This fabric feels good. I'll see if I can make it into clothes, or make it for the child. As for food, I'll arrange it later. It's hard for you to bring so many things here."

"Why is it so hard? You are the one who is having hard time." Mother Cheng said with a smile.

She helped her daughter-in-law put these things away, and visited the kitchen, toilet and room.

The two rooms outside the master bedroom also had beds and wardrobes. After knowing that his mother was coming over, Cheng Shi cleaned the room with good light and ventilation, took out a new set of sheets and quilt covers, washed them, and hung them up to dry, so that people could live in it at any time.

He Susu said this, and Cheng's mother smiled and said, "Let Cheng Shi do these things. You should take a rest since you are pregnant. He seems to be able to do things well."

Mother Cheng brought the package of clothes into the room and took out all of them and put them in the closet without delay.

After cleaning up, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law sat in the living room drinking tea and chatting.

Cheng's mother asked, "By the way, I heard that your third brother and his wife are also here. Let's find some time to go to your third brother's house and have a chat. I feel sorry for you. Since we got married to Cheng Shi, we haven't met your parents yet. Now that we're back in the army, we have to meet your third brother."

He Susu smiled and said, "Dad and Mom, you are in Shanghai, so far away. You haven't met my parents, and they can understand. Besides, it's not reasonable for elders to meet younger generations. My third brother and his wife were very happy to hear that you were coming. Cheng Shi also asked them to come to our house for dinner tonight to have some fun together."

Mother Cheng nodded: "Thank you Susu for your understanding. It would be nice to invite your third brother and his family to come over for dinner."

Cheng Shi came back quickly, and not long after he sat down, his mother urged him to go to the kitchen to prepare dinner, and his mother followed him in.

It was her first time entertaining her third brother-in-law since she came here, so she had to prepare a sumptuous meal. Fortunately, there were enough ingredients at home, and she could come up with recipes for several dishes in an instant.

As for He Susu, she sat in the living room to kill time and was not allowed to do any housework.

Around five in the evening, Su Yu came over with her two children.

When Cheng's mother heard the noise, she came out to greet people: "This must be sister-in-law Susu, she is so pretty. Dabao and Erbao are well taken care of, they are white and chubby and so cute."

Su Yu smiled and called out, "Hello, Auntie. My name is Su Yu. Just call me by my name."

Dabao and Erbao called out obediently: "Hello, Auntie."

Mother Cheng smiled and replied, "Hi everyone, please sit down. There are still some dishes left in the kitchen. I'll go in and help them first."

Seeing this, Su Yu said she wanted to go in and help, but was pushed to the living room by Cheng's mother. "Xiao Yu, just stay and talk to Su Su. Cheng Shi and I are in the kitchen."

After Cheng's mother entered the kitchen, Su Yu walked to the living room and sat down, whispering to her sister-in-law, "Little sister, your mother-in-law looks good, she is kind and straightforward."

Dabao and Erbao rushed to the kitchen and called their uncle, then ran to the living room and called their aunt, then sat on the chairs and started chatting in whispers, enjoying themselves.

He Susu smiled and nodded when she heard what her sister-in-law said: "Mom is straightforward. As soon as she got home in the afternoon, she kept saying that she would find time to visit your house. She said that she didn't have the chance to visit my parents, and she had to visit my brother when she came to the army."

She looked at the cakes Su Yu brought and said, "And sister-in-law, you can just bring Dabao and Erbao here. Why are you bringing things here? You're too polite."

Su Yu explained: "I steamed some mung beans at home today and pounded them into powder to make mung bean cakes. I wanted to bring them here for you and Auntie to try. You can try them and see if they are delicious."

Normally, if it was just the couple at my younger sister's place, it would be fine if she didn't bring anything. But her mother-in-law came the day before, and it was also the first time for her family to meet Cheng's mother, so they had to bring something to save face and not let Cheng's mother look down on them.

He Susu was quite interested and took a piece of mung bean cake to taste. The mung bean cake was steamed soft, and you could vaguely taste the sandy texture of mung beans, and the sweetness was just right.

She couldn't help but praise: "Sister-in-law, your mung bean cake is really delicious, even better than the one sold in the supply and marketing cooperative."

He Susu suddenly remembered that in the original book that she inherited, her sister-in-law Su Yu started her initial business by making cakes and selling them after the conditions were relaxed and she was able to run a private business.

Su Yu is a good cook and has a talent for making pastries. At first, she just thought that if she could make pastries herself, she wouldn't have to spend money to buy them from the supply and marketing cooperative. Who would have thought that she actually figured out the trick and the taste was even better than those sold in the supply and marketing cooperative. That's why she chose selling pastries as her first business in her previous life.

However, she had hardly made pastries after her rebirth. When she lived at her mother's house, she was afraid that her parents would be surprised. After all, she was able to cook quite well, and she had no way of explaining where she had learned how to make pastries. After joining the army, she got used to it and had no intention of making pastries.

Recently, she thought that there were too many mung beans at home and they would go bad if left for a long time, and her two children at home kept asking for cakes, so she made mung bean cakes.

My younger sister's mother-in-law came over just in time, so she brought over the mung bean cake she made herself as a token of her appreciation.

After hearing her younger sister's praise, Su Yu smiled and said, "As long as you like it, it's good that my efforts in making this mung bean cake were not in vain."

Seeing that the meat and vegetables in the kitchen were almost done, Cheng's mother handed them over to Cheng Shi to watch over, and she walked out to the living room. He Susu saw this and hurriedly recommended her: "Mom, try this mung bean cake, which my sister-in-law made. I just tasted it and it tastes very good."

Although it was almost time for dinner, Cheng's mother still took a piece of cake to taste it, and then her eyes lit up and she finished it in two or three bites, praising: "Xiaoyu, your cooking skills are really good. This mung bean cake tastes better than the ones sold outside."

"As long as you like it, Auntie," Su Yu said.

Dabao and Erbao ate a lot of mung bean cakes at home in the afternoon. Now they were looking forward to tonight's meal even more when they smelled the fragrance coming from the kitchen. They were not very interested in their mother making mung bean cakes. Even though they heard their aunt and uncle praising its deliciousness, they did not come over to take a look.

He Lianzhou came over after training and nodded to greet Cheng's mother: "Hello, auntie, I am Susu's third brother He Lianzhou. The army has training today, I'm sorry for being late."

Mother Cheng smiled and said, "Hello, I've heard Susu and Cheng Shi mention you a long time ago. Thanks to you and Xiaoyu being here, Cheng Shi can help take care of Susu when he's on a mission. Thank you, auntie."

He Lianzhou smiled faintly: "Aunt, you are joking. Susu is my sister, and it is only natural for us to take care of each other. But you, Aunt, must have had a hard time traveling all the way from Shanghai."

Mother Cheng smiled and said, "It's not hard. Susu's pregnancy was harder. I was worried so I came to check it out. You know what, the environment here in the army is really good, better than I thought."

Everyone sat in the living room and chatted for a while. Cheng Shi brought out the hot food and said, "It's time to eat."

Cheng's mother went into the kitchen and brought out a bowl of white rice, which was just enough space for everyone to sit around the table.

Cheng Mu was the oldest among the people at the table. She smiled and said, "Today is my first time coming to the army, and it's also my first time meeting Xiaoyu and Lianzhou. It's great to have everyone gathered here. Thank you for coming to have this meal with us. Let's eat."

He Lianzhou and Su Yu agreed with a smile.

After the adults started using their chopsticks, Dabao and Erbao couldn't wait to pick up the chicken and eat it.

The table was filled with rich dishes, including fried pork slices with wood ear mushrooms, braised chicken with green onions, pan-fried tofu, pan-fried yellow croaker and stir-fried choy sum.

After He Susu got over her morning sickness, her appetite returned to normal. She would taste a little bit of everything, take turns picking up dishes and eating white rice, praising her mother-in-law's cooking skills.

It was a rare good day and no one in the family drank alcohol, so Cheng Shi took the teacups and poured tea for everyone to drink.

He Lianzhou raised his teacup and said, "Auntie, this is your first time coming here to visit Susu. I'd like to offer you a cup of tea."

Su Yu also raised her teacup: "Yes, Auntie, to celebrate our first meeting, I'll toast you a glass too."

Mother Cheng smiled and raised her glass in response: "I should thank you for taking care of Susu. Everyone, have some tea!"

Cheng Shi and He Susu also raised their teacups and clinked them with Cheng's mother's. They took a sip of tea, which was just enough to relieve their greasy feeling.

The adults’ greetings were incomprehensible, but the eldest and second children were happily gnawing on the only two chicken legs, eating with such relish.

After dinner, they sat in the living room to drink tea and chat. Mother Cheng also took half of the local specialties she brought and gave them to Su Yu: "Xiao Yu, these are the local specialties from Shanghai that I brought. You can take them back and try them."

"Aunt, you are too polite. Please save it for my younger sister." Su Yu declined.

Mother Cheng smiled and said, "We still have some at home. You brought your own mung bean cakes for Auntie to try. Why don't you allow me to bring you some specialties from Shanghai?"

At this point, Su Yu had no choice but to accept it: "Okay, thank you, Auntie. It's thanks to you that we can taste the specialties of Shanghai. The last time Susu went to Shanghai, you bought her the five-spice beans and pear paste candy that she brought back and shared them with us. I haven't had time to thank you yet."

Mother Cheng said indifferently: "You are Susu's brother and sister-in-law. It is only natural that I share the fresh food with you."

After chatting for a while, seeing that it was getting late, He Lianzhou and Su Yu got up to say goodbye and took Dabao and Erbao home.

After seeing off the guests, Cheng's mother unceremoniously ordered her son: "Cheng Shi, go wash the dishes." She then asked her daughter-in-law with a smile, "Susu, do you want to take a bath? If not, I'll go take a bath first."

He Susu nodded: "Then you take a rest for a while, I'll go take a shower first."

"Okay, Susu, just leave the clothes you take off later and wait for Cheng Shi to wash them. It's not convenient to wash clothes when you are pregnant." Cheng's mother said. After living with her daughter-in-law in Shanghai for a few days, she knew that the couple washed their own clothes.

He Susu smiled and explained: "Mom, since I became pregnant, all the clothes I took off were washed by Cheng Shi, don't worry."

"That's good. This kid knows how to be considerate of his wife." Mother Cheng said with satisfaction.

He Susu went to the room to get clothes and went into the bathroom to take a shower. After she came out, Cheng's mother went to take a shower, and then Cheng Shi went to take a shower.

The three people hung their changed clothes on the bamboo poles next to the door. Cheng's mother sighed again: "It's good to have a yard in an independent house. There is a separate space. It's not like hanging clothes on the balcony at home, which is always inconvenient."

When the house is small and there are many people, even the balcony can be used as a sleeping place. For example, the Cheng family has few people, and the balcony does not need to sleep, but it also has a lot of things. Every day, clothes can only be dried in a fixed place to avoid dripping water from getting things wet.

If you hang it in the yard like here, you don't have to worry about water dripping, after all, there is a separate space here.

Cheng Shi and He Susu responded with a smile.

He Susu said, "Mom, it's getting late. You must be tired from the car ride. Go to bed early."

She noticed that her mother-in-law had just yawned and was obviously sleepy.

Mother Cheng nodded: "Okay, then you should go to bed early too."

He Susu and Cheng Shi naturally agreed. After Cheng's mother entered the room, Cheng Shi turned off the lights in the living room and went back to his room.

The couple slept in bed, and Cheng Shi said, "It would be good for mom to come and stay for a few days. She can take care of us at home. If she wants to go out for a walk tomorrow, let her go. You just do your own thing. Go to bed and wake up at the same time. Don't be restrained."

He Susu dared to sleep until she woke up naturally at her in-laws' home in Shanghai, so she was even more relaxed at home. She knew her mother-in-law was an open-minded person who didn't like to control her daughter-in-law. This was also the reason why she liked her mother-in-law.

She nodded: "I know, don't worry."

The couple talked to each other and then closed their eyes and went to sleep.

The next morning, He Susu was still asleep. Cheng Shize took his mother from home to the canteen to buy breakfast. Along the way, he introduced the layout of the army, such as how the family quarters were divided and where the private plots, the army primary school, and the military hospital were respectively. It was enough to know the general idea.

When He Susu woke up, only her mother-in-law was left at home.

Mother Cheng greeted with a smile: "Susu, wake up. Cheng Shi and I went to the canteen to buy breakfast this morning. We have warmed it up in the pot for you. You can eat it after you wash up."

"Thank you, Mom." He Susu greeted with a smile, went to the bathroom, washed up, and came out to have breakfast.

The meat buns are as soft as ever, and the meat filling inside is very solid, fresh and delicious. Paired with a cup of mellow and rich soy milk, it tastes very refreshing.

Cheng's mother is a person who can't sit still. After sitting and eating breakfast with her daughter-in-law, she thought about taking a walk in the family area.

He Susu guessed what Cheng's mother meant and said, "Mom, let me go out with you. I think the Shanghai specialties you brought can be distributed to Sister Shao. Her husband is the political commissar of Cheng Shi's group. The couple usually take care of us. Sister Shao is also the introducer between Cheng Shi and me. Then give some to Sister Wu, Sister Fang and Sister Ye. I am close to the three of them and often come to talk. After I became pregnant and didn't go to the county town, they would sometimes help buy meat and vegetables. They are all very nice."

"Okay, we need to visit these people more often. I'll give these specialties to them first, which can be regarded as a gift. If you two want to eat them, I'll buy them and send them to you after I go back." Mother Cheng said with a smile. She also wanted to build good relations with the neighbors so that these people would take better care of her daughter-in-law in the future.

He Susu smiled and agreed.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law packed up and divided the specialties they brought into four portions, with a larger portion for Mrs. Shao, and then went out with their things.

So in the morning, He Susu and Cheng's mother went to Mrs. Shao's house first, and then to Mrs. Wu's house.

Mrs. Wu was a warm-hearted person. When she saw Susu coming with her mother-in-law, she simply asked her children to call Mrs. Fang and Mrs. Ye to come over. There were only about ten families in the residential area, so it was easier for everyone to talk together.

Time always flies when they are chatting and gossiping. Cheng's mother has been the director of the street office for so many years, dealing with the women and children in the family compound all year round. It is easy for her to get close to anyone, and she can talk about a lot of gossip.

After a morning, Cheng's mother had become very close to Mrs. Shao, Mrs. Wu, Mrs. Fang and Mrs. Ye. They even made an appointment to visit their private plots tomorrow, and even made an appointment to go to the county town together to buy meat and vegetables three days later.

On the way home, Cheng's mother smiled and said, "Shao Ling and the others are all very nice people. Susu, you are a good judge of people, and the ones you get along with are all kind. I can also save Cheng Shi from asking for leave to go to the county town to buy meat and vegetables. Let him accompany you more, and I will go to the county town to see some of the sights."

She had heard earlier that the slaughterhouse here had a way for military wives to buy pork without meat coupons and was very interested. Even though she knew that this might be preferential treatment for military families arranged by the higher-ups, she still wanted to take this opportunity to go back and take a look.

He Susu nodded: "Mom, you can go to the county town for a walk. Although this place is a little small, it has everything you need. For example, Cheng Shi and I have been to the Friendship Park twice. The scenery is beautiful in spring and summer. The scenery in autumn should be good too. If you have time, you can go and see it. With you helping to buy meat and vegetables, we can relax."

Mother Cheng smiled and said, "It's a small matter. I'll come over and you can help me."

However, before Cheng's mother's shopping trip to the county town, it was already the day for He Susu to go to the military hospital for a regular check-up.

Cheng Shi was also feeling lucky, because with his mother going to the county town to buy meat and vegetables, he could take a day off to accompany Susu to the military hospital. Of course, he also accompanied Susu to the military hospital for a checkup last time, which was a top priority. Even if his mother didn't come and asked the canteen cook to help buy meat and vegetables, he had to accompany Susu to the military hospital for a checkup.

Cheng's mother wanted to go with them, but He Susu smiled and said that it was not necessary. Cheng Shi could accompany her for regular check-ups. It would be too much to have her mother-in-law accompany her, so she asked her to wait for good news at home.