Chapter 131

The next morning, Li Mingcheng and Lin Manman went to get their marriage certificate. From then on, they were legally married.

The family gathered together for dinner and blessed the newlyweds.

Lin Tao took out the four-piece set she had made for Lin Manman. The light-colored plaid fabric contrasted sharply with the color of the quilt made by Aunt Fang. The four-piece set made by Aunt Fang was a bright red quilt with a hundred sons and thousands of grandsons embroidered on it.

This set of tiles was to be built on the day of their wedding. It was also built when Lin Tao got married.

"Mingcheng, I'll entrust Manman to you." Aunt Fang took Li Mingcheng's hand with one hand and Lin Manman's hand with the other, and clasped their hands together. While speaking, her eyes couldn't help but turn red, and her nose felt a little sore.

Although the marriage was arranged last year and she, as a mother, had made preparations for it, she still couldn't help but feel sad when the day finally came. This was the daughter she had given birth to, the one she had carried around with her for so many days and nights, teaching her to talk and walk, and feeding her mouthful by mouthful until she grew up.

Li Mingcheng put away his usual playful expression, turned to Aunt Fang, and said very seriously: "Aunt Fang, don't worry, I will always treat Manman well."

Lin Changhai said, "You're already married, why are you still calling me Auntie Fang? You should call me Mom."

Li Mingcheng: "Yes, yes, yes, I forgot. I will punish myself with one drink. Don't worry, Mom."

Aunt Fang nodded: "Yes, I'm relieved. Mom is relieved about you."

Lin Manman couldn't hold back her tears when she saw Aunt Fang like this, and quickly reached out to wipe her tears. Lin Tao said, "Don't worry, Aunt Fang, if Mingcheng dares to treat Manman badly, Chengxi will be the first one to not forgive him."

Li Chengxi gave Li Mingcheng a warning look.

Li Mingcheng said: "Yes, my brother treats Manman better than me."

Shen Yongxing: "It's not a good time to cry on a day like this. Let's all be happy. Come on, eat or the food will get cold."

Yueyue ate chicken legs while looking at everyone and said, "Yes, if we don't eat now, the food will get cold. Auntie, don't cry. It won't look good if you cry."

Li Mingcheng said: "Your aunt is now married to your uncle, you should call her aunt."

Lin Manman pursed her lips and smiled, saying, "Why not call you uncle?"

After the final discussion, they decided to just call each other by their own names and not change the address.

On New Year's Eve, Zhou Meifang and Lin Qiang came here to celebrate the New Year. Zhou Meifang did not expect that Lin Tao would come back to celebrate the New Year this year. It had been six or seven years since the two had seen each other. Zhou Meifang ignored Mrs. Lin's nagging. She put down her things and went to Lin Tao's house.

There was a knock on the door. Lin Tao was just getting a basin of water and asked Yueyue to wash her hands: "Wash quickly, we'll be going to my aunt's house for dinner soon."

Although Yueyue came to Taohua Village for the first time, she was pretty and sweet-mouthed. When she went out, she brought a handful of fruit candies with her, and everyone was willing to play with her.

Just a few days after coming back, Yueyue has become familiar with the children and went out to play early this morning. They are all in the village, so Lin Tao is relieved and told her to remember to come back later. But when she came back, her hands were covered with mud and her pink little face was covered with mud spots.

Fortunately, the new clothes I just put on today are still clean and not dirty.

This dress was designed by Xu Yuting and made by Lin Tao herself. It was newly made this year. The clothes designed by Xu Yuting are much better looking than those sold in the supply and marketing cooperative. They look especially beautiful on Yueyue. The children in the village have never seen such style of clothes and they all think they are beautiful.

Not only did Yueyue get her hands dirty, but she also brought back four little clay figures.

"Mom, look, this is you, with long hair. This is dad, he's very tall. This is grandpa, and this is me. Look if I made it look like you." Yueyue couldn't wait to show Lin Tao the clay figure she had made.

Lin Tao looked at the dark clay figurine. If Yueyue hadn't told her, she probably wouldn't have been able to tell it was hers. She smiled and said, "It really looks like her."

When Li Chengxi saw it, he said he would help dry the clay figurine so that it would be easier to preserve. Lin Tao felt helpless and amused. Li Chengxi, as a father, cared more about it than Yueyue.

But Li Chengxi was happy to do it, so she didn't say anything and just let them do it.

After washing her hands, Yueyue followed Li Chengxi into the oven to bake the clay figures.

At this time, there was a knock on the gate. Lin Tao thought it was Lin Changhai coming back from Aunt Fang's house. Lin Changhai had brought some dried seafood and some fresh pork from the commune early this morning, and went to Aunt Fang's house to help prepare the New Year's Eve dinner.

When she opened the door, she saw Zhou Meifang standing at the door. Lin Tao was stunned for a moment, then a smile appeared on her face. She quickly invited Zhou Meifang in: "Sister-in-law, why are you here? Come in and sit down."

Zhou Meifang walked in with a smile: "When I came here, I heard people in the village saying that you were back, so I came to see you. I didn't expect you to really come back. You haven't been back for the New Year for six or seven years. I missed you so much."

Noticing Lin Tao's belly, "You're pregnant again. It's been five or six months, right? I heard you gave birth to a daughter before, right? What's her name?"

"I haven't been back for so many years, it's time to come back and visit." Lin Tao said, "Call Yueyue, Yueyue, come and call someone, this is your aunt."

Yueyue came out and called Zhou Fangmei, "Auntie."

Zhou Fangmei: "This child is really pretty and will grow up well. It's good to have a daughter-in-law. Unlike the one in my family, she is very naughty."

"Is Zhiguo here with you today? He is eight years old this year, right?" Lin Tao asked. Zhou Fangmei and Lin Qiang had a son named Lin Zhiguo.

Zhou Fangmei shook her head: "He didn't come. He doesn't like to come here for the New Year. We have no choice. We usually work in the city and have little time to come back. The old man has opinions and must have us come over for the New Year. I don't know why you suddenly came back this year and didn't prepare anything for the children. You take this little money and think of it as a New Year's gift for Yueyue."

Zhou Fangmei wanted to give it to Lin Tao, but she refused.

Although Zhou Fangmei is the daughter-in-law of the eldest wife, she has always had a good relationship with Lin Tao. Zhou Fangmei told Lin Tao some more family matters, saying that Mrs. Lin was so angry with Lin Hui that she had a stroke. Her condition has been getting worse in recent years, and every time Lin Qiang took her to the hospital for treatment.

"It's not that I, as the granddaughter-in-law, don't respect the elderly. It's just that she doesn't act like an elder. I remember how she treated you and your second uncle. I don't understand how someone could be so biased. In my opinion, this is her own fault. She always said that you were bad and unlucky, and that Lin Hui was a lucky star. Now she is angry with Lin Hui and had a stroke. Her condition was serious last year and she became paralyzed. She was lying in bed unable to move. Her beloved Lin Hui never came back to take care of her or take care of her excrement and urine." Zhou Fangmei said.

It was also after Zhou Fangmei told this that Lin Tao realized that Old Mrs. Lin was paralyzed.

Although Aunt Fang knew about this, she didn't talk about it in front of Lin Tao and Lin Changhai during the New Year. Lin Tao finally understood. She said that when they came back this time, the first wife's family didn't come to cause trouble. It turned out that her grandmother couldn't move.

Zhang Hongying and Lin Changshan were not actually very powerful. They used to follow Old Lady Lin and show off their power. Whatever Old Lady Lin did, they would follow her and add fuel to the fire.

Now that Old Lady Lin was no longer able to survive, they were also left with nothing. In addition, they had seen how powerful Lin Changhai and Lin Tao were, so even though they were jealous of Lin Tao's return, they did not dare to come over to curry favor.

When Zhou Fangmei left, Lin Tao asked Li Chengxi to bring a lot of dry goods for her to take away. In fact, it was thanks to Zhou Fangmei that she could get to know Li Chengxi.

Not long after Zhou Fangmei left, Lin Changhai came over and asked them to have dinner.

"The New Year's Eve dinner is almost ready, with only the last dish left. Hurry and go over." Lin Changhai said.

Lin Tao went to call the two people who were still baking the clay figurines. Yueyue's voice came from the kitchen: "Mom, we'll be there soon."

Lin Tao took this opportunity to tell Lin Changhai about this. Lin Changhai said, "I've known about this for a long time. Two years ago, your uncle sent me a letter telling me about this. The letter asked me to give him money, but I ignored him and just copied the certificate from the division of the family and sent it back. They never sent me a letter afterwards, so they probably knew what I meant. Your grandma didn't help take care of you for a single day after you were born, and she even wanted to throw you away. I have severed ties with your grandma because of this. It was all divided when the family was divided. Your uncle's family raised your grandma, and our family raised your grandpa. Your grandpa was in poor health at the time, and he always had to go to the hospital. Your mom wasn't pregnant with you at the time, so she took your grandpa to the hospital."

"Your uncle's family is very smart. Seeing that your grandma is strong and can help them with work, earning work and taking care of the children, they chose your grandma. Over the years, your grandma has helped them with so much work. When she was healthy, she didn't say anything, but when she was sick, she wanted me to give her money. When your grandpa was sick, he used the allowance I sent home to go to the hospital. Your uncle's family didn't pay a penny and didn't even go to see your grandpa for the last time. When your grandpa passed away, he was clean. Your mother was a good daughter-in-law and didn't let him suffer at all. When your grandpa passed away, he was thinking about your mother's kindness."

"Dad tells you all this because I want to tell you that you don't have to worry about it. I know everything. I do things openly and honestly, and I have a clear conscience. I'm not afraid of others stabbing me in the back." Lin Changhai said.

This is how it works when a family is divided in the countryside. The elderly will go to the family of the owner to whom the property is given to when they die.

But if the relationship between brothers is better, they will definitely not be like this. But Lin Changshan's family can do this, and the things that Mrs. Lin has done over the years have already chilled Lin Changhai's heart, so he can also be cruel like Lin Changshan.

If he went to take care of Old Lady Lin and be a filial son, he was afraid that he would dream about Arong at night, which would be unfair to her.

As for Mrs. Lin, when he was young and unmarried, he sent the allowance back to Mrs. Lin. Mrs. Lin said that she was saving it for him to marry a wife, but when the time came, she kept the money and was unwilling to take it out. After he married Tao Rong, until they separated, the two of them also gave Mrs. Lin an allowance of five yuan every month.

Lin Changhai asked himself whether he was worthy of his mother.

After listening to what Lin Changhai said, Lin Tao nodded and said nothing more.

When she told Lin Changhai about this, she had never thought about making the decision. She just thought that if her father didn't know about it, she should still tell him. No matter what her father did, she would not say a word. She supported her father no matter what he did.

People in Xiangcheng eat New Year’s Eve dinner quite early, starting around 3:00 p.m.

Shen Yongxing took a string of firecrackers and lit them with firewood. The crackling sound of the firecrackers meant that they were about to start eating.

Yueyue stood at the door, covering her ears with her hands, watching the firecrackers being set off. After a while, the sound of firecrackers rang out one after another.

Those with better conditions at home can set off firecrackers that sound longer, while those without money can just listen to the sound twice as a token of their appreciation.

The two families gathered together and had a lively and lively time.

After dinner, Yueyue received several New Year's gifts wrapped in red paper. The largest one came from Li Mingcheng, and there was actually five yuan in it.

When Lin Tao saw this, she stopped him from giving so much. She said that it was just a New Year's gift for children, and a few cents would be enough. Why give so much?

Li Mingcheng said, "I hadn't given Yueyue a red envelope when she got married that day, but I gave her one this time."

The custom here is that when a couple gets married, they have to ask a child to roll on the new bed, which represents the blessing of having many children and a son soon. Villagers usually ask boys to roll on the new bed, because every family wants to have a boy, but Li Mingcheng and Lin Manman both want to have a girl as cute as Yueyue, so they just let Yueyue come.

Yueyue received a lot of red envelopes. At night, she whispered to Lintao, "Mom, Chinese New Year is so great. I wish it was Chinese New Year every day."

Lin Tao laughed so hard that she patted her on the butt: "You are such a money-grubber."

On the first day of the new year, Lin Changhai's family went to bury Tao Rong. Lin Tao brought Yueyue with her and asked her to call her "Grandma".

Yueyue was not afraid at all, because she knew that her grandmother was her relative, and she called out "Grandma" crisply.

The policy is not so strict now. Although the island military region is still not allowed to burn paper money, it is allowed in the countryside. Lin Changhai prepared a lot of paper money, and Lin Tao stacked some gold ingots at home, and burned them all for Tao Rong.

Before the burning was finished, Lin Changhai asked Lin Tao and Li Chengxi to take Yueyue away first. Yueyue said, "Why isn't Grandpa leaving yet? Oh, I know, Grandpa must be telling Grandma something in private that we can't hear."

Li Chengxi and Lin Tao looked at each other, and Lin Tao smiled softly: "Yueyue is really smart."

It rained last night and the way down the mountain was a bit slippery. Li Chengxi held Yueyue in one hand and Lin Tao in the other, and the family of three slowly went down the mountain.

Lin Changhai said that he planned to ask someone to renovate Tao Rong's grave and make it bigger, saying that when he died in the future, he wanted to be buried together with Tao Rong.

Although they were husband and wife for a short time, they were bound to sleep in the same bed and be buried in the same grave.

***********************************

Generally, people can visit relatives on the second day of the Chinese New Year. Today, Lin Tao and her family plan to visit their grandmother.

Lin Tao woke up early and planned to pack her things, but Li Chengxi asked her to stay with Yueyue and sleep a little longer: "It's still early, you can sleep a little longer. Dad and I will pack the things, it won't go wrong. Dried sea cucumbers, snacks, wine, tea, everything."

After hearing this, Lin Tao fell into a deep sleep again.

It was almost eight o'clock when she woke up, got up and put on a thick cotton jacket. The cold in Xiangcheng was damp and cold, the kind that went deep into her bones. After arriving in Xiangcheng, Yueyue became a bit of a bed-slacker. In the morning, she was always reluctant to leave the warm bed, but when she really got up, she ran out like a gust of wind to play with other children.

Last night, I actually followed others to fry cow dung, and accidentally got a small piece of cow dung on my hands. When I came back, Lin Tao washed it several times with soap. She thought it smelled bad, but she still washed it.

Finally, Lin Tao said that if she continued washing, the skin would be rubbed off, so she stopped.

They hadn't cooked at home since they returned to Xiangcheng. Li Mingcheng brought a basket of dumplings early in the morning: "There are some stuffed with sauerkraut and some stuffed with pork. The pork stuffing has red marks on it. You can eat whatever you like. I also made some sugar dumplings for Yueyue."

As he spoke, Li Mingcheng took one of the buns with a red dot printed on it that looked like a flower and gave it to Yueyue.

Yueyue took the bun and said, "I like eating white sugar buns the best."

Lin Tao took the buns and handed the toothbrush to Yueyue: "Brush your teeth first and then eat the buns."

Yueyue stuck out her tongue, took the toothbrush and started brushing her teeth.

"Mom asked me to ask you how many days you plan to stay there and when you come back so that she can cook for you that day." Li Mingcheng said.

Li Chengxi said, "Your sister-in-law said she would be back on the sixth day of the new year. Since she is gone, stay a few more days."

Meanwhile, Zhou Fangmei also went back to her parents' home with Lin Qiang this morning. The two of them rode a 28-inch bicycle. When they left, Zhou Fangmei even said hello to Lin Tao. Lin Qiang said, "You knew that grandma didn't like her, but you still stayed so close to her."

Zhou Fangmei was annoyed: "Who does your grandma like? Isn't it Lin Hui? As a result, she was so angry that she had a stroke and was paralyzed in bed. I don't care if you want to be with your sister. I think Lin Tao is better than her. Don't bother me about this. How dare you tell me this, Lin Qiang, tell me yourself. After your grandma got sick, did your parents take care of her? Did your sister take care of her? When did she go to the hospital without asking you? What did you say when you left? Why didn't you bring Zhiguo here? They also want to give him New Year's money. Did they give him any money when they brought Zhiguo to our house for the New Year's celebration two years ago? Oh, they did give him money once, but that was because Zhiguo said his grandmother gave him New Year's money, and your father couldn't bear it, so he gave him two dimes. He grew up like this, but he only got these two dimes from your father, and he's still a grandson. What do you mean the whole family should come back to celebrate the New Year? Isn't it just for the gifts we give every New Year? The New Year's goods distributed by the factory were all taken to your parents' house."

"Look at what you said. Didn't I just take my share?" Lin Qiang said angrily. He knew in his heart that his parents were wrong, but they were his parents after all. Moreover, his father-in-law and mother-in-law were both veteran employees of the factory. The factory distributed gifts during the Chinese New Year, so they didn't need these...

Zhou Fangmei glared at him: "You want to take my share too? Lin Qiang, let me tell you, I have no objection to you honoring your parents, but don't even think about honoring them with my things."

Lin Qiang said nothing and continued riding his bicycle. Not long after he left Taohua Village, Zhou Fangmei noticed something was wrong: "Lin Qiang, where is the package of dried seafood I asked you to take? Didn't you say you would take it? Where is it?"

Lin Qiang: "My parents said they had never eaten these and wanted to try them. I saw there weren't many things, so I left them for them."

Zhou Fangmei was furious: "Lin Qiang! Do you still have any shame? That was something Lin Tao gave me. Do your parents want to eat it? If your parents want to eat it, you can ask your sister to send it. Isn't your sister on the island? Is your sister dead? She can't send it?"

Lin Qiang paused: "Fang Mei, what you said is a bit too harsh, for such a small thing, you shouldn't..."

"How could it be so? How could it be so? Lin Qiang, you have to go back right now. I want my things back. They are mine! I'm telling you this. If you dare not go back today, I will divorce you immediately. You go and take good care of your parents!" Zhou Fangmei was so angry that she reached out to grab Lin Qiang.

Seeing that Zhou Fangmei was really angry, Lin Qiang didn't dare to say anything. He turned around and rode back to Taohua Village with his 28-inch bicycle.

However, at this moment, under the peach tree at the entrance of Taohua Village.

Shen Jiayi was shivering with cold: "Mom, didn't you say you were going to grandma's house to pay New Year's greetings? Why haven't you left yet? I'm almost freezing to death standing here in the wind."

Shen Jiahao kicked the stone at his feet and echoed, "Yes, Mom, let's go. I'm freezing to death. I'm cold and hungry."

Shen Jiaping stood under the peach tree, looked up at it, and said nothing.

Lin Hui said, "Oh, hold on a little longer. We finally came back once, it would be ugly to go empty-handed. The villagers would gossip and laugh at us. You don't want to be laughed at, do you? Your grandmother will be here soon."

At this time, Zhang Hongying came running over and looked at Lin Hui in front of her with heartache. Lin Hui, who was less than 30 years old, looked like she was in her 30s. Her face was tanned, her skin was rough, and her hands were rough. It was obvious that she had worked hard.

Especially when compared with Lin Tao, it is even more obvious.

She had seen Lin Tao two days ago. Even though she was pregnant, her skin was still soft and fair. After all these years, she still looked the same as she was at the age of 20. It was obvious that she was living a good life.

"These things were brought by your sister-in-law. Take them. When someone asks you about them later, just say that you bought them," said Zhang Hongying.

Lin Hui took it and found a bag of dried seafood, two bottles of wine, a bag of snacks and a piece of bacon: "Hey, Mom, I know."

Zhang Hongying: "Why didn't Shen Guobin come with you?"

Lin Hui's eyes flickered: "He, he has something to do."

Lin Hui called a few children and followed Zhang Hongying home. She hadn't been home for many years. People who met on the road saw Lin Hui carrying so many things and said, "Lin Hui is back too, bringing so many things home."

Lin Hui pretended: "Yes, it's not easy to come back, can't I bring more things?"

At this moment, Lin Qiang arrived on his 28-inch bicycle. Zhou Fangmei got off the bicycle, rushed to Lin Hui, and snatched the bag of dried seafood.

She had endured the Lin family's mess for so long, and this time she really didn't want to endure it anymore, so she just broke up with him: "Mom, how can you do things like this? This dried seafood was given to me by Lin Tao, and you said you wanted to eat it, so you asked Lin Qiang to leave it for you, but you used it to save face for Lin Hui? And this wine and snacks, weren't we giving them to you? Now they are all given by Lin Hui?"