Chapter 75

Lin Tao brought the dress to Yueyue for a try. The dress was too big for her because she was born prematurely. When she was older and could wear it, it was not the right season, so she had never worn it. But now the dress fit Yueyue very well.

A bright red shirt and a tiger-head hat.

It makes Yueyue look even more lovely and cheerful.

Lin Changhai was so surprised to see the baby that soon after he got home, he took a bath and then held Yueyue in his arms. He kept calling her "grandfather's baby" and loved her very much.

"This child is so good-looking, so pretty, and so fair and tender." Lin Changhai held Yueyue in his arms, teasing her with a rattle, and said to Lin Tao, "When I was at home, I kept dreaming about what our Yueyue looked like, and whether she looked like our Tao when she was a child."

Lin Tao found this funny and sad. She had her own thoughts in mind, so she deliberately followed Lin Changhai's words and said, "That's right, Dad, if you had listened to me and stayed here, wouldn't you have been able to see Yueyue every day? Would you have to think about her every day and every night?"

Then he took Yueyue's little hand and said, "Yueyue, isn't that right? Do you want grandpa to stay here and play with you?"

How could Lin Changhai not understand that his daughter was trying to trick him?

He laughed and said, "You were raised by dad, how could dad not know what you are thinking? Don't you just want me to come to your place as soon as possible? You, you, I didn't want to come here to cause trouble to you at such a young age, but seeing that Chengxi is really filial, plus you have given birth to Yueyue now, I thought about it a while ago and decided to come and live with you as soon as possible, so that you won't always miss me."

"Really? Dad, are you serious?" When Lin Tao heard this, a smile immediately bloomed on her face. She immediately grabbed Lin Changhai's sleeve and asked with shining eyes.

Seeing her like this, Lin Changhai was a little amused: "It's true. You're so old now, and you're already a mother, why are you still like a child?"

When she was little, Lin Tao also did this, holding his sleeve when walking. If he said he could take her to buy candy later, she would pull his sleeve and shake it, like now, and ask him with big eyes: "Dad, is it true?"

After Lin Tao was told by her father, she realized that her actions just now were indeed not steady enough. But what does it matter in front of her father?

She smiled and asked, "When? Or why don't you just not go back to Xiangcheng after the New Year and stay here."

"Grandpa's dear, this is not food, you can't eat it." Yueyue thought the small beads of the wave drum were food and put them into her mouth. Fortunately, they were strung together with a string, so Lin Changhai took them out easily.

Then he said to Lin Tao, "I'm afraid I'll have to go back again after the New Year. I came too hastily this time and many things at home have not been arranged yet."

He originally wanted to come back after arranging his family affairs before the New Year, but the transportation factory became busier as the year drew to a close, and he really had no time to come, so he could only wait until after the New Year to go back.

After hearing this, Lin Tao didn't say anything. After all, her father had agreed to live with them.

"Have you discussed this matter with Cheng Xi? When the time comes, there will be an extra person like me at home who eats idle meals. Don't let this matter cause any conflicts between you two." Lin Changhai said.

This is what parents worry about most.

It was also because Li Chengxi was too busy in the army today, so after picking up Lin Changhai, he returned to the army. Now there are only three of them at home, so Lin Changhai mentioned this in front of Lin Tao.

Lin Tao said, "Dad, don't you know who your son-in-law is? Or did he ask me to bring you over to live with us? Besides, how can you be a freeloader? Yueyue is still young, and it's not convenient for me to take her to school all the time. If you come over, you can help me look after the child, which is great."

"I'm glad there won't be any conflicts. Then Dad will feel relieved." Lin Changhai nodded.

He knew what kind of person his son-in-law was, but he couldn't help asking more questions. When people get older, they can't help asking more questions about things that worry them.

Because her father could come to live on the island, Lin Tao was very happy and had a smile on her face wherever she went.

Even Chen Shuifen from next door noticed it. When she came to borrow a needle from my house, she asked casually, "Teacher Lin, what are you so happy about?"

Lin Tao told Chen Shuifen about this, and Chen Shuifen said quickly, "That's great. Now that you have Yueyue, your father can help you look after the child when he comes."

"Taking care of the child is secondary. I'm mainly worried that he won't have enough to eat at home alone." Lin Tao said.

Lin Changhai had been sitting on the train for such a long time, Lin Tao urged him to lie down on the bed for a while and rest, but he was reluctant to let go of Yueyue.

Lin Tao was helpless: "Dad, even if you don't sleep, Yueyue has to sleep too. How can we keep playing like this? If we don't sleep now, it will be noisy at night, and Chengxi has to go to work tomorrow."

When Lin Changhai heard this, he quickly coaxed Yueyue into Lin Tao's arms and said, "Be good, Yueyue, go to sleep first. When you wake up, play with grandpa. Grandpa should also go to sleep."

Lin Tao took Yueyue from him, and seeing that he was finally willing to rest, she smiled and shook her head.

That’s why they say that parents from different generations are very close to each other. Her father really can’t leave Yueyue for a moment now.

Lin Changhai went back to the house to sleep, and Lin Tao also went back to the house carrying Yueyue. The little guy was very excited when playing with his grandfather, especially when he saw the wave drum spinning around and making ding-dong sounds, he stretched out his little hands to grab it and had a lot of fun.

Now that he was held in his mother's arms, he felt his stomach was empty and hungry, so he quickly snuggled into Lin Tao's arms.

Lin Tao found it funny, pinched Yueyue's little face and fed her.

The young guy fell asleep while drinking.

Lin Changhai arrived today by the earliest boat in the morning. It was still early. Lin Tao got up too early today and felt a little sleepy. She yawned and went to sleep with Yueyue.

When she woke up, she was still awakened by Yueyue's crying. Lin Tao touched Yueyue's butt and found that it was wet. Yueyue had urinated.

Fortunately, she had taken off the bright red shirt before going to bed, otherwise the clothes made by her grandmother would have been soaked by urine on the first day of wearing. Lin Tao had to slap the little girl on the butt a few times.

Lin Tao had just changed Yueyue's pants when Lin Changhai's voice rang out from outside the door: "Tao, why is Yueyue crying? Is she okay? Did she fall off the bed?"

Lin Tao also put on her clothes and carried Yueyue to the door, opened it, and said, "Dad, Yueyue now sleeps in a crib with a fence, so she won't fall down. The little girl is crying because she did something bad and wet her pants."

Lin Changhai heaved a sigh of relief: "It's good that Yueyue didn't fall off the bed."

After handing Yueyue over to her nervous grandfather, Lin Tao went to prepare lunch: "Dad, Cheng Xi and I made some dumplings yesterday. Let's eat them at noon."

"I'm fine with either. It depends on what you and Cheng Xi want to eat." Lin Changhai said.

Lin Tao said, "It's almost the end of the year, and the troops have been quite busy recently. Cheng Xi had lunch in the troops' cafeteria today, so it was just the two of us at home. So I made some dumplings. There are some with Chinese cabbage filling, some with pork filling, and some with lobster meat filling. I made some of each."

Lin Changhai is really not picky about food, but Lin Tao is a good cook and everything she cooks is delicious, so he has even less to complain about.

The stove was heated up, and half a pot of water was poured into it. When the water started to boil, Lin Tao put the dumplings in. The dumplings were boiled in the water for eight or nine minutes, and when they were turned up, they could be served.

Lin Tao had some chili oil at home, so she took it out and scooped a spoonful into each of the two bowls. The clear soup then turned into red oil soup, which looked very appetizing.

While eating dumplings, Lin Tao carried Yueyue to the crib.

The little guy was a little unhappy, frowning and whining in protest. Lin Changhai pushed the crib and said, "Grandpa, eat faster. I'll come and hold you when you're done."

Lin Changhai ate very quickly and finished a dumpling in one go.

The pork was very fresh. The meat was tender and juicy. The cabbage filling was crispy and sweet. It was the first time for Lin Changhai to eat shrimp dumplings. He didn't expect that the taste was so good in steamed buns.

Lin Tao watched from the side and said, "Dad, eat slowly. It's hard to digest if you eat too fast."

Lin Tao remembers that when she was a child, she always felt that her father ate very fast, as if he swallowed the food without chewing. At that time, she thought that her father just liked to be like that, and she always reminded him not to eat too fast, as it was not good.

After marrying Li Chengxi, she found out that eating fast might be a "glorious tradition" of their army. Over the past year or so, she has successfully reformed Li Chengxi, and now she has to reform her father.

There was no other way. Since his daughter had said so, Lin Changhai’s desire to finish his meal quickly and hug Yueyue had to put aside his thoughts for a while.

Lin Changhai ate more than twenty dumplings by himself. He was very full. He quickly wiped his mouth and went to hug Yueyue.

The bacon at home was just cooked last month, and Lin Changhai continued to cook it. Lin Tao happened to stir-fry another plate of bacon today. Take out the dried kelp at home, soak it in warm water for an afternoon, cut it into kelp shreds in the evening, and eat it cold. It is just right for drinking.

In addition, Lin Tao also fried a plate of peanuts.

The spicy cabbage pickled a while ago can now be taken out and eaten. Lin Tao picked out a lot of it from the pot, put it in a plate, and tasted it herself first. Hmm, it tasted really good.

This was her first time pickling spicy cabbage, and unexpectedly it was quite successful.

I also made some seaweed egg soup, and tonight's dinner is complete.

Lin Tao had just brought out the dishes when Li Chengxi came back. He opened the door and let in a bit of chill. The weather was cold now, and it was even colder outside.

When they got home, Li Chengxi took off his military coat, patted Xuemo on the shoulder, and said, "The army has been a bit busy lately, Dad. When we have a holiday in two days, I will be able to spend more time with you."

It's snowing outside, but not heavily.

If you want to see heavy snow, you have to wait until the first month of the lunar calendar. Shengshan Island only snows at that time. I remember last year, the snow on the island was really heavy, with a thickness of more than 10 to 20 centimeters. You had to wear rain boots when you went out, otherwise your pants and feet would be soaked.

It also snows in Xiangcheng, but this is the first time that Lin Tao has seen such heavy snow. The snow flutters down and Lin Tao can't help but think of the phrase "snowflakes as big as goose feathers". It turns out that there really are snowflakes as big as goose feathers.

Lin Changhai smiled and said, "Just focus on your work and do it well. It's good to have Yueyue by my side."

Lin Tao laughed, "Dad loves Yueyue so much, and Yueyue likes dad too. It looks like both of us have to step aside." She then tipped to Li Chengxi, "There's another dish in there, go and bring it out."

It was a bowl of soup, but there was too much soup, and Lin Tao's skin was tender and easily scalded.

Li Chengqi had a lot of old silkworms on hand and was not afraid of being scalded, so he ordered him to serve the soup just right.

When Li Chengxi brought out the soup, Lin Tao had already served the rice, and the family sat together to eat. Lin Tao placed wine on the table, and Li Chengxi and Lin Changhai drank a few glasses.

Eat peanuts and drink wine, the more you drink, the more you have.

The father-in-law and son-in-law sat together and talked more and more excitedly. Lin Tao, the daughter-in-law and the relative, had to stand aside.

After Lin Tao finished her meal, she carried Yueyue into the house.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Li Chengxi washed the dishes and fetched water for Yueyue to take a bath.

Before taking a bath, Lin Tao lit a charcoal fire and placed it beside her. Yueyue took a bath next to the charcoal fire so that there was heat and it was not so cold.

Before going to bed at night, Lin Tao mentioned to Li Chengxi that her father would be able to come and live with them once he had arranged the house.

"Dad asked me to discuss it with you, fearing that you might be unhappy." Lin Tao said.

Yueyue had already fallen asleep, so Lin Tao spoke in a low voice in order not to wake her up.

Li Chengxi laughed and lowered his voice and said, "Dad doesn't know what I'm thinking, and you don't know either?"

"I know, I'm just asking." When he said this, Lin Tao knew what he meant.

It was really cold that day. Even though she had put a hot water bottle in her quilt, Lin Tao still felt cold. It must be because she and Li Chengxi were using separate quilts.

The quilt at home is not big enough. It is okay in the summer, and it doesn’t matter whether you cover yourself with a quilt or not. But in the winter, if two people share a quilt, one of them may not be able to cover himself with the quilt, so the two of them cover themselves with the quilt separately.

While Lin Tao was speaking, she lifted Li Chengxi's quilt and rolled inside.

As soon as she touched Li Chengxi's body, Lin Tao sighed: "Why is your body so hot? It's like a furnace. Let me hold it tight."

Li Chengxi has been busy lately and hasn't had meat for a long time. Seeing Lin Tao hugging him, his eyes darkened. He held Lin Tao in his arms and said in a hoarse voice, "Are you falling into a trap?"

Before Lin Tao could react, he pressed her down.

The unique scent of the man filled her nose and Lin Tao's clothes were lifted up. She just wanted to get closer to him to feel warmer, but she didn't expect to be tormented back and forth for a long time.

In the end, Lin Tao lay on the bed exhausted, but her body was warm.

The man had a satisfied look on his face as he held her in his arms and fell asleep.

The two of them slept in the same quilt again tonight. Lin Tao felt as if she was surrounded by a fire all night long. It was warm and comfortable.

The quilt was too small, so if they slept together, they had to sleep very close together. The next day, Lin Tao felt something was wrong with Li Chengxi's body, and her face turned red. She wanted to slip back into her own quilt and continue sleeping.

As a result, Li Chengxi caught her back, hugged her and kissed her, and explained in her ear with a hoarse voice: "Men are like this in the morning, you can sleep for a while, I won't touch you anymore."

Lin Tao's clothes were still wrinkled, and she could vaguely see the red marks on her chest, which were all his work last night.

Even if he wanted to, he had to consider his father-in-law in the next room.

He is not capable of committing adultery in broad daylight.

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As the New Year came to an end, Chen Shuifen also had her holiday. She often came over these days to sew shoe soles with Lin Tao.

Seeing this, Xu Yuting also wanted to learn how to make shoes with Lin Tao. Chen Shuifen smiled and said, "That's great. Your Captain Wang can wear the shoes you make."

Xu Yuting said, "I'm just using this to practice. When I learn how to do it, I'll make one for my family during Qingming Festival. As for Wang Yuanliang, he has a lot of military boots, so he can wear whatever he likes."

"When I'm at home, I still feel more comfortable wearing the shoes I made myself," said Chen Shuifen. She sewed four pairs of soles in total, one pair for each of the four members of her family.

Xu Yuting was just talking, and she still hadn't changed her unforgiving habit. She actually paid more attention when she was studying, for fear that she might not do well in some way and Wang Yuanliang would be uncomfortable wearing it.

As the three of them sat together, Chen Shuifen thought of Zhong Jing and said, "Teacher Zhong is really hardworking. She went to work in the canning factory right after the school holiday. Otherwise, the four of us could have sat together and made shoe soles."

Lin Tao knew that Zhong Jing went to work in the cannery, and she understood why.

Money is tight at home, and what can we do if we are not diligent?

It was such a coincidence that Zhong Jing arrived not long after, carrying an iron bucket in her hand, to deliver fish to everyone.

She said that her husband went to dig ice with his friends last night, and picked up a lot of fish today. Since they couldn't finish them all at home, they gave two to each of their families.

Chen Shuifen smiled when she saw her and said, "What a coincidence! I was just saying that the three of us are here, and you are the only one missing. I didn't expect you to be here just as I was saying it."

Seeing how busy Lin Tao's house was, Zhong Jing also said, "I was originally planning to deliver the gifts to each family one by one. It's just right. You can take them home later."

Zhong Jing is usually very busy. When her husband goes out to sea, she sometimes goes to help. After school holidays, she also works part-time in the canning factory on the island to earn a little extra money.

The children in the family stayed in their hometown to go to school. Everything costs money. They used to live a tight life and worry about money every day. They always felt that it was okay for adults to suffer, but they couldn't let the children go without education. Both of them were intellectuals and attached great importance to their children's education.

Fortunately, Lin Tao later introduced her to a school to teach, and after she started to earn a salary, she had more money in hand.

But it's just a little more relaxed. Just because life is better than before doesn't mean she can relax. She still has to do more.

The current policy changes every day. Now the island still allows her to teach in school, but what about in the future?

It's hard to say for sure.

These words were just what Zhong Jing thought in her heart. It was enough for her to understand them herself and she would not tell them to others.

Lin Tao brought another stool from the house and asked Zhong Jing to sit on it.

On the other side, Lin Changhai was playing with his two children, Yueyue and Zheng Hongxing.

Because Wang Yuanliang had been on a mission some time ago and just came back yesterday, and happened to be resting at home today, Xu Yuting simply left Xiao Qingming with him.

Zheng Hongxing likes his sister Yueyue very much. Although he is a little disappointed that his sister does not have three heads and six arms like Nezha, he can't resist his sister's cuteness, so he always runs here to play with her.

He looked at his sister lovingly, and in the blink of an eye, he was about to kiss her.

Lin Changhai said from the side: "No kiss, no kiss, sister can't kiss."

Zheng Hongxing's eyes were full of confusion, and he asked, "Why can't we kiss?"

Lin Changhai said seriously: "My sister is a girl, you are a boy, and boys cannot kiss girls."

Zheng Hongxing seemed to understand, and said, "Then I will perform a show for my sister about Sun Wukong playing with the golden cudgel." Then he went to find a stick to serve as the golden cudgel.

Zheng Hongxing is only four years old this year. Lin Changhai was afraid that he was too young to understand things and might hit Yueyue with the stick. He quickly held Yueyue in his arms and protected her. After Zheng Hongxing performed for a while, he quickly said, "That's enough, that's enough. It's really impressive."

Yueyue actually enjoyed watching this performance and laughed out loud while watching it.

Zheng Hongxing saw his sister smile, with a proud expression on his face, and said: "Sister likes to watch my performance, oh, then I will perform another Nezha for her!"

This time, before Lin Changhai could say anything, Chen Shuifen said, "Sister doesn't like fighting. She's a girl and likes singing and dancing. Sing a song for her."

After just one sentence, Zheng Hongxing immediately became obedient, sitting on the pony with a flushed face, pretending not to hear what his mother said.

Lin Tao looked at him in surprise and asked with a smile, "Are you being honest now?"

Chen Shuifen said, "That's right. Others sing for money, but this kid sings for his life, just like an old monk chanting sutras. His father was almost frightened to the point of falling off the kang."

As soon as these words were spoken, several people couldn't help but laugh.

However, out of consideration for Zheng Hongxing's face, he did not linger on this topic for long, and soon started talking about other things.

Chen Shuifen came up with an idea: "Let me see. Why don't our four families just have the New Year's Eve dinner together this year? It will be more lively with more people. What do you think? Teacher Lin, if you have an idea, tell us."

Although Lin Tao was the youngest among the four of them, the other three listened to her words. In addition, Lin Tao's speech at the military families' meeting last time was praised by Director Yang himself, so Chen Shuifen had long been impressed by her.

Lin Tao also thought that Chen Shuifen's idea was good. Anyway, she had no objection.

Then he said, "I think this suggestion is good. I have no objection. Then on New Year's Eve, we can each cook a few delicious dishes at home and then bring them to my eldest sister's house or my house for the New Year's Eve dinner. I wonder what Yuting and Teacher Zhong will say? Is it convenient?"

Seeing that Lin Tao agreed, Xu Yuting naturally had no reason to disagree, so she said, "Why should I be inconvenienced? Your craftsmanship is so good, and I'm making a profit."

Zhong Jing also smiled and said, "In fact, I also think that it is too lonely to celebrate the New Year alone. It is also good to have a New Year's Eve dinner with so many people."

Since none of the four of us have any objections, it's settled.

When Li Chengxi came back in the evening, Lin Tao told him about this, took the military coat from his hand and hung it on the hanger.

Li Chengxi said, "That's good. It's lively when several families get together. You can make the decision on this matter. You don't need to ask me specifically."

After saying that, he paused and looked outside the house. He saw Lin Changhai was playing with Yueyue and was not paying attention to this. He leaned down and kissed Lin Tao on the forehead: "I will listen to you at home."

Lin Tao reached out and pinched his waist. This man was getting bolder and bolder. The bedroom door was still open and her father was holding Yueyue outside, yet he dared to do this.

Two or three days before the Chinese New Year, Lin Tao began to think about what to prepare for the New Year's Eve dinner.

The bacon must be fried, after all, it is a specialty of Xiangcheng. Everyone liked the pickled fish last time, so Lin Tao also plans to make one, and then stir-fry some vegetarian dishes. The New Year is about eating and drinking well, but it is not enough to just eat pickled vegetables, as it can easily cause a sore throat.

That night, Zhong Jing came to find Lin Tao and said that she could not have the New Year's Eve dinner with everyone.

When she got home that night, she told her husband Zhou Wen about this incident. Her husband was usually quite easy to talk to, and the two of them had been able to discuss things with each other since they got married. As both were educated people, they rarely had arguments.

That was why Zhong Jing agreed to the task immediately, because she had known Lin Tao and the others for a long time and they got along well with each other. Zhou Wen also knew about sending them fish and never said a word.

But this time when she went back, after she told Zhou Wen about it, Zhou Wen said she was not allowed to go.

Zhong Jing didn't understand, so she asked a few questions why not.

Zhou Wen was very emotional and said, "Who are they and what are we? They are military officers and we are counter-revolutionaries who must be knocked to the ground and stepped on! What kind of work am I doing now? I am just a fisherman who goes out to sea to fish day and night. Who are you? You are the wife of a fisherman! Are they people we can marry? You are trying to curry favor with them, giving them two fish today and two kilograms of shrimp tomorrow. Don't you feel ashamed? They may even think you are annoying in their hearts!"