Chapter 84

Lin Tao's body moved in Li Chengxi's arms, but she didn't resist. She just whispered, "Didn't we just... last night? Why do you want it again today? Isn't your group training recently? Aren't you tired?"

"Not tired." When Li Chengxi spoke, his breath was faintly in Lin Tao's ears, which was a bit numb.

As he spoke, his hands kept moving.

Lin Tao snorted softly.

Then Li Chengxi said in a low voice: "Didn't Dad write that he would come over next month? It's okay while Dad is away, but when Dad comes, you have to pay more attention."

Lin Tao felt that he was just making excuses, because when his father was around, he didn't seem to be very restrained.

The two of them went back and forth for more than two hours, until Lin Tao felt her period was sore and began to beg for mercy. Only then did Li Chengxi fetch water to clean her.

After cleaning up, the two leaned on the bed and talked.

Li Chengxi let Lin Tao rest her head on his arm, hugged her, and said, "The house we live in now is still a little small, but this is the only house I can get at the moment. Let's wait and see. When we get promoted, we can move to a bigger house. It shouldn't take long."

Li Chengxi usually doesn't say these things to Lin Tao in front of her.

This time he brought it up because he thought that when Yueyue grows up, the little girl should have her own room. His consideration is correct, and it can be realized in the next two years.

He is a graduate of the military academy, and he was considered to be of military age while in school. Later, he made two contributions, and he was considered the youngest regimental commander in the entire garrison division. Moreover, his future is bright. A while ago, Division Commander Ziqi even came to him and revealed to him some thoughts about promoting him.

Li Chengxi had never mentioned these to Lin Tao, but when he did, he was actually a little proud of it. It was like a male peacock liking to spread its tail in front of a female peacock.

However, Lin Tao, who is usually such a considerate person, did not notice Li Chengxi's little thoughts this time.

When she heard that they would be moving out of their current home soon, she did not feel happy, but started to worry about what to do with the flowers and vegetables in her yard.

Lin Tao frowned slightly and sighed, "The peach trees at home will bear peaches next year, and the grape vines have already grown grapes. We worked hard to get these things done, and we would be reluctant to move them away."

When they first arrived, there was nothing in the house except for a few large cabinets and furniture like beds.

Now there are chickens and rabbits in the yard, as well as a vegetable patch, gardenias, balsam pears, peach trees, grape vines, and many, many other things, all of which are their memories.

This feeling of creating something from nothing makes Lin Tao feel very good and comfortable. She is actually a person who is easily satisfied. When a person is spiritually rich, it is easy to be satisfied.

Seeing Lin Tao like this, Li Chengxi couldn't help but laugh at her: "Other people are looking forward to their husbands getting promoted and moving into a bigger house, but you are just worrying about your own flowers and plants."

Lin Tao was a little embarrassed by what Li Chengxi said, and a little blush appeared on her fair face. The blush had not faded away, and now it was even redder like an apple.

Fortunately, it was already time to turn off the lights, and there was no kerosene lamp on in the house. The room was very dark, and Li Chengxi did not notice her.

Lin Tao leaned into Li Chengxi's arms and said in a coquettish voice, "No way... I was just talking. After all, I've lived here for a few years and have developed feelings for you. But if you can get promoted, I'll be happy, of course."

Her man is capable, how can she not be happy?

She will be the happiest one among all.

Lin Tao's voice was a little hoarse from shouting before, and her voice was coquettish, which made Li Chengxi's body stiffen again. Considering that he had to go to the group tomorrow and Lin Tao had to go to class, he finally decided to let her go.

Li Chengxi leaned over and kissed Lin Tao's eyes and eyebrows, then said, "I will try my best. Go to bed early."

Lin Tao liked the way Li Chengxi kissed her, softly and tenderly, without the slightest desire, a very clean and pure kiss. This feeling was just like when she kissed Yueyue, as if she was treating the most precious thing in the world.

Lin Tao thought about it, then stretched out her hands to half-support her body. Her soft hair fell along her shoulders and touched Li Chengxi's chest. The ends of her hair brushed against him, feeling a little itchy.

But before Li Chengxi had time to feel all this, Lin Tao's kiss fell on his brow, as gentle as the moment when a dragonfly falls into the water, without disturbing anything but a few ripples.

Li Chengxi's heart was rippling and his throat was boiling.

He suddenly felt that it was not a bad idea to skip sleep today.

"A Tao, how about we ..." Li Chengxi's voice was hoarse and low.

But before he could finish his words, Lin Tao quickly hid in the quilt, covering her head with the quilt, and her voice sounded muffled: "No, you still have to go to work tomorrow, go to bed!"

His plan went unfulfilled. Li Chengxi smiled helplessly and could only try to calm himself down, close his eyes and go to sleep.

They still have a lot of time and there is no need to rush.

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The next morning, Li Chengxi went to the cafeteria to get some food, had breakfast with Lin Tao, and then went out with the three packages that Lin Tao had prepared last night.

Today was not Lin Tao's morning self-study class, so she could go there later. She was not in a hurry. She packed diapers and other things for Yueyue and then went out.

A morning's work could be said to pass quickly or slowly; it was gone in the blink of an eye.

After school, I returned home. Chen Shuifen and Xu Yuting also came. They knew that Lin Tao had sent the photos she took, so they came to see them. Zhong Jing didn't come because she had to go to class.

Lin Tao took out the photos and showed them, but because the family photo was hung in the room, Lin Tao did not take it down and simply asked them to go into the house to take a look.

Yueyue was born with a lovely face. Chen Shuifen had said she looked like a New Year picture doll, so it was not surprising that she looked pretty in the photo. But when I saw the family photo, I thought she was really pretty.

She didn't know how to describe it, but she just felt comfortable looking at it and thought it was beautiful.

Even Xu Yuting said, "Why didn't I think of taking a family photo at that time? Boss Wu is really good at taking photos, with great composition and lighting. Next time I have time, I will take a family photo again."

In fact, Lin Tao didn’t quite understand what Xu Yuting said about composition and lighting, but she just thought it looked good.

But after hearing what Xu Yuting said, it seemed quite amazing.

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Half a month later, the grandmother who was far away in Shanghai finally received the photo she had been longing for for a long time.

Looking at Yueyue’s happy smile in the photo, grandma couldn’t help but touch Yueyue’s cheek. Although she was only facing a photo, she could not suppress the emotions in her heart.

This is Li Chengxi and Lin Tao’s first child, and her great-grandson.

In the evening, grandma could call my aunt's family over, saying that the whole family was having a meal together, but in fact it was just for everyone to look at photos together.

Before they even started eating, grandma brought over both photos and the pair of shoes Lin Tao made for her. She put them on and walked a few steps to show them to them: "Tao is such a thoughtful girl. She sent me a cashmere vest and shoes. She has a deft hand and the things she makes are much more comfortable to wear than those bought from department stores."

Seeing that everyone came to look at the shoes, she was busy asking everyone to look at the photos: "Look at the photos, look at the photos, look at how cute and pretty our little Yueyue is."

Everyone gathered together to look at the photos and discuss who Yueyue resembled.

"I feel like the eyebrows and mouth are more like A Tao, and the eyes and nose are more like Cheng Xi."

"Why do I feel that the mouth also looks like Chengxi? The ears, the ears look like Tao."

The youngsters in the family had never met Lin Tao before, and were confused by what they said. They couldn't help but ask, "How on earth does Yueyue look like my sister-in-law?"

"Here is a photo. Look at this photo."

"Sister-in-law is so beautiful, no wonder Cheng Xi's iron tree can bloom."

"Just tell me, when Cheng Xi comes back and hears it, he will punish you."

"I was right. My classmates all said he was an iron tree and that he might never bloom in his lifetime. I never thought Cheng Xi would have a child."

Aunt: "Yes, your brother already has a child, why don't you hurry up and find someone and show them to mom."

“…………”

The whole family was in a lively mood, all happy after seeing the photo, but the grandmother was the only one who felt a little sad after she was happy.

This is what happens when people get older. Otherwise, why do we say old children? Old children think differently when people get older. Grandma looked at Yueyue's photo and said, "I really want to see Yueyue soon..."

I hadn't seen the photos before, so I was looking forward to seeing them.

Now that I've seen the photo, I want to see the real person.

My grandmother is old, and she always feels that she only has a few years left to live, so her desire to see someone is very strong.

In this regard, everyone can only persuade her: "Didn't Tao say in her letter that she would bring Yueyue to Shanghai for the New Year this year? It's almost May now, and you will be able to see Yueyue soon. Everyone wants to, no one doesn't want to."

"A Tao said she would come to Shanghai to celebrate the New Year this year?" Grandma even forgot her sadness and hurried to confirm whether the news was true.

"Yes, grandma, isn't it written in the letter?"

Grandma quickly took the letter and asked her grandson to put on his reading glasses to read it. The letter really said that they would come to Shanghai to celebrate the New Year this year. However, she was so happy to see the photos and shoes that she forgot about the letter and didn't have time to read it.

At this moment, grandma was no longer upset, and greeted everyone with a smile: "Everyone, come and eat, come and eat."

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And on the other side is Hainan Island.

"Li Mingcheng, you have a package sent from the mountain city." The squad leader called out to Li Mingcheng who had just walked out of the cafeteria.

"Shancheng?" Li Mingcheng's bad mood suddenly improved because of the poor food in the army cafeteria. He smiled and ran over to get the package.

His comrades who had come to eat with him also followed him and said, "Let's go over and see if there's anything good."

"That's right. This guy always complains that the food in our army is not tasty enough, and he also talks about how delicious the food his sister-in-law cooks is. Let's go and see what delicious food they sent. Everyone who sees it can have a share!"

Several people followed him and when they arrived at the dormitory, Li Mingcheng couldn't wait to open the package and opened the envelope first.

Inside the envelope was a letter from Lin Tao, asking him how he was doing in Hainan and whether he was used to it. She also said that she was worried that he might not be used to the food there, so she wanted to send him some food. Since it was not convenient for him to cook raw food, she simply made some cooked food and sent it to him.

However, Li Mingcheng did not go to see what food was sent, but continued to get the photos.

What was sent was a photo of Yueyue. In the photo, Yueyue was sitting on a small rocking chair, smiling sweetly at the camera, looking pretty and adorable.

"Look, this is my niece. Isn't she pretty and cute?" Li Mingcheng showed the photo to everyone.

Li Mingcheng often talked about his little niece in front of everyone, calling her Yueyue all the best and praising her so much that she almost looked like a picture.

But now when everyone looks at the photo, they find that Li Mingcheng was not bragging. This little niece is so cute, the kind that makes you want to pinch her cheeks.

The photos were taken away and circulated. Li Mingcheng was afraid that they would spoil the photos by "seeing" them, so he took them back after a while: "Give me the photos, I will keep them well. As for the things, whoever sees them shall have a share."

"How can it be ruined if you just take a look?" Some people thought he was too nervous, but when they heard that there was something delicious, they immediately went to see what was inside.

Li Mingcheng took out the things inside and found that there were several cans. He opened the first one and found that it was fried sour beans. One of them grabbed a handful and put it into his mouth.

Then he exclaimed: "It smells really good, it's delicious!"

"I want some, too. I want some, too."

"Don't push, don't push, I haven't eaten yet!"

There were also spicy cabbage, pickled beans, pickled radish cubes, and radish stems. Lin Tao even tried to pickle some drunken crabs and sent some to Li Mingcheng. Everything was sealed in a small jar.

These things can be kept for a longer time. If Li Mingcheng feels that the food in the cafeteria is not tasty or he is not used to it, he can bring these to the cafeteria to enhance the flavor.

Li Mingcheng saw that everyone was eating like starving ghosts. In a short while, half of the can of sour beans was gone. He closed the lid and said, "This is to be eaten with rice. You can't eat it like this. Take it to the canteen to eat it in the evening."

Everyone smacked their lips. Even though they had just finished their meal, they were already looking forward to dinner.

Because of the things Lin Tao sent this time, everyone was completely convinced by Li Mingcheng. Before, I thought this guy was a boaster who always talked about how good his sister-in-law, his niece, and his brother were.

Now it seems that what he said was true!

They are just good.

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Lin Tao had no idea what was happening in Shanghai and Hainan Island.

At this moment, she and Lin Manman were busy preparing community meals.

Community rice is a specialty of Xiangcheng. Its name comes from "Community Day", which is the fifth day after the beginning of spring.

In Xiangcheng, some people would make community meals on the day of the beginning of spring and then worship the land god. Later, after the movement began, they had to fight against feudalism and superstition, so they could not worship the land god. However, everyone still makes community meals on the community day, and even if they don’t worship, they eat it with their family.

The community rice is made of glutinous rice and indica rice. Lin Tao's family has some indica rice, but no glutinous rice, and the food factory is also out of glutinous rice for sale. These glutinous rice were brought by Lin Manman, who said that it was given by Xiaofeng.

"Xiaofeng always likes to tell me things about Xiangcheng, so I told her. That day, after we had dinner, we went out for a walk, and I was surprised to see Artemisia annua here. Xiaofeng asked me what Artemisia annua was used for, and I told her it was used to make community meals." Lin Manman said as she squeezed out the bitter water from the Artemisia annua.

After picking the Artemisia annua, Lin Tao pounded it with a stone mortar to break it into pieces. He then washed it several times with clean water and squeezed it dry. After repeating this process several times, he was able to ensure that the bitter water in the Artemisia annua was squeezed out, leaving only the fragrance.

Lin Tao assigned this task to Lin Manman, feeling relieved. After all, the two of them had cooked community rice together before when Aunt Fang was not at home. However, because they did not squeeze out the bitter water in the Artemisia annua, the community rice tasted bitter. They were reluctant to throw it away, so they ate it all with tears in their eyes.

From then on, the two of them kept this matter in mind. Lin Manman would definitely do a very good job in squeezing out the grievances, after all, every experience makes one wiser.

The bitter water squeezed out by Artemisia annua is green, and the originally white water is immediately dyed green.

Lin Manman continued, "This was the first time Xiaofeng had heard of 'community rice' and she kept asking me about it, so I told her. Unexpectedly, after I told her, she said that she couldn't sleep for several days because she thought about community rice and wanted to have a bite of it. For this, she even brought all the glutinous rice from home. I couldn't refuse her, so I had to trouble you."

Lin Tao was dicing bacon. There were many ingredients in the community rice, including onions, ground rice, dried beans and diced bacon.

She smiled and said to Lin Manman, "Come here."

Lin Manman looked at her in confusion, but quickly walked to Lin Tao's side. As a result, Lin Tao poked her forehead with her finger and said, "What are you thinking about? You said it's a trouble for such a small matter. Do you think I am your sister?"

Lin Manman smiled and dodged: "Of course you are my sister!"

The two of them smiled and continued to busy themselves with preparing the community meal.

I never thought there were onions on the island. Scallions are also very fragrant when used to scramble eggs or make onion acid. In the past, she liked to use onion acid to make soup.

Every spring, we would carry a backpack and a small hoe to dig onions on the fields. Onions could be seen everywhere on the fields in Taohua Village. Just by digging around, we could fill a basket with onions.

Take it to the river and wash it clean, especially the roots which will be covered with dirt and dead leaves. Wash it back and forth several times. After washing it clean, take it home and dry it in good weather. After drying, you can pickle it into carotene, which tastes great.

Back to the community dinner, after Lin Manman squeezed out the bitter water from the Artemisia annua, she went to the stove and fried the Artemisia annua until it was dry. After a while, the slightly bitter taste turned into a fresh fragrance.

After the indica rice is half cooked, Lin Tao puts the soaked glutinous rice in and steams it together with the indica rice. When the glutinous rice is cooked, she puts in various ingredients and continues to steam for about half an hour, and the community rice is ready.

When you lift the lid of the pot, the aroma of the community rice mixed with the aroma of meat, rice and vegetables hits your nose.

Lin Tao smiled and said, "Manman, call your friends to come in and have the community dinner."

Lin Manman brought two good friends, Hu Xiaofeng and Liu Danjuan. They also wanted to help, but they didn’t know how to do it specifically. Not only were they unable to help, but they also caused trouble in the kitchen.

Lin Tao invited them to sit in the yard for a while and eat when the community meal was ready.

It was the first time for the two little girls to come to Teacher Lin's house, and they also wanted to see their yard, so they simply went into the yard, looked at the vegetable garden, looked at the flowers, and fed the little rabbits. Mainly because Yueyue was taking a nap at the moment, otherwise they would definitely have gone to play with Yueyue.

After a short while, the community meal was ready.

"It smells so good." Hu Xiaofeng and Liu Danjuan exclaimed before they even started eating.

The last time they ate the wo wo buns made by Lin Tao, they kept praising Teacher Lin's cooking skills and envied Lin Manman for having a sister like Teacher Lin.

Lin Tao came out with the bowl and chopsticks, and Lin Manman said, "It will taste even better after you eat it."

The community meal was served and everyone started eating. The two little girls exclaimed as they ate. Lin Tao hadn't eaten the community meal for more than two years, and she thought it tasted good when she ate it again.

Glutinous rice is easy to fill up, so the girls didn't eat much and said they were full. When they left, Lin Tao asked them to come back next time.

They had to go to work in the afternoon, so Lin Manman went with them.

There was still a lot of community meals left at home. After they left, Lin Tao went to Chen Shuifen's house, Xu Yuting's house, and also went to the school to deliver some to Xu Yuting.

Of course, after all the hard work of preparing a community dinner, Lin Tao certainly couldn't forget Li Chengxi. She even left some food for Li Chengxi, and when Li Chengxi came back in the evening, she would heat it up for him.

"Community meal?" This was the first time Li Chengxi heard of this.

"Well, try it, it's quite fragrant." Lin Tao said.

There was a community dinner today, and the dishes cooked at home were relatively simple. The pumpkin vines in the yard had grown, so Lin Tao picked some pumpkin vines and pumpkin flowers and fried a dish of vegetables, and fried some clams, and that was it. She also took out the crabs she pickled last time.

Lin Tao is a good cook, and some seemingly ordinary dishes taste good when she cooks them.

Li Chengxi ate a lot, but glutinous rice was not easy to digest. After washing the dishes, Li Chengxi held Yueyue and went out with Lin Tao to enjoy the sea breeze and take a walk to digest the food in their stomachs.

After returning home, Lin Tao went to tidy up Li Chengxi's clothes, and then she found that his pockets were bulging. She didn't know what was in them. She reached in and took a look, and her face suddenly turned red. Wasn't this the condom they used? !

Li Chengxi was playing with Yueyue. He was lying on the bed, holding Yueyue up, and making the little girl giggle.

Lin Tao asked, "Did you go to the toilet to get it again?"

After being discovered, Li Chengxi coughed lightly and said, "Well, the last supply is all used up."

Lin Tao sat next to him and pinched his waist, using some force this time. Li Chengxi took a breath, but thought it was intentional. Lin Tao's strength was not that great to really hurt him.

Lin Tao snorted: "It's not good to use this either."

"Why is it bad? Using this you won't get pregnant so quickly." Li Chengxi said.

Lin Tao pursed her lips and said, "But if that's the case, won't others know all about us?"

This is what she feels ashamed of. Originally, this kind of sex between husband and wife was known only to the two of them. But now if Li Chengxi goes to the toilet to get condoms, then the person who gives him the condoms will know about their affairs...

Li Chengxi thought so too. No wonder the doctor looked surprised when he saw him today. He didn't expect that he would use it so quickly.

Li Chengxi put Yueyue in the crib and said, "Wang Yuanliang should also go get it. Next time I will ask him to get more and I will take it from him."

Lin Tao: “…”