On the day of the Little New Year, Old Mrs. Tian kneaded dough to make dumplings.
A lot of the white flour in their home was used when they sent Tian Yuan to the army, and the remaining flour was not enough to make a meal of dumplings.
Old Mrs. Tian mixed some white flour into the cornmeal and made a pot of dumplings stuffed with cabbage.
Tian Tian liked it very much. She thought cornmeal dumplings were better than white flour dumplings. She ate five or six palm-sized dumplings.
After finishing her meal, Tian Tian took colored paper and cans and went to find Shen Lingling and Tian Yun to make lanterns. She cut the colorful paper into strips and pasted them on the cans. She also got a small candle and lit it in the cans so that the light emitted would also be colorful.
Although the lighting is not as strong as that of a kerosene lamp, they all like to do it because it looks good. It is also a must-do activity for girls during the Chinese New Year.
After making the lanterns, Shen Lingling and Tian Tian said goodbye to Tian Yun and went home with the lanterns. On the way, they met Li Jiuniang who had just returned from outside, with Qin Changfeng beside him.
Tian Tian and Shen Lingling greeted them both.
After Li Jiuniang and Qin Changfeng walked away, Shen Lingling whispered to Tian Tian: "What do you think Li Zhiqing does when she goes to the county town every day?"
Since there was no work after the autumn harvest, Li Jiuniang went to the county town every two or three days. It was better when the educated youth were still there, but later when the educated youth all went home, Li Jiuniang went to the county town every day. Sometimes he came back empty-handed, and sometimes he came back with a lot of things.
Everyone in the team was discussing where Li Jiuniang got those things from, and some people even made malicious speculations about Li Jiuniang.
Shen Lingling didn't have any bad or malicious intentions when she asked Tian Tian these questions; she was just simply curious.
Tian Tian naturally knew that Li Jiuniang went to the county town for business, but she couldn't tell Shen Lingling this, so she could only say: "Maybe she went to the county town to play, or to the post office in the county town to pick up something? It seems that her family loves her very much. But if I have money and time, I would also like to go to the county town to play."
There is nothing fun now, but the activities in the county town are always richer than those in the countryside, and there is also a cinema in the county town. During the New Year holidays these days, the cinema should also show movies.
"That's right!" Shen Lingling agreed with Tian Tian's words. If she had money and no one cared about her, she would definitely go to the county town often.
"When can I go to the county town to study like Sister Tian Yun?"
Shen Lingling's attention was completely diverted. When she was in school before, she only wanted to finish elementary school. Now, after one semester, her final exam results were good. She felt the joy that learning brought her, and she also wanted to continue studying.
After sighing, Shen Lingling felt a little depressed again, "My grandma will definitely not agree to let me continue to study in junior high school!"
When she wanted to go to elementary school, her grandmother and her mother had a big fight, and the atmosphere at home had always been weird. It was only because she did well in the exam this time that the atmosphere at home eased.
Tian Tian sighed after hearing this. There was nothing she could do about this matter. If Shen Lingling's grandmother was determined not to let Shen Lingling go to school and refused to pay for it, they really couldn't change anything.
Because they simply don't have the ability to pay for themselves to go to school in the county.
It is also impossible to go out and work to earn your tuition fees. The current household registration system locks you in the place where you were born. People in the county town have a fixed monthly food ration and will not starve to death even if they don't work.
People like them in the rural areas have to send food rations to their families every month when they go out to study, so they can only go hungry.
"Forget it! I don't want to think about it! Anyway, there are still two years left, we'll talk about it then." Shen Lingling waved her hand, and suddenly came in front of Tian Tian, and asked mysteriously: "Hey! Tian Tian! Do you think Li Zhiqing is dating Qin Zhiqing? They are together every day, and now there is no one in the Zhiqing Center except the two of them."
After hearing Shen Lingling's question, Tian Tian began to recall when Li Jiuniang had a love line and when she and the male protagonist developed feelings for each other.
She thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure it out. She had almost forgotten the plot of the novel, but it should be similar. Either the heroine encountered difficulties and the hero helped her, and the two of them met in this way.
Or two people discover each other's good qualities and then become a couple.
"I don't know either." Tian Tian said.
"I think they are dating. One is pretty and the other is handsome. They are both educated youth in the city and are a good match. Moreover, they often go to the county town together these days. If this is not dating? Then what is dating?" Shen Lingling said excitedly.
"I think it's best for educated youth to date each other. After your previous educated youth Tang and Wu got married, they lived a happy life."
"Look at Zhao Yi who married Tian Yong. Although she is no longer hungry, I think she is not living as well as Tang Zhiqing and Wu Zhiqing."
Tian Yong is Tian Tian's distant relative, but the relationship is so distant that Tian Tian and Tian Yong have little contact.
There were only three people in Tian Yong's family: his father, his mother and him. When he was a child, his father was accidentally killed by a tree while helping the forest farm to chop firewood in winter. His mother was too sad and became ill. She took medicine for many years, and they bankrupted a relatively well-off family.
Later, when Tian Yong grew up, because he was tall, strong and sturdy, he could earn more work points, and Tian Yong's mother's health gradually recovered, life gradually became better.
And Zhao Yi didn't marry Tian Yong just to make herself feel more relaxed, but because she accidentally fell into the river when she was washing clothes alone.
Tian Yong, who got up early to chop firewood in the mountains, discovered them and rescued Zhao Yi. He was also seen by the aunts who came to the river to wash clothes.
This would have been a good thing, but summer clothes were thin, and those aunties were only there to watch the fun. These words spread, and by the time they reached the ears of the people involved, they had changed their meaning.
There was no other way out, the two people forced by the rumors had no choice but to get married.
These two people are actually good people, but Zhao Yi comes from an artistic family and is a literary youth. She yearns for spiritual and ideological resonance. Others are also more romantic and pay more attention to ritual.
However, Tian Yong had no conditions to go to school and learn to read since he was a child. He was an illiterate man. Neither of them could understand each other and lived a very miserable life.
This incident also became a topic of conversation within the team.
"So rumors can cause a lot of harm to people!" Tian Tian said.
If it weren't for everyone spreading rumors, Tian Yong might have found a down-to-earth and hardworking girl, and Zhao Yi might have married someone who was on the same wavelength as her.
They will all meet people who appreciate them, and they will all live happy lives, instead of living in such pain like they are now.
Ultimately, it was all because of those rumors.
Shen Lingling choked. She didn't expect Tian Tian to talk in this way. However, what Tian Tian said did make sense. After thinking about it, Shen Lingling agreed.
"That's true!" Shen Lingling sighed after she finished speaking, "They have been married for four years, and there is no talk of having a child. I heard from my grandma that Uncle Tian Yong's mother is very anxious."
"How can I not be anxious? Uncle Tian Yong will be 31 after this year. When my dad was like him, my brother would be 12 and I would be 10. Both kids at home could run around. How could grandma not be anxious?" Tian Tian said.
At this age, most people become fathers around the age of 20. Tian Yong is already 31 and still has no news. It would be strange if he wasn't anxious.
In their situation, it is not suitable for them to be together anymore. It would be better for everyone if they divorced sooner. However, people are still quite prejudiced against divorce at this time.
Especially since rural people are more conservative, they are prejudiced against divorced women.
The situation in the city is a little better. At least women have more say. For example, in the textile factories, non-staple food factories and silkworm factories here, there are more jobs for girls, and girls have more opportunities to earn money.
As the two were talking, they saw one of the protagonists of their topic, Zheng Yi, walking towards them carrying two sacks.
"Auntie!"
"Auntie Tian!"
Tian Tian and Shen Lingling greeted Zheng Yi.
Zheng Yi nodded silently at the two of them, then walked away carrying two sacks.
"Oh!" The two people watched her disappearing figure, and Tian Tian suddenly sighed.
In her memory, Zheng Yi was very beautiful. She didn't have the kind of blessed looks that people like nowadays, but the kind of thin and fairy-like looks. She was also very elegant and had a unique aura. You could tell at first glance that she came from a scholarly family.
But since marrying Tian Yong, Zheng Yi's aura seemed to have gradually disappeared. She became more and more silent and older.
After Tian Tian returned home, she placed the finished lanterns on the windowsill of her room and then went to the east room.
Except for the east room and the kitchen, all the other windows in the house were sealed tightly with oil paper, so no light could get in. In addition, the house was small, so it was dark inside.
Before, Tian Tian and Tian Yuan studied in the house using kerosene lamps.
The windows of the kitchen are not covered because no one lives there.
The windows of Old Mrs. Tian's room are covered with specially heated plastic sheets, which neither block the light nor the wind, and the room is also quite warm.
Tian Tian sat in front of the brazier until her hands and feet were warm, then she took off her shoes and got on the kang.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
