05
Mid-April is the time when rice seedlings are planted in the southwest, and all major production teams are busy.
Planting rice seedlings in spring is an urgent matter. Every time this season comes, all team members have to go to the fields, and village cadres also have to work there.
As the brigade accountant, Xu Qiujin had to work in the fields during the busy farming season.
She got up early in the morning before daybreak to make breakfast.
In the morning, she made cornmeal steamed buns. Unlike most people of that era who used black flour to make cornmeal steamed buns, Yang Qiujin used finely ground corn flour mixed with white flour. She mixed the dough with warm water and let it rest for a while before kneading it into the size of a fist, making a hole in the middle and steaming it in a bamboo steamer.
The steamed steamed buns are bright golden in color, soft and delicious with a slightly sweet aftertaste. The buns are then filled with Yang Qiujin's stuffing made from diced bamboo shoots, carrots, lettuce and diced bacon, which tastes salty and delicious.
Tianyou, who is always picky about food, ate three big steamed buns in a row until his stomach was full and greasy at the corners of his mouth. Then he lay down on the wooden rocking chair in the yard and burped and said, "Mom, steamed buns are so delicious. I wish you could make steamed buns for me every day."
"You are so beautiful." Yang Qiujin and her mother-in-law were clearing the dishes on the table. "I want to make steamed wotou every day. The little Fuqiang flour we have will be gone in a few days. After we finish eating the Fuqiang flour, do you and I have to use black flour to make steamed wotou like the neighbors next door?"
Tianyou thought of the steamed buns made by his second aunt next door. They were black and thick, and they cut his throat when eaten. His eldest cousin also said that if you eat too much, you can't defecate and you have to use a stick to poke it out. He was so scared that he sat up and shook his head, "Then I won't eat steamed buns anymore."
"It's okay, our good grandson can eat whatever he wants." Li Xiu'e piled up the dishes that needed to be washed and went to the kitchen. "Your father sent us money, and grandma has money too. I'll buy you whatever you want. We're out of Fuqiang powder, so grandma can go to the black market when she has time."
"Mom, you are spoiling the child again!" Yang Qiujin said to Li Xiu'e rudely, "I have told you so many times that the child cannot get used to it. You buy whatever he wants. He doesn't know how to save money, how hard it is for his father to make money, and how other people are hungry. He has no worries about food and clothing now, which is the best life for him."
Li Xiu'e muttered, "My family is well-off, and I have money in my hand. If I don't give it to my grandson, who should I give it to?"
"Mom, I know you feel bad for Tianyou, but think about it. Shengqing has been sending more and more money over the years, which means that his position in the army is getting higher and higher, and that the money was earned with his life and blood. As his family, how can we justifiably enjoy the benefits he has given us?"
Yang Qiujin was scrubbing the pot with a loofah and said in a serious tone: "Shengqing can't be a soldier in the army for his whole life. He will be discharged from the army one day. We have to think more about his and Tianyou's future. I will save most of the money. We will build a big house in the future so that Shengqing can have a good rest at home. There is no need to run around to make a living like before. We also have to support Tianyou to study and go to college, find him a wife, take care of the children, and support you in your old age and take you out to play... All these accounts are counted. You can't be confused about this and go against me. When I teach the children, you must support me unconditionally."
"Okay, Qiu Jin, I know you're doing this for Tianyou's own good. Mom will never say that again, okay?" The daughter-in-law was always thinking about her sons and grandchildren, and she never let go of herself. Li Xiu'e was half moved and half emotional as she took the washed bowl from her hands and put it in the cupboard.
When Yang Qiujin married into the Chen family, to be honest, she felt a little resentful in her heart, because after all, she was not the daughter-in-law that her father had chosen.
However, after spending time with her day and night, she got to know Yang Qiujin's character and realized that she was so aggressive because she was forced to do so. She also saw that she managed her home in an orderly manner, was very filial to herself and her old man, and was well-educated. Now Li Xiu'e was extremely satisfied with Yang Qiujin.
Of course, Li Xiu'e also had her own ideas. She promised not to buy indiscriminately, but she made up her mind to secretly go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy more food and snacks for Tianyou when Yang Qiujin was not around.
No matter what, she would not let her precious grandson go hungry.
Tianyou hid at the door of the kitchen, eavesdropping on the adults' conversation. When he heard his grandmother support his mother and not buy things for him, his little mouth pouted and he wanted to say something, but he saw his grandmother turned around and gave him a look. He immediately understood what she meant and left the kitchen with a smile on his face.
Yang Qiujin noticed the little actions of the two people and smiled helplessly, pretending not to see it.
Most of the elderly people in rural areas love their children and grandchildren very much. They are reluctant to eat and drink themselves, and would save them for their children and grandchildren.
Li Xiu'e is the kind of person who would rather suffer herself than let her family suffer. If she were really restricted and not allowed to buy delicious food for Tianyou, she would probably feel miserable every day.
As long as Li Xiu'e didn't openly oppose her in educating the children, she would turn a blind eye to other matters.
After finishing breakfast and cleaning up the dishes, it was already daybreak, and Li Xiu'e had to send Tianyou to school as usual.
Tianyou went to the commune primary school, and it took about 40 minutes to walk to the Pioneer Brigade. Originally, Yang Qiujin wanted to train Tianyou's independence this year and let him go to and from school by himself. However, Li Xiu'e was worried that her grandson would meet bad guys on the way and be kidnapped, so she insisted on picking up Tianyou, and Yang Qiujin agreed to her decision.
After packing Tianyou's self-made cloth schoolbag, Yang Qiujin squatted in front of him and repeatedly reminded him: "Listen carefully in class, don't run around and skip classes, don't make strange noises that affect other students' studies, don't quarrel or fight with others, and don't t......"
"I know, Mom, please stop talking. I'm tired of hearing that." Tianyou pretended to have a headache, covered his ears with his hands, and said with a sad face, "I know everything. You say that every day. It doesn't matter if you're not annoyed, I am."
"You think I'm annoying, then why didn't you study hard when you were in school, and instead you were causing trouble everywhere?" Yang Qiujin sneered, "If you should have studied honestly and sat still, and the teacher hadn't complained to me, would I have to scold you every day? It's annoying for you to listen, and it's annoying for me to talk too!"
When she was pregnant with Tianyou, she had a difficult delivery. She tried to give birth for a whole day and a night but couldn't deliver the baby. Tianyou was deprived of oxygen in her belly. After he came out, he was different from other children. Besides being naughty in various ways, he was often silly and didn't react much to the outside world. In other words, he was a bit stupid and lived in his own world.
Such children have no sense of boundaries and find it difficult to follow the instructions of their teachers and parents. At that time, Yang Qiujin was often angry and annoyed about why her child was disobedient, fighting and causing trouble, and running around everywhere. She also complained to the nursery class teacher every day, yelling at her to take the child home and to let Tianyou drop out of school, and she shed tears.
Yang Qiujin tried all kinds of methods but couldn't find a solution to her child's restless and disobedient nature. She could only brainwash Tianyou every day about all kinds of things he shouldn't do. Although this made the child very upset, the effect was gradually evident.
"Mom, stop talking. It will be dark if you continue." Tianyou was scared of her nagging. He grabbed his grandmother's hand with his little hand and walked out of the yard without looking back.
When we got outside the courtyard, I said to Li Xiu'e, "Grandma, it's not that I don't want to sit and study. I just can't sit still. I can't control my hands and feet. I just want to walk out of the classroom and play outside."
"It's okay. Your dad was like this when he was little." Li Xiu'e patted his head lovingly. "As long as you don't quarrel or fight with your classmates and don't do bad things, you are a good child."
"Is my dad as naughty as me?" Tianyou looked up at her, his bright black eyes full of confusion, "Didn't mom say that dad was very well behaved when he was a child?"
"good?"
He is quite well behaved, but that is in front of outsiders. As his mother, she knows best what he is like at home.
But she couldn't tell her grandson this, so she smiled and said, "When your father comes back, you'll know if he's the same as you."
"When will he come back?" Tianyou asked curiously.
"It should be soon. Grandma had a dream last night. She dreamed about your dad."
Li Xiu'e seldom dreams about her son, but every time she dreams about him, she will receive a letter from him within a few days.
Last night she dreamed that her son came back. When she woke up she was crying and laughing. She didn't know whether her son would send a letter or come back to see them.
As soon as Li Xiu'e left, Yang Qiujin walked to the village brigade headquarters wearing a straw hat. The brigade leader Deng Jianshe was blowing the whistle to go to work, waiting for the brigade members to arrive and assigning work to them.
Because the Pioneer Brigade mainly grows rice, the main work now is plowing the paddy fields and planting rice seedlings. Plowing, a heavier job, is done by men, while women plant rice seedlings.
Yang Qiujin was assigned to a group with several young wives in the village. When the sun just rose, they folded their trouser legs to half their knees high and stepped barefoot into the half-knee-deep paddy fields. Holding the seedlings in one hand, they quickly inserted them into the fields with the other hand, and then moved on to another place.
Transplanting rice seedlings looks simple, but it is very tiring because you have to bend over and move constantly in the muddy cement. Your feet are covered in mud and soaked in water, which is very uncomfortable. There are leeches in the water that bite people and suck their blood. People have to endure being bitten by leeches and plant the seedlings neatly and beautifully so that they will not be crowded when they grow up and will not divide each other's nutrients.
Even an experienced farmer has to straighten his body every half hour when planting seedlings to make his back feel more comfortable. At the same time, he has to lift his legs to see if there are any leeches on his legs. If there are any, he has to get rid of them in time.
Yang Qiujin, on the other hand, kept bending over, and the seedlings in her hands were driven into the field as if by a machine, quickly and neatly, leaving the four women in the same field behind.
The four female members followed her and whispered, "Why do you think she works so fast? No matter how much work she does, she still gets the same number of work points."
"Of course, we are already fast enough, but she wants to be the best. She works so hard even when planting rice. She doesn't want to be in the newspapers as an iron lady. Is it necessary to work so hard? Who can stand such a competitive character? No wonder Brother Shengqing didn't want to come back to see her for so many years."
"Hey, Brother Shengqing, you are from a wealthy family. You are already married and a mother of two children, but you are still thinking about Chen Shengqing."
"Pah, pah, pah, nonsense. I just feel sorry for Brother Shengqing. Brother Shengqing is handsome and a cultured man. If he were to marry a shrew like Yang Qiujin, wouldn't his life be hard?"
"I think you are just jealous of Yang Qiujin. She is fierce, but she is also pretty and educated. She is also the accountant of the brigade. She can do any job quickly and well. Even if Chen Shengqing is not here, she can stand on her own. You can't keep up with her, so there is no need to say such nonsense about her."
"Hey, I mean, whose side are you on..."
"Stop arguing, there's something interesting to watch."
The four women straightened up at the same time and looked towards the village road, where a dozen people were coming in noisily.
When they saw who those people were, three of the women showed expressions of schadenfreude on their faces.
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