12
After dinner, Yang Qiujin went to the brigade headquarters to ask for leave from the brigade commander.
Since her husband has returned, her family visit leave is limited. Whether she is willing or not, she has to take leave to set an example for those people with ulterior motives in the production team and spend more time with Chen Shengqing.
When she returned home from her leave, she found Chen Shengqing standing in the hut hammering away. When he saw her coming back, he raised his chin and said to her, "Give me the lamp."
There was a brand new pear-shaped light bulb on the ground. Yang Qiujin handed it to him. He installed it on the socket above his head, tightened it, and then pulled the fishing line to make it into a light cord. With a click, the dark hut was lit up with a dim light.
Yang Qiujin raised her eyebrows. Not long after she went out, Chen Shengqing discovered that the light in the hut was broken. He went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy a light bulb to fix it. This man's ability to act was really extraordinary.
The light in the hut had not been working for several years. At first, Yang Qiujin thought it was broken, so she bought a new one and installed it, but it didn't work. She went to the supply and marketing cooperative to replace it, but it still didn't work. Only then did she realize that there was something wrong with the hut's circuit.
She was a strong-willed person and could do most of the work by herself, but she didn't know much about this electrical circuit, and she couldn't bring herself to ask her second uncle to help fix it. There was no electrician in the brigade, only the commune had one, and the fee was not cheap. In addition, Li Xiu'e was very frugal. Usually, her family lit kerosene lamps at night and rarely turned on electric lights. They went to bed when it got dark, so they rarely used electric lights. The light in the hut was left on like this, and it was dark for five years.
Now Chen Shengqing had been back for only half a day and started repairs without saying a word. When Yang Qiujin came back, she found that the water tank in the corner of the yard was full. It was Chen Shengqing who washed the dishes after lunch.
Yang Qiujin's gaze towards Chen Shengqing became much softer. It was indeed different to have a man with a lively look in the family. She straightened her back as if she had found a backer.
Chen Shengqing worked non-stop for the entire afternoon, fixing things here and there. He fixed the leaking roof, repaired the broken tables and chairs, rebuilt the nearly collapsed courtyard wall, and cleaned up the chicken farm in the yard...
Yang Qiujin sat in the yard reading a book, watching him busying around, and occasionally helping him. Life was much better than before when she had to handle everything on her own.
If only Chen Shengqing could stay at home forever...
As soon as this unrealistic thought came to her mind, Yang Qiujin shook her head and forced herself to get rid of it.
It's not that Chen Shengqing likes her. If he stays at home, they will be facing each other every day and will just get tired of each other. It would be better for him not to be at home and she can live comfortably alone.
In order to allow her son and daughter-in-law to have some alone time together and to strengthen the affection between the couple, Li Xiu'e went to the home of an old lady she was familiar with to chat after lunch.
Chen Shengqing worked until the sun was setting. He estimated that it was around four or five in the afternoon and Tianyou would soon finish school. He went back to his room, changed into a clean military uniform, and fixed his hair. Then he walked to the yard and said to Yang Qiujin, "Do you want to come with me to pick up Tianyou from school?"
Yang Qiujin looked him up and down and said, "Why, did you get it specially to see Tianyou?"
Chen Shengqing nodded: "It's my first time meeting a child, I want to give him a good impression."
Yang Qiujin thought bitterly, he is indeed a bastard. The child is more important to him than her. He even dressed up to see the child, but why doesn't he treat her like this?
Yang Qiujin muttered to herself, "What a poor nitpicking."
Chen Shengqing had very good hearing. Hearing what she said, he pointed to his smooth chin and said, "Before I went home, I specially booked a guesthouse in the county, took a shower, shaved my beard, and changed into clean clothes. I just wanted to leave a good impression on you and mom. I don't think you would like my untidy and sloppy appearance."
The man had tall shoulders and long legs, and he looked even more handsome and tall in his military uniform. Even though Yang Qiujin didn't have much romantic feelings for Chen Shengqing, she had to admit that he was really handsome. She found his face so pleasing to the eyes that she could eat two more bowls of rice just by looking at it.
If he was sloppy and unkempt, she would definitely dislike him.
Seeing that she didn't say anything, Chen Shengqing reached out to hold her hand and said, "Let's go pick up the child."
"What are you doing!" Yang Qiujin shook off the man's hand reflexively, but then she felt that she had overreacted. She calmed herself down and said, "Now the little red soldiers are arresting men and women with bad conduct everywhere. If two young men and women get close to each other, they will be arrested and questioned. Although we are husband and wife, it is really inappropriate for us to walk out in broad daylight. It is better for us to walk separately."
Chen Shengqing looked at her, his eyes dark and containing too many things.
He said nothing and walked ahead.
Yang Qiujin felt a little uneasy when she saw him looking at her like that. She wanted to explain, but then she felt that explanation was unnecessary, so she turned around, locked the gate, and followed him.
The Pioneer Brigade is very beautiful in the evening, with colorful clouds all over the sky. There are large fields near the village, and golden rapeseed flowers are spread out in an orderly manner. Under the light of the sunset, it looks like a beautiful ink painting.
The members would not go home from work until it was dark. In the fields, there were busy members everywhere. Some were carrying dung buckets, some were hunched over pulling grass and weeding the land, and some were rolling up their trousers and repairing the canals...
The road to the commune primary school passes through these fields. As Chen Shengqing and Yang Qiujin walked along the ridges of the fields, members of the commune stopped what they were doing and greeted Chen Shengqing along the way.
Chen Shengqing responded to them patiently along the way, and when they arrived at the commune primary school, it was just time for school to be over.
The commune principal was standing in the small playground, holding a handheld oval bell and shaking it. As the bell for the end of class rang, a group of simply dressed children ran out of the school classroom.
Chen Shengqing immediately recognized the handsome child running in front as his son. He turned to Yang Qiujin uncertainly and asked, "Is that Tianyou?"
"Yes." Yang Qiujin nodded and waved to Tianyou, motioning him to come over.
"Mom!" Tianyou saw that it was his mother who came to pick him up today. He ran over like a gust of wind and threw himself into Yang Qiujin's arms, looking at her with sparkling eyes: "Mom, how come you have time to pick me up today?"
"Because your father is back, mom and dad are here to pick you up."
As the accountant of the Pioneer Brigade, Yang Qiujin did not have to go to the fields and could go to work anytime and anywhere, but she was afraid of being gossiped by the villagers, so she always went home when the villagers got off work. She rarely came to pick up Tianyou, and it was always Li Xiu'e who did it.
"Dad?" Tianyou's eyes widened, and he turned his head to look at the man standing beside her. He was wearing a military uniform, tall, and looked very powerful. He asked Yang Qiujin in disbelief, "Mom, didn't the aunties in the village say that my dad was dead?"
"Who said I was dead?!" Chen Shengqing walked up to him with a dark face, "Who are those aunties spreading rumors?"
"Are you really my father?" Tianyou looked at Yang Qiujin uncertainly. After seeing Yang Qiujin nod, the little boy fell silent.
He has never seen his father since he was born, even though his mother and grandmother told him that his father was a soldier who served the country in the frontier troops and was a great man.
But for him who has never experienced fatherly love, the word "Dad" is more like a stranger.
No one knew how much he had longed for it. He also had a father by his side, teaching him, raising him, protecting him, and taking him to play everywhere. But as he grew older and experienced more disappointments, all these longings turned to ashes.
Seeing that he didn't say anything, Yang Qiujin thought he was embarrassed, so she reached out and pushed him: "Tianyou, call me daddy."
"Humph!" Tianyou turned his head away and stopped calling dad. He held Yang Qiujin's hand with his little hand and said, "Mom, I'm so hungry. Let's go home quickly. I'm starving to death."
Chen Shengqing saw this son, who was more handsome than herself when she was a child, ignoring her existence and dragging Yang Qiujin home. She was stunned and lost for a moment, but quickly recovered and followed the mother and son.
Yang Qiujin turned around and looked at him, her dark and bright eyes full of helplessness, indicating that it was really none of her business if the child didn't call him dad. She usually taught the child well and told him of his existence.
Chen Shengqing's eyes fell on her and the child, but he was not angry. He strode to catch up with them and walked side by side with them.
A family of three, a handsome boy and a pretty girl. The middle child inherited all the good looks of both of them. They look like a family at first glance, attracting the attention of all the other children who are going home from school together.
One child asked curiously, "Chen Tianyou, who is the soldier next to you? He looks so tall and majestic!"
Chen Shengqing had served in the army for many years and had a soldier-like toughness about him. Especially since he was wearing a military uniform and walked very straight, this was extremely novel in the eyes of the children who admired and loved the soldiers.
When the kids around heard what that kid said, they all looked over, including a few naughty boys who usually didn't get along well with Tianyou.
"This is my dad." Tianyou couldn't help but puff out his chest to show off to the other kids, "My mom said he was a military officer on the frontier."
"Oh, then he must be able to shoot a gun, drive a tank, and also drive a cannon?" a group of children started to shout.
Tianyou wanted to say of course, but he was not sure if his father could really drive a tank or a cannon. He glanced at Chen Shengqing with a guilty conscience and asked in a low voice, "Dad, can you drive?"
The brat who just refused to call him dad now called him dad just to save face in front of his classmates. Chen Shengqing found it funny and nodded without hesitation: "I can do it all."
"Wow! Uncle is so awesome!" The eyes of a group of children lit up. They seldom came into contact with soldiers and were very curious about the things in the military. The boys in particular were fascinated by military weapons. They surrounded Chen Shengqing and asked him about things in the army.
Chen Shengqing responded enthusiastically to the children's enthusiasm and briefly talked about the things he could say. Amid the children's exclamations of "Wow!" and "Ah!", he stretched out his slender arm and touched Tianyou's head.
Tianyou was a little resistant at first, but when Chen Shengqing talked about some fun things in the army, he was fascinated and forgot to resist.
When Chen Shengqing said there was nothing more to say and the children gradually left and went home, Tianyou realized that he was being held by him.
"Hey? Who are you? Why are you hugging me!" Tianyou struggled hard.
He was angry with Chen Shengqing. Chen Shengqing had not come back for so many years, not even when he was born. Many naughty children in the village imitated the adults and said that his father didn't like his mother or him, so he didn't want to come back.
Since Chen Shengqing doesn't like them mother and son, he doesn't like him either and doesn't want him to hold him!
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