Chapter 90
For the entire afternoon, Chen Tianyou was fanning the machine in the yard, and Chen Shengqing stood beside him to give him instructions. Chen Tianyou assembled the machine and conducted experiments over and over again, and he did not show any impatience.
While Li Xiu'e was finishing cooking, Chen Tianyou had finally finished assembling the fan.
When the fan was plugged in and the switch was pressed, Chen Tianyou ran into the kitchen excitedly and took Li Xiu'e to the living room. "Grandma, I have installed the fan. Go and try it out."
The cool breeze blew away the heat on her body. Li Xiu'e stood in front of the fan and squinted her eyes in comfort: "Our Tianyou is really amazing. You can assemble such a complicated thing. If there are broken electrical appliances at home in the future, can you repair them?"
When her son and daughter-in-law spent a lot of money on household appliances or other things, Li Xiu'e never thought that they were not frugal or wasting money, and she would never criticize them and make everyone unhappy.
In her opinion, the money is earned by her son and daughter-in-law, so they should be able to manage it. As an old woman, as long as she is not starving to death, other things don't matter. Different generations have different ideas. If the children want to struggle, let them do it on their own.
"Probably. I'll learn more about electrical appliance repair from my dad and Teacher Li. Then, if electrical appliances at home break down, I'll be able to fix them." Chen Tianyou said with his chest puffed out.
Yang Qiujin woke up from her nap and looked at the fan that Chen Tianyou had assembled. She was also amazed: "Great, Comrade Chen. Why didn't I realize that you have such a talent for assembling electrical appliances? Don't you want to be a repairman in the future?"
"I don't want to be a repairman. My dream is to go to Dongfeng City, join the national scientific research laboratory, and develop and research new weapons and equipment for the country so that our country can have heavy weapons to protect itself and its people. We will no longer be subject to the control of other countries and make our country a truly powerful country." Chen Tianyou clenched his fists and said seriously.
Huh?
Chen Shengqing's eyes flashed with surprise when he heard this, and the corners of his mouth silently opened up, smiling with great joy, "Good son, Dad supports you."
Chen Tianyou immediately climbed up the hill and said, "Dad, can I dismantle Mom's radio? Don't worry, I will definitely put it back together."
Chen Shengqing's mouth twitched, "No, that's your mother's stuff. No one is allowed to touch it without your mother's consent."
Chen Tianyou looked at Yang Qiujin, "Mom..."
"Don't even think about it. I usually listen to the radio to relieve my boredom. If you break it, where can I go to cry?" Yang Qiujin refused without hesitation.
"Mom, you don't trust me that much? You just praised me for assembling the fan. It was a good job."
"How can it be the same? That radio was a betrothal gift your father bought for me. Mom treasures it very much and won't let you mess with it. If you want to disassemble the radio, you can buy it and disassemble it yourself."
As Yang Qiujin spoke, she took the radio out of the house, placed it on the small table in the living room, flipped the switch, and tuned to a singing channel. The channel was playing a song that happened to be playing: "What a beautiful jasmine flower, its fragrance and beauty fill the branches..."
This song is the Jiangxi folk song Jasmine Flower, sung by a choir in the capital. The song is melodious and pleasant, with a hint of sadness. At the same time, the chorus part has a majestic feeling. Everyone in the living room quieted down and listened to the song quietly.
After the song was over, Li Xiu'e's eyes were filled with tears. She choked up and said, "When Shengqing's father was alive, every afternoon when the production team got off work, the loudspeaker of the team would play songs, including Jasmine Flower. Shengqing's father would always ask me to sing along... Later, Shengqing's father passed away, and I never sang this song again."
Yang Qiujin knew that she missed Chen Laoye. When the radio song changed to "Sing a folk song for the Party, I compare the Party to my mother", she pulled Li Xiu'e to sit at the dinner table and changed the subject: "Mom, the food is getting cold. Let's eat first. After dinner, Shengqing and I have something to tell you."
"What's going on? Why is it so mysterious?" Li Xiu'e looked suspicious.
"Eat first, and then we'll talk."
The family listened to the radio and finished their meal quietly. Chen Shengqing led Chen Tianyou to clean up the dishes and return to the living room.
Yang Qiujin took out all the sandals she bought from the store, handed the dark red one to Li Xiu'e, the military green one to Chen Tianyou, and the other pair to Chen Shengqing. "Mom, the weather is getting hotter day by day. You don't need to wear cloth shoes anymore. Wear these sandals. They are cooler."
Li Xiu'e took the plastic sandals, looked them up and down and said, "Qiu Jin, I'm old now, it's probably not appropriate for me to wear sandals. Isn't that what you young women wear?"
"Mom, it's just a pair of sandals, anyone can wear them. It's a new era now, people no longer have those feudal ideas of foot binding. Sandals are cool and comfortable to wear. If you wear them, not only will no one say anything to you, they will even envy you for wearing them." Yang Qiujin knew what she was thinking, squatted down, took off her cloth shoes, and put on her sandals.
"Hey, Qiu Jin, you're pregnant, you can't squat like this." Li Xiu'e quickly reached out to stop her, helped her stand up and said, "Mom has never worn them before, I'm just saying it, you bought them for me, how can I not wear them? These shoes are really cool to wear."
Li Xiu'e walked around the living room happily wearing sandals. "They are really good. They are cooler than cloth shoes."
Chen Tianyou also changed into sandals. The first thing he did after putting on the sandals was not to say how comfortable they were, but to run outside to call Li Dadan and his siblings from next door, as well as Wang Songyang and his siblings, to go play in the water by the Tianhe River together.
"Tianyou, you are still sick, don't play for too long." Yang Qiujin shouted worriedly.
"Got it." Chen Tianyou ran away without looking back.
"This kid is so lively, he doesn't look sick at all."
"Children are like that. When they are sick and uncomfortable, they are listless and lack energy. When they feel better, they will become lively again. This is a good thing." Li Xiu'e put on her shoes and walked around curiously. Then she sat at the dining table and asked, "What do you two want to tell me?"
Yang Qiujin glanced at Chen Shengqing and motioned for him to speak.
Chen Shengqing pulled out a stool for Yang Qiujin and asked her to sit down. He sat down beside her and said, "Mom, this is what happened. According to the military policy of accompanying the troops, you should have returned to your hometown a long time ago. But Qiujin is about to die, so it is definitely not appropriate for you to go back now. Tianyou will take the high school entrance examination in another month. There is no elementary school in the military, so Tianyou can only go to Tianli Town to study in junior high school. Our military junior high school is an hour's walk away. Qiujin and I are busy with work and have no time to pick him up, so we want to buy a house in Tianli Town. Then you can live in the house with Tianyou and take him back to the military on weekends. Do you think it's okay?"
"Want to buy a house? Sure, why not?" Li Xiu'e sighed reluctantly and said, "I also know that I have been in the army for too long, and I also work in the school cafeteria logistics, which has caused a lot of gossip from military families. I can't bear to leave you if I have to go back to my hometown like this. It's good to buy a house, so Tianyou can travel less. I just don't know if I can join the army to take care of Xiao Tianxing after he is born?"
"You can join the army, but you cannot stay here at night, and you cannot stay in the army for more than two hours during the day. This is the army's regulations," said Chen Shengqing.
"It's really troublesome." Yang Qiujin frowned, "Mom, if you want to see little Tianxing, how about this, after little Tianxing is born, you can bring Tianxing to work with me on the farm during the day, and then go back to the house in town to pick up Tianyou in the afternoon. Then we will give you more money every month, and you can concentrate on helping us take care of the children, okay? When little Tianxing grows up and can go to school by himself, Tianyou will not need you to pick him up. If you want to go to work, we will find a way to find a job. Do you think it's okay?"
Li Xiu'e nodded: "Okay."
After all, she is old enough and can go anywhere. As long as she can see her son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren at any time, she has no objection.
Chen Shengqing said: "You don't have to worry too much. According to the policy, Mom can wait until Qiu Jin has given birth and finished her confinement before leaving the army. There is no rush to buy a house. Tianyou still has three months to go before he starts junior high school."
Three months is just the right time for Yang Qiujin to finish her confinement after giving birth, so there is no need to rush.
In the evening, thanks to Chen Tianyou's promotion, the entire family compound knew that the Chen family had bought two fans, and there was an endless stream of military wives coming to join in the fun.
The first person to come was Zhao Erfeng. The children had gone out to play with Chen Tianyou, so she came alone.
She entered the living room and saw a fan in Yang Qiujin's room. She stood in front of the fan and said with envy, "Sister, you are so lucky to marry a man like Deputy Head Chen who is willing to spend money on you. Your mother-in-law is also a reasonable person. She is not stingy and does not treat you as a family. You can buy whatever you want. Unlike me, my mother-in-law is like my enemy. , she would be heartbroken if I ate something from her house, not to mention if I spent money on something, she would think that spending her son's money was like asking for her life, and she would argue with me no matter what. My old Li is also a fool, he has to give so much money to his mother, and the little money left is used for the family's food, drink, defecation and urination, and paying the children's tuition. There is not much left in my hands. I really can't bear to spend money on a fan."
"Sister Zhao, sit down." Yang Qiujin brought her a stool and asked her to sit in front of the fan to enjoy the breeze. "Don't envy me. It is said that having many children brings happiness. You may suffer a little now, but when your children grow up, they will be more filial to you. You will have a more comfortable life than others."
Zhao Erfeng liked to hear this, and said modestly: "Who knows what will happen in the future? The five naughty kids in my family are more naughty than the other, and they often make me angry. I don't think it's possible to expect them to be filial to me in the future."
"Sister-in-law Zhao, don't think like that. Children are naughty. When they grow up and become sensible, they will know how to love their parents. I think Dadan and the others are all good children. They will definitely have great prospects in the future and will be filial to you."
After Yang Qiujin finished speaking, she leaned over to Zhao Erfeng's ear and whispered, "Sister-in-law Zhao, there is something I need to tell you."
"What's the matter?" Zhao Erfeng also lowered his voice.
"It's like this. Because Shengqing was in a coma, the army specially approved my mother-in-law to stay in the army for a long time. Now my mother-in-law has been in the army for more than three years. It's not suitable for her to stay in the army anymore. So after I give birth to the child and finish my confinement, my mother-in-law will leave the army. Her job in the school cafeteria will be vacant. When the time comes, let my mother-in-law talk to the cafeteria leader and let you take her shift."
Previously, it was Deng Gangzi's mother who was in charge of the school cafeteria. But ever since Deng Gangzi molested Xu Tao's sister and had a fight with Chen Tianyou, Chen Shengqing was afraid that this little beast would stay in the army to retaliate against Chen Tianyou, so he called the division headquarters and asked the discipline team to come down and investigate. Deng Gangzi's mother was transferred out of the cafeteria, and Deng Gangzi's father was also transferred to another brother unit.
Now that Deng Gangzi and his family have left the border defense department, the canteen has been managed by another person in charge who is easier to talk to. Let Zhao Erfeng take over the position, and all you have to do is say a few nice words to him.
"Oh, sister, thank you so much to you and your mother-in-law." Zhao Erfeng jumped up and excitedly held Yang Qiujin's hand, tears in her eyes, "Sister, you are so good to me, I really don't know how to thank you."
There aren't many jobs that the border defense army's dependents can do, and they're basically all assigned to one position. Zhao Erfeng was extremely excited that Yang Qiujin thought of letting her fill the job.
Now her five children are grown up. Goudan is five years old and in preschool. She can now find a job.
But all the jobs in the army were full, so she could only take odd jobs pasting paper boxes in the match factory and then travel a long way to work as a temporary worker on a farm. It was a hassle to go back and forth, but she didn't make much money and was very tired.
Suddenly, a job in canteen logistics that was a bit easier and didn't require running around, and the salary wasn't low, was offered to him. Zhao Erfeng's eyes were red with gratitude.
She really wanted to have an easy job so that she could take care of the children anytime and earn some money to supplement the family income. She could also use the job to make Old Li, who never did any housework, no longer look down on her contribution to the family and let him do the laundry, cooking and taking care of the children so that he could experience how tiring it was for her to do housework in the past!
Yang Qiujin patted her hands and said, "Sister Zhao, you're welcome. When I brought Tianyou to the army, I was too busy to take care of him. It was you and Sister Lian who always helped me take care of Tianyou. It was also because you took me to work on the farm that I got my current position. People are all made of flesh and blood. You are so good to me, and I will return the favor. I am very happy to be able to help you."
"Sister, it is a blessing for me to know you and be your neighbor. You must take good care of yourself during the period when you are about to give birth. If there is anything you cannot do, don't be polite. Just call me through the wall and I will help you right away." This was the only way Zhao Erfeng could think of to repay Yang Qiujin.
Yang Qiujin nodded: "I will, Sister Zhao, I really have something to do, I won't be polite."
A close neighbor is worse than a distant relative. Yang Qiujin knew in her heart that if something happened at home and no one at home was around, the ones who could help were always the neighbors. So it was necessary to maintain good relations with the neighbors.
In the evening, Yang Qiujin told Li Xiu'e about this matter. Li Xiu'e didn't say anything. After all, she was leaving anyway, and it didn't matter who got the vacant job after she left.
Chen Shengqing praised Yang Qiujin repeatedly: "Well done. We, military wives, should help each other. Lao Li is a good person. I was able to be promoted to the deputy regiment level quickly, and it was also due to his vote. In the military camp, there are no absolute enemies, only comrades with common interests. If you can help Lao Li's family get a job and stabilize his rear, he will be grateful to me, and it will be very helpful for my work in the future."
"I don't think as much as you think. I just return a favor. I will be nice to whoever is nice to me. I have a booklet in my heart, and all the people who are nice to me and bad to me are recorded in it." Yang Qiujin said while lying on the kang bed holding a palm-leaf fan.
The troops cut off the power at nine o'clock. After the fan stopped, the room was as hot as a steamer. She fanned herself hard, but she was still sweating profusely and couldn't sleep at all.
Chen Shengqing took the fan from her hand, fanned her and said, "So in the book in your heart, where am I?"
His hands were very strong, and even though he fanned her intermittently, it made Yang Qiujin feel cool.
She lay comfortably on the kang bed, half-closed her eyes and said, "Before you joined the army, you didn't come home for several years. In my heart, the children were the first, and my mother was the second. I never considered which one you were. Now, the order has changed. I am the first. Only when I live well can I be good to others, and then you, the children, mother-in-law and others."
Chen Shengqing did not feel lost at all and agreed: "You said it very well. You should put yourself first in everything. You are yourself first, and then my wife, the mother of my children, and the daughter of your parents. If you can't treat yourself well, how can you live a good life?"
"Don't you think I'm selfish?" Yang Qiujin thought the man's idea was very strange.
Nowadays, most men want their wives to be obedient and virtuous, do the laundry, cook, take care of the children, and do housework, and all things that are centered around men. If a woman dares to give up her duties and focus on herself in everything she eats, wears, and uses, and treats herself well, those men will jump up and down and beat and scold the woman, saying that the woman is selfish and only cares about herself, and scolding the woman for being a spendthrift.
Chen Shengqing, on the other hand, always asked her to be nice to him.
"Being good to yourself is selfish, but if you are good to others, will they praise you for being selfless? Don't be silly. You only have one life to live. Eat when you should, drink when you should, spend when you should. Be good to yourself, and your life will be worthwhile."
After Chen Shengqing finished speaking, he saw Yang Qiujin staring at him. He wiped his face and said, "Why are you looking at me like that? There's something on my face."
"No, I just feel that I am so lucky to marry you." Yang Qiujin stretched out her hand to hold his arm that was not fanning the air, rubbing her little face against his arm and acting coquettishly, "Dad, you are so good to me."
When her face rubbed against his arm, it became particularly plump due to pregnancy, and her soft breasts that were about to burst out also rubbed against his arm. Chen Shengqing's breathing tightened, his eyes became hot, and finally he restrained himself and reached out to touch the woman's black hair, and said hoarsely: "Go to sleep, I'll fan you."
Since the beginning of summer, Yang Qiujin had a high body temperature due to pregnancy. Before the temperature dropped in the middle of the night, she tossed and turned in the heat and couldn't sleep. Chen Shengqing would fan her with a palm-leaf fan to help her fall asleep.
"Thank you for your hard work. You are such a good husband and a good father. When the little star is born, you will be the first one to be held in my arms." Yang Qiujin praised him as usual, hugged his arm, and fell asleep sweetly.
Chen Shengqing looked at her sleeping face, smiled silently, and kept fanning her with his hands until she fell into a deep sleep. The cold air from the border at night gradually came, and the temperature in the room dropped. Only then did he stop, covered her with a thin quilt, and fell asleep beside her.
At midnight, the entire army was in an extremely quiet night.
Suddenly, there was a series of soft beeping sounds in the room. Chen Shengqing opened his eyes abruptly, turned over and got up. His eyes shone sharply in the darkness. He reached out and accurately took the military eavesdropping headset on the bedside table. Then he put on his clothes and shoes lightly, and quietly left the room without waking Yang Qiujin.
He was wearing headphones and holding a set of wireless eavesdropping equipment, eavesdropping in the yard, occasionally tapping the transmission button on the device with his slender fingers, making a beeping sound.
Chen Tianyou got up in the middle of the night to pee. He walked into the yard with a flashlight and was shocked to see a tall figure sitting in the yard.
When he saw who was in the yard, he ran over excitedly with a flashlight in hand, "Dad, what are you doing?"
"Eavesdropping on the contact information of spies." Chen Shengqing typed a string of numbers, stood up with a serious expression and said, "Dad is going out for a while, and may not be back tomorrow morning. Tell your mom when the time comes, so she won't worry."
"Dad, are you going to catch a spy? Can you take me with you?" Chen Tianyou guessed what he was going to do and asked hurriedly.
Chen Shengqing hesitated for a moment. Logically speaking, arresting spies is a military operation that involves certain risks and a confidentiality system, so outsiders are not allowed.
However, the person he wanted to arrest this time could be a big or small person, and it was not dangerous, nor could it be considered a military operation. He also wanted to let the child see the world and increase his courage. After thinking for a while, he said, "You can go, but you have to make three rules for me. First, you are not allowed to make any noise that will affect the arrest operation. Second, you are not allowed to act on your own and bring danger to yourself and others. Third, what happened tonight must be kept confidential. You are not allowed to mention what happened tonight to anyone. Only then can you go."
"Okay, I will do it!" Chen Tianyou was so excited to be able to join the capture operation in the middle of the night. He agreed immediately, ran to the toilet, and without caring about the discomfort in his body and stomach, he quietly followed Chen Shengqing out of the yard, got on the jeep, and came to the gate of the unit.
Chen Shengqing stopped the car and asked Chen Tianyou to wait while he went into the army.
Soon, he led a group of armed soldiers out and got on a large truck. Two soldiers from the guard platoon also got on the jeep driven by Chen Shengqing and left the troops.
The car was driving in the dark, and the bright headlights illuminated the surrounding view. Chen Tianyou, sitting in the passenger seat, recognized that this was the road to Tianshan Farm.
He wanted to ask Chen Shengqing a few questions, but then he remembered the three rules they had agreed upon. Plus, the two soldiers in the back seat were holding guns with expressionless faces, and the car was filled with an invisible sense of tension. He swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth and sat quietly without making a sound.
An hour later, the car stopped at the gate of the farm headquarters. Chen Shengqing showed his ID to the armed forces militia on duty, and they took him to Secretary Zhai's home.
When Secretary Zhai heard that a military officer was visiting, he quickly got up, put on his clothes in a hurry, and opened the door to greet him: "Comrade Chen, you are visiting so late at night. What happened?"
Chen Shengqing was wearing a military uniform and stood straight at the door. In the darkness, his expression was cold and his eyes were heavy as he said, "Secretary Zhai, the eavesdropping device I asked my wife to plant has been activated. That comrade has contacted a Soviet-Revisionist spy and is now heading to the spy's location to carry out a sabotage operation. Please cooperate with our operation immediately and arrest the Soviet-Revisionist spy."
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