Chapter 97
Li Sannier asked: "Her hands are so small, so cute, and so chubby. Aunt Yang, can I touch her?"
Before Yang Qiujin could say anything, Chen Tianyou flatly refused, "No, you are so clumsy, what if you hurt my sister?"
"How am I so clumsy?" Li Sannier glared at him, "Do you think I'm a fool? I'm a girl, I know my limits better than you boys. You, as a brother, can hold little Tianxing, so what's wrong with me touching her?"
Yang Qiujin tried to smooth things over: "Okay, Sanni'er, you can touch her if you want, but just don't hug her. Xiao Tianxing doesn't like people other than her family hugging her."
Li Sanni nodded and reached out to touch Xiao Tianxing's chubby little hand. She didn't know if it was itchy or if Xiao Tianxing was in a good mood, but he actually grinned at her.
"Wow, did you see that? Little Star is smiling at me." Li Sannier happily showed off to everyone.
"Really?" Li Dadan and a few others reached out to touch Xiao Tianxing. Xiao Tianxing grinned and smiled silently, which made them very excited.
Everyone surrounded Xiao Tianxing, making faces and making strange noises to tease Xiao Tianxing. Only Gou Dandan huddled in a corner, looking at everyone with envy on his face.
When Yang Qiujin saw this, she knew that Goudan was still upset about bumping into her, so she waved at him, "Goudan, come over and touch me too. Don't be afraid, I won't get hurt that easily."
Gou Dandan hesitated for a moment, but he really wanted to touch the cute Xiao Tianxing, so he carefully stretched out his finger and touched the back of Xiao Tianxing's chubby little hand. Xiao Tianxing yawned, probably because he was tired of laughing.
Despite this, Gou Dandan was still very excited, "Auntie Yang, the little sister didn't cry, she doesn't hate me, right?"
"How could my little sister dislike you?" Yang Qiujin patiently counseled him, "You bumped into my little sister before, it was not intentional, my little sister knows it in her heart, as long as you look carefully when you walk in the future and stop bumping into others, my little sister will forgive you and be willing to play with you."
Gou Dandan breathed a sigh of relief and promised solemnly: "Aunt Yang, don't worry, I will never do that again. I will protect my little sister. If anyone dares to bully her or bump into her, I will beat him to death!"
Zhao Erfeng sneered: "With your thin arms and legs, how can you protect your little sister? If you want to protect your sister, you have to learn from your brother Tianyou, exercise more, and practice more martial arts and fighting techniques, so that you can protect her well."
Gou Dandan looked at Chen Tianyou wearing an off-shoulder vest with solid muscles faintly visible on his arms, and he had the urge to become as awesome and strong as Tianyou.
Afterwards, other neighbors and relatives came one after another to visit Yang Qiujin and Xiao Tianxing. Yang Qiujin gathered relatives and friends to a state-owned hotel for a full-month banquet, and specially invited Professor Zheng and Professor Cai to join them.
According to regulations, the two professors could not leave the farm at will, so Xiao Tianxing had her full-month banquet at the state-owned hotel on the farm.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, the two professors gave Yang Qiujin a look. Taking advantage of the time she had to feed her baby, Yang Qiujin stood in the empty space behind the toilet of the state-owned hotel and asked, "Professor Zheng, Professor Cai, are you in any trouble?"
"No." Professor Zheng shook his head. "We asked you to come out because we promised to give Xiao Tianxing a gift before you gave birth to her."
"Yes." Teacher Cai took out a yellowed key from his pocket, handed it to Yang Qiujin and said, "This is the key to an old house in Bali Hutong in the eastern part of the capital. There are some antiques and yellow croakers hidden in it. You can take them when you have time. Sell them and buy clothes and toys for Xiao Tianxing with the money."
Yang Qiujin was shocked: "Professor Cai, I can't accept this. It's too expensive. No, given your current status, shouldn't all your houses be confiscated?"
Professor Zheng looked at the toilet door to see if anyone was coming in or out, and said in a low voice, "The house was registered by Lao Cai to his ex-wife. His ex-wife divorced him a few years ago under formalities and remarried with the children. The house is still there, and the key is in Lao Cai's hand. We hid the things inside very well, and no one found them. If you go to take the things, no one should stop you."
Yang Qiujin said, "Professor Zheng, why don't you ask others to take your things and sell them, and share the money with you, so that your life will be better."
"In this world, except for you, a silly girl, there is no one who is sincere and kind to us two middle-aged men with low status. The house has been left unused for too long. I am worried that the higher-ups will find out about it, confiscate it and rebuild it, and swallow up the things that Old Zheng has hidden. We don't want those things to fall into other hands, so we gave them to you. It would be best if you could go to the capital as soon as possible to deal with those things." Professor Cai sighed.
Yang Qiujin knew that the two professors were both from the capital, and were old friends as well as classmates. Later, they were both labeled as rightists and exiled to her hometown together. She didn't expect that the two trusted each other so much that they hid their things together.
Yang Qiujin held the key with a complicated expression, "Xiao Tianxing is still too young to leave me, and I can't take her on a long journey. In the short term, I can't go to the capital."
"It doesn't matter. You can go whenever you are free. There is no rush." Professor Zheng washed his hands and said, "If we ask an old classmate with power to keep an eye on Old Cai's house, it should be able to last for a few more years."
"Okay, I'll discuss this with Shengqing later."
After dinner, everyone went home. Yang Qiujin told Chen Shengqing about the incident and asked him for his opinion: "Do you think I should go to the capital to get what Professor Zheng asked me to do?"
"Since the two professors have instructed you and given you the key, they hope you will go and get it." Chen Shengqing held little Tianxing skillfully, walking around the house and coaxing her to sleep: "I think you should not let the two professors down. When little Tianxing grows up a little and is weaned, I will take leave to accompany you to the capital, and take our two mothers and Tianyou to the capital to play and see Tian, An, Men and the leaders."
Yang Qiujin threw the stinky diaper that Xiao Tianxing had changed into a basin beside her, and sighed, "My mother is going back to her hometown tomorrow. I asked her not to go back, but she wouldn't listen to anything. She said she was worried about the chickens, ducks and pigs at home and was afraid that my father wouldn't be able to take good care of them. Then she said the army's home visit leave was up and she couldn't live in the army all the time, nor could she get used to the house in Tianli Town. In fact, I know that she said so much because she couldn't let go of my father. When we go to the capital, she may not go with us."
Chen Shengqing put the sleeping little Tianxing on the cool mat on the kang, turned the fan to the lowest setting, covered her belly with a gauze, and said, "Mother-in-law has her own ideas. If you force her to stay here, she won't be happy. If she wants to go back, let her go. Give her more money so that she can have confidence and live a more comfortable life. Maybe one day she will think it through and be willing to leave your father and live with us."
Yang Qiujin smiled and said, "Then tell me, how much money is appropriate for me to give my mother?"
Chen Shengqing picked up the basin of feces and diapers and prepared to take it outside to wash: "Take as much as you want. You are the boss of our family and the money is in your hands."
Yang Qiujin took out a letter from the bottom of the chest and said, "If I give all the money to my mother, won't you feel bad?"
Chen Shengqing turned his head to look at his wife with a sly face, and chuckled, "I won't feel bad if you give me all the money, nor will I object. You and I have hands and feet. If we run out of money, we can earn more. As long as you are happy, that's all."
Yang Qiujin grinned, her eyes sparkling, "Tianxing's father, I find that in the past two years, your mouth has become sweeter and sweeter, as if you were covered with honey, saying nice things to coax me at any time. You were not like this before. I told you something, and you couldn't say a word for a long time. Tell me, which female comrade did you learn this from, or did you follow your comrades, who went to some place they shouldn't have gone to under the pretext of a mission, and learned to be so smooth-talking."
Chen Shengqing laughed: "I admit that I didn't talk much to you before, and I also realized my mistakes. In the past two years, I have learned from Wang Jianjun next door and said some nice things to coax you and make you happy. How could you think of those places?"
Yang Qiujin snorted coldly, "It's better if you say so. Remember this, if you dare to have any relationship with other women, I will divorce you without hesitation, take Tianyou and Tianxing away, and never let you see them again in your life."
Chen Shengqing's face was full of helplessness. "You said those words again. You know very well that you and the child are the most important things to me. If you want to leave me with the child, you will kill me. No matter what happens, I will never betray you, and I will never let you and the child leave me. Don't let your imagination run wild."
After he finished speaking, he carried the basin out of the room and went to the sink in the yard to wash the feces and urine in the basin.
Yang Qiujin stood at the window of the room and looked at him. The sun was very bright today. Chen Shengqing was wearing a backless army green vest. His back and arms were muscular. He didn't mind his daughter's smelly poop at all. He applied soap and scrubbed the poop and urine vigorously, making sure to wash them clean.
Yang Qiujin watched him scrubbing diligently, fearing that he would use too much force and make the diaper a mess, but that apparently wasn't the case, because Chen Shengqing was very measured in his scrubbing.
By chance, Chen Tianyou, who was sweating all over after playing outside, saw his father washing his sister's poop and diaper. He hurried over and said, "Dad, please be gentle. If you wash it so vigorously, you will use too much soap. The diaper will become hard after drying, and it will be uncomfortable for my sister to use it."
Chen Shengqing paused, "You're lecturing me now. It's better to wash it vigorously than to wash it halfway. When it's dry, use a pole to soften the diaper, and your sister will be very comfortable with it."
Since little Tianxing was born, Chen Tianyou has been helping his grandmother and great-grandmother wash his poop and diapers, and he doesn't mind the smell at all.
If he sees Xiao Tianxing urinating or defecating at home, he will take it out and wash it clean immediately.
The same thing happened to Chen Shengqing. There were two clotheslines in the yard, all filled with washed diapers from the father and son.
Originally, washing poop and diapers would not be a big deal, but the father and son both loved Xiao Tianxing. Every day they would fight to hold her, give her a bath, wash her poop and diapers, etc. It seemed like the father and son were competing with each other, taking on almost all of Xiao Tianxing's work, and the three women in the family became mere decorations.
This left Wu Shulian, who had originally planned to take care of her daughter during her confinement, with nothing to do and feeling uncomfortable. As soon as Yang Qiujin was out of confinement, she wanted to return to her hometown.
Wu Shulian was packing her clothes in the house when Yang Qiujin came in carrying a lot of things. "Mom, my mother-in-law saw that you were determined to go home, so she bought you some special products from the frontier. Put them in your bag and take them back tomorrow."
"Oh, why buy so many things? It's too expensive." Wu Shulian then took a look at the package. There were frontier specialty grapes, red dates, dried beef and mutton, yogurt lumps and other snacks, each packed in a big bag. There was also a brand new quilt made of frontier cotton and some new clothes. Wu Shulian was so shocked that she said she couldn't use it.
Li Xiu'e followed behind Yang Qiujin and said, "Why spend money? It's a rare trip for you. If you don't bring back some good things, the people in your village will not know how to poke me and Shengqing in the back. I'm just trying to save face."
Wu Shulian knew she was joking, so she stood up, held her hand and said, "Mother-in-law, I know how you have treated Qiu Jin over the years. You treat her better than even I, your mother, can. After I leave, if Qiu Jin does anything wrong, or disobeys you, just write to me and tell me. I will come to teach her how to be a good daughter-in-law no matter how far away she is."
Li Xiu'e said with a smile, "Why bother? You can't just leave. Your daughter and son-in-law can support you. Why do you have to go back to your family and suffer the wrath of your old man?"
"Qiu Jin's father is so lazy. I've been away for more than a month, and I don't know whether the two chickens, two ducks, and two pigs at home have been raised to death by him. I have to hand over a special pig to the production team by the end of the year, so I have to go back." Wu Shulian looked around and said.
Li Xiu'e knew that it was pointless to say more, so she chatted with her for a while and then left the room tactfully, leaving the mother and daughter to talk in private.
Yang Qiujin took out five big banknotes and stuffed them into Wu Shulian's hands, repeatedly reminding her, "Mom, this money is from Shengqing and I to give to you, you must keep it safe and don't let my dad cheat you. No matter how sweet my dad is, you must remember that men are unreliable. The only one you can rely on is you. If my dad bullies you, or if you feel that you can't live with my dad anymore, don't endure it like you did before, and don't compromise. You should explode when you need to. You only have one life to live, and you have to live it well for yourself. If you feel that you can't live with my dad, be brave and divorce like Qiuyue did. You will definitely find another man who loves you. Even if you don't find a man, it doesn't matter. Come to the border to find Qiuyue and me, and we sisters will take good care of you in your old age."
Wu Shulian's eyes welled up with tears after hearing these words. She nodded continuously and said, "Mom knows. I'll ask the captain to help write a letter to you when I get home. Don't worry too much."
The day after Wu Shulian left, Yang Qiujin took Xiao Tianxing and her mother-in-law to work at the farm.
Xiao Tianxing looks cute and obedient, but in fact she is as stubborn as Chen Tianyou when he was little, except at the beginning when Yang Qiujin had not yet produced milk, she ate milk powder for two days, and then she refused to drink any milk powder and only drank breast milk.
Yang Qiujin wanted to feed her milk powder so that she would get used to it. Since she was busy at work and had no time to feed her, she would drink milk powder to fill her stomach. However, she refused to drink the milk powder. Her little mouth remained tightly shut. No matter how the adults deceived her or tried to pry her mouth open, she just refused to drink.
Yang Qiujin had no choice but to take her to work with her.
On the first day of work, the workers looked at Xiao Tianxing, who was wearing a light lotus-colored short-sleeved shirt and had chubby hands and feet, like a lotus root doll. They were so envious of him that they vied to tease him, making him laugh.
Yang Qiujin arranged Li Xiu'e and the child to live in the single dormitory where Yang Qiuyue had lived before, so that Li Xiu'e could take care of the child without disturbing everyone. She then rode a tall horse to the farm to find Secretary Zhai.
When we arrived at the farm's regiment office, Secretary Zhai said, "Director Yang, you've come at the right time. I have something to tell you about the plague at the farm. I can't hold it in any longer. The Ava Corps has reported it to the central government. The Central Youth Group will send people to investigate you in the near future. You must be prepared."
"Thank you, Secretary Zhai. I understand."
In fact, Yang Qiujin was mentally prepared. Such a serious plague broke out in the farm, and two employees and seven family members died. It took the mobilization of experts from the entire Ava region to stop the spread of the plague. The matter was a big deal. Although it was not her fault, she, as the farm director, could not deny the blame.
Breeding farms and farms are all state-owned enterprises affiliated to the Corps and are under the unified management of the central government. If an accident occurs, the leaders of the farms will naturally be held accountable and bear the corresponding responsibilities. It is also normal procedure for higher-ups to send people to investigate.
It was not easy for Secretary Zhai to keep the matter under control until she had given birth and was in confinement after giving birth, and she had no complaints.
In the next few days, she did whatever she was supposed to do, until one day, the Youth League called Yu Cong's office at the farm, telling Yang Qiujin that someone from the Central Youth Group had come down and asked her to go and greet them.
She quickly tidied up her appearance, hurried out with Yu Cong, and warmly welcomed two middle-aged men and women who were wearing Liberation suits, one wearing glasses and the other holding a briefcase, both of whom looked very old-fashioned, into her office.
The two comrades shook hands with her and introduced themselves. The female comrade wearing glasses got straight to the point: "Comrade Yang Qiujin, three months ago, your farm handled sick pigs improperly, causing human and animal infections throughout the Tianshan Farm, and seven comrades died as a result, causing panic. Is this true?"
"Yes." Yang Qiujin told the two comrades how the plague was spread without hesitation, and said with great self-blame: "This matter was due to my negligence as the site manager. I did not expect that some employees would eat dead pork, causing the plague to spread throughout the farm. I am deeply sorry and very sad about this. Facing the seven comrades who died, I also feel very guilty. For this reason, I have subsidized the families of the deceased with my three-month salary to comfort their souls in heaven."
After the plague was resolved, Yang Qiujin asked the accountant, Yang Qiuyue, to pay the pensions according to the relief standards. In addition, she also paid three months' salary out of her own pocket to express her condolences to the families of the deceased.
Another man holding a briefcase said, "Are you admitting that you failed in your job?"
Yang Qiujin knew exactly what he meant. If she admitted that she had failed in her job duties, her job as the farm manager might be over.
The farm was founded by her with great effort, so how could she give up her position as the director and let others take care of it?
She said coldly: "I built the farm myself. I want it to develop better than anyone else. In just five years, I went from having only four workers and a turnover of less than 1,000 yuan to having a turnover of more than 80,000 yuan for two consecutive years. The poultry and livestock meat raised in the farm is sold almost all over the grocery stores and supply and marketing cooperatives in the Ava area, bringing huge profits to Tianshan Farm, and thus expanding the scale of breeding. When a farm expands in scale, it will always encounter problems of one kind or another, such as the illness of poultry and livestock, which is inevitable and immeasurable, just like people. Within the scope of my duties, I have done everything I should do, but I cannot control the thoughts and actions of my employees, so I don’t think I am responsible for this plague incident."
The two Central Youth comrades looked at each other, and the female comrade pushed up her glasses and said, "I heard that when the plague broke out, you were already more than eight months pregnant, and happened to come into contact with someone who was infected with the plague, and was sent to the hospital for isolation. Were you not afraid at that time?"
"Of course I wasn't afraid. I was afraid that my child wouldn't be born and would die with me before he could see the beautiful mountains and rivers of our motherland. But my husband, Chen Shengqing from the Border Defense Department, stayed with me in quarantine regardless of all the dangers. He told me to trust the experts, the organization, and that the Party would develop drugs and injections to save us. I wasn't afraid of anything and I got through that period safely."
Of course, Yang Qiujin would not mention Chen Shengqing for no reason. She was telling the two people opposite that her husband was an officer in the border defense department and she was a military dependent. She had a clean background and was both red and professional. Everything she did had a traceable history and it was not easy to remove her from her position.
Before the Central Youth Group came down, they had of course carefully investigated Yang Qiujin's background. After hearing this, the two of them fell silent for a while. The female comrade stood up first and said, "We heard about your deeds before we came. When you first arrived at the farm, you had the courage to fight against evil forces, rooted out the cancer of the farm, and saved several female educated youth. There are even photos of you in your local newspapers. I admire female comrades like you."
The male comrade said, "Comrade Yang Qiujin, you are a female comrade, and you just gave birth to a child not long ago. Are you sure you can do your current job well while taking care of the child?"
"Comrade, your question is obviously discriminating against comrades. Women hold up half the sky. Many comrades stick to their hard jobs without complaints after becoming pregnant, and return to their jobs immediately after giving birth without any impact on their work. I am the same," Yang Qiujin said expressionlessly.
Her figure did not change during pregnancy, and after giving birth, because of the good diet, her figure was only a little rounder than before, but she still maintained a normal shape. She wore a very tight-fitting Dacron short-sleeved top, black breathable cotton and linen trousers, and her hair was cut into shoulder-length short hair. She looked very clean and neat, and did not look like a sleep-deprived and spirited mother tortured by the child.
The man choked and stopped talking. He picked up his briefcase and walked away slowly with the woman.
Yang Qiujin looked at their backs as they left and asked Yu Cong, "What does this mean? They didn't even say whether I could keep my position as the director."
Yu Cong said, "Don't worry, they have already recognized you in their hearts, otherwise they wouldn't ask you so many questions. I think it won't be long before the higher-ups issue a document requiring you to study at the Party School."
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