Chapter 99
Yang Qiujin didn't hear what was happening next door. Her mind was now completely focused on the plate of spicy rabbit with hot peppers.
She hadn't eaten spicy food for a long time, so as soon as the food was served, her chopsticks seemed to have eyes and kept reaching for the rabbit with hot peppers.
It was not enough for her to just eat the meat, she also picked out the chili peppers to eat. Soon her little mouth turned red from the spiciness, but she did not care and ate two bowls of rice in one gulp.
Seeing that she had no self-control, Chen Shengqing coughed and reminded her: "Eat less spicy food. You have only given birth to your child for more than two months. If you eat too much chili at once, your body will not be able to handle it."
Yang Qiujin curled her lips, "I know what's going on, don't worry about it."
Li Xiu'e took away the few spicy pepper rabbits in front of her and replaced them with a plate of bacon and sausage. She said, "If you knew better, you wouldn't eat so many peppers. Mom doesn't object to you eating spicy food, but you have to think about yourself and Xiao Tianxing. What if Xiao Tianxing can't stand your spicy food and refuses to drink milk powder? She will starve to death."
Chen Tianyou nodded in agreement: "Mom, for your sister's sake, please bear with it."
Wang Songyang secretly put a large piece of spicy rabbit meat into Yang Qiujin's bowl and whispered, "Auntie Yang, next time you make spicy pepper rabbit, I will help you pick the peppers."
Everyone in the family opposed her eating too much chili peppers, and only Wang Songyang, an outsider, supported her. Yang Qiujin didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but she also knew that what they said made sense, so she had no choice but to accept her fate.
In fact, dishes without chili are also delicious, like the bacon sausage in front of you. The bacon, which is fat and lean, is cut into thin slices by her. When you pick up a piece, the fat part is very transparent, and the lean meat has a bright red sheen. It has a salty aroma with a light smoky flavor. The fat is not greasy and the lean meat is not dry. You can eat several mouthfuls of rice in one bite.
Yang Qiujin ate a few slices of bacon in silence and made up her mind that she would have to eat spicy food every day in the future to train Xiao Tianxing so that she could gradually accept that spicy food could help her produce milk. Otherwise, she would be depressed to death if she kept eating less spicy and less oily food.
After the family finished their meal, all the dishes on the table were swept away. Wang Songyang said to Chen Tianyou while cleaning up the dishes, "My Aunt Yang's food is delicious. Every time I eat Aunt Yang's food, I can eat two more bowls. If I don't eat it for a while, I will lose a lot of weight."
"You like spicy food so much, why don't you marry a girl from Sichuan or Hunan and have her cook for you in the future?" Yang Qiujin teased him deliberately.
"That's my plan." Wang Songyang said seriously, "My father is from southern Hunan. If he retires, our family will probably return to southern Hunan to live. I'm going to grow up there, so naturally I'll have to marry a southern Hunan wife who can cook spicy dishes for me."
He carried the bowl and followed Chen Tianyou to the kitchen to wash the dishes.
Yang Qiujin followed Chen Shengqing into the west room to see the sleeping Xiao Tianxing, and said anxiously, "Shengqing, is Coach Wang really not going to get promoted? If he doesn't get promoted, and takes Xiaoliang and her son back to southern Hunan, what will happen to Tianyou? He likes Songyue so much, and I'm afraid he can't stand being separated from her."
It was not known whether it was the sound of her talking that woke up Xiao Tianxing, or whether Xiao Tianxing had just woken up, but he suddenly opened his big dark eyes and cried loudly.
"Tianxing, don't cry, Daddy is here." Chen Shengqing immediately picked her up, coaxed her a few words, reached out and touched her butt, and sure enough, it was wet with urine.
He gently put her on the bed, picked up a clean diaper, changed it for her skillfully, and then held her in his arms. Then he said to Yang Qiujin: "Wang Jianjun is too old. He has not made any major military achievements in recent years. In addition, it is difficult for him to move up because of his wife's background. The conditions in the border areas are too harsh, and the positions in various institutions are limited. It is difficult for retired professional soldiers to get good jobs here. It is far better to return to the local area for resettlement. Wang Jianjun's retirement and transfer to civilian work is basically a foregone conclusion."
After a pause, he continued, "No matter how much Tianyou likes Wang Songyue, it is still a child's love. He wants to get into high school, and he still likes Songyue. Naturally, he has a way to contact her, express his feelings, and get together with her. Of course, this is all in the future, so we don't have to worry too much."
"I know all that, but when I think about them separating, there will be too many uncertainties in the future. Song Yue might be snatched away by another guy. I feel uneasy no matter how I think about it."
Yang Qiujin really likes Wang Songyue, not only because this girl is beautiful and has a good personality, but also because when she first came to the army, this girl was able to control Chen Tianyou and urge Chen Tianyou to study, turning him from a poor student into the top student he is today. Her own academic performance is also very good. She really doesn't want her son to miss out on such an outstanding girl.
Chen Shengqing said, "Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. Don't think too much. What if Wang Songyue doesn't like our son and our son falls in love with someone else when he grows up? It's useless for you to worry. It's better to let nature take its course."
Yang Qiujin wanted to say something, but the little girl in Chen Shengqing's arms suddenly started crying.
This girl would not cry for no reason. Her diaper had been changed, and she was crying now, so she must be hungry. Yang Qiujin picked her up, lifted her clothes and fed her.
From the time Yang Qiujin became pregnant to the time she gave birth to Tianxing and entered the breastfeeding period, her breasts became several times larger than before, like two big watermelons, heavy and swaying. She felt tired after walking a few more steps.
In the summer, clothes were thin, and sometimes when she was walking to work in the farm, the male employees didn't dare to look her in the eye.
After she realized that something was wrong, she started wearing loose, non-breathable dacron tops during this period to avoid embarrassment if male friends saw her.
Because of her big breasts and plenty of milk, Tianxing often couldn't finish breastfeeding, and her face was covered with milk.
Just like now, the little girl was eating very hard and was full in no time. Then her face was covered with breast milk, and she was still smiling with her toothless little mouth open.
When Yang Qiujin was breastfeeding, Chen Shengqing only glanced at her for two seconds and then turned his eyes away. It was not because he was afraid that Yang Qiujin would feel embarrassed, but because he was afraid that he could not control himself.
From the time Yang Qiujin was more than six months pregnant to now when Tianxing is more than two months pregnant, he has not touched Yang Qiujin for nearly half a year. He is a normal man, so it is natural for him to think about that.
But when he thought that Yang Qiujin had just given birth and was still very weak, and could not bear his torture, he endured it again and again, thinking in his heart that after another three months, when Yang Qiujin's body had fully recovered and Tianxing was a little older, he would touch Yang Qiujin again, which would be good for everyone.
Seeing that Xiao Tianxing was indeed full, Yang Qiujin helplessly handed her to Chen Shengqing, asking him to hold Xiao Tianxing upright with her little head on his shoulder. He gently patted her back to make her burp the milk, so that she would not spit up the milk when she lay in bed.
She took out a bowl and squeezed the excess breast milk into the small bowl to avoid milk blockage and discomfort.
In the first few days after Xiao Tianxing was born, Chen Shengqing and Chen Tianyou, father and son, loved her so much that they held her in their arms from morning till night. Yang Qiujin and Li Xiu'e couldn't stand it anymore, so they forced them to put Xiao Tianxing on the bed so that she could get used to being alone and play on the bed after eating and drinking.
Otherwise, if Xiao Tianxing gets used to being held, when Chen Shengqing goes to work and Chen Tianyou goes to school, he will twist Yang Qiujin to hold him, and Yang Qiujin will not be able to go to work.
Although the father and son were not happy, they also understood Yang Qiujin's hard work. Little Tianxing needed to be fed basically every two or three hours. As long as she was awake and not crying or making noise, they would put her on the bed, and she would look at the bed by herself for a long time.
When she refused to lie down and started crying, I picked her up and played with her for a while, coaxed her to sleep, and then put her back on bed.
The baby slept a lot, and Chen Shengqing held Tianxing and burped her for a while before she fell asleep again. His eyes were always on Yang Qiujin who was breastfeeding.
Sensing the man's burning gaze, Yang Qiujin finished squeezing her breast milk and looked up at him, "What are you looking at? Do you want to drink?"
Chen Shengqing smiled slightly, "If you give me something, I will drink it. I am happy to serve you at any time."
Yang Qiujin knew that he was talking about the first two days when she had no breast milk. The doctor suggested that her husband help her to pump more to promote breast milk production. Chen Shengqing was in the room...
Yang Qiujin's face flushed red, she spat at him and said coquettishly, "You rascal!"
Chen Shengqing smiled faintly: "If I want to be a hooligan, I will only do it to you. Whoever makes you my wife, I will like you."
"You just say these sweet words to make me happy. Don't think I don't know what you're thinking." Yang Qiujin smiled, her almond eyes sparkled, and a shallow dimple appeared at the corner of her mouth. She looked particularly coquettish. She put the bowl of squeezed breast milk in Chen Shengqing's hand and said, "Give it to our mother and let her take it to the battalion commander's wife."
One battalion commander is named Zhang Lei, 33 years old this year. His wife is from the south, thin and small. She gave birth to a pair of twin sons last month. Her milk was not enough, and the children were not willing to drink milk powder. When Yang Qiujin found out, she squeezed out the excess breast milk and asked Li Xiu'e to help bring it over. His wife was very grateful. After all, in everyone's opinion, breast milk is more effective in raising children than milk powder.
And Zhang Lei's twin sons, with the help of Yang Qiujin's breast milk, did grow up to be plump and fair.
It was not easy for a grown man like Chen Shengqing to deliver breast milk. He held the breast milk and placed it in front of Li Xiu'e, "Mom, please go to Zhang's house."
Li Xiu'e bit off the thread, put down the bellyband she was sewing for Xiao Tianxing and said, "Squeezing out such a big bowl of milk again, Qiu Jin's breast milk is too much, not to mention feeding Xiao Tianxing, even if it's feeding Captain Zhang's two fat boys, that's enough. I don't know why Captain Zhang's wife is so dry and has no milk at all, even though they are both women."
Chen Shengqing didn't say anything, but in her heart she was thinking, how can that be compared? Qiu Jin has always been in good shape, eats well, sleeps well, and naturally has enough milk.
Zhang Lei's wife is skinny, small and skinny. She had given birth to a son and a daughter before, but she didn't take good care of herself during the confinement period, which damaged her health. Now she has given birth to twin sons, which has damaged her health completely. No matter how much good things she takes, it will be useless.
Li Xiu'e put the breast milk into a basket, covered it with a small handkerchief, and took it to Captain Zhang's home.
"Xiao Qiu, are you home?" she shouted outside the yard.
"Hey, I'm here." Captain Zhang's wife, Qiu Xinrou, came out of the house. When she saw her, she welcomed her home warmly, "Auntie Li, come in and sit down."
"No need to sit down. There are still a lot of things to do at home. Your sister-in-law Yang has squeezed out some milk. Please warm it up a little and give it to the two children." Li Xiu'e handed her the basket of breast milk and said.
"I'm so sorry to have troubled you, Sister Yang and Auntie." Qiu Xinrou accepted the breast milk and poured it into her own bowl. She picked four bunches of lush green grapes from the yard and put them into Li Xiu'e's basket, saying, "Auntie, take these grapes home and eat them. They are very fresh."
Many families are experiencing food shortages these days, and fruit is even more of a rare commodity. Fruit sold on the market is not cheap either. Although most families in border areas grow grapes, they only grow them to sell.
The grapes grown in the family courtyard of the border defense department are usually given to the family members to satisfy their own hunger. The Zhang family did not produce many grapes this year, and there were only about ten bunches of grapes on the grape racks. Qiu Xinrou picked four bunches of grapes at once, which showed that Qiu Xinrou was very thoughtful.
Li Xiu'e declined, "It's just something I do. Xiao Qiu, you're too polite. If you give me something back every time, your sister-in-law Yang won't dare to give you milk anymore."
Qiu Xinrou said, "Auntie Li, these few things are nothing to me. Over the past month, thanks to Sister Yang's help, my two little boys Gangzi and Tiezi have not been hungry and have grown fat. I can't thank you enough. I wanted to give you and Sister Yang money before, but you refused. I can only give you some of my own worthless things. I hope you don't mind."
Because she had a lot of milk, if Tianxing couldn't finish it, Yang Qiujin would squeeze it out every two or three hours.
If she was at work, she would put the liquid in a big jar, bring it back to the army in the evening, and give it to Qiu Xinrou. If she was on vacation at home, she would take as much as she could to Zhang's house, so that the two children could drink it fresh and hot.
Li Xiu'e had to run several times a day and was quite dissatisfied in her heart, but Qiu Xinrou knew how to behave and was grateful, so Li Xiu'e was happy to run errands.
Li Xiu'e liked people who were grateful and returned the favor, and said cheerfully, "How could I complain? Your twins are blessed to be able to eat. They will definitely grow stronger than other children of the same age. When they grow up and can eat rice noodles, you will be relieved."
Just as Qiu Xinrou was about to answer, the curtain of her living room was lifted, and a middle-aged woman in her fifties with thin cheeks and a thin body walked out. She said to Li Xiu'e, "Sister Li, let me tell you, your wife has too much milk to drink, so why bother to squeeze it for us? We can just go to your house with steel and iron at the right time, so you don't have to run back and forth."
This is Qiu Xinrou's mother-in-law, Huang Rugui, a country woman who is one month younger than Li Xiu'e but looks more than ten years older than Li Xiu'e in terms of her dress. She rushed over from the country to take care of her daughter-in-law when Qiu Xinrou was about to give birth. Because she is an extremely weird person, she has often had conflicts with Qiu Xinrou.
Hearing this, Li Xiu'e's face darkened. "Sister Huang, don't blame me for saying harsh things. My daughter-in-law has a lot of milk because I am willing to give it to her to eat and drink. She doesn't have to worry about the children and housework at home. She is in a good mood and has good milk. We gave it to you out of kindness, not obligation. Why do you want my daughter-in-law to feed your grandson? Are your grandsons my grandsons? If it weren't for Xiao Qiu being a good person and your two twin grandsons not liking to eat milk powder, my daughter-in-law's extra milk could be squeezed out and thrown away. Why would I bother to squeeze the milk and send it to your house?"
Huang Rugui was unhappy. "Anyway, your daughter-in-law has more milk than she can eat. She can feed one or three babies. Why bother to squeeze milk? We are not unwilling to pay. Besides, our Zhang Lei is your son's subordinate. They usually go on missions together. What's wrong with you helping her?"
"Mom, what nonsense are you talking about!" Qiu Xinrou was so angry at her righteous words that she reached out and grabbed her arm, signaling her to stop talking: "Sister Yang has a lot of milk, that's her business, she is willing to squeeze her milk for us, that's her kindness, don't blackmail her morally and embarrass Zhang Lei."
"Who am I embarrassing? Who am I doing this for?" Huang Rugui shook her hand off and said angrily, "If you were useless and had only so little milk after giving birth, you couldn't even feed a child, I wouldn't have to beg others to feed my child. I've given you so many good things over the past month, but you can't produce milk. I don't know what Zhang Lei sees in you, a woman with a figure as flat as a man. He insisted on marrying you instead of the girl I liked. Poor my two grandsons, they have a mother like you, crying with hunger every day..."
Qiu Xinrou was scolded by her mother-in-law in front of others. She was about to shed tears of grievance. She tried hard to hold back her tears and said to Li Xiu'e, "Auntie Li, I'm sorry to make you laugh. Go home. I'll go to your house to apologize when I have time."
Li Xiu'e waved her hands and said, "Well, every family has its own problems. You don't have to apologize. Your sister-in-law Yang and I are not the kind of stingy people. I'm leaving now. Don't quarrel with your mother-in-law, or she will make your milk stop flowing and the two children will have nothing to eat."
"I know, thank you Aunt Li for the reminder." Qiu Xinrou nodded with red eyes and saw her out.
Li Xiu'e went home with four bunches of grapes and told Yang Qiujin about it: "What do you think Xiao Qiu's mother-in-law is thinking? How dare she let you feed her child? We don't owe her anything."
These days, many mothers are not full, have insufficient milk, and cannot afford milk powder. Their children are crying with hunger, and they can only shamelessly ask other wives in the same village who have also given birth and are breastfeeding to help feed their children one or two times.
A daughter-in-law with plenty of milk may feed your child once or twice out of kindness, but she can't feed your child every day. She has her own children to feed, and your child is not hers. How can she flatter you and ask you to feed her every day?
Yang Qiujin held Xiao Tianxing, who had already woken up but was unwilling to sleep in the bed, in the living room, fanning herself and saying, "Mom, don't worry about Xiao Qiu's mother-in-law. There are many people like her mother-in-law in our hometown. The more you pay attention to her, the more she gets excited. I'm pumping milk for her grandson because of Captain Zhang and Xiao Qiu. If her two sons hadn't been as stubborn as Xiao Tianxing and refused to drink milk powder, Xiao Qiu wouldn't have begged us so much and endured her mother-in-law's anger. Calculating the time, her mother-in-law will stay for at most half a month, and then her family visit leave will be over and she will go back to her hometown. By then, Xiao Qiu's life will be much better."
Li Xiu'e thought about it and agreed. She put down the basket in her hands, smiled and clapped her hands towards little Tianxing, "Tianxing, let grandma hold you, please. Don't always hang on your mother. Your mother has to feed you, take care of you, and go to work. She is so tired. It's a rare weekend for her to have a day off. Let your mother have a good rest."
Li Xiu'e held Xiao Tianxing in her arms. Xiao Tianxing grinned at her, not shy at all. He even moved his calves as if to express his happiness.
"You little rascal." Li Xiu'e was so touched that she hugged Xiao Tianxing in her arms and kissed her, then lifted her up and walked around the room.
Little Tianxing was waving his hands happily as if he was riding on an airplane. He was so happy.
Seeing that the grandparents were having a great time, Yang Qiujin took the opportunity to go back to her room and take a nap.
She was completely confident that Li Xiu'e would take care of the children. Li Xiu'e did not favor boys over girls. She would take care of Tianxing in the same way she had taken care of Tianyou before.
Yang Qiujin was busy with work and had no time to take care of the children. She was basically the one who took care of Tianxing's eating, drinking, defecating and urinating. She had to return to the house in the town at night to do laundry and cook for Tianyou and Songyue. The next day, she got up early to make breakfast for Tianyou and Songyue. After sending them to school, she waited for Yang Qiujin to pick her up to go to the farm to take care of Tianxing. This cycle repeated over and over again, and Yang Qiujin was exhausted for her.
To thank her for her efforts, Yang Qiujin discussed with Chen Shengqing and decided to give her an extra ten yuan per month as a tribute, increasing it from the original fifteen yuan to twenty-five yuan. On weekends when the children were on vacation, she asked Chen Shengqing and his son Chen Tianyou to help take care of the children and do housework so that she could have a good rest.
Li Xiu'e sighed: "It's still good now. You can get paid for taking care of children. It's not like women in the past who worked so hard to take care of children, but didn't get paid at all, and were also complained by their sons and daughters-in-law for not taking good care of the children."
Yang Qiujin smiled and said, "Mom, you are getting double salary now. You help the Wang family take care of Songyue, plus what we give you, it's 45 yuan a month in total, which is as high as my salary as a farm manager, and it's better than the salary of many ordinary workers."
"Of course not. Who would have thought that a village woman like me who can't read or write would get paid more than the workers?" Li Xiu'e counted out a stack of banknotes from the house, pulled Yang Qiujin and said, "Come on, go to the military service center with mom and buy some wool to make sweaters for everyone in our family."
The weather is getting colder and colder, and winter will soon come to the border.
Yang Qiujin had always been generous to her family, but she was reluctant to buy herself an extra piece of clothing. Li Xiu'e saw this and was planning to buy more clothes for Yang Qiujin. Without waiting for her answer, she pulled her towards the military service center.
When she arrived at the military service center, Li Xiu'e asked the salesperson what kind of wool was available for sale today.
The salesperson started introducing the goods. The most expensive item in the store was the pure cashmere medium-coarse yarn produced by the Frontier Textile Factory, which cost 25.5 yuan per pound. The other item was cheaper ordinary medium-coarse yarn, which cost 17.5 yuan per pound. There was also inferior yarn, which cost 15 yuan per pound.
Although it is expensive, the wool does not contain water, and one pound of it can be used to make a sweater, while a child can make two. Once a sweater is made, it can be worn for twenty or thirty years without getting worn out. It is much sturdier than clothes made of other fabrics.
Li Xiu'e compared the prices and asked Yang Qiujin, "Qiujin, what kind of wool do you think is good to buy?"
"Mom, just buy some ordinary medium-thick wool yarn. This wool yarn is woven in Shanghai, and the sweaters woven from it are very warm. There's no need to buy wool yarn. Not only is it expensive, but the wool is too long and it's uncomfortable for children's skin. Inferior wool yarn is not strong and breaks easily when weaving. It's best for us to buy ordinary wool yarn," said Yang Qiujin.
Li Xiu'e nodded: "Okay, let's buy one pound of ordinary wool. Just take a look at the color you want."
Yang Qiujin took a look and chose light pink for Xiao Tianxing, blue for Chen Tianyou, gray for Chen Shengqing, light yellow for herself, and brown for Li Xiu'e.
When Yang Qiujin was about to pay, she tried to give him the money, but was stopped by Li Xiu'e, "Mom said she wants to buy sweaters for you. I'll pay for it."
Yang Qiujin said, "Mom, you always spend the money you have on us. Why don't you save some for yourself?"
"How do you know that mom hasn't saved any money? I've saved half of the money you and Shengqing have given me over the years. Mom doesn't need this little money. Besides, I'm an old widower, why should I save so much money? I'll have to spend it on my children and grandchildren sooner or later anyway, so I might as well give it to you now. Mom can have this little money in two months of work." Li Xiu'e swiftly took out eighty-seven yuan and fifty cents and handed it to the salesperson without feeling sorry at all.
The salesperson heard their conversation and while helping them weigh the yarn and pack it for them, he said with envy, "Sister Yang, your mother-in-law is so good to you. Unlike my mother-in-law, she would get so angry that she would point at our noses and scold us for years, let alone spend money on us to buy things. You are so lucky to have such a good mother-in-law who is willing to spend money on you."
Yang Qiujin agreed, "Yes, it is my blessing to have a good mother-in-law like my mother."
Isn't it a blessing? Li Xiu'e is more open-minded than other mothers-in-law. She doesn't interfere in the affairs between her son and daughter-in-law, doesn't target her daughter-in-law, and is not stingy. She is generous in her spending.
The most commendable thing is that she treats her son, daughter-in-law, grandchildren and granddaughters equally. She never favors anyone or protects anyone, and she does not favor boys over girls. She is very sensible. It is really a blessing for her to have such a mother-in-law.
Li Xiu'e said: "Don't say she is lucky. It is my luck to have a daughter-in-law like her."
Yang Qiujin looked fierce, but her son had not been home for seven years after joining the army. The family relied entirely on Yang Qiujin, the daughter-in-law, who was busy with housework inside and outside the house.
She and her old husband were in poor health, and it was Yang Qiujin who took them to see doctors and received treatment. She also took care of her old husband when he passed away. She had some money, which she spent on the old couple and never thought of keeping any of it for herself.
If Yang Qiujin had not been the pillar of the family, she would have been bullied to death by the eldest wife and the villagers after the old man died and would have wanted to die.
It was Yang Qiujin's fierce daughter-in-law who challenged others everywhere, supported her, and gave her the courage to live. Only then can she live a good life now.
Li Xiu'e will never forget that when she was seriously ill, Yang Qiujin carried her on her back, holding little Chen Tianyou in one hand, and took her to a hospital in Shanghai for treatment. She cried and said to her, "Mom, you must hold on. You must wait for Shengqing to come back to see you and honor you. Our good days are still ahead."
A friend in need is a friend indeed. People are all made of flesh and blood. What Yang Qiujin did would move even a stone, let alone her.
In her life, it was a blessing to have a daughter-in-law as filial and sensible as Yang Qiujin. If she didn't treat Yang Qiujin well, who else could she treat well?
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law smiled at each other, and everything was said without words. After the salesperson packed the yarn, they each took two bags and went home to roll out the yarn balls.
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