Chapter 524: The Hardships of Being a Military Wife
Wang Yumei looked like she had been crying; her eyes were red, and her permed hair was unkempt. She said, "I'm going to my parents' house for the New Year."
Liu Guifang glanced behind her and asked curiously, "Where's your husband, Lao Zhou?"
Wang Yumei said angrily, "He went back to his home."
Upon hearing Wang Yumei's words, Liu Guifang exclaimed "Ah!" with a strange expression. "No, why didn't you go with him when he went back to his home? You should definitely go back to your husband's family for the New Year, there's no reason for you to go back to your parents' home."
Wang Yumei scoffed, "What's wrong with going back? He goes back to his home, and I go back to mine."
"You're going back to your parents' home for New Year's Eve? Doesn't your sister-in-law have any objections?" Liu Guifang asked her with a gossipy look.
She remembered that when Wang Yumei returned from her parents' home last year for the Spring Festival, she said that her sister-in-law had given her a hard time.
Why are we going again this year?
After so many years of marriage and having your own little family, why go back to your parents' home and be disliked?
Liu Guifang was a traditional woman who followed her husband wherever he went, so she couldn't understand Wang Yumei's thoughts.
Wang Yumei became even more agitated because of Liu Guifang's words, "Why does she have any objections? She's only been married into the family for a few years. This place has always been my home."
Wang Yumei, carrying her luggage, had already gone downstairs. "I'm not saying anything more, I'm going to take the bus now. See you after the New Year."
Wang Yumei, carrying her bag, walked quickly ahead of them and soon left the residential compound.
Liu Guifang watched her departing figure, her face full of sorrow and she sighed.
She looked at Bai Zhi and said worriedly, "What should we do? Yu Mei is so stubborn. She won't listen to a word of advice. How can she not go home with her husband for the New Year and instead go to her parents' house alone? Don't you think so, Xiao Bai?"
Bai Zhi gave an awkward laugh, "Sister Liu, well... it's up to the individual's preference."
She felt it was inappropriate to offer her opinion on other people's affairs.
It's their freedom to decide where they spend the Chinese New Year.
As an unfamiliar neighbor, she didn't want to judge who was right and who was wrong.
Liu Guifang had known Wang Yumei for a long time, and being a kind-hearted person, she knew quite a bit about Wang Yumei's family affairs. She said, "You don't know, when she went back to her parents' home for the New Year, her sister-in-law didn't want her to go and always gave her a hard time. When she came back, she was unhappy and kept complaining to us. Now she's going back again for the New Year."
Liu Guifang continued, "The third company commander finally gets a Spring Festival holiday to go home and see his parents. As their daughter-in-law, she doesn't go back with them. What do you think the old folks will think? What will their relatives and friends think? Plus, they've been married for several years without children. People who don't know the situation will definitely think they're divorced."
Liu Guifang looked worried as she spoke.
It's clear that they genuinely care about what's going on in their shoes.
Bai Zhi casually asked, "Is the Third Company Commander's hometown far away?"
Bai Zhi guessed that the third company commander might be from the countryside.
Therefore, Wang Yumei was unwilling to go back.
Many city wives are unwilling to return to their husbands' rural hometowns, citing reasons such as unfamiliarity with hygiene and food.
After all, in rural areas with poor conditions, even going to the toilet is a problem for city dwellers.
Liu Guifang replied, "Not from the countryside, I heard she's in Jincheng."
Bai Zhi nodded. "Oh, I see."
"Let's go kill a chicken first."
Before leaving, Liu Guifang glanced one last time at the gate of the family compound.
He let out a heavy sigh.
She always felt that Wang Yumei's outburst had put her marriage with Zhou Jianmin in serious jeopardy.
After all, a marriage without children is inherently unstable, and now they are arguing frequently, showing a lack of harmony between the couple.
How can we live like this?
When Liu Guifang brought Bai Zhi to her doorstep, her son Yang Kai was watching the chickens by the chicken coop.
"Auntie Xiaobai, you're here. Let me get you the knife." It was clear that the boy was quite excited about killing the chicken.
Liu Guifang looked at her son squatting there and complained with a look of disgust, "You're a boy, and you can't even kill a chicken. I had to call your Aunt Xiaobai to help you. Aren't you ashamed?"
"Mom, it's not that I'm afraid, it's that I don't know how." Yang Kai looked at Bai Zhi with bright eyes and said, "I'll learn carefully when Aunt Bai kills the chicken later, and I'll kill it next time you raise chickens."
Liu Guifang scoffed, "Forget it, I'm not raising them anymore. I've already angered everyone by raising these few chickens. Besides, it's too cruel to raise them myself and then kill them. What kind of nonsense is that?"
She looked at the last two chickens she had raised, her eyes filled with reluctance and sorrow.
Bai Zhi smiled and comforted her, "Sister Liu, don't be sad. Chicken and duck are just vegetables. We humans are at the top of the food chain, so we have to eat what we need to eat."
"Aunt Xiaobai is still the most insightful."
Yang Kai took out a knife, then opened the chicken coop a crack, reached in with one hand, grabbed a chicken's wing, and pulled it out.
Last time Liu Guifang caught chickens, she opened the whole chicken coop, causing the chickens to fly around and the eggs to break.
Having gained experience today, Yang Kai caught the chicken with ease.
Bai Zhi was quick; she took the chicken, stabbed it in the vital spot, and then began to bleed it from the basin.
Then they killed the second one in the same way.
Her movements were swift, precise, and ruthless, without any hesitation, and the chicken's life ended without it suffering any pain.
Bai Zhi put down the knife, looked at Yang Kai, and asked with a smile, "Xiao Kai, have you learned it?"
Yang Kai nodded emphatically, "I've learned it."
"Okay, then the job of scalding the chicken and plucking its feathers is yours."
Bai Zhi instructed him from the side, "In a moment, separate the internal organs and clean them. Remember to take out the gallbladder, otherwise the chicken will be ruined."
"OK."
Bai Zhi helped Yang Kai perm his fur and clean his internal organs.
It was almost afternoon, and the wind outside was biting cold, so Liu Guifang quickly invited her inside to wash her hands.
"Xiaobai, I'll cut half a chicken for you to take home later."
"Sister Liu, this is absolutely not allowed." Bai Zhi quickly declined. "I bought a chicken yesterday, as you know. It's just Lu Ye and me at home. I bought chicken, duck, and fish, and we can't finish them all. Please don't give me this chicken; it would be a waste if I took it back."
Bai Zhi asked Liu Guifang, "Do you have a refrigerator at home?"
Liu Guifang shook her head somewhat awkwardly, "There's no refrigerator."
Her family only has one television set; they don't have any other large appliances.
So Bai Zhi gave her an idea, "It's at least several degrees below zero outside now, hang the chicken up and freeze it, then bring it in when you want to eat it. It's warm inside, it won't keep well, and tomorrow is New Year's Eve, you definitely won't eat it today."
Liu Guifang laughed and said, "You and I are thinking the same thing."
Liu Guifang found two ropes, strung the two chickens together, and handed them to her son, telling him to tie them to the clothesline outside the building to freeze.
"Mom, what if the cats and dogs eat them?" It was clear that Yang Kai cared a lot about the two chickens.
This is their most important dish for Chinese New Year.
Liu Guifang tapped her son on the head and glared at him, "How can it eat while you're suspended in mid-air? Can cats and dogs fly?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com