Chapter 43: My Heart Is More Sour Than Rice Water
Wang Shufen affectionately took Shen Lingning's arm and walked through rows of low and crowded family housing, heading straight to the eastern end.
There was a small courtyard with a separate entrance, a mud wall, and three brick houses. It looked much more orderly than the houses next to it. It was evening, and the setting sun shone brightly on the glass windows of the courtyard.
There is a small piece of land at the base of the courtyard wall, and the soil has been newly turned.
"Look, here it is!"
Wang Shufen pushed open the creaking wooden gate and said with a hint of pride, "This was where the technicians lived before. They vacated it a while ago. It's a bit out of the way, but it's quiet, with its own door and yard, and a small vegetable garden. It's convenient for you to bring the children with you."
Commander Zhao specifically mentioned this on the phone, saying that proper arrangements must be made, and the base leadership is taking it very seriously."
In the yard, several neatly dressed aunts and sisters-in-law were busy.
A gray-haired woman was sweeping the last bit of dust with a broom, and two young sisters-in-law were hanging freshly washed coarse sheets on a rope.
A faint blue smoke was coming out of the kitchen chimney.
"Is Weiguo's wife here?"
The gray-haired woman put down her broom, wiped her hands on her apron, and smiled innocently, "Come in and take a look! Everything is almost done! The bedding has just been dried in the sun and is warm!"
She is our neighbor Aunt Sun.
"That's right. When we heard you were coming, we came to lend a hand."
A round-faced sister-in-law took over the conversation. She was Liu Jinfeng, the wife of Li Tiezhu next door.
Shen Lingning looked at the clean courtyard in front of him, the bright and clean house, and the bedding hanging out to dry with the smell of sunshine. He knew in his heart that the specifications and treatment were definitely beyond the standards of ordinary military dependents.
Zhao Changhe’s reputation carries a lot of weight.
Zhou Weiguo should be popular.
"Thank you, Political Commissar, thank you, sister-in-law, thank you, aunts and sisters-in-law! I'm sorry for causing you all trouble!"
Shen Lingning hugged Fubao and thanked him sincerely, her eyes a little hot. This solid place to stay was the first home for them and their daughter in a foreign land.
Although there was a small incident at the gate, it can be seen that the family compound has a strong sense of human touch.
"What are you thanking me for? It's all my duty!"
Aunt Sun smiled, turned around and brought out a large coarse porcelain bowl from the kitchen. The bowl was filled with steaming yellow egg noodle soup with green chopped green onions floating on top!
There were a few black sorghum steamed buns in the small basket next to it.
"You've been traveling all this way, you must be starving, right? Come on, have a bite while it's still warm! These are the only eggs we have saved at home, don't be disdainful!"
egg!
This is a precious thing in the mountains.
I could see at the door just now that the military families in the family compound were not having a good time either.
This is the best kindness and sincerity they can offer.
Shen Lingning quickly put down Fubao, took the heavy bowl with both hands, and thanked him repeatedly: "Auntie, this is too precious! I can't use it!"
"Here, here! Warm the baby's belly too!"
Aunt Sun stuffed the bowl into her hand without saying anything.
Fubao smelled the fragrance, sniffed it with her little nose, and looked at the bowl with her big eyes eagerly. Now she was really a little hungry.
Although I ate the nai nai from my mother's bowl on the way, but since I started eating it with rice a few days ago, it is so delicious!
Shen Lingning felt warm in his heart. This simple friendship was more precious than anything else.
She was no longer polite, picked up the chopsticks, carefully picked up a few noodles, blew them cool, and fed them to Fubao first.
Wang Shufen looked at this heartwarming scene and smiled, "Okay, Comrade Shen, you settle down first. The child can rest for a while after eating. If you need anything, just talk to Aunt Sun and the others. They are all warm-hearted old neighbors.
I'll wait until Lao Zhang is done and then ask him to come over and take a look. I'll go to the cafeteria first and take a look."
She gave a few instructions and left in a hurry.
Several other neighbors also tactfully packed up their things and left one after another, leaving the mother and daughter some peace and quiet.
Only Aunt Sun was left in the small kitchen to help with the tidying up.
Shen Lingning held Fubao in his arms and sat on the edge of the cleaned earthen kang, sipping the warm egg noodle soup and feeling the warmth brought by the food.
I touched the edge of the kang and it was warm. I secretly praised in my heart: The neighbors in this family compound are all nice people.
Fubao smacked his lips and nestled contentedly in his mother's arms.
The gate of the courtyard was pushed open with a creak.
Jiang Weiyi stood at the door, not holding the noodle soup, but holding a small white porcelain bottle with a peony flower printed on it - a brand new bottle of "Friendship" brand vanishing cream.
She forced a smile on her face, but her eyes were like hooks, scraping back and forth on Shen Lingning's face and the simple luggage in the room.
“Comrade Shen, are you busy tidying up?”
Jiang Weiyi's voice sounded soft and fake. He stepped into the yard, his heels making a light tapping sound on the compacted mud.
She walked a few steps to Shen Lingning, handed the bottle of vanishing cream forward, raised her chin slightly, and the sense of superiority in her tone could not be hidden:
"Here, take it. The wind in our valley is very strong, not as strong as in your... well, where you used to live. Your skin is so delicate, it will be chapped after a few days of exposure. Apply some of this to protect it. Don't wait until Zhou Weiguo comes back and doesn't recognize his own daughter-in-law."
In her words, she treated Shen Lingning as a country bumpkin who had never seen the world, and even hinted that Zhou Weiguo "might" come back, but might not recognize her as a "yellow-faced woman".
She glanced at the open bundle on the kang. There were only a few half-worn clothes inside, not even a decent box. The fake smile on her lips deepened.
His eyes were fixed on Shen Lingning, as if he wanted to dig something out of her face:
"Just now in the courtyard, I was impatient and spoke without thinking. Comrade Shen, you are a magnanimous person. Don't be so lenient with me!"
She changed the subject, probingly, "The main thing is... when Comrade Zhou Weiguo was at the base, no one had heard that he had gotten married, had they? The fact that you suddenly brought a child here... is indeed... quite surprising."
This child... looks like he's almost a year old? He looks really... energetic."
Her gaze was finally fixed on Fubao. The look in her eyes was very complicated, with exploration, calculation, and a hint of barely perceptible jealousy.
Shen Lingning didn't take the bottle of vanishing cream.
She didn't even look at the bottle, her eyes fell calmly on Jiang Weiyi's face, as if she could see through her little thoughts.
"Comrade Jiang, thank you for your trouble."
Shen Lingning spoke, his voice was not loud, but every word was clear, cold and without any anger, but with a calm power.
"When Weiguo was alive, he often sent his allowance home and asked someone to bring some Pechoin to Shanghai. He said the wind was strong in the mountains and he was afraid that I would get cold." She paused, raised her hand and gently rubbed Fubao's little face, which was stained with noodle soup, with her fingertips, her movements were gentle.
"I'm a rough person, and I'm used to using clam oil, so I think it's more solid. Comrade Jiang, you should keep this precious thing for yourself and don't waste it."
The smile on Jiang Weiyi's face froze for a moment, and his fingers gripping the bottle of vanishing cream tightened.
Pechoin in Shanghai?
Did Zhou Weiguo send this to her?
A sour feeling rushed to my head, and my heart felt more sour than rice water.
this?
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