Xu Qingning acted as if she hadn't heard. She put away the design draft, placed it in the drawer of her desk, and locked it.
With nothing else to do, she found a scrap of cloth, took out scissors, and cut out a small rag doll. After finishing the kang (heated brick bed), she asked her mother-in-law to help sew it. Her mother-in-law was very willing to help her with these things.
Her morning sickness has improved, she rarely feels nauseous anymore, her appetite is better, her mood is better, and she is very willing to do some small handicrafts.
Seeing that Xu Qingning wouldn't open the door, Xu Jianguo felt embarrassed to knock again. In front of so many people, he didn't forget to make amends: "If you're tired, take a good rest. We can talk another day."
Wang Yaqiang and Liu Dawei exchanged a glance after hearing this.
It's good that he knows what's good for him; if he kept knocking, they would have kicked him out. His sister-in-law doesn't like him, and neither does his own father.
"My dear in-law, have some tea." Yang Yuelan took a moment from her busy schedule to bring Xu Jianguo a cup of water.
"No need, you guys go ahead with your work!" Xu Jianguo took the teacup, placed it on the table, and said awkwardly, "My dear in-law, I'll leave Qingning to you now, I'm going to work."
"Don't worry, I'll take good care of her." Yang Yuelan nodded repeatedly as she saw him out. "Qingning is a good girl, and she's good to me too. I treat her like my own daughter."
"That's good." Xu Jianguo didn't know what else to say, so he pushed his bicycle out of the courtyard, his heart heavy.
Tang Wenya wasn't on his side, and Xu Qingning didn't want to see him. He was a terrible father, a complete failure.
With the help of Wang Yaqiang and Liu Dawei, Chen Baichuan finished setting up the kang (a heated brick bed) in one afternoon.
At Yang Yuelan's request, he also built a stove for them in the living room so they could cook in the house during the winter.
When Zhao Jingyu lived alone, the family rarely cooked; there was only a coal stove in the house, and it wasn't very good.
Now that there's a new addition to the family, especially with a baby due at the end of the year, we need to get things sorted out properly.
After they finished their work, it was already dark. Yang Yuelan had prepared dinner and invited them to stay for the meal.
Xu Qingning took out five yuan and meat coupons and gave them to Wang Yaqiang, asking him to go to the canteen to buy some steamed buns and meat and vegetables.
Yang Yuelan steamed a pot of meat buns, enough to fill you up, but not a lavish meal.
She just received her salary and felt she had to show her appreciation.
"Sister-in-law, how could I take your money? I have enough." Wang Yaqiang was embarrassed to accept it. Zhao Jingyu had helped him so much, even in small amounts, and he hadn't paid her back.
“Yours is yours, these are two different things.” Xu Qingning insisted that he take it, and even specially instructed, “My uncle has come all this way, and he’s here to help us with our work. Buy some good dishes and a case of beer, I have to treat you well.”
The food in the cafeteria is very cheap.
A meat dish costs only one cent, a vegetable dish costs five cents, and a spare rib dish is a bit more expensive at five cents. Of course, it's not as much as the spare ribs Zhao Jingyu ordered last time; it's just a normal amount.
Beer was cheap, only 30 cents a bottle.
"That's not necessary, three yuan is enough." Wang Yaqiang took three one-yuan bills from Xu Qingning's hand, found a bowl in the kitchen, and went to the cafeteria.
Wang Yaqiang returned shortly afterward.
I bought a serving of pork ribs, two servings of meat dishes, a steamed fish, and a case of beer.
He still had two cents left, and he offered it to Xu Qingning, but she refused, saying with a smile, "You keep it, no need to give it to me."
She had a very good impression of Wang Yaqiang and Liu Dawei.
All afternoon, the two young men were busy carrying adobe bricks and mixing mud. They didn't even have time to drink water, working hard without complaint.
"Sister-in-law, here's the money, you can keep it." Wang Yaqiang insisted on giving the money to Xu Qingning.
Xu Qingning had no choice but to accept it, thinking to herself, "Money in this day and age is really something to be spent wisely!"
The meal was very plentiful.
Everyone enjoyed the meal.
Yang Yuelan felt bad about spending the money, but she didn't say anything. She couldn't bear to eat the meat and vegetables, and only ate steamed buns. In her eyes, steamed buns and dumplings were a very good meal.
While they were setting up the kang (heated brick bed), she was busy all afternoon. She didn't have time to make dumplings, so she went out to buy some meat and made a pot of steamed buns.
Xu Qingning saw this and quietly put the ribs into her bowl: "Mom, you've had a long day, eat more."
Yang Yuelan refused, but the food was put back into her bowl. She said softly, "I just had dumplings a few days ago, and now I'm having steamed buns. I've already eaten very well."
She was actually very touched.
Only when this third daughter-in-law was eating did she think of putting food on her plate. She always put food on other people's plates; no one had ever put food on her plate.
Xu Qingning was both amused and exasperated.
In front of Chen Baichuan, Wang Yaqiang, and Liu Dawei, she didn't push the issue back and forth with her mother-in-law.
She'll buy it for her mother-in-law later.
After the meal, Chen Baichuan, Wang Yaqiang, and Liu Dawei became acquainted. The three of them drank some wine and their conversation became slurred.
Wang Yaqiang and Liu Dawei also called him "Uncle," saying that if he needed any help in the city in the future, he could just ask.
Chen Baichuan is usually quiet, but he becomes more talkative when he drinks: "I used to work a regular job, earning eighteen yuan a month. My aunt Qingning thought I didn't earn enough, so she made me work with the villagers building houses, installing kang beds, building pigsties, and so on. I was always running around doing odd jobs. They would provide a meal but not pay me. In the end, I could only earn about thirty yuan a month."
"Uncle, your income is quite high." Liu Dawei gave him a thumbs up. "We earn about the same amount every month."
“You’re workers, you get good treatment,” Chen Baichuan said with a simple smile. “I’m just earning a meager living through hard work.”
“Same, same.” Wang Yaqiang clinked glasses with him, downed his drink in one gulp, and said with great loyalty, “If our company ever has work like this in the future, we’ll go to Uncle.”
After dinner, it was already dark. Chen Baichuan had drunk a bit too much, and Xu Qingning was worried about him leaving, so she asked him to stay.
She has nowhere to stay, but Wang Yaqiang has some, so it shouldn't be a problem for her to stay for one night.
Chen Baichuan refused, saying it was fine, but his family would worry if he didn't go back.
Xu Qingning thought it made sense and told him to drive carefully. Wang Yaqiang and Liu Dawei offered to take him home: "Don't worry, sister-in-law, Wutong Village isn't far. We'll be back soon."
"Then let me know when you come back, and I'll feel at ease." Xu Qingning regretted letting them drink, mainly because Chen Baichuan lived far away.
Wang Yaqiang agreed and dragged Chen Baichuan's cart out the door.
Liu Dawei followed behind, pushing his bicycle.
About an hour later, Wang Yaqiang stood in the yard and knocked on the window, but didn't come in: "Sister-in-law, we're back."
"Get some rest as soon as you get back," Xu Qingning told him, leaning against the window. Wang Yaqiang responded and turned to leave.
Wang Cuifen, who lived next door, had just come out to wash up. When she saw Wang Yaqiang standing by the window talking to Xu Qingning, she pursed her lips and knew that this young wife was no good.
As soon as her man left, she started getting involved with other men.
Unfortunately, Yang Yuelan was an honest woman and didn't dare to utter a single word in front of her daughter-in-law.
The kang (heated brick bed) was newly built, and the surface wasn't dry yet, so Yang Yuelan had to move to Xu Qingning's room to sleep.
Xu Qingning took out Zhao Jingyu's quilt and pillow for her to use. She had taken apart and washed Yang Yuelan's set of bedding, saying that she wanted to change the size and put it on the kang (a heated brick bed).
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law have been living together for almost a month. They are familiar with each other, since they see each other every day, but they are not unfamiliar either, because they haven't talked about anything other than daily necessities like eating, drinking, and using the toilet.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law lay in bed, speechless for a moment.
Xu Qingning spoke first: "Mom, I have some cloth coupons here. Let's go buy some fabric tomorrow and change your bed sheets and duvet covers!"
Since she married into the family, she has never been to Yang Yuelan's room.
I only noticed today that all the blankets on her side are patched up, and patch upon patch, they look like they've been used for many years.
“No need, I’ll just use the old one.” Yang Yuelan refused. “I’m so old, I don’t need to build a new one. Don’t waste your money on me.”
Xu Qingning: "..."
Yang Yuelan's thoughts are just like her grandmother's in real life. Her grandmother was always reluctant to eat or drink, and she was frugal her whole life.
After she started working, she bought new clothes for her grandmother, but her grandmother couldn't bear to wear them and just kept them until they were all outdated.
"You and Jingyu should live a good life together. If you both have a good life, we, as your elders, will be happy." Yang Yuelan turned to look at Xu Qingning and said earnestly, "You just got married, and he went to sea. I'm sorry to have to make things difficult for you. That's just how his job is, there's nothing he can do..."
Because she is often away from home, the young people in her company have difficulty finding partners. When she is in the countryside, she often worries that her son will not be able to find a wife.
Who knew that not only did her son find a wife, but he also found such a beautiful wife and had a child. The mother could laugh in her dreams.
"Mom, he's doing this to earn money to support the family. I'm not wronged," Xu Qingning said softly. Thinking about how she had spent time with him and the postcards he had left behind, her face inexplicably flushed.
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