Chapter 85: Cousin Arrives
Zhong Huisheng is a fashionable old lady. It may not be appropriate to say so, but only the word "old lady" is inappropriate because she is not yet 60 years old. According to international standards, only those over 60 are considered elderly. She is at most in the early stages of old age.
It is quite accurate to say that she is stylish.
In my hometown, there are still many elderly people and even young people who have never even been to the city, and riding a train is something they only dream of.
But Zhong Huisheng is already able to take the train by himself.
She packed her things and, accompanied by Wei Xin's husband, took a bus to the city.
Then I went to the train station by myself, checked my ticket and boarded the train. I spent more than 40 hours on the train. When I arrived at the station, I said goodbye to the friends I had just become acquainted with.
Many elderly people are afraid to go out, but she is not.
When she was young, she followed her father to many cities including Shanghai, the capital, and then was trapped in a small mountain village for decades. For her, this trip was definitely a pleasure.
Wei Dai was already waiting at the platform. Thanks to his military uniform, he entered the platform smoothly. He was holding up a large sign with bold letters to ensure that his aunt would see him as soon as she got off the train.
Sure enough, when Zhong Huisheng got off the bus with her luggage, she looked around the platform for less than three seconds and saw the big sign.
"Is that Wei Dai?" She walked over with a smile. Wei Dai heard the movement and looked in the direction of the voice, then quickly walked through the crowd and came to Zhong Huisheng's side.
"Aunt, I'm Wei Dai. I'm sorry to have troubled you on the journey." He said as he took the luggage from Zhong Huisheng.
Zhong Huisheng waved her hands and said, "I'd rather be so tired."
As he spoke, he looked Wei Dai up and down and sighed, "I haven't seen you for a few years. You have grown so big. You look completely different from what I imagined in my head. When you were a child, you looked a bit like your mother, but now I can't tell who you look like."
In fact, he looked a bit like his uncle, her cousin. But that cousin died when he was less than 20 years old, so she didn't mention him anymore.
Wei Dai: ...
He said this as if he was a three-year-old child the last time I saw him.
In fact, he and Wen Jiajia had met each other the year they got married, so it has only been two or three years. How much could he have changed in two or three years?
He smiled and said, "Aunt, let's go home and talk about it."
Zhong Huisheng nodded. Although he was happy, he was also very tired.
The two boarded the bus. Zhong Huisheng sat by the window, while Wei Dai sat next to her and introduced her to the landmarks and scenery along the way.
"That's the department store Jiajia often goes to. The items there are much more complete than those in the supply and marketing cooperative, but things like oil, salt, sauce, and vinegar are not available there."
Zhong Huisheng nodded. In fact, it was just a high-end version of the supply and marketing cooperative. Her family’s cloth shop back then was divided into several grades.
"That's the state-owned hotel. Jiajia goes there every now and then to buy steamed buns. This state-owned hotel and the department store we just visited are both relatively close to the city gate. If you need to buy anything in the future, come here."
Zhong Huisheng nodded again, thinking that his niece-in-law, whom he had only met twice, must be a loose-handed person. Someone who is frugal would not buy steamed buns every few days.
She gets along well with people of this kind of personality. Before coming here, her biggest fear was that her life philosophy would not match that of her niece-in-law.
Don’t think this is a small matter. Many elders can’t get along with the younger generation because of this.
When you cook, you always use at least a spoonful of oil, but when she cooks, she only needs to boil it in water... How can you get along?
The car turned here and went out of the city through the city gate without passing through the hospital.
There is a lot of construction going on outside the city. The weather is not too hot today and there are gusty winds, so the construction sites are moving forward at a fast pace.
Zhong Huisheng found it strange, as few people in the village built houses, and she had never seen such a large-scale infrastructure project in such a rapid pace.
So he asked Wei Dai: "Is this place far from home?"
Wei Dai said: "It would probably take two hours to walk there, but there are two buses every day. There are also donkey carts and mule carts in the surrounding villages, and you can usually get a seat if you see one."
Zhong Huisheng was satisfied: "Very good, I will come and take a look after this place is built."
Soon, the bus arrived near the troops.
Wei Dai took Zhong Huisheng off the car and then walked all the way to the family area.
Looking at the square yard covered with green ivy, Zhong Huisheng nodded. Then she looked at the green hills behind the house and the lake not far away, and she was satisfied.
This is a great place. Even the gentle breeze is soft, as if carrying the scent of the Jiangnan water towns and rural scenery.
Push open the gate and walk along the bluestone path into the house.
At first, she couldn't see inside because of the courtyard wall, but once she entered, she could see the situation inside the courtyard clearly.
Maybe it was because of the autumn rain last night, the bluestone slabs were washed very clean. Even the pebbles in the middle and on both sides were "glossy and shiny", as if they had been carefully brushed.
The creeper is only on the outside of the wall. The inside of the wall is clean and tidy, with only a few climbing roses. But now is obviously not the season for roses to bloom, and there are only leaves on the wall.
Next to the roses were two vegetable plots separated by pebbles - she was quite puzzled as to where so many pebbles came from.
There are green vegetables in the vegetable garden, growing well. Note that there is wood ash in the soil, which shows that fertilizer has been applied not long ago.
What made her most happy was that there was a toilet and a bathroom, which could be connected and disconnected. She had been suffering from the thatched hut for a long time!
But she couldn't build a bathroom and toilet for herself in the village, not because she had no money, but because she wanted to keep a low profile.
Whatever environment you enter, you must integrate into it. This has been her life philosophy for many years.
But ideas are one thing, and deeds are another, so she was so happy after seeing the clean and tidy toilet and bathroom.
Finally got into the house.
There are many things in the living room but they are not messy. Most of them are placed on shelves and cabinets. There are three cabinets and two shelves here, none of which block the windows, so the light in the living room is particularly good.
She was satisfied again. She was an organizer and loved to put things in cabinets and shelves.
Wei Dai pushed open the door of the utility room...it's not quite right to call it a utility room now, but rather the door of his cousin's aunt's room, and a bright bedroom appeared in front of Zhong Huisheng.
It was not until this moment that she felt 120% satisfied with the job.
Wei Dai said, "Time is tight, so I'll just pack it up like this for now. Please see if you want to add anything else."
Zhong Huisheng praised: "That's good!"
She liked this simple room, especially since she could see the sparkling lake from the window.
Wei Dai smiled and said, "Then you pack your luggage first, and then I'll take you to the nearby village for a tour."
Zhong Huisheng put the bag on the chair and said, "That's not necessary. You go back to work. I can figure it out myself when the time comes."
He emphasized: "I am happy with this."
What's the fun of being led by others in everything? Anyway, the village is next to the army, so there is definitely no danger.
Wei Dai had nothing to say, and after telling his aunt where to put something, he left. He originally wanted to introduce his aunt to the neighbors next door, but they knew that Bao Jie and others had gone to the textile factory and were not at home.
In the evening, Wen Jiajia came back.
I came back earlier today, carrying some things I bought from Master He.
Before I even entered the door, I heard the chattering of two children in the room.
Wei Dai was the first to see her. He hurried out of the kitchen and helped her out of the car.
Wen Jiajia: "Hey, I don't need your help."
Her belly is relatively small. According to Sister Bao, it is like a belly in early May. Teacher Shen also nodded and said that it is smaller than her belly at that time.
For this reason, Wen Jiajia went to the hospital for a check-up last month, and also went to see Dr. Peng. She was relieved when both said that there was nothing wrong.
After she finished speaking, she saw a person with a lecherous look standing at the door of the living room. Wen Jiajia immediately realized that this was Wei Dai's cousin.
She immediately smiled and said, "Hello, cousin, you are finally here. How was your journey?"
Zhong Huisheng smiled and said, "Okay, all is good! It's good on the way and it's good here too."
"Really? Then we'll feel relieved. Please come over. We won't be able to live here if we don't feel comfortable. Just tell us what's the matter. We are your family." Wen Jiajia also smiled.
The two started chatting.
We are all from the same hometown, so there is always something to talk about. Although Zhong Huisheng is very low-key in the village, he knows all the gossip that should be known.
These gossips alone were enough to interest Wen Jiajia. She even lost interest in eating after hearing them.
"If we talk about the big event last year, it happened at the home of your village leader's younger brother. Do you know his eldest son? He's the one with the scar on his face."
Wen Jiajia nodded, she remembered.
It's hard to forget because the scar covers a quarter of my face and is said to be caused by a burn when I was a child.
"The boy married a wife from the mountains in late August or early September last year. The girl got together with her brother!"
Wen Jiajia's mouth opened into a blank "0". "How was this discovered? His family must be in chaos, and the brothers will become enemies."
"…I'm talking about that girl's brother."
Wen Jiajia's mouth suddenly became bigger, big enough to fit an egg in.
Even Wei Dai, who was cooking, pricked up his ears to listen and asked quickly, "Is there such a thing?"
"Yes! It is said that the girl was found in a pile of straw when she returned to her parents' home. Someone happened to go to the sweet potato field to steal sweet potatoes that night, and he heard the noise and went to look for her. If it was just one or two people, it would be possible to hide it, but there were a whole group of people stealing sweet potatoes, so it was impossible to hide it. It was because the mountains were high and the roads were long, so the family in your village didn't know about it until the next day."
Wei Dai asked, "Whose family does that girl belong to?"
"They say he's from the Sun family in some high mountain village."
Wei Dai understood: "That family, that girl should not be the biological child of that family."
Wen Jiajia was curious: "How did you know?"
Gaoshan Village is worthy of its name. It is really a village in the mountains. To get in, you have to climb over two mountains. It is not even close to Fuyang, let alone Wei Dai's home.
Wei Dai smiled and said, "I've been there before and played with that girl's brother."
Zhong Huisheng nodded and said, "Indeed, I have heard that the girl was adopted. Alas! It must be the brother's fault that he has ruined the rest of his sister's life."
She added, "There was also a rare incident in your Hegou Township. The son of your third cousin in Hetou was arrested and put in jail. He stole things from his neighbor's house and accidentally set the house on fire. Fortunately, the house was by the river. If it was near the mountain, several houses would have been burned down."
It has to be my hometown, where there are a lot of people and a lot of places, so there are always some lively things to see. In a family compound, if there is some lively things, they are mostly small lively things.
As he spoke, the meal was ready.
There was braised fish, sweet and sour pork ribs, a plate of stir-fried mustard greens and loofah and egg soup on the table.
There are three dishes and one soup, and the portions are large enough for several people.
Wen Chun and Wen Xuan had just heard a lot of gossip, and now they were too lazy to even listen to the story about the radio. After finishing their meal, they begged Zhong Huisheng to continue.
Zhong Huisheng had so many stories that she couldn't finish telling them in three days and three nights. It was rare for her to have such a free and easy conversation with someone, so she went off topic and went straight to talking about supernatural stories from her hometown.
Because it wasn't that scary and the story was explained using scientific phenomena at the end, the two children listened with great interest and were not afraid.
Wen Jiajia was very surprised after hearing this.
This cousin doesn't look like someone who only attended a private school. She has some knowledge of physics, chemistry and biology.
At night, Zhong Huisheng lay on the bed after taking a comfortable bath.
The windows were not closed yet, but iron mesh was nailed on, moxa sticks were burning on the windowsill, and mosquito-repellent plants such as mint were planted outside the windows, so there was no need to worry about mosquitoes and flies coming in.
The evening breeze blew gently, and she could smell the fragrance of mugwort and the faint scent of lake water.
The moon is exceptionally bright tonight, and the moonlight falls on the lake, as if covering the lake with a hazy veil. It is dreamy and illusory, just like the wild lake next to my home when I was young.
She stood up, lowered the thatched curtains to block out the light, and the room became pitch black. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.
——
Zhong Huisheng's arrival brought great help to Wen Jiajia.
Wen Jiajia and Wei Dai had agreed to give her 15 yuan a month. Zhong Huisheng didn't want it, but she couldn't bear the couple's insistence, so she worked harder.
But the house was so small that after she cleaned it up, she looked around and had no idea what to do.
But in Wen Jiajia's opinion, she did a lot of things.
For example, after Wei Dai went on a mission, she made breakfast every day, as well as lunch and dinner.
Wen Chun and Wen Xuan were finally freed from the school cafeteria and went home to eat at noon like most of their classmates.
The school has a small cafeteria and the food there is tasty, even good.
But it was incomparable to the food at home. What's more, Zhong Huisheng's cooking skills were exceptionally good, at least two or three levels higher than Wen Jiajia and Wei Dai's. Some of his dishes even tasted better than those made by Master He.
One time, Wen Jiajia couldn't help but ask, and then she learned that Zhong Huisheng's mother was the daughter of a famous chef. Her family had been cooks for generations, and it could definitely be called a family of culinary arts.
Although Zhong Huisheng did not learn systematic cooking from his grandmother, he learned several traditional family dishes and practiced cooking for three to five years.
My cooking skills aren’t good enough to work in a big hotel, but I can still cook delicious home-cooked meals.
Under such circumstances, the two girls naturally prefer to go home for dinner.
You can listen to the radio while eating, and then take a sweet nap in bed.
Oh, life is so good.
Wen Jiajia no longer has to rush back in the evening to steam rice, and she no longer needs to wait until her day off to get up and cook what she wants.
Today I casually mentioned that I haven’t eaten steamed buns for a long time, so my cousin’s aunt will make them for me tomorrow.
And she can not only make steamed buns, she can also make flower rolls.
He also said that if she was given butter, she could make a layer of custard buns. As we had milk at home every day, making custard buns was perfect.
One time, Wenchun said he wanted to eat buns, and two days later, barbecued pork buns appeared in the house.
The sweet and salty barbecued pork buns were a flavor the two sisters had never tried before. Wen Chun was okay, but Wen Xuan was simply astounded by it. The barbecued pork buns quickly replaced the bamboo shoot buns in her heart.
Wen Jiajia thought to herself: Case solved, my cousin's maternal grandfather was probably a great Cantonese chef.
Zhong Huisheng particularly likes to rummage around in the kitchen, so she asked Wei Dai to make tools for her, such as a bamboo colander and a bamboo steamer.
In addition, Wen Jiajia gave her a generous food allowance every month, and her neighbors were all friendly and would not say anything mean to her, so she worked even harder.
In just two months, Wen Jiajia gained a lot of weight.
End of the year.
The temperature dropped drastically after mid-November. By then, Wen Jiajia had already left the medical glass factory and was resting comfortably at home.
In December, the temperature was already in the single digits, and even exceeded double digits at noon, but it soon dropped again.
The wind is cold and biting. Many people agree that this winter is much colder than last year.
Wei Dai got two donkey carts of matches from somewhere and brought them back home in early December. He then bought several hundred kilograms of coal from the troops, thus solving the problem of fuel for the family to survive the winter.
One day in mid-December, it started snowing.
The snow was heavier and more violent than the year before. Wen Jiajia could hear the sound of bamboos breaking under the pressure of snow at night.
The sound was so clear that it woke her up.
As soon as she wakes up, Wei Dai must wake up too.
Wei Dai went on a mission in October and returned in late November. He had become darker and thinner, while Wen Jiajia had become whiter and fatter.
As if there was a big watermelon in his stomach, Wei Dai was worried every day, afraid that something might happen to her.
This was the case in November, and it was even more so for Wei Dai now that we were about to enter the due date.
"Are you hungry or do you need to go to the bathroom?" Wei Dai asked with his hands raised, then turned on the flashlight on the bedside table.
Wen Jiajia touched her belly and sighed, "I need to go to the bathroom."
The later the pregnancy progresses, the more likely it is to go to the toilet because the baby in the belly squeezes the bladder. Sometimes Wen Jiajia has to go to the toilet three times a night.
It was snowing outside, and Wei Dai had long wanted to put a spittoon in the room, but Wen Jiajia didn't want to. For her, going to the toilet was a very private matter, at least more private than taking a shower.
Wei Dai had no choice but to build another toilet next to the room.
The toilet was built next to the windowsill, small, less than three square meters. Fortunately, you can enter the toilet by opening the windowsill door, so you don't have to walk in the snow.
After going to the toilet, Wen Jiajia no longer felt sleepy.
Hugging a pillow - In early November, she bought cotton and made a pillow for herself. It was so big, taller than Wen Chun, and very comfortable to hug. Her stomach was rumbling, and after a while, Wen Jiajia said, "I'm hungry."
"Dumplings or wontons?" Wei Dai asked.
I bought some pork leg meat today. I made some of it into dumpling filling and used a mallet to mash the rest into meat paste to make wonton filling.
Wen Jiajia smacked her lips and thought for two seconds: "Wontons, dumplings are too easy to get full."
Wontons are different. One bowl of them makes you feel half full and you can sleep better when you go to bed later.
Wei Dai got up and went to the kitchen to make wontons for her.
Wen Jiajia really wasn't sleepy, so she got up, put on her cotton coat, and tiptoed to the kitchen, afraid of waking up her aunt if she wasn't careful.
People of my aunt's age have very light sleep and it is difficult for her to fall asleep again after being woken up.
Since he was just cooking wontons, Wei Dai didn't light the stove.
He lit the stove, and when the water in the small iron pot boiled, he took a few wontons that were frozen outside and put them into the boiling water.
The wonton wrapper becomes hard when frozen and softens instantly when put into boiling water.
"How many do you want to eat?" Wei Dai asked in a low voice.
Wen Jiajia sat on the bench next to her and put her hands on the stove to roast them: "12, do you want some?"
Wei Dai nodded: "I will be greedy once you eat it."
It has become a habit. A few days ago, he was the one who took care of Wen Jiajia's leftover midnight snacks, but now he still feels a little hungry if he doesn't eat at night.
As he said this, he went to the window and got another handful of wontons, put them into the pot and continued cooking.
While cooking, start preparing the soup base.
Wen Jiajia now felt sick of anything greasy, so he didn't put lard in the bowl to enhance the flavor. He just put some salt and soy sauce, and scooped a few spoonfuls of the boiling soup in the pot. The soup base was prepared so simply.
The wontons cooked quickly.
When cooked, it floats to the surface and then expands, just like fish balls and thousand-layer tofu in a hot pot.
Use a bamboo strainer to scoop up the wontons and put them in a bowl. Don't add seaweed, scallions, or shrimps as garnishes. Just eating a bowl of this late in the evening is already very satisfying.
The couple finished the bowl of wontons together, head to head. It was almost one o'clock in the morning when they returned to the house and went back to bed.
There was still heat in the quilt, and with Wei Dai's big stove around, she didn't feel cold.
She rested her head on Wei Dai's arm, and Wei Dai placed his hand gently on her belly.
"When do you think the baby will be born?" Wei Dai asked.
Wen Jiajia: "The doctor said it would be the end of December, but I think it would be great if it came out in January."
Wei Dai: “Why?”
Wen Jiajia smiled and said, "This means people born in 1976 are always one year younger in age."
“…”
Wei Dai stopped touching her belly and touched her head instead: "You don't have a fever, why are you talking nonsense?"
Is there such a thing as age that is always one year younger? Compared with the children born in 1977, he is the same age.
Wei Dai gave another critical hit: "One year younger, and one year of retirement."
So for the sake of your mother and yourself, you should try your best to let the baby in your belly be born smoothly within the expected date.
Wen Jiajia thought about it and agreed.
The two talked and soon fell asleep again.
The next day.
The snow was so heavy that it reached the middle of the threshold, and it was a sea of white everywhere.
Wen Jiajia looked away after just two glances. She couldn't look any longer for fear of getting snow blindness.
"Jia Jia, come and have dinner." Zhong Huisheng heard the noise of getting up and shouted in the living room.
"Okay!" She went out holding two iced hand warmers.
Zhong Huisheng smiled and said, "Did you eat wontons last night?"
Wen Jiajia nodded: "Wei Dai cooked it."
Zhong Huisheng: "Make a pot of chicken soup the next day, and warm it up for a midnight snack. Then you can eat wontons in chicken soup. It doesn't matter if you are afraid of the oil. Just skim off the oil when the chicken soup is frozen. Chicken soup really tastes better when it is clear of oil."
As the two spent more time together, they got to know each other's personalities and habits.
Zhong Huisheng was very particular about food, and felt that every meal should be good, including the midnight snack. If she came, she would boil two green vegetables and put them in the wontons.
Wen Jiajia is afraid of trouble. She just eats wontons and is too lazy to use chicken soup as a base. She will not do that unless others skim off the chicken soup oil for her.
But these can all be worked out. Wen Jiajia feels that there is no elder better than her aunt. Perhaps even if Wei Dai's mother came, she would not feel so comfortable.
Zhong Huisheng felt that Wen Jiajia was a very troublesome person and was easy to get along with and take care of.
For a moment, one person felt that the money was worth spending, while the other felt that the money was worth receiving.
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