After talking about his siblings, Lu Shurui said that he also had a cousin who was working in the countryside.
Yu Yin searched every nook and cranny of her memory, confirming that there was no information about this cousin. She wouldn't have given her cousin any thought, especially since she hadn't shown up at her cousin's wedding or when he had a baby.
After Lu Shurui finished explaining his family's basic situation, Yu Yin also talked about her own family.
"You've met my parents, and my younger brother. My older brother is my twin brother, and he's a paratrooper in the capital. We're the closest of friends. Since he joined the army, he's spent almost all his allowance on me—buying things for me, giving me money for my wedding dowry, and so on. My older brother and sister both graduated from university and work in Yang City. They're married and have children, but we don't keep in touch much."
Lu Shurui could also tell that she wasn't particularly close to her older brother and sister, but was closest to her twin brother.
"Now that we've talked about interpersonal relationships, let's talk about your secret stash of money!"
"What?"
Lu Shurui didn't understand what it meant at first.
"How much supplies and money do you have left? I sorted out mine a couple of days ago, tell me about yours too. We need to plan our lives."
"Ah, I understand, wait a moment."
Tap tap tap, Lu Shurui walked in a moment later with a box in his hand. "They're all here."
The same cookie box—it was a standard feature in every household seventy years ago.
(I later learned that this was the standard configuration for the premium version; not everyone can afford this kind of metal cookie tin. It's very expensive and a high-end product.)
Opening the box, you find various tickets and money inside. "I'll count them, and you can mutter to yourself, who gave these, and why? Let's keep an account so people can reciprocate when they need something."
"My eldest brother gave me 50 yuan for the wedding, my second sister gave me 100 yuan, my eldest sister gave me 20 yuan, my grandparents gave me 100 yuan, my uncle and third uncle, and my aunt each gave me 30 yuan. The other tickets were the ones I brought with me when I came, and some were sent by my second sister. I bought a bicycle with my previous salary, and since the wedding, I have spent more than 100 yuan."
Yu Yin finished counting; there were less than three hundred yuan in cash, plus some loose change.
Yu Yin took out her notebook and matched the names and amounts of money that Lu Shurui had mentioned earlier. Her second sister had the most; the supplies alone cost a lot of money, not to mention the ration coupons. She would have to treat her sister with special care in the future.
"Keep all of these. I'll give them to you when I get my salary. You'll be in charge of our family from now on."
The young man was quite savvy, knowing how to curry favor. "I'm someone with a golden touch," Yu Yin chuckled inwardly, but she couldn't say it aloud.
"It's not up to me to decide. We share a home, so we should discuss things together. I'll decide on small matters, but you have to listen to the big ones."
Lu Shurui wondered to himself, what kind of thing qualifies as a big deal? However, starting over is not bad. No matter what the problem is, speaking it out is the only way to resolve it.
Previously, Yu Yin would never say anything, which was really frustrating. Sometimes he could understand Yu's mother; she was anxious but wouldn't say anything, so how could he not be angry?
Since we're on the topic, let's talk about other things, like plans.
"What do you think about partitioning off two small rooms on the first floor of our house? We could put some shelves there to store grains, oils, dried vegetables, and things like that?"
Lu Shurui automatically imagined how to divide the space, how many shelves to make, and whether or not to install doors.
“That works too. The first floor is too spacious. We can make a storage room and a guest room. If guests come, they can stay there without having to go up to the second floor.”
Perhaps because I grew up in Shanghai, where housing conditions are particularly tight, and people don't have their own space and share rooms with others, there is no privacy. Subconsciously, I don't want others to disturb my private space.
“Okay, the kids are too old for the rooms upstairs, one room for each of them, just right.”
Yu Yin never considered a sexless life, and the two had always lived separately. It's important to understand that a harmonious marital life is an important part of a happy family, and the doctor said that her health had been damaged, making it very unlikely she would get pregnant again, so she didn't need to use contraception.
After understanding the implication in Yu Yin's words, Lu Shurui's ears turned red again.
"Don't be shy, it's normal. Besides, it's too early to be shy now. My body needs at least a year and a half to recover. Let's take this opportunity to get to know each other properly. Who knows, we might even develop real feelings for each other."
Has having a child opened up some kind of meridian in a woman? How come she changes so much and dares to say anything now?
"Alright, enough teasing. Let's get down to business. It seems like we're completely out of food. There are still several days left until the end of the month, and we can't keep eating at the canteen; it's not cost-effective. I need to take advantage of my vacation these next few days to tidy up the yard, grow more vegetables, and maybe some sweet potatoes and potatoes."
"Well, I'll plow the land when I have time tomorrow, and then go to the grain station to buy some grain or something. Do you need anything else?"
He didn't really understand these things. He had never worried about them before. Since arriving here, he had mostly been eating in the cafeteria. Suddenly having to start managing his daily life, he was a little at a loss.
"Tomorrow morning, I'll go buy grain and oil first, and then buy the rest little by little. Let's start cooking; the rice container is empty."
"Okay, I'll go earlier tomorrow. I don't have classes in the morning, so I can go to school later."
Lu Shurui is really amazing. He graduated from high school during the Great Cultural Revolution, but he didn't participate. With his family's arrangement, he went to work as a temporary worker in the library. Since no one came to read, he studied on his own.
Later, the so-called "Old Three Classes" all had to go to the countryside, and he couldn't escape it either, ending up in this remote border region.
He probably has a strong talent for languages. He learned the local dialect in a short time and could communicate with many ethnic minorities. Although he wasn't very fluent, he could understand the general meaning.
Excellent people can thrive anywhere.
When Menghai Middle School was recruiting teachers, he scored nearly full marks and ranked first, several tens of points higher than the second place. Because he knew some local dialect, he occasionally helped the county communicate with the people.
If it weren't for the accidental fall down the mountain and the heavy rain, which led to the original owner rescuing them, and the widespread rumors of the two spending the night outside, they would have had virtually no contact.
Yu Yin was also thinking to herself what else she needed to buy for the house.
Everything that could be said has been said; what hasn't been said remains a secret. Both are keen to make things better, their goals are aligned, so the rest is straightforward.
They changed the wet diaper again, and the father resigned himself to washing the diapers, while the mother was responsible for feeding the babies.
As Lu Shurui rubbed the baby's diaper, he thought to himself, "Habits are such terrible things. Before, I was someone who almost vomited bile just from washing the umbilical cord poop. Now, I can wash a diaper full of poop without batting an eye."
Inside the room, Yu Yin was thinking that she would need to take a bath before entering the space. She found that the effect of bathing was more obvious than drinking spiritual spring water, and her physical strength was restored better.
Fortunately, while Lu Shurui was away, she got a new, larger bathtub, finally able to enjoy bathing freely without worrying that he would discover the tub had vanished without her having a plausible explanation.
Listening to the sounds of a man washing diapers outside, Yu Yin felt a sense of anticipation for the future. She had never experienced the warmth of a family, and she hoped her two little ones could have it too.
The night was quiet, and the stars in the sky shone brightly. Tomorrow should be a good day!
The starry sky, the gentle breeze, the cicadas chirping—nature's symphony lulls you to sleep, and before you know it, you're asleep.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
