Liang Shengdi rolled her eyes at this and said, "There's no need to be so particular about giving birth. If you can give birth, you can soak your legs in cold water every day and still give birth. If you can't give birth, you can feed her three meals of fine rice a day, and she won't be able to give birth even if she never touches water or walks in the mud."
"Besides, why would you want to have a baby when you're starving to death? After the baby is born, you'll probably have to exchange food with other families."
Lin Shuying covered her mouth when she heard this. It was as if she had heard something horrifying. Despite the dim moonlight, Liang Shengdi could still see the fear in her eldest granddaughter's eyes and curled her lips.
"I've never eaten a human, so don't make a fuss. But your aunt was born not long ago, and there was a famine all over the world. At that time, there was no liberation yet. Who would care if you starved to death? How many families carried their children on their shoulders and sold them? Do you know what the people who bought them were used for?"
"You... are too grandma. She can't stand me, and I can't stand her, but there is one thing I really admire. Even if she had to dig grass roots and tree bark and eat Guanyin soil, she wouldn't sell her child."
Yulan is a girl. If she was born in the Liang family, she would have died long ago.
"Well, at that time...you..." Lin Shuying wanted to say, Grandma, did you work at that time? After all, she still had some impression of Liang Shengdi's salted fish life back then.
Liang Shengdi said angrily, "I didn't stop working until your father was born! Even when there was rice, they still stuffed sweet potatoes into my mouth. I didn't do any work! Of course I worked during the famine! The key point is that there was no work for you even if you wanted to!"
"Oh..." Lin Shuying touched her nose awkwardly, then moved her butt uncomfortably.
"Grandma, is it really hard to sleep at night when you come here at this time? I'm always worried that the towel will be torn apart when I sleep, and then it will stain the sheets..."
"Why don't you just stretch the toilet paper a little longer..." Liang Shengdi thought for a moment and got up again. She rummaged through the bedside cabinet in the dark for a long time and pulled out a large cloth.
"Hey, put this one under it too. Two pieces should be enough. If it gets stained anyway, there's nothing we can do. This isn't what you wanted. Just wash the sheets tomorrow."
Lin Shuying obediently added another layer of cloth under her body, and now she felt much more at ease.
"It's good that you have straw paper now. Back then... I just burned some wood ash and stuffed it in, but people still thought it was dirty." Liang Shengdi curled her lips. Even after so many years, she still felt resentful about her youth.
"Ah, there wasn't even any toilet paper back then?"
"Actually, I did." Liang Shengdi recalled, "But paper was very expensive at that time. Straw paper can be used for writing, and it was left for my brother to write on. How could I use it?"
Lin Shuying opened her mouth, not knowing what to say, "Then, what are you going to do after you go to the toilet?"
Liang Shengdi: "Leaves or bamboo strips are fine."
Lin Shuying: ...
"But that was all before I got married. After I married your grandfather, I could still afford straw paper." Although there were food shortages during those two famines, they didn't last long and we could still make do.
Lin Shuying felt that this topic was a bit too much, and it took her a while to come back to her senses.
"Grandma, have you ever used sanitary napkins? Mom said they're disposable and can be thrown away after use. They seem to be made of cotton and are very absorbent. Unlike menstrual pads, they're sticky and you have to wash them several times a day..."
"What the hell? Cotton? Throw it away after use?" Liang Shengdi had never heard of such a thing before, but that didn't stop her from calculating. "How much does this thing cost?"
Lin Shuying blinked. She hadn't asked at first, but after hearing her grandmother's words...
"I don't know either. Mom said the state-owned stores in the city have them, but not in the county yet. She'll buy them for me when she sends me to school... If they're too expensive, I won't take them. If they're not expensive, I'll give you a pack."
Liang Shengdi burst out laughing, hahahaha,
"Oh, my eldest granddaughter, hahahaha, grandma thanks you, but I'm afraid you won't be needed anymore... hahahaha, I won't even bother with this anymore."
"Ah? Isn't it said that all women will come? You, didn't you just say that when you were young..." Lin Shuying was confused by her laughter, which was like this and that.
"How can your mother only teach half of what she teaches?" Liang Shengdi laughed for a long time before she calmed down. "It will stop coming when you get older. It's normal! You won't have your period when you are in your forties or fifties. It's menopause.
"You just came, it means you have grown up, and if you don't come, it means you are old. God has arranged everything for us women."
Lin Shuying was a little unhappy. She didn't even need to use sanitary napkins when she was young, so how could she look old?
"Grandma, you're not old. You're full of energy. How can you be old? Can your period come back?"
She didn't know that she just wanted to give her grandma some sanitary napkins. Her mother said that they were better than wood ash or straw paper, and her grandma would definitely say they were good after using them.
"Silly girl, you are old once you are old. There is no such thing as never-changing." Liang Shengdi's calloused hands touched the top of her granddaughter's head.
"You kids are all blessed, so just enjoy your life. Eat what you have, use what you have. Don't always feel sorry for this person or that person. Children shouldn't be so careless."
"Although I didn't enjoy much in my youth, I didn't suffer much either. It's true that many people suffered because of me. Now your parents are both capable and they take care of me, providing me with three meals a day of white rice and meat. I'm quite content."
"Your grandfather is unlucky. He married a lazy woman like me. He didn't enjoy life when he was young, and when he got old and had children, he was gone when it was time for him to enjoy life."
“Sometimes life is very strange, so don’t think too much. Live in the present moment.”
***
Lin Shuying felt that after she started her menstruation, her younger brothers and sisters at home became much more obedient.
As soon as she got up, my younger sister poured hot water for her to drink. In the mornings, before leaving, my mother would make a pot of brown sugar ginger water for her, and my younger sister would watch over her, not letting the third child have a chance to drink it secretly, watching every drop of it go down her throat.
She didn't even have to get her breakfast herself, as the second brother had already brought the bowl to her. She didn't even have to wash the dishes after eating, as the second brother rushed into the kitchen, saying that his sister wasn't feeling well and couldn't touch water.
The third brother would slam on the brakes when he saw her approaching, making way for his eldest sister. He would even shyly come over and ask if her stomach still hurt. Whatever she wanted to eat, he would definitely fish it out for her, as long as it was available in the mountains or rivers.
Lin Shuying suddenly felt that menstruation was not such a annoying thing.
Mom said that this represents growing up.
But in fact, my younger brothers and sisters are also growing up, right?
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After researching the history of women's products, it was really not easy for our ancestors (?ˊ????)???
I beg for mercy every day. Please leave your little hair behind (??? ???)
Gratitudeヾ(≧?≦Thank you≧?≦)ノ
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