In 1945, the Japanese finally surrendered.
In the summer, the Japanese soldiers in Yuezhou gradually withdrew from their strongholds, and every village and household held a meeting to celebrate the victory of the War of Resistance.
Many young people in Sihe Village also formed a team and said they were going to the county to parade with colorful flags. However, they were laughed at by their fellow villagers, who said that those who were going to parade were educated students, so why were you trying to put gold on your face?
Who says only educated people can go there? We've killed Japanese invaders, too! Our village even donated eight rifles to the Eighth Route Army! Eight! Even if we haven't done anything meritorious, we've certainly contributed! We should be recognized!
If anyone needs to be commended, it should be our village chief. It's all because of his excellent leadership of the team! It's none of your business!
…
Zhang Xiaonv was turning over the newly harvested millet with a spiked rake while she stood in the threshing ground and chatted with Dashan Mama.
"I heard from my Wenxuan that because we won the war, the land tax will be exempted this year? Is that true?"
"Really? How could this be false? They say we can be exempted from taxes for a year!" Dashan's mother was also happily turning over the millet. "I think the cake factory in our village can be used again this year! How many years have we not made rice cakes? We will definitely be able to eat them this year!"
"Yes! We have to talk to the village chief and start selling it during the New Year!" Zhang Xiaonv was so happy that she could store more grain this year. She looked at her granddaughter squatting by the grain pile to help pick out the weeds and said happily,
"Yulan! Do you want to eat some rice cakes? I'm giving you rice cakes for the New Year this year!"
"Okay, I want to eat."
Zhang Xiaonv squinted her eyes and smiled at her granddaughter who was still working hard.
"If the situation is this good every year, we can save some money and send you to school! When they go to the county parade, we can also have a share of Yulan!"
Xiao Yulan nodded again, but she didn't stop working at all. "Okay, I want to study."
Four-year-old Yulan was well-behaved in the village. Unlike other children, she was not as naughty as other children. She followed her grandmother around every day to help with the chores. She never cried or asked for anything. She ate whatever her family gave her and did whatever they asked her to do. She was particularly jealous of Dashan's mother.
"Let's not talk about your daughter-in-law, but this eldest granddaughter is really good! She's much better than that brat Youli from my family!"
Speaking of his wife, Zhang Xiaonu's smile faded again. She stared at Dashan's mother speechlessly, and the meaning in her expression was nothing more than - why don't you bring up this matter!
Dashan's mother laughed out loud, but she wasn't embarrassed at all. They had been sisters for more than ten or twenty years, so there was nothing they couldn't talk about.
"Your daughter-in-law isn't working yet?"
Zhang Xiaonu angrily turned over the millet on the ground with a spiked rake, "I won't do it! You sit under the tree every day to enjoy the cool air! If you don't know her, you would think she is the emperor's wife! All she does is eat and never work!"
"Wenxuan doesn't tell her either?"
"Oh! That's his baby! How could he possibly say anything about her!" Zhang Xiaonv got even angrier when she mentioned her son. "If I frown at his wife, he'll get mad! Who dares to say anything?"
Lin Wenxuan was definitely responsible for Liang Shengdi's continued laziness. Not only did he not criticize her, but he also worried that she would be bored while basking in the sun, so he would scavenge for wild goods from the mountains, sometimes roasted chestnuts, sometimes wild persimmons, wild strawberries, dried bamboo shoots, and so on, and put them in her pocket as snacks.
Even Magnolia didn’t get this treatment, Quan Xuan and Liang Shengdi were talking about it.
It really makes me angry just to mention Zhang Xiaonv.
Dashan's mother laughed and advised Zhang Xiaonv to be more open-minded. At least they and her husband were in harmony and their family was peaceful.
Speaking of Taiping,
"Well, then tell Wenxuan's wife to have another child quickly! It's been two years, the war is over, and life is peaceful! There's enough food to feed a child!"
Zhang Xiaonu thought about it and realized that it was true.
That year, Erbao was like a gust of wind, sweeping through the Lin family's house, lifting the entire roof, and then disappearing without a trace. No one mentioned him again, and no one dared to mention him.
Lin Wenxuan said that they were still young and could have more children, but he didn't dare to ask Liang Shengdi for another one right away.
They all knew that the second baby was gone, and they didn't know what the real reason was.
You need food. Only with food can you feed your wife and children, and only with food can your family live in peace.
But like in previous years, planes were flying in the sky all day long, and every now and then people had to run to the mountains with their belongings. Not to mention feeding the whole family, many pregnant women in the surrounding area lost their children or even themselves while fleeing.
Zhang Xiaonu would occasionally say that Yulan had a good fortune. She would also occasionally hold Yulan in her arms and pray to the Buddha, blabbering to him, saying, "Since you've given her life, please live longer. That little one is gone, so you must keep this one for us."
Everything is peaceful now. My cheap daughter-in-law has gained a lot of flesh on her face and body. At least she looks like a normal person, not a skeleton. So... can I mention her now?
Zhang Xiaonv told this story back home.
Lin Wenxuan rubbed his forehead and thought for a long time before slowly nodding. "I'll go talk to Shengdi."
Now that there is no war, those who farm can go out to work in their spare time to earn some money and always have enough to eat.
Liang Shengdi didn't even think about it and nodded directly, "Give birth to it, I said I would give you a son." Her tone was very light, and she made it sound like pulling a carrot, one at a time.
But having a child is not something you can do just by saying so.
The first two pregnancies went so smoothly, and now when I was concentrating on having another one, my belly seemed to be against me. A whole year, including the period of exemption from land tax, had passed, but Liang Shengdi's belly showed no movement.
The two young men were not in a hurry, but Zhang Xiaonv was so anxious that she wanted to drag Liang Shengdi to see the old doctor again.
Liang Shengdi lazily slumped on the bamboo chair and yawned, "Mom, don't waste that money. It would be more effective to buy me some eggs to replenish my body."
"Eat, eat, eat! You only know how to eat! You can lay eggs after eating eggs!" Zhang Xiaonv scolded angrily, and then as expected, she was glared at by her son again.
"Shengdi is right. Don't drag her to the old doctor's house for no reason. He doesn't charge money now, he just asks for rice. You have to bring a bowl of rice every time you go. It's really better to cook it at home!"
According to him, Liang Shengdi had given birth to two children before, so it was impossible that she was infertile. The reason she couldn't get pregnant was probably because her body had not yet recovered from the deficiency in the past two years. She just needed to eat more.
The most important thing is that prices are rising rapidly outside.
They said peace would come after the war, but the price of grain had risen to 15,000 yuan per dan of rice. Even working part-time wasn't enough to earn them the rapid devaluation of the legal tender. Especially for people in their small towns, even a single cent was painful.
The money you pay to work is French currency, but when you want to spend money, the other party will absolutely not accept it and would rather take the grain, so the money is even less valuable.
It’s better not to spend food recklessly.
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