Chapter 107 All Belongings
Li Laiying put down the basket and sat down on the stone a little awkwardly.
"In the mountains, boys are precious and girls are worthless. If you are not welcomed in your own family, how can you expect to be welcomed in other people's families? Don't disbelieve me when I tell you that I was born in the fields by my mother. If Lu Dongcai hadn't asked someone to tell me to come to this family, I would probably have been sold to someone else for food."
"Tell me, this world, this place, is just like this. When I look at Shengxia, and at you, I wonder what kind of life can produce people like you. Only when you live like this, a person's life is not lived in vain. My life is just like this, and it's already pretty good."
Wen Wan didn't know what to say. She wet the clothes she brought and applied soap on the collar and cuffs. Her eyes inadvertently swept over the man's clothes in Li Laiying's hand. She pursed her lips and said nothing.
Everyone has his or her own way of living.
Li Laiying is not Wen Wan, and Wen Wan is not Li Laiying.
She and Lu Dongping have been together since the beginning of their relationship. Lu Dongping has helped her wash the quilt covers and her cotton-padded clothes, but she has never washed clothes for Lu Dongping.
Oh, no, she washed the new clothes yesterday, so it can be considered as washed.
The couple helped each other with these things. Wen Wan thought, if she ended up like Li Laiying, and Lu Dongping still asked her to wash clothes when she was pregnant and it was difficult for her to bend over, then she felt that she could do without this man.
She only had one pair of pants, two pieces of clothes, and something to wear underneath. She changed her clothes frequently, so they weren't very dirty. She just had to apply soap, rub them evenly, soak them for a while, knead them, and then rinse them clean.
Li Laiying washed the couple's clothes. She soaked the soapberry in water, smashed it with a mallet, scrubbed it, and threw it into the water, which immediately became turbid.
Farmers don’t care about their clothes, they just need to wash away the sweat and be clean with water.
Li Laiying rubbed the clothes vigorously and finished one in just a few seconds, very skillfully.
After she finished washing, Wen Wan left the pool with her.
When passing by the door, he greeted her: "If you don't go out, don't stay at home alone. Come and sit with us when you have time."
Li Laiying smiled and nodded, and everyone went home.
Lu Chun'e came back and was sitting at the door of the main hall eating with a bowl in hand. She called her and asked, "Did Lu Donglin run away as soon as he came back?"
Wen Wan took a rag and wiped the bamboo pole under the eaves again and again, and answered her while wiping: "He is carrying a backpack and must be going to pick grass for pigs." As she said that, she shook out the clothes, smoothed them out, and then put them on.
"I don't know when your brother will be back. Do you want to scoop up the rice?"
Lu Chun'e said, "Just scoop it up. It's Saturday, and there's no telling when he'll be back. If something happens, it might be after dark."
Wen Wan put the wet basket in the sun to dry. Lu Chun'e had already finished her meal and went to the stove to clean up.
Wen Wan wiped the table outside the door, then took out the homework and books from her pocket.
Lu Chun'e cleaned the stove and came out to take out her homework and lie down with her.
She usually studies at home when the sun is strong, and goes out at four or five o'clock to prepare pig grass for the pigs in the fields.
The ground is covered with grass in this season, including hemp leaves, small ferns and mature grass. If you go out for two or three hours, you will fill a basket with grass.
In the evening, Lu Dongping was cooking at home, and Wen Wan took the opportunity to tell him about going to the county town tomorrow.
"Are we going to ride a bike or a tractor tomorrow?"
Lu Dongping asked her, "Do you want to ride a bicycle or a tractor?"
"A bicycle is definitely more comfortable than riding a tractor, but it's definitely not good to always borrow other people's bicycles. If it's more convenient to take a tractor to the county town, that would be fine. I can just take Donglin with me."
That is, if she took the tractor, the return time would be inconvenient, and she might not be able to take a shower if she wanted to. But she couldn't go back on her word after she had agreed.
Lu Dongping looked at her while chopping potato shreds: "Why bring him along?"
Wen Wan said, "Take him to see it. Children should be taken out more often. Only by seeing more people and the world can their horizons be broadened. It's not like they can't go."
"Okay, I'll listen to you."
I shredded the potatoes and added sauerkraut and stir-fried them in a large pot.
After mixing the batter, Wen Wan took the initiative to help light the fire: "Just watch it, and tell me if it's too big or too small."
"I forgot to tell you yesterday. My cousin gave me some cotton and cloth coupons, enough for four people, enough to make a thick quilt. I think there will be some left over if I use up the quilt cover. I also gave her ten yuan."
Lu Dongping used a spatula to deftly spread the batter he had scooped into the pot. While he was busy, he looked up at her with a smile and said, "Just take it. If you were close, we would have prepared these for you."
"So last time you said you were going to fluff the cotton wool, have you finished fluffing it yet?"
Lu Dongping said, "It's finished. I was planning to pick it up tomorrow, but if I have to bring that kid Lu Donglin with me, then I won't be able to pick it up. I'll find time to go there another day."
"Now that you've finished making them, you can keep these cotton coupons for now. You can use them to make cotton-padded clothes or quilts later. I'll take the cloth coupons first, and if I come across something suitable tomorrow, I'll buy some more. The cloth I bought last time is enough for a quilt cover, and I can use the rest to make clothes for Chun'e and Donglin when I have some free time."
Lu Dongping thought for a moment and said, "If there really is any extra cloth, I can make a dress for Chun'e. Girls all like that. But forget about that brat Lu Donglin. He doesn't care what he wears. No matter how good the clothes are, they look like a sack on him and he'll roll around like a mud monkey."
As he was speaking, Lu Donglin's voice came from outside: "I'm back!"
After saying that, he cried out, "Oh my god, I'm so tired!"
He slumped over the doorpost, not wanting to move at all.
Wen Wan sat in the house for a long time without seeing him go into the kitchen. After Lu Dongping finished baking the pancakes, she boiled some water in the pot and poured the leftover rice from lunch into the pot to cook. She went out only when there was no need to add more firewood to the bottom of the pot. Then she saw Lu Donglin's hair, which was in clumps, and his clothes were wet and stuck to his body.
"What happened to you? Did you fall into the river?"
Lu Donglin sat up and said, "No, how could I fall into the river at my age? I was just too hot, so I took a shower and washed my clothes. It was much easier when I came back, so I could just take them off and hang them up to dry."
Lu Dongping came out of the house and chuckled, "Should I still praise you?"
"Forget the praise, brother. Are you going to the county town tomorrow and need someone to carry the bags?"
Lu Dongping sat down to chop pig grass, glanced at him, and replied bluntly: "No need!"
Lu Donglin's face instantly fell. After a moment's fall, he looked at Wen Wan eagerly: "Sister, you must be missing."
Wen Wan asked, "Can you change your clothes first before we talk?"
"It's almost dark. Why change clothes now? It will be dry in a moment." After dinner, he took off his clothes and crawled naked into the quilt. It was as easy as it could be.
Wen Wan didn't respond and just glanced at him.
Lu Donglin was frightened. He made a face and slipped into the house. After a while, he came out wearing clean clothes. Then he scooped some water from the tub, rinsed the wet clothes and hung them up to dry.
After dinner, Wen Wan walked around the yard twice. Lu Dongping came out of the house and called her, "Wan Wan!"
When Wen Wan turned around, he was already in front of her and stuffed a thin little notebook into her hand.
"What is it?"
"you guess?"
Wen Wan touched it and had a rough idea of what it was, but she said, "I can't guess."
Lu Dongping held her in his arms and whispered in her ear, "This is a secret between us."
That was his credit union passbook, which contained all the assets he had saved over the years. A few hundred dollars was not much for Wen Wan, but for him and a mountain village like Lujiazui, it was a huge sum of money.
Zhang Hongying and Lu Mingjiang both knew he had money saved, but they didn't know exactly how much. He had given all his scattered banknotes, except for the food coupons, to Wen Wan, leaving only the money in the credit union. They were married, though they hadn't done anything else yet. So, whether it was money or banknotes, his wife had to manage them, to make them feel like a couple.
Wen Wan also had two passbooks, one for a fixed term deposit at the People's Bank of China in the capital, and one for a current account, which she opened when she left. She thought she would need money after going to the countryside, but she didn't dare to carry too much money with her, so she could only open a current account passbook.
Neither of the two passbooks was as heavy as this one, and she, who was always very sleepy, didn't fall asleep until midnight.
It was so difficult to get up the next morning that she couldn't even wash her face completely. She walked to the commune and then took a tractor to the county town until it was really bright. As soon as the tractor started running with black smoke, she began to doze off again.
She slept all the way to the county town. When Lu Dongping woke her up, they were the only two left on the tractor. Lu Donglin had already jumped off.
Wen Wan got off the tractor, swayed, yawned quietly, and asked Lu Dongping: "Did you ask what time we'll be leaving?"
Lu Dongping said, "Early, around four or five in the afternoon, when the sun is setting." The commune's tractors usually didn't come to the county town. If they did, it was usually for business, not just to transport people. In the scorching heat, who would go to the county town unless it was urgent? Besides the hassle of getting a letter of introduction, why would they go to the county town? Too much money to burn? So, there was no rush.
Wen Wan said: "If it's early, then I want to go to the bathhouse first."
Lu Donglin asked in confusion: "What are you going to the bathhouse for?"
"Take a shower!"
"No, it's so hot, who would go to the bathhouse to take a bath? At noon, you can just squat in the river and wash yourself."
Wen Wan shook her head: "No, it would be better if it were a little warmer, but not now. The water is cold, and it would be a waste if you catch a cold."
Unfortunately, just as Lu Donglin said, when the weather gets hot, who would spend that money to take a bath in the bathhouse? If no one comes, it would be inappropriate to keep the boiler burning all day. The bathhouse door is open, but it is not open for business!
Wenwan:——
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