Chapter 155: First Day of the New Year
Since Li Laiying was about to give birth, Gao Xiulan has been preparing special meals for her every day, two meals a day, but one of them is fine grains, and she will also make a poached egg for her with some brown sugar water. She is afraid that she will not eat well and have no milk. As a result, she herself is unwilling to feed. After a stalemate for a few days, Gao Xiulan didn't want to endure it anymore. When she woke up in the morning and heard the child crying, she scolded Lu Dongcai and then took the child directly to her room.
Her meaning was clear: "It's okay not to breastfeed, just pretend she never gave birth to this girl. During the confinement period, you can take care of your own wife however you like, I won't take care of her. I have seen nothing strange in my life, I have never seen such a cruel and capable woman, she doesn't even feel the pain of the flesh falling off her body, and you still expect me to be nice to her. From now on, no one is allowed to touch the eggs and fine grains in the house without my permission. I can even feed them to the pigs to make them fat, but it's a waste to give them to such a black-hearted woman. I will be struck by lightning."
The child was only a few days old and had no milk. She didn't know how to feed him, but she had to feed him because he was the child of the old Lu family, a living being. Li Laiying, this woman, really couldn't see why she gave birth to such a blind child like Lu Dongcai and fell in love with such a piece of trash.
Lu Dongcai was also furious. The child was his, how could he not cherish her? After being scolded by Gao Xiulan, he stormed into the house. Before he could say anything, Li Laiying leaned over and cried breathlessly.
"I know I have a miserable life. My parents don't love me, and my in-laws don't love me either. I lost so much blood giving birth to a child, where would I get the milk to feed the child? I worked like a cow or a horse in your family for two years, but it's not enough to pay for a few meals during the confinement period—"
Lu Dongcai felt like his head was about to explode.
He missed his wife when he didn't have one, but now that he has his wife, there are so many problems. He is caught in the middle and feels like a nobody.
At that moment, he didn't care that Li Laiying was in confinement after childbirth, nor did he have the heart to comfort a crying woman. Instead, he raised his voice and yelled, "Stop crying, okay? I'm not dead yet, why are you crying?" He had heard the women in the team say that crying during confinement after childbirth is bad for the body, and if you don't take good care of yourself during confinement, you will have aches and pains when you get older, and they won't get better. So, when he was old enough to find a partner, he thought, no matter what, they will be together for the rest of their lives, so they have to find someone they like. When a woman came to his house, he would do his best to treat her well. He would not let his wife starve even if he had to eat less, and he would not let her tire herself out even if he had to work harder. If a woman had a temper, he would try to comfort her if he could, but if not, he would just stay away and let it go.
He never imagined that his life would turn out like this.
The two had been married for over two years, almost three. He had always been gentle and considerate, never getting angry with Li Laiying, and never saying a harsh word to her. Even when Gao Xiulan sometimes complained to him, he would just coax her and let it go with a smile.
This rare roar actually stunned Li Laiying.
Tears were still on her face, but the crying stopped abruptly.
Lu Dongcai gasped for breath. "No one wants to torture you. Can you please stop being so hard on yourself? I don't understand. You were willing and happy when you wanted this child. Why do you feel wrong now that it's born? Do you dislike the child or me? If you don't like children and don't want to give birth to me a child, you should have said it earlier. What are you doing here now that the child is born? Do you blame your mother for not serving you? If she serves you, you have to be worthy of her service. Have you ever held the child since she was born? How many times have you looked at her? How many times have you changed her diapers? You even refused to feed her milk. She's still so young. If she doesn't feed her milk, what do you think she's going to eat? How is she going to survive? Li Laiying, I've known you for a while, how could I not know that you are so delicate that I have to beg you to feed the child? How can you be so vicious and cruel? If you don't want this child and don't want to have a child with me, just say it directly. I won't pester you and insist on having a woman like you!"
After saying that, he walked out of the house.
Li Laiying was completely stunned by his loud noise. When she came to her senses, he was no longer in the shrine. She burst into tears.
She didn't want a child, she just didn't want a girl. She wanted a boy, what was wrong with that? A boy could carry on the family line and inherit the incense, what was the point of a girl? She'd be in pregnancy for ten months, in excruciating pain, and when she grew up, she'd be someone else's.
She just didn't understand. It was fine if others didn't understand, but Lu Dongcai didn't understand. Didn't he want a son? Why should a girl be breastfed? She refused. She wanted to take care of herself and get pregnant soon after the confinement period. She had to give birth to a son, so that she would have hope in the future.
It is said that a child is the flesh and blood of its mother, and even if no one else loves her, the mother will love her. Lu Dongcai had never seen anyone as strange as her and really didn't understand. He rushed out of the house and saw Lu Minghai and Gao Xiulan outside, both of them looked unhappy.
Lu Dongfu also came home from school. As soon as he got home, the atmosphere was not right. He looked at this and that, and after a long while, he said, "Second brother, didn't you ask me to name the child? I haven't thought of a full name yet, but I'm thinking of a nickname. If it's born in the first ten months of the year, I'll call it Chuyi!"
Gao Xiulan was the first to object: "What's the point of the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month? Lu Dongfu, you've studied so much and you can't even name your child. This name will be used for the rest of your life, so you better give it a good one."
Lu Dongfu scratched his head. "That's not it. Isn't it what you adults say that humble names are easier to raise? What about Fugui and Shuangxi? They have good meanings. When she grows up, she can use them as her real name. Chuyi happened to be her birthdate, so it's so nice to use it. It's simple. It's much better than Daya Maodou." Chuyi, what a nice name. You can call her Chuyi or Yiyi. The strokes are simple, just draw a line and it will be fine. He is really smart. His niece will definitely thank him in the future.
Lu Minghai thought about it and felt that what he said made sense. He nodded and said, "Okay, it's the first grade of junior high school. When you grow up and go to school, you will definitely have to give yourself a new name. You should think of one carefully and don't mess around."
Lu Dongfu naturally agreed.
With this interruption, the atmosphere became much more relaxed.
The child started crying softly again in the house. Gao Xiulan hurried into the house and Lu Dongcai followed her in.
I didn't feed him well. It's been several days, but the baby is still wrinkled and hasn't grown much. He looks pitifully small wrapped in swaddling clothes, crying with his eyes squinted.
Gao Xiulan changed the diaper and ordered Lu Dongcai, "Go get some boiling water and rinse the porridge in the pot with it. Don't want the food underneath, just the soup on top. Give it to him to drink at least."
This is how he has been feeding the baby for the past two days. Lu Dongcai has no other choice but to do this.
After drinking the water soaked in grain, Chuyi instinctively pursed his lips and fell asleep again. Only then did Gao Xiulan breathe a sigh of relief.
He went out and discussed with Lu Minghai: "His father, go ask Dongping later. He often goes to the city. See if he can find a way to help buy two cans of malted milk. The child is too young, and I dare not give it to him casually. How can it be nutritious?"
Lu Minghai hummed and thought for a moment. "We still have soybeans at home, so we're not busy right now. We can just do the work in the private plot. Dongfu can help Dongcai on Sundays, so you stay home and look after the kids. Oh, soybeans, fry some and add some rice. Clean up the hand mill, as it'll be needed for making chili peppers in the next few days. Grind it into powder on the mill, sift it through a sieve, and save the fine part. Don't cut off the water at home, give it to me when I'm hungry, it'll help me keep hungry."
Gao Xiulan had never heard of feeding a child this way, so she asked, "Is it okay?"
"Why not? Other teams have fed them this way. Besides, rice and soybeans are both grains. Roast them and grind them finely. What's wrong with that? They're both good food."
Gao Xiulan thought about it and agreed.
Lu Donghai sighed and went into the house. He wanted to say something but didn't open his mouth. He stood up and walked out of the yard with his hands behind his back. The grain was still drying on the dam on the other side of the wheat field. The grain was about to be stored in the warehouse, and he couldn't be negligent at all. He had to go and watch it.
When Wen Wan came back from washing clothes, she saw Gao Xiulan busy in the corner outside the kitchen. The place was usually covered with a straw raincoat and piled with miscellaneous items. Wen Wan had been there for so long and didn't know there was a stone mill there, a very small one that didn't require a wooden pole, just a handle installed inside the millstone, which could be pushed by holding the handle with the hand.
Wen Wan had never seen such a small stone mill before. She took a look at it, then thought about going back to dry the clothes, so she didn't call Gao Xiulan and hurried back with the basket.
After washing clothes for a while, a lot of peppers appeared in the shade under the eaves, both red and green.
The private plot needs to be freed up to plant other things. All the peppers, whether green or red, have been picked. The pepper seedlings need to be pulled out, turned over, and lightly fertilized. Then, green onions and garlic are planted.
Chili peppers are indispensable, so even though the space in my private plot is limited, I plant a lot of them every year. I plant them in every corner where there is soil. In addition to the ones I eat on a daily basis, I also brought back two bamboo baskets.
Wen Wan wiped the bamboo pole under the eaves with a rag and hung her clothes on it.
Lu Donglin came back carrying a bundle of straw.
"sister in law!"
Wen Wan glanced at him and asked, "Why are you carrying straw?"
Lu Donglin threw the grass to the edge of the gutter and said, "We need to make ropes to string the peppers together." After saying that, he glanced at the peppers piled there and said, "I guess this one won't be enough. I'll go carry another one back." After saying that, he turned around and ran away again.
Wen Wan didn't know what to do. She looked at the scorching sun, gave up the idea of going to the private plot, and turned back into the house to continue doing needlework.
The cloth has been cut. The first one to be made is Lu Mingjiang's. The navy blue twill cloth is quite thick. She plans to make a Zhongshan suit for him, a little bigger, and use an extra layer of cloth inside to make a buttoned monk-collared cotton jacket. It is a very trendy two-piece suit.
In spring and autumn, you can wear outerwear, and when it gets cold, you can put on a cotton-padded jacket. She had been at the Lu family for so long, but she had never seen Lu Mingjiang wear neat clothes. He only had the same two sets of clothes for winter and summer, with patches on top of patches, and they looked terrible.
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