Chapter 162: Lice Grow
Lu Dongping didn't let her continue. She knew she wouldn't say anything good. The relationship between the two families wasn't great to begin with, and when no one showed up for the family banquet at the end of August, she'd been feeling uneasy.
"It's Wednesday. I'm definitely stuck at the commune, and Wanwan can't stay late at school. Dongcai's wife is in confinement, and my aunt needs to look after the baby. All three of them need to go to school. We're not talking about going early, so let's go early on the 8th. Uncle, you and my dad can go. I'll ask Liu Dacai tomorrow if he can go to the county town that day. If we go, we can even take a tractor, which will save us some time."
Lu Minghai thought about it and nodded: "It can be done. After all, they are brothers. Broken bones are connected by tendons. If I don't go, it will be embarrassing for the second brother."
There was only one pound of wine, which was not much for three people to drink. It was almost time when they finished drinking. Zhang Hongying stood up and scooped a bowl of soup for each of them. She took out the warm pancakes from the pot and ate them with the heart and lung soup.
After eating, Wen Wan put the bowl down and went outside.
Lu Chun'e pulled her along and went to visit Gao Xiulan in the dark.
After she left, Lu Minghai asked Lu Dongping, "What happened to you this afternoon? I heard that as soon as you got back, you went to the wheat field and went crazy, threatening the female educated youth?"
"Who did you hear chewing maggots again?" Lu Dongping slowly sipped his soup to calm down. "That female educated youth named Zhang from the educated youth site. I met her the other day when I went to the brigade to get a letter of introduction. She asked me when I was going to the city, saying we needed a companion. Wanwan and I were riding our bikes together, so why did we need someone else? I didn't agree, so maybe that's how I offended her. Otherwise, my wife and I haven't said much to her. I really can't remember how I offended her. It just happened that we ran into her in the city yesterday. We were riding our bikes back, and they were on a tractor, so we ran into each other again on the way. I don't know how she started talking about Wanwan and me, telling people we were living together before we were even married. Is that something a human being can say? Is that something you can say casually? Isn't that defamatory? She's an educated youth, but she's read like a dog. Women from several teams were on the tractor yesterday. What would happen if that word got out and spread around? I even threatened her. I really want to deal with her and sew her mouth shut."
Lu Minghai was stunned for a moment, feeling that he had drunk a little too much, and his head was a little dizzy: "Okay, you know your limit, don't go too far, we are all adults."
Zhang Hongying was unwilling to do so: "Lu Dongping, you are a man and she is a woman. You should stay away from her. If she does something wrong again, I will come and slap her hard twice. I am afraid she will not learn her lesson."
Lu Mingjiang said, "Your mother is right. A woman should be ruled by another woman. If you, a grown man, argue with a woman, even if she is wrong, you will be at a disadvantage. If you have any problems, come back and tell your family and we'll see what to do. You? You are an adult, yes, but as long as your mother and I are still breathing, you are still a child in front of us."
Lu Dongping responded: "I understand."
While the old men were talking here, Gao Xiulan lit the oil lamp and took Wen Wan and Lu Chun'e into the house to see Chuyi.
The little guy is one month old now, and he looks much more energetic. It seems that feeding him rice porridge is effective, as he has grown a little bit.
“So cute!”
Lu Chun'e wanted to reach out and poke it but she didn't dare, for fear of waking it up.
After taking a look, the three of them retreated quietly.
Wen Wan asked Gao Xiulan: "After a full month, it will be easier to take care of it, right? Will it be able to see the wind and be taken out now?"
Gao Xiulan nodded: "Yes, then I don't have to stay in the house. I can carry her outside and do something. Otherwise, I can't leave the place directly. I need to poop, pee, or be hungry."
Then he turned to Wen Wan, "I haven't thanked you and Dongping yet for bringing back malted milk from such a long distance. Dongping also brought some pig liver. I gave him money, but he refused to take it. This child is so stubborn."
Wen Wan smiled and said, "That's his niece after all. Pig liver isn't worth much. Didn't he take the money for the malted milk a long time ago?"
Gao Xiulan smiled but couldn't help sighing, "With these two cans of pig liver, plus the rice flour and soybean flour I made, it should last for a while. At least she won't suffer before her big meal."
Malted milk is not cheap. Raising such a granddaughter is equivalent to raising five siblings including Lu Dongcai.
Lu Chun'e turned around and glanced at the room next to her. She reached out and tugged at Gao Xiulan. The two of them walked towards the entrance of the courtyard, and Wen Wan followed. When they were a little further away from the main house, Lu Chun'e asked, "Aunt, Chuyi is one month old. Does that mean Sister-in-law Laiying is one month old too? Can she go out now?"
Gao Xiulan glanced into the room and said, "It's a full moon, it was a full moon two days ago. Anyway, they are living a very comfortable life. Your brother Dongcai takes care of food and drink, and they don't even have to work in the fields. He only came out once on the full moon day, and he hasn't shown up for the past two days. Apart from anything else, your brother Dongcai still brings food and drink into the room, and even puts the urine bucket in the room. He relieves himself in the room day and night. It's shameless. Your uncle and I have never done anything immoral in our lives, so how could we end up with such a person?"
Lu Chun'e looked around; "Where's Brother Dongcai?"
Gao Xiulan just sighed and said nothing.
Lu Chun'e couldn't ask any more questions. She felt that her cousin's wife was not a good person and it would be better for her to have less contact with her in the future.
When she came back on Tuesday afternoon, Wen Wan locked the buttonholes on the finished clothes, sewed on the buttons, and then gave them to Zhang Hongying.
"It's too early to wear a cotton jacket these two days, but the Zhongshan suit is just right. It's just that it's a bit big when worn alone. I deliberately made it a little looser, and the overcoat is just right. I have to go to a banquet tomorrow, so I can wear this. And there are also the Liberation shoes I bought for you last time. Wear them as soon as you buy them, don't be reluctant to part with them. I just need a pair of pants, and there's no time." Not only is there no time, but there is also not enough cloth. After all, everyone in the family has to make new clothes this year, which is already a big expense.
Zhang Hongying smiled happily, "It's fine, it's fine. It doesn't matter if it's a little bigger. Just like you said, I can wear clothes underneath. As for pants, there's no need to worry about them. I haven't worn new clothes in so many years. If I can save up enough clothes this year, I can save up enough pants next year. I'll take my time."
When they lay down at night, Zhang Hongying told Lu Mingjiang about the clothes: "Wanwan has made clothes for you. They are two pieces that can be worn together. She said that you can wear the new clothes and the pair of Liberation shoes she bought for you when you sit at the banquet tomorrow."
Lu Mingjiang smiled and said, "This is really a blessing to enjoy early."
Zhang Hongying said, "That's true, but it's hard to say. People change. Look at my sister-in-law's family, Dongcai's wife. She was very diligent and honest when she first came into the family two years ago, but she started to act up as soon as she got pregnant. After the baby was born, she became even more unpopular. Not only did she not take care of the child, but she still hasn't left the house even after the baby was a month old. I heard Chun'e come back and say that she still has a urine bucket in the house and relieves herself in the bucket day and night, and Dongcai takes it to empty it. It's really outrageous."
Lu Mingjiang frowned and then relaxed his brows: "No, no matter how bad Dongping's wife is, she won't be the same as Dongcai's wife. We are her parents and we are upright. We can't change much. We have different backgrounds and upbringings."
After saying that, he thought for a moment and said, "I'll tell Dong Ping tomorrow and ask him to talk to Dong Cai. Dong Cheng is not at home, so he is the boss and he has to say what needs to be said. If he doesn't discipline his wife, how can others do that?"
Zhang Hongying pushed him and said, "You are such a jerk. These are other people's affairs. How can Dongping say anything? Won't that cause disharmony in their family?"
"How can this be someone else's business? My eldest brother and his wife have had a hard life. They worked so hard to raise them. Now they are old and still being ridiculed because of their daughter-in-law? You have to teach your daughter-in-law well after you marry her into the family. Dongping said that if he doesn't listen, I will give him a slap in the face."
Zhang Hongying reached out and patted him on the head: "You didn't drink today, why are you talking nonsense?"
Before Lu Mingjiang could explain to Lu Dongping, Lu Dongcai started making trouble first.
The family was a little poor, but Lu Minghai and Gao Xiulan were both hardworking people. They kept even the straw hut clean and tidy. Lu Dongcai and the others developed good habits from their childhood by learning from them.
During her confinement, Li Laiying barely left the house. She didn't wash her hair or face for a month, afraid of the wind, and urinated in a urine bucket. Because of the child, Gao Xiulan said she'd leave her alone, and Lu Dongcai was the one who did the heavy lifting, collecting bowls, emptying urine, and fetching water.
During the confinement period, although she wasn't given sugar-coated eggs or refined grains every day, Li Laiying still gained weight. Her belly had shrunk a little on the first day of the birth, but after the confinement period, she hadn't shrunk much, and her face was still chubby.
Take that hair, for example. It hadn't been watered in a month, and his clothes hadn't been changed for a month either. Lu Dongcai had just gotten into bed when something bit him. He reached out and felt around but couldn't feel anything. He lay down and started talking to Li Laiying, "It's been a month, and the weather was nice yesterday, so Mom took Chuyi out. You can go for a walk, too, right?"
Li Laiying didn't say anything. He continued, "It's not too busy these two days, so you don't have to go to work. If the weather is good tomorrow, you can boil some hot water, boil more. I'll fill the water tank and bucket after breakfast. You can wash your hair and wipe yourself."
Li Laiying said in a muffled voice: "Are you disgusted by my uncleanness?"
It's already a full month, but they still sleep on their own.
Lu Dongcai said: "No, I don't dislike you, I just want to wash you and make you feel comfortable, right?"
As he was speaking, he suddenly felt an itch in his hair. He pinched it. Although he couldn't see it, he could feel it.
There is nothing else that can bite people on the bed except lice and nits.
Actually, this thing is found in every household on the team, but they rarely have it at home because they clean their beds frequently and dry their bedding every now and then. They keep everything clean and tidy, so you rarely see it. It's just that they didn't understand it when they were young, and it grew on their heads when the adults didn't take care of it.
I didn't expect that now that I already have a wife and am getting older, there would be this thing on the bed.
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