Chapter 163: Teach your son in public and teach your wife behind others
After tossing and turning for most of the night, Lu Dongcai fell asleep because he was extremely sleepy. Before falling asleep, he kept thinking that he hoped there would be a big sun tomorrow so that he could tidy up the bed and take the bedding and straw out to dry in the sun.
The weather was very good the next day. Lu Minghai and Lu Mingjiang got up early, and walked towards the commune with Lu Chun'e and a group of other students, carrying the gifts given by their wives.
Liu Dacai has been very busy recently and will not be going to the county town today, so the two old brothers have to walk to the county town.
If we walked faster, it would take more than three hours to get from the commune to the county town. Fortunately, people in the mountains are used to walking, and with the two of us company, we could chat while walking and the time passed quickly.
Lu Dongcai was listless after not sleeping well last night. When Lu Minghai left, he said that he would not go to the fields today and he wanted to clean up the house.
As soon as Lu Minghai left, the sky gradually brightened. Gao Xiulan swept the yard with a big broom, while Lu Dongcai went to fetch water. After filling the water tank, he boiled a pot of water and filled the kettles at home. Then Gao Xiulan scooped up corn grits to cook.
After putting the food into the pot, he instructed Lu Dongcai, "Watch it. I'll go check on Chuyi and make sure he doesn't wake up and pee on himself again." The little guy doesn't sleep in and wakes up very early, almost at this time every day.
The light in the room was still dim. Gao Xiulan entered the room. The child wrapped in a small quilt was originally asleep, but now he woke up and moved twice with a whimper. Gao Xiulan hurriedly carried him out to help him pee. Chuyi was not fully awake yet and was a little unhappy. His short legs kicked. Gao Xiulan pinched his legs and made a few "shushing" sounds: "Hurry up and pee, Chuyi, you are a good child. You must be careful and can't hold your pee. If you pee, we will get up. Today, your mother-in-law will take you for a walk and play."
I don't know if her bad words worked, but Chuyi struggled a few times, pursed her lips and hummed a few times, and then peed a very big urine. Gao Xiulan then held her and put clothes on her, wrapped her in a small quilt, and wrapped her with cloth belts. She was wrapped like a mallet, with a loose knot on top, and then she carried her out of the house.
Although it is a full moon, the day is getting colder, so it is better to avoid the wind as much as possible.
She carried the child to the kitchen, where Lu Dongcai was stirring the pot. When he saw Gao Xiulan coming over with the child, his eyes lit up: "Let me do it, let me hold the child for a while."
Gao Xiulan handed the child to him and warned him, "Be careful, hold it in your hands. The bones haven't hardened yet!"
As he said this, he scooped a spoonful of porridge, looked at it, and called out to him, "Okay, put out the fire."
"What's going on with your wife? Is she calling you to eat, or are you still going to bring her food? Is this how your life is going to end? You've given birth to a child who can't get out of the house or get off the ground? Dongcai, I'm not trying to sow discord between you two, but that's not how you live your life. You teach your son in public and your wife behind others' backs. You're a man, and your wife is like a sapling. Whether she grows crooked or straight depends on how stubborn you are."
Lu Dongcai nodded to indicate that he understood, and carried Chuyi out of the kitchen and into his own room. Li Laiying was still lying with her back to the edge of the bed, and it was unclear whether she was asleep or awake. Lu Dongcai didn't understand why a woman would change so much after giving birth.
He called out, "Laiying, dinner is ready. Get up and wash your face so you can eat."
Li Laiying turned over and frowned at the child in his arms: "Why did you bring her here?"
Lu Dongcai glanced at her and said, "What's wrong with me carrying her here? My daughter can be carried wherever I want. Hurry up and get up. She woke up early on New Year's Day, and you're still sleeping. Doesn't your back hurt from sleeping all day and all night? How can you be so sleepy?"
Li Laiying said, "I feel weak, dizzy, and can't get up."
Lu Dongcai ignored her and carried Chuyi out of the house.
Li Laiying couldn't get up, and Lu Dongcai didn't bring the food in as before. Instead, he scooped the rice and ate it by himself while sitting on the doorstep.
Zhang Hongying scooped a little bit of the soup on top and fed it to Chuyi little by little with a small spoon.
When she finished feeding, Lu Dongcai had already finished his meal. He put down his bowl and said, "Mom, are you done feeding? If not, I'll do it. You go and eat quickly."
"It's done, it's done. You hold it while I go have a bite."
After saying this, he handed the child to him and went into the house to scoop up some rice. After coming out with the bowl, he sat on a small stool and said, "I'll go to the wheat field after eating. I'll carry Chuyi on my back and go over to rub the corn. This delay will take a month or so. How can I not earn work points?"
Lu Dongcai said: "I'm at home, let Chuyi stay at home and I'll take care of her. How can I do the work while carrying her on my back?"
"I carried all five of you here on my back. My old bones are still strong, so I'll carry you as long as I can. I'll bring some rice noodles and a pot of boiling water. If she's hungry, just make her some water. As for you, you've been delayed for a day. You've packed up everything you need to pack, and it looks like you'll be busy again."
"knew."
Lu Dongcai responded and quickly put the rice into his mouth. Gao Xiulan carried Chuyi into the house, found a wide cloth belt to tie up the child and the quilt together, and tied them crosswise on her back. She put on a few diapers, took a porcelain jar, scooped some malted milk into it, and wrapped some rice flour in straw paper. The child ate little and got hungry quickly, so she figured that he would have to eat two more meals to last until the afternoon.
After packing the basket and carrying a kettle, he called out to Lu Dongcai, "I'm leaving now. Please feed the pigs while I'm at it."
After saying that, she left with the child on her back and the basket in her hand.
Lu Dongcai looked at her slightly hunched back and felt as if something had been poked in her, which made him feel a little uncomfortable.
After taking a look at the main room which was still silent, he turned back to the kitchen, cleaned up the pot and stove, went out to chop some pig grass, mixed it with the water used to wash the pot and poured it into the pigpen, and also prepared some food for the two chickens.
He went back to the kitchen, rinsed both pots again, filled them with water, stuffed some firewood into the stove, took a shoulder pole and went out to fetch water.
The water tank was full, the firewood in the pot had burned out, but there was still no movement in the main room. The anger that had been suppressed for a long time suddenly came to the fore. He added a load of firewood to the stove, got up and went to the main room, took a mat and spread it under the eaves, then went back into the room, looked at the bed, reached over and lifted the quilt.
Li Laiying was startled by him: "What are you doing?"
Lu Dongcai hugged the quilt and said, "I thought you were fast asleep, so I came to see if you were cold enough."
After saying that, he turned around and went outside, holding the quilt.
Li Laiying was only wearing one layer of clothes and no quilt. She was shivering in the cold room. Before she could find some clothes to put on, Lu Dongcai came in again. This time, he pulled the sheets and mattress out.
Li Laiying was stunned by his sudden action for a long time, feeling very upset. When he came to fetch the straw for the third time, she stood in front of him and said, "Lu Dongcai, what are you doing?"
Lu Dongcai stood there, his brow furrowed. "What do you think I'm doing? Last night you asked me if I found it dirty, and I said no. But after reflecting on it, I realized I do find it dirty. Li Laiying, you're a woman, a human being. Can you please stop imitating the pigs in the pigpen? What's the difference between this room and a pigpen?"
Li Laiying didn't know if she was cold or angry, she was shivering all over. "What's wrong with me? No matter what, you still despise me because I gave birth to a girl. If I had known she was a girl, why would I have gone through all the trouble to give birth to her? Confinement, what kind of confinement did I do? How many eggs did I eat? How many decent meals did I eat? What did I want? I just wanted to take good care of my body and then get pregnant and give birth to a son. How have I ever let you down? You compare me to a pig. You eat the same pot and sleep in the same bed as a pig?"
Lu Dongcai was the most tempered of the brothers; he'd never lost his temper or argued with anyone in his entire life. He hadn't intended to argue with Li Laiying, but he'd been pent up in anger for almost a month, and with nowhere to release it, he was about to explode. He didn't know how to explain it to Li Laiying; he thought she was mentally ill and couldn't understand what he was saying.
No, there must be something wrong with his brain. His mother was right. He must have been kicked in the head by a donkey and his eyes were blind. Otherwise, why would he suddenly get excited and think that Li Laiying was pretty good and fall in love with such a different woman?
"Yes, we are married, and you gave birth to a child for me, but what man and woman don't have children after getting married? You don't like the child, and you dislike it being a girl, what did I say? I bring you two meals a day, and I take them away after you finish eating. Your urine and feces are in the bucket, and I take them out for you to pour out and wash for you. My mother gave birth to me and raised me for so many years, but I have never enjoyed such treatment!" He was fed up with this all day long. Li Laiying also mentioned the confinement period to him. It was not fine at the beginning. All the good things at home were cooked for her. Later, who could she blame? Could she still blame his Lu family for being inhumane? If she hadn't done it herself, it wouldn't have turned out like that. Even if she didn't like girls, she couldn't have given birth to a baby and not even look at it.
He saw clearly how cruel a woman's heart was.
Li Laiying opened her mouth and said: "Then you live with your mother! Don't talk about wife, you live with your mother, how do you want to serve her——"
The response she got was a slap in the face. Her face felt burning with pain and her head was buzzing. Lu Dongcai had put a lot of strength into the slap. He was also angry about what Li Laiying said. He was stunned after the slap. He had never thought of hitting anyone.
Li Laiying was also stunned by his beating. After a long time, she reacted and rushed forward like a tantrum, tearing and crying.
Lu Dongcai finally saw another side of her that no one had ever seen before, after the confinement period. Not counting the pregnancy, they had been married for two years. He had always considered Li Laiying quiet, honest, hardworking, gentle, and considerate. She'd been a bit irritable during her pregnancy, but he'd tolerated that. What he couldn't tolerate was her decision to abandon the child after the birth because she didn't like girls. He took care of her during the confinement period, and he didn't think there was anything wrong with that. He figured it was only a month, so he'd take good care of her and make sure she didn't develop any underlying health problems; after a month, she'd be fine.
He didn't expect that there would be a surprise waiting for him after the full moon.
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