Chapter 222: I like people who love to talk and laugh
Lu Minghai didn't say anything directly.
Lu Dongping said, "Of course, that's all I said. I was just thinking that things have been a bit turbulent at home for the past year or so, but now things are getting better. It just so happens that Dongfu has passed the exam again, so the family can get together. Dongcai's wife has been married for a few months now. Although it's her second marriage, she will definitely be a member of the Lu family from now on. Everyone in the family knows about it, but Sister Chunyan and Sister Chunmei haven't even met her yet, so they should show up and recognize her."
After hearing this, Lu Minghai softened his tone: "Alright, then let's not invite anyone else. Let's just have a family reunion dinner together on this occasion."
I immediately went back to discuss it with Gao Xiulan.
Lu Dongping told Lu Mingjiang and his wife that when the day came, he would cook the meat properly and send some bread and buns over. There was no shortage of vegetables in the private plot at this time of year, so anything could be made into dough.
He knew very well that his uncle's family was short of food, but he couldn't just take it upon himself and say that they would handle it, as that would embarrass the old man.
Gao Xiulan naturally had no objections to Lu Minghai's decision. It was already August, and at the beginning of the year, her two daughters had returned home with their son and daughter, leaving them feeling unhappy. They hadn't been back since then. Gao Xiulan knew that every family had their own problems and didn't have much free time, but she also felt that the unpleasantness of the previous time was to blame. Her daughters were fine, but her son-in-law might have had some complaints.
They then set a date for August 18th, before the busy farming season, and then asked someone to take letters to both families.
As for Zhou Mingqing's family affairs, few people in the team knew about it. Lu Dongping only learned the details from Liu Dacai when he went to report to the commune the next day.
"I had a miscarriage, five months in. The commune can't do it. They say I need a uterine cleanup, but I don't understand. The blood was flowing so much it felt like it was going to drain me dry. The straw inside the tractor was stained red. The tractor is owned by the commune, and I'm just a driver, but I've been driving it for years. This thing is like my baby. Do you think I can be happy? It's just bad luck!"
"No, it's been five months. How could I have a miscarriage?"
Liu Dacai said, "Who knows? They said they fell down. Zhou Mingqing's wife was crying her heart out. The educated youth named Zhu Feng also had red eyes. She couldn't even open her own eyes. It was like she was dying."
Lu Dongping asked again: "What happened next? How did he become?"
"I dropped him off at the county hospital gate and then came back. How would I know? But I reckon it's pretty bad."
Zhou Lanhua is in hospital.
It was late in the pregnancy, and inducing labor was not an easy thing to do. I almost had a miscarriage.
Zhu Feng didn't know whether it was true or not. He cried bitterly in the ward and kept reviewing himself, saying that he would not go to school, would not go back to the city, and would not get a divorce.
He cried, and Zhou Mingqing's wife also cried, but Zhou Mingqing was the only one who watched coldly from the side.
For a moment, he thought it would be good for Zhou Lanhua to die like this, and put an end to everything. But then, he felt that she still had to live, and it would be a pity for her to die.
Zhou Lanhua stayed in the hospital for two days and slept in a daze for two days. After waking up, she was discharged from the hospital.
When they arrived at the commune, she called out to Zhu Feng: "Don't you want a divorce? Go ahead!"
Dad is like this, men are like this too, what's the point of insisting on it? Now that the lump of fat in her belly is gone, she feels relieved and has come to terms with it.
They have separated and divorced, and she lives with her child, and she is doing well.
It is not the busy farming season yet, so she can take a break. When the busy season comes, her job is not hard. She is a scorekeeper and has six points of work a day. In addition to the food for her and her mother, and the small piece of private land of a little over one mu, she can get by and always make ends meet.
This actually solved a problem that was on Zhu Feng's mind.
In the hospital, his fear was genuine, his discomfort fake. He had hit and pushed someone down. If anyone knew, his university spot would be gone. Thank goodness, the woman didn't utter a single word.
After getting the divorce certificate, Zhu Feng couldn't wait to leave.
He didn't want to stay in this place any longer.
After packing up his few belongings, he touched the notebook with a big red cover in his bag. After thinking for a while, he took it out, took out some change and bills, put them in it, and quietly put it under Zhou Lanhua's pillow.
As they were husband and wife, this was his last gift to Zhou Lanhua. He hoped she could see it.
It started with great fanfare and ended quietly, no one paid any attention, and in the blink of an eye it was August 18th.
Lu Chunyan and Lu Chunmei were so happy that Lu Dongfu was admitted to a technical secondary school that they brought their husband and child here early.
When we arrived, Wen Wan and Zhang Hongying were busy in the house.
The cucumbers, eggplants, and cowpeas that were brought back the previous afternoon were fermented while she was sleeping at night. The weather was so hot that it fermented very quickly. In the morning, before it was even light, Zhang Hongying got up and took a look, and the dough had already fermented. If she fermented it any further, it would be over-fermented.
Gao Xiulan refused to cook meat, and she became angry when asked again. They were the ones who were in charge, so how could they let Lu Mingjiang's family prepare everything? Even if their family was in financial difficulty, they couldn't afford to lose face. After much persuasion, Zhang Hongying asked to steam buns for the children, and Gao Xiulan had no choice but to agree.
Since I didn't cook the meat, I went a bit more elaborate with the filling. I mixed some cornmeal into the mixture, kneaded it once more, and then busily began preparing the filling. I chopped up the fat residue I'd been reluctant to eat along with the eggplant and added some green chilies. I also cut up a piece of bacon and chopped it up with the cowpeas. The filling alone filled two large bowls.
After everything was done, Wen Wan and the others got up and helped to make dumplings and put them into the pot. They also cooked half a pot of soup with cucumbers and beans.
Zhang Hongying couldn't bear to use Fuqiang flour, so she used flour she ground herself from the wheat she'd been given. The bran wasn't clean, so the dough was quite black, but very chewy. Adding a little cornmeal gave it a dark, yellowish texture. But the filling was well-mixed. Although it only contained chopped green onions and salt, it was thick with fat residue and pork, the aroma of the lard blending with the flavors of the vegetables. Wenwan could chew two of these fist-sized buns, let alone someone with a voracious appetite like Lu Dongping. The bamboo steamer, stacked four or five layers high, wouldn't have been enough to fill one.
It was delicious, and I had wasted a lot of good stuff, even though it was full of vegetables. I steamed five layers at a time, twice, and it made Zhang Hongying feel bad. Fortunately, I didn't get to eat so much all year round. Thinking about the old family next door who had always helped me, these few baskets of buns were nothing.
Lu Dongping went to the commune after dinner, and lunch was naturally in the afternoon.
He had just left when Lu Chunyan and the others arrived.
After Wen Wan finished her work in the kitchen, she went outside to wash her hands and face.
It was so hot in the kitchen that day that she was sweating even though she didn't light the fire.
I was wringing out the towel to wipe my face when I heard voices.
When she turned around, she saw Duoduo from Lu Chunmei's family coming to the entrance of the yard, followed by Guangming from Lu Chunyan's family.
The child has a very good memory. He came here once during the first month of the lunar year and had candy here, and he remembered it clearly. He hadn't been here for more than half a year, but when he saw Wen Wan, he called out: "Auntie, Auntie, Third Grandma!"
Wen Wan responded, and the adult following behind her popped his head out. She greeted them, "Sister Chunyan, Sister Chunmei!" and then called her brother-in-law.
Zhang Hongying came out of the house sweating profusely, and Duoduo threw herself into her arms, calling her "Third Grandma" sweetly.
Zhang Hongying was overjoyed: "It seems that the candy was not eaten in vain. I still remember my third grandmother. However, there is no candy for me this time."
Wen Wan invited Lu Chunyan and the others to sit down. Lu Chunyan said, "Wait a moment, sit down for a moment. I'll go check on my home first."
The adults went next door, and the two children stayed here and refused to leave.
Zhang Hongying was sweating all over. She hugged Duoduo and asked, "Where's Changshun? Why didn't your brother come?"
Duoduo shook her head: "I don't know."
Zhang Hongying sighed a few times, let go of their hands and took one of them in each hand: "Come on, come on, grandma doesn't have any candy today, but she has buns, let's eat buns." Changshun was a child who was really scared by Li Laiying and didn't even want to come.
Next door, Gao Xiulan was also asking Lu Chunmei and her husband, "Why didn't you bring Changshun?"
Lu Chunmei said, "That kid follows his brother around, going up mountains and down rivers, and he never stops for a moment. He disappears the moment he opens his eyes in the morning."
That being said, everyone knows the real reason.
Li Zhongquan interrupted him and said to Lu Dongfu, "That's amazing! You're a technical secondary school graduate, so you'll be a city dweller in the future. Have you ever thought about what you'll do after you graduate?"
Lu Dongfu said: "After studying, you will definitely become an official!"
The whole family laughed, and Li Zhongquan said, "Good boy, you have ambition and a promising future!"
As they were talking, Li Guangming and Wang Duoduo came over. Wen Wan asked both children to wash their hands, and they were holding buns that had just come out of the pot.
Lu Chunmei glanced around the door and asked, "Why aren't Dongcai and his wife here?"
They knew that Lu Dongcai and Li Laiying were divorced, and they also knew that the family had exchanged food for another one from the other side of the mountain, but he had not been back for a while, so they didn't know what he looked like.
Gao Xiulan said, "They went to the mountain to pick grass for the pigs. They left early in the morning to take advantage of the coolness, and they should be back soon."
"Did Chun'e and Donglin go there too? I just stood at Third Aunt's door for a while, but didn't see anyone."
Gao Xiulan said, "Of course. Those two kids are very hardworking and never idle for a moment."
Lu Chunyan asked Gao Xiulan: "How about this?" She was asking Hu Qingqing, bringing the topic back to where it had gone off track.
Gao Xiulan sighed, "He seems okay now. He's a completely different person from that one, talkative and cheerful. He was a bit strange when he first came, but soon became lively and diligent as we got to know each other. He's also good with the first graders. It's just that he's still young and can't get married yet. He seems good right now, but I'm not sure about his future." This person changes so quickly. Wasn't Li Laiying honest and decent when he first came in? Later, he became a complete psychopath.
However, in comparison, she still likes Hu Qingqing very much. Everyone likes a girl who loves to talk and laugh.
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