Chapter 35: Planning to Wash for a Lifetime
The pig farm of Lujiazui Production Team is next to the cowshed. It is not large in scale and houses live pigs and sows. In the winter, there was a litter of eight piglets, none of which grew well.
These days, even people have to tighten their belts, let alone pigs. With no grain to eat and only grass to feed, the sows have trouble producing milk, and the piglets they raise are incredibly ugly. It's already past the odd month, and they're still as small as a club.
The largest one weighs only 20 kilograms.
Lu Dongping lay in the pig pen and watched for a long time before asking Lu Mingjiang, "Dad, what should we do? Should we catch them or not?"
Lu Mingjiang said, "Catch them. Pick the fat ones from the skinny ones. You can always pick two. You come here every year to catch pigs. You know what's going on. It's the same when you pick pig sons in the spring. Pigs born in winter can withstand the cold and are easier to feed."
"Okay, then catch them!"
After saying that, he glanced at Wen Wan, who was clinging to the pig pen and looking eagerly, and said, "How is it? Do you like anything?"
Wen Wan didn't react: "Ask me?"
"Um!"
"How would I know this? My cousin and you both have experience. I'm just watching the fun."
Lu Dongping smiled. Lu Mingjiang had already talked to the people at the pig farm.
He called out to Lu Dongping, "Look, which two are we going to catch?"
Lu Dongping had a goal. He put his hands on the pigpen and flipped over nimbly.
After catching the pig son, Wen Wan walked away from Lu Dongping and said, "I won't go with you. I'm going back to the educated youth site."
Lu Dongping turned around and glanced at her, carrying his backpack. "What are you doing back at the educated youth camp now?"
"While the sun is shining, I'll go back and do some laundry."
"Washing clothes?" Lu Dongping asked, "Can you carry water?"
Wen Wan:...She can't.
"There's a small ditch not far from the educated youth site. I go there to wash and don't need to carry water."
Lu Dongping leaned his backpack against the edge of the hill and said, "Don't you want your hands anymore? The water in that creek seeps in from the cracks in the rocks. If you drink it now, your teeth will freeze. You can still wash clothes."
"Well, you have to wash it anyway. The sun is so strong, it will feel better, right?"
Lu Dongping sighed: "Go get your clothes. I'll wait for you here. I'll go home and boil some water for you to wash."
Wen Wan nodded and said, "Okay, there's hot water available. It would be stupid of her to pretend to be tough and use cold water."
She went back, put the clothes and soap in the basket, locked the door and went to Lu Dongping's house.
Lu Dongping went back and dumped his pig son into the pigpen. Wen Wan followed him, standing on tiptoe, watching.
The pigpen surrounded by stone slabs and wooden frames is divided into two parts with a wall in the middle. There is a stone trough on one side and thick leaves on the other side. It looks quite elegant.
Lu Dongping found her curious look amusing and asked, "Don't you mind the smell?"
Wen Wan frowned: "It's okay."
"It's okay, then I feel relieved."
Wen Wan looked at him puzzledly: "What do you mean? I tell you, I don't feed pigs."
Lu Dongping carried the basket and walked under the eaves, saying as he walked, "If it wasn't to feed the pigs, would I ask you to feed the pigs?"
"What is that?"
Lu Dongping didn't answer her. He went into the house and poured some hot water. "Wash your hands!"
Wen Wan squatted down and rubbed her hands with hot water.
"There's still fire in the fire pit in the house. Go and warm your hands." He thought about going back to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy two new towels. The towels at home were all washed out and everyone was using them. It wouldn't be appropriate to give them to Wen Wan.
When Wen Wan came into the house to warm her hands, he poured all the water in the wooden barrel into the pot. Two half-buckets were enough to fill only half a pot.
He lit a fire in the stove and filled it with firewood: "Wanwan, do you know how to light a fire? Please help me watch it while I go get some water."
Wen Wan nodded: "Okay, I still know how to make a fire."
After hearing what she said, Lu Dongping hooked the wooden barrel and left.
It’s not far to fetch water. It’s in the bamboo forest next to Lu Minghai’s house. There is a small ditch winding down from the top of the mountain, and mountain spring water seeps out from the cracks in the rocks in the forest.
There is a well above the bamboo forest. Both Lu Mingjiang and his family fetch water from it. Below, across a small path, about five or six meters away, is a large pond. Water is taken from the pond for washing clothes and irrigation.
Lu Dongping ran twice, filled the pot and the water tank, and the last time he put them together with the wooden barrel in the yard outside.
Wen Wan sat behind the stove and slowly added firewood into the stove. Water is hard to burn in winter. Lu Dongping fetched the water and took out the wooden basin from the main room. Only then did the water in the pot begin to ooze.
Lu Dongping took a look at the basket that Wen Wan brought over. The dirty clothes in the basket were neatly folded.
He scratched his head, thinking that if he really wanted to succeed, he might have to make a lot of progress. This little girl lived too meticulously and carefully.
The Lu family used a large wooden basin to wash clothes, and there was also a washboard made of wood with grooves on it.
Lu Dongping poured the water in the bucket into the wooden basin, and took the empty bucket to the kitchen to scoop hot water. Wen Wan took a small stool and went out, took off her cotton-padded jacket, and put on a sweater. It seemed a little big but it still couldn't cover her exquisite figure. She also rolled up her sleeves to reveal her milky white arms.
Lu Dongping turned his head away, not daring to look again, and coughed lightly: "Be careful you catch a cold."
"No, it's warm in such a sunny day!" The cotton-padded jacket is too thick, the sleeves can't be rolled up, and it gets wet too easily.
Lu Dongping brought a tin box over and placed it next to her, then squatted down beside her: "Shall I help you wash it?"
Wen Wan wrinkled her nose and said, "I'll wash it myself. Why don't you go up the mountain?"
Lu Dongping asked, "Who will fetch you water if I go up the mountain?"
"You're talking like I won't eat without you. Just go ahead and lock the door. I'll wash it with hot water and then rinse it in the ditch." After saying that, he looked at the contents of the iron box and asked in confusion, "What are you going to do with this for me?"
"Washing clothes! Don't you need to?"
"What is this?"
Lu Dongping brought over another mallet: "Soap nuts and soapberries, we use these to wash clothes. Put them on the clothes and hit them with the mallet to make bubbles. Soapberries are better than soap nuts, but we have more soap nuts here."
Wen Wan glanced at it and shook her head: "I'd rather use soap. Just rub the collar and cuffs. No need for a mallet."
Lu Dongping looked at the yellow translucent square in her hand, and then looked at her hand holding the clothes.
Wenwan's hands were as small as her. Lu Dongping looked at his own hands and thought to himself that he could completely wrap that hand.
My hands were frozen and the backs of my hands were swollen. After soaking them in hot water, my fingertips turned red and purple.
Lu Dongping pursed his lips, moved closer with a thick face, rolled up his sleeves and took the sweater from her hand: "I'll wash it for you, you watch it, and if there's anything that's not washed well, just tell me."
"No, how can I let you wash my own clothes?" It felt weird.
Lu Dongping chuckled: "Get used to it first. I'm not pursuing you. Washing clothes is nothing. You should give me a chance to show off, right?"
Wen Wan thought about it and realized that it was true.
"Are you really going to wash it for me?"
Lu Dongping took the clothes out and held them in his hands: "How could it be fake?"
Wen Wan stood up and handed him the small stool, squatting beside it: "Then you wash it once and show your good performance."
Lu Dongping rubbed the clothes with his two big hands: "It is definitely impossible to do it just once. I plan to wash them for you for the rest of your life."
Wen Wan covered her burning face with her cold hands: "Who are you trying to fool with your slick words!" Life is a very long time, and people will change. But such words still made her heart tremble with sweetness.
Lu Dongping turned his head and glanced at her while washing the clothes in his hands: "There is still hot water in the pot, do you want to wash your hair?"
Wen Wan heard what he said, stretched out her hand to pull her braid and took a look, then nodded: "Wash it if there is water, I'll go back to get shampoo." After that, she stood up and walked out of the yard.
She has well-growthed hair, with two thick and long braids, one in front and one behind her body. It looks very beautiful, but it is also very difficult to wash.
It was inconvenient to use water in the production team, and she didn't have the strength to carry water. She stayed at the educated youth site for more than 20 days and only washed her hair three times in total. This time, she hadn't washed it for almost a week.
After returning home, she looked at the sun and took the opportunity to take out the quilt and mattress and hung them on the bamboo poles outside to dry. The quilt that has been dried in the sun will be extra warm when covered at night. After finishing, she took the enamel basin for washing her face, towel, shampoo, wooden comb, and brush, and slowly walked towards Lu Dongping's house.
On the way, someone called her, "Wen Wan, where are you going?"
Wen Wan looked up at the woman gathering pig grass not far from the main road. It was Hu Xiujuan, the educated youth who had married Accountant Liu. Because she worked as a custodian in the warehouse, she had to see him in the mornings when she received farm tools and again in the afternoons when she returned them. As a result, she became one of Wen Wan's closest acquaintances on the team.
Wen Wan stopped and said, "Pulling pig grass? Do you also feed pigs at home?" Without answering Hu Xiujuan, she changed the subject.
Hu Xiujuan said, "Yes, if you feed one pig, you won't have anywhere to pour the water for washing the pot if you don't feed it, and you still have to pay the pig tax."
Wen Wan simply moved closer to the ground and asked her, "Have you finished knitting that sweater?"
"How can it be that fast? I'll just knit a few stitches when I have some free time. I'll be lucky if I can wear it in time for next winter."
Wen Wan asked her, "So, where did you get the wool? Is there any in the supply and marketing cooperative over there?"
"You want to buy it? That thing is hard to find. It's usually not available in the commune. You have to go to the county department store to buy it, and you have to rely on your luck. I saved up the thread for several years to get that little bit."
"Do I need a ticket, too?" She had a lot of sweaters and trousers, the yarn all brought back by her elders, and she never worried about it herself.
"Of course not. You need yarn tickets, and it's super expensive, more than two yuan per pound." More than two yuan per pound, this amount was an extremely difficult figure for the team to accept, but she bought it anyway. Her tone was full of boasting, but unfortunately, Wen Wan didn't hear it at all.
After all, it’s not like she can’t come up with two more dollars.
Hu Xiujuan asked, "Do you want to buy some wool too?"
Wen Wan nodded: "I miss you a little, let me ask first. You go ahead and be busy, I'll come and play with you when you're free." After saying that, she left with the basin.
Hu Xiujuan stood there for a long time before squatting down. She watched her figure disappear downstairs of Lu Dongping's house before she looked away.
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