Chapter 56: Flattery without ambiguity
After a few words of banter with Lu Donglin, Lu Dongping disappeared. Zhang Hongying called out a few times from inside the house, and Lu Donglin responded, "Stop calling! He's gone. I'm going to pick up your daughter-in-law."
Zhang Hongying grabbed a broom and hit him: "You idiot, your mouth is full of maggots so early in the morning."
Lu Donglin ran into the house with a smile: "You adults always like to say one thing and mean another. When my brother was eighteen, you were nagging him to find a partner. You have been nagging him for years. Now that that blockhead has finally come to his senses, you are still pretending."
"Mom, I'm telling you, don't be ungrateful. Sister Wenwan is beautiful, educated, and has a good temper. Considering my brother's conditions, I don't know how much virtue he must have accumulated in his past life. You, just be happy!"
Zhang Hongying finished sweeping the floor, put the broom behind the door, and said angrily, "Giving birth to you two debt collectors, I cry until I have no tears left, and I'm still happy. You're such a bad mouth, you're always talking nonsense, but why are you the only one who doesn't care about studying?"
"Hey, why are you adults so annoying? It's so early in the morning and it's freezing cold. Can you talk about something else?"
Zhang Hongying roasted some food by the fire, then directed the fire to the stove. She sat down and asked Lu Donglin, "I heard you yelling, 'Did your brother lock the drawer?'"
There was an old table near the window in Lu Dongping's room, with some miscellaneous items on it. There were three small drawers where Lu Donglin would occasionally put some small things.
"It's locked. It must have been locked a few days ago. I saw it yesterday and wanted to ask about it, but then I forgot."
Zhang Hongying leaned against the back wall with drooping eyelids, not knowing what she was thinking about, and suddenly stopped talking.
After breakfast at the commune, Lu Dongping went over to find Wen Wan. Since he had nothing else to do that morning, the word "chu" literally means "chu." Without chu, how could there be any love, and how could it succeed?
He didn't come early. The sun was already half out and it was bright outside. Wen Wan had already tidied up and was sweeping the door with a broom that was almost worn out.
I don't know why she is so diligent. There is obviously nothing in the area near her door, and I don't know what she is sweeping.
Lu Dongping walked past her, walked lightly, and went behind her to cover her eyes.
Wen Wan was so scared by him that she almost cried out: "Lu Dongping, what are you doing so early in the morning?" He was scaring people to death.
Lu Dongping let go and smiled, "How did you know it was me when I didn't say anything?"
Wen Wan picked up the broom and hit him on the leg.
Lu Dongping was amazed: "With your thin arms and legs, your strength is not even as good as a cat's scratch. Go ahead and hit me."
Wen Wan raised the broom and put it down again, and then Lu Dongping took the broom and swept it across the doorway with a few strokes: "Okay, let's go and have dinner. What are you doing here? This broom has no hair left. I'll make you a new one later."
Wen Wan looked at the watch: "It's still early, are we going to eat now?" Zhu Feng had just gotten up, and the water in the pot probably wasn't even hot yet.
"My mother started to cook when I came over."
"That should take a while. It's just right. Can you do me a favor and move the small bed in the room?"
Lu Dongping followed her into the room, took a look at the cleanly made bed, and asked her in confusion: "Why are you making up the small bed? Where are you going to move it to?"
Wen Wan pointed to the corner below the window and said, "Move it there. If I'm not busy these few days, I'll move the bed over there and make it up so I can get familiar with it for a while. When the educated youth come later, I'll give them the big bed to sleep in."
"Sent-down Youth?" Lu Dongping raised an eyebrow, then belatedly remembered what he had said yesterday: "That's still early. I went there in March."
"It's not too early. It's already February. How far is March? I don't know how many of them will come this time, and how many female educated youth will come."
Lu Dongping waved his hand and moved the bed over without her help at all. "This is too small, can you handle it? You won't roll onto the floor when you sleep at night, will you? I'll go home and get you a board and nail the sides up to block it."
Wen Wan nodded: "That's great. I haven't fallen under the bed, but I've never slept on a single bed like this before."
Lu Dongping clapped his hands and curled his lips: "If you move away so early, what if there are no female educated youth or only one female educated youth, then you will be at a loss, right?"
Wen Wan was stunned for a moment, then came back to her senses and said, "That's not a big deal. If there are no female educated youth living here, then I will move back. If there is a female educated youth, even if there is only one, then I can't sleep in that big bed by myself. What if she wants to stay with me? Sharing a room is fine, but I won't share a bed with anyone."
Lu Dongping nodded: "We won't share a bed with others. I'll get some things to tidy it up for you later. You can make the bed after it's done. Bye."
Wenwan left the house and locked the door.
After breakfast, Lu Dongping went to the commune. Wen Wan was planning to go back to the educated youth camp to continue knitting the gloves, but Lu Chun'e stopped her and said, "Sister, can you help me with a few questions later?"
Wen Wan nodded: "Okay, I'll see if I can do it."
"You can definitely do it. I heard from my brother that you are a very good student. He asked Lu Donglin and I to ask you for help when we don't know something."
"It was your brother who told you again. Why does he say everything? I didn't know I was such a good student. How did he know?" Although she was indeed a good student.
Lu Chun'e said as she washed the dishes, "That's because you're really good, sister. Besides, my brother likes you, so that's even better."
Wen Wan stood at the door of the kitchen and watched her busy. "You still have to feed the chickens and pigs. I'll go back to the educated youth camp and come over soon."
"That's fine, I'll be there for a while!"
Wen Wan went back to the educated youth point to get the wool yarn. As soon as she arrived, she saw Gao Xiulan and her new wife Shengxia talking to Zhang Hongying at the door.
She greeted, "Aunt, Sister Shengxia."
Gao Xiulan waved at her: "I was just talking about you. You helped me a lot with the wedding the other day. Why did you give me such an expensive gift? You are such a sincere child."
Wen Wan went up the steps and entered the yard and said, "That scarf suits Sister Shengxia very well. I don't have anything else to give her. I can't use it even if I bring it here. Sister Shengxia just happened to need it. As for helping me,"
"Aunt, please don't make fun of me. I'm just helping you eat."
Gao Xiulan pointed at her and said to Zhang Hongying, "Look at that mouth of hers, all she says is reasonable. I can't argue with her. Shengxia is shy, and it's her first time home. Dongcheng went up the mountain with his father, so I thought she and Wenwan would get along well, so I brought her over and let them play together."
Lu Chun'e wiped the table and brought it out. After hearing this, she said, "Auntie, you are the best mother-in-law I have ever seen. There is no other person in the team who brings his daughter-in-law out to play with him like you." After saying this, she glanced at Zhang Hongying and said directly in front of Wen Wan, "Mom, you have to learn from me. After all, you will have two daughters-in-law in the future."
Gao Xiulan said, "That's right. Our family situation is like this. I have no choice, but I will never be the kind of evil mother-in-law who oppresses her daughter-in-law. Your grandparents passed away long ago. I have been the head of the Lu family since I entered the family. I have never been bullied by anyone. I don't have the experience of being a daughter-in-law for ten years and then becoming a mother-in-law. Do you think I should let my daughter-in-law suffer for me when I haven't suffered?"
Zhang Hongying said, "This is a blessing for Shengxia and Laiying."
Shengxia nodded and smiled: "Yes, it's my blessing." It's also luck.
Her family conditions were very poor, and she had a lot of brothers and sisters, which really proved the saying: "The poorer the family, the more children they have, and the more children they have, the poorer they become." She was stuck in the middle, neither up nor down, and she was a girl. It was lucky that she had something to eat and didn't starve to death. It was just luck that she was noticed by the art troupe.
If she hadn't joined the art troupe, she would never have had the chance to meet Lu Dongcheng.
She wasn't the best in the art troupe, with a low level of education and not particularly good-looking. Her only advantage was her clear voice. Lu Dongcheng was good-looking, tall, with thick eyebrows and big eyes. If he didn't have that stern look that kept strangers away, who knows how many girls would like him, and how would she have a chance.
She had her eyes on Lu Dongcheng, and when she came home, she had prepared for the worst. After all, she knew her family's situation very well. They lived in the mountains, and how good could it be? Even if there was a good one, she might not meet it. How could she meet all the good things?
It's just this one time, good or bad, and she'll be gone after the New Year. She can endure it anyway.
The Lu family's situation is really a pleasant surprise.
When Lu Dongcheng told her about the situation at home, she didn't believe it. How could it be so good? But after she came here, she realized that it was really quite good.
Gao Xiulan asked her to talk to Wen Wan, while she talked to her sister-in-law Zhang Hongying while she was sewing shoe soles.
Zhang Hongying glanced at the shoe sole in her hand and asked, "Is this for Shengxia?"
"Yes, the thousand-layer cloth soles are comfortable to wear. I hadn't made them for her before I came back. I only started making them after Dongcheng wrote back saying he would come back to hold a wedding banquet. Now I just need to finish making them. Once the soles are sewn, the uppers will be ready soon. They will be returning to the army after the New Year, so I'll hurry up and they should be able to take them with them when they leave."
Zhang Hongying nodded: "I'm free these few days during the New Year holidays, so it should be no problem." As she said that, she subconsciously looked at Wen Wan. Although it hasn't been done yet, her son is so enthusiastic. Shouldn't she also show some appreciation by making him a pair of shoes or something? He doesn't look like someone who can sew shoe soles.
Wen Wan didn't notice that Zhang Hongying was busy chatting and still looking at her. Lu Chun'e moved the wooden dining table out of the kitchen, and she and Lu Donglin each lay on one side to write. Wen Wan sat between them and took out the wool to knit.
Shengxia moved a stool and sat next to her, watching her hands moving constantly. The wool moved gently up and down in her hands. She looked for a long time but couldn't figure out how it was wound on.
"Wen Wan, you are so amazing! You can even knit."
Before Wen Wan could say anything, Lu Donglin turned around and said, "That's right, Sister Wen Wan is the best." The flattery was very clear.
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