Chapter 67: A Letter from Home
After returning home, Lu Chun'e had just returned from school. Zhang Hongying asked her to write while she washed her hands and went to cook.
Lu Dongping went to the warehouse to return the farm tools. When he turned around, he saw the educated youth from the educated youth point and the team's scorekeeper Zhou Lanhua walking towards him, talking and laughing.
Perhaps not expecting to run into him, Zhu Feng's smile froze. Zhou Lanhua, who was standing next to him, felt a little embarrassed and called out to him, "Secretary Lu, come and return the farm tools!"
Lu Dongping nodded with a half-smile, his eyes swept over the two people and fell on Zhou Lanhua who was empty-handed: "Are you here to return the farm tools too?" Empty-handed?
Zhou Lanhua felt uneasy when she saw his look, and nodded: "Yes, to return the farm tools." She came with Zhu Feng.
Huh? Huh?
Zhou Mingqing's eyesight is not very good. Among the three educated youths, this one named Zhu is the worst. Why did he agree to let his daughter date him?
When he got home, he told Zhang Hongying about this: "I just saw Zhou Lanhua and that educated youth named Zhu walking together, talking and laughing. I called out to her, but she was embarrassed. What's going on? Are they dating?"
Zhang Hongying glanced at Wen Wan, who was squatting there teasing a little rabbit with a vegetable leaf and said, "What does it have to do with you whether she's in a relationship or not?" The girl from the Zhou family had been mentioned to Lu Dongping before, but people thought Lu Dongping was too old, saying that he was seven years older than her, which was too much, so it didn't work out.
Although Lu Dongping had no such intentions, and now that he had someone he liked, and he loved her very much, it would still be bad if Wen Wan knew about it.
Lu Dongping took a stool and sat down by the fire pit. He reached out and gently tugged at Wen Wan's braid behind her back and said, "It definitely has nothing to do with me. I just asked because I was a little curious. I remember Zhou Mingqing's family treated Zhou Lanhua like a precious child. How could they agree to date an educated youth?"
Zhang Hongying muttered something, but Lu Dongping couldn't hear clearly what she said: "He wanted to disagree, but Zhou Lanhua likes him, so is that enough for him to disagree? Someone caught the two of them--" After saying that, she looked at Wen Wan and didn't say anything else.
After dinner, Lu Dongping sent Wen Wan back before continuing the topic.
"I feel uneasy if I don't ask you, and you'll be unhappy if I ask you. What's going on between you and Wen Wan?"
When talking about the relationship between the two, Lu Dongping was obviously different from before. He was so excited that it was almost unbearable to watch.
"It's fine, we're getting along. I told her we'll get married after the house is built and we've finished cleaning it up."
Zhang Hongying was stunned for a moment, and Lu Mingjiang sat up straight and listened with Lu Chun'e and her brother attentively.
"She didn't agree, but she didn't say no either. She said she hadn't told her family about us yet, and she would mention it in the letter she wrote this time."
This was considered a big improvement. Zhang Hongying smiled broadly, "That's fine, that's fine." But then she started to worry again, "You said it's so far away, we can't even come to their house. They don't even know which direction our door faces. And judging by that girl's appearance, her family must be well-off. What if she doesn't agree?"
Lu Dongping hissed and looked at her with a frown: "It's normal for you to disagree. If you don't agree, then try to get someone to agree."
"How can we get people to agree? To imitate that guy, Zhou Mingqing's family?"
"If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten. What happened to your decision not to tell me before?"
Zhang Hongying said, "It would be difficult for me to speak since Wen Wan was here. At that time, I thought the girl from the Zhou family was pretty, literate, and knew her family well. I wanted to ask someone to introduce her to you, but they didn't like her because they thought you were older."
"What does that have to do with me? She doesn't like me, and I don't like her either."
"You're with Wen Wan now, so let her know how disgusting it is. I don't know what's going on with that girl, but she's attracted to that educated youth named Zhu at the educated youth site. She's seventeen this year, and that educated youth must be twenty, right?"
Lu Dongping said: "In his twenties."
"That is to say, age and other things are just excuses. They just look down on you and our family, as if their conditions are so good. Zhou Mingqing wanted to refuse, but unfortunately his daughter was not up to the task and was seen hugging that educated youth in the ditch. The most important thing for a girl is her reputation. Hugging and kissing a man, it's fine if they are dating, but if they are not, she will be drowned in spit. How can she get married in the future?" This hugging was Zhang Hongying's own embellishment. She really couldn't tell her son what was said in the team.
Lu Dongping smiled and said, "This Zhu Feng is quite capable. He managed to capture him just like that?"
Zhang Hongying spat, "What kind of shit is that? If you really liked my daughter, would you do such a thing? You should at least consider her reputation. Is this what you call a human being? She's living and eating at the Zhou family now. I heard they might be having a wedding next month."
"Next month? So soon?" Lu Dongping was shocked.
Zhang Hongying warmed her feet and put on her shoes, saying, "How can I not hurry? I told you I can't hold a banquet with all the food in my stomach. If we don't hold a banquet, we'll be embarrassed by then."
Lu Dongping:——
Don’t judge a book by its cover, he admits defeat!
The next day, Lu Dongping couldn't go to work, so Wen Wan brought her own dry food. When she left in the morning, she not only took some candy but also some biscuits.
When I got off work in the afternoon, Lu Dongping had already returned. Seeing that I had finished work, he quickly poured water for Wen Wan to wash her hands.
When the water was ready, he remembered Zhang Hongying and called her, "Mom, wash your hands."
Zhang Hongying gave him a displeased look, took the wooden basin and filled it with water to wash her hands. When she entered the room, she saw him squatting there, whispering to Wen Wan and laughing like a fool. It was simply unbearable to watch.
"Let me tell you, I found two good things at the commune today. You're sure to like them."
Wen Wan scooped some water from the basin and went outside to wash the mud off her hands. Then she applied soap, rubbing her palms, backs of her hands, and under her fingernails. She asked him cooperatively, "What good stuff?"
"I won't tell you now."
Wen Wan scooped up some water and poured it on him: "You are such a disgusting person." He is the one to be criticized, and he is the one not to be criticized. Why is he so annoying?
Lu Dongping walked into the room with a smile, and when he came out he was holding the cold cream in his hand. Wen Wan took it, unscrewed the box, took out some, and gave it to him, then applied it carefully on her hands.
He turned around and came out with two more packages in his hands: "They were sent from the Post Office. They happen to be in Lujiazui. I asked him to bring them over for you."
Wen Wan's eyes lit up: "A package? A package sent from my home!" She reached out to take it, but almost dropped it. She didn't know what was inside, and it was quite heavy.
Lu Dongping helped her take it to the kitchen and put it on the table. Wen Wan stopped warming herself by the fire and just sat there holding the package and grinning foolishly.
I returned to the educated youth camp in the evening and used a flashlight to slowly dismantle it.
There were two packages, one was sent by Lao Wen and the other was sent by Aunt Xu.
What Old Wen sent was milk powder, four packets, almost enough for her for half a year, as well as a pair of small leather shoes, a handful of tickets and a letter.
My aunt also sent milk powder. In addition to the milk powder, there was also a new bright red sweater with white edges on the cuffs and hem, a new bright red cotton-padded jacket, cold cream, a radio ticket, and several tapes, with a thick letter inside.
She didn't put the things away and opened the letter first.
The letter from my aunt was very thick. It was written by Uncle Xu San. He was very angry. How could she respond to the call and be sent down to the countryside without saying a word? In the eyes of the Xu family, Wen Wan was their precious child. She had never been exposed to the wind or the rain. She had been carefully nurtured by the whole family and raised. But suddenly, she left the capital and went to such a faraway place.
The Xu family also comes from an old revolutionary family, and the old lady has also lived in the countryside. She knows what the countryside is like without anyone telling her.
How can Wen Wan, a little girl who has never walked a long way and has always had everything provided for her, survive in a place like that?
She couldn't be happy every day, her eyes were blinded by tears, and her three sons scolded whoever they caught. The Xu family's uncles had been going through a lot of trouble recently. Wen Wan could see from the letter their deep resentment and strong concern.
The sweater was knitted by my eldest aunt, who had started it the year before and intended it for her during the Lunar New Year, but she wasn't home. The cotton-padded jacket was bought by my second aunt, and the radio ticket was given by my third uncle, who also sent it along with the tapes she liked to listen to when she was home. The letter explained that her old radio had been taken away by my third uncle, and it was too far to mail, so I got her the ticket, knowing she was a wealthy woman and that if she needed it, she could buy one.
The remaining vanishing creams, various hairbands, and some small items were all given by my cousins, and they were large and heavy packages.
In addition to the letter from my third uncle, the envelope also contained notes from my cousins, as well as notes they had collected. Perhaps they thought she would need nothing in the mountains, so they included everything. My younger cousin said she would give up all her side dishes for the rest of the year.
After reading the letter from her uncle's family, she began to open the letter from Old Wen. There were the words "Wen Wan" on the envelope in Old Wen's familiar handwriting.
Wen Wan looked at these words, and her pen started to ache before she could even finish reading the letter.
She sniffed and took out the letter. It was the first letter she had received from home, and it was several pages long.
The first sentence that caught my eye was: "Wanwan, it's like seeing you in person. It's been nearly two months since I sent you on the train and received your letter——"
"After the New Year, when you receive Dad's letter, you will be eighteen years old. Dad's Anbao is a big girl, so you must take good care of yourself. Health is very important. Dad calculated that the milk powder I brought you when I left is probably almost gone. Don't be frugal with the things I sent you. You can buy more and send them back later. Although you should be simple in the countryside and learn to endure hardships, health is also important. Learn what you can learn, and we won't force you to learn what you can't. If you can't do heavy work, choose light work - remember what Dad taught you before, treat others sincerely, but don't let yourself be wronged -"
Feeling wronged, Wen Wan cried and muttered, "Who else can make me feel wronged except you, Old Wen?"
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