Xuemei felt much warmer as soon as she entered the living room. She then realized that all the Lin family members at home, whether adults or children, were only wearing two pieces of clothing: an undershirt and a sweater.
Xuemei only later discovered that the Liu family's first-floor room had a kang (a heated kang) and a ground stove, keeping the entire house warm. Unlike a bed, the kang was attached to the wall on three sides, with a stove at the very edge. Atop it sat an iron kettle, steam rising from the mouth of the stove, ensuring constant access to hot water. A teacup and teapot sat on the table beside the kang, easily accessible from the kang. It was truly convenient. All of this was done to take care of Grandpa Lin, a veteran revolutionary.
The Lin family's living room was about 25 square meters. On the right side of the living room was a large round table, and on the left were two wooden sofas covered in cloth. Behind the living room were the kitchen and shower room, and there was also a wooden staircase leading to the second floor.
Xuemei and Han Chen entered the house. Lin Songguo patted Han Chen on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Boy, you've become a lot stronger!"
Yu Qing, her daughter Lin Ziying, and her daughter-in-law Feng Ru had been sizing up Xuemei and the others since they came in. After Lin Songguo finished speaking, Yu Qing sighed and said to Han Chen with concern, "Xiaochen, you've worked so hard in the countryside! Don't send us so many things in the future. If you need anything, just tell your aunt. Don't be polite to me!"
Lin Ziying and Feng Ru also looked at the two of them with distressed expressions. Han Chen and Xuemei looked confused, wondering why Yu Qing suddenly came there.
At this time, Xuemei wanted to look up and ask Han Chen what was wrong, but she saw that Han Chen was getting hot and was taking off his cotton coat. Liu's mother had put patches all over the coat and trousers, and some places had patches on top of patches. The shoes he wore were made of roe deer skin and scraps of cloth. The edges of the shoes were made of roe deer skin, and the middle of the upper was made of black and green cloth. The roe deer skin was gray and looked like the cloth had become hairy after being washed.
Xuemei knew that Yu Qing and the others had misunderstood them, because of their attire and tired looks, they thought they were not living well in the countryside.
Xuemei quickly shouted, "Auntie, you guys have misunderstood!"
"Misunderstanding?" Yu Qing repeated with a confused look on his face.
Xuemei smiled and said, "Aunt, we actually live quite well in the countryside. We have meat every month and often eat eggs. The reason we dress like this is because my parents were afraid we'd run into thieves and human traffickers on the road, so they put patches on our cotton coats and trousers to make us look poor. We sewed these the night before we set out."
The Lin family was still a little skeptical, but Han Chen also realized what was happening and went on to explain, "Xuemei is indeed asleep. Our parents asked us to keep a low profile when we're out, fearing any trouble along the way. We each had ten yuan and a few pounds of food coupons, and the rest of the money and coupons were hidden in patches sewn into our cotton-padded jackets. If you can't figure it out, bring a pair of scissors and I'll rip it open for you to see."
Seeing Han Chen and Xuemei's serious expressions, the people from the Lin family finally believed Xuemei's words. Yu Qing touched his nose awkwardly and said, "Then let's eat first! The food will get cold later!"
Yu Qing and her daughter and daughter-in-law prepared a braised pork, a braised fish, an egg soup, a cabbage soup, and a potato and bone soup. They prepared rice for Xuemei because they were afraid that Xuemei would not be used to it. The others had multi-grain steamed buns.
After Xuemei sat down, she looked at the food in front of her and said embarrassedly, "Grandpa, aunt, sister-in-law, and second sister, you don't have to prepare such a delicious meal for me. Just eat what you normally eat. You don't even need rice. I can eat anything!"
Yu Qing looked at Xuemei's sincerity and knew that she was thinking the same thing. She smiled and replied, "Isn't this a welcoming banquet? It has to be something sumptuous! We won't be polite later. You two must be hungry! Come and eat."
Lin Songguo also said, "Yes, Xuemei, eat more vegetables!"
Xuemei nodded and replied, "Okay, Grandpa, you too!"
After dinner, Yu Qing took her daughter-in-law and daughter to clean up the dishes, while Uncle Hu led Xuemei and Han Chen to the room prepared for them. There were four rooms on the first floor, one on each side of the living room. The room for Xuemei and her family was in the outer room on the left side of the living room, with good light. This room was where Lin Hongwen and his family lived. It was too cold now, so everyone went to sleep on the first floor.
Lin Hongwen's family now lives in the room next to Xuemei and Han Chen, Yu Qing and Lin Jianye live in a room on the other side of the living room, and Lin Songguo and Hu Shudong live in the same room.
Lin Ziying and his wife did not live in the Lin family, but in the Wu family. The Wu family was also in the military compound, with a structure similar to that of the Lin family, but only one or two miles away.
Xuemei and Han Chen entered the room and began to clean up. After discussing, they decided to give the Lin family six pounds of roe deer meat, a cured rabbit, a piece of bacon, twenty glutinous rice cakes, five pounds of dried tofu, eight pig blood balls, ten pounds of millet, and ten pounds of rice.
Two pounds of roe deer meat, a cured rabbit, a piece of bacon, eight glutinous rice cakes, two pounds of dried tofu, four pig blood balls, and five pounds of rice were given to Wu Jiaan's family.
The remaining two pounds of roe deer meat, a piece of cured rabbit, a piece of bacon, eight glutinous rice cakes, and two pounds of dried tofu are for Han Chen's mother. He plans to visit her again tomorrow.
Xuemei and Han Chen came out carrying backpacks. Han Chen placed two piles of things on the table and said, "Grandpa, Aunt, Uncle Hu, Sister-in-law, this big pile of things Xuemei's family and I prepared for you to eat together. The ten pounds of millet in it is for Grandpa. I heard that millet porridge is good for the stomach. This small pile of things is for my second sister and brother-in-law to take back. Oh, and Xuemei also prepared some for the children!"
After Han Chen finished speaking, everyone looked at the items on the table and was a little surprised. They were more convinced of what Han Chen and Xuemei had said before. They lived a good life in the countryside. Otherwise, how could they casually take out more than 20 kilograms of bacon?
The three children had already run to the table and stared at the meat, covering their mouths and saying, "So much meat! So much to eat!" The excitement in their eyes could not be concealed at all.
Xuemei looked at the excited children in front of her, smiled, waved to them, and said, "Xiaotong, Xiaojin, Xiaoren, come here. Auntie has a little gift specially prepared for you!"
Lin Hongwen and Feng Ru have two sons. The elder one is Lin Jin, who is seven years old this year, and the younger one is Lin Ren, who is four years old this year.
Feng Ru is 27 years old this year, about 1.6 meters tall, looks gentle and pretty. She is ordinary at first sight, but the more you look at her, the more beautiful she becomes. She also has a gentle personality.
Lin Ziying and Wu Jiaan grew up together. After moving to the current compound, the two families lived not far from each other. Lin Ziying and Wu Jiaan got married after falling in love freely.
Lin Ziying looks a lot like Yu Qing; both are delicate and handsome. However, Yu Qing, perhaps due to her work, has an air of meticulousness about her. Lin Ziying, on the other hand, is about 1.7 meters tall and has an extroverted, carefree personality.
Lin Ziying is 25 years old this year, and Wu Jiaan is 28 years old this year. They have a son and a daughter. Their daughter is Wu Ruotong, who is five years old this year. Their son was born last year and is only ten months old now. Now, watching his brother and sister run towards Xuemei, he also struggled in Lin Ziying's arms to come over.
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