Feng Mingshu couldn't stop Zhou Jinshan from sending a telegram back to his hometown, but after her persuasion, the person chosen to come to the island changed from his mother-in-law to his sister-in-law.
The postman arrived at the Red Flag Brigade on his bicycle with a telegram, just in time for spring plowing. Every single member of the brigade was busy in the fields.
The postman simply stopped his vehicle, stood on the road, and shouted to the busy crowd in the fields, "Who is Zhou Houfa? There's a telegram for you!"
"Uncle Zhou, you have a telegram!"
The message was passed from one person to another, and finally reached the production team where the Zhou family belonged.
While everyone in the group was bending over to plant rice seedlings, Zhou Houfa was stunned for a moment when he received the news. His wife was the first to pull her muddy legs out and climb onto the ridge.
"It must be a telegram from the fourth brother, I'll go answer it!"
Ai Guixiang, her face beaming with joy, rushed to the road at the village entrance without even washing her muddy legs, and took the telegram from the postman.
“Mother, it’s no use you rushing ahead, you can’t read anyway.” Zhou Caifeng, the fifth daughter of the Zhou family, followed closely behind and took the telegram from her mother’s hand.
She had attended primary school and was the only educated person in her family besides her fourth brother.
Ai Guixiang patted her youngest daughter: "Stop nagging, quickly read the telegram."
"Mother, don't rush me. The telegram is short; I need to translate it first... Ah!"
Zhou Caifeng suddenly shouted, startling Ai Guixiang, who raised her hand and slapped her again: "What are you yelling about, you brat?"
Zhou Caifeng wasn't angry even after being hit. Instead, she excitedly said, "Mother, my fourth sister-in-law is pregnant! My fourth brother wants me to come to the island to be with her!"
When Ai Guixiang heard that her daughter-in-law was pregnant, she was overjoyed and kept saying "good" to her, but then she paused for a moment and said, "Are you sure you're not mistaken? Your brother asked you to go to the island, but not your mother?"
“It’s all written in the telegram. I’m not lying to you. If you don’t believe me, ask the postman to show it to you.”
No sooner had Zhou Caifeng finished speaking than Ai Guixiang snatched the telegram from her hand and politely asked the postman to help her read it.
The postman did not refuse. After reading the telegram, he smiled and said, "Auntie, the telegram mentions that Comrade Caifeng should come to the island."
Zhou Caifeng pointed to herself proudly and said, "I am Caifeng."
Ai Guixiang thanked the postman, took back the telegram, and then, with a sullen face, went to the ditch to wash her muddy legs clean before turning around and leaving.
"Mom, you're leaving before you've finished work," Zhou Caifeng asked her mother's retreating figure.
Ai Guixiang turned around and glared at her daughter: "Your mother is almost sixty years old, can't I even ask for a day off to go home and rest?"
Seeing that her mother was in a bad mood, Zhou Caifeng quickly nodded: "Of course you can take leave. I'll go home with you. I need to pack my luggage. I'll take the train to see my fourth brother tomorrow."
Ai Guixiang disagreed: "Why are you in such a hurry? Spring plowing isn't over yet and you're already leaving. If you don't earn enough work points, the whole family will starve!"
“Mother, I’m going to Fourth Brother’s place. I won’t be eating the family’s food. How can I let the whole family starve?” Zhou Caifeng retorted.
"Look at how sharp your tongue is! I say one thing and you say three. Are you trying to defy the heavens?" Ai Guixiang glared at her.
After all, she was her own mother, so Zhou Caifeng didn't dare to argue back. She said dejectedly, "Then I'll go find my brother after the spring planting is over."
Ai Guixiang nodded, waved for her daughter to go back to work in the fields, and then went to the brigade headquarters.
When the Zhou family returned home at noon, they found that Ai Guixiang was missing, and even some of her clothes were gone.
"Oh no, my mother must have gone to find my brother!" Zhou Caifeng said in frustration.
“Impossible, your mother is illiterate, how could she have gone there?” Zhou Houfa said with some doubt. “She must have gone to the commune to find your aunt.”
The two sisters have a good relationship and visit each other frequently.
"Dad, you can't underestimate Mom. She's very capable. I'll go to the brigade headquarters and ask. If Mom has a letter of introduction, then she must be going to see my brother." Zhou Caifeng rushed off towards the brigade headquarters.
Zhou's eldest sister-in-law muttered, "It's just that the fourth son's wife is pregnant, and the mother-in-law and sister-in-law are so concerned, as if no one has ever had a child before."
Brother Zhou frowned and scolded, "What nonsense are you talking about? Fourth Brother has been serving in the army away from home for many years. Mother misses him and is using this as an excuse to go see him. What's wrong with that?"
"There are so many things that are wrong. Fourth Brother didn't even bring his wife back to meet his relatives when he got married. Now that his wife is pregnant, he's in a hurry to call his mother over to take care of her. He's treating his mother like a maid," said Sister-in-law Zhou, pursing her lips.
"The fourth brother called out 'Caifeng,' not 'Mother,'" Brother Zhou corrected.
"Well, now two of them are gone. Fourth Brother and his wife are living a comfortable life, but we don't have that kind of luck." Sister-in-law Zhou's face was full of sourness.
"Shut your mouth, okay? When our children were born, our fourth son sent us milk powder."
Sister-in-law Zhou was speechless, but the resentment in her heart still lingered.
She was the eldest daughter-in-law of the Zhou family, and had given birth to two sons and two daughters. She should have been the most valued daughter-in-law by her parents-in-law, but she couldn't compare to her sister-in-law who had just entered the family. How could she accept this?
Feng Mingshu, who was on the island, had no idea that her husband's sister-in-law from his hometown harbored such deep resentment towards her.
After confirming her pregnancy, she continued working as usual and did not announce her pregnancy to the public until that evening when her sister-in-law, Qin, noticed her vomiting.
Sister-in-law Qin immediately slapped her thigh: "You're pregnant! How many months along are you?"
Since Sister-in-law Qin was so certain, Feng Mingshu didn't hide anything from her: "About a month and a half."
"Oh dear, you must take good care of yourself before three months are up." Aunt Qin helped her sit down and poured her some water to rinse her mouth.
"Don't cook today, come to my house for dinner, and bring your Commander Zhou along too," Sister-in-law Qin warmly invited.
Feng Mingshu was vomiting particularly badly today and had little strength, but she still hesitated: "Isn't this a bad idea?"
"What's wrong with that? It's just adding two more pairs of chopsticks. By the way, do you have any dietary restrictions?"
After clarifying the taboos, Sister Qin rushed home to cook, and even sent her eldest child over to take care of Feng Mingshu.
As a result, five people suddenly appeared, chattering and asking her, "Teacher Feng, are you having a boy or a girl?"
"Teacher Feng, have you named your baby yet?"
Feng Mingshu chuckled and shook her head, saying, "It's too young; the teacher doesn't even know if it's a boy or a girl. As for a name, you can help the teacher think of one."
The fifth child of the Qin family immediately raised his hand and said, "Teacher, I've got it! It's called the sixth child, and it's after me."
With a slap, Wuwa was hit on the forehead by his older brother.
“Teacher Feng’s child isn’t ours, so how can he be ranked after you? Teacher Feng, let’s call him Big Brother.”
Feng Mingshu chuckled, raised his hand to rub the heads of the children, and caught a glimpse of a familiar figure at the gate of the courtyard.
Her gaze shifted slightly, and she stood up, asking with a smile, "Jiayi, is there something you need?"
Yan Jiayi glanced at her stomach with a complicated expression, then smiled and said, "I heard you're pregnant, so I've come to congratulate you."
"You heard it from Sister Qin, right? She just can't keep a secret. Jiayi, please come in."
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