Seeing her son's serious expression, the old lady couldn't help but feel a little worried: "Is your wife feeling unwell?"
"No. Mother, please sit down."
Zhou Jinshan helped his mother sit down in a chair, then half-squatted down, holding her rough hands and saying, "Mother, you've worked so hard all these years."
"Hey, these days, who doesn't work hard except for capitalists?" the old lady said dismissively.
Zhou Jinshan: "..."
"Mother, there are two kinds of capitalists, some good and some bad..."
The old lady waved her hand: "I don't care whether capitalists are good or bad. You want to talk about something, so hurry up and say it. After you're done, I'll make something for your wife. She's pregnant and she can't go hungry."
Zhou Jinshan realized that appealing to his mother's emotions was no match for her, so he could only get straight to the point: "Mother, I'm married now. From now on, could you turn a blind eye to things in our household? Ming Shu is easily embarrassed."
The old lady paused for a moment, then slapped her thigh: "You mean what happened upstairs just now? I was watching you, not your wife. Don't you remember how troublesome you were when you were a kid? You were causing trouble last night, how could your mother be at ease?"
“Mother, I’ve grown up now, and nothing happened last night. Mingshu and the child in her belly are the most important family members to me. No matter how bad I am, I would never do anything to hurt them.” Zhou Jinshan held his mother’s hand tightly. “Mother, I really have grown up and I know how to behave.”
The old lady paused for a moment, then patted her son's hand with satisfaction and said, "Yes, you've grown up. You've been away from home for ten years. I've forgotten, but I still remember you when you were little, always reminding you and looking after you..."
Before she could finish speaking, the old lady turned her face away, her eyes reddening.
Zhou Jinshan felt a pang of sadness and hugged the old lady, saying, "Mother, no matter how old I am, I will always be your son. You can take care of me for the rest of my life."
The old woman pushed him away, wiped her eyes, and snorted, "You wish! You think I'll take care of you for the rest of your life? I'm not going to take care of you anymore!"
"Weren't we going to the cafeteria for lunch? Hurry up and ask your wife to come down; she can't stand being hungry."
Zhou Jinshan was caught off guard by his mother's sudden change of heart. It wasn't until she scolded him again that he went upstairs to fetch someone.
Zhou Caifeng, who was reciting her lessons in the courtyard, approached the kitchen door and asked her mother with a grin, "Mom, could you please give me a break and leave me alone... Ouch!"
The old lady slapped her daughter on the forehead: "What are you thinking? Your brother is married, so I can't control him anymore. You're just a schoolgirl, and if I don't take care of you, you'll go crazy!"
Zhou Caifeng covered her forehead and muttered, "Then I'll get married sooner and get rid of you, you fascist."
"What did you say? What fascism?"
"Grandma Zhou, it means fascism, which means dictatorship, which means bad people."
The older child next door climbed onto the wall and loudly answered the old lady's question.
The old lady's face immediately changed. She grabbed a broom from the corner of the wall and swung it at Zhou Caifeng, who darted away.
When Zhou Jinshan and Feng Mingshu went downstairs, they saw the mother and daughter chasing and fighting in the yard, while the five children next door were watching from the top of the wall.
The couple: "..."
Seeing her son and daughter-in-law come downstairs, the old lady threw down the broom, put her hands on her hips, and scolded, "You brat, I'll let you off the hook today for your sister-in-law's sake. Hurry up and get ready to go to the cafeteria."
Zhou Caifeng, panting, stuck her tongue out at her mother and then winked mischievously at her sister-in-law.
Feng Mingshu chuckled in surprise; her sister-in-law was using this playful way to comfort her mother-in-law.
To express her gratitude, Feng Mingshu asked a military wife who was leaving the island to bring her a box of "Wan Zi Qian Hong" (a type of brocade) the next day, which she gave to her sister-in-law on her fifteenth birthday.
Zhou Caifeng was overjoyed to receive the gift: "Sister-in-law, I thought you were going to give me a workbook."
Feng Mingshu chuckled: "I would like to give it to you, but it's hard to find exercise books in bookstores these days."
Because, finally, it was May 1966.
Outside the island, many schools have suspended classes, and various movements and mass gatherings have taken place.
On the island, due to the special environment, the presence of the military, and the perseverance of Principal Yao and all the faculty and staff, the school's order is still pretty much the same as usual.
Everyone has become much more cautious in their words and actions.
When Feng Mingshu taught, she no longer sang, but instead taught step by step according to the textbook.
If there was anything slightly out of line, it was translating the Little Red Book into English for teaching purposes, but she had submitted the materials to the political department of the army for review beforehand.
After discussion, the Political Department felt that her idea was both politically sound and professionally competent, so they not only agreed to it, but also printed out her translated Little Red Book and sent it to middle schools outside the island for use as teaching materials.
Feng Mingshu was commended for this; there was no prize money, just a big red certificate.
The old lady was overjoyed. She found a carpenter on the island to make a frame for the certificate and hung it in the living room, where she would always introduce it to any guest who came to visit.
Feng Mingshu was a little embarrassed and wanted to take it off, but Zhou Jinshan stopped her.
“Ming Shu, displaying certain things serves as a deterrent,” Zhou Jinshan said solemnly.
Feng Mingshu understood this principle, but felt somewhat guilty: "If you marry me, you have to share the risks with me. I'm sorry."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Zhou Jinshan pulled her into his arms and gently tapped her forehead. "You've been praised by the leader, so the trouble won't affect you. Come to think of it, if we hadn't come to this island on your advice, our lives might not be so comfortable."
Seeing her confusion, Zhou Jinshan explained in a low voice, "Recently, a student who stayed on campus wrote to me, mentioning that the situation over there is not good."
Upon hearing this, Feng Mingshu couldn't help but feel nervous: "What about Political Commissar Lin? How is he now?"
Zhou Jinshan shook his head: "The letter didn't mention anything about Political Commissar Lin, so no news is good news."
During his two years at the military academy, Zhou Jinshan was most grateful to Political Commissar Lin.
Political Commissar Lin took good care of him in both his studies and daily life.
If Political Commissar Lin hadn't asked Lu Xiangqian to go to the hospital to pick him up at last year's social dance, Zhou Jinshan wouldn't have attended. Perhaps if he had missed that opportunity, he would never have had the chance to meet Feng Mingshu again.
“I’ll write back and ask,” Zhou Jinshan said, releasing his wife and heading towards his study.
“Go write a letter, and my mother and I will go to the fishermen’s house on the island to buy some dried seafood and mail it to them.”
As Feng Mingshu was about to go downstairs, Zhou Jinshan stopped her, saying, "Don't you hate the smell of the sea?"
Feng Mingshu gave him a reproachful look: "I'm over three months pregnant now, and my morning sickness is gone."
Looking at his wife's increasingly pregnant belly, Zhou Jinshan was still worried: "You shouldn't go. Let Mother and Little Sister go instead."
“Mother and my little sister are not familiar with this island, so they can’t do without me. But don’t worry, I will be very careful and won’t hurt your daughter.”
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