Chapter 69 Bad Luck
Late at night, Cheng Xin squatted in front of a cement pool, scrubbing her burlap sanitary pad in the cold water, her fingertips numb from the cold. The sound of the door opening behind her made her stiffen, her hands trembled, and the cloth she had just wrung out fell into the basin at her feet, splashing foam onto her trouser legs.
"Why aren't you asleep yet?" Geng Yunye's voice was sleepy. He was wearing a military coat, revealing the cotton pajamas that Cheng Xin had sewn for him.
Cheng Xin stood up hurriedly. She didn't dare to look back and subconsciously blocked the things in the basin.
"Wash, wash a rag and go to bed immediately."
Geng Yunye reached behind Cheng Xin's red, frozen hands. His big, thick palms tightly wrapped around her slender fingers, rubbing them back and forth. The warmth of his palms came through her skin: "Why are you washing the rag in such cold water in the middle of the night? Let's boil a pot of hot water tomorrow morning before washing."
Cheng Xin bit her lower lip, her whole body tense. Geng Yunye's shadow loomed over her head, and before she could react, she saw him suddenly squat down and reach out to take the basin away.
"No need!" Cheng Xin slapped his hand away, and the splashing water wet their trouser legs. In panic, she used her arm to hold down the bloody corner of the cloth in the basin, but her wrist was held by Geng Yunye.
The air froze instantly. Cheng Xin stared at Geng Yunye's shadow at her feet, and saw the shadow move forward half a step and then stop.
"Don't hide, I saw everything." Geng Yunye's voice was not loud, but Cheng Xin felt as if every word hit her eardrum.
Cheng Xin stared at the bubbles swirling in the basin, not daring to look him in the eye.
Geng Yunye squatted down silently, reached into the water and picked up the sanitary pad, rubbed the linen cloth on his hands repeatedly, and wood ash mixed with blood flowed through his fingers.
"You use this every month?" Foam dripped down his wrist.
Cheng Xin's nose felt sore and she didn't dare to look him in the eye: "Wood ash has been fried three times, it's better than stove ash." Her eyes were red and she sniffed her red, frozen nose: "The straw paper from the supply and marketing cooperative is too expensive. This one can be washed and reused." She lowered her head and her eyelashes trembled nervously, thinking that he disliked her for not being clean.
Geng Yunye twisted the washed menstrual belt hard, and his fingers pinched the remaining wood ash particles in the interlayer. He frowned and said, "Doesn't it hurt?" His rough fingers felt uncomfortable, and he couldn't imagine how her delicate skin could bear it.
Cheng Xin was stunned for a moment. She opened her mouth and met his eyes, wanting to say that she was used to it, but when the words came to her lips, they became: "It hurts my skin and flesh, it's too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter to make me shiver."
He only knew that childbirth for women was like going through the gates of hell, and he never thought that menstruation could also be a tormenting ordeal.
Geng Yunye lowered his head and rubbed her nose, which was colder than ice, with a helpless sigh: "Fool, you don't choose the place to save money. Didn't I give all my salary to you? Why can't you spend money to buy toilet paper? Do you think you are made of iron?"
Cheng Xin hung her head, twirling the corner of her clothes with her fingers, her voice quieter than a mosquito's: "Toilet paper is too expensive. Two boxes a month cost more than ten yuan. It's not worth it."
Geng Yunye was so angry that he laughed. He tapped her forehead with his knuckles. The moment she looked up, he sighed and hugged her in his arms. He rested his chin on the top of her head and complained: "Ten yuan can reduce your suffering every month. Do you think it's worth it?"
Cheng Xin looked up at him, her fingers unconsciously tugging at the hem of his pajamas: "It's not that precious. Wood ash is considered good. My mother said that we used to wrap rags with stove ash, but we couldn't change them during the busy farming season, and they would wear out the roots of our legs. I only used stove ash for a year before my mother replaced it with wood ash."
"They are who they are. They have no conditions. No one is born to like to suffer." Geng Yunye pinched her cheek, "Your man has hands and feet and can make money. Would he let you suffer with him?"
"Why don't you listen to me?" Cheng was anxious and wanted to twist his arm. "The water absorption of straw paper is not as good as that of wood ash, and it needs to be changed frequently. It costs nearly two hundred yuan a year." "I earn as much as you spend." Geng Yunye grabbed her wrist and pressed it against his chest. "You should have a comfortable day after dancing here. Why do you use wood ash as a cushion? Do you think I'm a decoration?"
Cheng Xin buried her face in his arms and muttered, "I don't have a job, and the family relies on you to earn money. You can't be so wasteful."
"You're worth it!" Geng Yunye held her face. "Didn't I tell you that I make money so that you can live a good life? If you don't want to spend my money, then what's the point of me making money?"
Cheng Xin looked at his stubborn eyes and finally compromised. She whispered, "Can you try cotton first? If it works well, you don't have to buy toilet paper. Cotton absorbs water and is skin-friendly. It's definitely more cost-effective than toilet paper."
Geng Yunye stared at her red eyes and said, "I'll listen to you, but if you still feel uncomfortable, you must buy some toilet paper. I will bear your bad days with you in the future."
Early in the morning on the second day of the Chinese New Year, Geng Yunye and Cheng Xin's bicycles were packed full.
Two pieces of pork belly were hung on the handlebars, with fresh pig blood between the fat and lean textures; a bottle of Maotai and a bottle of Simingshan Daqu liquor were placed in the bamboo basket on the back seat; two cans of malted milk and a few cans of oranges were piled next to it. A bamboo basket was hung on the iron hook on the rear rack, and two lively crucian carps were wagging their tails inside, with water dripping down the gaps between the bamboo strips.
Two rolls of cloth were tied to the back seat of Cheng Xin's bicycle, one was lake blue Dacron, the other was pink polyester, and the edges were tightly wrapped with newspaper to prevent them from getting dirty. In the front basket were Su-style mooncakes wrapped in oil paper, peach cakes tied with red ropes, lotus cakes, and sesame cakes, each wrapped in red paper with the word "Fu" written on it.
The two of them pushed the cart around the threshing ground. Several children ran by chasing firecrackers. Geng Yunye turned sideways to block Cheng Xin. After the children ran away laughing, he lowered his head and asked, "Are you not scared?"
Cheng Xin bent down and took out some candy from the bamboo basket and put it on top. She raised her head and smiled, her eyebrows curved with a little pride: "What's so scary about setting off firecrackers? I even played with firecrackers with Xiao Lei before."
It's lively under the big locust tree.
The men squatted around the stone mill playing cards. Erdan's father shook the ashes of his cigarette onto the firecracker debris on the ground. The cigarette in his hand was almost burning to his fingertips, but he was reluctant to throw it away.
The women leaned against the earthen wall and chatted gossip. Aunt He's winnowing basket was filled with roasted snacks brought by various families. There were boiled peanuts from her family, sugar-roasted chestnuts from Zhou Hongmei's family, roasted pumpkin seeds from Erdan's mother's family, and roasted peanuts from Gou Wa's mother's family. Everyone gathered together to enjoy the new food.
Gou Wa's mother suddenly shouted, "Gou Wa! Don't throw firecrackers into people's mouths!" This caused everyone to laugh.
When Geng Yunye and Cheng Xin passed by, Zhao Tiezhu had just touched half of the cards in his hand. The cigarette in his mouth fell to the ground. He stared at the Maotai liquor label exposed in the bamboo basket with wide eyes: "Oh my god! Brother Geng, where did you get this Maotai?"
Everyone gathered around when they heard the Maotai noise. Aunt He put the dustpan on the ground, leaned closer to the bamboo basket, and exclaimed loudly, "Oh my God! Are they moving the department store here?"
She looked at Geng Yunye: "I heard that only leaders drink Maotai. This must be a treasure locked in a glass cabinet in a big store in the provincial capital, right?"
Cheng Xin hurriedly took out the fruit candies she had prepared in advance, with a bright smile in the corners of her eyes: "Happy New Year, uncles, aunts, and uncles. Try the orange candies produced in Shanghai. They are so sweet."
Geng Yunye fished out a cigarette case from the inner pocket of his military coat, took out some cigarettes and handed them to the men one by one: "I went to Yue City to run the supply and marketing, and happened to catch the department store restocking. I fought hard to grab two bottles. It's just right to give them to my father-in-law."
The men smiled at each other knowingly. Erdan's father held the cigarette and sniffed it, "Tsk tsk, with a caring son-in-law, the captain's blessing will last for the rest of his life!"
Cheng Xin sat down next to Aunt He and moved the floral cloth in front of the aunts. Her almond eyes sparkled, "Aunts, tell me, is there anything new in the brigade recently?"
Erdan's mother's rough fingers pressed on the lake blue Dacron, and her fingertips rubbed the surface of the fabric back and forth, and reluctantly withdrew her hand: "This material is really good!"
She turned and shouted to the crowd, "Zhou Hongmei! Come and see the floral fabric Cheng Xin brought!"
Zhou Hongmei spat out the melon seed shells, her eyes glued to the pink polyester fabric, and sighed heavily: "Alas, last month the supply and marketing cooperative was restocking goods, and I waited in line for three hours, and all that was left was gray coarse cloth, not even a piece of floral fabric!"
Cheng Xin held Zhou Hongmei's calloused hand, shaking it palm to palm: "Haiwan Commune has many varieties of fabrics! I'll go there to have a look next time, or I'll bring some back to my aunts when I return to my parents' home."
Zhou Hongmei's eyes lit up instantly, and she pulled Cheng Xin's wrist affectionately: "That's great! My little sister is getting married, and she's worried about not having good fabric to make her wedding dress. I want a piece of rose-red Dacron!"
"Don't worry, Sister Hongmei!" Cheng Xin's eyes curved into crescents, "I'll bring it back to you after the New Year! Are you in a hurry?"
Zhou Hongmei smiled widely, wrinkling her eyes: "Don't worry! She won't be twenty until after the Qingming Festival, you can take your time to choose!"
Uncle Zhang flicked the ash on the ground and said, "If you want to talk about rare things, it has to be malted milk! When I was sweeping the floor in the hospital, the cadres used this stuff to make tea, and it tasted better than brown sugar water."
Cheng Xin's cheeks flushed, and she made up a white lie: "Yun Ye heard that my father was always worried about the brigade's affairs after he was discharged from the hospital. He just received the dividends before the New Year, so he ran to the supply and marketing cooperative every day and finally grabbed two cans. He said that he wanted to replenish my father's body."
"The Gengjiawan Brigade has received dividends?!" The crowd exploded in an instant. Zhao Tiezhu threw his card on the stone mill and stretched his neck to ask, "I heard that they have opened a clothing factory? Although our brigade's bamboo weaving sells well, it's too slow to weave and everyone is slow to learn."
Cheng Xin subconsciously raised her head and chest, smiling with pride: "They built the factory earlier, so they have the upper hand. But our team is not bad either, and we will definitely get a lot of dividends this year!"
Aunt He clapped her hands excitedly: "Oh my God! When will our team catch up? If I can get more money, I will buy my grandson a pair of sneakers with white nets!"
Zhao Tiezhu scratched the back of his head, full of regret: "If we can find a faster way to make bamboo weaving, maybe we can make more money than the garment factory!"
Cheng Xin looked at everyone present with a determined look: "Don't worry, uncles and aunts! If Gengjiawan can do it, we can do it even better!"
"There are bamboos all over the mountains in our brigade, so we have no shortage of raw materials; every household can weave bamboo products, so we have no shortage of skills! What we lack is to improve production efficiency. After the New Year, my father will go to the county to find technicians, and then learn from the experience of surrounding factories, which will definitely make everyone live a good life!"
Cheng Xin and Geng Yunye were delayed in the threshing ground for half an hour, and just as they arrived at the doorstep they ran into his younger brother.
Cheng Lei held Cheng Xin's arm and shook it: "Sister, why are you guys so slow? I got up before dawn to sweep the yard!"
Cheng Xin pushed the bicycle into her brother's arms and poked his forehead with her fingertips: "We met Aunt He and her family in the threshing ground and shared a bag of candy."
Xu Fengxia poked her head out of the kitchen and said, "That's the way it should be. We're from the same village. If we don't follow proper etiquette, we'll be laughed at."
Cheng Xin stretched lazily: "Mom, where's my dad?"
"Your dad?" Xu Fengxia wiped her hands. "He went to the river early in the morning with a fishing rod. He said he wanted to catch some fish and make soup for you. I don't know if he has caught any yet."
Cheng Lei quickly took the fish basket off the back seat of Geng Yunye's bicycle: "Mom, my brother-in-law brought some fish, and they're still alive!"
Xu Fengxia smiled and narrowed her eyes. "Go and call your dad back! Don't let him freeze by the river. Yunye is very considerate."
Cheng Lei's face was full of excitement and he rushed out the door as fast as the wind.
Geng Yunye moved Maotai, Daqu liquor, malted milk, canned fruit and two packs of Liqun cigarettes to the eight-immortals table in the main hall one after another, and took down the empty bamboo basket and turned it upside down in the yard to dry.
Cheng Xin placed the four-color cakes next to the cans and two pieces of cloth on her mother's bed.
She trotted out of the house and said, "Open and drink the Moutai given to my dad later, or else it will be given to others at a discount!"
Seeing Geng Yunye nodding at her with a smile on his face, she suddenly leaned closer and lowered her voice, looking mysterious: "I just heard a big thing, you will never guess it!"
Geng Yunye brushed off the dust on his trouser legs, leaned forward slightly, and listened attentively, and said, "You go ahead."
"There was an educated youth who returned from the brigade. She was Wang Jiangang's ex-wife." Cheng Xin frowned, her face full of sympathy. "She was quite pitiful. She was going to get married when she returned to the city, but because she testified that she was defiled by Wang Jiangang, the family she was engaged to broke off the engagement because it was shameful. Her parents also felt that she was a disgrace and should not have made the matter public, so they cut off ties with her." At this point, she sighed.
"She had nowhere to go, so she returned to the brigade, thinking that she would be punished if she was wronged. Now she lives in Wang's house, raising two children by herself. But she lost her Shanghai hukou, so she has to stay in the brigade from now on."
Geng Yunye's expression became solemn. He was silent for a moment and asked, "The villagers didn't make things difficult for her, did they?"
Cheng Xin didn't notice his strangeness and snorted coldly, "Who dares! Wang Jiangang's grave must be covered with spit. Wang Fugui has been sent to labor reform, and Li Xiuqin has returned to her parents' home. Now she has the final say in the Wang family."
Geng Yunye lowered his eyes and said with a hint of emotion: "It's hard for her and the child."
Cheng Xin said thankfully: "The second-rate guys headed by Wang Jiangang have all gone to jail. No one dares to bully her openly." She turned to look at Geng Yunye and found that he was staring at his hands in a daze. The sunlight shone on his face, reflecting a subtle and complex expression. She couldn't help but blinked in confusion.
"It's a pity that she only has a city hukou, but now she can have some peace and quiet." Cheng Xin shrugged.
As he was talking, Cheng Cunzhi came in with a fishing rod. In the bamboo basket on his shoulder were two crucian carps as big as palms: "Hey! I finally caught some! I'll make you a tofu and crucian carp soup today."
Cheng Xin went to take the fishing rod, and her fingertips touched the calluses on her father's palm, which felt like rough bamboo strips. "Dad, your hands are frozen like carrots!"
"It's not cold!" Cheng Cunzhi shook the bamboo basket, "Since you two like to eat fish, I'll catch two more."
Xu Fengxia came out of the kitchen carrying steamed rice cakes: "Wash your hands before eating! If you wait any longer, the rice cakes will collapse! Old Cheng, put the fish in the basin. Your brother and his family will be here at noon."
"Are we going to treat you?" Cheng Lei ran in from outside, holding a box of firecrackers in his hand, "Are you going to welcome my sister and brother-in-law?"
"Don't be so talkative, kid!" Xu Fengxia put a bowl of rice dumplings with fermented glutinous rice wine heavily on the table. "Just eat them. Your grandparents are coming too, and they'll come to see your sister and brother-in-law."
Cheng Xin sat at the table holding a soup spoon. She stared at the glutinous rice balls floating in the bowl and stirred them with the spoon.
Xu Fengxia added a piece of rice cake to Cheng Xin's bowl: "Xinxin, you don't mind, do you?"
"Come if you want." Cheng Xin put the rice cake into her mouth. "I have my own family now. There's no need to get angry with the older generation."
Geng Yunye scooped a bowl of rice dumplings with fermented glutinous rice for Cheng Xin: "If my parents want to treat me, they can. It's not a big deal. We usually live our own lives and only have a chance to see each other during festivals."
Cheng Lei buried most of his face in the bowl: "Grandpa and grandma are much better now. My aunt is looking for a date for my cousin, and grandma doesn't even interrupt." He raised his head, with glutinous rice on the corner of his mouth: "Sister, brother-in-law, you two will accompany me to set off firecrackers later!"
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