The rest of the Shi family went to work in the fields, leaving Shi Rushuang and Gao Haiyue to enjoy the cool under the small shed in the yard.
"This little dress is so well sewn and feels soft." Gao Haiyue took the confinement clothes that Zhang Cuifen made for the baby in her belly and looked at them over and over again. She was filled with joy when she thought about the baby that was about to be born.
"If you don't mind, it's fine as long as it's an old dress." Shi Rushuang fanned herself with a palm-leaf fan and squinted her eyes as she said comfortably, "My mother is really skillful. When Qingqing was little, she was very naughty. She would go up the mountain to pick bird eggs, catch loaches in the fields, and dig up crabs in the river. When she came back, her clothes and pants were full of holes."
Recalling this, Shi Rushuang couldn't help but laugh: "At that time, all the cloth coupons were used to make her clothes, and there was no way to buy new cloth, so my mother cut cloth from old clothes and cut it into bunny patterns for her to sew on."
"Although he grew up with a bunch of patches on top of each other, he is still a good-looking patch. He even showed off to his friends."
Gao Haiyue also smiled, her fingers constantly stroking the small clothes on her legs, her eyes soft, "Children are just like that. But your mother-in-law is really good. Every year after the harvest, she lets the young ones come over to deliver food."
Even if Shi Rushuang didn't come back, the Gu family would still deliver grain three times a year. They had already delivered two times this year, early rice and summer grain, and they would deliver another time during the Chinese New Year.
"Yes, I am content to be able to marry into the Gu family in this life." Shi Rushuang waved the fan slowly, and the cool breeze penetrated into her heart.
There was some envy and some regret in Gao Haiyue's eyes.
In fact, her family is also very nice, and she gets along well with her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, but she can never be as close as the Gu family.
The eldest sister-in-law He Qiu Shui mentioned the idea of dividing the family property several times, intentionally or unintentionally, but was suppressed by Zhou Man every time. She estimated that if the family property was not divided in the past few years, it would be divided in a few years.
Gao Haiyue not only envied her sister-in-law, but also felt a little jealous.
Although the man looks simple, he is a thoughtful person and treats her well. His two sons have great prospects. From what she said today, Qing Lie has already found someone for Qing Qing in the army, and life will definitely be easier if she marries him in the future.
The soft touch of her hand brought her back to her senses, and soon the emotion disappeared.
Other people's elder sisters-in-law would take things away from home, and when they returned to their parents' home, they would squeeze their sisters-in-law and brothers and sisters to take food from their mothers. Wang Guixiang from the same village married into the harvest production team with her, but as a result, she was bullied by her younger sister-in-law every day, and her mother-in-law and husband had a lot of opinions about her.
I cried to her for a long time two days ago. At least she doesn't have to worry about her mother-in-law's expression. Men are also considerate. My sister-in-law always thinks of her parents' home when she has good things. She even brought something as expensive as maltose.
"Sister, you are a lucky person." Gao Haiyue turned her head to look at Shi Rushuang and smiled, with only intimacy in her eyes.
Shi Rushuang patted her hands gently: "You too."
Gao Haiyue chuckled softly: "Yes, yes, we are all blessed, otherwise we can't be a family."
"Haiyue?" The courtyard door that had been opened a crack was pushed open completely. Wang Xiuying came in with her son and shouted loudly, "Oh, I'm almost dying of thirst after walking all the way. Quickly give me a bowl of water."
Gao Haiyue saw that it was her sister-in-law from her mother's family who came. She was about to stand up when Shi Rushuang held her down, "I'll go, you take a rest."
"Sorry to bother you, sister."
"It's just a small matter."
Wang Xiuying sat down next to Gao Haiyue and pulled her son to sit on her lap.
"Haiyue, your sister-in-law is back again?"
"I came back at noon." Gao Haiyue frowned for a moment, then relaxed.
"These are the eggs that mom asked me to bring you. You're about to give birth, right? There's also a small jar of brown sugar that your brother saved. When you're in confinement, drink a bowl of brown sugar and egg water every day." As she said this, she placed the green coarse cloth package on the table next to her.
"There aren't many eggs at home, why don't you save some for Fengwa?" Gao Haiyue looked at the little nephew on his sister-in-law's body, with love on his face.
This is the only child in the Gao family. The old man and the old woman treat him very well at home.
"Hey, it will be ready in a while. I'll keep it with you for now. Giving birth is a big deal for women, so you need to take good care of yourself during the confinement period."
Listening to her sister-in-law's words, Gao Haiyue felt puzzled. Normally, her sister-in-law was not so generous and would not give all the delicious food to her son. What happened today?
Did her parents say something about her?
Gao Haiyue remained silent, not knowing what her sister-in-law was up to.
Shi Rushuang brought over two bowls of water. "Sister-in-law, you've worked hard on the journey. Is Fengwa hungry? There are sweet potatoes and steamed buns in the pot."
Gao Feng finished drinking the water and said, "Auntie, I'm hungry."
"Okay, I'll take you to eat something." Shi Rushuang was happy and took the little kid to the kitchen.
"My dear sister, I am so sorry to bother you." Wang Xiuying said a few polite words, and then watched her five-year-old son enter the kitchen. She asked in a low voice, "Did your elder sister-in-law come back alone?"
"No, I brought Yuan Chao and Qing Qing here to deliver food."
"Then why can't I see these two kids?" Wang Xiuying turned around and looked around, a little puzzled.
"I went to the mountain to pick plums." Gao Haiyue folded the clothes on her legs. "Are you tired? Do you want to rest in my room?"
"Okay, I just happen to have something to tell you."
As soon as the two men entered the house, Gu Yuanchao came back carrying Gu Qingqing on his back, and Shi Qingzhou followed behind them carrying Qingmei on his back and holding a bamboo pole.
“Mother! Mother!!”
"Hey! What are you yelling about, kid?" Shi Rushuang had just opened the lid of the pot and handed the sweet potatoes to Gao Feng when she heard the screams of the young lady outside, each one getting louder than the last.
She touched Gao Feng's head and said, "Feng Wa, eat first. If you're not full, call me auntie."
"Okay, thank you, auntie."
"This child is really sensible." Shi Rushuang smiled brightly. When she heard the girl outside shouting non-stop, she said unhappily, "Here she comes."
Gu Yuanchao carefully placed the girl on the bamboo stool, slowly pulled up her trouser legs, and looked at the obvious red marks. "You can't apply medicine to this."
Shi Rushuang came out and saw the lady with tears in her eyes. She panicked: "What happened? Did she fall?"
"Mother, take a look. Is the bone injured?" She squatted down and gently lifted the girl's feet and placed them on her legs: "Can you move?"
"Yes, it hurts." Gu Qingqing hissed and took a breath of cool air: "Mother, please be gentle, wuwu, I didn't fall, I just slid down from the tree and accidentally rubbed myself."
"The bark is too tough."
Shi Rushuang was both angry and amused. She pointed her finger at her forehead and said, "What did your mother tell you? Don't climb trees! Don't climb trees! When you go out, you must listen to your two brothers. Did you listen?"
"I heard it." Gu Yuanchao stood beside Gu Qingqing and patted her head gently with his big hand to comfort her: "I told Qingqing to crawl."
Shi Qingzhou put down the basket, came over and said, "Aunt, I'm still here."
Shi Rushuang said unhappily, "Just get used to her. It's okay this time, but next time you dare to climb a tree, you will have to sleep on the branches every day and don't come back."
"Mother, I was wrong." Seeing that her mother's tone had softened, Gu Qingqing quickly admitted her mistake and said, "I want to eat canned yellow peaches, the ones that Third Aunt gave me."
Shi Qingzhou rushed to say, "I'll go get it. Aunt, can you help Qingqing figure out how to do it?"
"What else can we do?" Shi Rushuang lowered her trouser legs, met Gu Yuanchao's worried eyes, and smiled: "This greedy cat will be fine after eating the canned food, you don't have to worry about her."
Gu Yuanchao was still worried, and kept asking about Gu Qingqing's well-being. Finally, Gu Qingqing slapped her thigh, remembering something -
"Brother, we forgot something."
"Ah?" Gu Yuanchao took the can of food that Shi Qingzhou gave him, poured it into a bowl, and handed it to her with a spoon: "What's the matter?"
Gu Qingqing took the bowl of yellow peach syrup and said regretfully, "Bird eggs, it was almost a snack."
Shi Rushuang couldn't stand it any longer, and slapped her on the head: "You look like an egg to me! Silly, eat quickly, don't think about it, and if you dare to climb the tree again..."
Shi Rushuang thought for a long time and felt a little stuck.
This girl is fearless and I couldn't think of how to threaten her.
Gu Qingqing pushed on, smiling as she stirred the sugar water, "If you dare to climb the tree again, will mother beat me?"
This means he is sure that she is unwilling and can't bear to do it.
Shi Rushuang's mind raced and she suddenly smiled.
"I won't beat you. Didn't Po want to go to the army? Your foot is injured, so it's a good opportunity for your uncle to go."
"Mother!" Gu Qingqing, who was being held in the palm of her hand, immediately wilted. She drooped her head and muttered in a low voice: "...I was wrong. I won't climb next time."
Gu Yuanchao had never seen a girl looking stupid before; the corners of his mouth twitched, and he didn't know whether to smile or not.
"Auntie." Gao Feng, who had appeared out of nowhere, held a half-eaten sweet potato in his hand and tugged at the corner of Shi Rushuang's clothes, "I want to eat canned food, too."
He stared at the bowl in Gu Qingqing's hand. Before Shi Rushuang could say anything, Gu Qingqing directly pushed the bowl to him and said, "Okay, Fengwa, eat it. Be careful not to break the bowl, or your uncle will beat you."
"Thank you, Sister Qingqing." Gao Feng held the bowl, put the sweet potatoes on the table, and ran away happily.
Shi Rushuang shook her head and laughed: "You think I'm like you? You're so old but you still often break bowls."
Gu Qingqing stuck out her tongue and asked Gu Yuanchao to bring two more bowls. "My mother and I will eat together, and my brother and brother Qingzhou will eat together. The rest will be left for grandpa and grandma to taste!"
"Eat it yourself. Mother doesn't like sweet things." Shi Rushuang raised her hand and pulled the loose hair in front of the lady's forehead behind her ears.
Gu Qingqing drank a sip of sugar water and bit a piece of yellow peach: "You really don't want to eat it?"
"Really don't want to eat." Shi Rushuang patted Gu Yuanchao and Shi Qingzhou on the shoulders and said, "You sit down and eat. After you finish eating, chop the firewood in the yard. Stay here tonight. Tomorrow morning, go to the town supply and marketing cooperative to exchange some cloth to make two sets of clothes for Qingqing. It will be afternoon when the tailor shop is ready. Then we can go back directly."
"Okay, don't worry, auntie. I'm an expert at chopping wood." Gu Yuanchao ate yellow peaches and grinned with his big white teeth.
Gu Qingqing gave him a provocative smile and glanced at him: "It turns out that you are the boss of our Gu family."
"It's here, it's here." Gu Yuanchao quickly added: "Don't tell my brother when you go back."
Gu Xiong's position was unshakable. He carried more than 200 kilograms of wet firewood down the mountain with ease, and he didn't know how many pieces he had carried on the shoulder pole.
The brother and sister were arguing, and Shi Qingzhou was watching with great interest, but in fact, Qingqing was the only one who was crushing them.
Shi Rushuang planned to go to the kitchen to prepare dinner as her parents and brothers would be back from work soon.
Wang Xiuying and Gao Haiyue talked for a while in the house. When they heard bursts of laughter like silver bells outside, they walked out.
"Oh? This is Qingqing, you are a grown-up girl now. The last time I saw you was two years ago."
She looked Gu Qingqing up and down, and seeing how pretty she was, she couldn't help but make some calculations in her heart.
Gu Qingqing felt a little uncomfortable with her gaze, so she tugged at Gu Yuanchao's sleeve and asked him to stand in front.
"Hello, auntie." She still spoke and greeted her.
"Okay, okay." Wang Xiuying sat down next to her. "What's wrong with your legs?"
"It's just a little rub, it's no problem."
"Oh, Qingqing, has your family found a date for you? You are not young at the age of seventeen, so how about I introduce you to someone? He is my nephew from my mother's family. He is good-looking and honest, just like your Gu family..."
Listening to her endless chatter, Gu Qingqing rolled her eyes, put down the bowl and hugged her legs, "Brother, my legs hurt, call mom to come!!! Brother, it hurts so much."
As she spoke, she actually burst into tears, with tears rolling down her cheeks.
Wang Xiuying's words were stuck in her throat, unable to come out. She stared at her blankly for a long time without saying a word.
Gu Yuanchao's arm was pinched several times, and he finally reacted when he met the girl's wet eyes.
"Don't worry, I'm here. Go back to your room and lie down for a while."
He hugged the girl and ran into the house, slamming the door shut with his right leg and putting her on the kang.
The two siblings looked at each other, and then burst into laughter.
"Haha, brother, you are much smarter than the eldest brother!" Gu Yuanchao understood her with just one look.
Gu Yuanchao leaned against the wooden window, looking out through a newspaper with a hole in it, and said with some pride: "You don't even care who your brother is. Qingqing, that auntie hasn't come to her senses yet."
"Hahaha, you didn't see it just now. Brother Qingzhou was dumbfounded."
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