I went to the brigade supply and marketing cooperative and exchanged two jars for them, one for water and the other for grain. She went to Carpenter Hou's house and asked for a pair of buckets. She gave him two packets of noodles in exchange and he promised to deliver them to her home in five days.
While she had some time, she used the dull-colored cloths to piece together two small cushions. The square pieces are filled with cotton and sewn up, then placed at both ends of the fire. They are beautiful and comfortable to sit on. When a baby is born, you can put the child here. It will be warm by the fire and convenient for people working on the ground to take care of it.
I had put two straw mats there before, but she threw them away a long time ago. People from well-off families usually pack old cotton, which is hard and not good for making clothes, but is fine for this. She also filled the old cotton today, fearing that people might find out what was going on outside.
Seeing that everything was almost ready, she continued to work in the afternoon. More activities during pregnancy will help with childbirth. She confronted the captain today simply because she thought he was a bully. If you dare to be rude to me, I won't have anything nice to say to you. As for some people's concerns about offending the captain and whether he would do something to her, how could she, who has been studying for more than ten years, be afraid of this?
Three days later, the promised coal arrived. Looking at those shiny pieces of smokeless charcoal, everyone in the team was amazed.
"Hey, comrade, why are you giving this to the Han family?"
"Yes, it was designated for the second brother's family. What did the second brother's woman do to earn so much charcoal?"
A man in his forties who is away from home all year round is certainly not afraid of dealing with these old-fashioned people. While he was unloading coal for Gu Yan with a shovel, he started to talk to everyone about his work.
"Comrade Gu Yan helped us recover an important loss. This coal was given to her as a reward by the unit."
"Really? What's the loss?"
"Yeah, what can an old woman like her do?"
"What this comrade said is wrong. Women hold up half the sky. How can you look down on female comrades?"
"Yes, yes, I am a rough man who doesn't know how to talk, comrade, don't be angry."
"Well, comrade, don't be angry. We are just curious about what merits can be exchanged for so much coal?"
"Don't ask questions that you shouldn't ask. Haven't you learned the confidentiality regulations?"
"……without."
"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask, and don't spread what you shouldn't spread." The man's face was serious, and everyone dared not say a word. Nowadays, people are very respectful to their leaders, especially those living in the city. They think that they are knowledgeable and cultured, and they dare not and will not refute them.
The coal was piled in the coal bin at the entrance of the street, which was actually just several circles built with earthen bricks. Nowadays, people are simple and honest, and personal belongings are basically not stolen. Everyone is so poor that they can only think of ways to take advantage of the public. In their minds, what belongs to the public belongs to everyone, which means everyone has a share. Taking it is not considered stealing.
A few days later, the promised bucket of water was delivered. Gu Yan has had plenty of food recently, and his stomach has become a little bigger. In that era of food scarcity and generally thin newborns, her belly was clearly oversized. Everyone said she was lucky because it would be much easier to have two babies at once. Except for Mrs. Xu, no one cared whether her twins were in danger. Even Han Laoer, the child's biological father, turned a blind eye to it, as if nothing had happened.
Twins rarely make it to full term, so Gu Yan was silently making preparations for delivery. She was concentrating on how to fight this battle that was about to take her to the gates of hell, but her so-called family members who lived in the same courtyard became jealous when they saw her things one by one, and they were thinking in their minds how to plot against her so as to get those things.
"The two sisters, Dahua and Xiaohua, are actually wearing new shoes. The soles are for my son. How can they shamelessly occupy them?" The eldest son's wife was filled with righteous indignation. If she didn't get the advantage, she would have suffered a loss.
"That's right. The window paper has been replaced and the walls are covered with newspapers. It looks clean and bright. What do you think she used to exchange the cotton paper and large jars at the supply and marketing cooperative? And where did she get so many newspapers?" The third son's wife also became jealous, her little eyes sparkling.
"The charcoal is the focus today. It's worth a lot of money. If we burn charcoal in winter, the house will be so warm." After all, the boss is a man, and his focus is different from that of women.
"And there's the bucket. Old Carpenter Hou is so stingy, yet he was willing to give it to her on credit. Why don't I believe it?" The third brother also expressed his opinion.
"Besides, the things from the supply and marketing cooperative are also sold on credit. Tell me, how can these people be so bold as to give her on credit when she's just a young wife in charge of the household. Aren't they afraid that she won't be able to pay it back? I can't even get some things on credit, so why is she so confident?"
As soon as the second brother finished speaking, everyone looked down upon him. You still have the nerve to say that. When will you pay back the debt you owe? You have to wait until the end of the year for settlement, and they will directly ask the team leader to deduct the money. That is our family's property, how can we let you ruin it all? After a few incidents, of course people won’t dare to sell to you on credit anymore.
Old man Han, the head of the family, knocked on his pipe and glanced at the old lady, signaling her to speak. The old lady took a sip of water to clear her throat and glanced at them one by one.
"She'll pay it back if she owes it on credit. It has nothing to do with us. Your father has already informed the brigade accountant. Neither the supply and marketing cooperative nor Carpenter Hou can deduct money from our family. As for the soles, each family will pay for them in the future. The charcoal is our common property, so we can use it together when the time comes."
"Mom, where are the newspapers? She had some to paste on the walls but she didn't give any to us. She doesn't even consider us as a family member."
"You can go ask. If there's still any left, maybe she'll give it to you."
"Well, I'll go ask."
The third son's wife responded happily, not noticing the contempt in the eldest sister-in-law's eyes. As a result, she went there shamelessly, only to be rejected as expected.
"Tsk, if you don't want to give it to me, then don't give it to me. It's just a few pieces of newspaper, who cares about them?"
As soon as she left, Gu Yan and her two daughters were getting ready to go to bed in the dark, but Han Laoer, who had not been seen for many days, came in. Dahua, who was about to close the door, was startled. She let go of her hand that was pushing the door and took several steps back. It was as if this person was not his biological father, but was here to take his life.
"You damn girl, are you asking for a beating?"
The child subconsciously took off his shoes, jumped onto the kang and hid in the corner next to his mother. Xiaohua was also afraid of him. Seeing that he looked ferocious and seemed to be in a bad mood, she hid with her sister.
It’s almost the fifteenth day of the lunar month, and the bright moonlight shines through the window paper. Although it was not as transparent as glass, it was enough for Gu Yan to see the face of the person coming.
"go out."
With just two simple words, Gu Yan expressed his meaning, and his right hand had already reached into the quilt and took out a baton from the space.
"Look at you, you're still holding a grudge after a quarrel. I'm your man, and it's only natural for me to sleep in the same room with you."
After the outburst, this guy no longer dared to show off to her, and he also knew how to say some nonsense to get close to her. Unfortunately, Gu Yan is not the original owner, so he does not have the hundred days of grace that the couple had. I have no other emotions except hatred and disgust towards this lazy and violent man who only knows how to abuse his wife and children.
"Get out of here! Don't make me say it for the third time."
She had already revealed the weapon in her hand, making it clear that she didn't want to say more to him. But Han Laoer came here with a purpose, and he would not return empty-handed.
"You are going too far! I am your man, the head of the family and the sky of the family. How can you talk to me like this? Go out and see which old woman dares to talk to the man at home like this..."
"Get lost..." She knocked the baton in her hand on the edge of the kang as a warning, "What kind of man are you? Have you ever done anything upright? You don't work for a cent, you don't care about your children, you eat for free and hang around all day, and you even gamble with the food at home. How can you have the nerve to call yourself a man?"
"I..." Han Laoer was out of breath for a moment and then stiffened his neck. "How do you talk to your man? Look at you, how can you be a gentle woman? You are like a tigress, making people feel sick. Men don't like people like you..."
"What on earth are you doing here today?"
Gu Yan got annoyed and swung his stick at him. The blow was not heavy, just a light glide across my arm. But the man was so frightened that he jumped up and ran out of the house.
"A gentleman should use his mouth instead of his fists. You damned crow, you're bullying your own man like this, be careful to be struck by lightning."
Gu Yan got up and closed the door, glaring at him through the door curtain: "If I have to chop you off, I'll chop you off first, an irresponsible scumbag."
The door was bolted quickly and neatly, and the two girls on the kang looked at their mother with starry eyes. Mom is so powerful, she actually beat Dad out. They both thought that he was just talking, and they were worried these past two days that when their father came back, they would no longer be able to use the soft mattress, and the quilt would have to be returned to him, and they would have to squeeze with their mother. Mom's belly is big, and it must be uncomfortable if it's squeezed.
"Mom, did my dad see the mat we laid out just now?"
"Yeah, I thought no one was coming, but he saw us. Will he tell grandma and take our mat away?"
Gu Yan looked at it in the moonlight. If he looked carefully, he would definitely see it. But men are careless and may not pay attention to this. The cushion is about the same color as the mat, so maybe he didn't notice.
"You saw it, so you saw it. If anyone asks you about it, just say that it was given to you by the aunt from the commune." A patchwork cushion and some old clothes, could they really arrest me as a spy?
"Yes, I know."
"What if grandma and the others want it?" Xiaohua was obviously still worried that this thing would be snatched away. It was fine for her to sleep on a bare mat, but she would soon have younger brothers and sisters, and they were so young that they still needed a cushion to keep them warm.
"Let them change when they go to market."
Gu Yan took off his clothes and went to sleep. His big belly had been making him feel more and more uncomfortable lately. The crops in the field are almost harvested, and she plans to go to her family's private plot to dig some radishes tomorrow. Radishes are drought tolerant and grow well. Dig them up and take them home to pickle them, so you can eat them openly in the winter.
"Mom, what's that noise outside?"
When Xiaohua pushed him awake in the middle of the night, Gu Yan instantly woke up and listened attentively. "Sizzle, sizzle" It sounded like something was scraping the ground, the sound was not loud and seemed to be very cautious.
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