Chapter 55
"Tell me carefully, why did you choose me?" You can live your own life, why did you choose me after rejecting so many men?
"Because you are pretty."
"So I married my wife based on her looks?"
"And eight-pack abs."
"Gu Yan, where are you touching?"
"My man, I can touch you wherever I want."
"Well, enjoy."
The woman yawned in his arms. This time she was really sleepy. I stopped talking to him, my breathing soon became even, and I fell into a dream about Zhou Gong.
The next day, as soon as Gu Yan regained consciousness, he covered his head and cried out in pain. "What kind of wine is this? It's too strong. My head is about to explode, as if I was struck by lightning."
"You know it makes you uncomfortable, so drink less next time." Li Zhongxia handed her a cup of tea. "See if you feel better after drinking the tea. Does your stomach feel uncomfortable? What would you like to eat in the morning?"
Gu Yan gulped down a cup of tea. She looked at the man in confusion, and spoke after a moment. "Jiangshui Dumpling Soup, that thing is good for hangovers."
"Well, let's eat this in the morning."
The man put on an apron and started to work. Gu Yan dressed and folded the quilt. He turned his back to him and said, "I didn't make a fool of myself yesterday, did I?"
"What do you think?"
"I was drunk, I don't remember. But I usually don't act crazy when drunk, and I don't drink. When I'm drunk, I just go to sleep. I don't think I'll do anything embarrassing."
Li Zhongxia glanced outside, then turned around and whispered, "Does it count as being a hooligan with a man?"
Gu Yan leaned over and kissed him right in the middle of the conversation: "It doesn't count with my husband."
The small room is filled with pink bubbles by these two, heavy snow is falling outside, and the house is full of spring love. The two of them heard footsteps outside the house and quickly went about their business.
"Mom, you're awake. Are you still feeling bad?"
Xiaohua came in carrying Niuniu, put her sister on the kang, and let her go find her mother by herself. Gu Yan reached out and hugged the little baby, kissed her, and turned around to answer his eldest daughter.
"It's okay. I'm sorry that Mom was drunk and made you worry."
"It's okay. Dad said that adults have to socialize when they are out, and the dinner table is the best place to promote relationships." Xiaohua repeated her father's explanation perfectly. Then he told his mother, "But drinking too much is bad for your health. Mom, drink less next time. After two drinks, lie on the table and pretend to be drunk, so they can't force you to drink."
Gu Yan nodded very understandingly: "Okay, next time mom won't drink so much when pretending to be drunk."
The little girl smiled and asked when Sister Li Zhongxia would come back. "We are all on winter vacation now. My sister and the others won't be coming home for the New Year, right?"
"The twenty-eighth of the twelfth lunar month. Dad will pick her up in a few days."
"Oh! My sister is coming back. Dad, how long can she stay at home?"
"One week. You have to report back on the fifth day of the first lunar month."
“It’s so hard.”
After the Little New Year, the team’s infrastructure projects were suspended early due to continuous heavy snow and low temperatures. People walking on the street hunched their necks, puffing white steam out of their mouths and complaining that the weather was too cold.
The pigs fed by Gu Yan have been sent to the commune purchasing station. There are two big fat pigs weighing more than 300 kilograms in total. I got less than two hundred yuan. Li Zhongxia set out to pick up his daughter and bring her home. It’s difficult to take a bus in this weather, so I have to leave early, otherwise I might be delayed on the road and miss the time.
"Wife, when will the brigade slaughter the pigs? It's only a few days away from the New Year." The old lady was sitting on the kang, sewing buttons on her newly made clothes. When she saw Gu Yan come in, she asked her.
"We'll kill them today. The brigade has killed all two pigs and distributed them to the members for the New Year. I roughly calculated that each family can get less than two kilograms, which is enough for making dumplings. I exchanged half a kilogram of sesame oil at the commune. We'll add a little to the noodles we eat during the New Year, and it will be very fragrant."
The old lady smacked her lips when she heard this, as if she was savoring the aroma of sesame seeds. "I haven't tasted sesame oil for many years. I used to be able to grow some myself, but later the land was collectively owned and handed over to the higher authorities every year. It's hard for ordinary people like us to even taste it."
"I'll let you eat as much as you want this year. I've saved five pounds of fat and will make lard tonight. That stuff is also very fragrant, not much worse than sesame oil."
"Haha, that's great. But, wife, will people gossip about you for doing this? You've just taken office and you have more good things than other people. People will find fault with you."
"Lard is sold at the lard commune, no tickets are needed. Each person is limited to half a pound of lard and residue. If they want to eat it, their whole family can line up to buy it. If you find fault with it, you have to have a reason. If you say something sour for no reason, I will kill you."
"Haha, it's comforting to listen to you do things. You have reasons and evidence, and you're not afraid of anything."
"That's right. I can't show it to anyone. I can just eat it secretly at night. I'm not stupid. I don't even know this. I can't let anyone catch me with this."
"You! You're as smart as that monkey."
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law chatted for a while, and Gu Yan turned outside to look for some children. There was continuous heavy snow, and the children were very happy. They were all playing in the snow outside.
There was no road in the village, so she went straight to the small river outside the village. In winter, the river is frozen and covered with such thick snow. Everyone must have come here to skate.
"Xiaohua, are you here?"
"Here." When the girl heard her mother calling her, she quickly stretched out her hand to greet her. "We are here."
The long river channel was crowded with people. Could it be that all the children in the village had come here? Gu Yan walked over to the children and touched the little ones' red cheeks one by one.
"It's freezing cold, but you guys don't mind the cold. You're having so much fun that you don't even bother to go home."
The children all laughed and shook their heads: "It's not cold, Mom, we want to play more."
“Ice skating is fun.”
Looking at the children's excited eyes, Gu Yan did not force it. Patting the snow off Leilei and Xiaoya, she said, "Okay, then you guys continue playing. Be careful and listen to your sister."
Then she told Xiaohua, "Look after your brothers and sisters. You guys just play here. Mom will make lunch when she gets home. Don't worry about it."
"Okay, don't worry, Mom. I'll take them back at noon."
Turning around and walking up the hill to the brigade, we saw two big fat pigs in the yard that had been shaved and gutted. Everyone who could help helped, and their eyes were like those of hungry wolves, wishing they could devour the meat in front of them alive.
Seeing her coming, the third team of accountants quickly came over to greet her. "What instructions does the leader have?"
Gu Yan did not stop and walked past the pig-slaughtering scene towards the office. “How much can each family get?”
"Two taels per person, divided according to the population. If you want spare ribs, give them an extra tael."
"Okay." Each family has at least one pound, enough for a meal of dumplings. "Leave all the eight people in our family as spare ribs."
"This? Director, you are really too typical. You only eat meat once a year, and you give it all to the members. You eat bones without oil or meat." The man was instantly in awe. "You are really a good servant of the people. We are not as conscious as you. No wonder the secretary of the commune always praises you."
Gu Yan smiled without explaining, handed in the work and turned to go home. I use lard and oil residue to make dumplings with radish and cabbage, which are also delicious. At worst, you can put some rabbit meat in them. Kill a few more chickens at home and pair them with the freshly killed pork ribs, which will be a rare delicacy.
On New Year's Eve, the walls of the house had been pasted, the window paper had been changed, and window decorations cut by the old lady had been pasted on. There was joy everywhere. It didn't snow these days, so Gu Yan calculated the time and drove his tractor to the county town to pick them up early in the morning.
At the train station, I looked at the time and saw that we would arrive at the station in more than ten minutes. Standing at the exit, I stamped my feet and pulled my cotton coat.
I haven’t seen her for half a year. I wonder how tall her daughter has grown? Every letter says everything is fine, but I still feel uneasy without seeing it with my own eyes.
"Mom..." Just as she was expecting, a girl in a dark blue coat ran out. She was none other than her eldest daughter whom she had always been thinking about.
"Oh, baby, how come you've grown so tall? You're almost half a head taller than your sister."
"I don't know. I grew taller after I went to school. If the new clothes you made for me weren't too big, my tops would show my belly button and my pants would show my ankles."
Gu Yan touched his daughter's head with a look of longing on his face. Li Zhongxia smiled and put the bag on the tractor beside him, then came over and pulled the two people onto the tractor one by one.
"If you have anything to say, let's talk when we get home. Don't stay out in the cold in this cold weather!"
Seeing him sitting in the driver's seat, Gu Yan turned around with a suspicious look. The man smiled and started the car: "I can drive. There are almost no cars on this road. I just need to drive slowly."
Gu Yanxi clapped his hands to applaud his father: "Dad is so amazing, he knows everything."
Gu Yan also silently gave the man a thumbs up. He is worthy of being the man I chose. He is indeed extraordinary. Without hesitation, he pulled his daughter onto the back stool, and the mother and daughter sat on the thick mat on the bottom facing opposite directions. This way you are sheltered from the wind and it is much warmer than driving forward.
Covering her legs with the quilt she brought with her, Dahua found that her mother handed her a thermos cup. "Are you hungry? Did you eat on the train?"
After drinking some hot water, the little girl put her arms around her mother's arm. "I ate it. Dad bought some cooked food and pancakes in the provincial capital. I ate them with hot water and was very full."
The tractor puffed along, much faster than a horse-drawn carriage. Before noon, the family of three returned to the yard where the Li family lived. When the children heard the noise, they all ran out. Xiaohua held her sister's hand, and the two little girls jumped and danced excitedly.
"Sister, how come you've grown so tall?"
"Why does everyone ask me this when they see me?" Dahua laughed and played happily with her younger brothers and sisters. Li Zhongxia carried the luggage into the house. Gu Yan turned around and went to the kitchen to cook.
"What are we having for lunch? The child just came back, let's give her something good to eat. She can't stay at home for a few days." Li Zhongxia came in and fetched water to wash her hands first. It seemed that she was going to help with cooking.
"Let's eat dumplings. I've mixed the stuffing and kneaded the dough."
"Okay, I'll roll the dough."
"Did you have a smooth journey?"
"We were delayed a little by the snow on the way there, but the return trip was smooth." Li Zhongxia paused for a moment, then continued. "The situation is not right. Wife, don't raise pigs next year, and feed fewer chickens, just enough to lay eggs."
It's finally here. Gu Yan nodded to show that he understood. This guy has a really sharp political sense. He was able to make all these judgments after just one trip to the provincial capital. The key to being able to see the situation clearly is to be willing to give up. His style of doing things was inherited from his master, a successful candidate in the imperial examination.
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