Chapter 25 Chapter 25 (Catching Bugs) In 1965...
Unlike Lu Qinghe, Wei Xiuhua has been with the army for more than 20 years. She is familiar with the entire Hua City, so it is normal for her to know a few fellow villagers nearby.
This was the first time Lu Qinghe had traveled so far since she arrived. Especially when she saw a forest, she realized that she had actually reached the border of Hua City.
Seeing her staring out the window in surprise, Wei Xiuhua covered her mouth and laughed. "Don't worry, Xiao Lu. I won't sell you out to the mountains."
"I think the scenery outside is really beautiful." Lu Qinghe praised from the bottom of his heart.
They came out early, and the visibility outside was very clear in the sunlight, and they could see far into the mountains and forests.
Beneath the azure sky are rows of birch and poplar trees, interwoven with crimson and golden yellow. Occasionally, migrating birds fly by, and you can vaguely see the snow that has begun to accumulate on the tops.
"Sister Wei, is it going to snow soon?"
Wei Xiuhua followed her gaze and said, "About the time. It's cold up there. I'm afraid it's already snowed twice this season. We're here, let's get off."
As they were talking, the two of them arrived outside a farmhouse. There were a lot of dried vegetables and some fresh meat hanging in front of the house.
Wei Xiuhua must come here often, so they knew each other. After briefly explaining his purpose, the farmer called two hunters from the same village to come over to discuss the business.
The leather is made of sheep's wool mixed with a little rabbit hair, plus the labor cost of sewing, and the total cost is about 35 yuan.
Lu Qinghe came with money, but seeing that Wei Xiuhua had no intention of trading money, she didn't dare to bring it up.
Although there have always been private transactions in the market, they cannot be made public. Lu Qinghe is out for the first time and doesn't know how to handle things properly, so it's better for him to say less.
After the conversation was almost over, Wei Xiuhua pulled Lu Qinghe aside and whispered some instructions to him.
"Just pay the deposit now. The villagers in these mountains are more in need of daily necessities, such as rice, flour, grain, and oil. Let's order these things today. Next time when he comes to pick up the clothes, we can send them to him together."
Lu Qinghe nodded. "Well, I heard they need military rubber shoes. I saw that my old Zhao has two pairs that he has never used. I'll go back and ask him to bring them over if he doesn't want to wear them anymore."
"It just so happens that the pair I have at home were given to my younger brother from my mother's side last year. If you can take them, I'll give you an extra food coupon."
"become."
Lu Qinghe did not refuse her. Wei Xiuhua's family was not short of money. It would be better for everyone to pay their own way and settle the matter. Commander Meng was Zhao Zhanming's leader. If she inexplicably said she would pay more, it would seem like she was trying to curry favor with him.
Although they get along well now, they have only met twice. Since they are aiming to be friends, they should be careful at the beginning and not let the other party think that they have other purposes.
After the fellow villagers discussed what they needed to exchange, Lu Qinghe and Wei Xiuhua also discussed it. The two families looked at what they had at home and supplemented each other to get the items together.
On the way back, Wei Xiuhua looked at Lu Qinghe with more and more admiration. After getting off the car at the military family compound, she smiled and spoke when she saw that there was no one around.
"Xiao Lu, I've been following our Lao Meng for so many years, and what I fear most is being asked to do things for me. I remember when I first came to the Military Family Residence, I often got Lao Meng into trouble because of making friends. I didn't think too much about it, but you can't be sure that others have ulterior motives! Sometimes I accepted things carelessly and ended up incurring a debt of favor. Later, Lao Meng criticized me several times, and that's when I became more cautious."
Lu Qinghe pursed her lips and smiled: "Sister Wei, I just came to join the army, so I don't really understand these things."
"It's good that you're simple like this. It makes it easier for everyone to get along. Besides, you're smart and know when to stop. Oh, let's not talk about this anymore. Will two pieces of leather be enough for your family? I think three pieces are too little. I want to ask again in a few days if they have pure cashmere ones."
"It's enough. Lao Zhao said he only needs a fleece lining, one for each of the four children. I don't like wearing pants that are too bulky. I feel uncomfortable because I can't move my legs, so I just need a coat."
"My family can't afford it. My two younger brothers from my mother's side have already written to me asking for winter clothes. Each of my seven children needs one set too. The three older ones are studying in other cities, and my parents are taking care of them, so they still need two sets."
"Seven?" Lu Qinghe's eyes widened when she heard it. "Sister, your house is quite lively."
"It's been better these past two years. The first few years when we were in the military dependents' compound were so tiring. Even my mother-in-law thought it was not enough. Old Meng's brother had eight children. That's how old people are. They value having many children and good fortune. But the first few years were hard for me. It was like carrying a child. My stomach was always full."
I don’t know if it was because of what I heard, but as soon as Wei Xiuhua finished speaking, Lu Qinghe felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen.
Seeing Lu Qinghe suddenly bent over, clutching her stomach, Wei Xiuhua was stunned for a moment before rushing to support her. "Hey, I was just talking about giving birth, why did you say your stomach hurts? What's wrong? Did you eat something bad this morning? There's a toilet nearby, do you want to go?"
Lu Qinghe frowned and felt it for a moment, "It should be my period. I didn't keep track of it and forgot."
Wei Xiuhua finally breathed a sigh of relief, "Does it hurt a lot?"
"It's okay." Lu Qinghe leaned against the wall. "The pain was sudden, but it will be fine after a while."
"Come on, I'll take you home quickly."
Lu Qinghe hummed, then remembered something and looked embarrassed: "Sister Wei, I don't have a menstrual belt at home."
It’s not Lu Qinghe’s fault.
It has been almost two months since she traveled through time, and she hasn't had her period yet. She has never thought about preparing this thing in advance.
Firstly, her body was weak to begin with, and secondly, it was common for women in the mountains these days to suffer from malnutrition and irregular menstruation. She had asked about it when she was at home, and she knew that Xue Lanhua's menstruation had stopped before she was fifty and had never come again since then.
Fortunately, Wei Xiuhua also treated her as a friend. She walked a few more steps to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy her a sanitary belt, and then helped her back home.
"Hey, drink some hot water first. Do you have any brown sugar at home?"
"Yes, thank you, sister. I'll make it myself later."
"You too, you're so old and you haven't even prepared for this. It reminds me of my sister from my mother's family, who is about the same age as you. When she had this incident as a child, I was the one who accompanied her to buy a menstrual belt."
Lu Qinghe drank some hot water and breathed a sigh of relief. "I have a sister at home who takes good care of me, but now that I'm out here, it'll be a while before I can see her again."
"It's a perfectly normal thing. Communication is so fast these days. You can just write a letter whenever you want. And your parents' home is in the same province, so they can get there in a week. Unlike my parents' home, it takes nearly two days to get there and back by train."
After that, they chatted for a while and agreed on a time to pick up the sheepskin coat, and then Wei Xiuhua left.
When Zhao Zhanming came back in the evening, he saw that Lu Qinghe looked a little weak. After asking, he was about to go out.
"What are you doing?"
"Let's go to the supply and marketing cooperative."
Lu Qinghe glanced at the time and said, "The supply and marketing cooperative closed early. If you want to buy anything, go there tomorrow."
"I was negligent. I went to borrow a hot water bottle. I never used it before, so we never had one at home."
“Eh…”
Zhao Zhanming walked out the door after he finished speaking. Lu Qinghe tried to stop him but failed.
After a while, the person came back with a hot water bottle and some red dates that he got from somewhere.
Lu Qinghe laughed: "Where are you coming back from?"
"next door."
"Captain Zhuang's home?"
"no."
There was water on the coal fire, bubbling with steam. Zhao Zhanming was not afraid of getting burned, so he picked it up and poured hot water into the kettle.
The thick white fog covered most of Zhao Zhanming's face, and only his mouth could be vaguely seen moving.
Zhao Zhanming: "I don't like going to Captain Zhuang's house. He always asks a lot of questions when I go there. I went to Yu Xuexue's house next door. He's the only one in his family, and he's a nice guy. Although people say he's not sociable, he's just quiet. I borrowed the dates from him. I'll buy them and return them tomorrow."
"I've heard about this Yu Xuexi. It seems he studied abroad in Russia before, so no one wants to associate with him."
Zhao Zhanming frowned. "He's a senior engineer in the headquarters' communications department. When our relationship with the Russians was good, many people rushed to speak to him. It's only in recent years, when relations between the two countries have deteriorated, that this has happened. But he was able to stay, so he must have undergone a strict review by the organization."
"I know, so I'll take the initiative to greet him when we meet occasionally. Knowledge is innocent, and he's not a bad person, either."
"That's right. Eat the dates first, and I'll go to the bedroom and add another quilt for you later."
Lu Qinghe felt a little helpless, but also a little moved in her heart.
This man at least shows his concern through action, not just words.
"Forget about the blanket. I'm not that cold. And although my period isn't regular, other than a little soreness during the first two hours, I haven't felt much afterwards."
"I don't understand these things. I'll ask the military doctor for you tomorrow. But I also know that women bleed during their periods. Others say drinking brown sugar water can replenish blood, but to me, it's the same as when we were injured. Nutritional supplementation is the right thing to do. Eat the red dates first. I'll ask someone tomorrow to see if I can buy some meat."
Lu Qinghe chuckled, "Why make such a fuss? He's not really injured. Why don't you ask someone to buy meat? Why don't you go to the supply and marketing cooperative tomorrow? I'll go get it."
"Mutton is warm in nature. I want to buy some for you. The supply and marketing cooperatives usually don't sell it. I know a farmer nearby. I'll go check it out tomorrow morning."
"That's good too."
Lu Qinghe was really greedy after hearing this. "If you can buy it, buy some more mutton offal. We can have mutton offal soup with the children tomorrow."
"Um."
After the kettle was filled, Zhao Zhanming found a towel to wrap it up, then handed it to Lu Qinghe and placed it on her lower abdomen.
"Speaking of fellow villagers, Sister Wei and I went to a place near the mountains on the outskirts of the city today. We bought two pieces of leather and will make them into sheepskin coats and pants. I also left you an inner layer."
Zhao Zhanming's clothes were basically issued by the army. Hua City is freezing cold, with the temperature sometimes reaching minus 20 degrees Celsius in winter. The clothes of these soldiers are specially made to keep warm, so there is no need to buy them separately.
"Keep it for you. I have a special fur coat."
"Just wear it inside. It won't be a problem and it'll keep you warm. I'm just worried you'll get cold."
Zhao Zhanming paused, his brows softening, "Well, I'll wear it then."
…
It was the beginning of winter, and in the next few days, the military family compound was still bustling with people buying food and stocking up on it.
Lu Qinghe was no exception. After her period was over, she continued to help store supplies for the winter. Zhao Zhanming simply seconded Xiao Li to come over and help transport vegetables to the cellar for two hours every day.
When the several cellars in the military family compound were almost full, the first snow of 1965 fell in the morning more than half a month later.
This snow was like a warning. Although it was heavy, it was short-lived and stopped before noon.
In November, winter has completely arrived in Hua City.
After the snow stopped, Lu Qinghe went out and felt that it seemed to be two degrees colder outside.
"I'm coming." Lu Qinghe hurried to open the door.
"Sister-in-law, this is what I helped deliver from Sister-in-law Wei. I delivered the things you took a few days ago to my fellow villager yesterday. It snowed this morning, so I'm a little late in delivering it to you."
"You've worked hard. Why don't you come in and have some hot tea? We have some freshly steamed sweet potatoes at home."
"No, no."
Lu Qinghe watched the orderly leave, blew on his palms, and quickly hid back in the house.
It was the first snow and the school was still open. She thought about trying on clothes for the children when she came back in the evening, so she took her own clothes and tried them on first.
The inside of the sheepskin coat was full of long fur, and the outer leather was wrapped in cotton cloth. Although it was a simple style, the clothes that Lu Qinghe had drawn at the time had a waistline and a small design on the collar, making it thick but not bulky.
"Qinghe——"
The person knocking on the door was Wang Ningyu.
Lu Qinghe walked out with a smile, "I knew it was you when I heard that impatient voice. It's been more than seven months, and you don't know how to settle down. You come here right after the snow."
The two had originally agreed to attend a literacy class together, but since they met, Wang Ningyu has come to Lu Qinghe's place more frequently than Sister Han.
Sometimes I go once every two days, sometimes twice a day, and I almost regard her place as a check-in point.
Wang Ningyu: "Who told you to give birth to twins? When my mother-in-law heard about this, she urged me to come to you to take advantage of your blessing. I don't believe in this stuff, but her superstitious mind annoys me every day and makes me angry. I haven't given birth yet."
Lu Qinghe quickly covered her mouth: "It's already this late, don't say anything carelessly."
"What's wrong? You still believe this?"
"I'm worried about you." Lu Qinghe glared at him, "You don't know how to appreciate kindness, do you?"
"No, no." Wang Ningyu laughed. "Actually, I'm happy to come over to see you. We're both an eyesore when we're at home. It's quiet here, and talking to you is a great way to learn."
Sometimes when they were chatting, Lu Qinghe would talk about something and just say that she knew it from reading Zhao Zhanming's books. Wang Ningyu just thought that she was secretly learning to read at home. She was a carefree person and didn't ask too much.
"Qinghe, don't disbelieve me. When I become capable someday, I won't be willing to stay at home all the time. I'll find a job after this baby is born! I just hope it's a boy, otherwise my mother-in-law will definitely urge me to have another baby, and I'll have to stay at home again."
Lu Qinghe sighed: "You mother-in-law...your husband has nothing to say?"
"He's busy, I don't want to upset him, and he listens to his mother. Forget it, let's go. We're going to be late soon."
"Um."
Before going out, Lu Qinghe put on the sheepskin coat.
Wang Ningyu: "It's a new dress. This style is rare. The collar looks elegant too. It's really beautiful."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yu Lili caught up.
"Hey, wait a minute, I see you guys going out at this time every week, what are you doing?"
Wang Ningyu also knew Yu Lili's character. She looked over with some annoyance and pretended to be surprised: "You don't know?"
“…I don’t know.”
"You're just pretending. This military family home advertises this every day. How could you not know that this is the time of the week for literacy classes?"
Yu Lili laughed and said, "I forgot. What's wrong? Can't I ask?"
Lu Qinghe: "May I ask, what are you doing?"
"I want to join you guys. I see you guys studying every day, and I want to improve too."
Wang Ningyu snorted, and Lu Qinghe didn't say anything, just nodded in response.
Can you still stop others from making progress?
When I arrived at the literacy class, the teacher had not arrived yet.
As soon as she sat down, Yu Lili's hand unconsciously touched Lu Qinghe's clothes, "Qinghe, this dress is not good."
Lu Qinghe: "It's not that hard to get. It just happened that a fellow villager wanted to exchange it, so I made one."
“It’s really beautiful.”
Yu Lili said, laughing, "Your style is somewhat similar to the one I saw Sister Wei wearing this morning, except for the different colors. Did Sister Wei ask you to get it done? I think I saw you two going out together half a month ago."
Wang Ningyu frowned. "You remember everything that happened half a month ago so clearly. If someone didn't know, they would think you were spying on Qinghe."
Lu Qinghe looked at them indifferently, "You got it wrong, Lili. Why are you always monitoring other people's actions like a spy? And how did you know it was us?"
Yu Lili felt a little embarrassed. She hadn't expected to be so directly insulted. She could only smile and cover it up. "Isn't this the official car that Commander Meng rode in the other day?"
"Really? You could clearly see it was me in the car we were sitting in at the intersection?"
"I have good eyesight." Yu Lili couldn't help but ask, "What did you two do? You weren't going to buy this sheepskin coat, were you? Qinghe, why are you and Sister Wei so close?"
The military wife nearby couldn't stand it anymore and turned around to look at him teasingly.
"Yu Lili, don't you claim to be familiar with everyone? You even said before that you have a good relationship with Sister Wei. What's wrong? Didn't she tell you where she went?"
When Lu Qinghe took a look, it turned out to be Jin Manqing, the eldest lady from Shanghai.
Yu Lili was from the countryside and didn't have a good relationship with Jin Manqing. She snorted, "No matter how good our relationship is, you still can't tell me everything."
Jin Manqing laughed: "Then why didn't I see you ask Sister Wei? Or maybe she just didn't bother to pay attention to you at all, don't you think?"
"Lili, you two said you have a good relationship, so why doesn't Sister Wei take you to buy leather?"
"Lili, you said you live next to Captain Zhao's house, so close. Why did they look for Qinghe but not you?"
Those who knew Yu Lili couldn't help but laugh at her.
Yu Lili's face turned red and she lowered her head, pretending not to hear.
After a while, the teacher came and everyone finally quieted down.
"Have you memorized all the poems I gave you last time?"
"Teacher, I've read the poem 'Qin Yuan Chun' you taught me many times, but I just can't memorize it. I know all the characters, though. Teacher, can you teach us some arithmetic? I like to do the math, but my husband said that you need to be able to write in capital letters to do it. Can you teach us?"
Wang Ningyu took the initiative to make the request.
The teacher was a little surprised, smiled and nodded: "It doesn't matter if you can't recite it. The main task of you military wives is to learn more characters. There are not many capital numbers. I wrote it today. You can practice more when you go back and learn it. If there is anything else you want to learn, we will prepare to open a skills class for military families after the New Year. You can give us your suggestions and attend the class after the establishment."
"Thank you, teacher."
After agreeing, Wang Ningyu sat down, holding her stomach.
Lu Qinghe was still writing and drawing beside them. She knew everything the teacher taught her anyway, so she wasn't afraid of being caught if she slacked off a little.
Seeing that it was time for the class to end, Lu Qinghe yawned.
"I'm going out to get some fresh air. The room is so stuffy and uncomfortable. I'll be sleepy if I stay any longer."
"I'm going too."
"Is Mrs. Lu Qinghe here? Is Mrs. Lu from Captain Zhao's family here?"
As soon as he came out, someone came looking for Lu Qinghe outside.
"I am."
The person who came looked familiar. Lu Qinghe realized that it was Xiaonian, the orderly that Mrs. Wei often asked to come over.
"What's wrong, Comrade Xiaonian?"
"Sister-in-law, please go home and take a look. Your three children are sitting on the street in front of the supply and marketing cooperative, crying miserably. The three of them are crying together, crying so hard that the roof of the house seems to be falling off. I don't know what's wrong with them. No one wants to persuade them, but they won't listen. One of them is even injured."
With a buzzing sound, all the sleepiness in Lu Qinghe's head disappeared, and he ran to the supply and marketing cooperative without caring about anything else.
Some military wives were curious and wanted to go and watch the fun, so Xiaonian quickly followed.
"Sister-in-law, don't be anxious. There's still water on the road. Don't slip."
Lu Qinghe continued walking at a steady pace, turning his head and asking, "Why are you crying, Xiaonian? Do you know?"
"I just happened to pass by and saw you. No one else knew where you were. I thought you mentioned me last time, so I came to look for you. But I heard them crying and shouting, as if they had lost something."
Lu Qinghe breathed a sigh of relief. "It would be fine if they weren't fighting, then why is someone injured?"
No matter how much they asked Xiaonian, he still didn't know. The two of them finally arrived at the place after hurrying for a while. Before they got close, they heard the loud crying of their three children.
"What's wrong? Get up, don't sit on the ground. Tell mom what's going on."
Lu Qinghe looked left and right, and saw that the three babies were not injured except for a few red spots on their faces from crying. The stone in his heart finally fell to the ground. Then he wiped the mark left by the red crayon on Lu Yao's face and glanced at Xiaonian who was also worried.
Xiao Nian chuckled, "I was far away and couldn't see clearly, I thought he was injured."
Lu Qinghe hummed and was not in the mood to talk to him any more. She took out a handkerchief and wiped the tears of the three children in turn.
Zhao Zirui was the easiest to coax. He stopped crying after being pulled into my arms for a while and slowly wiped away his tears.
Although Lu Yang was crying too, after seeing his mother, he stopped crying with his mouth open and started crying silently with his mouth pursed.
Only Lu Yao was so sad that she could make anyone cry when she saw her. She was so aggrieved and sad that she was so contagious that she almost made Xiaonian cry.
"Yaoyao, be good. Tell mom if you have anything to say, okay? No matter what it is, mom will support you. Don't cry for now."
After finally coaxing Lu Yao into silence, the child threw himself into Lu Qinghe's arms again, burying his little head in Lu Qinghe's neck, and his crying changed from "wa wa" to "mooing".
Lu Qinghe was both angry and amused, so she simply ignored her for the time being.
"Lu Yang, you're my brother, come and tell Mom what's going on?"
Lu Yang wiped his tears aggrievedly and lowered his head, "Mom, I, I, we accidentally lost the notebook you drew for us."
With a cry of "Wow", as soon as Lu Yang finished speaking, several children started crying again at the same time.
Lu Qinghe: “…”
"Alright, alright, I thought it was a big deal."
Lu Qinghe comforted the sad children again, apologized to the people around them, and then prepared to take them home.
After arriving home and wiping everyone's face, Zhao Zirui took the initiative to step forward.
"Wuwuwuwu... I'm sorry, don't blame my brother and sister, it was me who lost the notebook."
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