Chapter 26 Do you want a child?
Although she looked extremely frightened at the moment, He Liansheng still recognized her at a glance. He waved his arms vigorously and squeezed forward against the flow of people: "Comrade Xiao Qin, here!"
Soon, he took over the big iron pot that was heavier than the corpse. Qin Ju was finally able to take a breath, "Why are you here?"
He Liansheng couldn't hear clearly, but he understood lip reading, "Let's talk later." He then took the old hen from the arms of the excited little girl who had lost her shoes, and then took the big quilt from the old lady whose head was crooked from being squeezed. The three generations of grandparents and grandchildren felt as if they had been reborn from the nirvana.
He Liansheng seemed to be carrying so many things by himself, but he walked in front and led the way. Qin Guihua praised him from behind: "Little He, you must be worried about us. It's not far. I was able to escape from Jiaodong to Shilan before, and that's not an exaggeration..."
Qin Jue did not comment. Humph, he knows what's interesting.
"Third brother-in-law is really amazing. Everyone gives in to him. Look, sister!"
Although they didn't shout loudly and didn't wear any uniform, they were tall and had a strong aura. The crowd seemed to sense it and spontaneously made way for them.
With such treatment, they soon arrived at the road in front of the station, where a half-new military jeep was parked.
He Liansheng opened the trunk, put the things in, and patted the pot ashes on his hands. "You must be hungry. Let's go eat first."
Qin Ju followed naturally, but after two steps he realized that his grandmother and Qin Pan had not followed him, "Let's go, Grandma, Old Four."
Qin Pan pointed at He Liansheng, looking very embarrassed.
Qin Ju followed her line of sight and discovered that his white shirt had been stained by the soot from the pot into an ink painting!
"Bring your clothes here tomorrow and I'll wash them for you."
He Liansheng's ears turned red. It was indeed good to have a partner. He even helped to wash clothes. What the older brothers said before was right. "No, no need. I, I can do it myself..."
"Give it to me. If you're any more polite I'll regret it." Qin Ju said deliberately fiercely.
He touched his nose and accidentally got the pot ash on it again. Qin Jue burst out laughing.
Qin Guihua kept winking at her, thinking that Comrade Xiao He had come to pick them up with good intentions, so how could Lai Di laugh at him? They were a newlywed couple, it would be fine if they were not shy to see each other, but why were they acting like brothers?
This is not good. At this rate, it will take many years for them to be in love. The old lady decided that she had to bring them together as soon as possible and make their relationship a reality. After having sex, it would be easy to cultivate their relationship, right?
He Liansheng didn't walk far either. He took them to a state-owned hotel not far from the train station. Because they had to hurry, they simply ordered a bowl of dumplings for each person to fill their stomachs. As for the taste... Qin Ju could no longer remember it after so many years, but she thought it was quite sweet anyway.
*
It was 10:30 in the evening when the jeep brought them to Lenghe Town. The once bustling family area had already fallen asleep. The sound of the car startled a few dogs from barking, but when they heard the familiar scolding from their master, they stopped barking and lay back in their dens.
There was no time to take in the surroundings or the scenery as they were so sleepy that they could hardly open their eyes. They just moved their things into the house, washed their faces and feet quickly, and then the three generations of grandparents and grandchildren hugged each other and fell asleep on a kang.
The next day, Qin Ju was awakened by the squeaking of the old hen. "Where did the mouse come from?" She heard it squeaking last night, but she was too sleepy. This thought flashed through her mind, but she didn't have the energy to get up and clean it up.
At this moment, in the quiet house, the squeak seemed so abrupt, so... familiar!
Yes, familiar!
Qin Ju got off the kang, walked out of the bedroom in his slippers, and came to the outer room. He saw a little rabbit with red eyes and white fur lying in the foot basin he brought with him!
"Qin Pan!"
Xiao Qinpan rubbed his eyes and said carefully, "Don't worry, Third Sister, I will take good care of the rabbit and not let her go out to cause trouble. We will raise it secretly and no one will know."
This is the female rabbit that Qin Ju bought last year. She always wanted to eat it but never got to. However, she was very fertile and gave birth to many puppies, so Qin Ju turned a blind eye to it. But - "How did you bring it here?"
She remembered that the fourth child brought a lot of things with him, so how could he carry a rabbit in his hands?
Qin Pan just smiled and didn't say anything. She hugged the little rabbit and rubbed it, as if it was her best friend.
In his previous life, the fourth child had always been alone and helpless. Qin Ju pursed his lips and said nothing.
Okay, just keep it. If you can raise a human, why can’t you raise a herbivorous animal?
Outside the door, the old hens that had come with them on a long journey were covered under an old bamboo basket. They seemed very dissatisfied with such treatment, and they cried even more happily when their owner woke up.
"Grandma, let's make some chicken soup today." After traveling all the way, it's time to replenish our energy.
Qin Guihua also turned over and sat up, smacking her lips a little distressed. This was her chicken butt bank in the village. After thinking for a while, she finally made up her mind and gritted her teeth, "Okay, let's kill one and ask your man to eat it."
The Qin family has become immune to her constantly calling her "your man". She remembers that Lao He loves braised chicken, and if you add some rotten carrots to it, he can eat three bowls of rice!
The three grandparents got off the kang and washed their faces with water from the water tank. Only then did they have time to look around the house. It was the same house as the previous life, right next to the Zhao family. In the previous life, Qin Ju had not been here many times to avoid suspicion, but the two families were separated by only a wall, so he could tell what was going on inside by just taking a look at the door.
Last night, after He Liansheng settled them down, he left on the pretext that he had to go to work the night shift at work. Qin Guihua knew that he was afraid that they would feel uncomfortable, so he took the initiative to give up his bed. He couldn't really occupy their place. "Can the company really arrange a room for you?"
Qin Ju was very sure that because of the bad environment here, there were not as many families willing to accompany the troops and the factory as in other places, so there were still quite a few empty houses, especially those with one bedroom and one living room. There was even an empty house next to He Liansheng's.
As he was talking, a young lady of about twenty-four or twenty-five came over. She had short hair, bangs, a white Dacron shirt and blue overalls. She looked both capable and pretty.
Seeing that they were a little dumbfounded, the girl called out "Grandma" with a smile, and then the three generations of grandparents and grandchildren realized that it was Ailan!
"Big sister."
"I love Lannie."
Qin Ailan agreed with a smile, "Originally, Xiao Zhang and I were going to pick you up last night, but Chen had something to do at home and couldn't leave."
"Oh, that's fine. It's your job to take care of the old man. We have to work when we get paid. We can't put it off, no matter how big the matter is."
The two sides exchanged pleasantries, knowing that they were all doing well and that the family was in high spirits, and that they would not have to be separated in the future. Ailan was surprised to hear that it was not Xiao Zhang who picked them up, but He Liansheng. If she remembered correctly, didn't her brother-in-law just come back from a business trip? He stayed up all night and sat on the train for more than 40 hours, and he went to pick someone up before he could even get comfortable in his seat? Another person drove for several hours, which most people could not bear.
*
Meanwhile, in the workshop on the other side, He Liansheng was punched in the chest by the driver Xiao Zhang. "How is it? Did you pick up the person?"
When everyone heard that he was going to pick someone up, they all turned around and asked, "Xiao He, who are you picking up?"
"A girl." Xiao Zhang's mission was to pick up a young female comrade.
"Are there any relatives visiting your home?"
"Um."
"Hey, who are you? You are the most handsome guy in our workshop. If you have a sister, do you think I might have a chance to be your brother-in-law?" A group of shirtless old men came over and talked in a flurry, thinking that it must be his sister who came to visit.
Who knew that all the beautiful dreams would be shattered in the next second——"My love."
"What?!"
"The one who went to pick her up was my wife, Comrade Xiao Qin, you will know later." His tone was light, but a group of singles felt that he was showing off.
"No, buddy, who are you kidding? When did you get married?" She goes to get off work and comes home on time every day, eats and dresses more like a single man than them, never participates in conversations about lesbians, at most she just listens quietly by the side, she doesn't look like a married person at all!
You know, once the gay men here are married, they are so proud. Not only do they like to teach others a lesson, but they also have to pull out a black-and-white photo from their chests from time to time. Sometimes they say his wife is so beautiful, sometimes they say his wife's cooking is delicious, sometimes they say his shoes are knitted by his wife, and his sweater is knitted by his wife... Every time they do this, they always attract howls from the singles.
He Liansheng said calmly, "It was tied last year."
"Oh, that's not right. If he was really your lover, why did you come to the factory and sleep in the machine room last night? Isn't it because of that... a short separation makes the heart grow fonder?" Someone smiled.
The explanation just now was enough. He Liansheng said no more. He took out a pack of Peony cigarettes and threw it into the air. Xiao Zhang caught it quickly. "Thanks, buddy. I'll trade with you in the future."
This pack of cigarettes was a "bribe" that Xiao He got when he took the initiative to ask for his turn to pick up people last night. He hoped that this good thing of getting a pack of cigarettes for free without doing any work would happen every day, so he shouted loudly: "Comrades, pay attention, pay attention, in the future when your partner or wife comes to visit, you have to take turns with me to pick them up. This is a good thing, so let's do as Xiao He does, ha..."
People chased after him and wanted to beat him up, scolding him for raising prices, and He Liansheng's mouth curled up.
When no one was paying attention, Xiao Zhang came over and quietly confirmed, "Is it because the elderly are here too? Is it inconvenient?"
He Liansheng didn't understand.
Xiao Zhang was on his own and decided to help him with a plan as a person who had experienced it before: "Well, I know Director Zhao from the logistics department. I'll get you two tickets to the guesthouse and you can go today."
"Or you don't have to wait until night time, it's cheaper to go during the day. I'll take your bus, wait."
He Liansheng finally understood and quickly pulled her back, "Thank you, but it's not necessary."
Xiao Zhang looked like he understood me. There were more men than women in the 412 factory, and many families were unwilling to live here. The female workers you see are usually in the packaging workshop. Their equipment department is full of big bosses, and they think a sow is pretty. "Don't worry, I understand. My wife was like this when she came here before. Who dared to bring her to the dormitory... But you should be careful, or these guys will make fun of you tomorrow."
He supported his lower back, suggesting something meaningful.
He Liansheng: “…”
*
Qin Ju didn't know that someone wanted to visit her before she even showed up at the factory. Just as she was about to tidy up He Liansheng's room, a junior clerk in charge of personnel affairs at the factory came to see her.
"Excuse me, is this Comrade Qin Ju?"
"Yes, comrade." Qin Ju handed over the transfer letter and the introduction letter issued by the production team's Baiyin Commune. The other party checked it carefully before allowing her to take her household registration booklet to the personnel department.
Qin Ju was also very familiar with the various departments in the factory. Although she had not worked for many years in her previous life, Zhao Qingsong was often not at home, so she had to run to each department herself to get things done for him.
"This is the house assigned to you. The key is here. You can change the lock after you move in and decorate it as you like, but you cannot build anything without permission, and you cannot raise chickens, ducks, pigs, cattle, or sheep..." Qin Ju quickly wrote it down and went to report to the health center.
After completing all the formalities, I finally had time to look at the note with the room number. It turned out to be right next to He Liansheng's! Their row of rooms with convex characters was right in the middle, with several rows of rooms in front and behind, so the wind and sand were less than those outside.
Ailan had to hurry back to cook and couldn't stay long. After finding out where their house was, she left in a hurry. Qin Guihua opened the iron gate and looked at the bright yellow adobe house inside and couldn't let it go.
"This window is really big. The fourth child won't have to turn on the light when doing homework in the future." Their house in Wulitun is very small. Because the back is the wall of another family, there is no way to open the back window. The whole house is dimly lit and there is no sunlight during the day. Qin Pan's poor eyesight is probably related to the fact that he often does homework at dusk. His grandmother thinks turning on the light wastes electricity.
“The house is taller than ours, too!” The floor height is more than four meters, so even though it doesn’t occupy a large area, the space looks very spacious.
"And here, the walls here are so white. Even the captain's house in our village isn't this white..."
Qin Pan added, "The top half is white, and the bottom half is green. It should be paint, right, Third Sister?"
Qin Ju looked at their sparkling eyes and felt indescribably happy. This way of painting is actually considered very old-fashioned in later generations, but it is very fashionable in this era. If you live in a building again and paint the floor with red and white snowflakes, it will be a high-end design in the family yard and worth showing off for many years!
The three generations of grandparents and grandchildren quickly cleaned the house inside and out. At noon, He Liansheng came back and asked them if they wanted to go shopping. He happened to be going to the town to buy some ingredients, so Qin Ju quickly took a car with him.
At her speed, it would take her 20 minutes to walk from her family area to Lenghe Town, but only five or six minutes to drive there. "Let's go to the black market near Lenghe, not the department store."
"Do you know where the black market is?" He Liansheng's hands remained steady while driving, his eyes observing her calmly through the rearview mirror.
Qin Yu thought that he had been here hundreds of times in his previous life and could find it even with his eyes closed. "Hey, I heard it from my sister. She said that although the things there are more expensive, you don't need a ticket. We just arrived and don't have that many tickets."
Suddenly, the speeding car stopped slowly and a man passed a roll from the front.
"What is this?"
"Just use it for now. If it's not enough, come back home later."
Qin Ju opened it and saw that it actually contained two brand new big group coupons and some food coupons and meat coupons. She hadn't started to receive her salary yet, so she really couldn't get these coupons. She immediately smiled and said, "Okay, I'll keep them for you first."
The first step to being a good man is to hand over the household income.
Lenghe Town is named after this Lenghe River. It is located at the junction of a vast mountain plain and the Gobi Desert. Originally, there should be no grass growing here. However, it is said that in the late Qing Dynasty, a family walked in the desert for more than ten days to avoid the war. When they were about to run out of food, they suddenly saw an oasis not far away. They thought they were dazzled, but when they got closer, they saw not only green trees, singing birds and fragrant flowers, but also a cold river with blue water. The upper reaches of the river can be traced back to the endless snow-capped mountains hundreds of kilometers away.
That family settled down there, and gradually took in several families who fled famine. As time went by, men and women of marriageable age married each other, and the population continued to grow, and it became the original Lenghe Town. Later, during the Republic of China, the number of people fleeing famine continued to increase, and the size of the town continued to expand. After liberation, the addition of the military reclamation corps made this place a vibrant place.
Seeing that there was only wasteland all around, but green trees on both sides of the town and the Lenghe River basin, Qin Ju could not help but sigh at the wonders of nature.
At this time, many businessmen selling things were already sitting under the big willow tree by the Leng River. They were all wearing big cotton-padded coats in the hot weather, with their hands in their sleeves. It was obvious that they were hiding something inside. When they saw the two of them come in, they first looked at He Liansheng warily, and then exchanged glances with each other - this kid should be a soldier.
But soldiers have to live, too. They have to go to them for things that they can't buy, so they don't mind. After observing for a while and seeing that he didn't show his ID or blow the whistle, they guessed that he didn't have a red armband, so they took the initiative to come over and said, "Hey, brother, what are you going to exchange for?"
On the way here, Comrade Xiao Qin had already mentioned what he wanted to buy, and He Liansheng asked directly: "Wooden boards, steel plates, screws and nuts."
The old man's eyes suddenly lit up, "Hey brother, these are all hard goods, tsk tsk... difficult to deal with."
Seeing He Lian frowning, he quickly said, "But you've made the right choice to find me. I have the best old elm wood here, from the south. It's the most beautiful and durable for making furniture." It was obvious that they were a newly married couple or were about to get married, and they were definitely buying the wood boards for making furniture.
Qin Ju knew that the "south" he was talking about was the southern part of Shilan Province, where there were many deep mountains and old forests, the soil was fertile, and the tree species and quality were very good.
Seeing that she seemed satisfied, He Liansheng began to talk about his requirements for quantity and quality, and then asked him how much he could get.
Daoye touched his chin and said, "At least this amount." He extended his index finger and thumb.
He Liansheng frowned, "Eighty is too expensive, sixty at most."
Qin Ju raised an eyebrow, she didn't expect that he would bargain!
In the past, he always bought more expensive fish and chicken than she did, and she often complained about it, but he said that she was too tired from doing manual labor during the day, so she just slept a little longer in the morning, and he would just buy them at the market on his way to work, and it wasn’t much more expensive, but now it seems that he is quite good at...living?
The old man's lips trembled, thinking that the soldier was too ruthless. "You want a lot of old elm wood, and so many steel plates, screws and nuts. I really can't get them for sixty. Brother, please leave me a way out. We are all trying to make a living outside. It's not easy..."
Seeing his miserable face, Qin Ju almost agreed. Although 80 yuan was a lot, she had saved more than 200 yuan from selling medicinal herbs last year. She barely spent any money during the internship and didn't rent a house, so she could accept using the money to buy some furniture.
After all, home is a place where you can feel comfortable.
However, He Liansheng was unmoved and whispered something. The old man's face immediately changed. "Okay, sixty is sixty. It will be here at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. You can come and get it."
Only after they walked away did Qin Jue ask curiously, "Hey, what did you just say to him?" Why did it feel like Lao He Youyi was a little sinister.
"Nothing, don't you want to buy something else?"
Qin Ju was reminded of this and hurried to look at fabrics. She wanted to tear two meters of floral fabric to make curtains, but the transportation here was inconvenient and the development was backward, so the fashionable patterns outside could not be brought in. After looking around, she couldn't find a suitable one.
"Oh, by the way, don't you still need to buy materials for the company? Go quickly." Qin Ju reminded him. This guy followed her all the way without saying a word, and she almost forgot his existence.
"Okay, then go wait in the parking lot first, I'll come back to pick you up in about half an hour."
Qin Jue is so familiar with this area that he knows where every tree and stone is. The supply of materials in the family area is tight, but it is different from the general shortage outside. In the family area, cloth, grain, oil, meat, and canned food are available during festivals. Due to the special nature of the unit, there is a special supply guarantee. Those who are thrifty can save some and send it back home, but green vegetables and fruits, as well as wood, are in short supply.
At present, Lenghe Town has not started afforestation and sand control projects. Only a small amount of vegetables and fruits can be grown in the Lenghe River Basin. However, these two things are not suitable for long-distance transportation and preservation. Therefore, not only are they expensive, but they are also hard to find.
She found a place selling vegetables and looked at the wilted greens, the black and rotten cabbages, the soft cucumbers... the prices were too high and she immediately gave up the idea of buying vegetables. You have to know that vegetables of this quality would be thrown away by the vegetable markets in Hongxing County.
On the other hand, crops like potatoes, carrots, and onions, which do not require high soil and water requirements, are abundant and very cheap; you can buy a sack of them for just a few cents!
Qin Ju immediately bought a large sack each. She worked out regularly and was stronger than the average girl. She bent her waist and the vegetable vendor put the large sack on her shoulders and she could walk while carrying it.
As I was walking, I passed by a place selling used furniture and stopped involuntarily.
In her previous life, she loved to go to the flea market, but she didn't buy anything, because Zhao Qingsong thought it was embarrassing to use old furniture, especially those with peeling paint and edges, which looked bumpy and not presentable. At that time, for the sake of his career, he was very concerned about his image. Now, Qin Yu didn't need to read anyone's face, and she could buy whatever she wanted with the household allowance handed over by her husband.
"Sister, do you like this kang table? It's quite practical and almost new, with only a few paint peeling off." Seeing her staring at a small black and red kang table, the salesperson at the trust store asked.
Today's formal second-hand goods market is actually a trust store, equivalent to the state-owned pawnshops in some areas. However, unlike the mixed pawnshops of later generations, to sell things here you must hold a letter of introduction issued by your unit or place of residence, and you must also clearly register the objects you buy (sell) and their characteristics. Generally, if you don't redeem them after the agreed period, the transaction will be considered effective and there will be no way to regret it.
"The owner of this kang table will not come to redeem it. If you want it, take it for four yuan."
Kang tables are very common in the north. Qin Ju remembers that her grandmother also had one. However, there was no food one year and her four granddaughters were crying with hunger, so she sold it and got three pounds of coarse grain. For many years afterwards, her grandmother often mentioned it, not because she wanted to repay a favor, but because this kang table was beaten by her husband when she gave birth to a child, and it was probably the only witness in her short marriage.
Qin Jue bargained, "Three dollars, three dollars for me."
The salesperson was in a dilemma. "We sell at fixed prices. If I charge less, I will have to pay for it myself..."
Qin Ju pointed to a vase at the bottom of the cabinet and asked, "How low is this one?"
"The vase is more expensive. This is a top-quality jade vase. I'll give you five yuan for it, a total of nine yuan."
Qin Ju originally just thought the bottle was pretty, with a round belly, a slender neck, and graceful lines, like a graceful Tang Dynasty lady. She thought it would be pretty for flower arrangement. Now that she heard the name was so nice, she immediately became interested, "Seven yuan, I'll take both."
According to the rules of the trust store, the fixed price is actually the lowest price. In order to prevent internal staff from making a profit by buying low and selling high, the manager makes sure that the price quoted by the salesperson is higher than the minimum price. In this way, if there is any extra money, everyone can share some pocket money.
"Okay, seven then." Anyway, the owner of the vase would not come to redeem it.
Qin Jue took a fancy to the vase because he was thinking that if he came across wild flowers one day, he could pick two and put them in the vase. It would definitely look nice when he placed them on the kang table.
*
It was exactly 11:30 in the morning when we returned to the family area. Qin Pan and his grandmother were busy. One was mixing yellow mud with straw to make slurry, and then pouring the slurry into a rectangular mold. After two days of drying, it became a hard adobe brick, which was equivalent to a low-end version of a brick.
"Grandma, what are we doing?"
"Let's make the bricks and build a stove room. I heard that every family can build a stove room of six square meters. Then I will secretly dig a chicken coop under the stove, and our two old hens will have a nest." Qin Guihua said proudly.
"There is also a rabbit." Qin Pan corrected.
"Grandma, we are not allowed to raise chickens here, not even one." Rabbits at least know to urinate and defecate in designated places and will not dirty the public environment, so let's forget about the old hens.
"I know. I just heard someone say that. But as long as your mindset doesn't slip, there are always more solutions than problems."
Qin Ju: “…” Your thinking has gone astray.
After the two rooms were cleared, Qin Ju wanted to squeeze in with her grandmother Qin Pan at night, but that was no longer possible, so Qin Guihua pushed her directly to Xiao He's side.
As for Xiao He, for some unknown reason, Grandma Qin stuffed a clean white towel into his mouth.
Although he was dull, he knew the use of this towel...
"Comrade Xiao Qin, I won't force you. I can wait until you are ready."
Qin Jue was not shy at all. She and Lao He had been delayed for too long in their previous lives. She wanted to start a shameless and happy life as soon as possible. Besides, they were now a legitimate couple. She saw the way Xiao He looked at her, his handsome face flushed and his heart fluttering. There was no need for them to drag on and not be together.
"I'm ready, we're meant to be together." We were meant to be together our whole lives.
"But I haven't decided whether to have children or not. I know this is unfair to you. If you want children, I will try my best to adjust my mentality."
Qin Ju is not in a hurry to have a child. She is only 19 years old and her new life has just begun.
"good."
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