Chapter 10: "Your cousin doesn't have a boyfriend yet?"
“You can’t believe what children say,” Shi Guilan repeated once again.
"Here, have some pumpkin seeds," said the plump woman. These pumpkin seeds were the ones she had taken from a pumpkin she bought earlier. She had dried them slightly in the sun and collected a few before roasting them.
Pumpkin seeds are just as good as sunflower seeds. Pumpkin seeds have thinner skins, making them easier to bite into, and they have larger kernels that are very fragrant and crunchy.
Fat Sister was a thrifty person and didn't have much money to buy peanuts and melon seeds. When she did buy these things, she would keep the useful parts. She buried the fruit peels in the yard as fertilizer, because she couldn't stand waste.
"When were these pumpkin seeds harvested?" Shi Guilan raised an eyebrow.
Although both Shi Guilan and Fatty Sister-in-law came from the countryside, Shi Guilan married a man of higher social status. Shi Guilan usually liked to put on airs, acting as if she was no longer the same person she used to be, and began to look down on some things from her past.
"These are the pumpkin seeds I picked out when I was eating pumpkin earlier," the plump woman said truthfully.
"Don't you treat all those useless things as fertilizer? Why didn't you treat this as fertilizer?" Shi Guilan said. "If this stuff is left out for too long, you won't even know it's infested with bugs."
"..." The fat woman looked embarrassed. Shi Guilan always liked to suppress others, especially since the fat woman was originally from the countryside, she was even more disrespected by Shi Guilan.
For a moment, Qin Zihang looked at the sewing machine in the living room. He even crawled under the sewing machine and wanted to step on it.
"Be careful not to bump your head." Song Fenglan quickly pulled Qin Zihang out. "If you bump your head, you might become stupid."
"I'm not stupid, I'm not stupid." Qin Zihang hugged his mother's leg. "Mom, can I get new clothes?"
"Yes, you need new clothes," Song Fenglan said with a smile. "We can start cutting them tonight. Keep your clothes simple, and we can make one or two pieces for you tomorrow. Also, don't roll around on the ground; it'll wear out your new pants."
“I’m not a dog, I don’t roll around,” Qin Zihang said.
“I remember what you said,” Song Fenglan said.
"Woof!" Qin Zihang's eyes darted around. He barked twice first, so that if he rolled around on the ground, his mother wouldn't be able to scold him.
"You little rascal," Song Fenglan chuckled.
"Mom, I want pretty clothes, really pretty clothes," Qin Zihang said. "There's a pig on them, no, I don't want a pig, I want a big wolfhound, a fierce and strong big wolfhound."
“Okay, I’ll embroider it on for you. If it’s a big wolfhound, you won’t be able to wear it so quickly,” Song Fenglan said.
"Then... embroider one?" Qin Zihang looked at his little palm, then stretched out his little hand, gesturing with his right hand on his left palm, "Like this, this big, will that be faster?"
“Your clothes are only so small,” Song Fenglan said. “If the embroidery is too small, people won’t be able to see your big wolfhound clearly.”
"I want a really big one," Qin Zihang said. "I can hide under the covers and not come out."
As long as you don't go out, you won't be naked, and people won't talk about you.
Qin Zihang thought he was really clever, "I want a really big wolfhound."
"Do you want a big wolfhound?" Qin Yizhou packed his things and came out. "Big wolfhounds are fiercer."
Qin Yizhou thought that large dogs tend to be fierce, and his wife looked rather frail. He worried that she wouldn't be able to hold the leash properly while caring for their son and walking the dog. He figured it would be better to buy a simpler dog, like a common country dog—loyal, not too big, and protective of its owner.
“Fierce and formidable,” Qin Zihang said.
Qin Yizhou didn't know Qin Zihang was referring to the large wolfhound on the clothes; he was wondering if his son wanted to raise a live dog. Qin Yizhou was thinking about where to get a puppy. Dogs are best raised from puppies; that way, it's easier to develop a bond, and the dog is less likely to hurt people.
"How many days off do you get?" Song Fenglan looked at Qin Yizhou. Yesterday was one day, today is one day, and that's already two days. "If you have to go to work, don't worry about us. Just leave the tickets and money behind, and my son and I will have something to eat."
Song Fenglan reminded Qin Yizhou not to assume that just because they were here, he wouldn't need to send them money, and that he had forgotten to leave money and receipts. Their relationship wasn't great to begin with, and now it was more like a partnership to raise a child. Song Fenglan didn't have high expectations of her partner; she would say what she wanted directly, without waiting for her partner to guess what she needed.
"I was just about to give it to you tonight," Qin Yizhou said. "I'm going back to train the day after tomorrow. If I don't have training tonight, I can come back earlier."
"Okay, here you are." Song Fenglan nodded.
Qin Yizhou walked to Song Fenglan's side, a little excited. They had slept in the same bed last night, with their son between them, making it difficult for Qin Yizhou to even hold his wife's hand.
Song Fenglan took the measuring tape; she needed to measure Qin Yizhou. She couldn't just make clothes for herself and her son without making clothes for Qin Yizhou—that would be unreasonable. After all, they were living here, and Qin Yizhou would need to spend more money later, so she had to appease him.
Qin Yizhou didn't dare to move. When they were buying fabric, Song Fenglan had held it up against him a couple of times and asked him what kind of fabric he liked. He said anything was fine, but it would be best if it was dirt-resistant. Qin Yizhou was a grown man who had to do some chores at home, so if it wasn't dirt-resistant, the problems would be easily noticeable.
Song Fenglan didn't hear Qin Yizhou's breathing, and raised her head.
Looking at him, Qin Yizhou seemed not to be breathing. "Are you practicing holding your breath?"
"No, nothing." Qin Yizhou breathed.
“This isn’t underwater,” Song Fenglan joked. “We’re just taking measurements; it’s not like we can’t breathe, so the measurements won’t be inaccurate.”
The next moment, Qin Yizhou pulled Song Fenglan into his arms and held her tightly.
Song Fenglan hadn't expected Qin Yizhou to suddenly hug her, but she didn't push him away. They were husband and wife; they couldn't act like strangers forever. If their child saw her push Qin Yizhou away, Song Fenglan worried the child would think they were having marital problems.
"I want a hug too, I want a hug too!" Qin Zihang tried to squeeze between his parents, wanting them to hold him.
Hearing the baby's voice, Qin Yizhou loosened his grip on Song Fenglan slightly. He felt a little regretful; he hadn't had enough of holding her yet. His wife had a faint, pleasant fragrance, not the smell of soap, but rather her natural scent.
"Let your dad hug you more," Song Fenglan said. "Hold him more, look at him more, so you won't forget your dad later."
“Remember, this is my biological father,” Qin Zihang said.
Qin Yizhou picked up Qin Zihang, and Qin Zihang asked again, "Daddy, are you going to make clothes like mine?"
“Okay, I’ll make matching clothes for you,” Song Fenglan said. “When you go out, people will definitely think you two are father and son.”
"Dad, the clothes Mom made are so pretty!" Qin Zihang said. "They're absolutely gorgeous!"
"Yes, it looks good." Qin Yizhou looked at his wife. Not only was she skillful with her hands, but she was also beautiful.
The military wives were chatting together when Fatty Sister suddenly thought of Shi Guilan's cousin.
"Doesn't your cousin have a boyfriend yet?" the chubby woman asked.
Several people sat under a large tree in the courtyard, and someone was fanning themselves with a fan.
Fatty Sister-in-law remembered that Shi Guilan's cousin was in the cultural troupe. After Shi Guilan married Staff Officer Xu, it was as if she had brought prosperity to her entire family. At first, Shi Guilan was very humble when she took care of Staff Officer Xu's first wife. But after Staff Officer Xu's first wife died and she married Staff Officer Xu, she gradually changed and became the sharp-tongued and mean-spirited person she is now.
At first, Fatty Sister-in-law felt that she and Shi Guilan were on the same page, and the two had a relatively good relationship, often chatting and laughing together. Later, Shi Guilan gradually stopped liking to hang out with Fatty Sister-in-law and instead went to hang out with Commissar Zhao's wife and others.
Shi Guilan believed that Fatty's family could not bring any benefits to their family, and she also felt that Fatty was just trying to curry favor with her, so she didn't need to pay any attention to Fatty.
"It'll be soon." Shi Guilan's face darkened. Fatty Sister-in-law was really bringing up the very thing she didn't want to talk about.
Whether my cousin has found a boyfriend or not is none of my business. Why is my sister-in-law talking so much?
"We need to hurry," said the plump woman. "If I remember correctly, your cousin is already twenty-five or twenty-six years old."
"A woman's marriage is a lifelong matter, so one must be cautious." Shi Guilan knew her cousin's age, of course. Her cousin wanted to marry into a better family, and she also wanted her cousin to marry into a better family. But they didn't succeed. She preferred to remain single rather than settle for less, and that's how she ended up at this age.
Li Hui felt that someone like Qin Yizhou, who worked in the performing arts troupe, was good-looking, and had some education, shouldn't marry just anyone. Li Hui wanted to marry someone of high status and from a good family; she had her eye on Qin Yizhou, but unfortunately, he already had a wife.
If Qin Yizhou doesn't file for divorce himself, Song Fenglan is unlikely to file for divorce.
Shi Guilan thought that Song Fenglan should have filed for divorce herself, and that Song Fenglan was just relying on having a son to keep hoping for Qin Yizhou.
“Commander Qin really does have a wife,” the plump woman said again. “It’s not fake. I think Commander Qin’s wife is much prettier than your cousin, and she looks much younger too. Before, everyone thought he was dissatisfied with his wife, but I don’t think so. It seems like he really loves his wife.”
Earlier, Shi Guilan had subtly criticized Fatty's sister-in-law, implying that Fatty's sister-in-law collected unwanted garbage, cooked it, and even gave them the cooked pumpkin seeds. Fatty's sister-in-law was resentful, thinking that Shi Guilan and her cousins were all bad people.
“He can do whatever he wants.” Shi Guilan said unhappily. Did her cousin-in-law mean that her cousin had to keep an eye on married men?
"Before, I don't know who said it, but they said that Commander Qin didn't have a wife at all, and that Commander Qin was forced to marry a wife." The fat woman had the upper hand, and she deliberately said these things, "Look at my son now, he's such a beautiful young man. If he was forced, I don't think anyone would marry willingly. Back then, Staff Officer Xu was thinking that no one would take care of the child, and that you would take good care of him, so he married you."
“You…” Shi Guilan did not expect her sister-in-law to say that. Wasn’t her sister-in-law afraid that she would whisper in her husband’s ear?
"I'm going back now. I have two kids at home, and I don't know if they'll start arguing," said the plump woman. If she stayed any longer, Shi Guilan would start talking about other things.
The people around had just tugged at Fatty Sister-in-law a few times, trying to stop her from continuing, worried that she might offend someone terribly. Shi Guilan's husband's family was well-off, and they wanted to avoid offending her if possible.
The plump woman was still very unhappy after saying those things. She was from the countryside, that was true, but wasn't Shi Guilan also from the countryside?
Shi Guilan has the nerve to say those behaviors aren't good habits; they're edible things, not bad things. If Shi Guilan doesn't want to eat them, then she shouldn't eat them.
"Pah!" Fatty spat towards the roadside. "Shi Guilan is just lucky. Staff Officer Xu's first wife was so unlucky and miserable. How could she have died like that? If you ask Fatty, that first wife shouldn't have let Shi Guilan from the same village come and help her. Now that she's gone, Shi Guilan has taken her place."
The fat woman grew angrier the more she thought about it. She thought it best if Shi Guilan's cousin didn't marry into a wealthy family, otherwise, Shi Guilan's cousin would definitely become arrogant. These people were all bad, with questionable character. So what if she was a little fat and from the countryside?
In the courtyard, Song Fenglan went to collect the clothes that had been drying in the sun. The clothes were already dry. The sun was strong, so it was best to bring them down early to air them out. There's a saying that clothes dried in the sun are "heaty," so in summer, clothes should be brought down early to cool off.
Before she had children, Song Fenglan didn't pay attention to these things. After having children, Song Fenglan became much more attentive.
Just then, Song Fenglan noticed a movement beside her. Looking down, she saw a small head. At first, Song Fenglan thought it was her son and quickly went over.
"Zihang, Zihang," Song Fenglan said.
"Auntie." The person in the dog hole wasn't Qin Zihang, but Zhang Xiaohu from next door.
There was a hole in the fence between the two houses, just big enough for a child to crawl around in. Zhang Xiaohu had climbed over from next door before, but Song Fenglan's family wasn't living there then.
"You must be the little kid from next door," Song Fenglan said, squatting down. "The ground is dirty, hurry up, can you come out now?"
"Yes, yes, I can." Zhang Xiaohu quickly climbed out.
Seeing that Zhang Xiaohu was alright, Song Fenglan breathed a sigh of relief. Zhang Xiaohu gently patted his clothes, remembering to brush off the sand and dust.
"Mom!" Qin Zihang ran out. He heard his mother calling him and quickly came to find her.
When Qin Zihang saw Zhang Xiaohu, he immediately ran to his mother's side, saying, "This is my mother."
“I have a mother too, but she’s not home.” Zhang Xiaohu looked at Song Fenglan. “Your mother is so beautiful. Can she be my mother?”
“This is my mother, not your mother. Don’t you have your own mother?” Qin Zihang looked up at his mother. “Mom, you’re holding my hand. I am your baby.”
“Yes, yes, you are my baby,” Song Fenglan said.
"Can't it really not be my mom?" five-year-old Zhang Xiaohu asked. "I..."
Then, a candy was stuffed into Zhang Xiaohu's mouth by Qin Zihang. "Doesn't it taste sweet?"
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