Chapter 7 Disparity: Did my sister-in-law make this?
The person standing not far away is Li Hui. Li Hui works in the cultural troupe and is Shi Guilan's cousin. Earlier, Li Hui had taken a liking to Qin Yizhou and wanted Shi Guilan to act as a matchmaker for her and Qin Yizhou.
At the time, everyone said that Qin Yizhou had already registered his marriage, which Qin Yizhou himself said. However, many people did not believe that Qin Yizhou had registered his marriage and took it as nonsense. They didn't consider that someone would casually say he was married, especially since Qin Yizhou's marriage was a military marriage, which required a marriage report and couldn't be done casually.
Li Hui stood there for a long time, unable to move. Qin Yizhou was really married?!
"Commander Qin's wife just arrived yesterday." The plump woman returned with her child and happened to see Li Hui standing there.
Almost everyone here knows about Li Hui's feelings for Qin Yizhou. Li Hui admires Qin Yizhou and wants to marry him. However, Qin Yizhou is already married, so there's absolutely no possibility between them. Qin Yizhou doesn't have the slightest romantic feeling for Li Hui.
"Yesterday... were they... really husband and wife?" Li Hui opened her mouth, but couldn't quite bring herself to ask.
“Yes, they are a couple,” said the plump woman. “The child looks just like Commander Qin.”
"Really?" Li Hui asked.
"They just moved in today, and there's a lot of stuff to unpack," said the plump woman. "Some things are already there and can be washed and used again, while others need to be bought new. Are you going to move in?"
“No, I’m going to find my cousin,” Li Hui said.
Actually, Li Hui didn't come specifically to see her cousin. She had heard that Commander Qin's wife and children had arrived, and she didn't want to believe it, so she insisted on coming to see for herself. When Li Hui saw Qin Yizhou's family not far away, she hesitated to go over.
“Your cousin doesn’t live here,” the plump woman replied. “She lives in the tenement building over there, she…”
"I know, this will be over soon." Li Hui interrupted the fat woman, afraid that she would continue talking. She felt like she had become a clown in other people's eyes.
Li Hui fled in panic, leaving before she even reached Song Fenglan.
Qin Yizhou didn't pay attention to Li Hui, but Song Fenglan did see her. However, Li Hui didn't approach Song Fenglan, and Song Fenglan was unaware that Li Hui admired Qin Yizhou. Song Fenglan was set up to have a relationship with Qin Yizhou; at the time, neither of them was married, and Qin Yizhou didn't have a girlfriend. Their marriage registration didn't involve any wrongdoing on Qin Yizhou's girlfriend's part.
The straw mats and blankets were in duplicate, as Qin Yizhou knew that Qin Zihang would need to sleep alone later, so he had to prepare things for him.
Qin Yizhou's comrades helped unload the items from the vehicle, cleaned the yard, and weeded the yard.
"I can't cook." Seeing that there were two or three people helping with the work, Song Fenglan pulled Qin Yizhou aside.
If you ask someone to help you with chores, you should treat them to a meal. But Song Fenglan's cooking skills are terrible; asking her to cook for others is out of the question. People might lose their appetite just by seeing her cooking.
"It's alright, I can cook," Qin Yizhou said. "Cooking a few dishes won't be a problem."
“If you can do it, you do it; I won’t do it,” Song Fenglan said. She didn’t want others to have to eat it against their will; that would be repaying kindness with enmity.
“No problem,” Qin Yizhou said.
There were vegetable and meat vendors nearby, and Qin Yizhou's comrades had also bought some vegetables and fruits. These people figured that Qin Yizhou's family had just moved into their new house and were lacking many things, so they bought whatever they could to help.
Song Fenglan waved to Qin Zihang. They weren't going to do anything, so they could rest for a bit. The tables and chairs had all been moved out to be washed, and there was nowhere to sit. Qin Zihang jogged over to Song Fenglan; he was yawning.
"You should go to the guesthouse and rest for a while," Qin Yizhou said. "Come back later."
“That works too.” Song Fenglan nodded.
Song Fenglan wasn't one to suffer in silence. Since Qin Yizhou had said so, she simply took her son to the guesthouse to rest. It was fine for Song Fenglan to stand there, but the child was so young. They had just arrived in a new place, and children's immune systems are weak; if the child didn't rest well, he would easily get sick.
When Qin Yizhou's comrades saw Song Fenglan carrying the child out, they glanced at her, had some doubts, but didn't say anything.
“My wife and child have been on the train for three or four days. The child was sleepy, so I told them to go to the guesthouse to rest first,” Qin Yizhou said. “It’s too far from our hometown. She’s been watching the child all by herself, afraid that he might be kidnapped by human traffickers. She hasn’t slept much.”
When his comrades heard what Qin Yizhou said, they understood that Qin Yizhou was a loving husband, and that Song Fenglan was truly exhausted.
"The grass in this yard is really tall," one of his comrades said with a smile.
“I heard no one has lived here for a long time,” Qin Yizhou said. “These weeds are not only tall, but their roots are also deep. My son just tried to pull them up and tripped and fell.”
When Li Hui arrived at Shi Guilan's house, her face was very pale. Shi Guilan poured Li Hui a glass of water; she hadn't expected that Qin Yizhou really did have a wife.
"Did you see it?" Shi Guilan asked.
"I saw them from afar, but didn't go up to them." Li Hui felt heartbroken.
“It’s better that he didn’t go,” Shi Guilan complained. “Today, I ran into them when I went to the cafeteria to get food. I said a few words to them, and they were very rude. Don’t worry about him. He’s just a person who judges people by their looks.”
"Judging by looks..."
“Look from afar, can you see his wife? His wife’s face is so alluring, like a little vixen.” Shi Guilan racked her brains, thinking, “Gaudy, yes, gaudy.”
Li Hui pursed her lips and touched her face. She thought she was pretty good-looking. Li Hui didn't walk up to Song Fenglan or stare at her face. She couldn't really tell how beautiful Song Fenglan was, but even from a distance, she could tell that Qin Yizhou's wife had a good figure.
Shi Guilan couldn't possibly speak well of Song Fenglan. She originally thought that if Qin Yizhou could become her cousin's husband, she would have more face in front of her husband, and the people around her wouldn't dare to look down on her too much. When she went back to her parents' home, those people would also praise her for doing a good job.
Unfortunately, Qin Yizhou was already married, and he didn't even like Li Hui.
Shi Guilan had once thought that even if Qin Yizhou got married, he could still get a divorce. Everyone said that Qin Yizhou's wives were no good; some were fat, some were ugly, and some even had a bad family background. Why keep someone like that around for the New Year?
Shi Guilan and Li Hui didn't see Song Fenglan; they were lost in their own chaotic thoughts, imagining very bad things about her. Most of the negative rumors about Song Fenglan outside originated from the mouths of Shi Guilan's cousins.
Now that Song Fenglan has come with her child, the rumors about her will eventually be debunked.
"Sister, what... what should I do?" Li Hui was already twenty-five or twenty-six years old, even older than Song Fenglan.
It wasn't that Li Hui lacked suitors; she had high standards and wanted to marry someone of high status and a good family background. Qin Yizhou was from the capital, came from a very good family, and his father had participated in the War of Resistance against Japan and held a high position before retirement. Qin Yizhou's older brother worked in a relevant department, and his mother was also quite accomplished; it could be said that their whole family was very powerful. The military leadership also valued Qin Yizhou highly. Li Hui had already inquired about all this. She thought that she was very beautiful, a member of the cultural troupe, and her cousin-in-law was a chief of staff; she felt that she and Qin Yizhou were the most suitable match.
Everyone said he had already registered his marriage, but Li Hui was still delusional, always thinking that someone would divorce their wife to marry her. Li Hui's cousin had already arrived when Chief of Staff Xu's first wife died in childbirth. Shi Guilan and Chief of Staff Xu's first wife were from the same village, and people from the same village would always find some kinship ties.
When the first wife was pregnant, she was not feeling well, so she asked Shi Guilan, a fellow villager, to come and help her. At first, Shi Guilan really helped her a lot and even thought that she could get a good marriage with the Xu family. But later, when the first wife died in childbirth and Chief of Staff Xu needed someone to take care of the child, Shi Guilan and Chief of Staff Xu got together.
"What else can we do?" Shi Guilan said. "His wife and children have already come over; we can't force them. Do you want to become someone's stepmother?"
Both sisters have to become stepmothers?
Qin Yizhou didn't say much about his wife or his child.
Shi Guilan and her cousins all assumed Qin Yizhou had no children; they never imagined things would turn out this way.
Song Fenglan had no idea what these people were saying about her behind her back. She stayed with her son and slept at the guesthouse. A long midday nap is bad; it can easily cause headaches. However, they were quite tired from their train journey, so Song Fenglan didn't wake her son early. They only went back after he woke up.
When Li Hui and Shi Guilan went downstairs to buy some things, they saw Song Fenglan and her son coming out of the guesthouse. They didn't go over, but instead talked about Song Fenglan as they walked.
"Didn't they already apply for the family housing? Why are they still going to the guesthouse?" Li Hui said. "Shouldn't they be packing up?"
“Someone like her, so delicate and gentle, how could she possibly do any work?” Shi Guilan said. “She probably lets others do the work while she rests.”
"Isn't Commander Qin going to say anything about her?" Li Hui frowned.
“When a man is blinded by a woman, he will only listen to her whispers in his ear and will not care about the truth as others tell him,” Shi Guilan said.
Song Fenglan led Qin Zihang back, paying no attention to her cousin Shi Guilan. When Song Fenglan and her son returned to the yard, the weeds had been cleared away, and all the tables and chairs in the living room had been washed, some of them already dry.
Right now, Qin Yizhou was cooking in the kitchen, using pots and pans brought by his comrades. With these things, Qin Yizhou could manage to get things organized. His comrades had gone back first; they would come back for dinner later.
"They've left?" Song Fenglan asked.
"I'll tell them to come over for dinner in a bit," Qin Yizhou said. "I'll cook the dishes."
"Okay, sure." Song Fenglan had no objections; as long as she didn't have to do it, there was no problem.
"Can we have an egg tonight? A fried egg, a whole fried egg, just one egg." Qin Zihang gestured. "Can I have one?"
"Yes, of course," Qin Yizhou said. "With eggs, you can eat one, two, or even three."
"Eating too much is no good." Qin Zihang shook his head. "Eating too much is just a waste."
"The human body only needs a certain amount of nutrition each day. There's really no need to eat too much." That's how Song Fenglan always taught her son. After all, they lived at Song Fenglan's aunt's house, and there were so many mouths to feed, so they should just eat until they were full.
At that time, many things were rationed; they couldn't eat as much as they wanted. Getting things secretly would cost a lot of money, and it wasn't easy to keep it a secret.
“But that’s at your great-aunt’s house. At home, you can eat whatever is available. If you want something to eat, just tell your father,” Song Fenglan said.
"Really?" Qin Zihang cupped his face in his hands and looked at Qin Yizhou. "Daddy, Daddy, I want to eat meatballs, I want to eat steamed eggs, I want to eat..."
"I'll make it for you another day." Qin Yizhou, wearing an apron, said, "My mouth is watering."
Qin Zihang reached out and wiped his mouth. "No, I didn't."
Then, Qin Zihang looked at Song Fenglan and asked, "Mom, where's DouDou?"
Song Fenglan made a small bib for Qin Zihang to tie around his neck, so that he wouldn't make a mess while eating.
“It’s in the bag,” Song Fenglan said with a smile. She thought about the clothes in the bag and then said to Qin Yizhou, “We need to buy some cloth. The child grows quickly, so I didn’t bring many clothes for him. We still need to make clothes for him.”
Song Fenglan wasn't a good cook, but she was quite skilled with a sewing machine. Previously, Song Fenglan would buy fabric and make her own clothes. Before her child was born, she also made new clothes for the baby herself, along with some old clothes from her aunt's family.
If the mother and son hadn't come, Qin Zihang would have had to wear those old clothes again. Children grow quickly, and wearing old clothes would save money. Song Fenglan had washed those clothes thoroughly and even sun-dried them to kill bacteria.
"We'll go buy it tomorrow," Qin Yizhou said. "Buy whatever you need."
Qin Yizhou was thinking about buying a sewing machine. He knew Song Fenglan was skilled at sewing; her clothes were very beautiful. However, Song Fenglan had never made clothes for Qin Yizhou before. Although they were husband and wife, they were still relatively unfamiliar with each other.
"I want to go, I want to go!" As soon as Qin Zihang heard the word "buy," he thought that his parents were going out shopping, and he wanted to go too.
“Okay, of course I’ll take you,” Song Fenglan said. “You’re the main character, how could I not take you?”
Song Fenglan was thinking that when she went to buy fabric tomorrow, she should buy blue and green ones, as dark colors are more resistant to dirt, while light-colored fabrics get dirty too easily and are not easy to wash.
Around 6:30 in the evening, two of Qin Yizhou's comrades came over, while the third person couldn't come because of other matters. Qin Yizhou also invited Zhang Chenghai from next door to come over for dinner. He had eaten at Zhang Chenghai's house before, and even though Zhang Chenghai couldn't come to help out today, he should still invite Zhang Chenghai over for a meal.
"Did your sister-in-law make this?" Zhang Chenghai asked after picking up a piece of food with his chopsticks.
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