This is the local custom: wives call their husbands "Manager," symbolizing the man's dominant position at home.
"It's been a while." Wang Tianxiao touched his wife's forehead; her fever had subsided considerably.
His wife, Li Yali, had a typical round face with full, rosy cheeks, like two apples. Her eyes were large and bright, and because of her kind heart, her gaze was always gentle, like a clear spring that brought tranquility.
At that time, she still had long, jet-black hair, twisted into braids as thick as a child's arm and reaching her waist. Every time she washed her hair, it would fall onto the pillow, covering the entire pillow.
Later, due to financial difficulties, she sold her braids to pay for her children's tuition and cut her hair short.
Thinking of his wife's aged and haggard face in his previous life, Wang Tianxiao felt a pang of heartache. He gently stroked his wife's hair and helped her comb it neatly.
The medicines of that era were so effective; just half a pill was enough to be very effective, unlike in later generations where taking several pills for half a month would be as if you hadn't taken any at all.
"You haven't eaten, have you? I'll get you something to eat..."
Li Yali struggled to get up, but Wang Tianxiao quickly pressed her down, saying, "What are you doing? Your body is already like this, why are you moving around? Besides, I'm not hungry, you can just lie down."
"That won't do... You definitely didn't eat anything this afternoon, and your stomach isn't good..."
"It's really okay, I'll make myself if I'm hungry."
Wang Tianxiao thought to himself that even if he wanted to eat, he didn't actually have anything to eat. He had just checked and the house was empty except for a little less than half a bowl of cornmeal.
There's nothing we can do about it.
He only earns 36.5 yuan a month, which is barely enough to support a family of three.
If some is deducted, then there will be even less.
The wife mainly relies on her mother's family for support at home.
As for my brothers on my own side...
He smiled faintly. Apart from the fifth brother, there really wasn't a single person with a conscience.
Wang Tianxiao's parents had six sons and three daughters.
The sons are named Zhong, Xiao, Ren, Yi, Cheng, and Xin; the daughters are named Mei, Lan, and Zhu.
The original idea was that the children would maintain traditional virtues, support each other, and make the Wang family prosperous and thriving.
Unfortunately, when the sons tried to explain in detail, it was mostly a long story.
Let alone helping each other, just not kicking each other when we're down or stabbing each other in the back is already a blessing.
Few brothers are true brothers; too many will inevitably lead to conflicts of interest, factions, and everyone with their own stance, differing only in how excessive they go.
“Alright then, if you’re really hungry, don’t force yourself,” Li Yali pressed her face against her husband’s chest and said softly, “You are the pillar of our family, the sky for me and Fangwa, and you can’t let it fall down.”
Wang Tianxiao recalled that his wife in his previous life often said the same thing to him, but he hadn't paid much attention to it before, and even felt a little proud and satisfied.
After his rebirth, he experienced many hardships and realized that his wife's sacrifices for the family were no less than his own. She was gentle and virtuous, and she also had to bear the anger of his helplessness caused by the hardships of life.
She is a very good woman.
I feel guilty towards her.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Even those who haven't watched TV say that women hold up half the sky."
"What is a television?" his wife asked curiously.
Wang Tianxiao realized that there was no electricity in the house, let alone a television; his reaction was somewhat unusual.
"It's an appliance. I'll buy it for you to see when I have the money."
“Okay.” Li Yali still didn’t understand, but she felt that since her husband said so, it must be a good thing. Her husband was a government employee who had seen and experienced a lot, unlike her who knew nothing.
Wang Tianxiao chatted with his wife, constantly worrying about her pregnancy.
In his past life, his wife went into premature labor in the early hours of this morning because of the cold weather, and his son, Wang Peng, who was still more than half a month away from giving birth, was invited to this world ahead of schedule.
This resulted in Wang Peng's health remaining poor.
Fortunately, the gears of time did not turn along their original path.
Because of her husband's presence, the wife, who was supposed to give birth prematurely at 3 a.m., slept soundly and passed the night peacefully.
It was past five in the morning, and it was still dark.
Wang Tianxiao got up early, quietly went to the flat ground, hid behind his neighbor's corn stalk stack, and looked at his own chimney.
This is the architectural style of the pit-dwelling courtyard houses.
People lived below, and the chimneys would lead directly to the ground, built with adobe bricks or bricks.
Because of its high elevation, the ventilation is excellent. If the chimney malfunctions, the kang (heated brick bed) and cooking stove below become completely unusable.
The smoke couldn't escape, making it impossible for people to live there. More importantly, it prevented fires from being lit, making it impossible to maintain a normal life.
Therefore, when villagers quarrel, they often threaten each other, saying that if the other person keeps arguing, they will fill in their chimney. This kind of threat is no less than murder or arson; it is a heartless act.
However.
On the morning of December 12, 1984, Wang Tianxiao's chimney was filled in.
Once the chimney is filled, a special iron rod is needed to slowly push the debris into the kang (heated brick bed) from above.
If the filling is something that can be crushed, that's fine. But if it can't be crushed, then you can only slowly work on it. It's hard to exert force at a depth of more than ten meters, and sometimes it takes several days to get through.
In the dead of winter, there was no way to light a fire; temperatures of minus twenty degrees Celsius could freeze a person to death. In their past life, they had no choice but to go to the children's maternal grandmother's house and wait for someone to fix the chimney before returning.
At that time, his wife gave birth hastily and suffered severe bleeding. She was already very weak, and then she went to her parents' home in the wind and snow, which left her with irreversible sequelae.
At the time, no one knew who could do such a despicable thing. It wasn't until many years later that they learned by chance that the person who blocked the chimney was none other than their third brother's wife, Yu Xiaofeng.
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