Chapter 39 The Northwest is So Far Away
"Is Wei Hong ready yet? Hurry up!"
"Coming, coming, almost there!"
Cheng Weihong came out wearing a blue dress and had her hair in two braids.
Ge Qiuju stared at her daughter for a few seconds. What a troublesome daughter!
He slapped her arm with his large hand and said irritably, "Go change!"
"Mom, what are you doing? Are we going to leave or not?"
Hey, Ge Qiuju was so angry that she pinched her hand, "We're going to your aunt's house to do some work, why are you dressed so nicely?"
He's not thinking straight!
"Go change it now! Don't make me tell you twice!"
"Ouch, ouch, ouch, Mom! Am I not your own daughter? Why did you hit me so hard!"
Cheng Weihong gasped, clutching her arm, and reluctantly went back to her room to change.
She came out again, changed her pants, and wore a polyester shirt; she was still dressed beautifully.
Ge Qiuju finally found her daughter more agreeable. She thought, "She's sensible now, but she does all sorts of irresponsible things all day long. Yet, she's also immature, because she can spout a whole bunch of platitudes."
Sometimes Ge Qiuju makes me so angry that I want to find my daughter a husband as soon as possible, so that I won't have to keep nagging her at home. Out of sight, out of mind.
Ge Qiuju glanced at Qi Zhiqing in the courtyard and smiled. "Qi Zhiqing, we won't be back for lunch. We'll eat at her uncle's house. You'll have to take care of your own lunch."
Speaking of it, Ge Qiuju gets angry. Qi Jinyuan has been living in their house for a while now, and her daughter is always fussing over him, smiling like a flower in front of him.
She treated Qi Jinyuan very well, and the old man, out of consideration for his daughter, also took good care of Qi, but this had no effect on Qi.
The girl's feelings for him were obvious to everyone. She didn't believe that Qi Jinyuan was unaware of it and was just pretending to be oblivious!
Thinking of this, Ge Qiuju lost her patience. If it weren't for this brat, she would have already been furious with Qi Jinyuan.
Qi Jinyuan naturally noticed the family's different attitude towards him. He lowered his eyelids slightly and calmly said, "Okay, I understand."
Living in the brigade leader's house, the walls didn't block out the sound, and besides, the news had spread throughout the village: the man who married the Cheng family's youngest daughter was back, and the new son-in-law was coming to visit today.
Qi Jinyuan couldn't help but recall the scene when he first met Comrade Cheng. He wondered what kind of man she was married to. He had heard from Comrade Cheng Weihong that he came from a high-ranking family in the capital and had a very good family background. He wondered if he knew him.
Upon hearing her mother's words, Cheng Weihong retorted, "Mom, Qi Zhiqing is not an outsider."
Ge Qiuju: "..."
A sharp glare flew towards her daughter, but she accepted it calmly.
These days, her daughter has been siding with outsiders far too often. If she really took her daughter's words to heart, she would have been driven crazy by this brat long ago!
"Besides, there's already a educated youth named Bai in my uncle's family. What's wrong with having one more person? Qi Jinyuan, don't listen to my mother. After work, you and my younger brother will come to my uncle's house together."
"Wei Bei, after you finish work later, bring Qi Zhiqing to your aunt's house for dinner, understand?"
Cheng Weibei, who was carrying a hoe on his back, nodded when he heard his sister's words.
Beside him, Cheng Weidong muttered under his breath, "Big sister is too eager to get married."
Although he also liked Qi Zhiqing very much, because Qi Zhiqing was capable and knew more than them, he especially liked listening to Qi Zhiqing tell him about the outside world.
But watching his sister embarrass herself all the time, always getting the cold shoulder, Cheng Weidong couldn't bear to look. Sometimes he wished he was blind. Couldn't his sister, a grown woman, be a little more reserved?
His sister's attitude towards Qi Zhiqing was like she'd seen a meat bun. If he were Brother Qi, he would have been scared away by his sister's attitude too!
However, he dared not say this to his sister, as she had already rebuked his mother.
Cheng Weidong put his hand on Qi Zhiqing's shoulder, his eyes filled with sympathy, "Let's go, Brother Qi."
Qi Jinyuan was escorted out the door by the two Cheng brothers to go to work.
Ge Qiuju led her daughter toward the Cheng family's main house. Although the two brothers had separated their households, they were still blood relatives. If anything happened, the sisters-in-law would help each other out.
When her eldest niece brought her new husband to visit for the first time, she, as the aunt, naturally had to go and help.
The mother and daughter encountered workers on their way to work.
Zhang Chunhua: "Qiuju, aren't you and your daughter going to work?"
The person next to her replied, "Of course she's not going. Judging from the direction, Qiuju is probably going to the main house."
Someone else said, "The entire eldest branch of the Cheng family has taken leave; none of them are going to work today."
Ge Qiuju greeted them with a smile, "I took leave to help out at my sister-in-law's place. My nephew-in-law is here today, and she'll definitely be overwhelmed. We're going to lend a hand."
"That's all for now, you guys go to work, we're leaving too."
Ge Qiuju led her daughter away quickly. Back then, the two families had a falling out over that matter, and she was so angry that she didn't dare to go out for ten days or half a month.
Just when things had finally calmed down, the new son-in-law came over and brought it all up again. Who knows what those gossipy people will say about them behind their backs!
Ge Qiuju was right; small groups of people walked by, gossiping and chatting.
"If you ask me, Qiuju's personality is just too good, which is why she's been completely suppressed by her sister-in-law. She's been suppressed her whole life and can't stand up for herself or challenge Xu Fengying!"
"Sigh, even if the eldest and second wives are estranged, they still share the same surname, Cheng, and are all family. Besides, the old Mr. and Mrs. Cheng are still alive!"
"Yeah, why should we worry about that? But you know what, Qiuju is genuinely willing to help. If it were me, I'd be so frustrated!"
"The son-in-law she wanted is gone, and the eldest son-in-law got him. As a result, when the new son-in-law comes to visit, she has to put on a nice face and go to help. Do you think Qiuju feels resentful?"
"What can I do if I feel aggrieved? But I'm definitely upset! This can't be blamed on the eldest son's family. If you ask me, it's Old Man Cheng who's being unfair; he's too biased!"
"They're both sons, both granddaughters. When we were arranging their marriage, wasn't Wei Hong better than Cheng? And her age was just right too?"
"Old Cheng is so biased! How can he let his younger sister get married before his older sister? My cousin is still a sister! Old Cheng is so unreasonable and has such a strange temper!"
"I think Wei Hong is much better than Cheng, at least she's more hardworking!"
"Alright, stop complaining about Wei Hong! I think she's not stupid. She's found a good boyfriend for herself. It won't be long before we're able to attend the brigade leader's wedding!"
Whether openly or secretly, everyone could see that the brigade leader's daughter had taken a liking to the newly arrived educated youth, Qi.
Upon hearing this, everyone laughed and started talking about other gossip, but the main topic was still the Cheng family, specifically the secrets of the previous generation.
"Do you think the reason why the Cheng family elders are so biased towards the eldest son's family is because they chose the eldest son's daughter-in-law themselves, while the Ge family's daughter was chosen by the second son of the Cheng family?"
“That makes sense. Let me tell you, I heard about this from my mother-in-law. I heard that Grandma Cheng didn’t agree at first, but she accepted it because her son was willing.”
"..."
Over there, Ge Qiuju was also scolding her troublesome daughter, "When we get to your aunt's house, be nice to me! Don't let any of your emotions show!"
What happened back then was shameful, but we can't afford to lose face now!
So what if they lost to the first wife's side? It's because their father-in-law was biased, not because the second wife's side was inferior!
My in-laws are so biased. They've always favored Cheng and Xiangyang since they were little, just because the two siblings are twins, which is considered a good omen!
Ge Qiuju is no less capable than Xu Fengying!
In other words, even though she wasn't as fertile as the Cheng family and didn't give birth to twins, she still gave them two sons and a daughter, so she can still hold her head high!
"Mom, what did you say?"
Cheng Weihong had been lost in thought. She turned to look at her mother, seemingly not understanding why her mother had said that.
Seeing the obvious question mark written on her daughter's face, Ge Qiuju was so angry that her heart ached!
My temper flared up instantly!
"I see you've become completely focused on Qi Zhiqing. Now you don't care about anything else except Qi Zhiqing!"
Cheng Weihong was scolded by her mother before she realized what her mother was talking about, and she looked at her mother with her little eyes.
"Mom, that's all ancient history, I hadn't even remembered it until you brought it up!"
"In my opinion, it's you, Mom, who should be paying attention. I haven't cared about this for a long time, so why would I have any feelings about it?"
Ge Qiuju's face turned pale and then red after being poked by her own daughter. "This brat, can't she speak properly? She's just poking at her own mother wherever it hurts the most, isn't she?"
He grabbed the girl's ear and said, "Are you deliberately trying to provoke your mother? You've completely disgraced me!"
“Tell me yourself, who in the village with eyes can’t see that my daughter, Ge Qiuju, is rushing to curry favor with the new educated youth? Who isn’t gossiping behind her back?”
"Mom! Why are you like my aunt, always grabbing people's ears and twisting them!"
Cheng Weihong was rescued from her mother's clutches and her ears were no longer a concern when she heard her mother's words.
As long as she can marry Qi Jinyuan, the Qi family will be exonerated in a few years anyway, and then she and Qi Jinyuan will leave.
What do the opinions and perspectives of the villagers have to do with her?
By then, they won't be from the same world anymore, and they won't have the chance to interact with each other again. Why bother caring about that?
As for her parents, once everyone finds out who Qi Jinyuan is, they will only be happy, and others will only be able to admire and praise him, so there's even less to worry about.
But she couldn't say it yet. She still needed to coax her mother more. She affectionately took Ge Qiuju's arm and said, "Mom, I promise that after I marry Qi Zhiqing, I will definitely let you and Dad enjoy a life of leisure. Just wait and see."
Upon hearing this, Ge Qiuju sighed. This brat was talking a good game, making it sound so appealing. "Qi Zhiqing didn't even fancy you. I think you should just give up on that idea and go on some blind dates to find an honest and decent man to marry."
Being too ambitious isn't good either!
Although she wanted her daughter to marry into a good family, and ideally her son-in-law's conditions would be much better than her niece's husband's, she couldn't let her daughter hang herself on Qi Zhiqing's crooked tree. If someone had taken a liking to her daughter, things would have been settled long ago.
She understands this much better than her daughter.
"Mom, you don't understand. Sincerity can move mountains. I'm sure I can win over Qi Zhiqing!"
Ge Qiuju sometimes wonders if her daughter is possessed by a ghost, as she frequently uses literary allusions and spends her free time reading.
I never saw her enjoy studying when she was in school, but now that she's graduated for several years, she seems to love learning?
She thinks it's difficult!
This stubborn girl has a terrible temper. Ge Qiuju suspects that it's because the Cheng family's offspring are bad, and that all the Cheng family members are stubborn, and the root of the problem lies with her father-in-law.
"Fine! If you don't win her over, I'll beat you to death! You'll never get married and will be an old maid, so don't come crying to me!"
"Mom, then you should treat Qi Zhiqing better. Treat him like your own son-in-law, instead of always acting like an outsider!"
If it weren't for her watching over her, her mother might have become completely unreasonable.
"Is my attitude bad enough? Does he think he can fly to the moon?!"
No, Ge Qiuju gets angry just thinking about it!
"Okay, okay, let's go quickly."
"I'm too lazy to argue with you, you brat. I want to see what kind of rich husband your grandparents found for Cheng!"
Cheng Weihong wanted to remind her mother not to show anything unusual, but seeing how angry her mother was, she shrank back and said nothing.
When we arrived at my uncle's house, the courtyard was bustling with activity. Chickens, ducks, and fish were being slaughtered, and a thorough cleaning was underway. The whole family was busy and enthusiastic.
Chen Meiling was squatting on the ground plucking duck feathers with her mother-in-law, while her sister-in-law Wu Yufang was plucking chicken feathers. By the pool, Cheng Aiguo was scaling fish, and Cheng Xiangguang was brushing snails.
When I went to collect the baskets this morning, I passed by a pond, so I went down to look around and found snails. I spent almost an hour in the pond and brought back more than half a bucket.
These snails usually need to be kept in water for a few days to expel the mud and sand before eating, but I can't wait, so I took a bamboo brush and brushed off the moss and mud on the snail shells first.
The younger children, led by Dawei, were cleaning, wiping windows, cleaning doors, and sweeping the floor. Everyone in the family was busy with their own tasks, and no one was idle.
When Chen Meiling saw her second aunt and Wei Hong arrive, she greeted them warmly with a big smile on her face, "Second aunt, come quickly! I've been waiting for you. You're an expert at plucking duck feathers, so you do it."
Chen Meiling eagerly gave up her seat, Ge Qiuju: ...
Her sister-in-law's daughters-in-law are all like her; they're just as cunning as her sister-in-law!
Despite her thoughts, Ge Qiuju still went over, forcing a smile: "You're young and don't have much responsibility. Plucking duck feathers is easy; you'll get the hang of it after a little practice."
Cheng Weihong followed and squatted down next to her mother. Her eyes fell on the watch on her aunt's arm, which was pulled up to her elbow.
This watch looks like a men's watch. Where did your aunt get it?
Cheng Weihong stared at it for a few seconds, seemingly lost in thought.
She didn't remember if Zhou Yue had returned around this time in her past life; she couldn't quite recall it, but she did have a memory of it.
Zhou Yue came back, but it seems he didn't stay long before leaving again.
Then something happened: Auntie had a big fight with Cheng Cheng and came back so angry that she couldn't eat for three days!
It was only later that they learned that Zhou Yue had returned to take Cheng Cheng and her daughter to join him in the army, but Cheng Cheng was unwilling and kept it a secret.
My aunt only found out about this after the person left.
Cheng Weihong wondered if Zhou Yue's return was because of this matter. Since that was the case, Cheng Cheng was, after all, her cousin. She later secretly asked her aunt if Cheng Cheng had broken up with the scumbag, but her aunt refused to say, only saying that there was no such thing.
Then Cheng Weihong understood: her aunt and uncle had intervened themselves, so the relationship must have been severed.
Cheng Weihong suspected that the watch belonged to that scumbag.
Let's help each other to the end, and see this through to the end. My younger sister is immature, but as her good older cousin, I'm magnanimous and won't hold it against her. I'll repay evil with good.
She pretended to be casual and asked curiously, "Aunt, why did Comrade Zhou Yue come back so suddenly? He didn't even give us a heads-up."
Xu Fengying had no idea about this; she could only wait for her son-in-law to arrive and ask him.
Seeing the expression on her aunt's face, Cheng Weihong could only pretend to suddenly realize something and asked in surprise, "Could it be that you came back this time to pick up Cheng Cheng and Xiaoxiao? Otherwise, why would you come back so suddenly?"
Cheng Weihong pretended that the more she thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed, her face full of certainty.
Upon hearing this, the others thought about it and realized that it did indeed make sense.
Xu Fengying, in particular, suddenly became suspicious.
She had previously asked her daughter to write a letter to her son-in-law, and perhaps her son-in-law returned because he received her letter.
No, once her son-in-law arrives, she needs to find an opportunity to ask him alone if this is true and what the situation is like at his workplace.
She knows her own daughter best, and it's not impossible that the girl is hiding it from her; she has too many past offenses to count on two hands.
This girl is someone who craves comfort and can't endure hardship. If her son-in-law comes back to take her and her daughter to join him in the army, she might actually be able to keep it a secret.
Wu Yufang: "I heard that conditions in the Northwest are extremely harsh, much worse than here. Will you be able to adapt to the environment there, little sister?"
Chen Meiling echoed her sister-in-law's words, "That's right, the Northwest is so far away, I wouldn't want to go either."
Cheng Weihong agreed with this. She was also reluctant to go, but she was happy for Cheng Cheng to suffer. In her opinion, her cousin should suffer more so that she wouldn't be confused and prone to making mistakes.
After experiencing hardship, one learns to cherish the good life one has now and stops causing trouble.
She said, "The conditions in the Northwest are not as good as here, but it's better for the family to be together!"
That makes sense.
But if it were me, I really don't know if I would be willing to go.
While deftly plucking the chicken feathers, Chen Meiling glanced at her mother-in-law and asked, "Mom, if what Wei Hong said is true, would you be willing to let my younger sister take Xiaoxiao and her husband with her?"
Xu Fengying didn't hesitate at all. "Why wouldn't I be willing? Of course I am. It's a good thing for the family of three to be reunited."
If this is true, she'll be incredibly grateful.
At this moment, Ge Qiuju also spoke up: "No matter how difficult the conditions are, how difficult can they be? Can they be more difficult than when we had nothing to eat in 1960? You people are just used to a good life and can't bear even a little bit of hardship."
They're nowhere near as good as our generation!
Cheng Weihong dared not agree with her mother's words. If what her mother said was true, then her mother's generation was much happier than people who lived in turbulent times before, and that must mean that each generation was better than the last!
Besides, who would choose to suffer when they can live a good life? Young people in later generations are much more aware of this than they are. As long as you are willing to suffer, there will be endless suffering!
She's unwilling to suffer; she wants to live a good life! She's determined to achieve that!
She said, "I heard that there are a lot of sandstorms in the Northwest, and sand falls from the sky. Also, there is a shortage of water there, and sometimes there is no water to drink. People there only take a bath once every ten days or half a month. Some people even live in cave dwellings!"
"Really? Sand falls from the sky?" Chen Meiling asked incredulously.
People who have never been to the North, or rather, those who have never been to the Northwest, can hardly imagine that the sky turns grayish-yellow and the wind is filled with sand.
"certainly!"
Cheng Weihong spoke with certainty, then suddenly realized that they had never even heard of television. Feeling that she was much more knowledgeable than them, she began to speak eloquently about the situation in Northwest China.
While working, everyone started chatting about this topic.
Xu Fengying's heart sank as she listened. Could her daughter adapt to this environment and these conditions?
They don't even need to think for long to know the answer: they definitely won't be able to adapt. Even if they go, they probably won't stay long before crying and wanting to come back.
No, she needs to think it over carefully and make a long-term plan.
Surprised! Xu Fengying glanced at her watch casually. It was already this late; her son-in-law should be arriving soon.
He quickly got up to wash his hands and told Aiguo to tidy up and go inside to change his clothes.
Upon hearing Grandma's words, the children simultaneously threw down the rags and brooms they were holding.
"Grandma, I'm going to pick up Auntie!"
The children disappeared in the blink of an eye.
At the entrance of the village, a nimble "monkey" climbed onto a branch of the banyan tree, gazing into the distance.
"Did you see that? Has the tractor arrived yet?" Dayong asked from below.
"Don't rush, we haven't seen it yet!"
Dapeng craned his neck to look around, "Let me climb up a bit higher and take another look."
David: "No, you have to get down! It's too dangerous!"
Cheng Jiahui glanced at her brothers, then puffed out her chest and put her hands on her hips. "You guys are so silly! We could have run ahead and met Auntie and the others!"
"Hey, that's right! Cheng Jiahui, I didn't expect you to be so smart! I underestimated you before!"
Cheng Jiapeng slid down from the tree in a flash, and the siblings ran off under the blazing sun.
Before long, the sound of a tractor chugging along could be heard from afar.
Cheng Jiapeng said happily, "My dad brought my aunt and uncle back!"
The group of people put all their strength into running forward.
"Is that Dawei and the others?"
Suddenly, Da Ni pointed to several small figures that appeared in front of her, grabbed the railing, and stood up.
The tractor chugged forward, and the people on the other side ran desperately toward them. As the two sides drew closer, the people on the tractor gradually made out the children.
Not long after, the tractor stopped.
Cheng Xiangming frowned as he looked at them. "Why are you running around? Why aren't you at home helping your grandma with chores? What are you doing here?"
With nothing to do, a few silly boys and a silly girl.
"Get in the car quickly!"
The children went to the back with smiles and climbed onto the tractor.
"Hello, Aunt and Uncle!"
"Hello, Auntie! Hello, Uncle!"
The children weren't shy at all; they all stared intently at the unfamiliar man next to their aunt, making no attempt to hide their gaze.
They all thought to themselves, "Oh, so this is Xiaoxiao's uncle, her father."
Hello.
Zhou Yue looked at the children, took out candy from his pocket, and as he left, his wife stuffed it into his pocket.
At this moment, Zhou Yue couldn't help but feel grateful that his wife had been farsighted; in terms of social skills, he was no match for her.
"Thank you, Uncle!"
"Thank you, Uncle!"
"Thank you, Uncle!"
The children were overjoyed to receive the candy, each one more eager to speak than the last.
Before they even got home, past the big banyan tree at the village entrance, Dapeng and the others shouted at the top of their lungs, "Grandma! Auntie and Uncle are back!"
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Author's note: Goodnight, see you tomorrow!
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