Chapter 52 Chapter 52 Milk

At the Women's Committee Office, Mrs. Zhang told Director Wang about Tong Caifeng's child. "You said that little child is really pitiful. You can tell at a glance that he didn't have enough food at home. He didn't even have the energy to cry, and he just hummed softly."

Director Wang was angry when he heard this and said, "I was negligent. I heard before that Tong Caifeng favored boys over girls, but I didn't expect that she would actually abuse the child. Now I will go and see how the child is doing."

The idea of ​​favoring boys over girls is very common in this era. Although Director Wang works with women and has emphasized gender equality for half her life, she knows in her heart that few people really think this way.

But no matter what others think, Director Wang will not allow anyone to openly do anything that harms the interests of women. At least in this family compound, no husband dares to abuse his wife.

Not to mention before the founding of the People's Republic of China, even in today's society, it is normal for most people to see a husband beating and scolding his wife. When Director Wang first came to the family hospital, she encountered a domestic violence incident. She handled the matter seriously at the time. Not only did she do ideological work, she also asked the person who beat the wife to apologize on the spot. In the end, she went to the division commander of the army and asked the army to punish the person.

At that time, many people said that Director Wang had gone too far. It was just someone's family affair, so why make such a big fuss? Even the woman who was abused blamed Director Wang for meddling in other people's business.

But Director Wang refused to give in. She wanted to make an example of someone to scare the others, not only to seek justice for the victims of domestic violence, but more importantly to shock others.

Since then, no one in the family compound has hit their wives. Everyone knows that if Director Wang catches them, it will affect their future.

Director Wang dealt with domestic violence with great force and efficiency, but he couldn't intervene in the issue of favoring boys over girls. Beating people was a crime, but he couldn't do anything about favoritism.

When we arrived at the kindergarten, Director Wang looked at the child in the child chair. The child was staring at us with his big eyes, and his face was pale and thin. It was obvious that he was malnourished.

There were still many people who were not well fed after having just experienced □□, but the man from Tong Caifeng's family was the head of the group, and this was an area with abundant rice production, so raising the child like this was intentional!

Director Wang came to Tong Caifeng's house with a stern face. As soon as he entered the yard, he saw that the house was in a mess. The weeds in the mud were half a person tall and had not been cleared. Various tools were placed on the ground at random, and there was a pile of unwashed clothes piled next to the faucet.

Tong Caifeng was chewing a cucumber in her hand and asked, "Director Wang, why are you here at my house?"

Director Wang said, "I came here to talk to you about your child."

Tong Caifeng said, "Children? The girls in my family are all going to school. Tsk tsk, it's a good time for them to go to school."

Director Wang said, "Tong Caifeng, watch your words! You keep calling me a girl, but aren't you a girl yourself?"

Tong Caifeng pouted, but due to Director Wang's majesty, she didn't dare to say anything back. She just asked, "Director Wang, what exactly brought you here today?"

Director Wang said, "I just went to the kindergarten to see your little daughter. I saw that her complexion is not as good as yours. She is pale and thin! How can this group leader Fang not be able to support a child with his one-month salary plus subsidies?"

Tong Caifeng spread her hands and said, "Hey, Director Wang, you don't know our difficulties. Not only do we have to pay for the expenses of my mother, but Lao Fang has to send money back home every month. The whole family depends on Lao Fang! Also, my health is not good. I haven't given birth to a son after giving birth to several children. Doctors in big cities said that I am in poor health and need to take good care of myself and eat nutritious food. All this costs money!"

Director Wang saw her complaining and said unhappily, "You can't be too young to raise a child this old."

Tong Caifeng frowned and shouted, "Who said I didn't support her? What else do you want when she eats white rice every day? She will only be satisfied if I cut off my flesh for her to eat!"

Director Wang asked her, "Did you feed her this morning? She was crying because she was hungry when I went there. Did Yin Guixiang make maltose for her to drink?"

Tong Caifeng said, "Why did you suddenly come to my house, Director Wang? It turns out someone has complained about me! I didn't let her feed her malted milk, so don't expect me to pay it back!"

Director Wang was speechless and said, "Who said I let you do it? I said you were starving your child. I asked you, did you feed your child this morning?"

Tong Caifeng's eyes flashed with guilt, and she said, "Yes, yes, I fed her a bowl of porridge. I followed the old people's way of raising children. They can't eat too much, otherwise they will get sick."

At this point, she became confident again, "Director Wang, there is no rule in the organization that says I can't feed porridge to my child, right?"

Director Wang was choked by her and said, "Then at least you can't starve the child, you are abusing him!"

Tong Caifeng said, "You accuse me of abusing her? At least you should wait until she is really hungry. It's not like she wasn't fed. Everyone went through this when they were little."

Seeing that Director Wang was about to continue speaking, Tong Caifeng said directly: "Director Wang, I'm not feeling well. I feel dizzy after talking to you. I'm going back to my room and go to sleep first." After saying that, she closed the door and turned around to go into the room.

Director Wang looked at the rogue look of this man and turned away angrily.

After get off work at noon, Meng Yufei went to the kindergarten to pick up Xia Qinqin. She happened to see Director Wang coming out of the kindergarten and greeted her.

Director Wang saw Meng Yufei, took her hand and told her what happened in the morning, "This Tong Caifeng is not a good person, but I can't just ignore this child. Xiao Meng, this child also has food coupons every month, right?"

Meng Yufei nodded and said, "Yes, children under six years old are given seven kilograms of food coupons every month."

Director Wang said, "Xiao Meng, see if you can transfer the child's food coupons directly to the cafeteria so that the kindergarten can give the child extra meals every day."

Meng Yufei said with some embarrassment: "The rules for this food coupon are that you have to pick it up in person, or have someone at home pick it up on your behalf. The child is so young, if you want to transfer her food coupon to the canteen, you must get her parents' consent."

"Is that so..." Director Wang thought for a moment and clapped his hands, "It seems that I still have to go to Tong Caifeng's house. This time I will ask Director Fang in person and see what he says."

As he was about to leave, he said, "It's time to get off work now. I'll be there right away. Xiao Meng, you go ahead and do your work. I'm leaving first."

Meng Yufei watched Director Wang leave in a hurry, and felt deeply moved. She thought that the family home was very lucky to have such a responsible director of the Women's Committee who cared wholeheartedly about women and children.

Just as I was thinking about it, I suddenly felt someone hugging me around the waist, and then I heard my daughter's familiar voice, "Mom, I saw you in the yard for a few seconds."

Meng Yufei squatted down, kissed her daughter on the cheek, and said with a smile: "Mom was talking to Aunt Wang just now. I'm sorry I didn't notice you."

Xia Qinqin kissed her mother's cheek and smiled: "It's okay, it only takes a few seconds."

Meng Yufei took Xia Qinqin's hand and asked her with a smile: "Qinqin knows the seconds now."

Xia Qinqin happily shared what happened in kindergarten today. "Today the teacher took us to play hide-and-seek. I drew the eagle. Teacher Zhou covered my eyes with a scarf and asked me to count to thirty seconds. Mom, it turns out that thirty seconds means counting to thirty. So if I count to one thousand, does it mean one thousand seconds?"

Meng Yufei listened to her daughter's words with a smile and nodded, "Yes."

Xia Qinqin asked again: "Mom, the teacher said that our class is forty minutes long. How many seconds are forty minutes?"

Meng Yufei said: "One minute is sixty seconds, and forty minutes is two thousand four hundred seconds."

Xia Qinqin opened her mouth in amazement and said, "Wow, so many seconds! That would take a long time - a long time."

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "Yes, but if you listen carefully to the teacher's lecture, it will pass quickly."

Xia Qinqin nodded and said, "Yes, Teacher Tang led us to recite poetry in class today. The poem he recited was Li Bai's "Quiet Night Thoughts..."

When she got home, Xia Qinqin had just finished telling what happened in the kindergarten this morning. As soon as she entered the house, she trotted to the dining table and picked up her small teacup from the tea tray.

"Mom, I'm thirsty and need some water."

"Okay, Mommy will pour it for you in the next few days."

Meng Yufei walked over, put her bag on the sofa, and came over to pour water for Xia Qinqin.

"Drink in small sips." Meng Yufei reminded.

Xia Qinqin nodded, holding the small teacup in both hands and drinking it impatiently.

Meng Yufei took off the small schoolbag that Xia Qinqin was carrying, opened it and took a look. The few candies and biscuits she brought in the morning were all gone. She picked up the kettle and shook it, and drank up the half bottle of water in it.

After drinking the water in the quilt, Xia Qinqin breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Meng Yufei and said, "Mom, can I bring some pineapple cakes to the kindergarten this afternoon? Sister Daya shared some candied dates with us today. They are sweet and delicious. I want to share the pineapple cakes with my good friends."

Meng Yufei nodded and said, "Sure, snacks taste better when shared with good friends. I'll get a handkerchief and wrap it in your schoolbag before you go out this afternoon."

Xia Qinqin said happily: "Thank you, Mom."

When Xia Junshan came back, he was holding a military water bottle in his hand. He smiled and brought it to Xia Qinqin and said, "Qinqin, guess what's in Dad's water bottle?"

Xia Qinqin said: "It's water. Mom said the kettle is used to hold water."

Xia Junshan opened the lid, passed it over and said with a smile: "Look, is this water?"

Xia Qinqin looked down into the kettle and saw a white liquid with a strong milky aroma. She exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, it's milk!"

She touched her little head and asked curiously, "Dad, can your kettle turn water into milk?"

Xia Junshan raised his eyebrows and asked, "Guess?"

Xia Qinqin opened her round eyes wide in surprise, lowered her head and moved closer to the mouth of the kettle to take another look, then reached out and held the kettle and shook it, and saw that the water inside was still white.

"Wow! Dad's kettle can really produce milk!"

Xia Junshan touched his daughter's head and said with a smile, "It wasn't made from the kettle. It was bought by Dad."

Xia Qinqin blinked her eyes and sighed in disappointment: "Ah...it didn't appear by magic."

Xia Junshan picked up his daughter and said, "It doesn't matter if the kettle doesn't turn out. Dad will bring you milk from time to time, okay?"

Xia Qinqin nodded, "Yeah, okay."

Xia Junshan put his daughter on a chair at the dining table, took out her small teacup, and poured her a glass of milk. "Try it and see if it tastes good."

Xia Qinqin happily took the cup. The weight of the cup filled with milk made her hand sink. Xia Junshan hurriedly supported the bottom of the cup with his hands.

Meng Yufei came out of the kitchen and heard the conversation between the father and daughter. She asked curiously, "Where did you get the milk?"

Xia Junshan explained: "This morning, I was surveying the terrain on the other side of the coast. I passed by a small town and saw a production team selling milk from their cows at the supply and marketing cooperative. The milk was freshly squeezed out early in the morning and sold after being boiled. I bought a pot of it."

Meng Yufei said, "What a coincidence. Next time you see it, buy some back. I heard that milk is very nutritious and good for children."

Xia Junshan nodded and said, "I specifically asked the fellow villager who sells milk. He is the captain of that production team. He said that their production team was originally a cattle farm before liberation. They raised more than a hundred cows. It was raised by a wealthy family in the city at that time. They said that the cows were raised specifically for the purpose of producing milk for his concubine to wash her face."

He shook his head and said, "These capitalists are really extravagant. At that time, so many people died of hunger, but they still used milk to wash their faces."

Meng Yufei said: "So their failure is inevitable."

Xia Junshan said: "But after they ran away, the remaining 100-odd cows did come in handy. After being distributed to the surrounding production teams, there were still a dozen or so left. They produced a lot of milk every day, and the teams that couldn't finish drinking it took it to the supply and marketing cooperative to sell."

In this era, productivity is insufficient and the use of mechanical equipment is still limited to factories. In rural areas, having a cow can play a lot of roles in farming.

Xia Qinqin drank half a cup of milk and raised her head from the cup. A circle of white milk stains was left at the corners of her mouth. As she smiled, the white circle expanded.

"It tastes so good~" Xia Qinqin said as she burped.

Meng Yufei touched her belly with amusement, "Don't drink yet, you won't be able to eat if you're full."

"I can eat it. I'm a big eater." Xia Qinqin said with her bulging belly.

Xia Junshan wiped the milk stains from the corners of her mouth and praised: "Qinqin is really amazing. Children who eat a lot will grow taller."

Xia Qinqin smiled and said, "I want to be as tall as my dad!"

Xia Junshan smiled and nodded, "Well, you are dad's daughter, so you will definitely grow up to be as tall as dad."

Xia Qinqin turned around and looked at Meng Yufei and said, "I want to be as pretty as my mother."

Meng Yufei smiled and tapped her forehead, saying, "Then eat quickly." Then she placed a small bowl of rice in front of her.

Today, they caught a steamed sea bass. Xia Junshan picked up a piece of fish belly meat for his daughter and said, "Eating fish will make you smarter. Qinqin should be like her mother and go to college in the future."

"Hmm." Xia Qinqin picked up the fish with chopsticks and started eating.

Xia Junshan poured a glass of milk for Meng Yufei as well and said, "Try it and see how it tastes."

Meng Yufei picked up the kettle and poured the remaining milk into Xia Junshan's cup, just enough to fill half the cup.

"You can try it too."

Xia Junshan said: "Save it for Qinqin to drink at night, I don't want to drink it."

Meng Yufei said, "Milk can't be kept for too long. It's hot now, and it will go bad by the evening. Besides, in our family, no matter how good something is, everyone has to share it together."

Xia Qinqin nodded and said, "Yes, delicious food tastes better when shared!"

Xia Junshan smiled and said, "Okay, let's share it together."

—————

When Director Wang hurried to Tong Caifeng's house again, he happened to meet Team Leader Fang who was returning from get off work at the door.

When Director Fang saw her, he asked curiously, "Director Wang, why are you here? Are you here to talk to Caifeng? She should be picking up her child from kindergarten at this time. Why don't you come in and wait for a while?"

Because Director Wang is the director of the Women's Committee, when Director Fang saw her coming, his first reaction was that she was here to look for his wife.

Director Wang said, "Captain Fang, I'm here to see you."

Leader Fang asked curiously, "Looking for me?"

Director Wang nodded and said, "Yes, let me tell you about your little daughter."

Then he briefly explained what happened that morning, "So I thought about transferring her food allowance to the canteen. Seven kilograms of food a month is not too much, but not too little either. It's enough for a child like her."

Head Fang was stunned by her words. After a few seconds of silence, he asked, "Director Wang, did you misunderstand? My child eats three meals a day."

Director Wang asked, "Are you sure? Did you feed the child?"

Head Fang shook his head and said, "No. Director Wang, you don't mean to say that Caifeng deliberately starved the child, right? This is not the only child in my family. The first one is ten years old and the other one is seven years old. They are both in elementary school. It is not necessary to starve the children. Caifeng has experience in raising children."

Director Wang said, "Have you ever seen your little daughter? She's so skinny and small."

Team leader Fang said, "All children are like this. She is less than one year old. Compared with the children in kindergarten, she looks very small."

Director Wang said unhappily, "Have you seen her complexion? She looks pale and thin, even worse than your wife!"

Captain Fang recalled carefully that he was the typical hands-off father who never took care of his children and paid even less attention to his little daughter who could not even talk.

Now recalling it, the child was either held in my arms or put on the bed to sleep. Suddenly I can't remember what the child's face looked like...

Director Wang saw that he was frowning and silent, and couldn't help asking, "Do you agree to transfer the relationship?"

Captain Fang certainly disagreed in his heart. If other people knew about transferring the child's food allowance to the canteen for no reason, it would be a disguised admission that his family didn't care about their little daughter.

Head Fang, who wanted to save face, thought for a moment and said, "Director Wang, how about this? I'll go to the supply and marketing cooperative this afternoon and buy a can of maltose and send it to the kindergarten. I'd like the teachers to make some for the children when they're free during the day. I'll bring a can of maltose every month from now on, and I'll make sure the children don't go hungry again."

A can of malted milk these days weighs about one pound. Each time you drink it, you just use a spoon to scoop a few spoonfuls and rinse it. One can is enough for a child to drink for a month.

After hearing what he said, Director Wang said, "You said so, let's do it this way."

She also knew that this matter was after all Captain Fang's family affair, and she couldn't interfere too much. Just like Tong Caifeng said before, the child just looked thin now, and he wasn't really sick after all. Moreover, children of this generation were not so precious in the hearts of most people, and it was enough for him to be raised smoothly.

Having achieved his goal, Director Wang turned around and left. He happened to meet Tong Caifeng who had come back from picking up her child. Director Wang was too lazy to talk to her and just walked past her.

Tong Caifeng rolled her eyes behind her back, walked up to Captain Fang and asked, "What is she doing here?"

Captain Fang glanced at the daughter in Tong Caifeng's arms, and was immediately met with a pair of big eyes. These eyes seemed even bigger and more pitiful on her thin little face.

Tong Caifeng asked impatiently, "What are you daydreaming about?"

Head Fang glanced at her and said, "Nothing. Director Wang came over to chat for a while. By the way, did you cook lunch today?"

He didn't mention what happened just now. He looked at his little daughter's expression, then at Tong Caifeng's face which was now glowing red. He knew in his heart that what Director Wang had just said was probably true.

Tong Caifeng said, "Didn't I tell you that I'm not feeling well and can't touch cold water? I'll eat in the cafeteria for lunch today."

Captain Fang said, "You look fine, but why haven't you recovered yet? How about I take you to the military hospital this afternoon?"

Tong Caifeng avoided his gaze and said, "No, no, it will be fine in a few days."

Leader Fang said, "Really? If it gets worse, we'll go to the city hospital."

…

In the afternoon, after sending Xia Qinqin to kindergarten, Meng Yufei turned around and went to the Women's Committee.

Director Wang was very happy that Meng Yufei came over. He hurriedly pulled her to sit down and told her about the Fang family. "Head of the Fang family still has some conscience. Although he didn't transfer the child's food fund, he gave her a can of maltose every month. At least the child won't be hungry. When she grows up a little bit, she will be able to talk and eat by herself. If Tong Caifeng deliberately starves her again, she will complain and tell me. Then I can go and help her."

Meng Yufei said: "I guess Captain Fang is also afraid of losing face."

Director Wang smiled and said, "It doesn't matter what the reason is, as long as the job is done."

Meng Yufei nodded and said, "You are right."

Director Wang poured a cup of tea for Meng Yufei and sighed helplessly: "We have been emphasizing that women can hold up half the sky and men and women are equal in recent years. But how many people can treat each other equally at home and not favor boys over girls?"

Meng Yufei took the teacup and said with a smile, "That's why we need people like you, Director Wang, to make decisions for us female compatriots. No matter what those people think, they cannot infringe on the interests of us female comrades."

Director Wang smiled and said, "That's right. No matter what they think, we must not miss out on the benefits."

Meng Yufei took a sip of tea and said, "Director Wang, I came here this time because I want to discuss something with you."

"Just say it directly." Director Wang waved his hand.

Meng Yufei said, "It's like this. At noon, Qinqin's father brought back a bottle of milk from the town on the other side of the river. He said that there was a production team over there with more than a dozen cows. The milk produced every day would be sold at the supply and marketing cooperative in the town if it was not finished."

Director Wang nodded and said, "I've heard that too. It seems that it was a cattle farm before liberation. It was built by a capitalist. The milk produced by the cows there tastes very good."

Meng Yufei said, "I tried it at noon, and it tasted really good. Most importantly, it's nutritious, especially for children. Drinking it is good for the body. Since we happened to come across a cow that can produce milk, I wonder if the military logistics department can come forward and reach a cooperation with the production team to send some milk to us every day for the children to drink."

Director Wang nodded and said, "This is a good idea. My eldest son was weak when he was young, and the doctor said that drinking milk is good for his health. I searched for a long time but couldn't find a cow that could produce milk, so I finally got goat milk."

Meng Yufei said: "Although the seafood and fruits here are cheaper and more diverse, the local environment shapes the local people. The family members who come to the family compound to follow the army come from all over the country and have different eating habits. It is inevitable that some people are not used to the diet here. Adults can still overcome it, but it is very difficult for children, after all, they are still growing up."

Director Wang agreed, "Yes, this child is just like a young tree. If it is not taken care of when it is young, it will be damaged at the root. When it grows up, its body will be weaker than others."

At this point, Director Wang made the decision to Meng Yufei: "How about this? I will go to the teacher's home tonight and report this to him in person. This is a good thing since it concerns all the children in our family compound. The teacher should not object."

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "Then thank you for your help. If this is done, my Qinqin will also be able to drink milk."

Director Wang nodded at her and said, "Since your team leader Xia was able to bring back milk this time, he should be able to bring it back next time. Qinqin still needs milk to drink. You are only doing this for the children in the family compound."

Meng Yufei said: "Good things are better when they are shared with everyone."