Chapter 82 A Big Melon: Qin Xiangxiang almost choked on the melon.
Lunar New Year's Eve arrived, and for Li Jinling, it was an unusually warm winter. There was no snow, only the north wind howling, carrying the salty dampness brought by the sea breeze, making it impossible not to stay by the stove.
"Winters like this aren't cold, but they're more likely to cause frostbite. Little Fatty, you need to be careful. Quite a few kids in the compound have frostbite on their ears. I saw that the young soldiers on duty also had bright red ears. They have to wear a woolen hat when they go out."
Qin Xiangxiang told Li Jinling, "Don't be stingy with the clam oil. Use at least one box a week to prevent frostbite."
"Sister-in-law, is there anything we're still missing? Have we bought everything?"
Qin Xiangxiang said, "The refrigerator is full, enough to last until the eighth day of the new year. You and Xiaopang should just stay home and rest."
Qin Xiangxiang touched her belly. If she didn't give birth today, she would give birth to a golden pig baby. Tomorrow would be the first day of the Lunar New Year.
Li Jinling: "Sister-in-law, celebrating the New Year in the compound is more lively than celebrating it in our village. Back then, it was freezing cold and no one wanted to stay outside. Now, there are still a bunch of kids playing in the compound. The vegetables in our garden are growing very well, green and lush. We can pick them whenever we want to eat them."
"And I heard from my neighbor, Sister Zhong Li, that in her hometown, winter is the time to eat fresh vegetables because frozen vegetables are sweeter—who would have thought?"
Qin thought for a moment: "I'll have Xiaopang check the chicken coop this evening, and then feed them a big meal tonight so the chickens can have a New Year's celebration too. I'll also replace the light bulb batteries with new ones."
Li Jinling: "I'll go with them. Maybe I can even find a couple of eggs. People have eaten well during the New Year, and the chickens have eaten well too. One of them laid two eggs yesterday."
They do a great job of keeping their chicken coop warm, and they're willing to turn on the light bulbs to keep the hens warm, so they continue to lay eggs every day, with some hens even laying two eggs a day.
Li Jinling saved up the eggs, so they wouldn't have to queue to buy eggs during the Spring Festival. The kitchen stove and the corridor were piled high with honeycomb briquettes, covered with straw and cloth to prevent them from getting damp.
These briquettes are enough to last until next year.
Li Jianzhi: "It feels really good to have a lot of stuff stockpiled."
Even in Li Jianzhi and Qin Xiangxiang's bedroom, there was a corner piled high with various dried goods, candies, cigarettes, and alcohol, making it convenient to visit people during the New Year.
What's most fascinating is the huge pile of canned goods in the cabinet against the wall: luncheon meat, braised pork, beef, fish, tomatoes, and then canned peaches, pears, and lychees in syrup.
Some of these canned goods were bought from the store, while others were obtained by exchanging sugar with other stores. For example, many of the luncheon meat cans were military-grade canned goods, which were meal allowances that many people saved up when they went on missions.
Sailors had a good supply of canned food when they went on voyages, and were jokingly called "canned food soldiers" because they could only eat canned food at sea. Many of them were willing to save up their canned food to bring back home when they visited their families.
Besides some normal canned goods, there were also some strangely flavored military rations for tasting. Looking at these bizarre flavors, Li Jianzhi couldn't help but sigh, "Every era has its own dark cuisine."
Li Jianzhi: "Fortunately, we have Xiaopang at home."
There's a type of compressed ration that's as hard as a brick, hard enough to kill someone. Little Fatty eats it as a teething biscuit, and Li Jianzhi can't bear to look at the calorie count of this ration.
Qin Xiangxiang: "You said you wanted your son to lose weight, it's been a year, has he lost any weight?"
"It's not just my fault. It's also because Little Fatty's mother is too hardworking. She makes so many sweets in exchange for her skills. Our family can't eat that many sweets, so we can only trade them for canned food and dry rations."
Li Jianzhi: "Losing weight is a difficult and long task, there's no rush."
Qin Xiangxiang sighed, touching her belly: "I'm afraid I'll give birth to a little chubby baby."
Li Jianzhi: "Er Pang!"
"I'll give you another three fat babies, four fat babies, and they'll eat you to death." Qin Xiangxiang almost choked on her breath. Two fat babies!
Li Jianzhi immediately cooperated by making a gesture of begging for mercy.
Stockpiling things brings joy. On New Year's Eve, the couplets were pasted up. Chef Li Jianzhi was cooking the New Year's Eve dinner. He had bought some mutton beforehand, and Qin Xiangxiang said that they should eat all the mutton first, otherwise it would smell bad if it was put in the refrigerator.
On New Year's Eve, the family ate mutton, a big pot of fish, and a pile of small seafood. There was plenty of meat. In the corner of the small living room, a radio was playing a lively New Year's Eve program.
After the New Year's Eve dinner, Qin Xiangxiang's belly still showed no signs of pregnancy. She entered the new year, 1971, with her baby born in the Year of the Pig.
On the first and second days of the Lunar New Year, people stayed home eating and drinking, or visiting their neighbors. On the third day, there were more strangers in the compound. The residential compound also organized many activities, such as making dumplings together, or watching an open-air movie in the stadium in the cold wind.
Besides movies, there are also some performances by local drama troupes, dance troupes, and cultural troupes. In the dream, the younger sister-in-law, Li Jinling, became infatuated with the young actor Lu Baizhou after watching a drama troupe performance.
Qin Xiangxiang originally thought that since she hadn't come to the island in 1971, let alone her sister-in-law, she definitely wouldn't have run into Lu Baizhou. Who knew that she would see Lu Baizhou at her doorstep on the third day of the Lunar New Year.
Qin Xiangxiang's face turned green at that moment, thinking, "Does she have to watch the 'You love me, I love him, he loves her' story again?" Her sister-in-law was infatuated with this guy's face.
"Sister Zhong Li, Happy New Year." Lu Baizhou smiled politely and courteously. He was wearing a beige coat, his hair was neatly combed and had been slicked back with hair oil, making him look dashing and elegant.
He has the face of a pretty boy, but he's not tall, only about 1.7 meters. He has a small face with good proportions. Although he's not tall, his body proportions are good, making his legs look long on stage. When he wears a white shirt, he captivates a lot of young girls.
Qin Xiangxiang: "Zhong Li, is this your relative? He's quite good-looking."
“She’s a relative from my hometown, a stage actor in a drama troupe,” Zhong Li said calmly.
Lu Baizhou smiled and said, "Is this your neighbor's wife? She's really beautiful."
"This is Comrade Qin from next door. Her husband's surname is Li, the Li of dawn. Our Comrade Qin is also a factory director."
Lu Baizhou was amazed. "What an amazing sister-in-law!"
"Xiao Lu, let's go inside and talk."
"Director Qin, would you like to come and sit with us?"
Qin Xiangxiang shook her head and sighed inwardly at how terrible it was. Luckily, her sister-in-law wasn't home yet. However, before she could even feel happy, the aunt and niece came upstairs carrying a basket of freshly collected eggs.
A group of people bumped into each other, and Li Jinling looked up and saw Lu Baizhou glancing back.
Little Fatty: "Mom, she laid so many eggs!"
Li Jinling: "A relative from next door came over? He's just like the educated youth from our hometown, no, he's even more handsome than those educated youth."
"Sister-in-law, this man is so handsome!" Li Jinling exclaimed in amazement. This man was even more handsome than the one she had met on the ship when she traveled south.
Qin Xiangxiang's inner alarm bells rang loudly, thinking: A tragic fate! A tragic fate!
How did these two end up meeting? But right now, Lu Baizhou's mind is all on the goddess. Even if Li Jinling is infatuated with him, she'll at most just give him food.
At that time, we can only send the chubby little soldier out to follow his aunt and eat as much as he can.
They also sent out "General" Li Jianzhi to personally teach his younger sister Jianzhi (who was trying to lose weight) cooking skills.
Just as Qin Xiangxiang was stroking her belly and carefully preparing for the worst, Li Jinling came running back mysteriously and lowered her voice: "Sister-in-law, the guests from next door have left. I just chatted with Sister-in-law Zhong Li."
"This Sister-in-law Zhong Li is beautiful. I didn't expect that the man of her relative from her hometown would also be so refined and handsome. He has an oval face and thin skin, and he looks very good."
"He's still a drama troupe actor, and lots of people like him."
When Li Jinling said that, Qin Xiangxiang suddenly remembered that Zhong Li and Lu Baizhou were somewhat similar. They both had oval faces and thin skin. Zhong Li, being a woman, looked even thinner, while Lu Baizhou had a delicate and handsome appearance with very smooth skin, except for a few harmless freckles on his cheeks.
Their appearance might seem a bit thin in real life, but with exaggerated makeup on stage, they become even more beautiful and charming.
Li Jinling was instantly captivated by Lu Baizhou on stage, and after watching the entire show, she was obsessed with him.
Fortunately, I ran into him next door this time. He wasn't wearing makeup or stage costumes; he was just an ordinary, handsome neighbor or relative.
In the dream, I didn't hear of Zhong Li in the family compound. I guess she retired from the army and transferred to civilian work with her husband. The last time Sister Huang and Zhou Lu's family were transferred, it triggered a chain reaction.
Zhong Li is truly something else. She looks like Lin Daiyu, but she acts like a shrew. When she doesn't speak, she's as quiet as a virgin, but when she does speak, she's fierce and ruthless.
Qin Xiangxiang: "You think he's handsome, but don't I, your sister-in-law, look good?"
“Sister-in-law, you are bright and elegant, while he is a girl from a modest family.”
“Sister-in-law…” Li Jinling leaned closer and pulled Qin Xiangxiang aside, whispering in her ear, “I have something to tell you quietly.”
Qin Xiangxiang's heart sank, thinking, "You haven't fallen for me again, have you?"
"Don't spread this around. My sister-in-law Zhong Li just told me that her relative's grandmother was extremely cruel. The man's mother had six daughters before she had this one son. In the end, only the eldest and second daughters survived. The other four were drowned in a chamber pot by his grandmother."
Qin Xiangxiang: "? Such a terrible thing to do?"
“That’s right.” Li Jinling couldn’t help but gossip with her. “Sister-in-law Zhong Li said that her family was punished. She said that this man is handsome and refined, but his penis is as short as a piece of chalk. He’s not normal. She doesn’t know if he can even be considered a man.”
Qin Xiangxiang: "!"
“My sister-in-law Zhong Li told me that this is probably karma.”
Qin Xiangxiang: "..."
Qin Xiangxiang almost choked on the melon after suddenly taking such a big bite.
She didn't even get to eat this melon in her dreams.
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