Chapter 100 I'm no different from those people with heated brick beds.
Li Jianzhi's hometown in Northeast China is a brick and mud house made of red bricks and yellow mud. Originally, the house had a layout of one room and one kitchen, with front and back yards, as well as a cellar and a storage room. Last year, in order to prepare for his third younger brother's wedding, a new room with a heated kang bed was built.
The main house is very large, with about thirty or forty single-story rooms. Half of them are made of red bricks and have a heated kang (a traditional heated platform bed). There is a fire burning in the kitchen, and you feel warm and cozy as soon as you enter the house and sit on the kang.
Little Fatty had never seen such a large heated kang before. He climbed on it and rolled around in it. Qin Xiangxiang was worried that his jumping around like that would cause the kang to collapse.
Li Jianzhi: "I can't even sleep on it properly, how could he possibly have that ability?"
The heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove) is where people sleep at night. During the day, the bedding is removed and a table is set up, making it similar to the living room of an ordinary household.
Qin Xiangxiang was also sitting on a heated kang bed for the first time, and she was amazed at how big the room was.
She whispered to Li Jianzhi, "Li Damao, this is the first time a young woman has ever been in a bridal sedan chair."
"This is the first time I've ever sat on a heated kang (a traditional brick bed)."
Li Jianzhi thought to himself: Qin Zhuangzhuang, what about me?
However, he dared not say those words aloud.
When I was outside, my breath and speech created puffs of white vapor. The temperature wasn't cold today, just single digits, dropping to a few degrees below zero. There was no snow, but it was windy and cold at night, and occasionally it snowed lightly.
"Son, you're back with your wife and grandson."
Li Jianzhi watched as Ms. Wu Xueyan, wearing a brightly colored cotton-padded jacket, walked in. This rural woman looked exactly like his mother, and was dressed in a rustic cotton-padded jacket. Even Li Jianzhi's stoic face, which he had cultivated for many years, almost broke down.
His mother, a fashionable old lady from Shanghai, has transformed into... well, a stylishly rustic style.
However, even though his mother was a country woman, she dressed in more colorful and vibrant clothes than others.
"Mom." Li Jianzhi said a few words to Wu Xueyan. They had spoken on the phone before, so they weren't strangers. Plus, they looked alike, which added to the sense of familiarity.
It's just that I'm so uncomfortable trying to hold back my laughter.
“This is my eldest grandson, Little Fatty, Grandma’s chubby grandson…” Wu Xueyan said happily for a few words, but in the end she couldn’t help but mutter, “Isn’t this child a little too fat?”
Qin Xiangxiang also said a few words to her mother-in-law.
Wu Xueyan: "I've finally met my fairy-like daughter-in-law."
"With a mother like you, my granddaughter will be incredibly beautiful in the future."
"Are you hungry? Eat something first."
Wu Xueyan went to the storeroom and took out a lot of sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and hazelnuts. She roasted them in a clay pot for the guests, made malted milk for her daughter-in-law and children, and kept corn porridge warm in the kitchen, with a sweet aroma wafting in from time to time.
Wu Xueyan felt embarrassed to let her daughter-in-law from the city drink corn porridge, so she instructed Li Sandi to buy fish and pork, as they would be eating wheat flour later, so she would roll out noodles and make wheat flour dumplings.
Little Fatty smelled the sweet aroma of corn and said he wanted to drink porridge. Wu Xueyan brought him a bowl and said, "Eat something to fill your stomach. Today, Grandma is going to make you white flour steamed buns and big dumplings. We'll also have pork dumplings, and we're going to kill a chicken today."
Qin Xiangxiang peeled hazelnuts and ate them. She felt a warm and comforting sensation. Coming to her husband's house felt different from going back to her parents' house. At her husband's house, she was a distinguished guest, but when she went back to her parents' house... her mother told her to study.
The heated kang (traditional heated brick bed) was very warm, and with the freezing weather outside, eating nuts gave me a real sense of wintering bliss.
The heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) is very useful. Qin Xiangxiang saw her mother-in-law kneading dough. A bowl of white dough was placed on the kang to ferment and rise at a suitable temperature. Later, she would make steamed buns, twisted rolls, and large steamed buns.
Qin Xiangxiang also ate a small bowl of corn porridge. The corn smelled sweet and warmed her body and soul after eating it.
Li Sandi bought pork and fish and started chopping filling in the kitchen.
The third brother, Li Jianping, was slightly shorter than his two older brothers. He was quiet and didn't like to talk. His face was round, and he looked somewhat honest and rough. Among his siblings, he was relatively plain-looking.
My eldest brother is a military officer, my second brother is a teacher, and he is the only one who stayed at home to farm. He only started dating in the last two years, built a new house, and is preparing to get married.
My older brother has been sending money home every month for years. As a soldier working in a different place, the commune cadres have been quite polite and caring towards his family. Every year, military families receive condolences and support. Their family lives a relatively middle-to-upper-class life in the village.
"Your third brother is getting married soon too. The new house is all built now, and he's just waiting for the big day." Wu Xueyan spoke with a smile, her face beaming with joy. As a widow, she had raised four children, and each of them had married a beautiful wife. How could she not be proud?
"The third sister-in-law is from another town in the same county. We know each other well. Her family is also quite well-off. Her father used to be a soldier. After he was discharged, he was assigned to work at the village supply and marketing cooperative. She is the youngest daughter in the family."
As Wu Xueyan spoke, her eyes were fixed on her eldest daughter-in-law, Qin Xiangxiang. She was quite satisfied with her daughter-in-law; she had a pretty oval face, a wealthy and elegant demeanor, and delicate skin—clearly a city girl raised in a good family.
Whether it's her family background, or her residency in a megacity, or her parents being factory workers, there's nothing wrong with her. She's a perfect match for her son. Haha, actually, Wu Xueyan thinks that her eldest son is just incredibly lucky to have married such a daughter-in-law.
Moreover, with such a good family background, the daughter-in-law even went to the island with her son to join the army. There's no other choice.
Those educated youth who came from the city, who didn't long to return to the city, thinking about the advantages of the city, especially Shanghai, with its Western-style houses, cinemas, various parks, and shopping malls...
Others told Wu Xueyan that as the eldest daughter-in-law from Shanghai, she probably looked down on rural areas like those educated youth sent to the countryside, and was delicate and difficult to please. Wu Xueyan didn't take these words to heart at all. As a widow raising several children, she had seen countless disgusting things in the village. If she had the chance, she wouldn't stay in the countryside either.
The eldest son's family will all have city residency and be city dwellers in the future. So what if the daughter-in-law is spoiled? The most important thing is for the couple to live a good life.
She would faint if her son, who had finally passed the exam to become a military officer, married a country girl and then said he wanted to go back home to work as a farmer.
Moreover, the eldest son, Li Jianzhi, did not ask his family for a single penny when he got married. His eldest grandson's surname is Li, and in the past, he ate and drank with his mother at her home. He grew up in a big city like Shanghai, and Wu Xueyan never asked her daughter-in-law to bring her grandson back.
Compared to the eldest son, the second and third sons had a much harder time getting married back home. The second son married a female teacher from the same school. His wife had high requirements for marriage, including a dowry, large purchases, and a respectable wedding banquet. It took most of the family's savings to finally get him married.
The third son was also looking for a partner. The two said they hit it off and started talking. The two families discussed the marriage, and the older brother of the other family began to make demands. Originally, he said that his house was spacious enough and that he was the only son left at home, so he could live there. But the other family said that wouldn't do. They wanted to build a new house, and it had to be a brick house. They also wanted to buy all four major appliances and have a respectable wedding banquet in the future.
There are three sons in total, and the daughters-in-law they marry are getting worse and worse. The eldest son's wife is from the city and has the best conditions. She didn't have any requirements when they got married, and she already had a house and the four major household items. The second son's wife is a teacher, so it's understandable that she wants to have a respectable wedding in town.
The third son's wife was originally a village girl, and her demands were not low at all; in fact, Wu Xueyan thought they were a bit outrageous.
Raising the bar step by step is just a way of delaying marriage.
Compared to her other daughters-in-law, Wu Xueyan truly felt that her eldest daughter-in-law was the best. She was capable and competent, and she had heard that she was now a factory director. She also raised her children well. The more Wu Xueyan looked at her, the more she liked her.
"Think about it, our eldest son is lucky to have married such a good wife like you."
Qin Xiangxiang felt very confused: "?"
Would a woman like her be considered a good daughter-in-law in the eyes of her mother-in-law in the countryside?
However, she didn't really care about her mother-in-law's opinion. Anyway, they lived far away and might not see each other for years, so it didn't matter whether it was good or bad.
"Eat more later. I know you city folks are particular about things. I've soaked all the bowls and chopsticks in boiling water for you first, and I wash my hands with soap before making dumplings to make sure they're clean."
Qin Xiangxiang nodded, thinking that this mother-in-law was quite nice.
Hearing that Li Jianzhi had returned, many villagers came to his house to see what was going on, and Li Jianzhi stood in the courtyard chatting with them.
The men asked him about his time in the army over the years, and also about Li Yaowei, to which Li Jianzhi gave a simple answer.
A fellow villager said, "Li Jianzhi, you can't even tell you're from our village with that accent now."
Li Jianzhi: "..." It's normal that I can't tell.
"Your military overcoat is made of really nice material, and what kind of watch is that?"
Some sharp-eyed men noticed the imported watch on Li Jianzhi's wrist and were stunned by its appearance, which aroused their curiosity.
"Is this a foreign watch? Imported? How much does it cost?"
"Ordinary people can't buy it, right? I heard you have to go to a foreign exchange store."
"Is this a Rolex? I've heard people say it costs around a thousand yuan."
"Wow, wearing something this expensive on your wrist."
"Could you take it off so we can take a closer look?"
"I won't take it off. It's just a watch, nothing special." Li Jianzhi thought that the gold movement inside the transparent case back was even more eye-catching, so he didn't want to show off too much. He couldn't handle these people either, so he said that a few words were enough and that he was going to help in the kitchen.
Those who remained in the courtyard marveled at the sight.
When Zhang Mancang brought his sister Zhang Xiaoyue over, they happened to overhear a conversation on the road. The people congratulated him, saying, "Zhang Mancang, your future in-law is quite something. He's wearing an imported Rolex watch. He's really impressive."
Zhang Mancang said, "What's so great about this 'Old Li's Watch'? It's just a watch."
"This is no simple matter. Imported watches are not available to the average person. You have to go to a foreign exchange store, and a single watch can cost over a thousand."
"Just this watch could be used to build a beautiful and luxurious house!"
Zhang Mancang smiled upon hearing this, his eyes sparkling, and said, "My future in-law brother is truly remarkable."
When Zhang Mancang heard that his future in-laws' eldest son, who was an officer, had returned, he immediately brought his sister over. His main purpose was to freeload a meal. Since the man had finally come back, he was sure to kill chickens and ducks, buy meat and wine. He came with his sister to drink and eat meat.
Hearing the conversation around him, another idea immediately came to him.
Zhang Mancang pulled his younger sister Zhang Xiaoyue aside and whispered, "After dinner, tell Li Jianping to have his older brother give you that imported watch as a betrothal gift, otherwise the marriage is off the table."
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