Chapter 36

Lu Yu covered the pot: "No need."

Song Bai was stunned for a moment, and before he could ask why, he heard the other party continue: "The house has not been occupied for half a year. I don't know what the situation is when I go back. There may be no place to stay at home. When I go home, I will stay at the neighbor's house for one night. When there is a chance, we will go back together."

Seeing this, Song Bai also stopped thinking.

Jiang Nian stayed in the house for a long time, and came out when it was almost dark. He went to the stove with the dishes and chopsticks, thinking that Lu Yu had left, but who would have thought that when he entered, he saw Lu Yu sitting in front of the stove and lighting a fire.

She paused, went in with her head held high, put the bowls and chopsticks on the table, and was about to scoop water to wash them, when she heard Lu Yu say, "Leave them there, I'll wash them later." "

No problem."

Jiang Nian poured some hot water and washed them quickly.

It was dark now, and Jiang Nian tried to forget the embarrassment of the morning: "What do you want for dinner? I'll make it."

Lu Yu said, "Noodles with mixed sauce."

She was not afraid of Lu Yu saying it, but she was afraid that he would say it casually.

So Jiang Nian started to knead the dough, Lu Yu stood up and took out the frozen pork that was as hard as stone and cut it into dices, Jiang Nian stood next to the cutting board, kneading the dough in the enamel basin, Lu Yu stood in front of the cutting board, and because of the action of cutting vegetables, his arm inevitably touched Jiang Nian.

He lowered his eyes to glance at Jiang Nian who was bowing her head, and an elusive inquiry emerged in his dark eyes.

After six months of getting along, even if his sister-in-law's temperament has gradually changed, he still noticed the difference.

For example, Xu Yan's family.

Xu Yan's family was not like this in the previous life. According to the trajectory of the previous life, Xu Yan and Liu Qiang are now divorced, and in this life, the two of them go in and out together, and their lives are much better than before. Another turning point is Zheng Hong. Zheng Hong's current situation is completely different from that in the previous life.

These two people have had intersections with his sister-in-law.

Lu Yu remembered the meat in the cabinet when he came back that day. He knew it was sent by Xu Yan, but he didn't know why.

Maybe now he has the answer.

His eyes were always on Jiang Nian, and the inquiry in his eyes became more and more intense. If it weren't for the subconscious change and reaction of his sister-in-law today, he wouldn't have thought about it so deeply.

In his impression, although he had only met his sister-in-law twice, the two times were enough for him to see that no matter in the last life or this life, his sister-in-law was a dull, taciturn, timid, and introverted woman. In half a year, can a person really change so obviously?

"Have you finished cutting?"

Jiang Nian made peace with him, and saw that Lu Yu had not finished cutting yet, and was a little confused. According to his speed, it shouldn't be.

Lu Yu retracted his gaze and calmed down: "It's almost done."

Jiang Nian washed his hands, waited for Lu Yu to cut the meat into cubes, and then prepared the side dishes, started to heat the oil in the pot, and after a while, he made the sauce, and then boiled water, and the noodles with mixed sauce were ready. Jiang Nian took out the noodles, sprinkled the sauce on them, and served them to Lu Yu.

After dinner, Lu Yu washed the pot and bowls.

Seeing Jiang Nian adding water to the pot, he asked, "Is there anything else

you want to do?" Jiang Nian said, "I want to take a bath."

"You go back to the house first, I'll boil water."

Lu Yu sat in front of the stove and added some firewood. After Jiang Nian entered the house, he went to the second room in the east to get a large bathtub, washed the basin clean and brought it to Jiang Nian's room. After the water boiled, he took the bucket and went to her room again.

The sound of water splashing rang out. Jiang Nian sat on the bed and saw Lu Yu's cold and handsome face through the floating water. The man's face swayed back and forth with the water.

"Okay."

Lu Yu got up and walked out, closing the door for her.

Jiang Nian didn't take off her clothes until she heard footsteps outside. The brazier in the room was burning very vigorously, but she still felt cold when she touched the water. After washing, Jiang Nian smeared a layer of soap on her body and washed again. After wiping off the water drops on her body, she put on her clothes and got into the quilt. She shivered and paused for a while before shouting outside: "I'm done."

When Lu Yu pushed the door in, he saw Jiang Nian sitting on the bed, wrapped tightly, revealing a face that was baked by hot water, with a rosy red, the broken hair on her forehead was wet and stuck to her temples, and there were some water drops on her eyelashes, reflecting a pair of bright eyes that were wet and beautiful.

Especially when looking at people in the dim light, she inexplicably gave birth to a bit of pity and coquettishness.

Smelling the scent of soap in the room, and glancing at the woman wrapped in a quilt on the bed, Lu Yu's ears suddenly blushed. He lowered his head uncomfortably, picked up the bathtub and poured it into the drain outside.

After pouring the water, Lu Yu went to close the door, holding the door frame with his hands, his eyes fell on Jiang Nian uncontrollably again, and his Adam's apple rolled a few times.

"Sister-in-law."

Jiang Nian raised her head: "Hmm?"

Lu Yu looked at Jiang Nian's beautiful white face, suddenly looked away, and said in a hoarse voice: "Go to bed early, we will leave early tomorrow."

Jiang Nian nodded: "Hmm."

It was a sunny day on the third day of the New Year. Jiang Nian got up early. When she put on her clothes and went out, Lu Yu had already prepared breakfast. After breakfast, she went to the kitchen to get the walnut crisps and brown sugar steamed cakes made on New Year's Eve and put them in a small cloth bag. She also went to the cabinet to get some candies. These can be very useful when they take them back.

Lu Yu saw that she was packing cakes and didn't ask much. After packing, the two of them went to the county. It would take four hours to go to the city by car. Lu Yu said that the train was at four o'clock in the afternoon. If they left at this time, they could just get to the city before one o'clock. The

bus was packed with the most people on the third day of the Lunar New Year, all of whom were visiting relatives.

Fortunately, there were still two empty seats when they boarded the bus. Jiang Nian sat by the window, staring at the withered trees and the road that were gradually receding. The bus arrived at 1 p.m. Lu Yu, carrying a large cloth bag, took Jiang Nian to the train station and bought two tickets to go home. The train was at 4 p.m.

They went to the state-owned hotel for lunch first. Lu Yu paid the bill and was walking out when he met Ge Mei and a couple who had just walked in. The man's eyebrows and eyes were somewhat similar to Ge Mei's. He should be Ge Mei's son, and the woman next to him was her daughter-in-law.

Ge Mei didn't expect to meet Jiang Nian here, and she smiled: "Why are you here?"

Jiang Nian smiled and said, "We are going back to our hometown, and the train is at 4 pm."

Ge Mei glanced at the watch on her wrist: "Oh, it's already 2:50, it's late. By the way, when will you be back?"

Jiang Nian looked up at Lu Yu, and Lu Yu said, "On the seventh day of the first lunar month."

Ge Mei smiled and said, "It's not too late then." She looked at Jiang Nian and said, "I was planning to visit you tomorrow. The boss in Hong Kong was very satisfied with your embroidery. The day after I delivered it to him, he came to Guoying Embroidery Shop to place a large order. However, the size of the embroidery this time is relatively large, and an embroidery frame is needed. The construction period is two months. If you want to come to Guoying Embroidery Shop, I will make an application and help you apply. Please live in the dormitory. How about you live in the dormitory for the time being? "

Jiang Nian smiled and said, "No problem."

She was happy in her heart. After all, this was the only job she could do with her own ability in this era. If she could make a career, she could do anything on her own in the future. After all, she had been eating and drinking at Lu Yu's expense. Although the other party didn't care, she still felt bad in her heart.

Ge Mei told Jiang Nian these for the time being, and she would tell her the details again when she came back on the seventh day of the first lunar month.

Watching Jiang Nian and Lu Yu leave, the man Ge Zhisheng next to them retracted his gaze and sat at the dinner table with Zhou Ai and Ge Mei: "Mom, is she the female comrade with good embroidery skills you mentioned?"

Ge Mei said: "Yes, doesn't she look very young?"

Ge Zhisheng smiled and said: "She looks about the same age as Xiao Ai."

Zhou Ai, the daughter-in-law next to them, asked: "Mom, is the man next to her her husband? Isn't it not good to separate the couple for two months?"

She and Ge Zhisheng have a very good relationship. Although they don't work in the same factory, they can stay together after work every day. If she separates him and Ge Zhisheng for two months, she always feels empty in her heart.

Ge Mei took a sip of water: "That's her brother-in-law. Her husband passed away. But don't say this in front of others. It's not good."

Zhou Ai and Ge Zhisheng knew it of course. The train was to depart at four o'clock

.

Perhaps many people went home early before the New Year, so there were not many people on the train these two days. It was not as crowded as the first time she took the train. The train arrived at six o'clock the next morning.

The berths on the green train were very hard, and Jiang Nian felt uncomfortable after sleeping all night.

Lu Yu took all the luggage, so she only carried a small cloth bag with her. She left the train station and followed Lu Yu to the bus station. They took the bus back to the county town. When Jiang Nian was half asleep, the bus finally arrived. The two went to the state-owned hotel for lunch, and then found a donkey car going back to the village. They gave two cents and took a ride back.

When he returned to the village, people passing by saw Lu Yu and greeted him, "Second Master Lu is back."

Lu Yu smiled and said, "Well, I'm going to go home for a visit."

Some aunties looked at Jiang Nian. Seeing that Jiang Nian was dressed completely differently from before, they didn't recognize her at first. It was Aunt Zhao, who was sitting at the door basking in the sun and chatting with a few aunties, who saw her and shouted in disbelief, "Daughter-in-law of the Xu family? Are you the daughter-in-law of the Xu family?"

Jiang Nian smiled and said, "Aunt Zhao, Happy New Year."

Aunt Zhao was stunned for a moment. She didn't expect that Jiang Nian would look so different after returning after half a year. She dressed better than before, and her face was rounder and more beautiful than before. Her face was not only whiter, but also much rosier. She looked in good spirits.

Unexpectedly, Lu Laoer took such good care of his sister-in-law.

When the aunties and young wives passing by in the village saw Jiang Nian, they couldn't believe that this was the daughter-in-law of the Xu family who had been married to the Xu family for four years and had never left the house. Only the neighbors next to the Xu family had seen Jiang Nian. She seldom spoke, and she might not speak as much in a year as the aunties said in a day.

Not only did Aunt Zhao feel that Jiang Nian had changed a lot, but the neighbors around her also felt that she had changed a lot.

When they saw them before, they would lower their heads, grab the corners of their clothes and hide in the house. Now when they see them, they know to smile and call them aunties openly.

Jiang Nian's purpose of coming back this time was to go to the Jiang family to ask for the money that was robbed in the past four years. When the time comes, she may also need the neighbors to testify for her, telling her how Jiang's mother came here and how she entered the Xu family and robbed the original owner's money and food.

Otherwise, she would just rely on her mouth, but without witnesses, the effect would be minimal.

So she brought some cakes and candies this time. After she cleaned up the house, she would give two candies and a cake to each of the aunts to sweeten their mouths. As the saying goes, a person who eats someone's food will be grateful, and as long as she can vent her anger on the original owner, she will get back as much money and tickets that were robbed as possible.

No one had lived in the house for half a year, and the house lacked vitality. Lu Yu opened the door and walked into the house, looking at the thick layer of snow in the yard. He then walked around the three rooms. The roof of Uncle Xu's house had collapsed under the weight of the snow, and the snow had fallen on the kang, making it impossible to sleep. Xu Cheng's house was not much better. Although the roof did not collapse, there were several holes in it. The snow on the roof was exposed to the sun, and snow water was dripping down, wetting the mattress on the kang, almost wetting the entire kang.

Jiang Nian followed Lu Yu's footsteps to Lu Yu's room. She first looked up at the roof. There was a leak. A corner of the roof was leaking, and snow water was flowing down along the wall. The mattress on the kang was also wet. Fortunately, the two quilts stacked at the other end were fine. She put down the small cloth bag, ran over, lifted the wet corner of the mattress and folded it up. He said to Lu Yu who was walking over: "It's better here."

Lu Yu looked up, took down the army green bag and put it on the table: "I'll go up and fix it, I should be able to stay for two nights."

The roof was covered with snow, Jiang Nian was worried, jumped off the kang and chased after him: "Wait a minute--"

Before he finished speaking, he saw Lu Yu grabbing the wall and jumping up.

Jiang Nian: ...

Lu Yu went up and swept the snow around the hole to prevent snow water from dripping down, then jumped down to find a wooden board and threw it up, and finally climbed onto the roof to cover the hole. When he has time to come back this summer, he has to renovate the house. Although there is no one at home, the house must be kept in order. This is the house where he and Xu Cheng grew up together, and it is also the only house left in the Xu family.

Jiang Nian stamped his feet coldly, took a broom and cleaned the house. After he finished cleaning, Lu Yu also finished his work.

There was no dry firewood at home, so he couldn't make a charcoal fire. Jiang Nian was just worrying about what to do when he saw Lu Yu come in with a pile of dry firewood.

She was startled and asked curiously, "Where did you get the dry firewood?"

Lu Yu put the dry firewood on the ground and used straw to start the fire: "When Xia Tian left, I put it in the stove in advance. It's enough for the next two days."

The brazier was burning, and Lu Yu stood up: "You warm up the fire, I'll go sweep the yard."

Jiang Nian's fingers were numb from the cold, and she glanced at Lu Yu: "Why don't you warm up the fire first?"

"No, I'm fine."

After saying that, she turned around and left the house with a broom.

Looking at the closed door, Jiang Nian rubbed her hands, moved a bench and sat in front of the brazier. The heat from the flames gradually dispelled the coldness on her body, and Aunt Zhao's voice came from outside: "Second brother Lu, sweep the snow."

Lu Yu smiled and said, "Yeah."

Aunt Zhao asked, "Where's your sister-in-law?"

"In the house."

Jiang Nian heard Aunt Zhao's voice, got up and opened the door, and saw Aunt Zhao came in with a smile. She moved a stool and sat in front of the brazier. She asked her how she was doing in the army for the past six months and whether she was used to it. She also asked about her health. It seemed that she had eaten well in the past six months, so her health should be much better than before.

Jiang Nian smiled and answered whatever Aunt Zhao asked.

Aunt Zhao smiled and said, "You've changed so much that I almost didn't recognize you just now. By the way, after you left with Lu Laoer, your mother and your eldest brother came twice. When they saw the door was locked, they left. They were cursing when they left, saying that you didn't come to see them after you left."

At this point, Aunt Zhao snorted and continued, "Why didn't they say these things when their husband stole your things before? You don't even know that Mrs. Li from next door told your mother that you were beaten up. Guess what your mother said?"

Looking at Aunt Zhao's angry face, Jiang Nian knew without thinking that it was not something good.

But she still guessed: "You said I'm lucky and I won't die?"

Aunt Zhao sneered: "We're not so angry if she said that. She said you're just a loser, and you'll die if you die."

Jiang Nian: ...

She didn't know whether to blame the author of this book for being a weirdo and giving Jiang's mother such a weird personality, or blame herself for being unlucky and meeting such a bad family.

Aunt Zhao saw that Jiang Nian didn't cry like she did when Jiang's mother cursed her. She felt a little surprised. In half a year, Xu's daughter-in-law really seemed like a different person.

Jiang Nian stood up and took out walnut crisps, brown sugar steamed cakes, and a few candies from the small cloth bag on the table, and handed them to Aunt Zhao. Aunt Zhao widened her eyes, looking at the rare things in her hands that she had never seen before. Of course, except for the candies, she had never seen the other two.

"Aunt Zhao, these three are for you. Thank you for taking care of me over the years. I'll ask Aunt Zhao to help me deliver the ones here to the aunts next door."

She divided them into two sides. One side had more candies, and the walnut crisps and brown sugar steamed cakes also had two more pieces than the other side. Jiang Nian remembered all the things Aunt Zhao had done to help the original owner over the years, and these were the only things she could give for now.

Aunt Zhao saw that these things were not cheap, and she never thought that Jiang Nian would bring them good things when he came back. Aunt Zhao felt a little embarrassed: "Then, I'll accept them. It's just right for me to let my daughter-in-law try them when I go back."

Jiang Nian smiled and said, "Did you just get married?"

Aunt Zhao's face was full of smiles. She looked very satisfied with her daughter-in-law: "I just got married three months ago. She got pregnant last month. Our Zhao family has hope now." The

Zhao family is a good family. Aunt Zhao's husband is also a simple, honest and warm-hearted man. Zhao Gang took Aunt Zhao's surname because Aunt Zhao's husband was married off. However, their family is much happier than Liu Qiang's second wife's family.

Aunt Zhao sat for a while and then left. She left the cakes and candies that Jiang Nian gave her at home. She didn't hide them. She shared the rest with several neighbors next door, saying that Jiang Nian brought them to them. She praised Jiang Nian everywhere. When the aunties from the neighboring families mentioned Jiang Nian now, they all felt that the daughter-in-law of the Xu family was really different.

She loved to laugh, could talk, and understood the ways of the world. She didn't hide when she met people.

After Lu Yu finished sweeping the snow, Jiang Nian called him into the house. The bedding was cold and damp. She and Lu Yu each grabbed the corners of the quilt and propped it up on the brazier to warm it until it was a little damp before putting it on the kang.

After finishing all this, it was getting dark.

Lu Yu said to Jiang Nian, "I'll go to the brigade to buy some food and cook."

Jiang Nian sat in front of the brazier and warmed himself. He nodded and said, "Okay."

There is no electricity in the countryside yet, so we can only light kerosene lamps at night.

There are quite a lot of people in the brigade at this time. Lu Yu went to buy some food and talked to the brigade leader and a few people. In the countryside, if there is a soldier in a family, and he is a deputy regiment level soldier, then there will be green smoke coming out of the ancestral tomb. The brigade leader and his friends will keep him. Lu Yu said a lot of things, and Lu Yu sat down and talked to them for a while. By the way, he mentioned the matter of going to Jiang's house tomorrow, hoping that the brigade leader could come forward and go to the next village with them.

The captain and several others knew about this matter. Now that Lu Yu was looking for them, of course they were willing.

After all, Lu Yu is now at the deputy regiment level. When there are new policies and reforms in the future, as the deputy regiment leader of this village, he will definitely not forget his hometown, and maybe he can bring benefits to the village.

When Lu Yu came out of the brigade, it was completely dark.

He walked back by the moonlight, and when passing by the educated youth spot, he thought of what his sister-in-law said to him that time in the kitchen. The professor who lived in the cowshed said many things to her, and the pastries she learned were made according to the professor's methods.

Lu Yu looked at the cowshed a mile away from the educated youth point, turned in the opposite direction, and walked over under the moonlight.