Chapter 39
Jing Xian didn't say anything, but she looked very angry.
She could hear everything that was said in the outer room, so Jing Xian didn't want to ask in too much detail.
Jingxian also lit the kang in the west room.
There is hot water inside. After the water boils, pour the shrimps into the pot and they will be cooked in a short while.
Jing Xian took out the shrimps and put them in a large bowl. She then cleaned the pot and put a lot of water in it, then continued to add firewood to the stove.
The pot in the west room was not lit during the day. Now if it is not lit a little more, the kang will not be warm and I will not be able to sleep at night.
Sleeping on a cold kang in winter will cause paralysis.
After the rice was heated, Jing Xian brought it out and placed it on the stove.
She cleaned the pot and started to prepare stir-fried bean sprouts, and did not let Shang Nanchen continue to light the fire: "It's just stir-fried bean sprouts. After you add the firewood, go into the house and eat first. Tell the two children to come down and wash their faces and hands."
After adding firewood, Shang Nanchen poured hot water into the washbasin and went in to call the two children out.
The two children were very obedient and came out to wash their faces.
The older ones also take care of the younger ones.
Jing Xian then realized that both children were good-looking. The younger one looked like Tiedan, very fierce. The older one was very handsome, with thick eyebrows and big eyes. He was frowning and looked unhappy.
Shang Nanchen waited for the two children to finish washing and then let them go into the house to eat.
Jing Xian fried the bean sprouts and brought them in.
He put a lot of water into the pot in the east room and added a lot of firewood before entering the house.
The two children were eating. The younger one looked very hungry, with his face puffed up from eating. The older one was also wolfing down his food, but he ate in a very nice manner, and it was obvious that he had good upbringing.
Shang Nanchen was also very hungry and ate his meal in big mouthfuls.
After dinner, Shang Nanchen got down to get the bowl and chopsticks. The older child also wanted to come down to help, but Shang Nanchen didn't stop him and let the older child help.
Jing Xian knew that the two children would definitely stay at home at night.
She carried her own quilt and mattress to the west room, and left Shang Nanchen's quilt here for the two children.
"The water is hot, wipe your body and go to sleep." Jing Xian went into the west room, tidied the kang in the west room, and spread out her quilt and mattress.
She originally thought that she would wait until spring to clean up the closet and do some renovations, then put all the things in the west room. Then, she would let the two children live in the west room. Unexpectedly, she actually moved to the west room first.
Before, Shang Nanchen definitely didn't know how to wipe the child's body, but now it's different, he is very skilled at this job.
They have a large wooden basin at home. It is not high, about 20 centimeters, and 1.2 meters in diameter. Usually everyone in the family uses this basin to take a bath.
Shang Nanchen poured hot water into the basin, put the younger one in, quickly washed the child, took it out, dried it, and stuffed it into the quilt. He turned back to look at the eldest child, who took off his cotton coat and sat in the basin, looking a little embarrassed.
Shang Nanchen didn't say a word, pushed the man into the basin, and started washing his back.
"Wash the front and thighs yourself, faster." Shang Nanchen said faster because he was worried that the child would catch a cold if he washed for too long.
After washing for a while, Shang Nanchen added another ladle of hot water into it.
When the eldest child finished washing, he would carry the child out and put him on the kang, and the eldest child would wipe himself. After wiping himself, he would crawl into the quilt. In those days, poor people didn't even have underwear.
Many people in the village slept naked before they got married.
Shang Nanchen looked at these two children, and then at the other two. They were considered respectable children, but they were still not as good as these two. Shang Nanchen knew in his heart that if he had not met Jing Xian, his two children would not be as good as these two boys from his comrade's family.
Shang Nanchen was very glad that he chose Jing Xian.
He said to the two anxious children, "Go to sleep first and don't think about anything. Your aunt and I are in the west room. If you have any questions, just call us."
"I understand, uncle." The older child said sensibly.
"Go to sleep. The urinal is in the outer room, the gray one. You don't have to go out to the toilet." Shang Nanchen's house didn't have a spittoon either.
That kind of thing is just a broken wooden bucket.
He turned off the light and walked out of the east room, closing the door before returning to the west room.
Jing Xian hadn't slept yet, sitting on the kang and looking at him. Shang Nanchen came in and wanted to say something, but he stopped. Jing Xian said expressionlessly, "Don't you want to take a shower?"
"wash."
Shang Nanchen wanted to say that he didn't need to take a shower so often, as he wasn't sweating. But when he met Jing Xian's eyes, he didn't dare to say anything and turned around to take a shower.
The water in the pot in the east room has run out, but there is still plenty of water in the pot in the west room.
Shang Nanchen finished his shower, still wearing a cotton shirt, and looked like he was going to have a good talk with Jing Xian. Jing Xian was waiting, she was lying in the quilt, looking at Shang Nanchen, and thought he looked a bit like a fool.
"You're not going to just sit here and talk to me?"
Shang Nanchen lay down, and Jing Xian said again: "Turn off the lights. Isn't electricity bill money?"
Shang Nanchen reached out to turn off the light.
The room became dark, with only the sound of the two people breathing.
Jing Xian didn't say anything, just waited for Shang Nanchen to speak.
Shang Nanchen seemed to be preparing himself mentally. After a while, he said, "The father of the two children was a martyr. When the news of his death came back, their parents couldn't bear it and died too. All the relatives of the two children didn't support them. Their biological mother remarried on the third day. After she remarried, she sent the two children here. The organization wants to find someone to perform a miracle on the two children."
Jing Xian listened quietly.
Shang Nanchen's deep voice carried a hint of uneasiness, but he still said without hesitation: "I took the initiative to adopt these two children. Jingxian, their father is my comrade-in-arms, a martyr, and a hero who died on the battlefield and made great contributions. I can't just watch these two children go. Jingxian, I'm sorry to cause you trouble again. I know that you are responsible for all the big and small things at home, and you are also responsible for the children. But I..."
"I didn't say anything." Jing Xian said lightly, and was hugged by Shang Nanchen along with the quilt.
Shang Nanchen said excitedly: "Jingxian, thank you, thank you for understanding me."
The sound of sobbing can be heard clearly even if you don't listen carefully.
Jing Xian didn't think it was a big deal. In this era, there were many children in the family, most of whom were not their own children. Some were because their brothers and sisters had too many children to raise. Most of the people in the army were orphans of martyrs. Their families only had two more children, not ten or eight more.
"It's just two more children. We can live a normal life if we are frugal in the future. But can we not have children for now?" If we have another one, it will be worse.
Shang Nanchen didn't expect Jing Xian to say this, and was stunned: "Don't you want a child?"
"Please think carefully. Can you have children casually? We will have four children in the future. You are busy and can't take care of the family, and I have to take care of all the children. If I get pregnant, who will take care of the children?" Jing Xian's face suddenly turned ugly when she thought of the fact that she did not use contraception the first two times.
Unfortunately, the room was dark and Shang Nanchen couldn't see.
Shang Nanchen hugged Jing Xian tightly across the quilt without saying a word, looking very sad.
He never imagined that the arrival of these two children was achieved at the cost of his own happiness.
"All right."
Shang Nanchen compromised.
He lay down on his own side without even covering himself with a blanket.
He decided to calm himself down.
"Our hospital provides free contraceptive measures, but many people are too embarrassed to go get them. If you are embarrassed, I will prepare a prescription. This prescription has no side effects. The only drawback is that it is not 100% guaranteed."
Jing Xian didn't want her abilities to stagnate. Since there was a way to slowly improve her abilities, she naturally didn't want to give up.
Shang Nanchen originally thought that he was doomed, but unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better and he became happy again.
"Make your own prescription."
Jing Xian said: "This medicine is for you to take."
“I’ll eat it!”
Shang Nanchen's impatient tone made Jing Xian feel a little embarrassed.
She turned her back to Shang Nanchen, not wanting to talk to him. Shang Nanchen was very excited, and he came over and hugged her waist.
I pretended to be asleep, but suddenly I remembered something.
"By the way, what are the names of those two children?"
"The older one is Xie Lingjun, and the younger one is Xie Lingxiu."
When Jing Xian heard the names of the two children, she was stunned: "What nice names."
"Xie Shunjin said that his son's name, like his own, was taken from Lisao. Even if they got lost one day, they could still recognize each other as family by their names." No one would have thought that Xie Shunjin would pass away when he was just in his early thirties.
His eldest son is only ten years old and his youngest is five years old.
My wife is still a...
Shang Nanchen thought his ex-wife was not good enough, but he didn't expect that his comrade-in-arms' wife was even worse.
"Go to sleep."
"Jing Xian."
"Um?"
"Xie Shunjin's pension was 700 yuan, plus his last month's salary of 80 yuan, and the money contributed by other comrades, a total of 1,500 yuan. The organization gave me all this money."
The room was very quiet.
Shang Nanchen waited for an answer, but what answered him was the sound of even breathing.
Shang Nanchen: “…”
The next morning.
Jing Xian got up and had just put on her clothes when Shang Nanchen came in from outside.
Eyes met.
Jing Xian said, "Didn't you tell me last night that the two children's father's pension is with you? Then you can save the money for the two children. When they grow up, they can make their own arrangements."
Having said that, Jing Xian went out.
Shang Nanchen was stunned for a moment, then took the initiative to chase after her and apologized to Jing Xian: "I was just judging others by my own standards."
"Want to apologize? Then go and arrange for the four children to go to school. Also, do you have anyone working in the textile factory?" Jing Xian looked at Shang Nanchen who was confused and knew that it was useless to talk to him. "Okay, just arrange for the children to go to school, and don't worry about anything else."
Shang Nanchen: “…”
He followed Jingxian to the back of the room, and when Jingxian went to the bathroom, he waited outside.
After Jing Xian came out, he smiled flatteringly and said, "When I first saw you, I thought you were a delicate little wife and it would be no big deal to marry you. Now it seems that I judged you by your appearance."
"Then you will make breakfast from now on."
"no problem."
Shang Nanchen knew that if other people brought their children home, there would definitely be a quarrel.
He also knew the situation at home and had made all kinds of mental preparations, but in the end, none of them were used. Shang Nanchen was thankful countless times that he had chosen a good wife.
When Jingxian fell in love with him at first, it was like smoke rising from their ancestral grave.
Fusheng opened his eyes dazedly, thinking that his mother was still asleep. He went over and found that his mother was gone and had turned into two boys.
"Brother, brother, wake up!" Fusheng was so scared that he pushed the iron egg.
Tiedan asked in a daze: "What's the matter? Do you want to pee? Then go and put on your clothes yourself!"
"No! Mom was switched!"
Fusheng's frightened little voice broke.
Tiedan woke up instantly, sat up and looked towards the head of the kang. The two children sleeping at the head of the kang also woke up, turned around, and looked at each other, no one said a word.
At this moment, Jing Xian heard the noise and came in. Seeing Fu Sheng's pale face, she said, "Fu Sheng, what are you shouting for? Can't you put on your clothes?"
"Mom, you weren't taken away by a weasel?" Fusheng's words made Jingxian's face turn black.
"How can a weasel bite a person? It only bites eggs." Jing Xian looked at the other two children who had also woken up and said to them all equally, "Since you four are awake, get up, put on your clothes, wash your faces and eat."
Xie Lingjun got up and put on his clothes. After he finished putting them on, he found that his younger brother had already started to dress himself, imitating the two children of Uncle Shang's family. Although he was very slow, he always dressed correctly.
Xie Lingjun was silent for a moment, folded up the quilt, and followed Fusheng's example, rolling the quilt up and placing it right under his feet.
He went downstairs to put on his shoes, but this time he didn't give them to his younger brother and went out to wash his face first.
After a while, three kids came out and lined up to wash their faces.
Shangnan was released
table, with a few kids helping.
Jing Xian brought the soup and served a bowl to each child.
"Eat."
Xie Lingjun followed Fusheng's example and drank some soup first and then ate.
Early in the morning, with a warm stomach and a hearty breakfast, Xie Lingjun felt at peace for the first time.
There is still enough time after dinner.
Jing Xian looked at Shang Nanchen, and Shang Nanchen said, "This is Xie Lingjun, you call him big brother. This is Xie Lingxiu, the same age as you two, but one month younger than you two, and your younger brother. Lingjun, Lingxiu, this is the older brother Tiedan, and this is the younger brother Fusheng. The four of you should get to know each other first."
The four little ones looked at each other. The twins were very curious, while the other two brothers were very nervous.
"From today on, Lingjun and Lingxiu are our children and your brothers. Tiedan, you two must take care of your older and younger brothers and don't let them be bullied by outsiders."
"Then it's impossible to be bullied." Tiedan was very proud.
In the past, he fought alone.
Now no one dares to bully him and Fusheng because they have a super awesome mother.
"You guys can't go to work with me. Lingjun, you are the oldest, you are responsible for looking after your younger brothers. Don't go to the beach or the mountains to play, just stay near the family compound. If you have any problems, come to the hospital to find me. Tiedan and Fusheng both know where I work."
There are many children now, four in total, and Jing Xian can't let the children go to the hospital with her.
Lingjun was just ten years old and was able to look after his younger brothers at home.
"School will start in a few days, so I can send you there." Jing Xian thought about the tuition fees for four children, which was a considerable amount, and she felt that the money was really not enough.
But now there is no place to make money.
How about she make some ointments and sell them?
These days, people who suffer from back and leg pain prefer to endure it.
If she made some ointment, someone would definitely come to buy it. She didn't ask for money, she just exchanged things, and no one could say anything.
Thinking this way, Jing Xian also took action.
Making plaster is not easy, it involves many medicinal materials and the production method is very time-consuming.
When she was leaving, she asked Shang Nanchen to buy her a medicine pot for boiling medicine. Shang Nanchen knew her occupation and agreed without saying anything else.
"Our hospital has received quite a few injured people. Are they all transferred here from this incident?" Jing Xian couldn't help but secretly ask Shang Nanchen.
Shang Nanchen said: "Yes, but you'd better not ask too much."
Jing Xian nodded: "I know."
When we arrived at the hospital, there were still many people getting medicine.
Jingxian returned home after a busy morning and ran into Ma Shufen at the door.
Ma Shufen said: "It's good now, someone will help you take care of the child."
"There are too many children, so it's not convenient for me to take them to the hospital. Fortunately, Lingjun is a stable child and can help look after his three younger brothers. Otherwise, I might have to take a few days off to take care of the children at home." Jing Xian said with a smile.
Good fellow.
I have to take special leave to stay at home to take care of my children.
If the adults at home are not out working, the children are left to run around the village on their own.
Ma Shufen felt that being a stepmother was difficult. If it was her own child, she would definitely raise the child. This was because it was not her own child. She looked at Jingxian with sympathy.
"You really care about these kids."
"The child is still young, I am worried."
Jingxian went home without saying a few words.
She found that the broken tree in the yard had no leaves and was swept clean.
When I entered the house, I saw four children lying on the kang table doing their homework.
When he saw Jing Xian coming in, Fusheng was the first to get restless. He stood up and ran to the edge of the kang, shouting affectionately, "Mom, I wrote a lot of words today. Come and have a look! They were all taught to me by my elder brother."
Xie Lingjun looked at Jingxian nervously. Jingxian pretended not to see it and looked down at the math problems Fusheng had written. They were all correct. The words he had written at the beginning were also neater than before.
She smiled and said, “Not bad.”
Xie Lingjun pursed his lips slightly
Relax, get up, put on your shoes, and sit on the edge of the kang.
"You guys take a break and don't have to do your homework all the time." Jing Xian was worried about the children who had been studying for the whole morning, so she let them go out and play for a while.
Fusheng and Tiedan ran out happily, and did not forget to pull Xie Lingxiu along when they left.
Xie Lingjun did not follow Jingxian out but followed her to the outer room to watch her cook. He took some firewood and sat down waiting for the fire to start.
Jing Xian didn't chase him away because she knew that the kid was feeling uncertain and felt like a dependent, so he wanted to do something to make her feel that he was useful and not a freeloader.
The child without a father or a mother is so sensible that it makes people feel distressed.
Jing Xian thought of herself when she was little, so she let the child help her.
"Lingjun, what's your nickname?" Jing Xian felt that calling the two children by their full names all the time would make them feel insecure.
Xie Lingjun said: "My name is Da Mao and my brother is Xiao Mao."
What a down-to-earth name!
"Da Mao, this will be your home from now on."
Jing Xian seemed to say this casually, but in fact she was secretly observing Damao's expression. She saw Damao secretly wiping away tears and stubbornly pursing his lips without saying anything, and she knew that the child understood what she meant.
When Shang Nanchen came back, he found that his job had been stolen.
He turned around and looked at Jing Xian, asking with his eyes: "What's wrong with this child?"
"Maybe he feels insecure, but it will be fine after a while, don't worry." Jing Xian finished her silent conversation with Shang Nanchen, and said to the child, "Da Mao, go call your brothers back for dinner."
"good."
Damao turned around and ran out.
Shang Nanchen was stunned.
"Who is Da Mao?"