Chapter 6
The large compound of the steel mill is a two-entry compound, a square compound, divided into the front yard and the back yard, where all the employees of the steel mill live.
The green bricks in the compound, the eaves and tiles, the hollow carved mahogany windows, all show the prosperity of this compound in the past.
In the old days, the swallows in front of Wang Xie's hall flew into the homes of ordinary people.
Now there are five families living in the large compound. The front yard is large, and the two houses on the west side are occupied by Wang Shengcai's family of five. Wang Shengcai is from the security department of the steel mill. He is a good person, but his wife likes to gossip about other people's affairs when she has nothing to do. She is not very popular in the compound.
There are two families living in a row of houses in the southeast of the front yard. The man in the east is Zheng Dacheng. He was originally a chef in a state-owned hotel. Later, he was recruited by the leaders of the steel plant and transferred to the factory canteen as a chef. He is in charge of more than ten canteen employees and can be regarded as a small leader.
In those days, the steel plant was profitable, and the chefs in the steel plant canteen had high wages and good benefits. Zheng Dacheng's wife, Liu Laidi, was a country woman who could not read and write, but got a job as a buyer in the canteen because of her husband's success.
Zheng Dacheng and his wife have a son and a daughter. The eldest daughter Zheng Yan is studying in the county high school, and the youngest son Zheng Hao is in junior high school. Because of Zheng Dacheng's status as a master chef in the canteen, the four members of the Zheng family all have their eyes on their foreheads, and they feel that they are more noble than everyone in the big compound.
In the south live the old couple Sun Daye. Before Sun Daye retired, he was an old teacher in the steel factory. Sun Daye has no job. The old couple has only one daughter, who married far away in the south. The factory takes care of the old couple and gives them a house in the big compound.
The backyard of the big compound is the old Gu family's chalet to the east.
To the north are the two main rooms of Aunt Dafu's house, which are facing south. Uncle Dafu is the workshop manager of the second workshop of the steel plant. He is one of the only two people in Zheng Dacheng's family who can look up to him.
The other family is the old Gu family. Isn't Gu Shian the deputy battalion commander in the army? As the saying goes, if the gun is strong, the waist is strong.
Compared with ordinary people, military officers are still tougher.
The small kitchen in summer is as hot as a steamer. The slightest movement will make you sweat all over. Every household in the big compound is busy lighting the stove and making fire, and no one has the time to hang around outside.
It was getting dark outside. Lin Yao and Gu Shidong walked into the big compound one after the other.
Since the beginning of the rainy season, it rains every two or three days in Yunshui County. The corners of the courtyard walls are covered with moss and a cluster of purple jasmines have emerged.
The old couple, Auntie Sun, had lunch early and were fanning themselves under the eaves
to enjoy the cool air. Grandpa Sun was old and used to smoking a bag of cigarettes after dinner. Auntie Sun saw Lin Yao and wondered where this beautiful girl came from. She squinted for a long time before she smiled and said, "I am really useless. It turns out that you are Anzi's wife from Cuilan's family. What, Anzi's wife, are you going home after returning from outside?"
Lin Yao, who was called Anzi's wife at that time, or Anzi's wife for
short, said: "........" Lin Yao was a little confused. She was really not used to the old man calling her... Anzi's wife.
Gu Shidong came over and helped her out.
"Is grandma enjoying the cool at night? Yes, this is my sister-in-law. How pretty is she? Of course, my sister-in-law must be very pretty. What are we doing? Nothing. It's too hot in the house, so we went for a walk outside. What do you have in your hand? The washbasin. My washbasin is broken, so I took it out to fix it..."
Gu Shidong said nonsense seriously while pulling his sister-in-law home.
Before leaving, Auntie Sun said hello to Lin Yao, "Anzi's wife, come out more often when you have time."
Lin Yao also smiled and replied, "Yes, I will come out when I have time."
"She is a good lady. She should give birth to a baby as soon as she gets married. We women should give birth to more babies..."
Lin Yao:... Why are you urging me to give birth?
Slip, slip~
Lin Yao walked away quickly with small steps. She disappeared, but Auntie Sun was still not satisfied.
Grandpa Sun knocked on the dry tobacco pot in his hand and glanced at Auntie Sun who was nagging.
"You old woman can't control your mouth."
"What did you say, you old man?"
"Nothing, it's getting dark, go back to sleep."
"........"
*
When Lin Yao and his wife returned home, Zhang Cuilan had just put the meal on the table.
Gu Mancang was fetching water in the yard. There was only one well in the compound, no running water, and everyone had to fetch water from their own water tank.
Gu Shidong was most annoyed by fetching water, and he wanted to run away but couldn't.
"What are you doing, you bastard? Go fetch water for your dad!"
Zhang Cuilan raised her hand and slapped him, and Gu Shidong immediately became obedient.
Today, the loud speaker in the factory announced the weather forecast, and it would rain for the next few days.
Once it rained, the well in the yard could not be used, and the water was so muddy that it was unbearable to look at.
Fortunately, the higher-ups said that next year all the large courtyards in the county would be able to use tap water.
Gu Shidong ran over to help Gu Mancang.
Zhang Cuilan saw Lin Yao carrying a lot of bags, walked over and poked her on the head, and said unhappily, "Child, you buy so many things even though it's not a festival or the New Year.
Are you not living a normal life?" Lin Yao hurried over to sell, "It's not that I'm not living a normal life, auntie, do you think this piece of floral cloth is pretty?"
Zhang Cuilan reached out and touched it, nodded, "This fabric is very good, and the pattern is simple and elegant. Tomorrow auntie will make you a waist-hugging dress, it will definitely look good."
Lin Yao: "This is bought specially for auntie."
Hearing this, Zhang Cuilan felt distressed again, "Silly girl, auntie is already an old woman, and you dress up like a young girl. That would make you look like an old witch. We should save the money we have. The girls in the factory all wear small leather shoes. You can use the money to buy yourself a bottle of cold cream or a pair of small leather shoes. It’s a waste for you to buy these things…”
Lin Yao’s pretty face frowned and she was immediately unhappy. “What? Auntie is a famous beauty in our compound. If we ask anyone when we go out, everyone will say that Auntie is good-looking and has fair skin, just like a daughter-in-law in her early thirties. This material has an elegant pattern. It would be a waste for others to use this material, but it is very suitable for Auntie.”
Lin Yao talked a lot and handed the conversation to Gu Mancang.
"Uncle Mancang, is that right?"
Gu Mancang is only 46 years old this year. He has a dark face and looks honest.
He is tongue-tied and humbly says, "Yes... that's the truth."
Zhang Cuilan's face turned red.
The short-sighted Gu Shidong jumped over, "Mom, why is your face red?"
As a result, the bad boy was slapped on the head by his own mother again.
Today, Gu Chunmei had dinner at Old Xu's house.
Zhang Cuilan muttered a few words, but finally went back to the house with the cloth in her hands and a smile on her face.
Lin Yao not only bought cloth for Zhang Cuilan, but also for Gu Mancang and Gu Shidong.
The two of them were so happy that they had a silly grin on their faces all night.
Lin Yao walked around the street for most of the afternoon, and was so sleepy after dinner that she couldn't sleep.
Zhang Cuilan called her youngest son to light mugwort leaves in her room and spread the clean mat that had been washed during the day. Lin Yao took a bath and climbed onto the bed, feeling refreshed. She hugged a small pillow and fluttered on the big bed covered with a cool and soft mat. She glanced at the big red wedding quilt on the bed, turned around and took out a clean blanket from the box, hugged the small blanket and slept comfortably.
At nine o'clock in the evening, Gu Chunmei came back from Guihua Hutong with a red face.
Gu Shidong hung the orange soda and pork bought by Lin Yao into the well to keep them fresh. Seeing his second sister like this, he snorted unhappily.
What an annoying thing is a brother-in-law. He snatched my second sister away as soon as he came!
In the next few days, just as the factory radio had predicted, it rained heavily. The dense rain dripped down the edge of the eaves like a beaded curtain, blowing the cannas and roses in the corners of the wall, making them crackle and the branches and leaves green.
When it rained, the old Gu family was more lively than usual.
Gu Mancang and his family of three went to work as usual, but Gu Shidong could not go out.
This little guy was in the third grade of the county primary school. His academic performance was not good. He failed two or three exams and sometimes went home with nothing.
Zhang Cuilan was lying when she said she had no worries. There were three children in the family. The eldest son and the second daughter would not cause anyone to worry. But this old son was born to be a debt collector!
In those days, people did not pay as much attention to learning as in later generations. For most families, it was enough for them to graduate from primary school and be able to read.
Especially for a dual-working family like the Gu family, the eldest was a soldier and the second was a salesperson. The two older ones in the family did not have to worry about work. When the little boy grew up, he could always take over one of his parents' jobs. If nothing unexpected happened, this child would be able to eat state food for the rest of his life.
But which mother does not want her children to have a bright future? As
Zhang Cuilan thought about it, she cast her eyes on Lin Yao who was sleeping soundly in the house.
Her daughter Yaoyao is a high school student. If it weren't for the black-hearted Lin Daguo who made Yaoyao drop out of school, Yaoyao might have been admitted to university.
Why not let Yaoyao give the bastard some extra lessons?
So, Lin Yao rushed to the shelves and became Gu Shidong's "extra teacher".
Lin Yao didn't know what to say when she saw Dongzi's dog-chewed textbook full of fighting villains for the first time.
Lin Yao couldn't believe it: "Dongzi, is this your textbook?"
"It's okay to draw villains in the textbook, but the key is that the villain you drew is too ugly."
"………"
Gu Shidong, a thick-skinned and rough-fleshed brat, felt embarrassed for the first time in his life.
It's true that after Lin Yao became the "remedial teacher", Gu Shidong became much more obedient at home. After all, he knew to do his homework.
This alone surprised the Gu family.
After the rainy days, a sunny day finally came.
The annual Dragon Boat Festival followed closely, which is the Zongzi Festival.
Zongzi made these days are generally vegetarian, and the Gu family ate vegetarian zongzi in previous years.
This year, there is meat at home, and Zhang Cuilan waved her hand and asked the family to make a few more meat zongzi this year.
In Yunshui County, zongzi are mainly made with tender reed leaves grown by the river and pond. In the countryside, bamboo leaves are also used. There are all kinds of zongzi made, including salted meat zongzi, sweet zongzi, red bean paste zongzi, and red date zongzi.
The old Gu family made salted meat dumplings and sweet red bean paste dumplings. No matter what flavor the dumplings were, they were all rare delicacies in Dazayuan. The
fragrance of zong leaves wafted from every household in Dazayuan. Lin Yao had just peeled a red bean paste dumpling and put it into his mouth with a smile.
The loudspeaker on the street started to sound. What was it saying? The street commune was going to open a canteen and eat a big pot of rice?
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