Chapter 66
It has been a cold spring these past few days, and the town is damp and cold, with a white mist.
Lin Hongna pretended to come out of her grandson's house with a basket of vegetables on her shoulder, walked around the long street, and made sure that no one was following her. Then she turned around and went to the grain station's family compound.
The grain station's family compound is next to the supply and marketing cooperative, with the long street on the left and the vegetable market on the right. It is a good location with easy access. The grain station's family compound faces north and south, and the low bungalows lined up in a row are all from the courtyard walls of the former wealthy families in the town. The road is paved with the bricks from the courtyard.
The corridor of the family courtyard was narrow. A coal stove was placed in the corridor outside the house. The beehive balls were placed inside the house to prevent them from being stolen. A wooden cabinet was built on the wall, and pots, bowls, and chopstick holders were placed inside. In those days, every household had no kitchen, and cooking was done in the corridor. The walls were smoky and black, and the wall skin was mottled and black, falling off piece by piece.
Lin Hongna had been married to Sun's family for only two months, and she was used to living in the spacious and bright family courtyard. Although she was a handyman in the eyes of Sun's family, she didn't think so.
Some families didn't care much. There was a smell of urine in the coal basket in the corridor, probably because the children raised in the family secretly urinated in it.
Lin Hongna imitated her grandson's mother, holding her handkerchief to cover her mouth and nose, looking up proudly, and walked past the doors of those poor families with disdain.
The town was so small, and Lin Hongna had caused so many troubles before, which daughter-in-law in the family compound didn't know her?
A group of women were washing at home, and occasionally a daughter-in-law went out to get water, and saw Lin Hongna's behavior, she spat on the ground, rolled her eyes and went back home.
Lin Hongna didn't care at all. When she was down and out in her previous life, she had received so much cold shoulder
. Now that she was married to her grandson's family, half of her goal was achieved.
The remaining half still needed external forces to help.
Lin Hongna walked around and knocked on the door of a bungalow at the back of the family compound. After a while, Lin Hongwu came out with a cigarette in his mouth and opened the door.
The house that Lin Hongwu rented was a brick and tile house on the outside, with yellow mud walls and yellow mud floors inside. There was a broken wooden table in the room. The floor was uneven and the table could not be placed evenly, so he found a piece of wood to pad it. There was a big earthen kang against the wall, and a black coarse cloth quilt was placed on it. The rent was two yuan a month. Lin Hongwu lay on the kang with his legs crossed.
Lin Hongna moved away from him unnoticed and said, "Brother, how is the matter going?"
Lin Hongwu blew out a puff of smoke, "We found out that the eldest son-in-law of the Sun family is not a good person either. He looks like a good person, but he has a young widow outside." Lin
Hongna's face lit up and asked Lin Hongwu to tell her the details.
Lin Hongwu stood up, puffed on the cigarette in his mouth a few times, and spoke directly, "The reward you promised to give me."
Lin Hongnan's face was a little ugly, but he still took out twenty yuan from his pocket.
This was her last private money.
Lin Hongwu took the money, counted it several times, took a puff of cigarette, and then told her the whole thing.
These days he has been keeping an eye on the eldest son-in-law of the Sun family. The eldest son-in-law
of the Sun family is a small clerk in the town government. He earns 37 yuan a month, which is quite popular outside. He married Sun Jialiang's eldest sister for his future, but unfortunately, Sun Jialiang's eldest sister is not good-looking. There is a young widow named Yang in the tofu factory in the town. She has a willow waist, peach blossom eyes, and a curvy figure. People in the town call her "Tofu Xishi."
Tofu Xishi is also a miserable person. Her husband left early, and her mother-in-law couldn't tolerate her, so she moved back to her parents' home. Her
brothers in her parents' family have also started their own families, and they take care of their own things. It 's good enough that her sister-in-law and daughter-in-law don't give her a cold shoulder.
In any era, beautiful widows have a hard life, especially in the conservative era. Widow Yang also wants to find a reliable man to marry.
But which man would want to marry her properly as she was married for the second time?
So she decided to just go for broke and find a good-looking man to follow her.
Widow Yang looked for a man and her charming eyes set her eyes on the eldest brother-in-law of the Sun family.
The eldest brother-in-law of the Sun family had a good family background and a good job. He was the son of the mayor, so who dared to mess with him? Widow Yang seduced him and he was her.
The two of them were so passionate that they dated at least three or four times a week.
Lin Hongwu walked lightly and followed her closely, so the eldest brother-in-law of the Sun family would never have thought that when he went to sleep with a woman, there would be a pair of eyes following him.
Lin Hongna's trip was very rewarding. She and Lin Hongwu conspired in the room for a long time before she happily went out with a basket of vegetables in her arms.
She went out on the pretext of going out to buy vegetables. She went to the vegetable market and picked a few cabbages with curled leaves and returned to Sun's house.
The eldest daughter of the Sun family was still drinking tea at home. When she saw Lin Hongna coming back so late, her eyes were not eyes and her nose was not nose.
"Hey, you still remember to come back. The vegetable market has moved to the county town. You are really tired."
The eldest daughter of the Sun family was in a gloomy mood.
Sun's mother also had a face as long as an old donkey.
Lin Hongna prepares all three meals a day for the Sun family. When she is not at home, this pair of scumbag mother and daughter have no hands or legs, and they are the family members of the cadre family. The old sows raised in the countryside are more diligent than them!
Lin Hongna lowered her eyes to hide her disgust for the Sun family mother and daughter, and whispered softly, "The weather has been bad in recent days, and there are no goods in the vegetable market. I have been waiting there for a while."
Hearing this, the Sun mother's face looked a little better.
When she went to work on the street before, she did hear those women say that vegetables were hard to buy recently.
The eldest daughter of the Sun family glared and wanted to complain again, but she snorted at the Sun mother and closed her mouth angrily.
Lin Hongna used a big move in the evening and planned to reward herself well.
Sun's family had eggs. The eggs sold these days were all from the countryside. They were small in size but very delicious.
She beat five or six eggs, cut leeks, and made a plate of leek and eggs. She also fried some spicy and sour cabbage. Sun's father ordered a portion of fried meat from the state-owned restaurant in town.
Today, the family had a rich variety of dishes, including meat, cabbage, and eggs. It was like Chinese New Year.
The eldest daughter of the Sun family changed her mind at the last minute and wanted to have dinner at her mother's house.
Lin Hongna served the dishes, picked up the chopsticks, and wiped the table. She was busy like a top.
Sun Jialiang didn't come back, but Sun's father did. Seeing Lin Hongna busying around and being respectful and humble to the family, he treated her differently.
The daughter-in-law of their Sun family should have such a calm demeanor, be able to endure hardships and grievances, and will not live a bad life in the future.
Thinking of this, Sun's father said with a gentle face that he asked Lin Hongna to stop working and come to the table to eat together, and let the eldest daughter do the rest.
The eldest daughter of the Sun family: "!!!"
Lin Hongna was ecstatic in her heart, but her face was calm. She nodded, put down her work and sat down.
This meal was very enjoyable, especially when she saw the eldest daughter of the Sun family doing housework and being severely reprimanded by her grandfather. Lin Hongna was even happier.
In the evening, Lin Hongna fetched water for her parents-in-law to wash their feet. After her grandson's mother went to bed, she went out with the foot-washing water.
The grandfather was wearing reading glasses and reading newspapers. He said to the grandmother who was wearing stale oil, "Be nice to your daughter-in-law in the future. Don't be so reserved all the time. This is a new society. Don't do the old things."
The grandmother got angry when she heard it. "Why do you do the old things? Explain it to me!"
She sounded like a wicked mother-in-law who was harsh on her daughter-in-law in the old society.
The grandfather was helpless. He was just discussing the matter. Why did she make a fuss again? He had to appease his wife with such a temper.
"That's not what I meant. We only have one daughter-in-law. A harmonious family is the key to success. Isn't it because we have a virtuous wife that our life is getting better and better now?"
"Go to hell. You are so old and you don't have a proper life."
For the sake of the grandfather, the grandmother didn't speak so coldly to Lin Hongna in the next few days.
The eldest daughter of the Sun family was so angry that she refused to go back to her parents' home.
What made her even more upset was yet to come.
It was the beginning of the new year, and the street office had started the annual population check.
In fact, there was nothing wrong with the population check. After all, the disaster victims were running around everywhere, and they had to be distinguished from the few comrades who came to the town to visit their relatives.
The bad thing was that the eldest son-in-law of the Sun family was having an affair with the tofu beauty, and they happened to "run into" the staff of the office knocking on the doors of every house with pens and registration books. The eldest daughter
of the Sun family was not the kind of person who would suffer a loss. She waved her big and solid palm and slapped the eldest brother-in-law of the Sun family, making him cry for his parents. Then she sat on the willow waist of the tofu beauty, and the woman she was pressing rolled her eyes.
Like a mother lion protecting her cubs, Sun's mother pulled and tore at Widow Yang. Lin Hongna hid in the crowd, with a sarcastic smile on her face. How could this old woman not pay attention to elegance and propriety?
"You...you..."
Sun's father looked at everything in front of him in disbelief. Before he could say anything, his eyes went dark and he fell down in the alley.
"Dad!"
"Grandson!"
The Sun family was panicked. The Sun family was in chaos. This incident suddenly jumped to the headlines of the list of romantic affairs.
"..."
After the shock, the Gujiaao River was surrounded by green mountains.
The wild vegetables in the back mountain sprouted one after another. The new spring brought vitality and new hope to the people who had been hungry for half a year.
News came from the city ahead that the steel mill was about to start operation.
The family was all smiles. They had lived in the countryside for several months. Life in the countryside was leisurely, but it was too leisurely. Especially Lin Yao, who had been lying at home every day to take care of the baby, had become weak.
She used to complain about being tired every day at work, but now that she was not working, why did she still feel tired?
Fortunately, Lin Yao's belly was almost three months pregnant. In Yunshui County, a pregnant woman is considered to be pregnant after three months.
The rabbits raised at home finally gave birth. Gu Mancang skinned and bled the eight fat rabbits, and hung them cleanly under the eaves at the door. The rabbits raised at home were not prepared to be sold.
Gu Chunmei was also pregnant. She was hungry. Zhang Cuilan gave two to her daughter and kept three for herself. She planned to send the rest to the Dongfanghong production team when she had time so that Grandma Zhang could have a good meal.
After listening to her mother-in-law's plan, Lin Yao also thought it was a good idea.
In the past six months, she had eaten a lot of mountain products and pheasants sent by her two uncles. It was a matter of return a favor. If you treat me well, I will treat you well too. We are a loving family.
The mother rabbit at home gave birth to another litter of rabbit babies, a total of ten. Ten little rabbits are very edible. At the beginning of spring, Gu Mancang took a hoe and started to open the vegetable garden at home. The vegetable garden in the old house had not been taken care of for many years. There were small stones, tree roots, and rotten leaves in it. He carried a large basket on his back.
Gu Shi'an came back from the county town and helped to open the vegetable garden. The grandfather and his wife worked for several days before they opened a three-centimeter-sized vegetable garden. Dongzi carried a bamboo basket on his back to the mountain every day to collect wild vegetables, such as plantain, dandelion, and dogtail grass. Rabbits love to eat these. He carried two haystacks home in bamboo baskets. Gu Mancang applied fertilizer to the vegetable garden. The smell was so bad that the children in the village had to cover their noses and walk around.
Lin Yao was fine normally, but he couldn't stand the smell of feces in the yard. He held the spittoon and vomited all over the place, even vomiting bile.
The eldest son was not at home, and Zhang Cuilan was anxious and wanted to ask the old Chinese doctor. Gu Mancang ran to the old Chinese doctor's house.
The old Chinese doctor went up the mountain to collect herbs, and Gu Mancang hurried home. It was chilly in the early spring, and he was sweating profusely.
When Gu Mancang ran home, Lin Yao was tired and exhausted. She had already drunk sugar water and lay down with a quilt. Gu Shidong came back with a basket full of herbs. He met his father on the way, and the grandfather and the grandfather ran home together.
Before entering the house, Gu Shidong shouted at the top of his voice, "Mom, where is my sister-in-law! Is she still vomiting? If not, let's go to the hospital!"
Zhang Cuilan sighed, went out of the house, stopped the grandfather and the son, and pinched the old son's ears to ask him to speak more quietly.
"What are you making a fuss about, you bastard? Your sister-in-law vomited for a long time and just went to bed!"
Zhang Cuilan scolded her old son and then Gu Mancang.
"It's all your fault, old man. What does it matter if the vegetable field is not fertilized? It's Yaoyao who made trouble. Her little face turned pale from vomiting. What's wrong with Yaoyao and the child? Let me teach you a lesson!"
Gu Mancang was so scared that he trembled and covered the feces in the vegetable field with soil.
Lin Yao was half asleep in the house. He remembered that it was okay to not fill it up. He couldn't open his eyelids, so he didn't care if he couldn't get up.
The daughter-in-law was resting in the house. Zhang Cuilan drove the old man and the old son away. She was upset and first stood guard at the door with a bench. After being drunk for a while, she couldn't sit still. She took a kitchen knife and went to the yard to chop cabbage. The cabbage in the cellar had been stored for a whole winter. If it wasn't taken out and dried early, it might not last long. After chopping
the cabbage, Zhang Cuilan washed her hands and secretly leaned on the window to look at her daughter-in-law.
Oh, Yaoyao's little face, pale and thin, wrinkled even when she slept. When she was pregnant with the eldest son, she also vomited violently, and it was fine after a few days.
It is said that sour sons and spicy daughters, Yaoyao likes sour food most of the time, but sometimes she also wants to eat spicy food. Zhang Cuilan doesn't care about having grandsons and granddaughters. She gave birth to three in her life, first a son, then a daughter, and finally an old son.
Grandsons and granddaughters are all good, first bloom and then bear fruit, and if there are no grandsons, a few granddaughters are also fine.
Yaoyao is pretty and her children will surely be prettier.
Zhang Cuilan thought about it, tied a scarf around her neck and washed her hands again. She went to the bamboo forest to dig up some tender bamboo shoots, washed them in clean water, cut them into thin slices half a finger long, blanched them in a basin, turned around and took a piece of rabbit meat, also sliced it thinly, heated oil in a pot, grabbed two handfuls of sour pickled cabbage from the vegetable jar, put one piece in the pot and stir-fried it, and pulled two dried chilies, washed them, chopped them up and stir-fried them. After a few minutes, a sour, spicy and refreshing aroma spread in the yard.
This fragrant thing sniffed hard.
Oh my god, what smells so fragrant.
Lin Yao slept deeply. When she woke up, she looked at the delicious fried bamboo shoots with meat. She couldn't help but whet her appetite. She ate a big steamed bun made of two kinds of noodles and drank a bowl of noodles.
Her appetite was so big that even she was surprised.
Zhang Cuilan smiled widely. It was a blessing to be able to eat well. Gu Mancang
was secretly relieved when he saw that his daughter-in-law didn't vomit. After
eating and drinking enough, Lin Yao immediately became lively again. She had nothing to do at home, so she went to look through Gu Shian's bookcase.
The books this guy read were varied. Except for most of the military books, the remaining "Philosophical Ethics", "Biological Diversity", "Analects of Confucius", etc. Lin Yao had no interest in them. She flipped through them again and again, and finally her eyes fell on a Soviet novel.
This novel is more of a daily life, describing the eating, drinking and love affairs of the hero and heroine.
Lin Yao was reading the book with great interest, while Daju caught another mouse in the yard that tried to steal food.
Zhang Cuilan rewarded the little guy for taking a clean bath and drying his hair in front of the stove.
The mother-in-law brought Daju to Lin Yao to relieve her boredom, and Daju meowed at the hostess aggrievedly.
Lin Yao comforted and rubbed Daju's fat neck, and Daju snored comfortably.
Not long after, Daju fell asleep in the house.
It was only a little after eight o'clock, and Lin Yao was very energetic. She couldn't sleep, so she went to look through Shian's bookcase and found an interesting book in it.
This book is interesting, but after reading it for a long time, there are too many professional terms, and she couldn't understand it.
Lin Yao simply took a pen and changed the title of the book. She felt sleepy and smiled at the book cover. Then she threw the book on the bedside, yawned and fell asleep. The man and the cat slept soundly and deeply. The picture was particularly harmonious.
When Gu Shian, who came home late, walked in the night, he saw this heartwarming scene. He smiled and was about to go to the yard to wash up and come back to hug his wife. He turned his head and saw the book that Lin Yao had thrown on the bedside.
——The original version on the book cover was "Postpartum Care of Sows", and the two words "sow" were crossed out and changed to "Postpartum Care of Gu Moumou".
"..."
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