Chapter 83
The irons these days are the old irons that came from the Republic of China, the triangular flat-bottomed iron box style with an iron plate inside. They are bulky and need to be heated on a beehive stove.
The autumn heat is raging, and if it weren't for taking a family photo, Lin Yao really wouldn't want to mess with this thing.
Zhang Cuilan was walking around in the big house holding Gu Doudou, who had just woken up. She came over to take a look and give her daughter-in-law some advice.
"Yaoyao, this thing is very heavy. In the past, we used to use an enamel pot filled with hot water as an iron, and the clothes ironed were pretty good."
Enamel pot with hot water?
This must be the kind of hot water that has just been boiled, right?
Lin Yao thought about it, and then looked at the hot water in the bamboo kettle, and the hot white steam coming out of the boiling water. She immediately gave up this unrealistic idea.
If she used an enamel pot to iron clothes for the whole family, there were five people in the family, plus the red bellyband of little friend Gu Doudou, and her hands would be boiled into roasted pig's trotters after one round of the process.
Zhang Cuilan also thought of this and couldn't help laughing, "Yes, the hot water is very hot, and Yaoyao's hands are as tender as green onions, so she can't use an enamel cup."
Birds chirped outside the window. Lin Yao hadn't eaten breakfast yet. She cried and carried the heavy iron as heavy as a stone. She barely finished ironing the red bellyband worn by Gu Doudou. Just when she wanted to iron her own clothes, her hands were so sore that she couldn't lift them.
She learned from ironing clothes that when ironing clothes with fire, in order to prevent the clothes from being damaged, some water should be sprinkled on the clothes in advance. In the hot weather, when the clothes are ironed flat, the operator is usually sweating profusely.
This autumn, Zhang Cuilan pulled out the bean seedlings, loofah seedlings, and cucumber seedlings planted in the vegetable garden, and planted two rows of vegetables, one with cabbage seeds, the other with radishes, and another small vegetable plot with leeks. The cabbage and potatoes eaten in winter are grown by the family, which is convenient for eating.
Otherwise, when winter comes, if you want to eat vegetables, you have to get up early in the morning and queue up at the North City Grocery Store to buy them. If you buy one or two, the old Gu family is a big family, so they eat them all in one meal, and they are not happy to eat.
Gu Shi'an came back from work and helped Comrade Cuilan clean up the vegetable field. They pulled the wild vegetables from the field and threw them into the vegetable basket. They chopped them finely, mixed them with some rice bran, diluted them with water, and poured them into the rabbit nest. The rabbits ate them deliciously.
At this time, it was still early, and Gu Shi'an and his son, one was weeding in the vegetable field, and the other rolled up his sleeves to clean the rabbit nest in the north of the yard.
Gu Shidong moved a small stool and peeled peanuts in the yard.
Peanuts were sent by Uncle Zhang. They are a good thing in the city. Not only can they be used to make peanut oil, but even if they are not fried, they can be cooked in a pot.
After cleaning the rabbit nest, Gu Shian went back to the house and washed his hands by the washbasin rack. He wiped his hands with a towel. When he turned around, he saw his wife ironing clothes with a bitter face. A smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. She asked Lin Yao to go to breakfast and he would iron the clothes.
Lin Yao was very hungry. He immediately put down the iron, shook his sore arms, and sat at the dining table to eat breakfast.
Today's breakfast was homemade pickled sour bamboo shoots, cornmeal dumplings and millet porridge. Lin Yao was still breastfeeding, so Zhang Cuilan fried her an extra plate of chives and eggs. The eggs were fried with pig fat, and they were tender, smooth and fragrant. A handful of green onions were sprinkled on top.
Lin Yao ate every bite with great relish. She ate less last night, and she had worked hard in the morning, so her appetite was much better than usual. She usually had a small stomach, but today she ate a small plate of fried eggs and two cornmeal dumplings.
After dinner, Gu Shian also finished ironing the clothes. Lin Yao was very surprised. A pile of clothes that had just been taken out of the closet was ironed flat without a single wrinkle by Deputy Director Gu.
The family changed into clothes, and in a lively atmosphere, they took Gu Doudou to the Yunshui County Photo Studio.
After the disaster, Yunshui County was still very lively.
The streets were lined with buildings with a strong ancient style, old houses paved with bluestone slabs, and occasionally there were two or three-story shops on the roadside. Before liberation, they were probably shops of country gentlemen, but now they have been replaced by state-owned hotels, non-staple food stores, or supply and marketing cooperatives in the county.
In this era, people took photos with old-fashioned cameras supported by wooden frames. The old Gu family was all in order. Gu Shian was tall and handsome, and Lin Yaoming was charming. The couple looked very well matched when standing together. Gu Shian held Gu Doudou, who looked like a jade doll, in his arms, and the family of three took a photo first.
The old teacher at the photo studio took a one-month photo of Gu Doudou alone, and took a family photo of the six members of the Gu family. The old teacher praised them and discussed with Gu Mancang,
"Brother, your son and daughter-in-law are really good photos. Let me make a deal with you. Now a photo costs 30 cents, I will give you a discount of 10 cents and put your family photo on the display cabinet of our photo studio. What do you think?"
Gu Mancang was not the master of the Gu family, so he quickly looked at Zhang Cuilan.
Zhang Cuilan smiled brightly, "Sure, why not?"
The old teacher of the photo studio raised his thumbs with a smile, "Okay, sister-in-law, let's make a deal. In the future, we will give you discounts when you come to the photo studio."
Zhang Cuilan weighed Gu Doudou in her arms, and couldn't stop smiling, "That's great, my little grandson will take photos two or three times a year at least."
Gu Shidong was very happy to hear his mother's words.
Little Doudou takes photos two or three times a year, and he, as an uncle, can also benefit from it.
In the past, Zhang Cuilan lived frugally, and the old Gu family had another little boy.
Taking photos two or three times a year, isn't that a common thing?
Children only have this childhood, and it will be gone in the future. It is not worth it to save a few dollars and let the grandchildren not even have a photo to remember them.
"That's the truth."
Gu Mancang touched Gu Doudou's chubby little hand happily and said in a hushed voice. Gu Doudou blew a bubble to his dear grandpa.
The one who smiled at Gu Mancang had a smile on his old face.
The old teacher at the photo studio asked, "Is this the only one in your family?"
"There is another one. The daughter in front just gave birth to a little grandson, who was born right after this one."
"It's good to have more children in the family. More children makes it more lively. If my daughter-in-law gives birth to a little granddaughter next year, we will have one."
Lin Yao was drinking water at the side. When she heard this, she raised her head and thought, "Mom, why are you urging me to give birth again?"
She quickly pulled Gu Shian at the side.
Deputy Director Gu looked over with a pair of dark eyes and twitched his mouth. Just when he wanted to change the subject, little Gu Doudou hummed in his grandmother's arms, and his two fat legs were working hard.
Gu Shidong suddenly smelled a foul smell and he sniffed.
"Mom, what's that smell? Why is it so bad?"
Zhang Cuilan slapped her thigh anxiously, "The child has defecated again. He just defecated when he went out this morning. He needs to change his diaper again. Where is the diaper?" "
I have it with me. It's in my pocket."
"Take it out quickly. Don't let the old teacher stink it."
"It's okay. I have a grandson at home. He's used to it."
The family hurriedly got diapers for Gu Doudou and changed his diaper. They also borrowed water from the old teacher in the photo studio and wiped the little boy's butt. The topic of inducing labor spread like wildfire.
After leaving the photo studio, the family went their separate ways. Some went to the steel mill, some went to the state-owned pig farm, and Dongzi went to school with a proud and confident look on his back, carrying the five-pointed star shoulder bag made by his sister-in-law.
Gu Shian rode his bicycle to send his wife and children back to the big compound first, and then went to the Public Security Bureau.
In early September in Yunshui County, the sun rose in the morning and the temperature rose with it. Lin Yao was busy shielding the fat boy from the sun all the way, and didn't take care of herself. She was exposed to the sun for ten minutes on the road. When she returned to the big compound, a layer of tiny beads of sweat had appeared on her forehead, and her white face was slightly red from the sun.
Before leaving, Gu Shian specially filled a basin of cool water for his wife and put a towel there, so that Lin Yao could wash her face and cool it down when she had time.
If the Public Security Bureau was not busy today, Deputy Director Gu would definitely help his wife wash her face.
Lin Yao thought he was nagging, and waved Gu Doudou's chubby hand to show that he understood.
"Oh, why don't you go? If you don't go, you'll be late for work."
Gu Shi'an slung his long legs over his shoulders and the bicycle was on the road steadily.
Lin Yao smiled and hugged Gu Doudou, who was kicking his fat legs, and gave him a kiss, praising, "You are really a good Doudou of your mother."
Gu Doudou sucked his fingers and talked to his mother in a babbling voice. Lin Yao coaxed the fat boy and put him in the cradle. She washed her face, took out the cream from the living room, rubbed it on her face, and smelled the fragrance on her body with satisfaction.
The carved wooden windows in the house were all open, and the draft from outside made the whole floor cool.
At noon, Lin Yao took the fat boy to take a nap on the bed, and in the afternoon, Gu Chunmei, who was also on maternity leave at home, took Xu Tangyuan back to her parents' home.
In total, Tangyuan from Big Head Brother's family is one month older than Gu Doudou. Xu Tangyuan is the older brother and Gu Doudou is the younger brother.
However, because Gu Chunmei had less milk during the confinement period, Xu Tangyuan ate less breast milk and could not keep up with the nutrition at the beginning. He did not look as fat as Gu Doudou.
Gu Doudou was really fat, and he inherited Lin Yao's white and tender, round and plump face. He had a pair of auspicious eyes like Gu Shian. Although the little cub was fat, he was handsome.
Fortunately, Xu Tangyuan can now eat some complementary food, and his nutrition has caught up. He eats well and sleeps well, and he is also a white and plump boy.
The two fat boys were put on the bed for a while, babbling and talking baby talk. The two little fat boys were very harmonious.
The two mothers had a rare chance to relax for a while and chat about family matters.
Gu Chunmei still had half a month of maternity leave to go. The leader of the supply and marketing cooperative took care of her and transferred her to the fabric counter, which was more relaxed. It was a good place to go.
Gu Chunmei hadn't been to the big compound for a week. Since she became a mother, she was busy at home day and night.
The two sisters went to the vegetable garden to pick leeks, beat eggs to make stuffing, and kneaded dough to make reunion dumplings.
Gu Shian brought two small stools and gave them to his sister-in-law to sit on. He also sat down and helped to clean up the vegetables while talking about the latest news.
Gu Chunmei suddenly spoke.
"Yaoyao, have you heard that something happened to the Sun family in the town?"
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