Chapter 53 Chapter 53 The Perfect Man Is Me
Xiaoyan and Zhao Wuhe stayed until the afternoon, then left Qingmei behind and went shopping at the commercial building, leaving the pregnant woman alone at home, feeling lonely.
After they left, Qingmei stood in the yard and looked towards Aunt Qin's house. Aunt Qin was still busy at work and had not returned yet.
Gu Qingzhou cleaned the tables and chairs under the camphor tree, looked up at the green camphor fruits, and pointed at his wife by the shoulder, teaching her: "Don't eat the fruits that look like black berries on them."
The last time he got poisoned by greengage mushrooms, he was really scared.
Qingmei said with a stern face, "I know that thing can't be eaten. I'm not that greedy."
Gu Qingzhou was about to feel relieved when he heard his wife say softly, "But medicine and food have the same origin. I heard that camphor fruit is the best for dispelling cold and dampness."
Gu Qingzhou lowered his head and looked at her dimly: "Are you trying to piss me off on purpose?"
Qingmei puffed out her belly and looked at him with her hands on her hips.
Gu Qingzhou immediately accepted it and said in a soft voice, "Ancestor, please don't eat it."
Qingmei held his face in her hands and said cheerfully, "Look at you, you little timid one. Don't worry if you don't eat it."
Gu Qingzhou thought: No matter how brave I am, I can't compare to having two courages in you.
In the past, although Qingmei was bold, she would hide her true feelings. When faced with uncertainty, she would be timid. But now it's different. She is so bold that she trembles even when she walks.
After living in the family quarters for two days, Qingmei had nothing to do, so she went to the post office to call Donghe Village.
Zhao Wuhe and Xiaoyan rushed to answer the phone, telling Qingmei that Grandma was fine and had become addicted to mahjong. Two days ago, they and Grandma Ying broke up with an old man who wouldn't pay them for mahjong. They've found a more generous partner who always brings them edamame.
They also talked about how Donghe Village could register for the college entrance examination, but not many people signed up. Captain Jin even praised them verbally on the radio for registering.
There were also several other educated youth who signed up, including Wang Liya and Wu Ban. They were all very enthusiastic. If they could pass the exam, they could leave here and no longer have to suffer in the countryside.
"It just so happens that we have something we want to discuss with you. Please help us make a decision."
Zhao Xiaoxing said on the phone, "Uncle Guo heard that our math teacher meets the criteria for returning to the city, and he'll probably apply to return soon. When he returns, there'll be no one to teach us math. He told us to ask our math teacher to stay and give us some private lessons—"
Zhao Xiaoxing felt a little embarrassed to speak up. In this era, giving someone special treatment was not a respectable thing to do.
But Qingmei knew that this was the same as hiring a tutor. If she felt it was not decent now, she would regret it later.
"Have you told your math teacher? I think his last name is Chen, right?" Qingmei recalled Teacher Chen's teaching at night school and said, "Maybe he wants to take the college entrance exam too."
Zhao Xiaoxing said: "I told him, and he is still considering it."
"Teacher Chen really wants to take the college entrance exam." Xiaoyan took the phone and explained to Qingmei, "He has many classmates in the city who can lend him study materials. There are also college entrance exam classes he can attend. Donghe Village is isolated from the outside world, and he doesn't want to stay here."
Qingmei thought for a moment and said, "Our study materials are all first-hand and good. You can tell him later that we can share our materials with him."
"Okay." Xiaoyan said, "I also asked Uncle Guo, and he said that if Mr. Chen is willing, he can teach him English."
Qingmei thought this was more reliable and said, "I guess he won't get many work points as a night school teacher. Tell him the conditions tomorrow and give him the tuition for two people. You must keep him here, otherwise I will have to teach you math over the phone every day."
Xiaoyan said, "I'll tell Teacher Chen all about this. Don't worry too much about us. If it really doesn't work out, we can go to the county town and sign up for a college entrance exam class."
"The college entrance examination class is not as good as theirs."
Qingmei knew that both Mr. Guo and Mr. Chen were talents wasted by time. A small class of two was much better than a large class of people who were unfamiliar with the place.
She knew that college entrance examination classes were popular later. In that era without constraints, anyone who could recognize a few words dared to stand on the podium and mislead students.
Zhao Xiaoxing took the phone and said, "Don't worry. His family isn't well off, and he was already very grateful for a few eggs. We've got both information and a bonus, so he'll definitely agree."
Qingmei said worriedly, "You should respect others and speak nicely."
Zhao Xiaoxing said carelessly, "Don't worry about that. I wouldn't dare be like you, calling Mr. Guo in front of you and Mr. Guo behind your back."
Qingmei laughed and said, "I even called him to his face. It's different. Uncle Guo is a big shot, so he didn't bother with us. But Teacher Chen is different. It's always right to show respect to teachers."
Xiaoyan's voice came softly from a distance: "I'll take care of Xing'er, don't worry. I'll call you when we've reached an agreement."
Qingmei then asked about the hens and fruit trees in the blue brick yard, and felt relieved when she heard that they were all fine.
After hanging up the phone, Qingmei walked slowly home.
Gu Qingzhou recently started contacting people to clean up the compound at the port. Beiyan’s branch school is under construction, using the old high school site for expansion, and is not far from the port.
I thought my wife wouldn't be able to be separated from the children when she leaves. I'd probably choose to go to school on foot. The school is a four-hour commute from the military base, so that's definitely not an option. Donghe Village is even further away.
It would be better to renovate the slum and restore it into a courtyard house to make it more convenient for her to go to school. Then Zhao Wuhe can go over to help take care of the child, and it won't be a problem to find a competent nanny.
When the couple reunites on weekends, we can go back to 014 or he can go there, it can be discussed.
Ms. Zhao Wuhe has already started looking for good caretakers. There is a good Aunt Wu who works as a housekeeper in Jingshi. She is trustworthy due to their decades of friendship. But if Aunt Wu comes, Jingshi's yard will be left unattended, which is not good.
Qingmei, on the other hand, didn't worry about anything, as someone else did. She spent her days happily reading and taking walks, her life very blissful.
The next day, Qingmei called Donghe Village again.
Xiaoyan came over and answered the phone: "It's agreed. We will make up for the two months until the college entrance examination. No money required. Just eat and drink at our house and study English with Uncle Guo."
Qingmei smiled and said, "It seems that Teacher Chen still has the spirit of a scholar. He doesn't even want tuition fees."
Xiaoyan said, "He only asked for one thing: if the math results came out, if they were good, we would help spread the word that he was the teacher. If they were bad, we absolutely couldn't say he was the teacher."
Qingmei said, "Why do you do this?"
Xiaoyan said, "He said that when he returns to the city, he's going to work with the neighborhood committee to run a college entrance exam class. He wants to test the waters with us first."
Qingmei: "...So you want to make a lot of money. But I'm grateful that you're willing to teach us."
Xiaoyan said, "Yes! He'll have some homework for us to do later, and I'll send you a copy. Don't be lazy over there. I'll keep you in check."
"Okay, let's compete to see who scores higher in math." At this point, Qingmei asked, "Why didn't Xing'er come to answer the phone?"
Xiaoyan said with a sly smile, "She did so poorly on the math placement test that Teacher Chen is giving her extra lessons."
"Good job, good job. Even if she wants to go to a technical college, she can't slack off in her studies." Qingmei immediately respected Teacher Chen.
Xiaoyan said, "Grandma won some money playing cards these days and bought two pounds of persimmon cakes. Would you like some?"
Qingmei smiled and said, "I don't want it anymore. Let her eat it quickly. The weather is getting hotter and hotter and it can't be kept."
"Okay." Xiaoyan responded, and then carefully asked Qingmei what she had eaten and drunk recently, whether she was used to the life there, and how her brother-in-law was taking care of her.
Qingmei answered her one by one and just reassured her.
Before Xiaoyan hung up the phone, she remembered what Zhao Wuhe had said and said to Qingmei, "Auntie said that your sister-in-law is very troublesome and asked you to relax when getting along with her."
Qingmei said, "I haven't seen her these past two days. I heard she went to Shanghai to buy a washing machine. She's not in any trouble."
Xiaoyan got the reply and passed the message to Zhao Wuhe. After that, the two sisters hung up the phone and went back.
Qingmei gave the post office operator one yuan for the phone bill, then slowly got up and walked outside.
It was the sprint period for the college entrance exams, and Qingmei was studying like crazy at home. Fortunately, Gu Qingzhou was there to take care of her.
It was almost time for Gu Qingzhou to get off work, so Qingmei went to the canteen in the family quarters to get some food first.
Her appetite was poor in the hot weather, and she didn't want Gu Qingzhou to cook for her after he came back from a tiring day, so she would just come over and get her meals when she had time.
Tong Zhenzhen was mopping the floor and still had half an hour to open the window.
Seeing Qingmei coming over, he greeted her with a smile and said, "Look at your belly, it changes every day. I don't know if it's a boy or a girl."
She helped Qingmei sit down, took the lunch box and said, "I'll give you the first one later. Don't move when you sit still. The floor is slippery."
Qingmei sat down and looked at the busy people in the window and asked her, "Why don't you go in and help?"
"Well, my master thought I was in the way, so he gave me the glorious task of mopping the floor."
Tong Zhenzhen leaned on the mop and said to Qingmei, "I heard you are going to take the college entrance examination. Can your belly handle it?"
Qingmei touched her belly and said, "I don't think there's any big problem. It's just that my body feels a little heavy. It doesn't have much impact if I go to bed early."
Tong Zhenzhen said: "That's probably because you raised me well. I heard that your mother-in-law treats you better than her own daughter."
Qingmei smiled and said, "Isn't your mother-in-law like this?"
"Of course I can't compare with you." Tong Zhenzhen said, "But it's better than the ones over there."
Qingmei looked at an old lady in her fifties who came in through the door. She was muttering something to another lady who was traveling with her. Even from a distance, Qingmei could feel her saliva flying everywhere.
The old lady was not a pleasant-looking woman. Not only was she a pointed chin and monkey-like face, but she also wore a patched gray cloth hat. She also wore an old-fashioned double-breasted jacket, also patched. If you didn't know her, you'd think she'd traveled back from the old society.
Behind her followed a boy, about twelve or thirteen years old, with shifty eyes, looking around everywhere. Seeing the free pickles at the cafeteria window, he rushed over, picked them up with the public chopsticks and stuffed them into his mouth.
Tong Zhenzhen rushed over to stop him from putting the used chopsticks into the pickle bowl.
The boy was not wearing patched clothes, and he was well-fed. His eyes were full of hostility towards Tong Zhenzhen. Seeing that Tong Zhenzhen would not let him eat the pickled vegetables, he stomped his feet and ran towards the old lady, shouting, "Grandma, Grandma! She won't let me eat the pickled vegetables!"
The old aunt wiped her mouth. She was scolding her daughter-in-law. Seeing this, she pushed her grandson and said, "You scold that vicious woman. Why don't you eat the pickles that are given to you for free? Go ask her if she looks down on you for not having a mother."
Qingmei, sitting in the chair behind them, was amazed by this.
The old aunt turned around and said to the aunt next to her in a very pleasant voice, "His stepmother is such a jerk. She eats my son's food and lives in my son's house. I asked her to take care of me, but she said she couldn't do it. I asked her to take care of my grandson, but she said she couldn't do it. She stayed in the countryside for a few days and then she insisted on joining the army. Isn't it just because she wants to enjoy the good life here? Look at you guys, everyone takes care of your food, drink, defecation and urination. My son doesn't even need her to serve him. It's obvious that she came here to be his wife."
Her grandson was about to go over and scold Tong Zhenzhen after hearing what she said. Just as he opened his mouth, Tong Zhenzhen pointed the mop at him and said, "You are not my grandson. I won't spoil you. If you want to be beaten, you can make trouble with me. Let me see if I will spank you!"
The boy immediately cowered. Tong Zhenzhen's cold and arrogant look was scarier than his stepmother. After all, he could bully his stepmother, but he wouldn't dare to bully the adults outside. In the final analysis, he was a worthless bully.
The boy went to his grandmother for support. After the old aunt scolded the daughter-in-law, her spit flew everywhere. The aunt on the opposite side who was listening to her turned sideways and looked at her with disgust. Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore and waited until someone appeared at the window. The other party hurried over to get food.
Seeing that no one was listening to her scolding of her daughter-in-law, the old lady looked around the cafeteria and her eyes fell on Qingmei's belly.
She didn't know Qingmei's background, but seeing her rosy complexion and bright complexion, she must be being pampered by her in-laws since she was pregnant.
She despised women like this the most. They would put on airs just because they married into a man who was easy to manipulate, even though they themselves had no real ability. Unlike her, she not only raised a son who was an officer, but also raised a grandson.
Qingmei suddenly asked, "Why are you staring at me so hard? What's wrong with you?"
The old aunt was stunned for a moment, swallowed her saliva, and looked Qingmei up and down and said, "Your daughter-in-law is very delicate. I can't even walk in front of you?"
Tong Zhenzhen couldn't stand it anymore and came over and said, "Wang Cuijiang, do you think everyone is as submissive as Xiaojuan in front of you? This is Captain Gu's wife, the famous Comrade Qingmei. You should watch your words. Don't bring all the bad rural habits into the army. Gossiping all day long, is your tongue made of rubber band?"
Xiaojuan?
Qingmei asked Tong Zhenzhen in surprise: "Is she Xiaojuan's mother-in-law?"
Tong Zhenzhen said: "Yes, don't you think Xiaojuan is unlucky to have such a mother-in-law?"
Wang Cuijiang was about to start a quarrel with Tong Zhenzhen, but when she heard that the pregnant woman she disliked was actually the wife of the regiment leader, her expression suddenly changed. She rubbed her hands and said with a fake smile:
"After all, the captain's wife is still a delicate one. If you ask me, being delicate is the best. A delicate man will love you more. When you give him a son, you will live a life of wealth and glory. The old lady may not allow anything else, but she can tell from a glance that you are definitely pregnant with a son."
Qingmei didn't react to her other words, but she did react to her last words, and her little face fell.
She and Gu Qingzhou dreamed of having a sweet and soft little girl, but Wang Cuijiang insisted that she was pregnant with a son!
She sat there, glaring at Wang Cuijiang, and said coldly, "What does it have to do with you whether it's a boy or a girl? Did I ask for your opinion?"
"Oh, no, no."
Wang Cuijiang's eyes rolled around, not knowing how he had offended her.
Wang Cuijiang bowed and apologized, "Madam, why are you so angry with our old man? Even if you get sick and cut me into eighteen pieces, I still can't compensate you. Why don't you teach me what the old man said? I will avoid you next time I see you."
What kind of words are these? My brain is really screwed.
Qingmei couldn't help but roll her eyes. Talking to such a person would only bring herself down.
Tong Zhenzhen helped Qingmei up. Seeing that Qingmei didn't want to talk to Wang Cuijiang, she understood and spoke on Qingmei's behalf, "You are full of the old society's ideas. Let me remind you again, this is the army, and everyone is equal. Don't treat Comrade Qingmei like a country squire or a landlord, and call her 'wife' 'old and immortal'. Please just shut up."
Wang Cuijiang's grandson, Wu Yongchu, grabbed her hand and pointed at the window where people were queuing up for food. He shouted, "Go get me some meat! I order you to get me some meat."
Wang Cuijiang was scolded in person by Tong Zhenzhen, and she was embarrassed. When Tong Zhenzhen took Qingmei to get food, she spat at her behind her back.
Wang Cuijiang cut in line at the window for twice-cooked pork and said to the person inside, "Last time, we spent the same meal ticket, why did we get less than others?"
The fat sister-in-law was inside. She stopped holding the rice spoon and hunched over to look out the window: "One meal ticket and one spoon, how could I give you less?"
Wang Cuijiang persisted, saying, "My family has had twice-cooked pork. Once they gave us five slices of meat, and once they gave us seven. Doesn't that mean we're missing two slices?"
As she spoke, she lowered her voice and saw Tong Zhenzhen going to the back kitchen to serve Qingmei rice. "I know your tricks all too well. When they see the chief's wife, they flock to flatter her. Look, there's no need to queue over there. Maybe there will be more than seven slices of twice-cooked pork in her bowl. I can give her at least ten slices."
The fat sister-in-law looked over and saw Qingmei standing there. She turned around and snorted and said, "Do you want to have the twice-cooked pork? If not, move aside. Next one!"
Wu Yongchu, standing next to Wang Cuijiang, suddenly reached out to take the twice-cooked pork by the window. The fat wife reacted quickly and hit him hard on the back of his hand with the rice spoon.
The twice-cooked pork fell to the ground instantly, and Wu Yongchu hugged his hands and started crying "Ouch, ouch".
The fat sister-in-law called out again: "Next!"
The people in the queue behind were already impatient and squeezed over to hand the lunch box to the fat lady.
Wang Cuijiang quickly picked up the twice-cooked pork on the ground, stuffed it into Wu Yongchu's mouth, and pulled him aside: "Don't cry fakely, you got a piece of twice-cooked pork for nothing, my grandson is great."
Wu Yongchu covered his aching hand and chewed the twice-cooked pork with a smug smile: "Next time I'll grab a big handful."
Wang Cuijiang said something again, and Wu Yongchu nodded repeatedly.
The fat sister-in-law saw the grandfather and grandson singing the same tune, and she was so angry that she complained to the thin sister-in-law at the window next to her: "These old man and the child are both rat spirits! How filthy!"
Qingmei watched them from afar and changed windows three times before handing over the meal ticket.
"Go back slowly. They still have to eat two bowls of pickles here before leaving. They don't mind being choked."
Tong Zhenzhen helped Qingmei to the cafeteria door and said to her in a low voice: "These people all came to eat with Xiaojuan on their backs. Xiaojuan is so pitiful."
Qingmei sighed and walked slowly back home, thinking about going back to see Xiaojuan and offering her a hand if she was really in trouble.
Halfway through the walk, Qingmei thought of waiting for Gu Qingzhou to get off work at the iron gate, then turned around and walked towards the military district office building.
While walking on the road, she unexpectedly met Xiaojuan.
If she hadn't wanted to find a place to sit down and rest, she wouldn't have noticed Xiaojuan secretly crying behind the flower bed.
"Why are you here?" Qingmei suddenly spoke, startling Xiaojuan.
Xiaojuan quickly wiped away her tears with her sleeve, stood up, sniffed, and said, "Qingmei, I heard you joined the army. We haven't seen each other for a long time."
Seeing her already thin body become even more haggard and frail, Qingmei walked over, took Xiaojuan's hand and said, "We haven't seen each other for half a year. How have you been recently?"
Xiaojuan lowered her head. Qingmei saw that her clothes were patched and her hair was dry and yellow. She must be unhappy taking care of her mother-in-law at her husband's house and was having a hard time.
Xiaojuan held back her words, and Qingmei didn't force her. She knew that although Xiaojuan looked gentle, she was actually much more courageous than Wang Cuijiang.
Xiaojuan, clutching the corner of her clothes, was pulled by Qingmei to sit on the flower bed. Qingmei remained silent, just accompanying her. After a few minutes, Xiaojuan burst into tears, hugging Qingmei.
Qingmei stroked her back and whispered softly, "Cry, just let out all the grievances. Don't hold it in, it will make you sick."
Xiaojuan said, "Xiaomei, we agreed to take the college entrance examination."
Qingmei said, "Yes, I haven't forgotten. How about you?"
Xiaojuan said, "I'm afraid I can't do it."
Qingmei was startled, thinking something had happened to her, and asked hurriedly, "What happened to you?"
Xiaojuan's tears flowed continuously down her sunken cheeks, as if she wanted to pour out all the grievances she had suffered in the past six months. She tried hard to control her breathing, but her body was shaking because she was too sad.
Qingmei held her and waited patiently for a while before she heard Xiaojuan say, "My in-laws won't let me take the college entrance exam because they're afraid I'll run away. I can't register because I can't get my household registration."
"What?" Qingmei suddenly thought of Wang Cuijiang's expression and said with disgust, "Come on, I'll go with you to ask for it."
Xiaojuan took Qingmei's hand and said, "Wu Shizhong and I are both remarried. His previous wife died during childbirth, leaving behind a son for my mother-in-law to raise."
Qingmei felt that Xiaojuan was smart and didn't seem like the type who would be interested in Wu Shizhong's family. Even if someone was interested in Wu Shizhong, they would generally not marry him after seeing his mother like this, not to mention that his wife had died.
Qingmei was puzzled, but Xiaojuan said, "I was kidnapped when I was little, and it was Brother Wu who saved me from the fire. My mother-in-law was very kind to me at the time, and my father-in-law was also very kind to me. I had no one to rely on and nowhere to go, so I married Wu Shizhong on a whim. After getting the marriage certificate, my in-laws seemed to have changed. They made me work like a slave in the countryside, not only taking care of the elderly, but also raising children. Even so, I accepted it, but they didn't allow me to meet Wu Shizhong, and they didn't allow us to have children. I, I can't stand it anymore."
"Ah, then why did they want you to get married? This is a marriage, not a business. Why does a marriage contract seem to tie you down?" Qingmei thought about it carefully and felt that her parents-in-law and children in the countryside had found a free nanny to take care of them.
Xiaojuan said, "Luckily, Brother Wu is kind to me and lets me come visit. Every year, when I visit, I feel relieved. ... But I want to pursue my dreams. I want to take the college entrance exam."
Qingmei asked her again: "Is it Wu Shizhong who doesn't allow you to take the college entrance examination or is it your mother-in-law who doesn't allow you to?"
Xiaojuan choked up and said, "It was my mother-in-law. I asked Wu Shizhong, and he absolutely supports it."
Qingmei nodded hesitantly.
The two of them were silent for a while, and Qingmei said, "In that case, why don't you just ask Wu Shizhong to give you your household registration?"
Xiaojuan said, "He said his mother was holding it and wouldn't give it back. I couldn't do anything about it even if I contacted him."
Qingmei suddenly became angry: "Why can't he do anything? You married him, not sold yourself to this family. Ha, man!"
Gu Qingzhou, who was returning home from get off work, saw his young wife from a distance, but she didn't seem to be in good condition and was furious.
Seeing Gu Qingzhou coming over, Qingmei took out a handkerchief and wiped Xiaojuan's face first: "The household registration is easy to handle. Their family attaches great importance to their son's development. Since the son can't get the household registration, let's ask the leader if his words are effective."
Gu Qingzhou walked up to Qingmei and immediately realized that Xiaojuan was wronged.
Seeing Qingmei was furious, he immediately defended himself by saying, "First of all, even men are divided into different classes. Husbands are not the same as husbands."
Qingmei squinted her eyes and looked at him.
Gu Qingzhou said perceptively: "Secondly, I am not only an excellent man and an excellent husband, but also an excellent friend. I am willing to take the initiative to help my friends solve problems. I would like to note that your friends are my friends. End of note."
Qingmei's anger instantly subsided, her face dimpled and she said sweetly, "Full marks."
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