Chapter 36: Visiting such a big child, you can’t just stuff it back...
Jiang Xueyi thought about it and decided to do it this way.
She feigned surprise and said, "Auntie Kong, you're talking about the Red Education Class, right? You really misunderstood. This wasn't entirely Captain Zhao and Liu Lu's idea."
Captain Zhao and Liu Lu looked at each other in surprise.
Jiang Xueyi continued, "Liu Lu, I really want to tell you about this. Did you use the 'School Handbook for School-Age Children' distributed by the neighborhood committee as a table leg again?"
As he spoke, he winked at Liu Lu.
Liu Lu reacted: "Yes, yes."
Jiang Xueyi: "Hurry up and show it to your mother-in-law to see if it's true."
Liu Lu walked into the house and after a while, she really took out a booklet.
Captain Zhao took a look over and almost laughed out loud.
This is not a "Handbook for School-Age Children" at all, it is clearly a brochure for the Women's Federation advocating family planning.
Liu Lu pushed the brochure in front of Kong Hongfang and said, "Mom, if you don't believe me, look at it."
Kong Hongfang took the booklet with half belief and half doubt. When she opened it, she saw that it was filled with dense words and there was not even a picture. She felt dizzy after reading it.
She stuffed the brochure into Jiang Xueqian's hands: "Xiaoqian, can you help me see what's written on it?"
There are literacy classes in the village, but Kong Hongfang has always believed that the less education a woman has, the better. She has never attended any literacy classes and doesn't know a single word.
Jiang Xueqin took the brochure and was also very embarrassed.
She is similar to Kong Hongfang. Kong Hongfang was too lazy to attend literacy classes, but she has believed since childhood that marriage can change one's destiny. Getting married is a lifelong task for women. As for studying, whoever wants to study can go ahead.
Anyway, she only went to the first grade and only knew a few simple big characters.
You won’t starve to death if you don’t study. There are many people in their countryside who can’t read or write, but they can still do farm work and have enough food to eat.
I didn't expect that reading and writing would be useful now.
Kong Hongfang saw Jiang Xueqin looking at the brochure for a long time, with sweat on her forehead, but she didn't say anything.
Anxious, he urged, "Just tell me what's written on it. Is it really like your sister said, a handbook for children to attend school?"
Jiang Xueqin was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. She couldn't reveal that she was illiterate in front of Captain Zhao, as that would make her look so uncultured.
Jiang Xueqian stared at the densely packed words on the brochure for a long time before finally mumbling, "Sister, you're right. This is the so-called admissions handbook."
When Captain Zhao and Liu Lu saw Jiang Xueqin knocked all the brochures over and was still talking nonsense, they almost couldn't hold back their laughter.
Only after being stopped by Jiang Xueyi's eyes did they regain their composure.
Zhao Xiaorui tilted her head, feeling that something was wrong.
But the clever little girl held back and didn't say anything, even her sobbing became quieter.
"This 'Handbook for School-Age Children' is available in every household. It's meant to encourage children of appropriate age—that is, children who have reached the appropriate age—to be sent to the Yuhong class," Jiang Xueyi continued. "Auntie Kong, you don't know that a while ago, the director of public security went door to door, telling everyone that children who don't attend the Yuhong class must be registered."
"Registered?" Kong Hongfang looked hesitant.
Jiang Xueyi continued to deceive: "Yes, we register every household. If there is a child who has not attended the Yuhong class, their name must be recorded in the book. If they don't attend, they will be fined."
"You're just bragging." Kong Hongfang couldn't help asking, "How much will be deducted?"
Jiang Xueyi: "It's not much, only five yuan a month."
Captain Zhao responded, "Mom, do the math. A month in the Red Education Class only pays two dollars. If you don't attend, five dollars will be deducted. If you don't attend... you're losing out."
Kong Hongfang: "How is that possible? I've never heard of deducting money for not attending school. You must be kidding me."
Jiang Xueyi: "Auntie Kong, why would we try to fool you?" She added, "You've read the pamphlet, and Jiang Xueqian has proven it. If you don't believe it, go to the neighborhood committee and ask the director of public security if it's true."
Kong Hongfang looked at Jiang Xueqin hesitantly. Jiang Xueqin was on her side and would not join others in deceiving her, even if that person was her half-sister.
As for asking the Director of Public Security...
Director, Director, it sounds like he is a high-ranking official.
Kong Hongfang was just showing off her power in front of Captain Zhao and Liu Lu. If she were really asked to go to the neighborhood committee for questioning, she would never dare to do so. Her legs would tremble just at the sight of people.
Kong Hongfang looked at Captain Zhao and then at Liu Lu.
He snorted coldly: "Forget it, I won't bother with you."
After saying that, he left.
Seeing that there was nothing fun to watch, Jiang Xueqin left in disappointment.
Liu Lu saw Jiang Xueyi out of the house and said gratefully, "Xueyi, thank you so much." She added, "If you hadn't come, my mother-in-law would have been making a fuss for who knows how long."
Jiang Xueyi patted the back of Liu Lu's hand and said, "I know you're feeling down." She added, "I have something happy to tell you. Next Sunday, my family will be hosting a party for little Baozi's full moon celebration and Lao He's promotion banquet."
Liu Lu's eyes lit up. "Really? That's great." She added, "I'll definitely go over early next Sunday and help you."
Jiang Xueyi handed Zhao Xiaorui the shaggy cloth skirt she had made for her and said, "Hide it well, don't let your mother-in-law see it." She added, "Remember to tell Xiaorui to wait until your mother-in-law can't see before arguing, to prevent her from causing trouble again."
Liu Lu's eyes reddened, and she almost cried out of grievance: "This life is almost like being a thief. I have to hide from people even though I have to wear clothes in my own home."
Jiang Xueyi sighed, comforted Liu Lu a few more words, and then said goodbye to her.
When they got home, He Chengze came up to them holding the little bun and asked, "Why did you take so long?" He then asked, "Did the Zhao family quarrel again?"
Jiang Xueyi took off her shoes and nodded: "Yes, you heard it all."
He Chengze: "Yeah, it's too loud, it's hard not to hear it."
Jiang Xueyi explained the whole story to him: "The matter has been resolved, and we have also announced the dinner party for next Sunday."
He Chengze: "Thank you for your hard work."
She held the little bun's hand, shook it gently, like a little fortune cat, and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Mom."
Jiang Xueyi was amused: "Okay, stop talking nonsense."
She sighed, "Now I understand what it means to have a treasure in the family, like an old man. If this old man is not a treasure, he can turn the family upside down."
I wonder if her mother-in-law is also so difficult?
Jiang Xueyi stared at He Chengze.
He Chengze put his hand to his mouth and coughed: "My mother is a bit aloof, but she is still easy to talk to."
Jiang Xueyi took the little bun and kissed him on the cheek: "Have you told your family about us?"
"When I filed for marriage, I wrote a letter to my family." He Chengze blinked guiltily. "My parents wanted to come over to see you, but I told them no. I heard my dad was really mad at me."
"What are you angry about?" Jiang Xueyi blinked.
He Chengze: "I'm angry that I didn't host a proper banquet with you."
Jiang Xueyi smiled and said, "That's it."
The situation at that time was indeed special. If she and He Chengze had really held a banquet, it would have been extremely embarrassing.
She kissed the little bun again, smiling like a flower. Everything is fine now, isn't it?
He Chengze continued to feel guilty: "I didn't tell them about the birth of the little bun..."
Jiang Xueyi's eyes widened: "You didn't say that."
He Chengze touched the back of his head awkwardly: "It's hard to speak."
Jiang Xueyi probably understood a little.
He Chengze has been a child of other people's families since he was young. He has had a smooth life all the way. But when he suddenly made a mistake, he always had some awkward thoughts and didn't want his family to know.
Jiang Xueyi held the little bun and swung it around. The little bun blinked innocently with his big eyes that looked like black grapes. "So what should we do now? We can't stuff such a big baby back into our stomach, right?"
He Chengze coughed lightly: "Anyway, I will write to them in a couple of days to tell them that they have a grandson. As for their reaction, I don't care."
This is really a rip-off!
Jiang Xueyi thought about how the old couple of the He family would react to this, but after thinking about it over and over again, she couldn't figure it out, so she simply gave up thinking about it.
Things will work out when the time comes.
He Chengze wrote a letter in a very eloquent manner, but no one knew what was written in the letter. Jiang Xueyi wanted to see it but he refused to let her, so she took the letter to the post office and mailed it.
After sending the letter, he went to the Public Security Bureau to see how Li Chunxia's case was handled.
"Comrade from the Public Security Bureau." He Chengze said, "I reported the case of a child being switched last time."
The public security officer glanced at him and slapped his head: "Oh, I remember now, it's you."
He had a deep impression of He Chengze, mainly because He Chengze, just standing there, looked like a sword about to be unsheathed, and it was hard not to notice him.
The public security officer glanced at him again and asked, "Are you a soldier?"
He Chengze raised his eyebrows: "Did you figure it out?"
He's clearly not wearing a military uniform today.
The public security officer was amused: "Look at the way you stand. You have at least fifteen years of military service. How could I not see that?"
He continued, "Let's get down to business. You want to know how the Li Chunxia incident went?"
He Chengze nodded.
The police officer said, "The evidence is irrefutable, and Li Chunxia confessed on the spot, so the verdict came down very quickly. According to the higher-ups, she will be sentenced to at least five years in prison."
He then asked, "Do you want to go see her?"
"Sorry to trouble you." He Chengze said.
With a "clang", the iron gate opened.
Li Chunxia sat on a stool with her hands handcuffed tightly.
When she saw that the person coming was He Chengze, her face changed: "Why is it you?"
He Chengze said calmly: "Who do you think it is?"
Li Chunxia ignored him and looked at the prison guard: "Where is my husband? Why didn't he come to see me? And my son, where are they?"
The prison guard stood straight and ignored her.
Li Chunxia continued to yell frantically: "Find my man, go quickly, please!"
No one paid any attention to her. The prison guard frowned and said, "If you make any more noise, your visit will end immediately."
Li Chunxia remained silent. During the time she was detained, He Chengze was the first person to visit her.
No matter who this person was, she didn't want the visiting hours to end so soon and be locked up back in that dark cell.
He Chengze looked into her eyes calmly: "There is something I have always wanted to ask you."
Li Chunxia said in a hoarse voice: "You say."
"We are both parents. How could you be so cruel as to do such a thing?" He Chengze asked, "Do you think your son will be grateful to you?"
He has been thinking about this matter over and over again during this period of time.
Li Chunxia said that she switched the two children because she wanted her son to live a better life.
However, there will always be families with better conditions than our own.
When will this exchange end?
As a father himself, He Chengze can better understand the feelings of a father. No matter what, he will not send his son to be raised by a family with better conditions.
Li Chunxia sneered: "Someone like you who was born with a silver spoon in your mouth, what can you understand?"
She said, "My son has been a farmer herder all his life in our family. But it will be different if he follows you. You will send him to school. Even if he can't study, you can still find him a good job. That's enough."
He Chengze: "Why do you think your son would like this kind of life?"
Li Chunxia asked in surprise, "Being successful, isn't this kind of life good enough?"
He Chengze gave Li Chunxia a final, deep look before he stood up and left.
He finally understood that although he and Li Chunxia had the same parents, they were definitely not the same kind of people.
He doesn't want his son to have any extraordinary achievements, he just wants him to be happy and healthy all his life. This is the biggest difference between them.
When they got home, Jiang Xueyi couldn't wait to ask him, "What happened?"
She knew that He Chengze was going to the Public Security Bureau today.
He Chengze: "The lawsuit is still going through the legal process, but the police told me that Li Chunxia will be sentenced to at least five years in prison."
Jiang Xueyi nodded. The sentence was not too lenient for her.
He Chengze added, "There's one more thing." He paused, "I heard from the police that Li Chunxia's husband has filed for divorce."
Jiang Xueyi widened her eyes slightly.
The divorce rate in this era is not as high as it is today. People these days would not choose to divorce, whether for the sake of face or for some other reason.
Divorced people can be drowned in spit.
So basically, as long as they can't live together anymore, they won't get divorced.
How does the saying go? People in the 1970s only had widowhood, not divorce. Although it is a bit extreme, it is also very appropriate.
It can also be seen how determined Li Chunxia's husband is.
Jiang Xueyi: "Why?"
He Chengze: "I don't know. The public security comrades didn't say, but I guess Li Chunxia's husband probably thought she was unfit to be a mother, so he filed for divorce."
After hearing this, Jiang Xueyi felt nothing in her heart.
No matter what punishment Li Chunxia received, she deserved it.
Li Chunxia's husband is still in his prime and will soon marry a new wife.
Her son will not be grateful to her. When he grows up, he will only know that his mother once tried to switch him with a child from a well-off family, but failed.
I don’t know whether he will resent Li Chunxia.
Whether he resented Li Chunxia, his biological mother, for trying to switch him, or resented Li Chunxia for failing to switch him, it would be difficult for him to have any contact with Li Chunxia again.
Jiang Xueyi took out a blue cloth swaddling cloth and a set of baby clothes made of homespun cloth from the room. These were the same clothes that Li Chunxia had put on the little boy when she switched the babies.
These clothes no longer have to exist.
Jiang Xueyi said, "Just throw it away."
He Chengze: "Okay."
If you want to entertain guests, you naturally have to clean the house.
Jiang Xueyi held the little bun in her arms and directed He Chengze to work: "Wipe the glass clean, yes, wipe a little to the left, no, no, wipe to the right."
He Chengze was being directed around in circles, feeling both angry and amused: "Why don't you come."
Jiang Xueyi blinked innocently: "I don't have any hands."
"Okay, okay." He Chengze said, "I'll do it."
He smiled as he watched Jiang Xueyi slacking off.
I finally finished cleaning the house.
He Chengze looked around the living room and said, "We're going to invite quite a few people. We'll have to put away the tables and chairs in the living room and borrow two large round tables. That should be enough space."
Jiang Xueyi held up three fingers: "Yes, three, two large round tables and one small round table."
Men sit at one table, women sit at another, and children sit at another.
"We women don't want to listen to the military and national affairs you men talk about, and you men also find the gossip we women talk about boring, so just sit at separate tables when the time comes." Jiang Xueyi said.
"What about the kids?" He Chengze asked, "Why are they sitting at a table alone?"
Children usually sit with adults.
"The children will not feel comfortable sitting at the same table with us. It's just right for them to play by themselves. There won't be any very young children coming at that time. The older children can take care of themselves. Even if there are young children, we can let the older children help look after them. We adults can just pay attention and keep an eye on them. Nothing will go wrong." Jiang Xueyi said.
"That's a good idea." He Chengze remembered that when he was a child, he also liked to play with other children and was not willing to be a follower of adults.
The next step is to arrange the menu.
The adults' menu has been decided. The main course is hot pot. The only thing is that the men's table will have more drinks and some side dishes. Anyway, in the end, they will always have a drinking contest, so hangover soup must be prepared.
The women at the table also had hot pot as the main course, and the drink was sour plum soup. Hot pot can easily cause internal heat and make you feel greasy, so it is just right to eat it with sour plum soup.
Jiang Xueyi had also thought about the table for the children.
Children may not necessarily like hot pot. Without an adult watching over them, they are bound to bump into the small hot pot on their table. It would be unpleasant if they got hurt.
Why not make something that kids will like, like French fries or tomato pasta?
Since I can't buy pasta, I'll make it into tomato meat sauce and some burgers...
Jiang Xueyi told He Chengze about her idea, and he also thought it was a good idea.
He Chengze smiled and said, "I'm afraid that by the time they finish eating, they won't want to leave."
On the day of the banquet, Jiang Xueyi and He Chengze went to the vegetable market to buy vegetables early in the morning.
A total of five pounds of pork and three pounds of mutton were cut.
Pork tickets were easy to get, but mutton tickets were not so easy to get. He Chengze had to exchange them one by one with his Dai comrades.
In Dai legends, sheep once saved their ancestors from danger, so sheep are regarded as sacred animals. Dai people rarely eat sheep, and even if they get mutton tickets, they will exchange them.
I bought fresh seafood, including prawns, clams, octopus, scallops, fish...
Vegetarian dishes include Chinese cabbage, enoki mushrooms, bean curd, shiitake mushrooms, baby cabbage, lettuce, potatoes...
The two of them went home with their four hands full.
In the middle, we also went to the supply and marketing cooperative and weighed some drinks. We also bought a lot of Beibingyang soda that the children liked to drink.
After returning home, the two of them started to work separately.
He Chengze was responsible for making the soup base with large pork ribs and also added some kelp to enhance the flavor.
While cooking the soup base, make the sour plum soup at the same time.
Sour plum soup is made by cooking sour plums and hawthorns bought from a herbal medicine store. The soup is purple-red in color and looks mouth-watering.
Jiang Xueyi was also busy. She removed the scales, bones and thorns of a whole grass carp, leaving only the meat. She chopped it into pieces, mashed it into a paste, and then boiled it into fish balls the size of ping-pong balls.
Half of the fish balls are made solid, while the other half are stuffed with pork and shrimp to make stuffed fish balls.
In addition, horseshoe fish balls, mushroom balls, crab roe balls, and shrimp balls were also made. The small balls of various colors were crowded together, which looked pleasing to the eye.
At four o'clock in the afternoon, Liu Lu brought Zhao Xiaorui over.
As soon as she entered the door, she smelled the fragrance from the bottom of the pot and couldn't help but take a deep breath of the aroma: "Just by smelling this smell, I know that tonight's dish will be good."
"You're here." Jiang Xueyi came over and handed her and Zhao Xiaorui two cups, "Drink some water first."
Zhao Xiaorui took the cup, took a sip, and widened her eyes: "It's ginger tea."
She thought Jiang Xueyi would give them the lemonade that she had treated her to last time, but unexpectedly it was brown sugar ginger tea. The sweetness of brown sugar was mixed with the spiciness of ginger. After drinking it in one gulp, she felt warm from her hair to her heels, and the coldness in her body was dispelled.
Jiang Xueyi smiled and said, "If you want lemonade, we have it too. The teapot is right there, pour it yourself." She added, "I didn't know what you like to drink, so I made some extra."
Liu Lu took a look and saw three teapots on the coffee table. She opened the lids one by one and saw lemon mint water, brown sugar ginger tea, and sour plum soup.
There are several kinds of tea alone, which shows Jiang Xueyi's dedication.
Her heart warmed. It seemed that Jiang Xueyi really wanted to entertain guests like them.
More guests arrived, and Captain Qi and Fang Qin brought their son Qi Xiaohao with them.
The little boy is in the third grade this year. He is chubby and looks very cute.
As soon as he entered the door, he said crisply, "Uncle He, Aunt Jiang, hello."
He Chengze smiled and said, "Hello."
Qi Xiaohao handed over the gift he brought, two kilograms of apples.
He Chengze took it and touched his head: "Xiaohao is so good."
Qi Xiaohao couldn't help but blink when he saw the crib: "Little baby."
It was the first time that Qi Xiaohao saw such a small baby.
He couldn't help but pull Zhu Changchang, the son of Captain Zhu and Qian Man, to gather around the crib, sighing, "It's so small, so small. I don't even know if it's as big as my palm."
Fang Qin laughed: "It's definitely bigger than your palm, but I don't know if it's as big as your father's palm."
Zhu Changchang looked at the baby and couldn't help asking his mother, "Mom, did I look like this when I was a child?"
When Zhao Xiaorui heard Zhu Changchang asking the same question to her, she burst out laughing.
Zhu Changchang put his hands on his hips and said, "What are you laughing at? You must have looked like this when you were a child."
Qi Xiaohao asked, "Does he have a name?"
He Chengze smiled and said, "Yes, his full name is He An, and his nickname is Baozi."
Qi Xiaohao sucked his saliva and said, "Baozi, it sounds delicious."
The little Baozi is a little social cow. With so many people surrounding him, he is not afraid at all. Instead, he interacts with the older brothers and sisters around him with a smile on his face.
He stretched out his little hands, wanting to catch them.
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