Chapter 85 Borrowing a Blanket
As the weather gets colder, people are eating more winter bamboo shoots.
Taking advantage of the remaining amount of bean products she had, Lin Qingqing bought half a piece of dried bean curd and stir-fried it with shredded winter bamboo shoots, green peppers, and carrots. This dish is formally called stir-fried winter bamboo shoots with three kinds of shredded vegetables. Because it is a home-style dish, it is not bound by formalities. Some people also add shredded meat, wood ear mushrooms, etc.
Besides the stir-fried bamboo shoots with shredded vegetables, there was also a vegetable soup and sliced braised pork heart on the table. The vegetable soup contained mushrooms and bamboo shoots, and had a sweet and savory flavor. Because the pork heart was braised, there was no fishy taste at all, and it was tender and flavorful.
Towards the end of the month, their meat rations became tight. Lin Qingqing thought she would have a good meal tomorrow, so today's meal consisted of dishes that didn't require ration coupons, except for dried tofu.
While eating, Lin Qingqing mentioned the three-day break to Xie Wei, who asked in surprise, "Why such a long break?"
“I worked for twenty days straight before,” Lin Qingqing said, then talked to Xie Wei about the reform of the supply and marketing cooperative’s rest system.
Xie Wei nodded and said, "That's not bad."
“But I can’t keep going to work like this all the time,” Lin Qingqing said. She had been working for twenty consecutive days and was busy until eight o’clock every day before returning home. She was exhausted both physically and mentally.
"Thank you for your hard work," Xie Wei said.
Lin Qingqing shook her head: "Actually, it's not too bad. As long as things go smoothly at work, everything will be fine."
Xie Wei remembered that she had been extremely busy lately mainly because of the matter of who would take over the Xingfeng counter, so he asked, "Who did you finally decide to take over the Xingfeng counter?"
"She's a new girl we just hired," Lin Qingqing said.
The supply and marketing cooperative hired two people this time. Since it was a public recruitment drive, both new hires will graduate from high school next summer. It's quite normal in this era for high school students to give up their last six months of study to work.
At that time, although job placement was guaranteed, it was only for vocational school or university graduates. Very few high school students had the opportunity to go to university. If they didn't go to university, they either had connections at home that could quickly arrange jobs for them, or they had to take over their parents' jobs, or they had to go to the countryside as educated youth.
Life in the countryside is tough, and the lessons learned from the blood and tears of their predecessors have taught them that once they go there, it's not easy to come back.
Therefore, given the opportunity to work, no one would choose to continue their studies and wait for one or two schooling opportunities that are like winning the lottery.
Therefore, hundreds of people took the exam for this supply and marketing cooperative recruitment, and the top ten were selected for interviews. After the interviews, Lin Qingqing and Director Gao discussed the matter and finalized the selection.
Having passed numerous rigorous selection processes, the two new girls were quite capable in terms of communication, responsiveness, and aesthetic sense. They were also very ambitious; even after learning that their training was nearing its end, they didn't hesitate to take the exam after joining the supply and marketing cooperative.
Originally, no one in the store had high hopes for the two of them, but in the end, they came from behind and won the assessment. In the end, Su Rong, who performed better, became a sales clerk at Xingfeng counter.
Since he was a newcomer, Xie Wei didn't know who Su Rong was, and he didn't ask any further questions, since he didn't know her anyway.
It was already late after dinner, and the two of them, feeling rather cold, didn't want to sit around doing nothing, so they washed up and went to bed early. After getting into bed, Lin Qingqing remembered that the postman had delivered two letters that day, saying, "There was mail from home today."
"What did you say?"
"I haven't had a chance to read it yet." The letter arrived in the late afternoon. She was tidying up the house at the time, so she put the letter in the drawer and went back to work. As she spoke, Lin Qingqing reached into her desk and found two letters. She handed the letter from home to Xie Wei, and then opened the letter from Li Juan herself.
After exchanging photos with Lin Qingqing and her husband, Li Juan and Wu Haiyuan started chatting amongst themselves. Li Juan's letter was mainly about this matter.
When she asked Lin Qingqing to introduce her to someone before, she was very bold and spoke very openly with Wu Haiyuan. But when it was almost Chinese New Year and Wu Haiyuan wrote to her saying that he could go back home for a while during the holiday and expressed his intention to meet her, Li Juan was a little undecided and wanted to ask Lin Qingqing for her opinion.
Besides this, Li Juan also mentioned that Wang Fengxia was getting married soon. Her fiancé was from the next brigade and also worked at a garment factory. His family was well-off, and he was an only child, so they were willing to pay a large dowry for his wedding, and Wang Fengxia didn't need to bring him home.
Lin Qingqing was somewhat surprised to see this, because Wang Fengxia and Chen Zhiqing had only broken up a few months ago, yet they were getting married so soon.
After reading the letter, Lin Qingqing didn't rush to reply. Anyway, she had the day off tomorrow, and replying in the morning would be the same. She put down the letter and asked Xie Wei, "What did the letter from home say?"
"My second sister-in-law is pregnant," Xie Wei said.
Lin Qingqing looked surprised: "When did this happen?"
Xie Wei thought for a moment and said, "It was diagnosed a week before I wrote the letter. It had been two months then, so it's been about ten weeks now."
"This is great news! Mother must be overjoyed!" Although some large cities had already implemented family planning at this time, it was not as strict in smaller cities.
"Yes," Xie Wei nodded, but there was no smile on his face.
Lin Qingqing noticed his expression was off and asked, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing," Xie Wei said, shaking his head.
Lin Qingqing didn't believe it. She reached out and took the letter, quickly glancing at it. The first half of the letter didn't contain anything special, just a description of the family's recent situation and Xu Lina's pregnancy. The last part tentatively asked Lin Qingqing if there was any news about her pregnancy.
Lin Qingqing chuckled after reading it: "You think I'd be angry if I saw this?"
"I'm always in a bad mood." Xie Wei reluctantly took the letter.
"Do you really think I'm such a petty person?" Lin Qingqing raised an eyebrow.
Of course, her open-mindedness stemmed from the fact that Li Xingfang hadn't said anything in the letter, only asking a couple of questions, which she didn't consider unreasonable. It had been almost half a year since she and Xie Wei got married, and they hadn't used contraception. Lin Qingqing hadn't thought about this before, but the letter from home reminded her. Leaning against Xie Wei, she asked, "You know, we haven't heard anything since we got married. Could there really be a problem?"
"What's the problem?" Xie Wei asked, frowning. "Some couples get pregnant after two or three years of marriage. We've been married for less than six months, so it's normal not to have a child yet. Besides, it depends on fate. Maybe it's just that our time hasn't come yet."
"What if it still hasn't happened in two years?" Lin Qingqing asked again.
Hearing her question, Xie Wei immediately recalled what she had said about Deputy Battalion Commander Zhao, and said, "Then we need to go to the hospital first to see whose problem it is."
"What if it's my fault?" Lin Qingqing asked.
Although he knew it was a dangerous question, and that a wrong answer could cause conflict between the couple, and even though he could guess the correct answer and knew he should blurt it out, Xie Wei still fell into thought.
Xie Wei knows that many people get married with the clear purpose of procreation, so they marry when they reach a certain age and find a suitable partner. But the marriage he envisions is not just about having children, so he has always refused blind dates.
He knew that such thoughts were too sentimental and naive, and that others wouldn't agree with him but would only laugh if he said them out loud. Therefore, he never told anyone, only thinking that perhaps one day he would finally bow to reality and choose to compromise. But before that, he met Lin Qingqing.
Therefore, he no longer needs to make multiple-choice questions.
But now, another choice has been placed before him.
Love or children?
Xie Wei certainly looked forward to having children. After getting married, he would sometimes talk to people about what his children would be like.
He hoped for a daughter, like his niece Xie Mei, sweet and obedient, someone who would be utterly lovable. Or perhaps like her mother, but certainly not as hard-working as her mother's childhood; his daughter should grow up pampered and spoiled.
Of course, it could also be a boy who hopes not to be like him—too mature, but not too naughty either, otherwise he might not be able to be a loving father.
But now, Xie Wei has erased the image of his child from his future life.
It's a bit of a regret, but not that painful. But what if it was Lin Qingqing who was wiped away, and a strange woman was replaced instead?
Xie Wei had found the answer in his heart.
During the long silence, Lin Qingqing began to regret her actions.
She knew that it was better to be a little oblivious, because the more you investigated, the more likely you were to get hurt. But people are always sentimental, always wanting to be the only one, so even though they knew they shouldn't ask certain questions, they still insisted on asking them anyway, obsessively and inappropriately.
She gave a wry smile and said, "Fine..."
"I will not leave you."
Lin Qingqing and Xie Wei's voices rang out at the same time, but one of them froze after opening his mouth, while the other finished speaking.
Xie Wei frowned: "What do you mean?"
Lin Qingqing didn't answer. Instead, she sat up and stared at Xie Wei, asking, "Are you serious?"
"Seriously, I just imagined what would happen if you weren't in the future, but a strange woman instead." Xie Wei hissed as he spoke, because Lin Qingqing was pinching his hand hard, her eyes filled with murderous intent. So even though it didn't hurt, he pretended to be in pain.
Lin Qingqing quickly let go of his hand: "Does it hurt a lot?"
"It hurts a little." Xie Wei chuckled, then finished his sentence, "Just thinking about that scene makes me feel breathless and uncomfortable."
Lin Qingqing glanced at him sideways and said sternly, "Don't daydream anymore."
"Yes, sir!" Xie Wei saluted and pulled Lin Qingqing into his arms, saying, "But if we don't have children, although it's a bit of a regret, it won't be too painful. Of course, if you'd like, we can also adopt a child."
Lin Qingqing asked, "So you've been silent for so long because you've been thinking?"
"What do you think I'm thinking?" Xie Wei asked in a low voice.
"Who knows? Maybe he's thinking about how to coax me, or how to get rid of me?" Lin Qingqing said, half-jokingly.
Xie Wei fell into thought again: "In your heart, am I really that heartless?"
"Of course not, you're a really good person in my heart," Lin Qingqing said exaggeratedly.
Men's reproductive desires are always stronger than women's. Among the people Lin Qingqing met in her previous life, couples where the man couldn't have children often lived peacefully together, but women who couldn't have children were more likely to be abandoned than to have harmonious marriages. Even if the man couldn't accept it, his parents-in-law often wouldn't agree, just like Lin Ying and his wife.
Of course, Lin Qingqing didn't sympathize with Lin Ying, but talking about this issue inevitably reminded her of the Lin family.
Seeing her suddenly fall silent, Xie Wei asked, "What's wrong?"
Lin Qingqing shook her head and said, "It's nothing, I just thought of the Lin family."
The thought that Lin Ying couldn't have children, which was why she forced Lin Qingqing to bear her child, suddenly explained Lin Qingqing's unease. Xie Wei hugged her and said, "I won't treat you the way that Zhao treated Lin Ying." He said "Zhao" because he had forgotten Lin Ying's husband's name.
Lin Qingqing was taken aback at first, then realized what she meant and chuckled, saying, "We're just hypothetical." Then she straightened her face and said, "Even if we really don't have children, the problem is definitely yours, not mine."
In the original story, the original owner of this body had three children, although they were all ungrateful wretches.
Xie Wei: "..."
Xie Wei felt his male pride was being severely challenged, so he rolled over and pinned Lin Qingqing beneath him: "It seems I'll have to work even harder to dispel your suspicions about me."
...
The consequence of her one night of debauchery was that the next day, Lin Qingqing not only had a sore back and aching neck, but also felt dizzy and had a stuffy nose, as if it were the prelude to a cold. So she ate breakfast in bed.
After finishing their meal, Xie Wei patted Lin Qingqing's head and said, "Why don't we go to the clinic to get checked out?"
"I'll take a nap. If I'm not feeling well when I wake up, I'll go again," Lin Qingqing said weakly, giving Xie Wei a reproachful look.
Xie Wei touched his nose and awkwardly tucked the blanket around his wife: "Then you go to sleep first. If you feel unwell when you wake up, just let me know."
Lin Qingqing hummed in agreement, closed her eyes, and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
Although Lin Qingqing said she would go to the clinic after she woke up, Xie Wei still went out to the clinic after she fell asleep and bought a box of cold medicine. After leaving the clinic, Xie Wei didn't go straight home, but instead went to Jiang Feng's house.
Jiang Feng was off today too. Seeing that he was alone, he asked, "Why are you alone? Where's your sister-in-law? Hey, what are you holding?"
"Cold medicine."
Shen Yufen happened to come out of the kitchen and asked, "Who has a cold?"
"Qingqing was a little dizzy and had a stuffy nose. I was afraid she was catching a cold, so I went to the clinic to get a box of medicine."
Shen Yufen sat down and asked, "Didn't you go to the clinic?"
Xie Wei explained, "She said she wanted to take a nap first, and if she still felt unwell after waking up, she would go."
Jiang Feng found it strange: "Then why aren't you at home taking care of your wife? Why did you come to my house?" He knew Xie Wei was worried about his wife, and he felt that Xie Wei's behavior was unusual.
Shen Yufen misunderstood Jiang Feng's meaning, slapped him, and said, "How can you talk like that?"
Jiang Feng: "..."
Xie Wei didn't hide anything and asked directly, "Do you have any extra blankets at home?"
"What? Don't you have enough blankets?" Jiang Feng asked casually.
Shen Yufen slapped him again and said with a smile, "There are extras at home. I'll get them for you if you want."
"The blanket I brought from home last summer was a bit small because I didn't think it through at the time," Xie Wei replied to Jiang Feng first, then asked, "Do you have a bigger one?"
Hearing this, and recalling Lin Qingqing's cold, Jiang Feng said in disbelief, "Brother, are you serious? You're such a grown man, why are you taking your wife's blanket?"
Shen Yufen was too lazy to even pat Jiang Feng anymore. She glanced at him and said, "How dare you talk about others like that?" They still slept in separate beds, but every time, Jiang Feng would end up crawling into her bed and taking her blanket. If she weren't prone to waking up at night, she might have caught a cold.
Seeing Jiang Feng being humiliated by his wife, Xie Wei found him much more agreeable. He looked up at Shen Yufen and smiled slightly, "Thank you, sister-in-law."
Shen Yufen went into the room to find a quilt, and soon brought one out. She asked Jiang Feng to open the vase on the coffee table, and said to Xie Wei, "This is a quilt I made when I got married. It's a bit old, but I haven't used it many times, so it's still very thick. Feel it and try it out."
Xie Wei felt the thickness; it was even thicker than the quilt they had brought. He then asked, "How big is this?"
"Is 1.8 meters wide enough for you?" Shen Yufen asked.
“That’s not enough, and there’s no bigger one,” Jiang Feng said.
The one at home is 1.5 meters tall, which is a bit cramped for two people, but a 1.8-meter one would definitely be enough. Xie Wei nodded and said, "It's enough."
Shen Yufen took out another quilt cover and said, "If your quilts are too small, you probably won't have enough quilt covers. You can use this one for now."
"Thank you, sister-in-law," Xie Wei said.
"Don't say thank you, or he'll say you're being too formal with him," Shen Yufen said with a smile.
He laughed and said, "My wife understands me best."
Xie Wei was still thinking about Lin Qingqing, so he went back after borrowing the blanket. When he saw him off, he said, "If your sister-in-law isn't feeling well, don't cook lunch. I'll have your sister-in-law prepare a couple more dishes, and you can all come and eat together."
"I'll go back and ask her opinion," Xie Wei said.
He nodded: "Okay, then you should go back now."
...
When Lin Qingqing woke up, she found herself feeling very heavy and covered in sweat. However, her mind was much clearer, and her body aches were not as much.
She rolled over and leaned against the headboard, only then noticing the extra blankets and quilts covering her. Just as she was wondering what was going on, Xie Wei came in and asked, "Awake? How are you feeling? Still dizzy?"
"I'm not dizzy anymore." Lin Qingqing shook her head, pointing to the cotton wadding on the blanket and asking, "Where did this come from?"
“I borrowed it from the couple,” Xie Wei said, pointing to the duvet cover on the desk. “They also gave me another duvet cover, but I didn’t put it on because I was afraid of waking you up.”
Lin Qingqing was stunned: "Why did you ask them to borrow a blanket? Do they have enough blankets?"
“It’s unnecessary to say,” Xie Wei explained. “Don’t you always feel cold? Last night you even… cough, you caught a cold. I was thinking of borrowing a bigger blanket.”
"..." Lin Qingqing then realized that Xie Wei was actually like this!
Seeing Lin Qingqing's shocked gaze, Xie Wei explained, "This way we won't have to sleep so cramped. When it gets colder, you can share two beds and stay warm."
"I understand," Lin Qingqing nodded, but was more concerned about another matter, "What did you tell them?"
"I told them that the blanket was brought over in the summer, and I hadn't thought it through at the time; it's too small to cover you properly." Xie Wei then remembered something and said, "Oh, right, I told them that if you feel unwell when you get up, we should go to their house for lunch."
Lin Qingqing felt bad about troubling them too much and said, "I'm all better now, get up and cook."
Xie Wei noticed her flushed face, reached out and touched her forehead, feeling that her temperature was even higher. He asked, "Are you sure? I feel like your fever is getting higher. Maybe we should go to the clinic this afternoon."
"Of course I'm hot with such a thick blanket over me, and I'm all sweaty!" Lin Qingqing said irritably, then sniffed.
Xie Wei was speechless, then, seeing her sniffle, he said, "Your nose is still blocked."
"It's just a little thing. I'll drink more hot water these next couple of days, and I'll definitely get better soon," Lin Qingqing said. She didn't want to go to the hospital for a minor cold.
Seeing her insistence, Xie Wei had no choice but to say, "I went to the clinic to get you some medicine. Remember to take it these next couple of days." He got up, went out to pour a cup of hot water, and came back in with the medicine, saying, "Perfect timing. Take one pill before lunch."
Lin Qingqing: "...Why did you go to the clinic to get medicine?"
"Because I guessed you didn't want to go to the clinic," Xie Wei asked. "Should you eat by yourself or should I feed you?"
Lin Qingqing didn't want to take the medicine, but seeing Xie Wei's attitude, she knew she had no choice but to take it, so she resigned herself to it and said, "I'll take it myself."
Xie Wei smiled and handed her the medicine.
Lin Qingqing took out two capsules, put them in her mouth, and then drank water to swallow the pills.
...
Lin Qingqing ultimately failed to cook the meal because Shen Yufen guessed they might feel embarrassed and specially asked them to come and invite people in advance.
Since they were personally invited, Lin Qingqing and Xie Wei couldn't refuse, so they took the pork belly they had bought to the Jiang family's house.
When they arrived at the Jiang family's house, Shen Yufen was cooking in the kitchen. Hearing the noise, she came out and said to Lin Qingqing, "Commander Shen said you were sick. How are you feeling now?"
"I sweated a lot while sleeping, and I feel much better," Lin Qingqing said.
"That's good." Shen Yufen nodded, and when she saw the pork belly that Lin Qingqing was carrying, which she said was for an extra meal, she quickly said, "It's enough that you came, why did you bring any vegetables! Besides, we have enough vegetables at home, we can't finish any more." She told them to take the meat back.
"Are you worried they won't be able to finish the meat?" Lin Qingqing said with a smile.
Xie Wei said, "With me here, we can definitely finish it."
Seeing their reaction, Shen Yufen and her husband stopped insisting. They took the pork belly and carried it to the kitchen, then said to Lin Qingqing, who had followed them in, "You can go out and rest. I'll cook."
"I feel much better," Lin Qingqing said, bringing up Jiang Feng. "Brother Jiang, didn't you want to eat my braised pork?"
“Being much better means you’re not fully recovered. We only invited you over for dinner because you were sick, so how could we let you do the cooking?” Shen Yufen insisted. “Besides, there are plenty of dishes he likes to eat. He won’t go crazy if he misses one meal.”
Lin Qingqing was both amused and exasperated. She then offered a compromise: "How about this, I'll tell you how to make it, and I'll watch you do it here?" Fearing that Shen Yufen might disagree, she added, "It's warmer in the kitchen with a charcoal fire burning than outside."
Shen Yufen thought that she had a cold and was afraid of the cold, and also thought that her idea was feasible, so she said, "You can't do it."
Lin Qingqing was both amused and exasperated, and raised her hand to swear: "I promise I'll only talk the talk, not walk the walk."
Seeing her swear, Shen Yufen finally relented and stopped insisting that she leave.
Lin Qingqing kept her word. While Shen Yufen was cooking, she stood by with her arms crossed, watching and only giving instructions without lifting a finger. Jiang Feng, seeing Lin Qingqing in the kitchen, assumed she was helping out and came over to ask what she was doing. He then told her to go outside and sit for a while.
Shen Yufen said irritably, "Isn't it because you always say you want to eat your sister-in-law's braised pork?"
Jiang Feng was scolded by his wife and said awkwardly, "I was just joking. Actually, it doesn't matter whether we eat or not, and we don't have to do it today."
Lin Qingqing explained, "Actually, I was just saying it. My sister-in-law does all the work, and it's warm in the kitchen." She then asked Jiang Feng to go outside and sit down.
Jiang Feng didn't go out immediately, but looked at his wife.
Shen Yufen couldn't help but laugh at his appearance and said, "You can go out now. My sister-in-law and I can handle things in the kitchen."
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