Qin Xiaozhou ran to the kitchen, grabbed the fire tongs, picked up the clothes, and threw them in the yard. Then she went back to the kitchen, pulled out a burning piece of firewood from the stove, and threw it on the clothes. In this dry and sweltering weather, the flames leaped up, startling everyone in the house, who all ran out.
Wang Lan was anxious. "What's going on? Who burns clothes of a living person? Don't they have any taboos?" She pushed Qin Xiaozhou away and waved away the rising sparks. "Quickly hide in the kitchen. How can a young woman like you do something like burning clothes?"
I had just heard the commotion next door when I saw Qin Xiaozhou burning clothes in the yard. How could I not be frightened?
Inside the room, Jingming was sobbing, which woke up the two children, who then started crying too. Zhao Fang handed Xiao Si to Lu Yu and ran into the room to comfort the two wailing children while also keeping an eye on Jingming.
Jingming's clothes were loose, exposing most of his body. There were red spots on his body, which looked like flea bites. Because of the hot weather and the fact that he was breastfeeding indoors, this was common for breastfeeding women in the countryside. Zhao Fang was not surprised. "What happened? Don't cry. My daughter-in-law is not a bad person. Talk to her nicely, and she will understand. But breastfeeding two children is hard work."
Jingming seemed to have found his pillar of support. "Big sister, the shopkeeper wants me to cut my hair, and he's going to burn it!"
In this day and age, no woman cuts her hair; that's considered unfilial. She thought that Zhao Fang was Qin Xiaozhou's mother-in-law and would definitely be able to keep Qin Xiaozhou in check. What daughter-in-law isn't afraid of her mother-in-law?
Zhao Fang had been seeing clean, fragrant, and soft young ladies for the past few months, and she had also started to pay attention to hygiene, often taking baths and styling her hair. She was no longer the withered and sallow woman she had been six months ago. Now, smelling the room and seeing her matted hair, she agreed with Qin Xiaozhou even more.
"Girl, you should take good care of yourself. Even though you're in your postpartum period, you can't do this. If lice and fleas get on the baby, it will be even more painful."
Jingming was stunned again, unable to understand why this family was like this.
After Qin Xiaozhou finished burning the clothes, she came in and handed the scissors to Jingming. "Cut your hair. Use a fine-toothed comb to comb your hair properly. You'll be out of confinement by the time you finish your medicine. Wash yourself up and get yourself clean. Then I'll take care of the baby for you."
Zhao Fang took the two children away. Seeing that she hadn't gotten what she wanted, Li Fengxian started cursing in the yard, completely losing her previous tact. "Wang Lan, now that you're successful, you can't just abandon your brother! He's been so good to you! And all your nephews call you 'Grandma' when they see you. Your granddaughter-in-law can support her own sister, so why don't you find some jobs for your nephews too? They'll remember your kindness!"
The sun had just set, and the fields and roads were full of people. In the field in front of the Lu family's house, there were three or five women weeding. They had overheard the gossip and were quietly peeking at each other by the roadside. Wang Lan felt embarrassed and quickly pulled Li Fengxian aside. "I'm just an old woman. How would I know about making money? If you keep doing this, you'll only make Xiaozhou angry. You'd better go back quickly and let the children work harder. We all grew up together in the village. Dayun knows who can do the work."
Li Fengxian rolled up her sleeves, put her hands on her hips, and was about to start a fight. Qin Xiaozhou also put her hands on her hips, looking fierce, and shouted with her neck stiff, "What are you doing? Want to fight? Come on!"
This is so annoying! The baby is crying, the wet nurse is crying, and now this other one is making a scene. Qin Xiaozhou is looking for a place to vent her anger!
Wang Lan was afraid of a fight, so she quickly saw Li Fengxian off and brought hot water into the house for Jingming to wash up. She also brought two sets of Zhao Fang's old clothes for her to change into. "Don't blame my granddaughter-in-law. She's a kind-hearted person. You can't go wrong by listening to her. Even though she hasn't had children yet, she knows a lot. Cutting your hair is nothing. I cut a lot of my hair in February, and now I don't have as much gray hair as before. I look more energetic. You're still young. Your hair will grow even better after you cut it."
In the evening, the family, except for Lu Yan, finally reunited and ate in the courtyard. Qin Xiaozhou brought up Lu Yunxing's schooling, and Lu Yunxing lowered his head and whispered, "Sister-in-law, I don't want to go to school anymore."
This surprised Lu Yunfeng. "Didn't you used to love reading and writing the most? Why don't you read anymore?"
Because of their ancestors' influence, the Lu family always believed that reading and writing were good things. If it weren't for the sudden accident a couple of years ago, Lu Yunxing would have been studying and taking exams all along.
Lu Yunxing still didn't look up or say anything.
Qin Xiaozhou asked, "Do you feel that the house is too busy and you can't leave anyone behind? Don't worry about that. The first batch of fruit in the orchard has already been harvested. We'll hire someone to pick the rest. It won't take much trouble. Uncle Dahe will take care of the chickens, ducks, and geese in the orchard. We'll also buy two dogs to guard the house. As for Grandma, Auntie will stay at home until she gets married. Jingming will also stay here so that we can take care of each other. You can focus on your studies."
Lu Yunfeng patted him and said, "Go and study hard. Someone can do all the chores at home. Only by studying can you do bigger things in the future."
After the meal, Wang Lan brought a large bowl of steamed egg custard and braised pork trotters with peanuts into the room for Jingming, saying, "Eat quickly, the herbal medicine is brewing, I'll bring it in for you when it's ready."
Jingming's hair had been cut short to ear length and combed. Now, with a headscarf wrapped around his head, he looked much more refreshed. He quickly got out of bed, saying, "How can I let Auntie bring me food? I'll go out myself..."
He paused, staring wide-eyed at the steamed egg custard and pig's trotter soup, his mouth watering. "This...this is for me?"
“You need to breastfeed two children, how can you do it without pig’s trotter soup to help with milk production?” Wang Lan placed the plate on the bed. Last month, all the beds were fitted with straw mats, so there was no fear of the plate tipping over.
Jingming grabbed a pig's trotter and started gnawing on it. Wang Lan didn't stop him. She waited until he had finished eating before handing him a wet towel. "Quickly wipe yourself clean. You need to be careful in the future. Don't make oil everywhere when you eat like you did just now. My granddaughter-in-law is very particular, especially when it comes to taking care of children. You can't use the old ways of the village women. As long as you listen to her and take good care of the baby, she will treat you well."
Jingming wiped her mouth and hands clean, nodded with a smile. She had never eaten pig's trotter soup with egg custard in her life, and she couldn't resist just now.
By this time, there was no light in the world, the moon had not yet risen, and the villagers who had eaten did not light lamps or fires. They sat in the dark in front of and behind their houses, chatting and gossiping. Some people would chat for a while and then leave their houses in the yard, while the houses became stuffy.
The Lu family members also went to the embroidery shed next door to cool off. The embroiderers had all gone home, and the empty space was perfect for cooling off. The little stream in the back room was flowing gently. It wasn't big, but it was very refreshing, although it attracted mosquitoes. Wang Lan burned mugwort under the embroidery shed to drive away the mosquitoes.
The two children were on a small, easy-to-move bamboo cot in the yard. The cot was covered with gauze to keep small flying insects away from disturbing the children. Jingming was inside the house with the window open, leaning against the wall looking at the yard. Suddenly, he sniffed, raised his hand to wipe his nose with his sleeve, then abruptly put it down. He took a special handkerchief and carefully wiped away his snot and tears. He then took a comb and carefully combed his hair, wrapping it neatly with a headscarf.
The old lady was right. Manager Qin was a good woman. She had five daughters. The first four died and were sold. The third daughter was treated like a beast of burden at home. The eleven or twelve-year-old girl was nothing but skin and bones and never had a full meal all year round. She wore her own clothes and altered them to fit her daughter. The daughter never wore a single piece of clothing without patches until she was twelve years old. But now, her youngest daughter was living a good life here. Even if it was just for her daughter, she was grateful to the Lu family and Manager Qin.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
