"Su Tian, is that alright? Let's go."
Early the next morning, Ma Chunling came over and knocked on Su Tian's door.
"That's fine."
Su Tian opened the door and handed the snacks in her hand to Ma Chunling.
"Here, I brought this back from Beijing. Have a taste."
Su Tian stuffed the pastries into Ma Chunling's hands, and Ma Chunling took them and eagerly opened them.
She took out a piece, tasted it, and exclaimed, "Wow, it's delicious!"
I ate four or five pieces in a row before I stopped.
"The pastries in Beijing are really different, haha, thank you." Ma Chunling looked at Su Tian and said with a smile.
Suddenly, there was a commotion outside the courtyard.
"Come on, there are still forty minutes before class, let's go outside and take a look."
Ma Chunling's gossip-loving nature was immediately aroused, and she pulled Su Tian outside into the yard.
"Where is the water for washing hands and feet dirty? Tell me, it's so noisy and disruptive early in the morning."
It turned out to be Granny Song from next door to the educated youth settlement who was cursing. She was standing with her hands on her hips, looking at her daughter-in-law in front of her.
Her daughter-in-law, though looking aggrieved, retorted defiantly, "This water is dirty. It's easy to get sick if you don't pay attention to hygiene. Everyone is advocating for good hygiene these days."
"You're really nitpicking. When I used to cook rice without washing it, you said, 'This rice is so clean and white, why do you need to wash it?'"
And the vegetables too, I washed them clean in the river and just cooked them directly, but you said I didn't wash them before cooking.
Now that I've washed everything, you're finding fault again. Are you trying to kick this old woman out so you can run the household yourself?
"I didn't. Washing rice and vegetables are very normal things. Why don't you wash them?"
"You don't need to fetch the water; Dahua will fetch it for you."
"Hmph, people in town are just pampered. We've always lived like this, there's no need for so many fuss." Granny Song's voice grew even sharper.
"Okay, Mom, what's all the arguing about? What's there to argue about?"
"You really are something, using water from washing your hands and feet to cook rice," Song Dahua complained.
A crowd of villagers had gathered around, some whispering among themselves, others chuckling and watching the spectacle unfold.
Ma Chunling couldn't help but mutter under her breath, "That old woman Song is so filthy. She uses her foot-washing water to cook rice. I feel like throwing up. Her daughter-in-law is right." Su Tian gently tugged at her, signaling her to be quiet.
“I’m going to make a fuss. I’ve been eating like this for decades, how come I haven’t gotten sick?”
You've only been married to her for a month, and you're already siding with her and looking down on your old mother, right?
Oh dear, old man, your son doesn't want your wife anymore. Remember to come up tonight in the middle of the night and settle the score with him.
This son is unfilial; you'll have to discipline him.
When Song Pozi's daughter-in-law saw this, she remained silent.
Song Dahua quickly pulled his wife into the house, knowing that his elderly mother would continue to grumble incessantly if things continued this way.
After seeing that there was nothing more to see, everyone hurried to the drying ground to wait for work.
When Granny Song saw that everyone around her had dispersed, she stopped too.
Oh dear, she hasn't finished her performance yet, why have they all left?
Su Tian and Ma Chunling walked to school laughing together. "Hey, did you have fun in Beijing?"
Ma Chunling, holding Su Tian's hand, asked happily.
"That's funny. Didn't you start dating someone from Beijing? When are you two going to meet their parents?"
Ma Chunling glanced shyly at Su Tian, "I don't know yet. If there's a family visit leave during the Spring Festival, I'll probably go."
"Haha, still shy? Haven't you two been dating for a month or two? Has he mentioned when you're going to get married?"
"Yes, he wants to get married at the end of the month, but I think it's too fast, so I haven't agreed yet."
"That's true, let's wait until things stabilize before making a decision."
Su Tian said with a smile, and she quickly walked into the school with Ma Chunling in her hand.
On the drying ground, everyone was waiting for the team leader to assign tasks.
"Hey, have you had breakfast today?" Aunt Li asked Ma Dazui, who was standing next to her.
"You've eaten, so what? What's the point of coming to work if you don't eat?"
Seeing the hidden meaning in Aunt Li's words, Ma Dazui nudged her shoulder, "What's wrong? Why are you asking me these things out of the blue?"
Do you cook and wash rice?
"Go ahead and wash, aren't you going to wash?"
Ma Dazui retorted, "Really? You cook without washing the rice or vegetables?"
People nearby gathered around when they heard this.
"How could that be? It's because other people don't wash, but her daughter-in-law makes her wash, so she uses the water she uses to wash her hands and feet."
Aunt Li spoke mysteriously, and when Ma Dazui heard this, the sunflower seeds in his mouth no longer tasted good.
He spat it out repeatedly, "Who are you calling a jerk? Who's so despicable?"
Aunt Li looked around and realized that she had become the center of attention. Then she noticed that Granny Song hadn't come.
So she quietly recounted what she had just seen at her doorstep.
"This is too much for Dahua, who has been eating rice and vegetables that have never been washed since he was a child."
Did her daughter-in-law also eat rice and vegetables cooked with water used for washing feet for a month?
Aunt Li looked at Ma Dazui and said, "That's right. We've been eating this for a month, and it's not like we're without water. Why are we being so frugal?"
"Weren't there droughts before? You're used to it, aren't you?" Ma Dazui said, pursing his lips.
Just then, the battalion commander arrived.
He cleared his throat. "Is everyone here? We're going to dig sweet potatoes today."
“Not all of them are here yet; Old Man Song and his family haven’t arrived.” One of the villagers replied.
"What are they doing? Why haven't they all arrived yet?"
"Their daughter-in-law is making a fuss about dividing the family property, and the sisters-in-law are fighting at home."
"What's all this noise so early in the morning? Everyone's about to go to work, isn't this just delaying things?"
You all go to work first, I'll go check on things and then I'll be right back.
After the brigade leader gave instructions to everyone, the squad leader led the villagers to the sweet potato field.
When they arrived at Old Man Song's house, the two women were arguing fiercely.
"We must split up the family today. My older brother and his family are bullying us too much," He Fang said angrily.
"If you're going to split up, then split up yourselves. I'm not going to split up."
"It will definitely be assigned to you. There are five people in your family, including three children."
The work points earned each day are so few, not even enough to feed the chickens.
I still have to do laundry and cook after work. I don't care; if you don't separate us, I'll get a divorce.
"Uncle, the eldest son's family is lazy. Why don't you separate them out? They're always making a fuss."
The captain looked at Old Man Song and said, "Why bother? If you eat your own food, you'll become more diligent."
Old Man Song thought for a while, looked at the eldest son's family, and then at the second son's family, before saying, "Alright, let's divide it now."
He wanted to live a few more years, so he glanced at his wife beside him and asked, "Don't you have anything to say?"
"What's there to say? Let's split up then. This boss is used to being lazy, and we can't control him."
"Well, since there's no problem, I'll ask the clan chief to come and help you divide the family this afternoon."
You all go to work now, I'm going to the fields first.
After the captain finished speaking, he turned around and left, and the farce that started early in the morning came to an end.
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