Chapter 33
"What's wrong? Are you angry?" Jiang Yao asked guiltily, looking at someone's face which was as red as the bottom of a pot.
Lu Che snorted coldly, turned his head to the side, and expressed his dissatisfaction with silence.
"..." Jiang Yao knew what he was angry about, but she felt that he shouldn't be angry. She quietly defended herself, "I'm not praising another man now. He's your brother-in-law. Don't you miss your brother-in-law?"
Hearing this, Lu Che turned his head back and asked in a sullen voice, "If one day my brother marries a sister-in-law, and I tell you that my sister-in-law is very beautiful, will you be happy?"
"..." Good fellow, he hit the nail on the head and left Lawyer Jiang speechless.
"Alright, I'm wrong about this, okay? Others laugh at my sister for finding an old man, I just want to express that my brother-in-law is not old." Jiang Yao pulled Lu Che's hand and said, "In my mind, you are the most handsome and well-built man in the world, no one can compare to you."
Jiang Yao's words sounded exaggerated, but Boss Lu felt relieved. She watched his frown relax, and when no one was around, she stood on tiptoes and gently kissed him on the face.
Lu Che was caught off guard by the kiss and was stunned at first. After he reacted, he couldn't suppress the smile on his face. "We are outside. It will be bad if we are seen. You can kiss me when we get home."
"..."It's obvious that he is taking advantage of others.
After a while, they returned to the Lu family.
As soon as the door was opened, the joyful voices of Zhou Yang and Zhou Xin came out from inside.
"My brother-in-law must have bought gifts for the two guys." Lu Che said with a smile: "Although they don't see each other often, my brother-in-law is really a good father."
"Will you be a good father in the future?" Jiang Yao asked.
"I will try my best." A complex emotion appeared on Lu Che's face. Jiang Yao didn't understand at first, but soon realized that he hoped to get back the fatherly love that he lacked in his childhood through his child.
Jiang Yao grabbed his hand again and said, "I believe you will be a good father. I will also try my best to be a good mother. Let's work hard together."
"Okay." Lu Che shook her hand back vigorously.
As they were talking, they had already walked into the main room.
No matter how much love they have for each other in private, they will not act too affectionate in front of others. After all, this is not in line with the ideological trend of this era.
Before entering the main hall, they let go of each other's hands tacitly.
"Brother-in-law, you're back." Lu Che walked towards Zhou Jin with an excited tone.
"You're back." Zhou Jin stood up to greet him, raised his hand and patted his shoulder, his serious face was filled with the comforting smile of an elder, "You've really grown up now. Not only have you got married, you're also going to be a father."
"Well, thank you brother-in-law for your care all the time."
"The family said thank you."
Once two men start chatting, they can talk more than women.
Jiang Yao stayed in the main room for a while, then went to the kitchen to make the filling for the meat buns.
Just as she started chopping the meat, Lu Qing came in and asked, "Yaoyao, how can I help you?"
"Sister, why did you come in?" Jiang Yao said as she pushed people out. "Brother-in-law finally came back, you should go and accompany him."
"Lu Che is the only one who can listen to his great principles and things happening in the military camp. I'm not interested." Lu Qing said with a pout.
In Jiang Yao's impression, Lu Qing has always been a dignified and gentle woman. This is the first time she has shown a little willfulness. As expected... love that is mutual can change a person.
"Then let my brother-in-law teach Lu Che a lesson." Jiang Yao raised her eyebrows and said, "Sister, you and my brother-in-law should go back to the room after dinner to have a good reunion. It's not convenient outside."
"Yaoyao, what are you talking about?" Lu Qing's face instantly turned redder than the big tomato on the table. She looked so shy, like a little girl waiting to be married.
Jiang Yao looked at him and laughed, "Sister, I won't tease you anymore. Let's hurry up and cook. My brother-in-law has been traveling for so many days, we need to let him have a good meal and show the real ability of my wife of the Lu family."
“Don’t worry. He’s been tortured by my previous cooking skills for so many years. No matter how you cook, he’ll find it so delicious that his tongue will fall off.” Lu Qing said self-deprecatingly.
"Torture?" Jiang Yao said, "Sister, you are exaggerating."
"It's not an exaggeration. Just look at what Yangyang and Xinxin said about my cooking skills before! Even though his father didn't say anything, he had no choice."
"Brother-in-law endures this silently because he loves you, okay?" Jiang Yao said, "Just from the look in his eyes, you can tell that brother-in-law likes you very much."
"We are already an old married couple, there is no such thing as like or dislike." Lu Qing's face was burning again, and he changed the subject: "Is there anything you want me to do?"
A pound of flour and half a pound of pork belly can make a few buns, and now with Zhou Jin, a big man, it is definitely not enough. So, in addition to the meat buns, Jiang Yao also made a small pot of white rice.
As for the dishes, Jiang Yao contributed her lean meat, cut it into thin slices and fried it with cucumber, and added a small chili pepper to increase the flavor. In addition, she also made a large plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes and a stir-fried vegetable.
Zhou Jin gave a very high evaluation of this meal. When he heard that the cucumbers and tomatoes were grown in-house, he gave Lu Che and Jiang Yao an admiring look, "Taking a different approach, very good!"
After dinner, everyone chatted in the main room until the old lady felt sleepy and wanted to take a nap, and then everyone went back to their rooms.
Zhou Yang and Zhou Xin were still immersed in the joy of reuniting with their father. They didn't even want to go back to their rooms for a nap and just followed Zhou Jin.
"Yangyang, Xinxin, Daddy is very tired after sitting in the car for several days. He needs to have a good rest. Can I play with you after I wake up?" When he reached the door of the room, Zhou Jin suddenly turned around and said to the brother and sister.
The brother and sister were reluctant to leave, but Lu Qing also felt sorry for Zhou Jin, so he said, "Be good, let Daddy have a good sleep, and Mommy will make you something delicious tonight."
"Okay." Zhou Yang and Zhou Xin turned around and went back to their room.
"Why don't you take a shower before going to bed? It will be more comfortable this way." Lu Qing entered the room and went to the closet to get a pillow for Zhou Jin.
The pillow was placed on the top compartment. She stood on tiptoe and was trying to reach it up when suddenly there was darkness above her head and the next moment, the pillow was taken away.
He was standing behind her, less than ten centimeters apart. His breath was continuously flowing down from the top of his head, sweeping across her face and brushing against her heart.
Her heart couldn't help but beat faster. Even though they had been married for more than six years and their two children were over five years old, she would still feel shy every time she was alone with Zhou Jin, probably because they had spent too little time together.
She hugged the pillow and whispered, "Go take a shower quickly."
"good."
Suddenly, she felt a heat on her back. When she realized what was happening, he had already hugged her tightly from behind, and his voice became low, "I'll go take a shower now, wait for me to come back."
"Wait for me to come back" floated into her eardrums. They were obviously four ordinary words, but they made her think more.
After Lu Che and Jiang Yao returned to their room, Lu Che used the excuse that he was "hurt" in the morning and kissed Jiang Yao until she was breathless, only then did he feel relieved.
Of course, it also made things difficult for myself.
It took a long time for his breathing to calm down.
Jiang Yao wanted to scold him, "You deserve it," but she didn't dare to force him, thinking that she was in the wrong, so she just said, "While there is still time, sleep for half an hour before going to work."
Lu Che agreed, hugged his wife, and planned to take a wonderful nap.
Jiang Yao was busy in the kitchen all morning and her eyelids soon began to droop. But just as she was about to fall asleep, she was awakened by Lu Che's irritable sigh.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Yao asked in a daze.
"Nothing, just go back to sleep."
Jiang Yao didn't suspect anything, but it was not easy for her to fall asleep again after being woken up. Then a few tiny sounds came into her ears.
She opened her eyes and asked, "Who is calling... Why is that sound..."
Before she could finish her words, Jiang Yao had already realized that the voice came from the room separated by a wall, and the owner of the voice was Lu Qing.
Having just calmed down, Lu Che heard this indescribable sound again. He couldn't help but complain: "It's broad daylight. How can my brother-in-law be so lewd in broad daylight?"
"They haven't seen each other for almost a year. Isn't that normal? It's abnormal to do nothing." Jiang Yao rolled her eyes at him and said, "They are tired during the day so they won't disturb your sleep at night."
Lu Che couldn't take a nap this afternoon, so he got up and went to work, leaving Jiang Yao alone to "eavesdrop" on others.
Then, she couldn't sleep either. For a moment, she especially understood Lu Che.
Sure enough, eating and drinking are the same for both men and women.
Lu Qing and Zhou Jin slept until the evening. Seeing that Jiang Yao had already prepared the meal, she felt very embarrassed and whispered, "Yaoyao, I'm sorry, I overslept."
"It's okay, sister. I made it simple tonight. It didn't take much effort." Jiang Yao pretended that she knew nothing, but when she looked at Lu Qing's complexion, it was obviously much better than in the morning.
Women who have been nourished by men are really beautiful.
Lu Che thought that Zhou Jin and Lu Qing had been very busy at noon, so they should calm down and go to bed early at night. However, when he and Jiang Yao were sitting on the bed chatting, the sound came through the wall again.
For several days, Lu Che was unable to sleep because of the noise. He was reluctant to let Lu Qing and the others go with the army, but now he had to ask, "When will they return to the barracks?"
Jiang Yao suppressed her laughter and said, "We will leave early the day after tomorrow, so you should cherish the time you spend with them. When the time comes, you can take half a day off and we will take them to the bus station in the county town."
"Okay, I'll go to the alley tomorrow morning and buy a few cans of malted milk, a few bags of sugar, etc., and ask my sister to bring them over." Lu Che said, "Although my brother-in-law has a high salary, it's not easy for him to go out from the barracks to buy things. I'll prepare some more things for them."
"Okay, you decide for yourself. Try to buy things that are easy to carry. They have a lot of luggage this time, and Yangyang and Xinxin are both children, so we need to keep a close eye on them. As for the things they're missing, we'll send them over later."
"I see."
Zhou Jin, who was standing on the other side of the wall, hugged the exhausted Lu Qing and said, "Let's give Lu Che's child a big red envelope as a way to leave some money for them."
"Just give him a small red envelope as a token of my appreciation." Lu Qing whispered, "Actually, Lu Che has done a lot of side jobs now. I think he makes dozens of dollars a month, if not a hundred. My little brother can really stand on his own now. But in order to conceal his true identity, everyone thinks that his eldest brother-in-law is subsidizing him."
"Nowadays, many people laugh at him for relying on his wife. I'm afraid that if we continue to subsidize him, his self-esteem will be hurt."
"Then let's do as you wish." Zhou Jin said, "I think Lu Che doesn't seem to care about how others view him now. He is able to bend and stretch. He has really grown up and is a real man. You don't have to worry about him all the time in the future."
"He is my only brother. If not him, who else should I care about?" Lu Qing muttered.
"Of course you are thinking about me." Zhou Jin looked at her meaningfully.
Lu Qing pushed him and said, "Be careful. If you continue to behave like this in the military camp, I can't stand it. I have to go back to Qingyuan."
Zhou Jin smiled, "I'll try my best."
“…”
The day after tomorrow, early in the morning, before daybreak, the entire Lu family got up.
Zhou Jin bought a train ticket for noon, from Qingyuan to the county seat, and then from the county seat to the provincial capital railway station. The journey would take a lot of time, so he had to set off early.
Because we had a lot of luggage and two children, we needed to borrow a ox cart.
After Lu Qing finished cleaning, he went out through the back door, found Yue Lao in the cowshed, and borrowed a cow from him.
"Master Yue, I'm going to join the army." Lu Qing said, "Come and borrow your cow."
"It's good to join the army." Elder Yue said with a smile: "Yangyang and Xinxin are old enough to go to school. There is a school for children in the military camp, and they can learn knowledge."
"Yes." Lu Qing smiled. "Mr. Yue, I have always known the importance of studying. My brother is very smart, but he didn't go to school much because of his poor family background. I will trouble you to continue to give him advice and teach him more knowledge in the future."
"Don't worry about that." Yue Lao said, "I also hope that someone will inherit what I have learned throughout my life. Lu Che is very insightful. As long as he is willing, I will definitely teach him."
"Thank you so much." Lu Qing said, put down a small bag of rice, and then led the cow away.
By the time Yue Lao found out, she had already closed the back door.
Old Mrs. Lu was old and couldn't stand the hustle and bustle, so she didn't send them to the bus station.
Over the years since Lu Qing got married, the old lady had urged her to join the army many times. But today, when she really had to leave, she couldn't bear to let her go. She kept holding her hand and giving her all kinds of instructions. In the end, the two grandmothers, grandchildren, Zhou Yang and Zhou Xin all burst into tears.
Even if you are reluctant, you always have to say goodbye when it's time to say goodbye.
Lu Qing and the two children got on the bullock cart, Zhou Jin drove slowly forward in front, and Lu Che rode a bicycle, taking Jiang Yao with him, and followed behind.
Only until the figures of the few people disappeared around the corner did the old lady reluctantly return to the house.
They set out early and arrived at the county bus station just after dawn.
Because they had gone out too early and had no time to prepare food, Lu Che went to look around to see if he could buy some snacks for the brother and sister, while Zhou Jin queued up to buy bus tickets.
Lu Qing pulled Jiang Yao aside to talk, and gave her various instructions. Jiang Yao agreed to all of them. After she finished speaking, she said, "Sister, Yangyang and Xinxin will be able to go to school next year. Don't be idle at home by yourself. See if your brother-in-law can arrange a job for you."
"I know." Lu Qing said, "No matter how much I earn, I will definitely make money myself. But the military camp is not like the countryside. The production team has various jobs that can be arranged, which I guess there is no such thing over there."
Jiang Yao: "Although you don't go to school much, I know that grandma taught you a lot of knowledge. If possible, it would be nice to be a teacher in the school for children of children over there."
"I'm afraid this won't be easy." Lu Qing was a little embarrassed, "I haven't even graduated from elementary school."
"But you have more knowledge than elementary school, probably junior high school or even high school." Jiang Yao said: "Brother-in-law has a high position, sometimes he can go through special channels, don't refuse. As long as you have the ability, you can shut others up."
"I understand." Lu Qing comforted him, "Once we're there, as long as I don't tell anyone, no one will know my origins. I will work hard to fight for myself."
"That's right, that's the truth. We have to stand up straight, and our lives will definitely get better and better."
After Lu Che and Zhou Jin came back, Lu Qing and the others were about to set off, and everyone waved goodbye reluctantly.
Ever since Lu Qing and the other two went to join the army, the already spacious Lu family home has become even more empty.
The old lady was not very used to it in the first few days. Sometimes when she needed help with something, she would habitually call Lu Qing. In the morning, after breakfast, she would take out paper and pen from the drawer, and when she remembered that Zhou Yang and Zhou Xin no longer needed her tutoring, she would put the things back.
Jiang Yao saw that it was no use for her to continue like this, so she waited for her to call out Lu Qing again, then pretended to be wronged and said, "Grandma, don't you like me?"
"How is that possible?" The old lady immediately denied, "Grandma likes all of you very much. She will never treat you differently just because you are a daughter-in-law."
"But you only think about Sister Qing all day long, and you don't even think of calling me when something happens!"
"Silly girl." The old lady immediately understood her intention and said with a smile: "In the future, if grandma has something to do, she will call you first. It's best for Qingqing to be with Zhou Jin. I should be relieved. But now that they are gone, I have nothing to do. It seems that I have lost my spiritual sustenance."
"Since you feel like you have nothing to do, then find something to do for yourself." Jiang Yao said, "Grandma, let me tell you something you may not like. I think Lu Che and Sister Qing were overprotective of you in the past. They didn't let you do anything and you just sat there all day. This is actually not right. People need exercise to stay healthy."
"Do you want me to do the handicraft?" asked the old lady.
"No." Jiang Yao said, "Handicrafts are too demanding on the eyes, and you have to sit all the time. You need to get up and stretch your muscles."
"How do you move?"
"Let's go water the plants." Jiang Yao said, and pulled the old lady to the vegetable garden.
The old lady was worried that her old bones wouldn't be able to lift the bucket, but when Jiang Yao put a small watering can in her hand, she immediately felt that there was no problem.
Jiang Yao asked Lu Che to make this small kettle for her so that she could use it for watering the plants.
He didn't agree at first, but she said that he needed to move around after sitting all day, so he agreed.
Even though a small kettle can't pour much water at a time, they are not in a rush and can still finish the task by going back and forth a few times. The most important thing is that their bodies get exercise.
Especially the old lady, she felt her muscles and bones were stretched after finishing the work.
She feels a great sense of accomplishment for being able to make a small contribution to the family.
Lu Che was worried that she couldn't bear it, but seeing that she was getting better and better, he felt relieved. He just said, "Grandma, don't force yourself to do it."
"Okay, you kid, how can you be more long-winded than an old woman like me?" The old lady didn't want to be nagged anymore, so she changed the subject and said, "Rice harvest will start in a few days, right? Will the harvesting tasks still be divided by person this time?"
"Yes." Lu Che said, "We are still on the same piece of land, but now my sister and the other three are missing, so the mission is reduced by half."
"You'll be in trouble if you lose half of it." The old lady said, "Yaoyao can't go out while she's pregnant, so... I can go and help for a few hours every day."
"Grandma, please don't." Lu Che refused without thinking, "You've harvested before, so you must know that this job is not as easy as watering. Don't worry, I'll start work early and leave work late. It's only half a month, and it will be over in a moment."
"Why don't I go?" Jiang Yao also felt sorry for Lu Che and said, "I see other people who are about to give birth are still going out. I'm not pregnant yet, so it shouldn't be a problem." Since people of this era can do this, she believes that the original owner's physique can keep up.
Lu Che was so annoyed by the two women, one old and one young, that he put down his chopsticks, said with a stern face, "I can definitely harvest the crops alone, but don't mention the two of you going to the fields again."
"..." Boss Lu put on airs, and he really had the aura of the head of the family. Jiang Yao and the old lady fell silent immediately.
Realizing that his tone was a bit too blunt, Lu Che lowered his voice and said, "Let's eat quickly. I have to go to the next commune to repair the tractor later."
"Then you should eat more." After a hard day's work, he still had to go out to earn extra money. Even if Jiang Yao had any emotions in her heart, they were squeezed out by the heartache. She gave him eggs and meat.
"Wife, that's enough. You and grandma should eat more." Lu Che stuffed the egg into his mouth and shared the two pieces of meat that Jiang Yao had picked up with them.
Lu Che was really in a hurry, so he rode his bike out right after dinner.
Jiang Yao sent him out the door, and told him to be careful and go home early. He took advantage of the fact that no one was around, stole a kiss, and then happily rode away on his bike.
When she walked back to the main room, she remembered that he had forgotten to bring a flashlight. Now she couldn't catch up with him. She just hoped that he would go home early tonight.
But sometimes what you fear will come true. At 8:30 in the evening, Lu Che had not returned yet and it was raining outside.
Autumn rain is usually not heavy, but the ground becomes slippery when it rains. He didn't have a flashlight, and the temperature dropped sharply with the autumn rain, but he only wore a short-sleeved shirt when he went out.
He didn't come back, and the old lady couldn't sleep. She got up and knocked on Jiang Yao's door, asking why Lu Che hadn't come back yet. She could only lie to her and say that he had to go to two places to repair tractors tonight.
The old lady felt relieved after hearing this and went back to sleep, but Jiang Yao became more and more anxious, so she could only knit a sweater to divert her attention.
But she was absent-minded and didn't knit a single circle in half a day. She hesitated in the room for a long time, and when she saw the watch pointed to nine o'clock, she couldn't sit still anymore, so she put on a coat and walked out the door.
As soon as she stepped out of the threshold of the main hall, she heard movement coming from the gate of the courtyard. She looked up and saw the gate being pushed open the next moment.
"Why aren't you sleeping so late? It's so cold and you'll catch a cold if you run out."
As he was speaking, he saw Jiang Yao walking towards him.
It was still raining, and he didn't bother to close the door. He threw his bicycle aside, trotted over to her, and shouted at her, "Don't come out, you'll get wet."
He ran to her in two or three steps, and she threw herself into his arms, crying, "Why did you come back so late? You didn't bring a flashlight and it was raining. I was so worried."
"I'm sorry, my dear Yaoyao, I'm fine." Lu Che blamed himself very much. He comforted her while saying, "I was worried about falling, so I rode very slowly when I came back... Also, after I repaired the tractor, someone from the farm machinery repair shop happened to come to me. I chatted with him for a long time, so I was delayed."
"Why do the people from the agricultural machinery repair shop want to see you?" Jiang Yao raised her head and asked in confusion.
Lu Che curled his lips slightly at this time, and said with an indescribable excitement: "Wife, I may be able to work in the agricultural machinery repair factory. I have the opportunity to be a worker."
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