Chapter 37
After breakfast, Jiang Yao took the old lady to the granary.
The production team has been busy drying the grain recently. Most people are working in the granary and the open space nearby. Lu Dazhou must be in charge of the work here.
Sure enough, when they arrived, Lu Dazhou was shouting at everyone to move faster.
"Captain." Jiang Yao walked over and called him.
Lu Dazhou turned his head and said to her when he saw her, "Jiang Yao, why didn't your Lu Che come to work today? He is the most enthusiastic at work. If he were here, why would I have to shout like this?"
Before Jiang Yao could say anything, Lu Qianyuan, who had passed by at some point, said sarcastically, "He must be in a bad mood because he failed the assessment and couldn't go to the repair shop to work. He should really consider his own abilities. Don't think that you can be a worker just because you know a little bit of kung fu. Can anyone be a worker like that?"
Lu Qianyuan and Chen Shuanglian are indeed a couple. They sing the same tune and are equally annoying.
Jiang Yao listened without changing her expression, and said slowly: "Our Lu Che is not hiding at home, he went to the county town. Besides, not being able to go to the repair shop to work is not like doing anything illegal, so he is not like some people who have been staying at home and dare not see anyone for a while."
She was making insinuations, and if Lu Qianyuan couldn't hear it, he would have no chance of survival. He was furious and was about to curse back when Lu Dazhou glared at him and said, "Hurry up and carry the grain. At this speed, you won't be able to spread it out by dark."
In the past, because the production team had set up a paper mill by building a bridge and a wire, Lu Qianyuan had to walk sideways. But after what happened with Lu Zhisen, most villagers dared to give him a cold shoulder, let alone Lu Dazhou. He would no longer be polite to him.
Lu Qianyuan was furious. He threw his hands away and went off angrily to carry the grain.
"Jiang Yao, if you're okay, go back first. There are a lot of people here and you're pregnant, so I'm afraid someone might bump into you." Lu Dazhou said.
"I'll be back soon." Jiang Yao said with a smile, "I'm here today to explain the situation on behalf of our Lu Che."
"What does this mean?" Lu Dazhou was a little confused.
Jiang Yao: "It's like this, I'm afraid he won't be able to come to work anymore, please don't assign him any more tasks, so as not to delay the work of the production team."
"Not going to work?" Lu Dazhou was dumbfounded. "If he doesn't go to work, what will your family eat? Actually, not being able to go to the repair shop is nothing. Why is he like this?"
"That's right, when did he become so thin-skinned?" someone sneered.
"That's impossible. Isn't Lu Che famous for being thick-skinned in our team? Otherwise, with his background, how dare he hang around repairing tractors every day?"
“…”
Jiang Yao's voice was loud enough for the people around to hear. Now, both women and men gathered around her, either making sarcastic remarks or acting hypocritically. No wonder the old lady was almost crying out of anger just now.
The old lady was indeed angry at this moment, and she held Jiang Yao's hand tightly. Jiang Yao patted the back of her hand and told her not to be angry.
Jiang Yao herself was not angry, nor did she confront the villagers like she had just done to Lu Qianyuan. Instead, she patiently listened to what they said.
After a long while, when everyone had nothing to say, Jiang Yao said to Lu Dazhou, "Captain, you misunderstood. Our Lu Che is not afraid to come out and see people and not go to work, but he has to go to work."
"What kind of work is that? This is such a huge blow, I'm going crazy."
"That's right. Lu Che is going crazy, but Jiang Yao, you are still following him and making trouble. If you don't stop him, will your family be left hungry?"
The villagers started to adopt the connotation mode of "eating salty radishes and worrying less", and Jiang Yao continued to let them "worry".
After all, the more they talked, the more painful their faces would be when she slapped them.
When only a few scattered voices remained, Jiang Yao felt that everything was ready, so she announced calmly, "Thank you for your concern, but Lu Che is not being lazy, he is going to work at the newly established Red Star Electromechanical Factory."
In an instant, the bustling entrance of the granary became as quiet as a river.
"Is this... true?" Lu Dazhou was the first to break the silence. "I heard that this Red Star Electromechanical Factory was established with funds allocated by the province. It is more impressive than the machinery factory and the maintenance factory."
"It's true." Jiang Yao said confidently, "We never like to brag. We only speak out when things are done. For example, when Lu Che went to the repair shop for training, the training did not say that he would be hired, so we never said anything. But some people like to brag and say how great our Lu Che is."
After these words fell, those who had mocked Lu Che before all lowered their heads guiltily.
However, some people still asked unwillingly: "Since the Mechanical and Electrical Factory is so powerful, how can Lu Che enter the Mechanical and Electrical Factory when he can't even enter the maintenance factory?"
"It's because our family has no connections or backing in the repair shop." Jiang Yao pretended to be wronged and said, "I heard that the father of the person who was admitted by the repair shop this time is an old employee of the repair shop. How can my Lu Che compete with him?"
"Fortunately, his skills are solid, and the leaders of the electromechanical factory saw his ability and did not care about his background or the fact that he is from the countryside. They immediately decided to hire him and he will start working next week."
Jiang Yao dared to say that, so Lu Dazhou had no reason not to believe it. He was also happy that Qingyuan Village had produced such a talent, and said, "It's a pity for our production team that Lu Che doesn't work. But I'm happy for him to be a worker. Congratulations to him and your family."
"Thank you, Captain." Jiang Yao said generously, "If you need Lu Che in the future, Captain, just let me know."
"You know what. If our team's tractor or horn breaks down in the future, we'll really have to ask Lu Che for help." Lu Dazhou said gratefully, "Then I'd like to thank you in advance."
"You're welcome." Jiang Yao said with a smile, "We are from the same production team, so we should help each other. We will never do things like gossiping behind people's backs or destroying unity."
"You are absolutely right." Lu Che said to everyone, "There are people in our team who do no good. Be careful. Instead of gossiping, you might as well do more work. Look at Lu Che. He talks less and does more. That's why he makes such rapid progress."
Although he didn't mention anyone by name, everyone with a guilty conscience knew who he was talking about. For a moment, their faces turned red and white, and they wanted to refute but didn't dare to speak out, for fear that they would be accused of using code names, which would be even more embarrassing.
After satisfying everyone, Jiang Yao did not stay any longer and took the old lady home.
On the way back, the old lady was so happy that she danced with joy and said to Jiang Yao, "Yaoyao, for many years, I didn't dare to be so tough outside. Today, thanks to you, I, our Lu family, have a chance to show off."
"Grandma, don't worry, our lives will get better and better, and we will become more and more powerful."
"Okay, grandma believes you. You are really the lucky star of our Lu family."
In the evening, when it got dark, Lu Che returned from the provincial capital.
As soon as he entered the room, he moved the large and small bags in the car into the room. Although Jiang Yao was curious about what he had bought this time, she thought that he was tired after a day outside, so she decided to eat first.
The old lady said that the bacon that had been dried earlier could be eaten today, so Jiang Yao cut 1/4 of it and made a pot of bacon rice.
She cut the bacon very thinly with her knife skills, but 1/4 of a strip was not much, and when shared among several people, there were only a few pieces, which was not very satisfying. So she beat a few eggs, fried a big omelet, cut it into shreds, added chopped green onions and mixed them evenly, and a pot of delicious clay pot rice was ready.
This was the first cured meat meal of the year, and the old lady asked Jiang Yao to fill a small bowl, and then asked Lu Che to send it to Old Yue. Old Yue didn't like to take advantage of others, so he might accept such a small bowl, but not more.
They started eating only after Lu Che came back with the meal.
The weather is getting colder day by day. It is a blessing to be able to eat a bowl of hot cured meat rice on a winter night with the northwest wind howling.
Especially the old lady, who thought of her little daughter after just two bites and said, "It's almost the end of the month, I wonder when Yuanyuan will come back? Yaoyao, remember to make a pot of cured meat rice for your aunt when the time comes. Your cooking tastes better than mine."
"Of course no problem." Jiang Yao said with a smile.
After dinner, the old lady went back to her room to wipe herself. Without Jiang Yao's help, she went back to her room to take a bath. As for the task of washing the dishes, of course, it continued to fall to Lu Che.
After they all finished taking a shower and settled in their room, Jiang Yao unpacked the things he had brought back today.
This time, in addition to malted milk, candies and other gift items, Lu Che also found a small box of chocolates. He was reluctant to give it to others and planned to keep it for Jiang Yao.
Speaking of chocolate, Jiang Yao hasn't eaten it for a long time. In her previous life, she didn't eat it because she wanted to manage her body shape. After all, she was thirty years old and it was easy to gain weight if she indulged herself. As for this life, it was hard to even see chocolate, let alone eat it.
While Lu Che was still sorting the goods, she opened the box of chocolates, took out a chocolate, tore off the wrapping paper and put it in her mouth.
Probably because she hadn't eaten it for a long time, she thought the chocolate was very delicious, so she said to Lu Che: "It smells very good and tastes very good. I'll peel one for you to eat."
"No need." Lu Che immediately refused, "Just keep it for yourself, I don't like it."
"You know you don't like it even after you've tried it." Jiang Yao knew he was reluctant to eat it and wanted to keep it all for himself, so she muttered, "Just taste it. It won't matter if I eat one less."
Lu Che couldn't help but find it funny when he saw her pouting lips. He stood up and walked to her, suddenly bent down and kissed her lips.
Jiang Yao was still dazed by the suddenness of the situation, and his tongue had already entered her mouth, wantonly absorbing the sweetness of her chocolate flavor.
He let her go after the chocolate was completely melted, licked his lips, and said with satisfaction: "It's really delicious."
“…”
In the next few days, Lu Che went to the provincial capital again to pick up the goods, and then agreed with the buyer to deliver the goods at a more secret location.
In order to be absolutely sure, he met different people at different locations, and the delivery location this time would be different from the next time.
When he had sold half of the goods, he also welcomed his first day of work at the Red Star Mechanical and Electrical Factory.
Jiang Yao had made him a new set of clothes long ago, but he was afraid they would get dirty and was reluctant to wear them, but she insisted, "Our lives will get better and better in the future, so you can wear your new clothes as you like. Don't dress like an old man who keeps all the good things in the bottom of the box and is reluctant to use them."
This time, the "old man" irritated Mr. Lu. He put on the new clothes without saying anything and said, "Wife, although children of people of the same age have already started to play with soy sauce, and our children are not yet born, I don't think I am old."
"Yes, you are not old at all." Jiang Yao didn't expect him to care so much. In her eyes, a 23-year-old is just a piece of fresh meat, okay? Where is he old?
She answered so straightforwardly that he felt she was just trying to please him. He took her hand and said, "Wife, I can't do anything about my age, but I will work hard to make myself worthy of you."
"Why are you so silly?" Jiang Yao laughed, leaned on his chest and said, "You should be more confident. You have always been worthy of me. I only hope that you will be successful in the future and don't look down on me, your wife who has lived with you through thick and thin."
"Nonsense, you are not a wife who has shared the hardships of life together. Is there any wife who has shared the hardships of life together as beautiful and smart as you?" Lu Che said righteously.
Jiang Yao listened and laughed even more happily. She said, "Okay, stop talking nonsense. Go out and have breakfast, then go to work. Today is your first day at work. Don't be late, otherwise your impression in front of your boss will be greatly reduced."
"Okay, you and grandma should eat well at home. Don't be reluctant to eat the bacon. I'll buy some meat and dry it after you finish eating." Lu Che said, stroking her slightly bulging belly, and said, "The baby is four months old, and the time for us to meet is getting closer. Daddy will work hard to make money. You have to be good and don't make mommy feel bad, understand?"
His voice was gentle and his expression was soft. Jiang Yao looked at him and thought that Mr. Lu would be a kind father in the future.
After Lu Che went to work, Jiang Yao and the old lady stayed at home to take care of the vegetable garden and do handicrafts.
This craft lasted about an hour when there was a knock on the Lu family's door.
When Jiang Yao walked out and opened the door, she saw Zhu Xia, Wen Qian and Zhou Qiong standing outside, each carrying handmade raw materials.
"You guys...what's wrong with you?" Jiang Yao asked in confusion.
Zhu Xia asked: "Can we do handicrafts at your house?"
"Of course." Jiang Yao agreed readily, but still asked: "Can I know the reason?"
"Yes, let's go inside and talk."
It turned out that the production team had recently entered the slack season, and farm work had been sharply reduced. Most members began to do manual work to earn a living, and Zhu Xia and her friends were no exception.
Because more and more people are doing handicrafts and the paper factory has limited space, many people have to take their work home to make.
Originally, there would be no conflicts if they each did their own work, but the farmers they stayed with were very greedy and asked the educated youth to help them with their work.
"Why didn't I ask you to help during the slack season before, but I ask you to help now?" Jiang Yao asked puzzledly.
Zhu Xia: "At the beginning, we were not familiar with each other, so we were not so shameless. Now we are helping to harvest both crops of rice, and they take it for granted that they can do easy work like manual labor. When I am in the Tian family, Uncle Tian and Aunt Tian would not let me suffer like this, but their daughter-in-law would take advantage of me whenever she gets the chance."
“…”
The collective economy these days really dampens individuals' enthusiasm for work. After all, it doesn't matter how much you work, and everyone wants to feel more comfortable.
The old lady felt sorry for these educated youth girls and said generously, "We don't have anything else but a little space. If you don't mind, you can come here to do handicrafts in the future."
"Thank you, Grandma Lu." Zhu Xia and others hurriedly expressed their gratitude.
"What are you thanking me for?" The old lady said nonchalantly, "You guys can come and chat with Yaoyao. She's almost getting calluses from listening to me talk about old things all day long."
"Grandma, my ears don't have calluses." Jiang Yao said, "Everything you said was very interesting, especially the love story between you and grandpa when you were young. I really enjoyed listening to it."
"What... love or not?" The old lady blushed and said, "My husband and I are in a blind marriage. Now it's a new society. You should pursue free love."
"Grandma Lu, I do want to be in a free relationship." Wen Qian sighed and said, "But I also need a partner, a man. We work in the production team every day, where can we meet a good man?"
"I think you are too picky and look down on people from our countryside." The old lady snorted, "In fact, you should broaden your horizons. There are actually good people in the countryside, like my Lu Che. Ask Yaoyao if she is happy to marry him."
Without waiting for Jiang Yao to reply, Zhu Xia and the other two said in unison: "Grandma Lu, then please find us someone like Lu Che."
Old lady: “…I’m sorry, no.”
Jiang Yao burst into laughter when they sang the same tune.
Seeing her smile, everyone started laughing too.
"Hey... stop laughing... is there someone knocking on the door outside?" Zhu Xia suddenly shouted, and everyone immediately quieted down. Sure enough, they heard the sound of "dong dong dong" outside.
"Why is our house so lively today?" the old lady said as she stood up. "I'll go open the door. It must be the neighbor next door who wants to see me."
"Grandma, be careful."
"Yes."
Not long after the old lady walked out, her excited voice came from outside, "Yaoyao, come out quickly, your aunt is back."
Aunt? Jiang Yao was a little slow to react, and immediately stood up and walked out.
The Lu family did not have any photos of Lu Yuan, and Jiang Yao was quite curious about her. When she walked out of the main room, she saw a fashionable woman in a tweed coat and high heels, helping the old lady walk inside.
Lu Yuan is indeed a member of the Lu family, and has inherited the Lu family's excellent appearance genes. She is not only beautiful, but also very elegant. With this Hong Kong-style outfit, she looks more like a time traveler.
"Auntie." Jiang Yao called sweetly, and Lu Yuan responded with a smile: "This must be Lu Che's wife. She is indeed a great beauty."
"Aunt, you're too kind." Jiang Yao said modestly.
"Your aunt has a sharp tongue. She won't say anything flattering." The old lady said, "If she says you are beautiful, then you must be beautiful."
Jiang Yao: "...Thank you, aunt."
Lu Yuan came to visit suddenly, and Zhu Xia and the others didn't want to disturb them. The old lady felt sorry for them, so she asked Jiang Yao to hold them and not let them go back. She took them to her old room to do handicrafts, and then went back to cook at noon.
It was not until Jiang Yao returned to the main hall that she began to look at her aunt Lu Che seriously.
Lu Yuan is 44 years old this year, but she takes good care of herself, knows how to dress and looks like she is in her early 30s.
She has a cheerful personality. She used to be oppressed here, but when she came to Hong Kong City, she completely let herself go.
She accepted new ideas there and got along very well with Jiang Yao, a future person from the 2020s.
When Lu Che got home from get off work in the evening, he saw his wife and aunt chatting together like sisters as soon as he entered the living room. He couldn't help but widen his eyes.
"What's wrong? I haven't seen you for two years, and you don't recognize your aunt?" Lu Yuan asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Aunt, you're back." Lu Che came back to his senses and called Lu Yuan respectfully, then walked over and pushed Lu Yuan away from Jiang Yao, "Aunt, my Yaoyao is pregnant, please don't hurt her."
"You little bastard, have you forgotten about your aunt now that you have a wife?" Lu Yuan raised her hand and shook Lu Che's head.
"Aunt, I'm not a child anymore. Can you please stop shaking my head?" Lu Che was furious. "And in front of my wife, I'm really embarrassed."
"Oh...you brat..." Lu Yuan was so angry that she laughed, "In previous years, when I came back, I asked you to find a wife as soon as possible, but you ignored me. Now you keep calling me wife. Are you afraid that people don't know that you have a wife?"
"You were unhappy when I didn't have a wife before, and you're still unhappy now that I have one. Why are you as unreasonable as those women in the village who have married daughters-in-law?" Lu Che retorted.
"Lu, Che..." Lu Yuan gritted her teeth and said, "You are going to be a father now. You have grown wings, right? I, your aunt, don't even care about you anymore."
Jiang Yao saw that Lu Yuan looked like she was about to beat someone up, and was about to stop the fight when she heard Lu Che yelling, "Grandma, my aunt is going to beat someone up, come out and take care of your daughter."
As soon as the words fell, the old lady's full-bodied voice came out of the room, "Lu Yuan, you are over 40 years old, and you still bully your nephew, do you have the nerve to do that?"
"Mom, I've told you so many times not to mention my age. Are you afraid that people don't know I'm over 40?" Lu Yuan exploded this time.
In an instant, the three generations of the Lu family became a mess, it was very lively.
Jiang Yao looked at them and felt extremely happy.
In her previous life, she hoped that she could have such a happy family, but she never expected that it would come true in this life.
I have to say, Lu Yuan is really a funny person. With her around, there’s always laughter.
After dinner, Lu Che went to wash the dishes while the three women stayed in the main room to chat.
As the saying goes, "three women make a drama", they become very excited once they start chatting. Lu Che sat next to Jiang Yao, but she was busy chatting and didn't even look at him, which made him feel very bored.
At eight o'clock in the evening, he finally couldn't help it, pulled Jiang Yao up and said, "It's getting late, and you're sleepy, let's go back to the room and sleep."
"I'm not sleepy." Jiang Yao was in high spirits and spoke without thinking.
"You're not sleepy, the baby is sleepy." Lu Che said with a stiff expression.
Jiang Yao: “…”
"Okay, Yaoyao, go back, otherwise someone will become a resentful husband." Lu Yuan said quietly.
It was a rare occasion that Lu Che didn't fight back. As long as he could take his wife away, he didn't bother to argue.
Jiang Yao went back to the room first, and Lu Che came in with warm water, then took a cold shower in pajamas.
Jiang Yao was originally wondering why Lu Che didn't accompany Lu Yuan when she came back so rarely. It was not until they took a shower and climbed into bed that she understood why.
This person has calculated the day and is waiting to do the exercise.
It had been quite a while since the last time, and Jiang Yao had no reason to refuse, so she just routinely told him to take it easy.
"Don't worry, wife, I'm coming."
Lu Che kissed her on the lips as he spoke, but just as they were about to enter a state of ecstasy, there was a knock on their door.
Then, Lu Yuan's voice came from outside, "Lu Che, come out for a moment."
"What's the matter?" Lu Che said through gritted teeth.
"Come out first, it's urgent."
"He is really the most troublesome person in the Lu family."
Lu Che got up reluctantly, opened the door and asked with an unhappy look on his face: "What's the emergency?"
"Look at your attitude?" Lu Yuan curled her lips in disdain and said, "Forget it, I have a favor to ask of you, so I won't bother with you. Please help me get the hot water into the room."
"Is this the urgent matter you mentioned?" Lu Che was so angry that his face turned black. "After you went to the port city, you couldn't even carry water?"
"Yes, there is running water there, and we use a water heater for bathing." Lu Yuan said as a matter of course.
“…”
Lu Che could only accept his fate and go fetch hot water. After he carried the bucket into Lu Yuan's room, he specifically asked her, "Is there anything else? If not, I'll go back to sleep. Don't disturb us anymore."
"No, go to bed now."
Lu Che returned to his room. Now that no one was disturbing him, he of course continued with what he had not finished.
But when the atmosphere was just right, there was another knock on the door.
Lu Yuan's voice came from outside the door again, "Lu Che, I'm done with my shower, can you pour the water for me?"
"Lu Yuan, are you doing this on purpose? That water won't be available tomorrow?"
"That's fine!" Lu Yuan tried hard not to laugh out loud and said, "Then let's do it tomorrow. I won't disturb you guys from sleeping. Good night."
Jiang Yao, who was a little annoyed at being interrupted, laughed and said, "My aunt is quite vindictive. Don't offend her next time."
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