Gong Linglong didn't go out to deal with them. Lu Jingchuan would be back soon, so he kept them to catch big fish first, and then handed them over to the country for disposal after he had used them up.
"Grandma Bai, Auntie."
Gangzi came running over, grabbed a big walnut in one hand, and gave one to the mother and daughter, "Eat walnuts."
"Gangzi, your grandma brought this from her hometown, you can eat it yourself."
Bai Shuixian didn't take it, but smiled and said, "Walnuts are good for the brain. If Gangzi eats more, he will be very smart and will be able to study well in the future."
Gangzi's grandmother, Yuan's mother, has been here for several days. She is a very simple and hardworking northerner, about fifty years old. As soon as she arrived at the family compound, she helped with sowing, carrying manure and farming. She has become familiar with everyone over the past few days.
Yuan's mother came with her grandson, holding a few walnuts in her hands. Her tanned face looked a little embarrassed. "Sister, Linglong, these walnuts are from our own trees. They're free. I brought quite a few this time. There's enough for you to eat. You can try them too."
"Auntie, eat."
Gangzi stuffed the walnuts into Gong Linglong's mouth and became a little clingy to her. He kept rubbing against her and said to the elders, "Grandma, Auntie gave me some meat. I ate a lot of meat."
"Well, your aunt treats you well, and the other aunts and aunts love you too. You have to be a good child."
After Yuan Anbin took his mother over, the mother and son, along with Gangzi, thanked each family and returned all the things that Qian Pozi and her daughter had stolen. The mother and son were very good people, so no one mentioned the unpleasantness that had been caused by the weird mother and daughter in the past.
Bai Shuixian brought a stool from home for her to sit on, "Sister-in-law, sit down."
"Why."
Mother Yuan sat down on the bench and pulled her grandson to sit on her lap. Seeing that they had prepared another bowl of small fish and shrimp today, she said, "Linglong, are these fish and shrimp available every day?"
"Yes, there are lots of small fish and shrimp in the river, especially in spring and summer. I can get a bowl of fish in just two trips a day. If I run around diligently and put out a few more fish cages, I can easily get two or three bowls a day."
The Yuan family is from the north, and they don’t have these in their hometown. Yuan’s mother also cooked two meals in the past two days. They were sent to her by Xu Lu from next door. She thought the taste was no worse than big fish.
She wanted to try it, but she didn't know how to make a fish cage. So she asked tentatively, "Linglong, did you buy or make these fish cages? I want to put a few in the river to get some food and help relieve An Bin's burden."
“They’re all homemade.”
Gong Linglong looked up and said with a smile, "Aunt, you can buy this kind of fishing net at the small market in the nearby town. Go buy some and chop some bamboo into strips. I'll make it for you later."
"Okay." Mother Yuan nodded repeatedly, "Linglong, thank you for your help."
"No trouble, it's just a small matter."
Bai Shuixian had been busy since returning home today and hadn't had time to ask about the Yuan family. Seeing Gangzi go play with the children, she took the initiative to ask, "Sister-in-law, has Deputy Battalion Commander Yuan's family affairs been dealt with?"
Speaking of her son, Yuan's mother sighed, "Alas, we were blind to find such a wife for An Bin. When they first got married, she behaved well enough, but after she became pregnant with Gangzi, her true nature began to show. We thought about how hard it was for her to be pregnant, and how An Bin was away from home all year round, so we turned a blind eye to many things."
"After she and Gangzi came to join the army, An Bin sent several letters home. He always said everything was fine in his letters, only reporting good news and not bad news, so we thought they were doing well."
"It wasn't until he came home this time that we realized how shameless that mother and daughter were. Not only were they doing such immoral things here, they also gave all of An Bin's salary and allowances after his marriage to the Chen family."
"What?"
Liao Qiuhua came over while they were talking. When she heard about this, she reacted the most. "All the wages and allowances were taken away by Chen Eryan?"
"She didn't take it. That shameless old woman stole it and sent it all back to support her husband and son."
Liao Qiuhua frowned: "Does Chen Eryan know?"
"She must know. Her mother's home is all she has in her mind. When she was pregnant with Gangzi, she kept digging around the house to send things back to her mother's home."
"We thought that since An Bin was not at home and there was a lot of labor at home, and An Bin sent me an allowance every month, if we worked hard in the fields, it would be enough to support the whole family. She wanted to take some back to her parents' home as a tribute, and we didn't say anything."
Seeing that her face turned ugly when she mentioned Chen Eryan, Bai Shuixian asked, "Sister-in-law, did you get the money back?"
"Yeah, did you get it back?"
Liao Qiuhua knew the men's wages and allowances very well. Yuan Anbin was one level lower than his man, and he only earned two or three yuan less every month. The bonuses for other tasks were not much different, and it would be a huge sum over two or three years.
"The Chen family's father and son are both lazy and good-for-nothing. They spend all day drinking and living a dissolute life. They've already spent a lot of money, and in the end they only got back a little over 900 yuan."
Yuan's mother thought that most of the money her son earned with blood and sweat was squandered on food and drink by them. She felt very angry every time she thought about it.
But when he thought of his grandson, he was helpless again: "Since she gave birth to a child for An Bin, I won't bother with them about other things. I will use this money to sever all ties with her and forbid her to visit Gangzi again."
"Chen Eryan is a clueless fool. Other mothers with stutters would rather starve themselves and put their children first. But she is the exact opposite. She puts her own mouth and hers first, even taking away the food from her child's mouth. Such a mother is worse than not existing."
Liao Qiuhua was quick-witted and spoke very frankly. She really disliked Chen Eryan.
Thinking about the suffering of her son and grandson, Yuan's mother blamed herself: "We were blind. A distant relative introduced us to a matchmaker. We thought the relative had good intentions and didn't ask much. Who knew it would be such a family?"
In fact, there are many marriages like this in rural areas. In many cases, the man and woman have never met each other. The marriage is privately arranged by their parents and elders, and they will not meet until the wedding day.
Especially for soldiers, who have limited vacations throughout the year, many of them have to hastily meet and get married during their vacation.
Gong Linglong did not respond. She was also thinking about her marriage with Lu Jingchuan at this time. They also got married after a blind date. Fortunately, they were attracted to each other and their personalities and temperaments were very compatible. She was much luckier than Yuan Anbin.
After chatting for a while, as everyone was about to disperse to cook, Deputy Director Li of the Art Troupe came over and asked, "Comrade military wives, did any of you take the commuter bus to the city this morning?"
Gong Linglong raised her hand: "Deputy Captain Li, I'm going."
"Comrade Gong, can I ask you something?" Deputy Captain Li asked hurriedly.
Gong Linglong guessed he wanted to ask Xu Wei, so she stood up and followed him. "Deputy Captain Li, feel free to ask."
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