The people from the Lu Family, after finishing their work, could smell the enticing aroma wafting from Shen Meng’s home, which made their stomachs growl with even greater hunger. Once they got home, Xie Jinghao was still lying on the kang bed, the kitchen was cold with no sign of cooking, and there wasn’t a bite of food to eat. This stark contrast inevitably made people feel irritated.
"Sleep, sleep, sleep, all day long, like the lady of the manor. Who knows when she’ll wake up? Others have worked hard all morning, and she just sleeps like a log."
Liu Sanjin grabbed the dirty clothes from the line and angrily threw them beside the water jar.
"Mom, don’t rush, I’ll go cook. Let elder sister-in-law come help!"
"Help with what? Jiaojiao, you go cook by yourself. Let your elder sister-in-law wash all the clothes at home. Every day is so busy, and there’s a pile of chores to do. Some people are blind as bats."
Liu Sanjin’s speech was indirectly criticizing Xie Jinghao’s room, filled with dissatisfaction in her heart.
Zhou Jiaojiao’s facial expression paused for a moment, then with a sigh of "ai," she went into the kitchen, though she had initially thought to help Wu Xianglan with the fire and let her cook.
However, she had been in a good mood these past two days. She and Lu Jiaxuan had spent 50 cents on a phone call to Lu Zhenping to talk about the division of the family assets, and her eldest brother had already agreed to recommend Jiaxuan for a position as an official in the Cooperative Society.
As long as Jiaxuan became an official, she would be able to live a good life in the future, and could also give a helping hand to her parents’ home.
Once she had money in her hands, she planned to ask her mother-in-law for some and was confident that building a brick and tile house could be achieved.
With her newfound energy, cooking was not much of a task for her anymore.
Xie Jinghao had fed Xiao Gang half a bowl of noodles early on, and after the little guy had his fill, he fell asleep, leaving her to eat the other half of the bowl.
Looking at the shiny empty bowl, her respect for Shen Meng, her elder sister-in-law, came from the bottom of her heart. As for the other trivial matters outside, she dealt with them carelessly.
Shen Meng tidied up the empty bowl, putting it in the washbasin and placed two egg cakes in each of Lu Mingyang and the others’ schoolbags.
"Mingyang, this is a thermos cup. Your mom bought it for you at the Cooperative Society. If you’re hungry in the afternoon, eat the egg cakes and ask the teacher for some water to drink. You mustn’t drink unboiled water at school, or you’ll get a stomach ache. Understand?"
"I understand, Mom."
"Alright, if there’s nothing else, hurry off to school. Don’t be late. Mom’s been working all morning, and I’m going to take a nap with Xiao Kai for a while."
Lu Mingyang and his siblings: "...."
Somewhere in the Diannan military region.
Lu Zhenping had just sent a telegram and was about to return when he saw Ma Xiang coming towards him with a bag in hand, swaying leisurely.
"What are you up to?"
"I came to find you. Tsk, tsk, I heard from Xiao Zhang in communications that you pulled some strings for your brother. I came to tease you a bit. What’s up? Vice Commander Lu who’s supposed to be impartial also started to pull strings."
Lu Zhenping shook his head and said, "No, just to deliver a message to the commune. Let’s have a fair competition. If he’s capable, he’ll make it. If not, my recommendation won’t help. But Jiaxuan is actually quite good, very diligent and hardworking. Among the young and middle-aged men in our area, he’s quite outstanding. If he can work for the commune, when I’m not at home, he could take care of your elder sister-in-law and the others."
"Alright, alright. Your brother, from what I see, is just so-so. I won’t argue with you anymore. Hey, I heard your leave to visit family was approved. Heh heh, aren’t you excited?"
Lu Zhenping looked at him making faces and scoffed, turning his head and walking away.
"Don’t go, I’m also happy for you. Now the boys in the team can rest assured too. They were worried your family visit leave wouldn’t be approved this year and even asked me to put in a good word for you."
Lu Zhenping raised his eyebrows, as if the idea that he would need anyone to speak in his favor was preposterous. This year, whether executing assignments or participating in major military exercises, he was always among the top three. Getting leave to visit family was a piece of cake for him.
"Ah, let’s not talk about that, it’ll just make you arrogant. This is what your siblings have packed for you, all homemade stuff and not in violation of any rules. They all feel a bit guilty towards your sister-in-law, many families could follow their husbands to the camp because you gave up your courtyard for them. If they don’t give you this, how would they feel at ease?"
"So it’s just homemade stuff, no other things, right?"
Ma Xiang immediately raised his hands and said, "Absolutely not. We’ve been comrades for so many years, don’t you trust me?"
Lu Zhenping opened and checked, and sure enough, it was some homespun cloth, dried vegetables, pickled vegetables, and in addition, there were five cans of meat – these were the most valuable items inside.
"Okay, then I’ll take it. Thank my siblings for me. By the way, last time Chang Hong wrote to me, saying Xiao Meng really likes rice noodles from Diannan. Could you check if any fellow villagers have some to sell and get some for me? Pay with cash or tickets, don’t take advantage of the common folk."
Ma Xiang looked at him with annoyed eyes, acting as if he was the only one who knew about principles. He walked away with his hands behind his back, ignoring him.
Lu Zhenping chuckled softly and returned to his office. In another four or five days, he could go home. For some reason, his heart was exceptionally excited, an unprecedented feeling. He couldn’t help but be curious about what Shen Meng looked like now.
Shen Meng was sound asleep, hugging the baby, when the courtyard door started being banged on loudly. Lu Mingkai was startled into mumbling a couple of times, turned over, and continued to sleep. Shen Meng frowned, gritted her teeth, and got up to go out.
"Who is it?"
"Shen Meng, you little hussy, how dare you redirect the straw from your private plot to your parents’ home? What’s in your heart? You’re a daughter-in-law of the Lu Family, only thinking of stripping your husband’s family to give to your parental home. How can your heart be so vicious?"
Liu Sanjin was livid as she shouted through the crack of the door, and it was true that it was time to go to work. Many people had already seen the normally gentle old lady hopping mad at the door of her eldest son; this had been happening quite frequently for a month.
She really couldn’t bear it. She had planned for her nephew to come and fetch the straw, as the thatch on her parent’s home needed replacing every two years to make sure it stayed warm and firm in winter. But Shen Meng, that dead girl, had stealthily let the Shen Family take it away. What was this supposed to mean? Even though the families had separated, she was still the matriarch of the Lu Family, and her words still carried weight.
Shen Meng went to the door then turned back, "Mom, you should go home. The private plot is mine. My brother came to work for me, so taking some straw is no big deal. Don’t try to snatch everything towards your parental home; my house doesn’t have any more good stuff to give you."
Wow!!!
The onlookers outside tuned into this ruckus, "Isn’t this something? Both of them are stripping their husband’s family to provide for their parental home."
But then again, now that the main branch of the Lu Family had separated, whatever Shen Meng decided to do was her own business. Besides, she lived in a brick house; she had no use for that straw anyhow.
Liu Sanjin didn’t expect her to be so blunt. When her nephew came to borrow money, she promptly took out eight yuan, which she had just managed to get from Shen Meng. During the very act of giving the money, that little wretch saw it. She knew that Shen Meng, that good-for-nothing, would bring it up sooner or later, but she couldn’t admit it. If her husband found out, she would be the one to suffer.
"You’re spouting nonsense, open the door for me, see if I don’t beat you to death, you little wretch."