NOVPUB
Chapter 177: Chapter 170 Return to Taoshu Village
At the beginning of May, Li Hongjun received a notice from his unit, ordering him to rejoin the troops.
After a moment of silence sitting on the kang together, the husband and wife both sprang into action.
Li Hongjun went straight to the backyard; he wanted to water the land one more time before leaving, collect some extra stones from the river to lay out in the yard, and, since his wife’s worm breeding box was no longer sufficient, he needed to find some wood to make her another.
Shen Yunfang, on the other hand, dug out the largest travel bag from the trunk and crammed it with all the eatables she could think of that would store well for a long time.
"Take the beef jerky to the troop and let your comrades try some, but hide the rest for yourself," she instructed. "This can keep for quite a while. Chew on a piece whenever you’re hungry during training."
"There’s also this bag of fried flour with tea oil; it’s filling too. Don’t you have a hot water bottle in your dorm? Just mix yourself a cup when you’re hungry. It’s very convenient."
"I’m bringing more quails for you." These can’t be kept for long," she continued. "After you get to the unit, just save a few for yourself to curb the craving. Give away the rest. I’ve wrapped each one in oil paper, and added an extra layer on the outside, so they shouldn’t leak onto anything else in the bag."
"I didn’t dry these sweet potato strips too much. Don’t forget about them and just leave them in your cabinet when you get there. Air them out from time to time, or they might get moldy."
Shen Yunfang also packed her own fried meat chunks, braised quail eggs, boiled eggs, and corn cakes made with yeast. Then she opened the trunk again and took out five pairs of socks to add to his luggage.
As she watched the travel bag fill up to the brim, Shen Yunfang felt there were still so many things she hadn’t packed for Li Hongjun.
Lying in bed that night, Li Hongjun boldly disregarded Shen Yunfang’s pleas as he thrust again and again, as if trying to enjoy all of their future benefits in one go during the impending separation.
Until dawn faintly broke, Li Hongjun kissed his exhausted wife, who had fallen asleep, then held her tightly in his arms and closed his eyes. Even in his sleep, he didn’t want to let go of the little wife in his arms.
The next morning, one tended the chickens and pigs at home while the other went to the mountains to feed the pigs and sheep. They worked in unison, and all the chores at home were neatly finished by eight o’clock. Then Li Hongjun rode his bicycle, carrying his wife with him back to Taoshu Village.
Even though they had split the household, they were still family. With Li Hongjun about to return to his unit, they certainly had to go back and inform the parents.
As the two approached the Li Family’s gate, they heard the shrill and distinctive scolding of Qiu Shuping from inside.
Shen Yunfang glanced at Li Hongjun, "What’s going on? It seems like we’ve come at a bad time."
Li Hongjun’s face returned to its usual expressionless state, and with a soft hum, he pushed the bike into the yard.
He didn’t have time to waste; he was leaving tomorrow and had to make this trip even if the timing was off.
Following him into the yard, Shen Yunfang listened to the content of Qiu Shuping’s scolding—it was about someone being lazy, though she couldn’t tell whom she was yelling at.
Seeing Li Hongjun park the bicycle, Shen Yunfang raised her voice and called out to the house, "Mom, Hongjun and I have come to see you."
The ranting inside the house abruptly stopped, and then the door was flung open from within, with Qiu Shuping standing at the threshold, wearing slip-on shoes.
Qiu Shuping, eyeing her second son looking fine and sturdy, without a walking stick, cried out incredulously, "Hongjun, your leg is healed?"
"Yes, it’s mostly better," Li Hongjun replied, somewhat reservedly.
"Oh, my child, how I’ve missed you." Qiu Shuping hurriedly walked over and took her son’s hand as soon as she heard that his leg was better.
"Wow..."
Just as Qiu Shuping grabbed her son, a loud cry from a child suddenly erupted from the house.
"Oh my goodness, how could I forget about this little ancestor," Qiu Shuping exclaimed and ran into the house without even holding onto Li Hongjun anymore, shouting as she went, "Grandson, grandma is here, what’s wrong? Let’s not cry."
The two people outside exchanged glances and followed into the house.
Upon entering, they saw Qiu Shuping picking up the child from the floor; the child had fallen and was hurting, which caused the crying.
"Oh son, you sit for a while; I’ll tend to this little ancestor first," Qiu Shuping said, bouncing the child in her arms up and down, "Sandan, let’s not cry, grandma will rub your fur, and you’ll be fearless. There, touch the fur, no fear, pat the body, and return to your spirit."
Li Hongjun sat down with his wife, waiting for his mother to soothe the child. Yet, he silently vowed to himself that once he had children of his own, he would never let his mother help with childcare, as she was too irresponsible, carelessly leaving a child who loved to crawl and move around on the bed—of course the child would fall.
"Hey, second daughter-in-law, why are you sitting down too? Don’t you have any sense? Can’t you see Sandan won’t stop crying? Go to your sister-in-law’s room quickly and find some white sugar to make sugar water for Sandan," Qiu Shuping scolded while comforting the child, feeling irritated as she saw her daughter-in-law sit down leisurely with her son.
Being a daughter-in-law, one should not act like they own the place upon arriving at their in-law’s.
Yunfang sat unmoving, "Mother, I dare not just go into my sister-in-law’s room. If anything goes missing, I won’t be able to clear my name even if I had a mouthful of excuses."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Shuping was ready to start scolding, not caring that there was still a crying child in her arms.
Li Hongjun timely intervened, "Mother, Yunfang and I came to see you and dad, and Yunfang has brought you some things."
Yunfang opened the bundle beside her and began taking out the items, "Hongjun bought two bottles of wine for dad, and some pastries for you, mother." They had just bought these at the cooperative when they entered the village.
"Hmm, at least you have some conscience," Qiu Shuping, mollified by the gifts, felt her anger dissipate somewhat.
She took a piece of cake from the oil paper wrapper, chewed a bite, and then fed it mouth-to-mouth to the crying Sandan in her arms.
Sandan, tasting the sweet food in his mouth, calmed down, clutching his little mouth and cooing, urging his grandma to feed him faster.
"Where’s dad?" Li Hongjun didn’t want to waste time.
"He’s gone to work," Qiu Shuping said, placating the child before placing him on the bed and sitting on the edge to prevent him from falling off.
"What about big brother and sister-in-law?" He actually just wanted to ask about his sister-in-law, who usually didn’t go to work.
"They’ve gone to work, too," Qiu Shuping said, her belly full of complaints, "You don’t know, your sister-in-law is really something. Before we split the household, she would never go to work, always claiming to be in pain here or there, lazing around at home and letting others wait on her. But now that we’ve split up, she’s changed—doesn’t even care about the children and is dead set on going to work, not doing any chores at home, leaving everything to an old woman like me."
Of course, before the split, no matter how much one earned, it wouldn’t end up in their own hands. Naturally, one would be lazy if possible. But it’s different now; after splitting up, even earning a penny is their own, so they’re desperate to work.
