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Chapter 306: Chapter 296: Growing Vegetables
The time was May 1976, a season of warm spring and blooming flowers, when Shen Yunfang took Pangpang, the little one, and Taxue out to transplant the well-nurtured vegetable seedlings to the backyard.
Of course, Shen Yunfang was the one doing the work, while the little Pangpang just lay in the small bed basking in the sun, sleeping, and Taxue’s task was to lay by the little master’s side, always watchful of the little master’s movements.
The backyard was rectangular in shape, and when Li Hongjun prepared the ground, he made ten rows. While transplanting, Shen Yunfang planted a row each of eggplants, persimmons, cucumbers, green beans, hot peppers, and small chili peppers—vegetables that her family commonly ate. Along with the early-planted potatoes that took up two rows, only two rows in the backyard were left unplanted.
After some thought, she planted half a row of cowpeas, half a row of celery, and half a row of chives. With the half-row left, she chose some of the more abundant leftover seedlings, so she planted another half-row of green beans.
She also scattered seeds like lettuce, cilantro, Chinese cabbage, stinky vegetable, and scallions between the rows, letting whatever could grow, grow.
As for the climbing plants like sponge gourds and loofahs, she planted them by the edges of the courtyard, as she had done in Gaijiatun, anticipating that once these plants started to vine, they could simply climb up the fences, saving her the trouble of setting up trellises.
By the edges of the courtyard, she planted ten watermelon seedlings, five bitter gourds, five loofahs, five winter gourds, and the remaining space was filled with sponge gourds.
The front yard was much smaller than the backyard, with limited space to till, and a patch had to be reserved for firewood, so the area available for planting vegetables was even more limited. Shen Yunfang directly planted the rest of the seedlings there.
"Yunfang, are you planting?" called out Mrs. Wu, who came out to throw away the trash and saw Shen Yunfang squatting and transplanting vegetable seedlings in the neighboring courtyard.
Shen Yunfang looked up, shielding her eyes from the sun, and smiled at Mrs. Wu, "Yes, sister-in-law, I see that your grounds are all planted. You were quite fast."
"Yeah, I don’t have much else to do at home, and with Tingting at kindergarten, I just got to it while on my own," replied Mrs. Wu, who was also a housewife.
It should be said that most of the military wives in this residential area were housewives. Very few managed to find jobs with the army’s help, like Qiu Fengmei, and those who were kicked out by the military, like her, were even rarer.
"You’re fortunate, sister-in-law. Your child is already independent. Whatever you want to do, you can do it easily unlike me. Pangpang can’t even walk yet, and I can’t go anywhere all day; it’s suffocating. Now, all I look forward to is the day he can run and jump on his own without me needing to watch over him," complained Shen Yunfang.
That’s how it is to be a mother. Before having a child, you long for one; when you first have a child, you cherish them. Later, when tied down by the child, you can’t help but complain with phrases like "Why did I have a child" or "I shouldn’t have had one" become common.
Shen Yunfang was feeling just like that, although she never regretted giving birth to Pangpang. Being cooped up at home for several months, she felt weary.
Before, she was a strong woman who could fight wolves and catch pigs, racing through the mountains every day. Now, after giving birth, she felt like she was turning into a little lamb, her days confined to the front and back of the house, sleeping, watching the child, cooking, the same routine day in and day out.
Of course, she didn’t dislike such a peaceful life. Such ordinary, tranquil days were once her dream, but anyone would grow tired of an unchanging routine if it lasted too long.
"Ah, don’t dwell on it. Children grow up in the blink of an eye. Besides, what’s good about children growing up? When they’re grown, it means you’ve aged," Mrs. Wu said with a laugh.
"You’re right, sister-in-law. We really shouldn’t wish for the children to grow up too fast," Shen Yunfang nodded in agreement.
"I think you’re getting restless. It’d do you good to get out and get some fresh air. Tomorrow, Ying sister-in-law and I are going to the mountain to dig for wild vegetables. Do you want to come along?" Mrs. Wu thought she might as well invite Shen Yunfang since they were planning to go out the next day, and if Shen Yunfang felt like getting out, she could join them.
Although Shen Yunfang had moved in over a month ago, she had been cooped up at home watching the child these days and still didn’t recognize anywhere around here.
After hearing the suggestion, Shen Yunfang was truly tempted. But then she thought of her own little Pangpang and gave up the idea, "Sister-in-law, I’d better not go. We can’t leave the house unattended, so maybe some other time." Who would watch the child if she left? She did have the energy to carry the child around all day, but the child surely wouldn’t feel comfortable being carried for so long, so she decided against it.
Mrs. Wu realized that her suggestion might have been somewhat inappropriate and thus didn’t insist any further.
"That’s fine, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. Once Pangpang is half a year old, you can send him to the nursery. By autumn, you’ll be able to join us mushroom picking in the mountains," she said.
"Sure, I’ll definitely go then," Shen Yunfang said with a smile.
The two chatted for a while longer before Mrs. Wu finally picked up her winnowing basket and went inside.
Shen Yunfang got up and went over to check on her son. Little Pangpang was now trying hard to lift his neck while lying on his little bed, looking at his mother. Seeing his mother walking towards him, he flailed his limbs and called out ’ah ah’, much like a little turtle.
Shen Yunfang took off her gloves, patted the dust off her body, and then bent down to pick up her son from the little wooden bed.
This little wooden bed was borrowed from Mrs. Wu’s family; it had been used by the Wu siblings. In the countryside, things are passed down from one generation to the next – children’s belongings are used by the older ones first, then by the younger.
The Wu family had no immediate use for the bed, so it was borrowed by Li Hongjun. Of course, these days, Li Hongjun was rubbing his hands with eagerness to fashion a little bed for his son with his own hands, so that it could someday shine like this bed from the Wu family and be used by siblings.
When Shen Yunfang heard his grand plans, she scoffed. Plans for siblings, indeed. Next year, the implementation of the planned parenthood policy would spread widely, and even if they wanted more children, it would be nothing but a dream.
To be precise, some cities had already proposed the planned parenthood policy, but it hadn’t been implemented nationwide yet.
Li Hongjun misunderstood Shen Yunfang’s reaction, thinking she was mocking his ability. His male pride kicked in, and that night, he gave her a thorough ’lesson’ on the kang, showing her just how many ’legs’ Lord Li had.
Later, when Shen Yunfang needed to plant vegetables in the backyard, little Pangpang had just learned to roll over. Yunfang felt uneasy leaving the child alone on the kang, so when she went out to plant vegetables, she dressed her son warmly and brought him outside to the small bed to play.
The small bed was surrounded by rails, so no matter how much the child rolled, he couldn’t fall off.
Shen Yunfang would work for half an hour, then check if her son was cold, and then take him inside to warm up. This went on for several days. Pangpang was still smiling goofily, which proved he was in good health and eased Yunfang’s worries.
Shen Yunfang slipped a hand inside her son’s clothing and felt his small body, which was like a little furnace, always warm to the touch.
"Alright, son, mom will dote on you for a few more months. When you grow up, if you dare to be unfilial to me, you’ll see how I deal with you," Shen Yunfang said as she carried her son into the house, not forgetting to give Taxue an order, "Taxue, bring the water jug from the backyard inside."
Obediently, Taxue trotted to where the water jug was kept, nudged its big head through the strap, and the military canteen hung around its neck, swaying as it followed its master back into the house.
