After Zhao Yulan and Lin Baohe went to work, Chuxia, bored to death, stood inside the house, looking up at the ceiling where the newspapers that she hadn't finished sweeping over still clung.
In the 1970s, the interior walls of most rural cottages were pasted with newspapers. Those who could afford a bit more would go to the market to buy pretty decorative paper to paste on their walls, which was, of course, something Chuxia's family could not afford.
The newspaper on the walls was requested by Zhao Yulan from her parental home, and Lin Chuxia had already swept over every place that she could reach and see N times. It was only because of her height that she missed the ones on the ceiling.
In this era of material scarcity, the spiritual life was just as desperately impoverished; to say nothing of television—even radios were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.
As for books and newspapers, they were even scarcer. How tormenting was this for Lin Chuxia, who was accustomed to the internet and "Baidu"?
"Creak!" The door was pushed open, and Liu Meiqing's head popped in with a smile on her face, "Chuxia…"
Hearing the deliberately constricted voice calling out to her, Lin Chuxia couldn't help but shiver. When the yellow weasel greets the chicken for New Year's, can it possibly have good intentions?
"Can you help your sister-in-law watch Shuanshuan for a while?" Sure enough, before Chuxia said a word, Liu Meiqing stated her purpose, using an inquiring sentence but with a definite tone.
"No!" Lin Chuxia flatly refused. Her father and mother hadn't even had a full meal before they went to work for labor points; it certainly wasn't for her to stay home and babysit for Liu Meiqing!
"I have a book here for you, lull Shuanshuan to sleep, and take your time reading it," Liu Meiqing offered a red-covered book in her hand, yet she sneered inwardly. A country girl, pretending to be cultured. Attracted to words like a moth to flame, but does she even truly recognize them or is she just pretending…
"I don't want to read it!"
Glancing at the characters on the cover, Lin Chuxia refused outright. While books were scarce in this era, this type was not; didn't every family have seven or eight of them?
Liu Meiqing's face instantly darkened, "Don't think I didn't see what your mother did yesterday. Your family's chickens haven't even begun laying, so where did the egg come from?"
"You're already seventeen, a grown girl, yet you steal food from Shuanshuan's mouth. Tell me, if this gets out, how will other people look at you?"
Lin Chuxia stared expressionlessly at Liu Meiqing, "All you want to say is, if my reputation is ruined, then I shouldn't even dream of marrying into a good husband's family, right? Heh... that's just perfect. However, the egg my mother cooked has nothing to do with your chickens, not even a half penny's worth. If you dare to spread wild rumors, Fat Aunt will seek justice for my mother and me."
It's Fat Aunt again! Liu Meiqing snorted coldly, turned around, and went back to her own house. The door slammed with a "bang bang," then the wailing of Shuanshuan could be heard.
Chuxia couldn't help but rub her forehead; there is a folk saying in the village, "Spanking the child on a rainy day, for lack of anything better to do"; and it seems Liu Meiqing also had a corresponding habit "Spanking the child in anger, for lack of anything better to do"＞﹏＜
Noticing it was nearly nine o'clock, Chuxia got out of bed, put on her shoes, and turned over the cow dung Lin Baohe had left to dry by the wall. The family didn't have enough firewood to burn, so to have a warm kang (heated bed), Lin Baohe would pick up fresh cow dung every morning, dry it out, and use it as fuel.
The smell when burning wasn't pleasant, but who could blame her for hating the cold?
After finishing with the cow dung, Chuxia started her daily set routine—cutting hemp cakes.
Hemp cakes, rich in nutrition and cheap, were indispensable in any household that raised poultry or livestock. But they were pressed so tightly together that they had to be sliced into thin strips with a knife and then soaked in water to soften before feeding them to chickens or pigs.
For most rural kids, cutting hemp cakes was a piece of cake, but for her, a typical "outsider," this task was far too technical. Zhao Yulan could finish one in ten minutes, whereas it took her two hours (￣)︿(￣).
Feeling uncomfortable freeloading after taking over someone else's body, the only chores she could manage were feeding chickens, turning over cow dung, and cutting hemp cakes. So, even if she initially rejected this era and didn't really accept Zhao Yulan and Lin Baohe, for the sake of her peace of mind, she took the initiative to take on these chores.
Fortunately, the original Lin Chuxia wasn't very good at chores; otherwise, with her delicate nature, it really would have been tough to pass muster.
"Shuanshuan, do you like the sweet potatoes? Here, a bite for Mommy, and one for you..." Liu Meiqing, holding Shuanshuan in her arms, came to the entrance of the main house, with a half-eaten roasted sweet potato in her hand.
Chuxia's eyelids twitched, and without a word, she got up and checked under the stove; indeed, the roasted sweet potato that Zhao Yulan had buried there was gone.
Her little fist clenched and then relaxed. To quarrel with Liu Meiqing over a roasted sweet potato... was something she, with her 21st-century mindset, just couldn't do, but she was still infuriated. How could Liu Meiqing brazenly take what her parents didn't even indulge in for the sake of her recuperation?
Liu Meiqing turned her head back and flicked her eyelids at Chuxia, the corner of her mouth twisting before she faced forward again: "Shuanshuan, isn't it delicious? Here, Mommy will give you another bite..."
After feeding Shuanshuan a bite, Liu Meiqing deliberately smacked her lips, savoring the sweet taste. Chuxia didn't need to look to know the expression on Liu Meiqing's face.
Forget it. She wasn't about to cause a bloody scene over a sweet potato. She'd just have to be more careful in the future and stash her food somewhere safe in advance.
Consoling herself with these thoughts, Chuxia turned and walked toward the door. Just as she was about to step over the threshold, Liu Meiqing abruptly stretched her leg out, causing Chuxia to stumble and fall to the ground.
"Ha ha ha..."
"Giggle giggle giggle..."
Right at this moment, a robust girl entered the courtyard. Seeing Liu Meiqing and Shuanshuan laughing uproariously, she grabbed a broom leaning against the wall and rushed over: "You're bullying Chuxia again!..."
Liu Meiqing did not expect Cheng Yaojin to suddenly come charging in, causing her evasion attempt to be too late. As she saw the broom head bearing down on her, she instinctively threw her head back, and Shuanshuan was completely engulfed under the broom head.
The girl quickly retracted her hand and threw down the broom, rushing to tear at Liu Meiqing's hair: "You venomous woman, isn't Shuanshuan your son? How could you be so cruel as to use him to shield yourself?"
Sitting on a bench and holding the child, Liu Meiqing was no match for the girl. The pain from her scalp being pulled was so intense she gasped for air: "Let go, Luo Meiying, let go right now!..."
"What's going on, what's all this commotion?" The woman in blue clothes from yesterday, Eldest Uncle's Wife, entered just in time, which made Chuxia, who had just gotten up, extremely puzzled. Why did she always appear so timely? It was as if she was always waiting right outside the door.
"Eldest Uncle's Wife, you're back so early today?" Chuxia unnoticeably placed herself in front of Zheng Sanqiao, blocking her way.------New book uploaded, please recommend, please favorite