Chapter 43

After eating the New Year’s Eve dinner, it was time to set off the firecrackers. There was a custom in rural areas of comparing whose firecrackers were louder. The louder the sound, the better; it indicates that the coming year will be more prosperous than the previous years.

Today, the Zhao family’s firecrackers were bought by Zhao Donghe. He picked up the longest one in the supply and marketing agency.

The firecrackers were hung at the top of the tree, and after lighting the fuse at the end, the “crackling” sound began to ring out. Yingbao covered her ears and hid in Jiahui’s arms. Shitou clapped his hands and jumped under the tree, but was dragged back by his mother, and Heidan was not as naughty as Shitou. He watched behind his father.

“Let’s play Mahjong. There’s nothing to do anyway, so let’s relax.”

On New Year’s Eve, they have to be awake all night. They have to eat dumplings at 12 o’clock. After eating dumplings, they have to go out to pay a New Year call. They certainly can’t sleep. There are dozens of households in a production team, hundreds of households, and adjacent production teams. They are all related to each other and have a good relationship. They can’t walk down until dawn.

Of course, it’s a man’s business to pay New Year’s greetings. Women can just eat melon seeds at home and go to their neighbours’ homes.

In rural areas, newlyweds are usually urged to hurry up and have a baby, but Dong Jiahui does not have this problem. Everyone knows she’s divorced, or that she can’t have children and was kicked out of the house for it, but no one in their right mind would bring it up in front of her about the matter of giving birth to a child. Wouldn’t that just be rubbing salt in the wounds?

The family didn’t use the fire; they heated the dishes made yesterday with a coal briquette stove, steamed a few steamed buns, and the meal was done. In the afternoon, Jiahui went back to her room to catch up on sleep. She was dazed in the arms of Donglin, and suddenly her mouth was blocked.

“Well… what are you doing in broad daylight?”

“I miss you.”

Jiahui opened her eyes and looked at the window. Fortunately, the curtains were closed. There were so many people sitting in the main room. It would be humiliating to be seen.

Zhao Donglin hugged her and kissed her. In his arms, Jiahui’s attitude gradually softened down. She half-pushed and half-committed to responding.

On the second day of the lunar new year, Zhao Caixia talked with Zhang Qiaoer in advance. Jiahui returned on the second day of the lunar new year. She took her husband and children back on the third day of the lunar new year. It happened that several aunts on her mother-in-law’s side also returned on the second day of the lunar new year. In this way, the time can be staggered.

“When you see grandma and grandpa, you should know how to call them, as well as aunts, uncles, brothers, and sisters. Okay, after the New Year, you have grown up a year. You should be more understanding and obedient than last year, Okay?”

Before going back, Dong Jiahui changed Heidan’s clothes. She was glad that she had thought of making two outer coats. Yesterday was a crazy day. The new clothes were stained with dust, and it didn’t look like an appropriate use for seeing the relatives.

Since Jiahui had had a sincere heart-to-heart talk with Heidan two months ago, Heidan’s personality was a lot more cheerful than before. He accepted Jiahui as his stepmother, and not only did the smile on his face increase, but he was also willing to go out of the house to play with other kids his age. Although he didn’t call her mom as Yingbao did, Jiahui never treated him differently.

“Well, I know. I’ll be polite. “

Jiahui patted his head, “Okay little one, go out and wait. We’ll leave right away.”

They naturally cannot return empty-handed when going back to their mother’s family. The things were prepared years ago: a cigarette, two bottles of white wine, a catty of oil pastry, and twelve or so pounds of fish. Before leaving, Zhang Qiaoer took another paper bag containing two dozen catties of fish. Inside was a cat of red dates that she separated.

“Take this with you too.”

“Mom, there’s no need to bring this; there’s not much left at home.”

“Take it with you. Your third sister-in-law is pregnant with a baby; give it to her like a tonic.”

Zhang Qiaoer can’t help but sigh in her heart. Other people’s daughters-in-law are pregnant one after another. How come both of her own daughters-in-law are not moving? It’s really worrying.

“Thank you, mom. I’ll take it then.”

Thanks to Zheng Yuefen’s departure, if she saw her mother-in-law taking red dates to herself, she would definitely play with her temper and ask why she didn’t give them to her.

“They’re back! They’re back! Jiahui and Donglin are back. “

Chen Guixiang has been looking forward to them for a long time. For Jiahui, the three sisters-in-law didn’t come back today, so they were waiting at home.

“The main reason is to wait for my brother-in-law to come over for a drink. I didn’t have a good time last time.”

Stopping the bicycle and taking the gift off the cage, the brothers came over and patted Zhao Donglin’s arm and welcomed him into the house.

“These red dates were given out by Donglin for New Year’s Eve, and my mother-in-law slipped them over when I returned, saying they were for her sister-in-law to use as a tonic for her body.”

Zhao Lijuan’s stomach was still not too visible, and when she heard Jiahui’s words, she smiled and took the packet of red dates.

“Aiya, where is the need for this? I eat well enough at home. It’s better to give it to Mom. I’m young and strong and don’t need it.”

With that, she handed the paper packet to her mother-in-law, Chen Guixiang.

“Since it’s from your in-laws, you should take it. It’s also a token of her appreciation. You eat it for fun when you have nothing to do.”

“Yes is right. You should take it. Next time, I will buy it for mom and bring it back. “

Jiahui also followed to persuade her third sister-in-law.

“Yes, our mother has a filial daughter. No one in the village is as filial as Jiahui. When she came back, she brought a lot of things. The team joked that your little sister had fallen into a nest of happiness, saying that her mother was blessed with a daughter and that she could eat a few pounds of her son-in-law’s gift all year round.

“No, people on the team must have seen it today. The head of the carriage almost can’t hang, and many people envy you.”

Zhou Yindi and Liu Xiuyun took turns to praise Jiahui’s filial piety, in fact, it is a roundabout way to praise that Chen Guixiang has a blessing.

“It’s good if you know, so having a daughter is different from not having a daughter. You can bring more things when you go back tomorrow so that others can praise you. I, the mother-in-law, will also follow their glory. “

The more things a daughter brings back to her mother-in-law’s house, the better off she is in her husband’s house, which also shows that her mother-in-law was good to her.

“That’s right, our mother is a good mother-in-law in all the villages. Who does not praise her?”

The three sisters-in-law laughed and joked for about ten minutes and then made their own excuses to leave, knowing that their mother-in-law and sister-in-law must have had something to whisper about, so they gave them space.

“How’s it going? Are you doing well? “

The only thing a mother wants is for her child to be well, and even though there are a thousand questions in her mind, the first question would always be, “Are you doing well?”

“Good, there is no conflict. Years ago, Donglin got his bonus salary, and he also gave it to me. At the New Year’s Eve dinner, my mother-in-law gave each of us 30 yuan, plus the money I earned for making clothes. I have saved more than a hundred. “

Jiahui explained her mother-in-law’s affairs, knew what her mother wanted to hear, and focused on the economic situation.

“Well, it’s good that they haven’t treated you too badly.”

The economic situation always represents the status of a person’s family. Just as the original owner had no money at Lu’s house before, she could hardly bring anything back to her mother’s house. At that time, Chen Guixiang only hoped that her daughter would be good and never pick on these things. They always dressed her daughter better every time she went back. Now thinking about it, they were silly at that time. The so-called “fall into the moat and you’ll be wiser next time”^[1]one only learns from one’s mistakes.. Now Chen Guixiang finally understands, so every time Jiahui comes back with a generous gift, she is still very happy. Like this time, Jiahui’s mother-in-law especially gave a bag of red dates to her third daughter-in-law who was pregnant with a baby.

“Does your mother-in-law know about that?”

Chen Guixiang had a thought and asked Jiahui a question.

“What is it?”

Jiahui really couldn’t guess what her mother was talking about at first. So, she asked in confusion.

“That you are still….. a young maiden.”

Jia Hui suddenly realized

“This…. I think so? I do not know if Donglin said it.”

Chen Guixiang reached out and nodded her forehead, hating iron from not turning to steel. She then said, “Why are you so stupid? Your mother-in-law may be waiting for the birth of this baby. You have been married to Donglin for three months. It’s reasonable to be pregnant. “

Jiahui thought about it and felt that her mother-in-law maybe didn’t have this intention.

“No, Mother-in-law never mentioned about me giving birth. She simply gave my sister-in-law a tonic for her health, no other meaning.”

Chen Guixiang really wanted to take an axe and crack open the head of her daughter to see if it was filled with straw.

It is common for rural wives to get pregnant. Many of them hold two jobs in three years. They go to the field with a big stomach. Some even have children with their heads down. In this environment, pregnancy, especially the second child, is not something worthy of serious treatment.

When she gave Jiahui a bag of red dates It was specially ordered for Jiahui’s mother-in-law. She doesn’t need to be so polite. It’s likely that she was thinking of that. However, her daughter is a wooden head and doesn’t want to raise it at all.

The reason for not being pregnant before can be justified. But now that she was doing well with son-in-law, it would be unjustifiable if there was no movement again.

“There is no movement.”

And there will not be any movement, on this point of childbirth, she and Zhao Donglin have agreed. That is, to not have children in three years. As for how to do contraception, in addition to the safe period, there is another auxiliary method. As long as it is the probability of winning the lottery, they should not get pregnant.

“How come there is no movement? You can have a snack (be attentive)). If you can’t, go to the hospital. “

If you don’t know that, it will undoubtedly give her hope. It’s too harmful to women to not have children. Her daughter has experienced it once, and she really doesn’t want her to experience it again.

“Mom, I have no problem. Don’t worry. Let’s let it go. Donglin already has Heidan and Yingbao. He’s not waiting for me to have a baby. Besides, Yingbao is still young. It’s not very convenient for me to have a baby now. “

Who is Chen Guixiang? As soon as she heard it, she knew something was going on here. They must have taken into account the two children.

“Okay, at the end of the day, it is always your own life. You should know what to do. One thing is, if there is a problem, go to the doctor early. If there is no problem, whatever it is, discuss it with your son-in-law. Don’t make your mother-in-law unhappy. “

This sentence contains too much content. She has seen through it, but she won’t talk about it. Even if she were her daughter’s mother, she couldn’t live her daughter’s life for her. There’s no need to nag on the second day of the new year this year. For the time being, she let her daughter go.

Jiahui smiled and took Chen Guixiang’s arm. Knowing that her mother didn’t continue to ask, means that she was willing to spare her.

This day, Zhao Donglin was drunk again at the wine table, and Jiahui helped him into the house to rest and found him pretending to be drunk.

“What’s wrong with you? You like to pretend to be drunk so much!”

Zhao Donglin, with a mouthful of alcohol, rubbed Jiahui’s palm and said with a smile, “This is a strategy. If I don’t pretend to be drunk, your three brothers will have to let me drink until I vomit.”

His move was brought out in the army. The drinking capacity of his three eldest brothers was really not enough in front of him. In order not to let his father-in-law and his three eldest brothers lose face in front of him, Zhao Donglin sacrificed his image and pretended to be drunk.

“Come on you, you’re the only one with a lot of heart.”

Zhao Donglin pulled her into his arms and said, with a smile in her ear, “I just have a thousand and ten thousand eyes, and all of them are filled with you.”

The hot whisper and full of alcohol’s scent made Jiahui’s face instantly hot. Her legs had some reflexive weakness, so she pushed Zhao Donglin and got up. She picked up the hair scattered around her ears, grunted and left the room, afraid that she would be in trouble if she stayed any longer.