Chapter 56: Going to the market and thin waist

Early Saturday morning, Zhang Yuandong took Lin Yue and the children to the Xiaowu Village market.

     The main room of the house had already been built, and the floor had been paved with cement. Once the floor dried, they could move in.

    The main structure of the annex had been built, and they would start capping it today.

    Because they were in a hurry, they couldn’t buy tiles, so they used thatch for the capping.

     Actually, a thatched roof is much more troublesome than a roof made of small blue tiles. It requires thick layers of thatch to be laid evenly on the roof, which is a meticulous job.

    But Lin Yue thought that a thatched roof looked much better than a blue tile roof. It had a unique beauty belonging to a certain era.

     Because it was almost Mid-Autumn Festival, there were many people coming to the market.

    The children were too young, and they were afraid they couldn’t keep an eye on them, so they each used a restraint strap to tie the children to their chests.

     After the two little ones grew up, Lin Yue rarely took them out with her. The two little ones didn’t remember things from their childhood and thought they were coming to the market for the first time.

    Seeing so many people and so many things for sale, the two of them widened their eyes in amazement, their little heads turning back and forth, feeling like they didn’t have enough eyes.

     Lin Yue saw them like this and said with a smile: “When you two were little, I also tied you to my body like this and came to the market.

    You don’t remember now, do you?” Little Lingling asked in surprise: “Was Dad here too?” Lin Yue: “No, your dad hadn’t come back then.

    ” Little Lingling didn’t believe it: “You said you couldn’t carry us!” Meaning that her mother couldn’t possibly carry both her and her brother at the same time.

     Lin Yue laughed: “You two were this big then, lying in my arms, so small, of course I could carry you two.

    Now you’re getting bigger and bigger, and I can’t carry you anymore.

    ” Little Wanli was in his father’s arms, blinking his big eyes and listening carefully, obviously very curious.

     They hadn’t walked far when Lin Yue heard someone calling her from behind.

     She turned around and saw that it was Lin Mei, her second uncle’s cousin.

     Lin Mei was wearing a brand new green military uniform, with a pair of white canvas shoes on her feet, and two braids hanging down to her chest. She looked both refreshing and beautiful. Lin Yue instantly thought of a word, “a foreign student wearing white shoes.”

     Green military uniforms hadn’t become popular in the small county town yet. Ordinary people found it difficult to make a new set of clothes, let alone a green military uniform like this.

    Her outfit was very eye-catching in this dusty market. Many people kept turning around to look at her.

     Then look at Lin Yue. She was wearing a white flower-patterned jacket on top and a pair of indigo-colored homespun trousers on her legs. Her arms and legs were patched.

    She was still somewhat particular; the patches were quite symmetrical and not too ugly.

    Her feet were a little better. Today, for the market, she had at least put on a pair of black cloth shoes with a thousand layers of soles. Her hair was cut into a bob, and she was carrying a chubby baby in front of her. She was a typical rural wife, no comparison, really no comparison.

     Lin Mei was also looking at Lin Yue. Although she was dressed in a rustic way, she had a unique aura that made her stand out in the crowd.

     Moreover, Lin Yue’s appearance also made her jealous.

    She had always disliked Lin Yue for being prettier than her and had bullied her a lot.

     They hadn’t seen each other in a few years, and now she had become even more refined and beautiful. If you ignored her dark and yellow skin, she didn’t look like a rural wife at all. She was even more eye-catching than many of the children of cadres she had seen in the provincial capital university.

     Especially since she was standing beside a tall man in a white police uniform. Although he wasn’t the kind of square-faced man she liked, it was undeniable that he was very handsome.

    The two of them stood side by side, anyone who saw them would think they were a golden boy and girl. Even the two children they were carrying were cute and lovely, which made her really angry.

     Lin Mei asked loudly: “Who is this man? Why are you walking with him, and so intimately?” Lin Yue was a little confused. This cousin was in a six-year university, and she should still be studying outside.

    Shouldn’t she be studying in another city? Why did she have time to come to the market? And they hadn’t seen each other in over two years, and the first thing she said when they met was this, she didn’t know what she meant.

    She tentatively said: “This is… my husband?” Her tone was a little hesitant, she didn’t know if this answer would satisfy Lin Mei. If she wasn’t satisfied, there was nothing she could do. She couldn’t follow Lin Mei’s wishes and say that this was her wild man outside! Lin Mei was indeed not satisfied with this answer: “You’re lying, your husband is clearly a soldier, this man is obviously a policeman, who are you fooling?” Lin Yue: “He’s working in the police station now.

    No, what do you want to tell me?” Is it just to catch some kind of adultery? Lin Mei tightly pinched her fingers; her heart was very uneasy.

     She had previously looked down on the man Lin Yue married. Although everyone admired soldiers now, being a soldier was still a very dangerous thing. If you weren’t extremely passionate about it, or if your life was really too difficult, very few people would actually want to be a soldier.

    There weren’t many people who really wanted to be a soldier.

    Therefore, most of the people who enlisted in the army in recent years were from rural areas. City dwellers had more job opportunities. As long as they had the chance to find a job, few people would consider joining the army.

Moreover, if you worked in a factory, even a temporary worker would earn more than ten yuan a month.

    Lin Mei knew that there were several people from their village who had been soldiers for several years, and they only received ten yuan a month in allowance.

    Not to mention that Lin Yue’s in-laws didn’t even give a dowry when she got married, they exchanged her for half a bag of grain. How could they be a wealthy family? But being a policeman was different. It was not only very prestigious, but the salary was also high, and it was much easier for family members to move and register their residence. This was a treatment that many workers in factories would kill for! Now Lin Yue’s partner had gone from a “little soldier” to a policeman. It’s easy to imagine how much Lin Mei was suffering.

     She had always dreamed of marrying a policeman. Now she found out that the person she looked down on the most had a policeman husband, and her heart was filled with pain. She glared at her fiercely and turned to leave.

     Lin Yue thought Lin Mei was very strange. She didn’t know what kind of madness she was having.

     The two of them continued walking forward. Zhang Yuandong was a little absent-minded. When Lin Yue said “this is my husband” just now, he started to feel dazed. Those three words had too much impact on him. He seemed very calm as he walked beside Lin Yue, but one hand unconsciously reached for the belt outside his white uniform.

     Because it was inconvenient in daily life, colleagues in the bureau rarely wore belts properly. Today was not a workday, he only came out to the market, and there was no need to dress so formally.

     He didn’t realize it, but every time he went home, he would unconsciously fasten his belt.

    He hadn’t been aware of this before, but after being looked up and down by Lin Mei just now, he suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.

     Lin Yue also noticed Zhang Yuandong’s abnormality. However, when she saw him touching his belt, she thought of something else.

     Zhang Yuandong had been in the army before, and he always wore military uniform. After he returned home, he quickly got a police uniform and had almost no chance to wear civilian clothes. Since Zhang Yuandong came back, she had been very busy, so she hadn’t gotten around to getting him some clothes until now.

     Actually, in this era, wearing a uniform was a great honor. Even in daily life, people preferred to wear work clothes.

     Lin Yue had never been a worker in this era, so she didn’t understand very well.

    She saw Zhang Yuandong’s action and thought he felt awkward going to the market in his police uniform. She remembered it and planned to make him some clothes for daily wear when she had time.

     Zhang Yuandong didn’t know that his little action had made Lin Yue determined to get him some clothes. He was still immersed in his awkward thoughts. Even just walking beside Lin Yue, he felt embarrassed, afraid that others would discover his secret thoughts.

     Until he heard the little person on his chest call him several times, he came to his senses.

    He looked down and saw that it wasn’t just Little Wanli calling, but Little Lingling in Lin Yue’s arms was also calling.

    Little Lingling was calling “Sugar balls! Mom, buy me sugar balls!” Little Wanli was calling: “Dad, I want that!” Zhang Yuandong rarely heard his son ask for something so directly.

    The little guy, who was barely three years old, usually seemed very calm and had the air of an older brother.

    The little guy finally took the initiative to ask for something, of course Zhang Yuandong wouldn’t refuse. He held the child and went to the sugar painting stall he pointed to.

     Although market management wasn’t as strict as it would be in a few years, some things under unified purchase and distribution were still not allowed to be bought and sold privately.

    At the market, you could only see some commonly used tools, vegetable stalls set up by the production team and the supply and marketing cooperative, and almost nothing else. Sugar balls and sugar paintings were the only two snacks that could be bought at the market. Children looked forward to the market, actually just for these two things.

     The sugar painting master held an iron spoon and quickly drew a cute, three-dimensional little rabbit on the paper with sugar syrup.

    Little Wanli had never seen anyone draw before, and he couldn’t take his eyes off it.

     Zhang Yuandong patted the little guy and asked: “What kind of animal do you want? Tell Grandpa, Grandpa will make it for you.

    ” Little Wanli said without hesitation: “I want a little rabbit!” Zhang Yuandong smiled at the old man selling sugar paintings. The old man quickly made another little rabbit and handed it to the child in his arms with a smile.

     Zhang Yuandong paid the money, but Little Wanli still wouldn’t leave. He begged his father to watch for a while longer.

    Unfortunately, there were very few parents who were willing to buy sugar paintings for their children. After waiting for a long time, the master craftsman only sold one big yellow ox.

     Little Wanli still didn’t want to leave. He kept stretching his head to look in his father’s arms, making Zhang Yuandong very helpless. He thought for a moment and spent another penny to have the old man make a little mouse. Little Wanli finally left with satisfaction.

     Little Lingling held a long-sugar-coated hawthorn stick in her hand, licking the sugar on it with relish, and occasionally showing off to her brother.

    Little Wanli didn’t care at all. His mother had also bought him one, and it was in his mother’s basket.

     He held the little rabbit and little mouse in his hand and looked at them with great affection. There were too many people at the market, and sometimes others would almost bump into him, but he would use his arm to block them, cherishing them.

     A small person with a serious face. Zhang Yuandong rarely interacted with children, and couldn’t see through this child’s thoughts. Only Lin Yue knew that her son was definitely struggling with which sugar figure to give to his sister.