Chapter 005

The family finished breakfast by 6:30. After her husband left for school, Xu Xiangjuan made four more buns and sent them to her parents.

She knew her mother had a sharp tongue but a soft heart.

There were four children in their family: two older brothers and an older sister. She was the youngest. Her parents treated her very well. Her older siblings eventually moved out, but they never forgot to send things home, and the family would receive at least one package a month.

Her father was somewhat patriarchal. Little Uncle’s family always paid attention to what her older siblings sent to her parents. Although her mother was strong-willed, she didn’t dare to argue with her father. There were always things that Little Uncle’s family took, but Xu Xiangjuan would never allow her father to send those things out.

She remembered when she was about to give birth to Niuniu, her sister had sent her two cans of foreign milk powder. This was very valuable, but one of the cans was taken by Little Uncle’s family.

Her mother had quarreled with her father that day. Afterward, she came to Xu Xiangjuan’s house and specifically mentioned that she had argued with her father. In the past, her mother never raised her voice against her father.

The milk powder was very precious, even better than malt milk powder. Her aunt was no fool, constantly encouraging Little Uncle, the useless man, to come to their house to take things. Little Uncle’s family always remembered better than her siblings when to send packages.

Before Xu Xiangjuan got married, she kept an eye on what her older siblings sent. Even when she was still unmarried, if Little Uncle’s family tried to take advantage of her, she would snatch it back.

After she got married, since they lived in the same village, she still maintained contact with her natal home and kept an eye on the things her siblings sent.

The packages her siblings sent were always hers by default. She guarded them like a mother hen guarding her chicks. She wouldn’t give them to anyone except her parents, and if Little Uncle’s family tried to take advantage, she would drive them away.

Before she got married, she hadn’t understood all the talk, but after marriage, her aunt directly called her a shrew, claiming that the men in her family couldn’t tolerate her and that they were always fighting.

At the time, Xu Xiangjuan didn’t pay attention to those idle rumors, and now she still didn’t care. As long as they didn’t try to take her things, they could say whatever they wanted.

She still remembered when her milk powder had been taken. She had been pregnant at the time, and it was her mother who had gone with her to snatch it back. Fortunately, they had gone early, or that can of milk powder would have been wasted.

As for her family’s things, she wasn’t embarrassed to take them back. Her father had said that things once given away couldn’t be taken back. It was shameful for a wife and child to take them back.

At that time, her father had even scolded her, but she had yelled at him back, and he had backed down.

Her father only acted tough in front of her mother. In front of the grown children, he was just a sheep who only knew how to bleat.

Her mother had said that the baby in her belly would definitely be strong, as she had caused such a ruckus and scolded her so fiercely, yet the baby didn’t make a sound except for kicking her mother’s belly a few times.

When her husband left, her parents used their Funeral Savings to help her with the funeral arrangements and to raise the child.

But until she had an accident, her parents were still healthy and alive. Thinking back, she realized she had been rather thoughtless when she was younger, always taking things from home and rarely going out.

Niuniu was still sleeping, so Xu Xiangjuan took Guagua to her maternal grandmother’s home.

By this time, everyone in the countryside had already gotten up. Those who slept in were considered lazy men and women, and the villagers would gossip about them, which would tarnish their reputation.

“Always sending things home. What are you trying to get from your siblings?” Last night, it was a bowl of chicken; this morning, it was egg pancake.

Could it be that she was trying to get things from her siblings and was starting with her parents?

She peeled a piece of fruit candy and fed it to her little granddaughter. In Wu Caifeng’s eyes, her daughter was someone who wouldn’t get up early unless there was something to gain.

But now, it was only her youngest daughter who was still by her and her husband’s side. Of course, the good things were saved for this daughter. They’d rather move everything to their daughter’s house than let their younger sister-in-law’s family take a piece of candy or a grain of rice.

“Grandma and Grandpa are eating, it’s delicious, it’s made by Mom.” After eating the egg pancake and a piece of candy, Guagua hurriedly told her grandparents.

She had eaten enough, and since there would be food every day in the future, she wouldn’t take anything from her grandparents.

Since her mother thought she had an ulterior motive, Xu Xiangjuan decided to play along with that idea. Actually, it was just right. Right now, a bicycle still needed a ticket, and in a year or two, it wouldn’t. She might as well buy it now, instead of waiting for several years.

Although in a few years, wages would increase, and bicycles would become less rare and cheaper, it was still better to buy early. There was no need to wait several years when she could use it now. “We still need a bicycle ticket in our county, Mom. I’ll write a letter to my older brother and ask him to send me a bicycle ticket next time he sends something. I want to buy a bicycle.”

When Wu Caifeng heard about buying a bicycle, she immediately disagreed. “Does he want to buy it? How expensive a bicycle is, and you want to buy one? Don’t even think about it! Don’t think that just because I can’t read, you can write to your brother on your own. Even if your brother sends the ticket, I’ll tear it up and won’t give it to you. What, is that poor boy now so precious? Doesn’t want to walk a few steps but wants me to use my daughter’s money and ticket to buy a bicycle? Dream on!”

The man didn’t even have thirty-two legs and couldn’t even turn a full circle. He only had 800, and he managed to marry her daughter and live in a good courtyard. This poor man had some nerve now thinking he could get a bicycle!

Actually, in the 1980s, electrical appliances began to appear, and dowries were now considered electrical appliances, which were even more expensive. But the older generation in the countryside still only recognized the old-fashioned dowry of three turns and thirty-two legs.

Zhou Chengning had actually given Xu Xiangjuan twelve hundred yuan, which was more than enough to buy the three turns and thirty-two legs. However, Wu Caifeng refused to listen, insisting that it was only eight hundred, claiming that the remaining four hundred was just Xu Xiangjuan’s attempt to save face by fooling her mother. Moreover, she believed that the eight hundred was not as practical as the old traditional dowry.

Xu Xiangjuan couldn’t possibly show her mother the full twelve hundred yuan. Given her mother’s prejudice against Ah Ning, she would certainly think that the extra four hundred was Xu Xiangjuan’s private savings. She didn’t want to argue, as her life was her own, and she wasn’t going to get into a serious debate over it.

Xu Xiangjuan knew it was difficult to change her mother’s opinion of her son-in-law. It wasn’t until her husband was nearing the end of his life that her mother finally softened and admitted that Cheng Ning had truly suffered a lot in this life.

Xu Xiangjuan said, “Mom, how could it be that he wants to buy it? If he wanted to buy it, would I just buy it for him? I’d be making a fool of myself! It’s really me who wants to buy it, and I know how to ride a bicycle. Usually, I have my husband take me places, so I don’t have to walk and wear out my shoes.”

Speaking of shoes, the weather was getting colder as October approached, and she needed to knit sweaters for both the big and small ones. She had made knitted shoes for the little one before, but for the older one, she thought his feet were too big, and it would be a waste of yarn. In the past, when winter came and the weather turned cold, her husband always wore several pairs of thin socks full of holes and then put on cloth shoes or liberation shoes.

The first pair of cotton shoes she bought for her husband was because it was such a cold winter, and his heels got frostbite, making it hard for him to sleep at night.

These cotton shoes were no match for the knitted shoes she made, which were thicker and warmer. As the kids grew older and became financially independent, she didn’t mind spending yarn to make knitted shoes. However, the kids didn’t even wear them, complaining that they were ugly and wouldn’t wear them outside. Instead, they all bought cotton boots and fleece-lined boots.

Her daughter was so clever, while her son-in-law was such a coward. He was afraid of his wife both at home and outside, and it really didn’t seem like someone who would want to buy a bicycle. If he did want to buy one, her daughter would never agree. “Fine, you can write to your brother and tell him. That’s all you need to do.”

Her mother had a habit of stockpiling yarn, and there was a lot of it that her siblings had sent her, quite a bit, in fact.

Women of their generation liked to stock up, and Xu Xiangjuan didn’t even need to buy yarn. “Mom, winter is almost here, and you’ve already made a lot of sweaters for Dad and yourself. Guagua doesn’t even have a sweater yet, and I still need to knit socks for Niuniu.”

“From now on, don’t send me food anymore. Every time you send food, it’s never for a good reason. You always make me feel indebted.”

“Daughters are born to collect debts.” Xu Gensheng had nearly finished his second egg pancake.

Afraid that his wife would finish them all, Wu Caifeng grabbed another egg pancake and ate a few bites. In the end, she didn’t say anything else.

Indeed, her mother had a stockpile of yarn, thick and thin, soft and hard, all packed into a big wooden box. Xu Xiangjuan picked out several balls and put them in a woven bag to bring home.

When she got home, Xu Xiangjuan took out the steamer, washed it, and let it dry. Then she prepared the dough, letting it rest, and started making lunch. For lunch, she made porridge, reheated the leftover stewed chicken from yesterday, and stir-fried a plate of cowpeas.

With her husband not home, and Guagua still just a little one, Xu Xiangjuan had to do all the work herself. She went to the vegetable garden to pick the cowpeas hanging on the trellis, washed the pots, and did everything alone.

It had been a long time since she had worked so hard to make a meal.