Chapter 31 : Generous Daughter-in-law

Lu Changzheng first dropped Su Mo off at the educated youth point before returning home.

Li Yue’e was preparing to cook when she saw him come back. She asked, “Did you get the certificate? Where did you go? Why did you come back so late?”

“I got it. It’s here.”

Lu Changzheng unfolded the marriage certificate and showed it to his mother before folding it up again and putting it in his bag as if it were a treasure.

“I went to the county town to buy some things, so I came back late.” He then handed the 2 kilograms of pork belly in his net bag to Li Yue’e. “I bought two pounds of meat to cook for everyone tonight.”

As he reached out his hand, Li Yue’e noticed the new watch on his wrist and was stunned. “You bought a watch too? Where did you get so many tickets?”

Lu Changzheng smiled proudly. “My wife bought it for me. It’s a Haishi brand, 19 diamonds, all steel, and cost 125 yuan.”

“So you didn’t buy it for her?”

“No, she already has her own watch and wouldn’t let me buy one for her. I’ll give you the watch ticket later.”

Li Yue’e was silent. She was actually an honest person.

She had originally thought that 400 yuan was too much for a betrothal gift, but the girl turned around and spent more than 100 yuan to buy a watch for her son.

It made her feel a little stingy.

“Later, buy her a few more yards of good fabric so she can make two sets of clothes,” Li Yue’e instructed.

“Let’s see. My wife probably doesn’t like the fabrics from the supply and marketing cooperative here.”

“Why? Are you still reluctant?”

“No, she has plenty of clothes,” Lu Changzheng made an excuse, adding that he would buy something nice for her when he saw it.

“We went to see Xiaolan when we came back this afternoon. A lot of things had arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative, and they were taking inventory,” Lu Changzheng changed the subject.

When Li Yue’e heard this, she slapped her thigh and said, “If you hadn’t mentioned it, I almost forgot that you should have prepared everything in your house two days in advance. Otherwise, in two days, everyone will have finished harvesting, and you won’t even be able to get a hair.”

The autumn harvest in each brigade of Hongqi Commune finished around the same time, with only a difference of two or three days at most.

In their area, the autumn harvest was also the peak season for weddings. Although everyone was generally stingy, when it came to buying things, it could get quite competitive. If you were slow, you might miss out completely.

Li Yue’e quickly did the math and realized there were still a lot of things to prepare. She said, “Forget it, I’ll take a day off tomorrow and go get everything ready for your room. You can come with me tomorrow.”

“I want to go to the city tomorrow to look at bicycles and sewing machines. I also want to use my connections to get some meat for the banquet,” Lu Changzheng said, then seemed a bit confused. “Aren’t all the things in my room ready? What else do I need to prepare?”

Li Yue’e rolled her eyes at him. “Your house is just an empty shell. There are still a lot of things missing. Don’t you want firewood, rice, oil, and salt? Don’t you need bowls and chopsticks? How about thermos bottles and enamel basins? Don’t you need kerosene lamps? You’re not the head of the household, so you don’t know how many things a household really needs.”

After hearing what Li Yue’e said, Lu Changzheng instantly understood that his house was just a house for now, not yet a home.

Once all these things were bought and his wife moved in, then it would truly be his home.

“Okay, then you buy them. Just leave them at the supply and marketing cooperative, and I’ll bring them back when I come back. But don’t buy too much. My wife bought two iron-shell thermoses, two enamel washbasins, two enamel pots, and also soap, toothbrushes, and other things.”

“She also bought sheets and quilt covers and made two quilts,” Lu Changzheng recalled what his wife had bought that day.

Li Yue’e was a little surprised. She thought the two quilts were part of the dowry, but she didn’t expect her to buy so many things. All of it would cost several dozen yuan. She also bought a watch for the third son. This dowry was quite generous.

“Then your wife is quite generous,” Li Yue’e said.

“My wife is not a stingy person. She even gave Xiaolan a Dacron shirt today,” Lu Changzheng didn’t forget to praise his wife in front of his mother.

“What? A Dacron shirt? The one Secretary Geng wears, the one mentioned in the newspaper?”

Although Lu Changzheng had never seen the Dacron shirt that Secretary Geng wore, he assumed all Dacron shirts were similar, so he nodded.

Li Yue’e: …

This was also a waste of money. She had just given away such a nice piece of clothing. Although it was a gift for her daughter, she still felt a bit sad.

Next time, she had to tell her not to be so generous and to be more frugal in life.

Life isn’t always smooth sailing, so it’s important to save money, so you don’t go hungry if something happens.

Lu Changzheng didn’t realize he was trying to win favor in the wrong way. After speaking with his mother, he went to his grandfather’s room to discuss setting up the table.

—-  

Meanwhile, after Su Mo returned, no one from the educated youth camp had come back yet.

Su Mo first cooked corn porridge and then boiled a large pot of hot water.

She took out seven or eight large potatoes from her stock, peeled them, and cut them into large pieces. She also went to the vegetable garden to pick three large cabbages and cut them into large pieces. She cut two pounds of pork belly into large pieces, then marinated them with minced garlic, soy sauce, and pepper powder for a while.

Once all of that was done and the water was hot, Su Mo first put the water into a bucket and took it to the bathroom.

Then she added some oil to stir-fry the pork belly, added the potatoes, stir-fried them together, and finally added the cabbage, water, and simmered it over low heat. She was tired today, so she made a simple stew.

While the food was stewing, Su Mo quickly went to the bathroom to take a shower, knowing it would be difficult to do so once the others came back.

Su Mo had just finished showering when Zheng Caiping and Lin Xia, who were responsible for cooking that day, returned.

Zheng Caiping, still outside the educated youth center, smelled the strong aroma and rushed in.

Seeing Su Mo coming out of the bathroom, she asked excitedly, “Su Zhiqing, are we having meat again tonight?”

“Yeah,” Su Mo nodded. “I got the marriage certificate this afternoon and bought some meat to share with everyone.”

Zheng Caiping was stunned. This was too fast, wasn’t it? The proposal was made yesterday, and the marriage certificate was obtained today.

“I’ve already seasoned the dish. You just need to watch the fire. Once the potatoes are soft, you can serve it,” Su Mo instructed.

Now that the cook was back, she didn’t need to stay and watch anymore.

Su Mo walked past the two of them, still drying her hair. Lin Xia, standing outside, smelled the alluring fragrance and felt a pang of jealousy. She nearly fainted.

This little bitch only knows how to act like a capitalist, not at all frugal. Maybe she uses these tactics to seduce men.

Taking a shower so early, maybe she did something shameful with the man.

Zheng Caiping turned around and saw Lin Xia glaring at Su Mo’s back with a scary expression, which made her uneasy.

It’s better not to get too close to Lin Xia in the future.

When the other educated youth returned and heard there was meat to eat, they naturally congratulated and thanked Su Mo again. Su Mo accepted it calmly. She couldn’t stay here for much longer and didn’t have close relationships with anyone in the educated youth camp, but there was no reason to make enemies.

Everyone had a delicious meal, then lined up to wash up before returning to their rooms.

Su Mo also went to her room. She used the flashlight brought by the original owner to read the newspaper for a while before lying down to rest.