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◎ First update ◎
There were three skewers of roasted grasshoppers, and it was roasted until it’s crispy, but they still didn’t look very good. Xu Shengya found them a bit scary. The other roasted cicadas were no better; the black bodies of the insects were frightening her.
“Baoling used to love roasting bugs. Every summer, she would catch bugs everywhere, then put a few stones together and roast them. When there was no meat to eat, she would treat roasted bugs as meat.”
Xu Shengya looked at the skewers of roasted insects and suddenly felt at loss as to where to start. She looked up and asked her sister-in-law, “Does your sister really like to eat this?”
“She does. She thought she didn’t have much to give as a gift, but this is great—it’s all meat.”
“Xiaoya, do you dare to eat it?” Xu Shengjie asked while holding a skewer of roasted cicadas. He took a bite; the roasted cicadas smelled quite nice. In the past, when the conditions in the military were not good, everyone would catch some insects to supplement their meals.
“I dare to eat it!” Xu Shengwei, who had just come back from outside, shouted when he saw the ‘feast’. He took a bite of the roasted grasshoppers, and the more he chewed them, the more delicious they became. “Wow, so many! Xiaoya, try some; this is very delicious.”
“I…” Xu Shengya was a bit hesitant to try it. She felt a little scared. She looked at her family—her eldest brother, sister-in-law, and second brother—who were all enjoying the food, and even her grandmother was eating happily. Since this was a gift from her sister-in-law’s younger sister, she decided she should try it. “Okay, I’ll give it a try.”
She took a small bite of the roasted cicada, her face scrunched up as she mustered the courage to chew. Despite feeling a bit uneasy, she kept chewing and kept telling herself, “It’s not an insect, it’s not an insect.” Surprisingly, she started to taste the flavor and found that it was quite delicious.
“How is it?” Liang Baozhen noticed that Xiaoya was having trouble eating. To avoid making her feel worse, she gently suggested, “If you can’t handle it, you can spit it out.”
“It’s okay, it actually tastes quite good.”
“See, I told you!” Xu Shengwei said excitedly. “No one can resist the charm of roasted insects! They’re really delicious. If you like them, we can catch some next time. But it’s harder to catch them here compared to the village.”
Although Xu Shengya had just accepted eating insects, she wasn’t that greedy. “Brother, let’s not overdo it.”
That night, there were a few strings of roasted insects among the Xu family’s vegetable, which could barely be considered a meaty dish.
***
Thinking about going to the State Cotton Factory to work the next day, Liang Baozhen was having a hard time sleeping. The room was pitch dark, and she turned over gently, trying to find a comfortable position to continue sleeping.
“Can’t sleep?” Xu Shengjie’s voice sounded in the darkness.
“You haven’t slept yet?” Liang Baozhen thought Xu Shengjie was asleep, so she had been careful not to wake him up. Now that she knew he was still awake, she moved closer until their shoulders touched. “I’m not sure, but I think I’m a bit nervous.”
“Don’t be nervous,” Xu Shengjie said, wrapping his right arm around her neck and gently patting her shoulder. “The people at the factory are nice. Except for a few comrades with problems, everyone else is honest.”
Liang Baozhen could tell that Xu Shengjie was talking about Chen Siming. Then she remembered seeing him this morning. This man was always haunting her. “Did he come to see you this morning? What did you two talk about?”
Xu Shengjie’s expression hardened in the darkness as he recalled the nonsense Chen Siming had said to him this morning.
“Baozhen married you out of greed. Just wait, she will regret it soon. No one would be willing to marry an ordinary worker when she could have married the factory director’s son,” Chen Siming said arrogantly, hoping to see a trace of weakness or fear on Xu Shengjie’s face.
Who knew that Xu Shengjie would just give him a cold look.
Forgetting the memory, Xu Shengjie softened his tone. “Why bother with what a barking dog says? Just go to sleep.”
“Why don’t you tell me?” Liang Baozhen couldn’t tell that Chen Siming was the male lead’s brother from the book, with a special halo. But if he kept causing trouble, she’d need to find a solution.
There is still half a year before Chen Siming’s big embezzlement and bribery scandal is exposed. Before going to bed, Liang Baozhen silently prayed that hopefully he would start causing trouble sooner, so she wouldn’t have to wait so long.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s our issue,” Xu Shengjie said, pulling her closer. “If anything happens at the factory, let me know. With everyone around, he wouldn’t dare to bother you. If he does, remember to come to me immediately.”
“I know, I know.” Liang Baozhen lay in Xu Shengjie’s arms, feeling warmed as she listened to the usually taciturn man chatter to her for a long time. It felt like he had become as gentle as the man she met ten years later in her dream. She raised her head and kissed him on the cheek. “I feel like you’re already in your thirties.”
Liang Baozhen was talking about Xu Shengjie’s age in her dream, but Xu Shengjie didn’t understand and thought his wife was commenting on his age. He chuckled, “What are you talking about? Are you complaining about me being older?”
As he spoke, he gently stroked Liang Baozhen’s cheek and leaned close to her ear. Their breaths intertwined, Liang Baozhen sensed a hint of danger and quickly begged for mercy.
“I was wrong, Comrade Xu Shengjie, you are young, handsome, and strong… um…”
Before she could finish her words, the man had already blocked her mouth. That night, Liang Baozhen truly experienced the strength of a strong man.
***
When she got up the next day, her waist was still a bit sore.
Liang Baozhen yawned, brushed her teeth, and washed her face. Xu Shengjie had already put on his clothes and was cooking porridge and steaming taro and dry steamed buns at the stove.
There was not enough food at home. The 20 pounds of dried taro that they exchanged for five pounds of food tickets last time could only last for a while. He steamed the dried taro until it was soft, mashed it into a paste, mixed it with a little cornmeal, and steamed it into steamed cornbread.
It also tastes sweet, which is why Xiaowei and Xiaoya love it so much.
While stirring the pot, Xu Shengjie watched as Liang Baozhen brushed her teeth. There was some toothpaste foam on the corner of her mouth. She took a sip of mouthwash, tilted her head back, gulped it down, and spit it out. When she noticed that the man was looking at her, Liang Baozhen glared at him.
She didn’t want to bother with him!
Xu Shengjie knew he was in the wrong, so he picked out the roundest taro steamed bun for his wife and put it in her bowl.
“Baozhen, don’t be scared on your first day at the factory. If you don’t understand anything, just ask.” Zhou Yun had seen that her granddaughter-in-law was straightforward and smart, so there shouldn’t be any problems. However, she reminded her grandson as usual, “Xiaojie, remember to take good care of your wife.”
“I know, Grandma. Don’t worry.”
Xiaowei and Xiaoya knew that their sister-in-law was also going to work in their eldest brother’s factory, so they also said a few words.
“Sister-in-law, if you have any issues, just find my brother.”
“Brother knows everything. If you feel wronged, remember to tell him.” Xu Shengya drank the last mouthful of porridge and muttered to herself. This was what her brother had told her.
Liang Baozhen: “…” Suddenly, she felt like she was back on the first day of primary school when her whole family was giving her instructions.
Xu Shengjie, who was held in high regard by the whole family, held a steamed bun in his hand, glanced at his wife, who was watching him, but said nothing.
The two of them set out for the factory together. On the way, they met some factory workers who lived nearby. Liang Baozhen looked at the crowd of blue work uniforms heading to the factory and felt a sense of novelty at joining them.
Suddenly, a voice called from behind.
“Xiao Xu, Baozhen?”
Liang Baozhen looked back and saw that it was Cheng Caili, who lived opposite them in the courtyard.
She was dressed in a nice blouse, looking energetic, and carrying a shoulder bag as she walked forward. She greeted the two of them with a smile.
“Sister Cheng.”
“I heard from the people in the courtyard yesterday that you got a job? You two are both working now.”
“Yes, it has just been arranged.”
“That’s impressive. There aren’t many couples in our courtyard who are both employed. Xiao Xu is really quick.”
Xu Shengjie smiled slightly at the compliment and looked around for Cheng Caili’s husband but didn’t see him. He couldn’t help but ask, “Sister Cheng, you’re joking. By the way, where’s Brother Lu?”
“He’s on a business trip and won’t be home for a few days.”
Lu Yuan is a third-level worker in the steel plant. Sometimes he goes to the neighboring city to learn technical skills. The factory values him very much.
“I won’t say more. I’m almost late,” Cheng Caili said as she said goodbye and hurried to the supply and marketing cooperative where she worked. “Baozhen, let’s go for a walk when we have time. Lu Yuan isn’t home, and I’m really bored!”
Caught off guard by the neighbor’s invitation, Liang Baozhen could only nod as she watched Cheng Caili’s departing figure.
“Sister Cheng is so cool, she just comes and goes like the wind.”
“Sister Cheng has always been like that.”
Xu Shengjie took Liang Baozhen to the cotton-spinning workshop when they arrived at the State Cotton Factory. Today she had to follow the arrangements of the workshop director.
“You…” Xu Shengjie felt a bit like he was on Xiaowei and Xiaoya’s first day in elementary school. Looking at Liang Baozhen, who was curiously looking around, he suddenly said, “You will need to follow the arrangements of the workshop director in a while. I guess they will find someone to guide you. Since you just arrived, they won’t assign you too much work. Just learn slowly and ask if you don’t understand anything. If there’s any problem, find me. If I’m not around, you can look for Hong Saner.”
“I got it. You should go to work now.” Liang Baozhen was mostly excited and curious at this moment. She just wanted to fit in quickly and urged her husband to return to work.
When Xu Shengjie walked out of Liang Baozhen’s workshop, he ran into the workshop director, Yang Jianlin. He and Director Yang had met several times because of work. Director Yang was a nice person, but they didn’t have any more interactions beyond that.
“Director Yang,” Xu Shengjie gestured at the woman behind him, “My wife is coming to work for the first time today. Please take care of her.”
After saying that, he took out a pack of Da Qian Men cigarettes from his pocket and offered one to Yang Jianlin. For men, cigarettes are a good way to connect.
Yang Jianlin looked at Liang Baozhen standing there and understood, then took Xu Shengjie’s cigarette, “Don’t worry, we are all from the same factory, so I’ll look out for her.”
Xu Shengjie thanked him and went to his workshop. After a few steps, he looked back and found that he was already talking to the workshop director, Yang Jianlin.
Xu Shengjie was worried about Liang Baozhen the whole morning. He looked at the workshop entrance from time to time, but he didn’t know how she was doing.
Hong Saner suddenly came in and shouted, “Comrades, there are delicious dishes in the cafeteria today!”
The workers working around asked one after another, “What’s the dish?”
“Braised hairtail fish, soybean pig’s trotters!”
“Wow! Then I have to leave early! If I’m late, I won’t be able to fight.”
Xu Shengjie heard this and was tempted, especially as Hong Saner put his hand on Xu Shengjie’s shoulder and said, “So, what do you say? Let’s leave early.”
“You can eat with them today.”
“What’s going on? Leaving just like that?”
“My wife started work today. I’m taking her to get familiar with the place.” Xu Shengjie smiled at the still-single Hong Saner and patted his shoulder. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Tsk~” Hong Saner lifted his head, disdainfully, and shouted, “You were not like this before. You forget your loyalty when you see a beauty and forget your brothers when you see your wife, right~”
Xu Shengjie wanted to take his wife to get familiar with the factory and then take her to the canteen for lunch. Just as he was about to reply to Hong Saner, he heard someone calling him outside the workshop.
It was a familiar, clear voice.
“Wait…” Xu Shengjie quickly walked out and was planning to adjust the equipment before having lunch with his wife.
“Shengjie, several female workers in our workshop said they want to take me to the canteen for lunch, so I’ll leave first.” Liang Baozhen quickly said, waved at him, and left with two female workers.
Hong Saner, with his sharp eyes, understood everything. He stepped up, put his arm around Xu Shengjie’s shoulder, and smiled sarcastically, “Oh, who’s feeling lonely now?”
The author has something to say:
Xu Shengjie: My wife must be very nervous and uncomfortable on her first day at work. She needs me!
Liang Baozhen: Not necessarily ⊙▽⊙
I saw some kids say that eating grasshoppers might cause allergies, so don’t try it lightly. In the past, people would eat them because conditions were poor, but now there are so many delicious foods, so be careful!
(But I don’t think anyone will try it after reading this chapter, right?! ⊙▽⊙)
***
🌸 Thank you so much for reading! 🌸 If you’d like to download the PDF or EPUB version of The Little Sweet Wife Arrives At The Courtyard In The Seventies, feel free to visit my Ko-Fi page! ☕📖✨ Chapters 1-98 are available for download. 😊