Chapter 30

Lin Guodong, upon seeing the letter,

I am Ning Shu.

Ning Shu was born in the era of electronic information and had never written a letter before, so when she picked up the pen, she really didn’t know how to write to Lin Guodong.

Lin Guodong squinted his eyes. He was not okay, not okay at all. He was almost scared out of his wits.

Ning Shu actually sent the letter to the barracks.

No, no, no. This couldn’t be Ning Shu. Maybe someone was playing a joke on him.

With this hope, Lin Guodong continued reading the letter:

“These two bottles of tofu are brought by my friend. They taste really good and go well with rice. I’m giving them to you to try. If you need more, write to me, and I’ll send more next time.”

So, these tofu-like small tofu blocks were called tofu. No, that wasn’t the point. The point was Ning Shu sent him something, which was like a fox visiting a henhouse. It couldn’t be good.

In his lifetime, Lin Guodong had received only two things from Ning Shu.

One was the cup of tea when he was 21, received through the hands of his sister, and he ended up drugged.

The other was when he went home at New Year, and he, his father, and his brothers drank a few more cups.

Ning Shu gave him a hangover remedy, but he ended up being drugged.

Ning Shu thought he didn’t know about it that time, but he actually guessed afterward.

Since they were already married, he didn’t break it off. It would only strain their relationship.

So… was there something added to this tofu too? Lin Guodong continued reading.

Writing to you this time, I want to tell you something. I want to buy a bike, but I don’t have the bike ticket. I hope you can solve this for me.

And… that’s all.

Lin Guodong frowned. Why did this woman suddenly want to buy a bike? Although he was puzzled, he immediately took out the reward he received for meritorious service last month from the metal box, which was a ticket for a watch.

He had wanted to buy Ning Shu a watch when he went back this time. Over the years, he had been away from home, and she had been taking care of three children alone.

It was hard enough for her, especially as a military spouse.

Actually, when he went home to visit in early 69, he had wanted to suggest that she bring the children with her and live with in the barracks, but a cup of hangover remedy scared him off.

With her personality, trouble might arise if she came to the barracks, so he didn’t dare to suggest it again.

But no matter what, she had given birth to three children for him, and each time she gave birth, he wasn’t by her side. So, buying her a watch to make her happy was the least he could do.

But now, since she wanted a bicycle, he had to exchange the watch ticket.

It seemed like just the watch ticket wasn’t enough. He only gave her 30 yuan each month, and seeing how well-fed she was, he knew she couldn’t save money.

So, he had to send some money over for the watch.

Lin Guodong opened his passbook, which contained his savings over the years, totaling 5800 yuan.

In these years, since marrying Ning Shu, his salary had increased from 60 yuan per month to 100 yuan per month last month. However, he still only sent back 30 yuan each month.

With the family now having three children instead of two, would the 30 yuan he sent to Ning Shu each month be enough?

Lin Guodong decided to start sending her 40 yuan each month from now on.

It’s not that he didn’t want to give her more, but he couldn’t trust her completely.

In fact, she wasn’t without her merits. Apart from the two instances of drugging, she never complained about anything, allowing him to focus on his duties in the army without worries.

Lin Guodong arrived at the canteen, where the communications officer Li had already prepared his meal.

Li called out, “Captain, over here.” Interestingly, Lin Guodong was the only officer of his rank without family accompanying him, so he still slept in the dormitory with the soldiers.

“Captain, that tofu from your wife is really delicious. Can you ask if she has more at home?” another soldier asked.

Lin Guodong… was caught off guard.

But he didn’t explain, saying, “I’ll ask.”

Ning Shu’s letter mentioned that if they wanted more, they should write to her, so she should have more. He would write to inquire.

However, as he watched the soldiers open the bottle of tofu, a fragrant aroma wafted out.

Lin Guodong asked, “Is it really delicious?”

The soldiers looked at each other, then unanimously said, “Not delicious.”

Another soldier chimed in, “Really not delicious. Captain, you should give us your bottle. We’ll take care of this not-so-delicious thing for you.”

Lin Guodong could easily see through their intentions.

He didn’t mince words and reached his chopsticks into the bottle to pick out a piece.

As the peculiar fragrance emanated from the tofu, it became even more enticing.

Lin Guodong scooped up some rice and then popped the tofu into his mouth.

Instantly, his eyes lit up. He regretted giving them this bottle. It was really delicious.

He thought to himself, if this tofu was so delicious, Ning Shu must have spent quite a bit of money on it.

It seemed she really wanted to buy a bicycle. Moreover, if he asked her to send over a few more bottles, he would have to send her more money. Just 40 yuan wouldn’t cover the expenses of buying tofu plus the expenses for their three children.

After finishing his meal, Lin Guodong washed his lunchbox and headed to Zhang Political Commissar’s house.

Zhang Political Commissar’s wife was named Lu Hong. She had just finished tidying up the dining table and was about to carry the dishes to wash when she saw Lin Guodong coming, feeling somewhat surprised.

“Captain Lin came to find Old Zhang? He’s not here.”

“No, I came to find Sister-in-law,” Lin Guodong said. Actually, Zhang Political Commissar was already 40 years old, while Lin Guodong was only 26.

Lu Hong was the wife Zhang Political Commissar married later, and she was only 35 years old this year. So, whether to call Lu Hong “aunt” or “sister-in-law,” Lin Guodong had been conflicted before.

In the end, he settled on “sister-in-law.”

“Oh? You came to find me?” This surprised Lu Hong.

“Captain Lin, is there something you need from me?” She put down the wooden tub containing the dishes and cutlery, asking in astonishment.

Lin Guodong replied truthfully, “Sister-in-law, do you know where I can exchange a bicycle ticket? I have a watch ticket that I can exchange. If the other party doesn’t want the ticket, I can also pay.”

“I actually know someone who has one, but they probably won’t exchange it. They want to sell it. But Captain Lin, do you want to sell your watch ticket? Our family’s Xiao Zhang is getting ready to get married, and we’re short one watch ticket,” Lv Hong asked.

The “Xiao Zhang” mentioned by Lu Hong was the son of Zhang Political Commissar and his ex-wife. He was 22 years old this year and was dating an artiste soldier.

Both sides had agreed to it. The other party wanted a watch, but they had been unable to find a watch ticket.

Hearing Lu Hong’s suggestion, Lin Guodong naturally couldn’t refuse.

After all, he relied on Lu Hong to exchange the bicycle ticket. “Xiao Zhang’s wedding is more important.”

Lu Hong also knew it was difficult for men to talk about prices, so she continued, “How about this? I’ll go buy the bicycle ticket, and then exchange the bicycle ticket with you for the watch ticket. That way, it’s a fair exchange. You won’t have to sell me the watch ticket and then go buy a bicycle ticket, running around everywhere.”

“Indeed, that would be convenient. Thank you, Sister-in-law,” Lin Guodong said.

He didn’t know the buying and selling prices of tickets, so this exchange was the most convenient.

“Then wait for me…” Lu Hong went back to her room, took some money, and went out to buy the bicycle ticket.

About 10 minutes later, she returned with a smile on her face. “Captain Lin, here is the bicycle ticket for you. But when you go to buy the bicycle, you have to be careful. The number of bicycles allocated in each place is limited. If you want to buy one, you have to go and reserve it in advance, or else it might be reserved by someone else.”

This passage has two meanings. If there are acquaintances in the department store, it’s easy to buy a bicycle.

If there are no acquaintances, the bicycles allocated by the department store might be sold to others first.

Lin Guodong exchanged his watch ticket with Lü Hong for a bicycle ticket, but he was thinking to himself that even if Ning Shu had money and a ticket, he might not necessarily be able to buy a bicycle.

It seems he still needs to ask people in the county for help.

Qinglin Bay Production Brigade

In the golden autumn of October, the entire brigade has been bustling since today. Even Ning Shu, who had been digging wild vegetables until yesterday, joined the autumn harvest campaign with her three kids today.

It’s not that Ning Shu is hardworking. It’s… in these more than ten days, she has been digging four times the amount of vegetables she usually does.

She’s almost dug up all the wild vegetables on the mountain, and until the new ones grow, she won’t have any more to dig. Of course, the result is joyful.

She earned more than 2000 just by digging vegetables, but that’s just a small part.

The major part is the bamboo shoots dug by Lin Xiaoshan and his mother. They secretly dug up all the bamboo shoots in the bamboo forest of Qinglin Bay Brigade. They sold batch after batch of bamboo shoots, earning more than 13000. Now the balance in her APP is 17890, but she hasn’t upgraded the APP.

Actually, she already has enough products to sell every day and enough products to buy five items every day. So she didn’t upgrade.

Of course, the more honest reason is that she can’t bear to take out 10000 yuan. Without 10000 yuan, she doesn’t feel secure, and she still owes Lin Xiaoshan a rice.

Fortunately, she doesn’t have to pay back the rice all at once because Lin Xiaoshan has nowhere to hide it.

So, after digging up all the vegetables and with a debt of a rice, Ning Shu decided to join the glorious autumn harvest action first to try it out.

It’s better than doing nothing at home.

Qinglin Bay produces a lot of crops during the autumn harvest. In October, it’s rice and sweet potatoes, followed by corn in November, and finally potatoes in December.

So, from October to December, it’s going to be busy.

Ning Shu poured the cold boiled water into the military kettle and took out the rice cakes from the APP.

In these more than ten days, she bought a lot of things in the APP but didn’t withdraw them.

Although there are many things in the APP, she doesn’t usually splurge.

Generally, she goes to town once every three days, and when she comes back, she brings some meat, either pork, ribs, pig’s trotters, or fish.

As for the times when she didn’t go to town, the food at home was just vegetarian dishes, at most supplemented with eggs.

So in terms of food, even Zao Hui’s mother wouldn’t suspect anything. Even if there were dishes like pan-fried belt fish or pickled fish, she’d just say she bought them from the state-owned restaurant. Who could go to the state-owned restaurant to verify?

So, everything was steady.

Ning Shu wrapped the four rice cakes in oiled paper, put them in a small basket along with the military kettle, then cut the pears she had bought in bulk into quarters, wrapped them in oiled paper, and placed them in the basket as well.

As for the idea that cutting pears is bad luck, Ning Shu didn’t believe in such superstitions.

Then, Ning Shu picked up her three children and the small basket. “Let’s go, Yi Bao, Er Bao,” she said.

It was time to go to work.

“Okay,” Yi Bao and Er Bao said as they carried their own small baskets, with Yi Bao also carrying a small grass mat.

The grass mat was custom-made by their mother, specifically for the children to crawl on, much smoother than a cloth laid on the ground.

At this time, quite a few people had already gathered in the large playground at the entrance of the village committee’s courtyard.

Today was the first day of the autumn harvest, and everyone was very enthusiastic.

Although it would be tiring, they could still “pick up some grains” for themselves.

“Look, it’s Ning the educated youth.”

“It’s Guodong’s wife, why is she here?”

“Third son’s wife, why are you here?”

Lin’s mother and others were also in line at the large playground to collect their tools. When they saw Ning Shu with her three children, Lin’s mother walked over to ask.

Ning Shu replied casually, “Here to work.”

“We’re also here to work,” the two children also chimed in.

“Yi Bao, Er Bao.” Lin Haicai also came over carrying a small basket to join them.

He hadn’t gone to his third aunt’s house for breakfast today.

Yesterday, after having a good dinner, Third Auntie mentioned that they wouldn’t be digging wild vegetables starting from tomorrow.

So when he got home after dinner yesterday, when everyone asked him what he had for dinner, he told his mother and grandmother about it.

Then his grandmother said, “Don’t go to your Third Auntie’s house for breakfast tomorrow.” So, when he got up this morning, he had breakfast at home and was then taken by his older siblings to pick rice ears.

However, when he was having breakfast, Er Bao came to the old house to call him.

Ning Shu was naturally not the type to burn bridges.

Just because they weren’t digging wild vegetables today didn’t mean she wouldn’t ask Haicai to come eat.

A five-year-old child couldn’t eat much anyway. Besides, they got along well with Yi Bao and Er Bao, forming a team of sorts.

They waited for Haicai for a long time today, but when Ning Shu sent Er Bao to call him, he was already eating at the old house.

“Okay, we’ll come pick rice ears too,” Yi Bao and Er Bao said. This wasn’t their first time picking rice ears; they had also done it during the first rice harvest of the year.

But it had been a long time, and they had forgotten.

Now, seeing so many other children here with their small baskets and backpacks, all coming to pick rice ears, they found it very lively.

In rural villages, schools don’t have classes during busy farming times. Children can pick up several kilograms of grain leftovers in a day, so adults often let children come and do the picking.

These children were accustomed to picking leftovers during the busy farming season.

Every year at this time, they were even more enthusiastic than the adults.

Lin’s mother heard Ning Shu say she was going to work and felt as if she had swallowed an egg, it was so surprising.

After all, she had been married to Guodong for five years and had never worked in the fields.

Even the land around their own home and the backyard were taken care of by others. But today, she was actually coming to work in the fields.

However, it was a good thing that she was willing to work in the fields, so Lin’s mother didn’t say much.

There were also people paying attention to Ning Shu nearby. When they saw Ning Shu coming with her children, some gossipy people said, “Oh, look, the young lady is going to work. Must be because she took everything from her in-laws to her parents’ house and ran out of money, right?”

Some time ago, Ning Shu exchanged sugar for chestnuts, so she must have spent all her money on sugar.

Ning Shu didn’t even spare them a glance. She never liked getting into arguments.

Seeing that Ning Shu ignored her, the woman turned to Lin’s mother and said, “I’m telling you, Guodong’s mother, this daughter-in-law needs to be disciplined. Such an unfilial daughter-in-law, emptying her in-laws’ house to help her parents’ house. She’ll have to be taught a lesson before she learns.”

“You can stop right there. My family’s affairs are none of your business.” Lin’s mother glared at herm

This woman, Jiang, was known for being gossipy in the brigade, always having something to say about everything.

“I’m not meddling; I’m just concerned. But when you take kindness for granted, you’ll end up with trouble. It’s all because of this daughter-in-law of yours, she’s climbing over people’s heads. If you don’t handle her properly, there’ll be consequences.” Jiang and Lin’s mother didn’t get along, and it was related to Lin Guodong, the original host.

In 1965, when Lin Guodong came home to visit, Jiang wanted to introduce her daughter to Lin Guodong, and she went to Lin’s mother to discuss it.

For Lin’s mother, who had a son who graduated from a military academy, she had quite a plan in mind.

She didn’t expect her son to marry a university graduate, but at the very least, his wife should have finished high school. How could she match up to her son otherwise?

So, when Jiang came to propose a marriage, Lin’s mother didn’t hesitate to refuse, saying that there were no plans for her son to get engaged at the moment.

However, just a few days later, news spread that Lin Guodong had started dating the original host, and they got married soon after.

This made Jiang extremely angry, feeling that Lin’s mother was looking down on her daughter.

Later, when Ning Shu got pregnant and caused a commotion, Jiang spoke ill of Lin’s mother behind her back, saying that Lin’s mother had high standards and wanted a “zhiqing” (educated youth), but now she was suffering for her choices.

Lin’s mother walked up to Jiang and then opened her mouth wide, exhaling forcefully.

“Hoo…” she said,

“Can you smell it?”

“What are you doing?” Jiang stepped back a few paces. “Smell what? Do you have bad breath?”

“It’s the smell of meat. Maybe your nose is blocked with boogers, that’s why you can’t smell the delicious meat filling my mouth. We had dumplings for breakfast this morning, and this meat was sent by my beloved daughter-in-law who you say is climbing over my head. If we can have meat every month, I’d be willing to let her be in charge, not just climb over my head.” Lin’s mother wasn’t one to be trifled with. She had many sons, and her youngest son was promising.

If her daughter-in-law was “climbing over her head,” it was because she cared about her grandson, not because just anyone could climb over her.

Besides, everyone in the brigade knew about the affair with the third daughter-in-law. She didn’t try to deny it; she simply admitted it and talked about the good qualities of the third daughter-in-law.

“You have no shame, letting your daughter-in-law climb over your head. What’s there to boast about?” Jiang was infuriated. What meat smell? All she could smell was the bad breath of this old woman.