Chapter 7

“Xu Di, how are you? Are you feeling any discomfort?”

Xu Di’s mother rushed home as soon as she got off work.

Xu Di had been discharged from the hospital today, she wondered how she was doing, if she was still feeling any discomfort.

“Mom, I’m fine, I don’t feel any discomfort. I slept for a few hours this morning, I woke up hungry and ate two buns.”

“Good, it’s good that you’re feeling better. Don’t be so reckless next time, okay?”

“I know.”

Xu Di’s mother was still scared. If she hadn’t been saved, she and her husband would have been heartbroken, and so would her grandparents in the countryside, Xu Di was raised by them, they had a good relationship.

“Alright, I’ll go cook, you rest for a while.”

“I’m all better, I’m not tired. Mom, what are we having for dinner, I’ll help you.”

Xu Di linked her arm with her mother’s and went into the kitchen. She was half a head taller than her mother, about 1.65 meters tall.

“We’re having dumplings for dinner, the canteen got a batch of high-quality flour yesterday, and we each got five jin (approximately 2.5 kg) in the kitchen, no ration coupons needed.”

Xu Di’s mother thought that Xu Di had suffered a lot this time, she needed to give her some good food to replenish her.

“Dumplings? What filling?”

“Zucchini and egg, we’ve used up all our meat coupons this month, we can only eat vegetarian.”

There wasn’t much meat in the canteen these days, pork was scarce, they said there was another outbreak of swine fever.

“Zucchini and egg dumplings are delicious, it’s too hot, eating some vegetables will make you feel better, eat a few more dumplings.”

Xu Di felt like everything tasted good now, she didn’t want to experience that bland feeling again. In this life, she would never diet or lose weight.

Her mother smiled, thinking that her daughter was considerate and knew how to comfort her.

Xu Di didn’t know that her mother thought so highly of her, she really didn’t want to eat meat in this hot weather.

Both mother and daughter were quick and efficient, one kneading the dough, the other shredding the zucchini.

In less than half an hour, the dumpling filling was ready. They would wait for the dough to rise a little more, then they could start wrapping.

Xu Di was taken back to her grandmother’s house in the countryside when she was less than a month old, and she didn’t come back until she started school.

Every time she came back, her mother felt guilty and didn’t want her to do any chores. But her grandmother had experienced turbulent times, she knew that people should learn everything they needed to know.

Her grandmother loved Xu Di, but she didn’t stop her from teaching Xu Di how to do things.

So, Xu Di could cook, sew clothes, work in the fields…

When Xu Di’s sister-in-law came back with the child, Xu Di’s mother and Xu Di had already finished wrapping the dumplings.

“Mom, we’re back.”

Xu Di’s sister-in-law, Wang Meili, worked in the pharmacy of the machinery factory hospital. She was twenty-one years old this year and had been married to Xu Di’s older brother, Xu Li, for three years.

“You’re back, wash your hands, your father and Dali will be back soon, then we’ll start cooking the dumplings.”

“Xu Di is back from the hospital, how is she? Still feeling unwell? Sister-in-law will give you a yuan, you can buy yourself some delicious food. There have been so many cases of heatstroke in the hospital these days, I didn’t even go to see you.”

Wang Meili had a cheerful personality and loved to talk and laugh. After marrying into the Xu family, she got along well with her mother-in-law and sister-in-law.

“Then thank you, sister-in-law, I happen to be craving sweets, I’ll go buy some sugar cubes.”

Xu Di had memories of her sister-in-law, Wang Meili. She was a cheerful and generous person, and she had a good relationship with her sister-in-law.

After her older brother got married, her mother asked them to pay ten yuan a month for food expenses, and the rest was for them to keep.

Her mother was straightforward, she kept things clear and didn’t interfere too much in the couple’s affairs.

Her mother was open-minded, and Wang Meili was a good daughter-in-law who knew right from wrong, their relationship was harmonious, a good mother-in-law and a good daughter-in-law.

“Ping’an, do you miss your little aunt?”

“Miss, miss, sugar…”

Fifteen-month-old Xu Ping’an was Xu Di’s older brother’s son, he was just starting to talk, one word at a time.

In the 1970s, there was maternity leave, about fifty-six or fifty-seven days.

Xu Di’s sister-in-law was in good health, she continued to work until she gave birth, and she gave birth directly at her workplace.

The baby was only two months old when Xu Di’s sister-in-law went back to work. Luckily, the machinery factory had its own nursery, employees would drop their children off at the nursery in the morning, go to feed them at regular intervals, and pick them up directly on their way home from work.

Everyone did this, and the children grew up quite well.

Xu Di had no resistance to children, she happily played with Xu Ping’an, the aunt and nephew giggled and laughed, their laughter could be heard from afar.

“Xu Di, here, go buy some delicious food.”

“Thank you, sister-in-law, I’ll take it.”

Xu Di put the yuan in her pocket, feeling happy, she had made some money.

“Mom, I’m back.”

Xu Di had just put the money away when Xu Jun came back, covered in dirt.

“You went to dig a rat hole, you’re covered in dirt, go wash up quickly, we’ll eat soon.”

“Hehe…”

Xu Jun chuckled and quickly went to the bathroom to clean himself up.

“You little rascal, you’re always dirty.”

Xu Di’s mother had no choice but to deal with her youngest son. He didn’t have any major problems, he was just mischievous.

Xu Di’s father and older brother came back together. They not only looked alike but also had similar personalities, they were both quiet people.

“Xu Di, how are you, are you all better now?”

“Dad, I’m all better. You and Big Brother go wash your hands, Mom’s dumplings are ready, zucchini and egg filling, they’re so fragrant.”

Xu Di put the crushed garlic paste into a bowl. This kind of clay garlic jar was rarely seen decades later.

“Mom, did the canteen get high-quality flour?”

“Yes, there’s more demand than supply, each family got a few jin. Fine grains are hard to come by these days, especially pork, I heard there’s swine fever.”

“Yeah, our hospital canteen is the same, we haven’t had any meat for days.”

Xu Di’s sister-in-law saw her son finish a dumpling and gave him another one.

“You eat too, I’m watching him.”

Although Xu Di’s older brother was not good with words, he knew how to cherish his wife.

After the child was born, he also learned how to take care of the child, wash diapers, he wasn’t a hands-off husband.

This made Xu Di envious, it was the kind of family atmosphere she had always dreamed of. Unfortunately, she didn’t achieve it until she died.

The meal was full of joy and laughter.

After dinner, Xu Di’s sister-in-law and her husband were responsible for cleaning the table and washing the dishes.

Xu Di played with her nephew, and Xu Jun disappeared again, he wouldn’t go far, he would just play games with the other children in the family housing compound.

The games children played now were catching spies, playing marbles, hide-and-seek, skipping rope, playing pockets…

They were all outdoor activities. There were many people in the family housing compound, and the living space was limited. A spacious house like the Xu family’s was rare.

Most families had several people crammed into a room of a few dozen square meters. The children had one room, the adults had another, it was crowded.

The housing conditions in the 1970s were tight, it was something people couldn’t imagine.

Many people living in bungalows, if they had many sons, and they didn’t have enough space when they got married, they could only put up curtains in the room to separate them.

Xu Di was fortunate to have time traveled to a family with a good atmosphere and good conditions, she felt much more relaxed.

Xu Di had seen all the members of the Xu family except for Xu Mei, who was working as an educated youth in Yunnan Province.

When she had time, she would go to the countryside to see her grandparents, they were a very good couple, they truly loved Xu Di.

Thinking about these things, Xu Di drifted off to sleep.