Chapter 40
At night, He Qiming was not coming home for dinner. Ye Qingzhi cooked rice and made a one-pot stew with cabbage, potatoes, pickled vegetables, and frozen tofu.
She had learned this after arriving in the Northwest. It was convenient. She could put it on the stove and eat while it cooked, so it wouldn’t get cold right away.
“Is anyone home?”
Hearing the voice, Ye Qingzhi opened the door and saw a woman in her early fifties, with a graceful and elegant temperament, standing at the yard gate, looking at her with a smile.
“Yes, you are?” Ye Qingzhi asked as she invited her into the house.
“I am Xu Kaisheng’s mother. You must be Little He’s wife, right? I should have invited you to my house for a visit when I first arrived, but I’ve been delayed by various things. I’m leaving tomorrow. You and the children should all come to my house for a meal. We can chat and get to know each other,” Su Linlang said in a soft and gentle voice.
She looked like a very kind person. It was hard to believe that she would do something like forcing her daughter-in-law to divorce, or even surrogacy. Indeed, you can’t judge a book by its cover.
“No, thank you, Auntie. As you can see, I’ve already made dinner and am eating with the children,” Ye Qingzhi said, pointing to the one-pot stew on the stove. “I know you’re busy, so I didn’t dare to disturb you. When you come next time, I’ll take the children to visit you.”
If she had really wanted to invite her and the children for dinner, she should have come earlier, instead of having Yang Xiaorou bring a message and then coming to find her when the banquet was about to start.
Su Linlang sighed with regret. “Since you’re already eating, then forget it. It’s my fault. I should have told you earlier.”
“You’re too kind, Auntie,” Ye Qingzhi said with a smile.
After sending Su Linlang away, Ye Qingzhi breathed a sigh of relief. When she spoke to such a person, she would unconsciously put on an act. She didn’t feel it at the time, but now that she had relaxed, she felt very tired.
“Mama, what’s wrong?” Ye Anmin asked, looking at Ye Qingzhi in confusion.
“It’s nothing. What’s going on with your school? I see a lot of people coming and going,” Ye Qingzhi said, taking a bite of potato. The potatoes here were very mealy and sandy, more delicious than the potatoes back home.
“I know. I heard from Teacher Li that the school is going to install radiators,” Ye Anjie said, raising his hand.
“Your school is finally going to get heating?” Ye Qingzhi asked happily.
Ye Qingzhi had previously thought that there was no heating in this era. It was only after a trip to the hospital that she realized that heating existed, it was just that the school didn’t have it.
She had discussed it with He Qiming. The winter in the Northwest was so cold. It was not enough to just have two braziers in the classroom. The school also knew this, so they often suspended classes. But it was not a solution for the children to not go to school.
She had been to university in her past life and had no problem teaching primary school. But what about parents who had not studied or were very busy? They would just let their children play at home all day, and their minds would wander.
There were so many children, all children of soldiers. Didn’t they deserve for the army to install radiators in the school?
He Qiming thought it made sense. He discussed it with Shen Qingyuan and asked Li Hanxing and the others to go to the political commissar together.
Those who could join the army were all officers. Almost every family had children who had to go to school. There were no parents who did not love their children. Thinking of their children shivering in the classroom, they all applied to the political commissar and the chief for heating in the school.
“Your papa didn’t tell me about this. Installing radiators is a good thing. This way, you won’t be cold in class,” she said. If they caught a cold, the parents would be the ones to suffer.
He Jingyan said nothing. Ye Anmin nodded in agreement. The classroom was really too cold. Although he wore gloves, his hands were still so cold he couldn’t hold a pen.
After dinner, the children helped Ye Qingzhi clean up the dishes, then consciously went to wash up and then took their younger brother to play on the heated brick bed. When Ye Qingzhi had finished washing up, soaked her feet, and lay down on the heated brick bed, He Qiming came back with something in his hand.
“What’s in your hand?” Ye Qingzhi asked curiously. He had even brought something back from the meal?
“Auntie Xu’s pastries, brought from Beijing,” He Qiming said, opening the wrapping paper with a smile. “Auntie Xu has always been very particular. Every time she comes to the base to visit Old Xu, she not only invites us for a meal but also gives us pastries.”
“When we were eating, she specially came to call us. She looks like the kind of grand lady you read about in books. I didn’t even dare to speak loudly to her,” Ye Qingzhi said, sitting up with a smile and peeking over. Oh, it was even the Eight Great Pieces of Beijing. What a grand gesture!
She recognized them, but the original host certainly wouldn’t. So Ye Qingzhi asked curiously, “Why is each one different?”
“These are the Eight Great Pieces of Beijing. They taste very good. Do you want to eat some now?” He Qiming asked, handing them to Ye Qingzhi.
“No, I’ve already brushed my teeth. I’ll eat them tomorrow,” Ye Qingzhi said, having He Qiming wrap them back up. She lay back down in the quilt. “Should we give a return gift?”
“I was always alone before, so I never gave a return gift. I’ll ask Old Shen tomorrow,” He Qiming said, thinking for a moment. “Do we have anything at home that’s suitable for a return gift?”
“Auntie Xu would definitely look down on the local products from back home. The wild tea I picked before, didn’t Regiment Commander Xu and Chief of Staff Shen both say it was good? We still have a catty at home. How about we give Auntie Xu half a catty?” Ye Qingzhi asked.
Xu Kaisheng and Shen Qingyuan were really not being polite. The tea Ye Qingzhi had brought was indeed very good. Although it was not a famous variety, the original host had picked the most tender shoots before the Qingming Festival.
In this era, many leaders drank tea dust. The tea Ye Qingzhi had brought was so good that even the chief of the army was envious. Therefore, Xu Kaisheng and Shen Qingyuan’s tea had already been taken away by a lot.
“Alright. No need for half a catty. Two liang will be enough. I have other uses for the rest,” He Qiming said. He didn’t really like to drink tea, but he knew good from bad. “Do we have that much wild tea back home? Can we get some next year?”
“We can. Auntie Ye and Juzi also go to pick tea. We can earn some money every year to supplement the family’s income,” Ye Qingzhi said, thinking of the money the purchasing station gave. It was like buying cabbage. It was better for her to trade with Auntie Ye and the others.
Whether it was cotton, yarn, or milk powder, these were all good things that money could not buy back home.
He Qiming obviously also thought of this. But exchanging gifts between relatives and friends was not considered speculation.
“Be careful when you write the letter,” He Qiming said.
“I know. By the way, the school is going to install radiators. Did you do that?” Ye Qingzhi asked, her eyes shining as she looked at He Qiming.
Having a husband who took your words to heart and immediately went to get it done was really a blessing!
“How could I have such great power? There were also Old Shen and Old Li and the others who applied together,” He Qiming said. After washing up, he took off his clothes and got into the quilt, hugging Ye Qingzhi, who was trying to get away. He said with a smile, “What are you hiding for?”
Ye Qingzhi glared at him. His body was cold. Of course, she had to hide.
The next day, Su Liuli and the young girl left, looking back every three steps. Ye Qingzhi glanced at them. The young girl’s eyes were still red. It seemed she was willing.
“Did that young girl from Regiment Commander Xu’s family leave?” Li Jinfeng asked, rushing over, out of breath.
“She just left. You’re still injured. Why are you out instead of staying at home?” Ye Qingzhi asked, looking at her bandaged head.
Li Jinfeng waved her hand. “My bones ache from lying down. I heard Auntie Xu was leaving, so I came to see.”
She had been working at the cotton factory before and hadn’t been in the family compound much. And the young girl from the Xu family didn’t go out, so she hadn’t seen her. She just wanted to see if she was good-looking.
She looked at the main gate of the army with some regret. “What does that young girl look like? Is she pretty?”
“She’s very pretty,” Ye Qingzhi said, looking at Li Jinfeng with a half-smile. So she was curious about the young girl’s appearance. “Let’s go, let’s go back.”
The school had installed heating. Whether it was windy or snowing, the children had to go to class. For the parents, this was of course a good thing, but for the children, it was like a bolt from the blue.
He Jingyan and the others were all very sensible. Without Ye Qingzhi having to say anything, they would happily go to school themselves. Shen Jiahao was different. He cried as if he were being slaughtered.
In any case, the three children at home went to school, leaving only Ye Qingzhi and Yangyang. The house suddenly became very empty.
“Mama, when can Yangyang go to school?” Yangyang asked, looking at Ye Qingzhi with his big, round eyes.
“In another two years. It’ll be soon,” Ye Qingzhi said, rubbing his head. She gave him a nine-ring puzzle to play with by himself, while she hurried to knit a sweater.
By the time Ye Qingzhi had finished knitting the pullover sweaters for the four children, a month had already passed, and the children were officially on their winter break.
“Mama, my head is so itchy,” Ye Anjie said, scratching his head. He had just washed it yesterday.
Ye Qingzhi glanced at him and saw small white dots on his hair, like dandruff, but clearly not dandruff.
Her heart skipped a beat. How could this look so much like lice eggs?
Ye Qingzhi shrieked. My god, it is lice eggs.
“What’s wrong? Ma, what happened? Are you alright?” He Jingyan asked, running out from the study.
Ye Qingzhi was taken aback for a moment, then shook her head. She just got goosebumps from seeing the lice eggs.
Wait, did He Jingyan just call her “Ma”?
Ye Qingzhi’s eyes shone as she looked at He Jingyan. “Jingyan, did you just call me ‘Ma’?”
After confirming that Ye Qingzhi was fine, He Jingyan realized that he had just called her “Mama” in his anxiety.
His ears turned slightly red, and he said, trying to remain calm, “Yes, is there anything wrong?”
Or is Mama angry? Does she think that since he hadn’t called her, she doesn’t want to be his mama anymore?
“Of course not. I am your ma,” Ye Qingzhi said, a little excited in her heart. This child had finally opened his mouth to call her “Ma,” which meant he was ready to accept her. She turned to look at Ye Anjie, and her mood calmed down. She frowned and asked, “Who did you get the lice on your head from?”
“Lice? Ma, are you saying this on my head is lice?” Ye Anjie asked, scratching his head.
Ye Qingzhi rubbed her arms and called the other few children out. Well, as expected, they all had them. Even the youngest, Yangyang, was not spared.
It must have been passed on from the school. She had been infected by a classmate when she was a child. It was so itchy. In the end, her mother had used a wooden stick to apply some pesticide to her head, which had killed the lice.
She hadn’t understood when she was a child, but after she grew up, she knew that pesticide could be poisonous even if it was applied to the skin, especially the scalp. She was lucky that nothing had happened.
She hadn’t expected these four children to also have head lice. Pesticide was definitely not an option. But she could use a fine-toothed comb to scrape the lice.
It just so happened that they were going to the bathhouse today. Ye Qingzhi took some clean clothes and had the four of them go to soak and wash their hair first, and also get a scrub. She would take off the pillowcases, bedsheets, and quilt covers at home to wash them, and the quilts also had to be aired out.
It was a good thing the weather was good these two days. Otherwise, these quilts and clothes would not have dried.
After thinking for a moment, she also changed the bedsheets and quilt covers in the master bedroom, especially the pillowcases. These had to be changed.
By the time she was done, the few children had just come back, and they had even washed their dirty clothes.
“Why did you wash your clothes? You could have brought them back for me to wash,” Ye Qingzhi said, shaking them out to have a look. They were washed very clean.
“There’s hot water at the bathhouse. There weren’t many people today. We washed our clothes while we were soaking,” Ye Anmin said with a grin, taking off his hat.
Seeing the hat, Ye Qingzhi slapped her forehead. She had almost forgotten this.
“Give me your hats. I’ll go and wash them in the snow,” she said. There could be no survivors.
“Ma, we’ll do it. You should go and take a bath. The bathhouse will be closing soon,” He Jingyan said, dodging Ye Qingzhi’s outstretched hand.
After calling her “Ma” for the first time, it didn’t feel so hard to say anymore. In any case, He Qiming now called Ye Qingzhi “Ma” very naturally.
Ye Qingzhi’s lips curved into a slight smile. “Go after your hair is dry.”
After going to the bathhouse a few times, Ye Qingzhi was not so shy anymore. She would even ask Yang Xiaorou to go with her. They could chat together and also scrub each other’s backs.
“Are you going to the bathhouse? Wait, I’m coming right away,” Yang Xiaorou said, quickly grabbing her things and coming out with a bucket, with Shen Jiahao behind her.
Ye Qingzhi peeked over. Sure enough, this one was also full of lice eggs.
“What’s wrong?” Seeing Ye Qingzhi staring at Shen Jiahao’s head, Yang Xiaorou followed her gaze and then shrieked, “My god, when did this happen?”
“What is it?” Shen Jiahao asked, scratching his head in confusion.
“Hiss, stay away from me,” Yang Xiaorou said, looking at her son, her scalp tingling.
Shen Jiahao was even more bewildered. What was going on? Why was his mother suddenly disgusted with him?
Seeing Yang Xiaorou’s reaction, Ye Qingzhi was satisfied. She couldn’t be the only one to suffer.
“My four children have them too. They must have been passed on from a classmate. They’ve already gone to take a bath. I’ve changed and washed all the bedsheets and quilt covers. They’re now washing their hats with snow. After I’ve finished my bath, I’ll use a fine-toothed comb to help them catch the lice. Otherwise, all the children’s blood will be sucked away by these lice,” Ye Qingzhi said. She felt as if something was crawling on her scalp too.
“Your four children have them too? Then it might have been passed on from the school. I wonder whose family is so unhygienic, to have infected our children with lice,” Yang Xiaorou said unhappily.
She had originally wanted to say it was the children of those country wives, but then she thought of how Ye Qingzhi was also from the countryside and swallowed her words.
But on second thought, Ye Qingzhi was completely different from those military wives from the countryside. She was open-minded, polite, and also loved to be clean.
It wasn’t that the country wives were not clean. They were very hardworking and also kept things very clean, but it was a different kind of clean.
For example, they would drink raw water, while Ye Qingzhi, like the city wives, would only drink boiled water. And fruit, other country wives would just wipe it on their sleeves and eat it, while Ye Qingzhi would wash it with water before eating.
From another perspective, the country wives also felt they were being pretentious and fussy. Every family in the countryside drank raw water, and no one had ever had any problems. And that apple, the clothes were clean. Wasn’t it enough to just wipe it? Did you have to wash it with water?
As they were talking, the three of them arrived at the bathhouse. Shen Jiahao went to the men’s bath by himself, while Ye Qingzhi and Yang Xiaorou went into the women’s bath.
It was truly a case of enemies meeting on a narrow road. Cao Liya and Cao Liyan were also there, along with a woman in her early thirties. From their appearance, they should be a family.
“Sister Qingzhi, are you here for a bath too?” Cao Liya greeted with a smile.
“Mm.” Ye Qingzhi smiled at her. As for Cao Liyan, she didn’t even look at her.
After taking off their clothes, Ye Qingzhi and Yang Xiaorou sat down next to Cao Liya. Cao Liya glanced at her several times and finally couldn’t hold it in any longer.
“Sister Qingzhi, your skin is so good.”
Ye Qingzhi chuckled lightly. “I was born with it.”
“Hmph, vixen,” Cao Liyan said. Although her voice was soft, everyone in the bathhouse could hear it.
Ye Qingzhi narrowed her eyes, scooped a handful of water and splashed it on herself, and said leisurely, “Tsk, a jealous shrew.”
“What did you say?” Cao Liyan pointed at Ye Qingzhi and asked sharply.
Ye Qingzhi looked at her innocently. “What?” She turned to look at Yang Xiaorou. “Did I say her?”
Yang Xiaorou held back her laughter and shook her head. “No.”
“You were clearly talking about me,” Cao Liyan said, standing up and jumping with anger. But she accidentally slipped and, with a shriek, fell into the pool. She drank several mouthfuls of bathwater before she was pulled up by the sister-in-law next to her.
Ye Qingzhi clicked her tongue. “Karma.”
Yang Xiaorou followed up, “It’s a case of evil begets evil.”
“You… you…” Cao Liyan was so angry her head was smoking. She held her sister-in-law’s arm and cried out, “Sister-in-law.”
Jin Xiuli looked at Ye Qingzhi and the others with an embarrassed smile. If you really got to the bottom of it, Cao Liyan had brought this on herself. She couldn’t say anything.
“Alright, we’ve been soaking for a long time. I’ll go and scrub you. I still have to go home and cook after this,” Jin Xiuli said, pulling Cao Liyan away.
Cao Liyan gritted her teeth, shot a vicious glare at Ye Qingzhi, and then left the pool with Jin Xiuli.
Cao Liya felt extremely embarrassed. She didn’t understand why her sister was always so hostile to Ye Qingzhi.
“I’m sorry, Sister Qingzhi. My sister might have some misunderstanding about you. I apologize to you on her behalf,” Cao Liya said, lowering her head in embarrassment.
“You’re not the one who spoke rudely. Why are you apologizing?” Ye Qingzhi did not accept this apology. The one who had wronged her should be the one to apologize.
“Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding could there be? Isn’t it just because Regiment Commander He didn’t take a fancy to her?” Yang Xiaorou deliberately raised her voice, especially emphasizing the word “her.” “But he took a fancy to our Qingzhi, so she’s envious and jealous!”
Cao Liyan, who was being pulled by Jin Xiuli, couldn’t hold it in any longer and rushed over. “I’m jealous of her? I’m a nursing technical secondary school graduate, a nurse in a hospital, and a young, unmarried girl. I’m jealous of a widow who hasn’t even studied and has two burdens?”
“Cao Liyan,” Jin Xiuli reprimanded sharply.
Ye Qingzhi leaned against the edge of the pool, her eyes lazily narrowed, her tone unhurried. “Jealousy makes a person ugly. This is so true.”
“I said, I’m not jealous of you,” Cao Liyan shouted.
Ye Qingzhi glanced at her indifferently, as if she were looking at a clown, and smiled slightly. “Yes, yes, you’re not jealous of me. I’m jealous of you.”
Although Ye Qingzhi had agreed with her, Cao Liyan became even angrier, because Ye Qingzhi didn’t even take her seriously.
“Ye Qingzhi, don’t be so smug. So what if you have a pretty face? Sister Yangyang is coming. You just wait to be kicked out,” Cao Liyan suddenly said smugly.
“Cao Liyan, if you talk nonsense again, I’ll tell your brother,” Jin Xiuli said with a grim face and a sharp voice.
Cao Liyan pursed her lips and muttered, “I wasn’t wrong.”
Jin Xiuli glanced at her and said to Ye Qingzhi with embarrassment, “Sister Qingzhi, don’t mind this brainless person. You and Regiment Commander He are a match made in heaven. And you’re a military marriage. If anyone dares to break up a military marriage, just go to the political commissar and have them arrested and sent to jail. Then they’ll be obedient.”
Her last sentence was directed at Cao Liyan. Seeing her face turn pale, Jin Xiuli’s expression softened a little. It was good that she was afraid.
“Thank you for the advice, Sister-in-law,” Ye Qingzhi said, her lips curving into a slight smile.
Yangyang? Who is that?
From Cao Liyan’s tone, this person was He Qiming’s old flame?
But He Qiming had told her everything about his past. Ye Qingzhi was willing to believe him.
As for Cao Liyan, it was quite interesting. The reason she had been targeting her before might not have been for herself, but for that Yangyang.
Well, she wouldn’t waste her brain guessing. She would just ask He Qiming directly when he got off work. There was no point in guessing here.