Chapter 63
Li Jinfeng’s mother-in-law arrived at the family compound on the third day after she had given birth, which was also the day she was discharged from the hospital. Ye Qingzhi, Gu Yao, and Yang Xiaorou all came to pick her up.
They wrapped Li Jinfeng up tightly, not even leaving her eyes exposed.
Li Hanxing had borrowed a bicycle, put a cotton coat on the back seat, and had Li Jinfeng sit on the back, pushing her home.
When they arrived at home and saw Old Mrs. Li standing at the door, Li Hanxing was taken aback for a moment.
“Ma, when did you arrive? Why didn’t you call me to pick you up?” Li Hanxing asked, stopping the bicycle with a worried look.
Old Mrs. Li waved her hand. “What are mouths for? I saw a green car and knew it was from the army. I asked, and it was. So they gave me a ride.”
She looked at the tightly wrapped Li Jinfeng and told Li Hanxing not to waste any more words and to hurry up and carry his wife into the house. Although it was summer, she still couldn’t be exposed to the wind.
“Give me the child. Is it a boy or a girl?” Seeing Gu Yao holding the child, Old Mrs. Li threw down her luggage and hurried to take the child. “You must be Hanxing’s comrades’ wives, right? Thank you so much for helping Jinfeng give birth.”
These few young wives were so beautiful, especially the one in the middle. She had big eyes, a straight nose, a cherry-like mouth, and fair and tender skin. Her temperament was also good. She must be the friend her daughter-in-law had described as a fairy, Ye Qingzhi.
The three of them, Ye Qingzhi, were also sizing up Old Mrs. Li. You could tell at a glance that she was a very straightforward person, with a kind face. She should not be difficult to get along with.
“Hello, Ma’am. Jinfeng and we are friends. We usually help each other. It’s what we should do,” Gu Yao said, handing the child to Old Mrs. Li.
Old Mrs. Li’s hand reached into the swaddling clothes and felt. She sighed softly. She had guessed it from Li Hanxing’s expression just now. It was another daughter. She was just unwilling and wanted to confirm it again.
Ye Qingzhi and Yang Xiaorou exchanged a look. Ye Qingzhi said with a smile, “The child is six catties and six liang. The birth was very smooth, and she is very healthy. The doctor even said that Sister Jinfeng has taken good care of her.”
Old Mrs. Li was only disappointed for a moment and quickly returned to her smiling self.
“It’s fine. Sons and daughters are the same. As long as she’s healthy.”
“That’s right, that’s right. Sons and daughters are the same. I want to have a daughter, right, Qingzhi?” Yang Xiaorou said with a smile.
Ye Qingzhi nodded. “That’s right.”
The few of them followed Old Mrs. Li into the house and saw Li Jinfeng sitting on the bed, wiping her tears, with Li Hanxing coaxing her from the side.
“What are you crying for? You can’t cry during your confinement,” Old Mrs. Li said, holding the child and sitting on the edge of the bed. “Don’t cry. Ma also had three daughters before I had Hanxing. You’re still young. As long as you take good care of your body, you’ll eventually have a son.”
Ye Qingzhi was taken aback for a moment. She had always heard Li Jinfeng say that Li Hanxing was an only son. She had thought he was the only one in his family. She had not expected him to have three older sisters.
Old Mrs. Li put the child in Li Jinfeng’s arms. “I’ve been on the road all day. I’m very dirty. Is there a place to take a shower? I’ll go and rinse off and change into some clean clothes.”
“There is. Ma, I’ll take you there,” Li Hanxing said quickly.
Having seen how convenient Ye Qingzhi’s bathroom was, Li Jinfeng had also built one at the beginning of the year.
Old Mrs. Li took her luggage back to her room, got some clean clothes, and went to the bathroom with Li Hanxing, who was carrying a thermos.
After confirming that she had left, Ye Qingzhi said in a low voice, “Your mother-in-law looks very kind.”
In the Li family’s situation, after an ordinary old lady had come and found that it was another daughter, her face would definitely have been long.
“My in-laws are both nice people. They’ve never scolded me for having four daughters in a row, and they’re also good to the children. It’s just that I’m not up to par. This one is another daughter. After I’ve recovered, I’ll definitely have a son next time,” Li Jinfeng said, full of fighting spirit.
Ye Qingzhi glanced at her, wanting to say not to jinx it. The more you say it, the more likely you are to be slapped in the face later.
Old Mrs. Li’s movements were very fast. Before long, she came out in clean clothes. Seeing that the child was sleeping soundly, she went to the kitchen for a look.
“I see there are quite a few eggs. Where did you buy them? Are there any chickens for sale?” Old Mrs. Li asked repeatedly.
“There’s a market in the town here on the tenth of every month. Sometimes people sell chickens, ducks, and beef. These things are in high demand. If you don’t go early, you won’t be able to buy them. As for the eggs, Xiaorou bought them from a herdsman. The hens are kept for laying eggs, so it’s probably hard,” Ye Qingzhi said, shaking her head.
The hens now were called “egg banks” by the common people. Who would be willing to sell them?
Old Mrs. Li nodded in understanding. Fortunately, she had had the foresight. After knowing that Li Jinfeng was pregnant, she had raised a few more chickens. When she came, she had killed and salted them in advance. The taste was not as good as fresh chicken, but it was better than nothing.
In fact, fish soup was more nourishing. She had also wanted to buy a fish in the town to make soup for Li Jinfeng, but the comrade at the supply and marketing cooperative had told her that the fish here could not be eaten.
“Jinfeng has me here. If you have something to do, you can go and get busy first. Come to my house for dinner tonight,” Old Mrs. Li said with a smile.
“No need, no need. Then we’ll go back first. We’ll come and see Jinfeng and the child again when we have time,” Gu Yao said, waving her hand and leaving with Ye Qingzhi and the others.
Looking at their backs, the smile on Old Mrs. Li’s face faded a little. She went back and sat on the head of the bed to look at the child, then asked in a low voice, “Is the most beautiful one Ye Qingzhi? Who are the other two? They look quite nice.”
“The most beautiful one is Qingzhi. Her husband is a deputy regiment commander. The chubbier one is Gu Yao. Her husband is a battalion commander, just like Hanxing. The other one is Yang Xiaorou, from Beijing. Her husband is a regiment-level chief of staff. His family is very powerful,” Li Jinfeng said in a low voice.
“A deputy regiment commander? How old is he? To have found such a young and beautiful wife,” she said. Li Jinfeng had not gone into detail in her letter, so Old Mrs. Li did not know Ye Qingzhi’s specific situation.
“She just looks young. She’s actually 25 and has had two children. The older one is 7, and the younger one is 6. They’re classmates with our Wenshu and Wenhua,” Li Jinfeng said. Thinking of Ye Qingzhi’s four sons, she couldn’t help but be envious.
How could they be so amazing, to have all sons? And they were also so good at having children. They were all well-behaved, sensible, and had good grades. You could tell at a glance that they would have a bright future.
“Why are you crying again? Did her two children bully our Wenshu and Wenhua?” Seeing Li Jinfeng’s eyes redden and tears fall, Old Mrs. Li’s tone was a little panicked.
“They are all so blessed. Yang Xiaorou has a son, Gu Yao’s first child was a son, and her second was a daughter, so she has both a son and a daughter. And Ye Qingzhi has two sons in a row. Their children are also well-behaved and sensible. Why can’t I have a son?” The more Li Jinfeng spoke, the sadder she became.
“Why are you crying?” Li Hanxing asked, coming back from cleaning the bathroom. He got onto the bed, hugged Li Jinfeng, and said gently, “It’s fine. We’ll try again. The next one will be a son.”
“That’s right. I brought a folk remedy this time. Everyone who has eaten it has had a son. Hanxing, you and Jinfeng will eat it together this time,” Old Mrs. Li said quickly.
Drink it with Li Hanxing?
Li Jinfeng thought of what Ye Qingzhi had said about “you reap what you sow.”
That’s right. She had been the one drinking the medicine before, but this child was theirs. It was not reasonable that only she had a problem.
“I’ll try it after I’ve recovered,” Li Jinfeng said. Although she wanted to have a son as soon as possible, she would not disregard her own body.
“Alright. Jinfeng and I will eat it together later,” Li Hanxing nodded.
“It just so happens that Qingzhi gave me a prescription. I had Old Hu look at it. It’s very good for women’s health. I’ll drink it after my confinement,” Li Jinfeng said, sniffing. With a goal in mind, her mood seemed not so bad.
Old Mrs. Li patted Li Jinfeng’s hand. She had watched Li Jinfeng grow up. Besides, she herself had had three daughters in a row before she had a son. She knew the suffering, so she had never forced her.
“Little Ye got married quite early. She’s twenty-five, and her child is already seven,” Old Mrs. Li said, changing the subject.
Li Jinfeng was taken aback for a moment. After a while, she realized that “Little Ye” was Ye Qingzhi.
“She did get married early, but these two children are from her ex-husband,” Li Jinfeng said, glancing at the door and leaning over to whisper in Old Mrs. Li’s ear, “Her ex-husband died of illness last year. She remarried Regiment Commander He with her children. Regiment Commander He is not old either, only twenty-nine this year. In any case, you’ll know when you see him next time. The two of them look very well-matched.”
A deputy regiment commander actually found a widow with two sons? But thinking of Ye Qingzhi’s appearance, it was not strange.
Li Jinfeng could tell at a glance what her mother-in-law was thinking and said with a smile, “Regiment Commander He is also on his second marriage and also has two sons.”
“He also has two sons? Then don’t they have four sons? It’s really a case of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. How long have they been married? When does Little Ye plan to have a child?” Hearing that Ye Qingzhi had four sons, a hint of envy flashed in Old Mrs. Li’s eyes.
Li Jinfeng recounted what Wei Jiancheng had done, her face full of disgust. “Qingzhi’s body was severely depleted in her early years. She’s taking medicine to condition her body now and is planning to have a child in two or three years. In any case, they don’t lack children. I heard her say she wants a daughter.”
She already had four sons. It was normal to want a daughter. If their family had five sons instead of five daughters, they would also be hoping for a little daughter for their sixth.
On the other side, Ye Qingzhi and Gu Yao were also talking about Li Jinfeng.
“I think her mother-in-law is quite reasonable. Not like that Zhang Dama you mentioned, who disregards her daughter-in-law’s health and forces her to have children,” Gu Yao said. She felt that Old Mrs. Li was a nice person.
Speaking of Zhang Dama, Zhang Xuewen seemed to have already returned. Although his wife had died, his expression was much more relaxed.
“The situations are different. Li Jinfeng and Li Hanxing are childhood sweethearts. Old Mrs. Li has watched her grow up. In Liu Yuqin’s situation, which mother-in-law would like her?” Yang Xiaorou said, shaking her head. She felt that the two situations were different.
Thinking of Liu Yuqin, the few of them fell silent. The person was already dead. It was not good to talk about these things.
Just then, Yang Xiaorou’s family had almost finished their vegetables, so she picked some from Ye Qingzhi’s house to take back.
“Qingzhi, how do you grow them? How are you so amazing? They’re growing so well,” Yang Xiaorou said, sincerely praising Ye Qingzhi’s vegetables.
Gu Yao nodded. Although she also had a rural household registration, she had never really worked in the fields. She could plant some green onions, but she was not good at planting these melons, fruits, and vegetables.
“You should pick some more. We can’t finish them at home,” Ye Qingzhi said with a smile.
Her family really couldn’t finish the vegetables. She had already made two jars of pickles and had also dried some.
“Then we won’t be polite,” she said. Although she said that, Gu Yao only picked one pumpkin and a few tomatoes.
Seeing this, Ye Qingzhi picked two bottle gourds for them and also some loofahs.
Among these vegetables, the most prolific were the loofah and the chayote. Ye Qingzhi had planted three of each and had twisted some straw ropes to pull them up to the eaves. Now, like the gourd brothers, a string of them had grown, densely packed.
Especially the loofah. It couldn’t be made into pickles, and it didn’t seem to be very good dried. She had been worrying about how to eat it recently.
“And pull some green onions,” Ye Qingzhi said, looking at the green and plump green onions. She felt that she also had a talent for planting.
She had really just planted them casually, but the vegetables she grew not only looked good, but also tasted better.
She pulled half a clump of green onions. Two or three clumps made a large handful. Ye Qingzhi pulled a lot for them.
“Are you picking vegetables?”
The three of them looked up at the sound of the voice. It was Bai Xue.
Although it was not explicitly said, the entire family compound knew that Ye Qingzhi and Bai Xue’s relationship was not good, the kind where they would not see each other. Why would she come to the He family’s house today?
Not only Yang Xiaorou and Gu Yao were confused, but Ye Qingzhi was also curious.