Chapter 38
The matter of Bai Xue and Regiment Commander Xu’s divorce was not just a groundless rumor. The two had indeed quarreled, and an angry Bai Xue had blurted out the word “divorce.” It just so happened that someone passing by had heard it, and that’s how it had spread.
So that’s why Bai Xue was hiding and crying secretly?
Ye Qingzhi shook her head. Whatever happened with Bai Xue was none of her business. She had to take advantage of He Qiming’s rest at home to quickly build the bathroom.
She had wanted to build it as soon as she arrived at the family compound, but the materials were hard to come by. He Qiming had pulled some strings to get the materials.
“Are we building it here?” He Qiming asked, holding a measuring tape and measuring the dimensions.
“Yes, right here. It doesn’t need to be too big. A smaller one will be warmer,” Ye Qingzhi said, looking at the marks he had made. She felt it could be even smaller.
“I was thinking of making it a little bigger and building a small stove here. We can light the fire outside, and it can directly heat water here, and also make the bathroom warmer,” He Qiming said, sharing his idea.
Ye Qingzhi’s eyes lit up. This was indeed a good idea. As long as the fire outside was not extinguished, the bathroom would always be warm, and there would be a continuous supply of hot water.
“Let’s do as you say,” Ye Qingzhi said happily.
He Qiming found a few young soldiers, and they built the toilet in one day. It would be ready to use after a few more days of drying.
“Thank you for your hard work today. The food is ready. Please wash your hands and eat,” Ye Qingzhi said, looking at Shen Qingyuan and the two young soldiers. She didn’t know if she had made enough.
Fifteen large steamed buns, a pot of rice, a large pot of pickled vegetable vermicelli with about a catty of beef, frozen tofu, and various dried vegetables. She had also stir-fried lard residue with cabbage, shredded potatoes, and scrambled eggs with onions.
“There aren’t many good dishes. Please make do,” Ye Qingzhi said with embarrassment.
“You’re too kind, Sister-in-law. This is so rich, it’s like the New Year,” Shen Qingyuan said, taking the chopsticks. He first drank a bowl of rice soup and let out a long sigh. “This rice soup from your hometown is delicious. How do you make it?”
“What, are you going to make it yourself if you learn?” He Qiming sat down with the young soldiers and gave each of them two large steamed buns. “You worked hard today. Eat more.”
Seeing the two of them being reserved, Ye Qingzhi served each of them a bowl of pickled vegetable vermicelli, deliberately scooping more beef and frozen tofu.
“My cooking is average. I hope you don’t mind,” Ye Qingzhi said with a smile.
“No, no, Sister-in-law’s cooking is amazing,” one of the young soldiers with a baby face, who was He Qiming’s clerk and had more contact with Ye Qingzhi, said, being a little more relaxed.
Ye Qingzhi smiled, got up to fill the bowl with steamed buns, and also scooped a large bowl of rice. She and the children preferred rice.
“Back home, we like to cook rice with a large pot of water. When the rice is eighty percent cooked, we scoop it into an aluminum pot and simmer it on a charcoal stove. The rest is the rice soup,” Ye Qingzhi said, answering Shen Qingyuan’s question. She gave Yangyang some frozen tofu. “Be careful, it’s full of soup and very hot.”
“I know, Mama,” Yangyang said, pouting his small mouth to blow on it. He took a small bite, and his eyes lit up. “Mama, it’s delicious.”
Ye Qingzhi’s lips curved into a smile. She gave some to the other three children as well. “If you like it, I’ll make more.”
Drinking was not an option, but everyone was very full. Ye Qingzhi also gave each of the two young soldiers two apples.
“You’re so good to them,” He Qiming said, rolling up his sleeves and washing the dishes with Ye Qingzhi.
“They’re just young men of seventeen or eighteen who have left their parents and hometown to come to the Northwest to defend the country. When I see them, I can’t help but want to be a little better to them,” Ye Qingzhi said, nudging He Qiming with her elbow. “You were also that old when you joined the army. To be honest, have you ever cried?”
“How could I have cried?” He Qiming said with a laugh.
It was normal to be homesick, but he had never really cried. No, wait, he had cried when his comrade had sacrificed himself.
The next day, Ye Qingzhi and He Qiming washed all the bottles and jars they had bought the day before, then prepared to deal with the cabbage and radishes.
“Qingzhi, what are you preparing to do?” Yang Xiaorou came in with a basket of eggs.
“Are the eggs here?” Ye Qingzhi washed her hands, went into the house to get money for Yang Xiaorou. “I’m preparing to pickle some vegetables first. Can we buy more eggs? If we can, I’ll pickle some salted eggs.”
Yang Xiaorou shook her head. Although Meiduo raised a lot of chickens, they didn’t lay many eggs in the winter. The hundred eggs Ye Qingzhi had asked for had been saved up for more than half a month.
“Then forget it. I’m preparing to make some spicy cabbage. We can eat it tomorrow. I’ll give you two to try later,” Ye Qingzhi said, picking out a few good-looking cabbages. She peeled off the outer leaves and sprinkled them with salt to draw out the water.
“Spicy cabbage? What’s this new way of eating? Hey, by the way, Meiduo said she’s going to slaughter six chickens this time. She’s keeping one for herself and can give us five. Your family is large, so you can have the five,” Yang Xiaorou said, pulling a small stool and sitting opposite Ye Qingzhi. “Where’s the bathroom you’re building? My Old Shen said it’s very good and is planning to build one too.”
“It’s in the backyard. I’ll take you to see it after I’m done here,” Ye Qingzhi said, speeding up her movements.
The bathroom was built next to the back door of the master bedroom. It was made of red bricks, and the floor was poured with cement. The drain was in the left corner opposite the door, with an iron pipe leading to the ditch at the corner of the backyard wall. On the right, there was an earthen stove for heating water.
“The fire hole is outside. When the fire is lit, it can both provide warmth and heat water. You won’t be afraid of being cold when you take a bath at home,” Ye Qingzhi said, pulling Yang Xiaorou to see the fire hole.
Even without a fire, with such a bathroom, it was convenient to wash your bottom, and you could also take a shower in the summer without getting the house all wet.
Yang Xiaorou felt that Shen Qingyuan was right. She really liked this bathroom. She would find the materials later and build one just like it.
While the cabbage was being salted, Ye Qingzhi mixed a portion of the seasoning needed for the spicy cabbage with chili powder, shredded green onions, shredded apples, shredded pears, shredded radishes, plus salt, white sugar, and wine.
“My goodness, no wonder it’s delicious. With all these things, even a shoe sole would be delicious,” Yang Xiaorou said, looking forward to Ye Qingzhi’s spicy cabbage even more.
“This is my first time making it. I learned it from a sister-in-law in my parents’ village. It’s just that I have the ingredients at home, so I’m trying it out,” Ye Qingzhi said. It was really her first time.
The original host’s parents’ village did have a Korean wife who had been abducted. She was very beautiful and hardworking and often made spicy cabbage, but she did not use so many ingredients.
Yang Xiaorou had originally just come to deliver the eggs, but now she simply stayed to help. In the end, she also had lunch here. Shen Jiahao was even called over by Ye Anmin.
It was a case of not getting to know each other without a fight. The few children who had been like fighting cocks before were now playing very well and had become friends.
“He Jingyan, Ye Anmin, why are your surnames different?” Shen Jiahao had wanted to ask for a long time.
“Oh, big brother and Yangyang have Papa’s surname. Anjie and I have Mama’s surname,” Ye Anmin said, poking a sweet potato with a wooden stick. “It seems to be ready. Give it to Yangyang first.”
“I want some too. I’m starving. Give me half first,” Shen Jiahao said, holding out his hand without being polite.
“Are you a reincarnated hungry ghost? Yangyang is the youngest here. Give it to Yangyang first,” Ye Anjie said, rolling his eyes at him.
“Alright, this one is almost ready. Here you go,” Ye Anmin said, stirring a little, poking it to make sure it was cooked, and then handing it to Shen Jiahor.
“Delicious, so delicious,” Shen Jiahao said, eating with a hiss.
When Ye Qingzhi and Yang Xiaorou came out, they saw the few children with black mouths, and told them with a smile to wash their hands and faces, that they could eat soon.
“Can this spicy cabbage be eaten right after it’s made?” Yang Xiaorou asked, taking a bite with some doubt. Her eyes instantly lit up. “I told you, with both apples and pears, even a shoe sole would be delicious. Sure enough, it’s so delicious.”
Ye Qingzhi chuckled lightly. “If you let it sit for a few days, it will be even more delicious, sour and spicy.”
She packed two for Yang Xiaorou and would send one to Li Jinfeng later. She wouldn’t give any to anyone else. There wasn’t much in total.
When she sent the spicy cabbage to Li Jinfeng, she pulled Ye Qingzhi aside to gossip again. This time, it was still about Bai Xue.
“Regiment Commander Xu’s mother is here, and she also brought a distant relative, a very pretty young girl, only eighteen. They say her parents are both dead, and she has nowhere to go. It just so happens that Bai Xue needs to recuperate, so she had the young girl come to help her,” Li Jinfeng said, pulling Ye Qingzhi’s arm and whispering, “I heard that the Xu family wants to use her as a surrogate.”
What? A surrogate?
Ye Qingzhi looked at Li Jinfeng in surprise. “No way?”
“It’s true. Bai Xue didn’t agree, that’s why she argued with Regiment Commander Xu,” Li Jinfeng said with a definite nod.
The Xu family’s background was not ordinary. Ye Qingzhi had heard a little from Yang Xiaorou. Such a prominent family should not do such a thing, at least not so openly.
“Maybe she’s really here to help Bai Xue,” Ye Qingzhi sighed softly. Never mind this era, even fifty years later, if a woman could not have children, she would be forced to divorce by her in-laws.
Li Jinfeng pouted. Although Bai Xue was a bit delicate, she was strong and had no children. Why did she need someone to take care of her? And a beautiful young girl at that. Regiment Commander Xu’s mother’s intentions were not pure.
Ye Qingzhi also felt that her intentions were not pure, but it was probably not surrogacy. It was very likely that she wanted to replace her.
No matter which it was, the newcomer was not friendly. No wonder Bai Xue would argue with Regiment Commander Xu and even say the word “divorce.”
“Hey, I can have children, but I don’t have a son. My in-laws already have an opinion of me,” Li Jinfeng suddenly thought of herself.
Her in-laws were considered not bad, but she had given birth to four daughters in a row, and they would occasionally say something to her.
“This is not something you can decide on your own. You reap what you sow. It’s not like your Li Hanxing can plant a potato and get an eggplant, right?” Ye Qingzhi said in a more common way.
Li Jinfeng looked at Ye Qingzhi in surprise. Could having a boy or a girl be explained this way?
“But you’re trying to get pregnant. You shouldn’t work too hard. The cotton factory has three shifts, and you have to work the night shift for ten days a month. I heard that staying up late is not good for getting pregnant,” Ye Qingzhi said. After getting to know Li Jinfeng for a long time, she found that she was really a very righteous and straightforward person, so she gave her a piece of advice.
Li Jinfeng was a little hesitant. Working at the cotton factory meant being a worker, and she could earn twenty yuan a month!
“Is a child more important, or is work more important? You should think about it yourself,” Ye Qingzhi said, patting her arm, preparing to go home.
When Ye Qingzhi got home, she saw the baby-faced young soldier at her house. “Sister-in-law, I saw you had a letter at the guardhouse, so I brought it to you.”
“Thank you, Little Chen,” Ye Qingzhi said, taking a freshly roasted sweet potato. “Take this to warm your hands.”
“Thank you, Sister-in-law,” Little Chen said, not being polite and taking the roasted sweet potato with a chuckle.
After sending Little Chen away, He Qiming picked up the letter, looked at it, and handed it to Ye Qingzhi. “Auntie Ye sent it. I wonder what’s written in it. It’s so thick.”
Ye Qingzhi opened the letter. After reading it, she sneered.
“What’s wrong?” He Qiming asked, taking the letter Ye Qingzhi handed him. After reading it, his brow furrowed. “Anmin’s grandfather wants to find them?”
“He just fell this time and found that there was no one to take care of him, so he thought of Anmin and Anjie. Before, when Fang Xiaomei was here, she didn’t even let the two children call him ‘Grandpa,’ afraid that they would ask him for money or food,” Ye Qingzhi said, feeling nauseous at the thought of Wei Youliang’s actions.
He Qiming frowned. “Didn’t even let them call him ‘Grandpa’?”
Ye Qingzhi nodded. That’s right. When the two children were young and didn’t know any better, they would call him “Grandpa” when they met him. But Wei Youliang had directly told them not to call him “Grandpa” and not to go to his house.
“He’s looking for Anmin and Anjie because he wants them to support him in his old age. Hmph, in his dreams. Not only is there no door, there’s no window either,” Ye Qingzhi said. Seeing that Auntie Ye had said she would watch Wei Youliang, she felt that her method was feasible.
She took out a pen and paper and had He Qiming write a reply to Auntie Ye on her behalf. She also sent some nougat to her and the Brigade Leader as a reward for watching Wei Youliang.
“Don’t worry. It won’t be that easy for Wei Youliang to come over,” He Qiming comforted Ye Qingzhi.
First, without a valid reason, Wei Youliang would not be able to get a certificate. Second, just the travel expenses would be enough to give him a headache.
“I know. I’m just disgusted by his actions. Anmin and Anjie are both good children, yet they have such a grandfather and father,” Ye Qingzhi said, pursing her lips. She put the letter He Qiming had written in an envelope and would mail it tomorrow.
Because of Wei Youliang, Ye Qingzhi couldn’t help but think of Wei Jiancheng and the original plot again. Both Anmin and Anjie had died young. But now that she was here, the two brothers would definitely not have such an end.
“Auntie Ye said to help Juzi find a soldier as a partner. How old is Juzi this year? She’s too anxious,” Ye Qingzhi said, thinking of Juzi. She was a cheerful and hardworking good girl.
“She probably wants us to look first,” He Qiming said with a smile.
There were many single men in the army, but it was not easy to find a suitable one. First of all, the region was a big problem.
The people here were from all over the country. Very few were from the same place.
“Let’s just keep an eye out for now. If there’s a suitable one, we’ll help introduce them. If not, then there’s nothing we can do,” Ye Qingzhi said, putting away the letter. She told He Qiming about the rumors about Regiment Commander Xu’s family. “I don’t think the Xu family, as a prominent family, would do such a thing, right?”
He Qiming had the same thought as Ye Qingzhi. “Impossible. Even if Auntie Xu has this idea, Old Xu will not agree.”
He used to live in the dormitory and had little contact with the families. It was only after moving to the family compound that he realized that these women could really gossip. They had even come up with surrogacy.
He Qiming had two days off at home. He moved what needed to be moved and fixed what needed to be fixed. Everything was taken care of at once.
“Tsk, tsk, so many pickles. Can you finish them all?” Yang Xiaorou asked, looking at the two large jars of pickles. She thought of the spicy cabbage Ye Qingzhi had made and smacked her lips. “Qingzhi, I’ll provide the ingredients. Can you help me make some spicy cabbage?”
Ye Qingzhi raised an eyebrow. Was she addicted?
“Sure. You bring the things over, and I’ll help you make it,” Ye Qingzhi said with a smile.
Yang Xiaorou was also a woman of action. The next morning, she asked Ye Qingzhi to go to her house to make spicy cabbage.
When Ye Qingzhi arrived at her house, she found that Bai Xue and Zhang Shuhua were also there. She glanced at the somewhat embarrassed Yang Xiaorou and knew that she had not done it on purpose. It must have been a coincidence.
“What are you preparing to do? Pickle vegetables?” Zhang Shuhua asked, looking at the pile of cabbage and a large basin of apples and pears with confusion.
“Making spicy cabbage,” Yang Xiaorou said with a smile, glancing at Bai Xue. “Sister Shuhua, Bai Xue, why did you come to see me together? Is something the matter?”
Zhang Shuhua said with a broad smile, “Nothing. I was just bored and came to visit.”
Not only Yang Xiaorou, but Ye Qingzhi also didn’t believe it. Perhaps because she was here, it was not appropriate to say it.
Ye Qingzhi snorted coldly in her heart and said with a smile, “Xiaorou, I’m going home to get something. I’ll be back in a bit.”
Yang Xiaorou grabbed Ye Qingzhi and said with a smile, “What are you getting? I have everything at home. Hurry up. We have to salt the cabbage first, right?”
Zhang Shuhua was still all smiles. Bai Xue’s face changed. She took a deep look at Yang Xiaorou. “You’re busy. I have something to do at home. I’ll be going now.”
“I just remembered I also have something to do at home. I’ll be going now. Qingzhi, come and visit my house next time. Xiaorou, let’s go,” Zhang Shuhua said, leaving with Bai Xue.
After the two had left, Yang Xiaorou sighed softly. “You’ve heard about what happened with Bai Xue, right? Bai Xue, too. If she doesn’t want someone to stay, she could have just told Brother Xu properly. Why did she go to Sister Shuhua for advice? What good advice could she have?”
Ye Qingzhi was taken aback for a moment. She had not expected Yang Xiaorou to say such deep words to her.
Seeing Ye Qingzhi’s confusion, Yang Xiaorou continued, “That Zhang Shuhua, she looks so gentle and smiles at everyone, but in reality, she’s the most scheming. In any case, I don’t dare to get too close to her.”
“They came to you because they wanted you to do something?” Ye Qingzhi asked curiously.
“My family and the Xu family are on good terms. They probably wanted me to go to Auntie Xu to sound her out,” Yang Xiaorou said, frowning at the thought of the Xu family’s situation. “This time, it must have been Auntie Xu’s idea alone. Neither Uncle Xu nor Brother Xu would agree to keep that young girl.”
Bai Xue was lost in her own situation. And she hadn’t had a child for five years of marriage, so she felt guilty herself, which was why she had panicked.
“Actually, Bai Xue is not sick. She’s been checked by both Chinese and Western medicine. Of course, Brother Xu’s health is also very good. But they just can’t get pregnant. Maybe it’s just not meant to be,” Yang Xiaorou said. She was also anxious for them.
But having a child was not something you could rush.
“Yes,” Ye Qingzhi agreed. In her heart, she was even more suspicious that they were genetically incompatible.
After making spicy cabbage at Yang Xiaorou’s house for a whole morning, this time it was Ye Qingzhi’s turn to eat at her house. The children were also called over by Shen Jiahao.
Seeing the four children enter the house, Ye Qingzhi joked, “Your family has one child eating, and mine has four. You’re at a big loss.”
“What’s the big deal? I wish Jingyan and the others would come often. With them here, Haohao is not a picky eater anymore and can also do his homework obediently,” Yang Xiaorou said. She was very fond of the four He Jingyan brothers.
Ye Qingzhi pursed her lips and smiled. That was also because Yang Xiaorou’s family was well-off. An ordinary family could not afford it.
Of course, Ye Qingzhi was just listening. She couldn’t really let her children eat at the Shen family’s house.
After a full meal, Ye Qingzhi took her children home. She had been busy with this and that these few days and hadn’t even had time to knit a sweater. The children only had one wool sweater each, with no change of clothes.
“Sister Qingzhi, are you taking the children out to play?” Cao Liya asked with a clear voice.
“We’re coming back from a visit. Are you not on duty today, Nurse Cao?” Ye Qingzhi asked with a smile.
“Just call me Liya. Calling me Nurse Cao is so formal,” Cao Liya said, looking at Ye Qingzhi’s fair face with envy. “Sister Qingzhi, do you have any beauty secrets?”
Ye Qingzhi was taken aback for a moment. “Does washing my face with rice water count?”
There was no facial cleanser now. Ye Qingzhi simply used rice water to wash her face. She had heard that it was good for the skin. She didn’t know if it was true, but in any case, her skin was getting better and better.
Cao Liya’s eyes lit up. “I’ll try it when I get back. Are there any other methods?”
“Cao Liya, what are you doing there? Let’s go,” Cao Liyan said, walking over and questioning.
“Sister, Sister Qingzhi, this is my older sister. She’s also a nurse. I don’t know if you met her last time,” Cao Liya said with a chuckle, introducing them.
Before Ye Qingzhi could speak, Cao Liyan said in a not-so-good tone, “Cao Liya, let’s go.”
Cao Liya glanced at the smiling Ye Qingzhi, then at the not-so-good-looking Cao Liyan, and belatedly realized that their relationship was not right.
“Then… Sister Qingzhi, I’ll be going now,” Cao Liya said, waving her hand and leaving with Cao Liyan.
“Mama, who is that?” Ye Anmin’s face was ugly.
“I don’t know. Let’s go, let’s go home,” Ye Qingzhi said with a smile, not caring at all.
Before they reached their door, they heard a commotion ahead. “Li Jinfeng, who works at the cotton factory, has had an accident.”
Ye Qingzhi was taken aback for a moment, then quickly ran over. “What happened to Li Jinfeng?”