Eating melons and raising children in the period literature

Yang Qingqing had just packed her clothes when she heard the door open. She came out and saw that it was her second sister-in-law who came back with her children.

"Second sister-in-law, have you gone to school? Have you finished your work?"

"Yes, it's all ready. When the children get there, they can just go directly to where they go to school. When your second brother comes back later, we will take the children to see our eldest brother and his wife. They may not come back for several years."

"I see. I just packed my things. Now I'll go pack up Wenyuan and Wenxuan. Let's go pack up my brother and sister-in-law's things later."

"Okay, I'll go with you."

"Aunt, let me help you pack up. I'm fine now."

"No need for you, just take care of your brothers and sisters. Play in the yard."

"Aunt, Wenxuan can also help. Wenxuan has grown up," Wenxuan said eagerly.

"Wenyuan, that's fine too."

"Qianqian is also OK, auntie."

Yang Qingqing could tell that Wenxuan really wanted to help, and she could also clearly feel that he seemed to have grown up all of a sudden. He wasn't just saying he had grown up, but he really had become sensible and cautious all of a sudden. Wenyuan and Wenqian were more like agreeing with their older brothers and sisters.

Yang Qingqing didn't know how to describe her current mood. She felt sad, heartbroken, and had many other feelings that she didn't know how to describe. It was very complicated.

Yang Qingqing had never felt so clearly before that the departure of parents had such a great impact on their children. She herself had never felt the love of her parents. The original owner also lost her parents at a very young age, but her eldest brother and sister-in-law raised her as their daughter.

Yang Qingqing didn't feel anything, but Wenxuan's changes made her feel the changes in this family, which also made her want to integrate into the family.

She could no longer stay out of the world. She had to integrate into this era and this family. She had to take good care of these children. From this time on, Yang Qingqing felt that she had to take care of the children.

"Your aunt and I will do it." The second sister-in-law sent the children to play in the yard.

"It's better not to let them get involved. I'm afraid they will miss their parents and be reminded of the past. Let's go together. Qingqing, do you think it's okay?"

"I'm fine. We can both do it."

Arriving at her eldest brother's room, Yang Qingqing couldn't help but recall the warmth she had felt when her eldest brother and his wife were around.

Yang Qingqing quickly adjusted her mood

"Second sister-in-law, let's take away all of eldest brother and sister-in-law's things! Just leave some memories for the child."

"Try your best! We'll take everything we can. Think of anything you need to take and put it away first so you don't lose it."

"I see. The main thing is to keep the photos. We have a family photo, taken when Wen Qian was a little over a year old. This must be kept."

"Well, put this away once you find it. And the money and notes of your elder brother and the others. Keep them all. Qingqing, you keep the money and notes, and wait for your second brother to come back."

"it is good"

Finally, I had 306.9 yuan and more than 30 tickets including food tickets, sugar tickets, industrial tickets, etc. Some of them have a long time to expire, and some are about to expire. But they are all military tickets, which are valid all over the country, so there is no rush to use them. I can use them after I go to my second brother's place.

The other things were my eldest brother and his wife's clothes, a quilt, a mattress and two pairs of shoes. My eldest brother's clothes were two sets of military uniforms and two sets of casual clothes, all of which were worn, neither new nor old. My eldest sister-in-law only had three sets of clothes, two sets of military uniforms and a skirt. There were no winter clothes because my eldest sister-in-law took apart their winter clothes and made clothes for the children. I thought they would be given cotton clothes in winter. If I save some cotton coupons, the whole family can make new cotton clothes in winter.

None of this could be realized. However, the eldest sister-in-law still left a set of "new" cotton clothes for the children and Yang Qingqing this winter.

There were also two quilts, one weighing 4 jin and the other weighing 8 jin. The cotton inside was not very good. It felt clumpy. But Yang Qingqing packed them up and prepared to take them with her. The rest were small things, and Yang Qingqing and the others also put them away.

Then there are the kitchen items, which are the tools that are usually used. Like rakes, shovels, pickaxes, etc., these are the tools needed for the small vegetable garden in the yard. There are also some bamboo baskets and woven baskets. The kitchen is just pots and pans, some small jars, a large water tank, two large tanks for pickling sauerkraut in winter, and some small things.

Yang Qingqing didn't know what to bring. She had heard people say that ironware was still very valuable at that time, and there was no market for it. She didn't know if she should bring everything. There were quite a lot of things. Including the basins that Yang Qingqing and her friends used to wash their faces, there should be at least ten of them.

"Second sister-in-law, are we going to take everything from the kitchen away?"

"No need. Bring the necessary items. Don't bring bowls and chopsticks or anything like that. We have them at home. It's convenient to buy more if you don't have enough. Take the basin and the small pot. Don't bring the big pot. It's a pity, but there's nothing we can do. It's big and heavy, and not easy to carry. As for the rest of the bottles and jars, try to take as few as possible. You can buy them there, it's very convenient. We have several children to take care of here, so we should take less."

"Okay, I get it. Safety comes first. I heard there are a lot of thieves and human traffickers on trains now. Is that true, sister-in-law?"

"Yes. But there are quite a few. You have to keep an eye on the children. Human traffickers like people like us the most. We have a lot of children and a lot of stuff, so it's easiest for us to prey on. We have to be careful. But your second brother and I have never encountered it. We have only heard about it."

"Yeah, let me see what else I can find! The most important thing is to take good care of the children and get home safely."

"Second sister-in-law, there isn't much food left. Should we still take it with us?"

"No, I won't take any more. There aren't many things, and it's hard to carry them. Don't worry, my second sister-in-law won't let you go hungry. I won't take any more."

"Okay, I'll put everything I don't bring together and ask Sister Guihua and the others to come and see if there's anything they want."

"All right"

Yang Qingqing and the others had a simple meal. Seeing that everything was packed, they went to find Sister Guihua and the others.

When I arrived at Sister Guihua's house, I found that the people I was looking for were all there.

"Hello, sister Guihua, hello, sisters. I was just saying I was going to look for you! I didn't expect to find you all now. We are going to the Northeast tomorrow. There are some things that we can't take with us. Do you want them? If so, come and see me."

"Ah? Qingqing, I heard that you went to work at the hospital. Why are you leaving too?"

"That's right. Qingqing, why don't you want to work anymore? I heard that you just reported in."

"Can you all go to your second brother's place? Will it be inconvenient?"

"If you stay, don't worry, the sisters will take care of you."

"It doesn't matter. My second brother and his wife are worried about us. They insist that we follow them. My second sister-in-law also agrees. I can also find a job in the Northeast."

"It's hard to find a job now. Many people can't find a job and have to go to the countryside to work as educated youth."

"Yeah, I get it. Don't worry, I can do it! Don't forget, I'm also the child of a martyr, and I don't meet the conditions for not going to the countryside. So I'll go to the Northeast first. And then find a job as soon as possible. I can't let my second brother support me. I still have to support Wenjing and the others! Let's go, see if there's anything you need?"

"Hello, aunties"

Several children greeted politely.

"Okay, Wen Jing and Wen Xuan are also good."

All responded with a smile

When they entered the house, they were surprised to see that many things in the kitchen were gone.

"His second sister-in-law, Qingqing, don't you want all these things anymore? What about the food? And the oil, and a lot of seasonings?"

"Yes, there are only three adults including Qingqing. We have to take care of four children, so we can't bring too many things. Safety is the most important thing. So many things can't be taken away. You can take whatever you need." The second sister-in-law invited them in and said

"Okay, then we won't be polite. These are all good things, we won't reject them."

"Thank you, Sister-in-law Qingqing."

"Thank you"

"I'm glad you don't mind. We also want to thank you for taking care of Qingqing and Wenxuan."

"Well, there's no need to care about each other. We are just neighbors, we just help each other."

"That's right, you're welcome."

"Yes, to be honest, Qingshan and Xuemei have taken good care of us."

“We are all neighbors, and we all help each other.”

As everyone chatted, they divided up what they wanted. They even divided up the vegetables in the garden. Everyone was courteous to each other and the food was divided up quickly. There were no problems.

Everyone helped to tidy up and then went home. After all, we had to make dinner. We all had families to support. We couldn't not go home to cook.

After everyone said goodbye and left, Yang Qingqing and the others returned home.

Yang Qingqing suddenly felt that her home was very empty. She always thought that the place was so small, but now that she was leaving, it felt so big that she was reluctant to leave.

My second brother came back before dinner.

"I have bought all the train tickets. Political Commissar Guo helped me buy sleeper berths. This way we can have an easier time. I bought four berths. It should be no problem for us to squeeze together. Everything else has been done. Just give the gate key to Li Dashan tomorrow. Political Commissar Guo will send Li Dashan to take us to the train station. We have to get up at 5 a.m. tomorrow and leave on time at a.m. We can't be late for the : train! How are you all packing? Are you done? Do you need my help?"

"It's all done. Tomorrow morning I'll boil the eggs that Qingqing brought back. We'll save them for eating on the train. There's nothing else to do."

"Uncle, do we have to go? I don't want to leave. I want to be at home. I want mom and dad to come back." Wenxuan's eyes were filled with tears.

"Uncle, Aunt, I won't leave, I want my parents."

"I want mom and dad"

Wen Yuan and Wen Qian both cried and said

Although Wen Jing didn't say anything, she looked at Yang Qinghe with tears on her face.

"Okay, okay, don't cry. Second uncle knows. You guys go to his house and play for a while. Your sisters and brothers miss you. We will be back after a while."

It took a long time to comfort the children before they stopped crying.

After dinner, Yang Qinghe said, "On our way to the train station tomorrow, we have to stop by to see my eldest brother and his wife. We don't have time to go today, but we must go tomorrow morning."

After saying this, he reminded everyone very seriously to be on time tomorrow morning.