Eating melons and raising children in the period literature

In the morning, Yang Qingqing and her group paid respects to Yang Qingshan and Dong Xuemei on the way, and then arrived at the train station.

After saying goodbye to Li Dashan, Yang Qingqing and the others went into the train room. Ticket checking had already begun.

Yang Qingqing thought there would be a lot of people! But in fact, there were only a few people on the train. They were the only ones on the sleeper car.

When I got on the bus, I realized that there were still quite a few people on board. I found their beds and found that there were already two people sitting on the lower bunk.

They were two middle-aged men. They looked very ordinary, but they were well dressed. They seemed quite decent and a little arrogant.

"Hello, this is our seat, can you give it up? Let's get settled first. Put your luggage away."

"Sorry, we are on the upper and middle bunks. We saw no one here this morning so we took a break."

"It's okay. We just got on the bus and need to get ready first. You can just rest afterwards. Where are you going? We're going to Qingyuan County in Jilin, Northeast China."

"We are also going to Qingyuan County. What are you going to do? You brought a lot of things with you."

"I am a soldier, and I am picking up the children to follow the army."

"That's right! Our buyers have just finished their purchases and are about to go back to report!" one of them said proudly.

This small carriage is full. There are six beds in total, four for Yang Qinghe's family, plus the other two people. There will be no need to change people during the journey, so the danger is much reduced.

"Uncle, I want to go to the bathroom." Wen Yuan whispered

"Wenyuan, wait a moment. Uncle will take you there. Anyone else wants to go?"

"Uncle, I want to go too. Sister, are you and Qianqian going?"

"I don't want to go, I'll just look after the luggage," said the second sister-in-law

Yang Qingqing and Yang Qinghe went there with their children.

Yang Qingqing was very alert along the way, fearing that something unexpected would happen. In the end, nothing happened. Even the most common incident of catching a thief did not happen. I don't know whether it did not happen or it happened but was not publicized.

In short, Yang Qingqing and her friends had a smooth journey and arrived in Qingyuan County in the evening of the next day.

Yang Qingqing also experienced the accommodation in the guesthouse. It was really hard to describe. The room was a standard room, but there was no bathroom. There was only a toilet and a washing room at the end of the corridor.

It was not a good experience for Yang Qingqing. But she was still excited to see the children and stay in the guesthouse.

After another half day's driving, Yang Qingqing and her companions finally arrived at the town where the troops were located.

It is called a town, but it is actually the largest village nearby. There is a supply and marketing cooperative in the village, as well as buses from the county town, a health center and a state-owned restaurant. Everything else is no different from other villages.

The army was still more than ten miles away from the town. But Yang Qinghe had a house in the town. Usually, the second sister-in-law and the children lived in the town, which was convenient for the second sister-in-law to go to work in the hospital. It was also convenient for the second sister-in-law's mother to help take care of the children.

My second sister-in-law is the youngest child in her family. She has two older brothers and one older sister.

The eldest brother, Ma Changhui, is 41 years old and is the village secretary. He and his eldest sister-in-law have four children, three boys and one girl. The eldest, Ma Jianguo, is 20 years old and has a partner and is preparing to get married. The second child, Ma Jianjun, is 18 years old and has been in the army for a year. He is not at home at the moment. The third child is a girl named Ma Yinping, 15 years old, who is still in school. The fourth child, Ma Jianfang, is 10 years old and is in primary school.

The eldest sister Ma Lizhen married a family surnamed Li in the neighboring village and gave birth to three children, two boys and one girl. The eldest girl was already thinking about marrying someone else at the age of 3. The second and third children, one 17 and one 16, were both in school.

My second brother, Ma Changpo, works in the county steel mill. My second sister-in-law is also a worker in the steel mill. They have three children, all of whom live in the county town and rarely go home.

Ma Liyue's parents are both old revolutionaries. Her eldest brother took over her father's job and became the secretary. Her mother is the village women's director and has not yet stepped down. The main reason is that they can't find a suitable person. Usually the old couple don't need their sons and daughters to take care of them. They can earn their own food and subsidize their children.

During the slack season, Ma Liyue's parents help take care of the children. After all, the children of others are grown up. The second brother Yang Qinghe often goes on missions. The second sister-in-law Ma Liyue also has a job, so she can only trouble her father-in-law and mother-in-law.

Although my second brother's house is in the same village as my second sister-in-law's family's, they are not very close and are at two ends of the village.

It was already afternoon when we got home. My second brother packed up and hurried to the military district to report for leave. Did he need to see what arrangements the troops had? My second sister-in-law also had to go to her parents' home to pick up the children. I haven't seen them for many days. The children must miss their mother.

"Sister-in-law, I won't go to see uncle and aunt today. It's too hasty to go today. Please explain to uncle and aunt. We will definitely pay a formal visit another day."

Yang Qingqing originally wanted to go with him, but it was really late today. She hadn't bought some things yet, so it was not easy for her to visit him. So she asked her second sister-in-law to explain it to her.

"What are you talking about! You are still a child? Why do you talk like an old man or old lady? Don't worry, my parents won't bother with you. Being in my second sister-in-law's house is like being at home, don't be restrained. If you feel embarrassed, how will Wenjing and the other children feel! After everything is cleaned up, I will call my parents and eldest brother to have a meal together so that we can get to know each other. You just stay here well, no one in this village will bully you. I will go and pick up those kids so that you can get to know each other. You haven't even met the third brother!"

After a while, I heard a chirping sound coming from outside the door.

"Qingqing, do you still remember Auntie? We haven't seen each other for two years. We have grown up. The old man and I didn't know you were coming today. We didn't go to pick you up. You must have had a hard journey!"

Aunt Ma is tall and thin, looks a bit unpretentious, is good at talking, and is a very warm and easy-going person. Uncle Ma is a person of medium build with a square face, serious and kind, likes to joke around but knows how to keep his distance.

Uncle Ma nodded and said, "This is Wenjing, Wenxuan, Wenyuan and Wenqian. They are all good kids."

"As soon as my parents saw me, they knew everyone had arrived. They insisted on coming to see me and help me settle down."

"Hello, uncle and aunt. Wenjing, Wenxuan, Wenyuan, and Wenqian call you grandpa and grandma. Uncle, I'm so sorry that we were the ones to come and see you. I didn't expect to trouble you."

"Hello, Grandpa and Grandma"

……

"Mom, are these my aunt, sister, brother and sister?" Wen Dan asked quietly, hiding behind Aunt Ma.

The second brother and his wife both married and had children late. The oldest, Wendan, is 5 years old this year and is a shy girl. The second child is also a girl named Wenran, who is 4 years old this year and was born 5 days earlier than Wenyuan. She is the older sister and looks like a lively and cheerful girl. The third child is just over one year old, a boy named Wenjie, who is fair and tender. In Ma Liyue's arms, his big eyes kept moving around, and he looked like a clever little boy.

Second sister-in-law Ma Liyue introduced everyone to each other and asked Wendan to take the children out to play, not even taking Wenjie, who was over one year old, with him.

"Sister-in-law, Wenjie is so young. Aren't you afraid of losing him? Just leave him to the children."

"Hahaha, Qingqing? Everyone in our village knows each other well. The villagers are watching for outsiders. We can't let outsiders kidnap our children. So we don't have to worry about bad people during the slack season. It's only during the busy season when everyone in the village goes to the fields that we have to keep an eye on the children. Don't worry!"

"I see. Thank you, ma'am."

"Let's go to Auntie's house for dinner later. There's no one else there. Auntie will make you a Northeastern specialty chicken stewed with mushrooms. It's delicious!"

"That's so embarrassing. We should have greeted you, but now..."

"Don't be polite to me. I know everything. Just treat this as your own home. In this village, I can still speak to your uncle. The village secretary is your second sister-in-law and her eldest brother. If you have anything to say, just tell me. We are a family, so don't be polite. I love you as my own children."

"Thank you. We will definitely trouble you in the future. We will live in the village from now on. But I saw that there seemed to be no one in the yard next to my second brother's house? I wonder what's going on? Do you know, auntie?"

"I know. Your uncle knows this best. That's the Li family. The son is filial and promising, so he took Old Li to the provincial capital to enjoy a good life. No one lives in this yard anymore. Right, old man?"

"Yes, Old Li went to the provincial capital to enjoy his life. He handed the house over to our team. He said it was a token of his appreciation. The team is free to use it as they wish. We originally wanted to use it as a youth educated camp, but the yard was a little small and we were afraid it wouldn't fit, so we chose the former landlord's house. It has been empty ever since."

"Really?" Yang Qingqing thought.

"Qingqing, what are you thinking about? When everything is ready, let your second sister-in-law take you around the village. After that, you can come to your aunt's house for dinner. By then, your second brother will be back soon."

"Okay, excuse us then."

Yang Qingqing thought, "I still have to bring gifts. What can I smuggle out without arousing suspicion?"

After thinking about it, Yang Qingqing had no choice, so she took out a piece of cloth she had prepared and prepared to take it with her. I heard that the second sister-in-law's family had already split up. Now the old couple lives alone. When they are really unable to do so, they will let their sons take care of them. That's why they can help the second brother take care of the children now. The daughters-in-law at home have nothing to say. However, in Yang Qingqing's memory, the second sister-in-law's two sisters-in-law were still a little dissatisfied with the old people helping the second brother and his family take care of the children. They often said some sour words.

Now Yang Qingqing and her four children have come to live with the second brother and his family. I guess the two sisters-in-law from the second sister-in-law's family will be even more dissatisfied. Maybe there will be a fight. I am afraid that the two old people will subsidize the second daughter's family.

Yang Qingqing could understand them. So he thought about doing things as thoughtfully as possible. Let the brothers and sisters-in-law of his second sister-in-law's family see that although Yang Qingqing and the children were without a father or a mother, they had enough food and clothing and did not need subsidies from the elderly. This should reduce a lot of conflicts.