Eating melons and raising children in the period literature

When Yang Qingqing and her friends found Ma Jianfang and her friends, they were watching a two-month-old baby.

"Auntie, sister-in-law, auntie, hello! Whose baby is this? It's so cute." Li Yanqin greeted several women one by one

Yang Qingqing immediately greeted them, but she didn't know anyone. She thought they must be from the village, and they looked familiar, but she didn't know their names.

"Hahaha... You must be Qingqing, right? You're wrong. You forgot that you may not be as old as Qinqin, but you are a generation older than Qinqin. You can't just call her sister-in-law. Just call us sister-in-law." One of them teased Yang Qingqing while looking at the oldest woman.

Yang Qingqing felt like she was about to dig out a three-bedroom apartment with her toes. Why didn't she think straight? "Hehe, hello, sisters-in-law. Whose baby is this? It's so cute." She could only greet them again and change the subject.

"You mean this child? This is the Wang family's child. He's almost three months old. He was brought out today. This is the child's grandmother." The oldest woman pointed at one of them, who was a little skinny, with dark skin and a little gray hair. She looked at the 60-year-old lady and said

"This is my little grandson, Wang Hongjun. We are here to join in the fun, hahahaha." He smiled and showed his yellow teeth.

Yang Qingqing saw that the old lady was laughing happily, but she just didn't like her, so she didn't talk to her. Instead, she turned around and talked to Yinping and the others.

"Yinping, Yanqin and the others are here, let's go out and play for a while, there's nothing to do here"

"Okay, aunt, sister Yanqin, I didn't notice when you came. Are Yanli and the others here? Jianfang has been looking forward to their arrival for a long time." Yinping heard what Yang Qingqing said, turned around and saw Yanqin but not Yanli.

"They don't want to come in because there are too many people here. They are standing at the door. Why don't I see Jianfang? You are not together," Yanqin asked when she saw that Ma Jianfang was not in the room.

"He went out to get some sunflower seeds for Auntie and the others. He'll be right back."

"Hey, Qingqing, don't go. We heard that you work at the county supply and marketing cooperative, right?" Wang Hongjun's grandmother said, but her eyes were full of the look of wanting to take advantage of the situation.

"Yeah, it's nothing! I just worked for a sister-in-law for two months. It's not a formal job, it can't be compared with others' formal jobs." Yang Qingqing immediately said that she didn't have any advantage to gain, and she wanted to slip away immediately. She didn't want to chat with this old lady at all

"Hey! She is not an ordinary person, otherwise why would she choose you instead of someone else. Qingqing is very capable, so don't be modest. I heard that the supply and marketing cooperative has internal prices and defective products can be bought, is that true?" The old lady stood up and held Yang Qingqing's hand tightly, and her grandson was held by a sister-in-law next to her.

"Meihua, help me hold Hongjun, don't let him fall, he is my precious grandson."

"Auntie, I can't hold the child. If anything happens, I can't be held responsible. You should hold the child yourself. I have something else to do. I'll be out for a while." The youngest woman put the child in her arms, slicked her legs and ran away.

"Okay, you can take care of your grandson yourself, or you can just send him home. We'll have plenty of time to chat later. They are all children, who wants to listen to two old ladies talking? Just wait here for the bride to come and let's have the feast." The kind old lady pulled Wang Hongjun's grandmother to sit on the kang.

"You guys go out and play," he said, waving his hand to let Yang Qingqing and the others go out.

When Yang Qingqing and her friends arrived at the yard, they happened to meet Ma Jianfang and Yanli, so they went to the backyard.

"Yinping, what's the situation with that old lady just now? Do you know her?" Yang Qingqing was very curious about the old lady just now. She didn't expect that the Ma family had such a relative.

"I know her. She's a famous girl in our village who loves to take advantage. But she didn't have an easy life. My grandmother told me that when she got married, her husband was drafted into the army during the war and never came back. She happened to be pregnant and gave birth to a son named Wang Yougen. She raised the child by herself and found a wife for her son. She finally had a grandson, but the year before last, the grandson went to play by the river and was drowned. Her daughter-in-law went crazy. So even though she loves to take advantage, the villagers don't say anything, as long as she doesn't ruin the family's business."

"Really? Then this must be her daughter-in-law! She gave birth to another child. Didn't they only have one child before?" Yang Qingqing thought it was very strange. Wasn't her daughter-in-law crazy? How could she give birth to another child?

"Haven't you heard about it? I don't know either. Her daughter-in-law gave birth to a child named Wang Hongxin before, but it was because of her that her daughter-in-law was injured and she didn't have another child for many years."

"Is that so? Who cares? It has nothing to do with us anyway. Yinping, do you know when the bride will arrive?" Yang Qingqing asked around, but seeing that Ma Yinping was not very clear, she did not ask any more questions, but instead was concerned about when the bride would arrive.

"I know. I heard from my mom and the others that we should arrive at 11:30 noon, and then we can start eating." Ma Jianfang said quickly.

"Well, it's only a little after nine now, it's still early!" Yang Qingqing looked at the clock in the space lounge and found that there were still two hours before dinner, and she didn't know when it would end, so she asked, "Then after dinner, do we have anything else to do?"

"It's okay, just finish your meal, and then you can come back for dinner in the evening," Yin Ping said, thinking about the wedding she had attended before.

"Ah? Are you coming in the evening? Isn't that too much trouble? By the way, where should we go to present the gift? Where is the accounting office?" Yang Qingqing was quite surprised. She didn't expect to have to come to the Ma family for dinner.

"The account office is under the apple tree in the front yard. Uncle Qiujiang and Uncle Yougen are responsible for receiving the gifts," Yinping replied. However, she was quite surprised that Aunt Qingqing did not give a gift to the old aunt and the others.

"Okay, you guys come with me to pay your respects. After that, come to my house for a while. It's a mess here. It's better to go home and come back later! What do you think?" Yang Qingqing looked at Yanqin Yinping and the others

"Okay! We just don't have anywhere to go," Yanqin replied.

"Aunt, aren't you with your aunt? Do you know how much it is?" Ma Yinping reminded Yang Qingqing because she was afraid that Yang Qingqing didn't know the market situation in the village.

"It's okay. I've talked to my second sister-in-law before. I know. Let's go quickly, or my second sister-in-law will catch me and introduce me to some relatives! I'm a little scared, so let's delay it as long as possible." Yang Qingqing explained why she wanted to go back.

Yang Qingqing is really afraid of those aunts and uncles. In the past, in the 21st century, she would meet them every year during the holidays. They would talk endlessly, find fault with her in various ways, and always praise her family in various ways. Yang Qingqing hated that feeling the most.

"Well, there are a lot of people now, and I don't like talking to them either," Yanqin said, and couldn't help but think of the wedding her mother took her to some time ago. It was simply her nightmare. Those people kept saying that she was old enough to get married, and she couldn't be too picky. She should just marry someone who wanted her. This made her angry. She didn't say anything, but ended up getting a lot of sarcasm.

Yang Qingqing paid a five-yuan gift and was walking towards the gate with a few people when she heard someone say

"Qingqing, you are here. I just need to talk to you about something. Come quickly."