Eating melons and raising children in the period literature

Yang Qingqing came out of the kitchen and said, "Second brother and second sister-in-law, I have some questions I want to ask you now?"

Second brother: "What's your problem? You look troubled. Is there something you can't solve? Or did you encounter a problem just now?"

"There's no problem with the work. We just need to think about whether the house we live in now will be taken back by the army. After all, this is a military family compound, and we can't live here any longer given our current situation. And what about Wen Jing and the others?"

"Housing is indeed a problem. I will go look for it later and ask about the housing issue. If that doesn't work, I can rent a house for you near the hospital or you can see if there are any dormitories in the hospital, so that it will be convenient and safe for you to go to work. Of course, the children will go back to the Northeast with me and your sister-in-law. Otherwise, how can a little girl like you take care of so many children? Besides, the children are still young and there are many things to do. You can't take care of them all."

The second sister-in-law agreed, "Yes, yes, your second brother is right. Let's take the children back to the Northeast. Can you work here alone? You are a little girl, and you have to pay attention to your safety. When you have the opportunity in the future, you can try to transfer to the military hospital near us or to our hospital. You can also be my colleague. It would be great if we can take care of each other. When I go back, I will ask Qingqing if she can be transferred to our hospital. What do you think, Qingqing?"

"I think it's great to be able to work with my second sister-in-law. But it's not good for you to take four children back to Northeast China. The main thing is that your own children are still being taken care of by your second sister-in-law's parents. If Wenjing and the others go with you, not to mention whether the elderly can take care of them, it will be a lot of pressure on you and your second sister-in-law! If I don't care about anything, what kind of person will I be? My eldest brother and sister-in-law raised me, and now I can work. Not only do I not repay my eldest brother and them, but I also don't care about the children. I'm really not a human being to let the children follow you to Northeast China. Besides, I can't bear to leave Wenjing and Wenxuan. They have been with me since they were young and have never been separated. Besides, I can make money now, so I can support Wenjing and Wenxuan. What's more, they are really well-behaved and worry-free. I really can't bear to leave them."

"That won't work either, you're still a child. You're only 16, how can you take care of Wen Jing and Wen Xuan? It's good enough that you can take care of yourself. Don't worry, at most I can find someone from my fellow villager's home to help take care of them, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Brother, you know what time it is now. Be careful not to accuse you of hedonism. You will cause trouble for the whole family. You might as well join me!"

"Uncle, aunt, please stop arguing. I can take care of my brothers and sisters. We won't go anywhere. We'll just stay at home. If the house is taken back, we'll rent one and live on our own. Really, I've grown up too," Wen Jing said.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! We won't go anywhere, we'll just stay at home. We can live on our own. We were able to live on our own when mom and dad were not at home before." Wenxuan agreed stubbornly.

"That's different. Don't think too much. The most important thing for you now is to grow up well. As long as your second uncle is here, he will never ignore you." Yang Qinghe looked at Wen Jing and Wen Xuan seriously and said

Wen Yuan and Wen Qian were not quite sure what their brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, and aunts were talking about, so they just quietly looked at this and that.

"Brother, I can really support Wenjing and the others. Really, I have money. I can take care of myself and Wenjing and the others. My eldest brother gave me all the pensions for my parents and the subsidies he gave me."

"No, stop talking. I won't agree. You're staying here with the children. For example, you go to work every day. What if you have to work in shifts? Will you leave the children home alone? If the children get sick, can you take care of them? You think too simply. If you hadn't found a job now, I wouldn't have let you stay here. Go ask the hospital dormitory if there are any beds available, and live in the dormitory. Your second sister-in-law and I will take the children back to the Northeast in two days. We have to live on no matter what. You are still young and don't think comprehensively. You don't know that our society is not only bright, but also dark. There are many things that are beyond your control. You won't understand if you haven't been exposed to them."

"Brother, I understand, but I really don't want to be separated from Wenxuan and the others. And Wendan and the others are still young. If you take Wenxuan and the others back with you, will you be able to take care of them? What about your own life problems?"

Yang Qingqing suddenly understood that in the 21st century, when the Internet is so developed, there are still many things that are hard to accept and many things that the law cannot do anything about. What's more, the laws of this era are not yet sound, people have not received nine years of compulsory education, and many people still keep the ideas and methods of doing things in the previous chaotic era.

Wen Yuan suddenly cried out, "Second Uncle, we are not going with you. I want to wait here for my parents to come back. We are not leaving! Big sister, brother, please talk. Why should we go with Second Uncle and the others?"

Wen Qian also started crying and said, "I won't leave. I won't leave."

"Wenyuan, be good, Wenqian, don't cry! We won't leave. Big sister has money and can support you. We're not going anywhere. We'll stay home and wait for mom and dad to come home. Second uncle, I have money too. Over the years, mom and dad have saved my dad's pension and my allowance for children of martyrs for me to keep. I really have money, and we can live on our own. I heard from my classmates that there is an orphan in their village who lives alone and can even support his sister."

"Wenjing, it's not about money now. We can't live without adults at home. There must be people like you mentioned, and my second uncle doesn't deny it. But that's in the village, and they are all people from the same village who know each other well. You have never lived in the village, and you don't know how united the villagers are and how cold-blooded they are towards outsiders. Let alone other things, if you don't live in the military area, you won't be able to deal with those aunties who love to take advantage of you, not to mention those idle street urchins. There are many things you can't solve by yourself, and no one will help you. When the time comes, you will be helpless. What are you going to do? My second uncle knows your heart, but this matter is really for your own good. I don't know if you can continue to live in this house?

Don't worry, Uncle will take care of it, don't think too much. And little sister, you don't have to think too much, you are still young and have just started working, so you just need to work hard, and we adults are at home. It's best for children to be happy."

Yang Qingqing couldn't convince her second brother for a while, and she felt that she had taken things for granted before. She just wanted to let it go and take it one step at a time. No one knows which will come first, tomorrow or an accident. "Okay, I'll go cook first, let's do this first. Eating is important, we can't let our babies starve."

Wen Jing followed Yang Qingqing and said, "Aunt, I'll go help you."

The second sister-in-law also stood up and said, "I'm going to help too. You should talk to Wenxuan and the others. Comfort them first. They are still young. It's normal for them to not want to leave home. Talk to them nicely and don't scare the children. I want to take them back too. They are all good kids! Hey! What happened? How did it become like this? Hey! They are all stinky spies who deserve to be killed."

"Qingqing, you bought a lot of meat. We have to cook it all, otherwise it will go bad tomorrow. I don't know if we can eat it. You should buy less! It's so hard to eat meat, but you still think it's too much. Look at my mouth. It's not that I have any opinions, but the situation is like this. No one has much appetite. I'm afraid it will go bad if we can't eat it. This will waste your kindness and money. You can understand what I say, right? I'm just like this... Don't mind it!" The second sister-in-law said a little embarrassedly and patted her mouth.

"Sister-in-law, I know what you mean. I won't mind. We've already cooked it, so let's eat something good and make everyone happy. In this weather, it's still okay to cook it and leave it overnight. I just felt that it was not easy to come across such good meat, so I wanted to buy more, without thinking too much. Then let's make braised pork. We can also stir-fry tofu and eggs. What do you think, sister-in-law? By the way, I have glutinous rice noodles and mung bean cakes in this basket. Wenjing, take them out and eat them with Wenxuan and the others. Give some to your second uncle too. Sister-in-law, which one do you want to eat, we'll leave some for you."

"I don't want to eat it. I don't like it. I still have to cook, so I don't have time to eat. Let's talk about it later. Don't you care about it now? Just leave some for what you want to eat." Second Aunt said with a smile

"I don't like it either. Let Wenjing take them all out. Wenjing, remember to remind your brothers and sisters not to eat too much. We still need to eat later." Yang Qingqing handed two bags of snacks to Wenjing, pushed her out of the kitchen, and closed the door.

Yang Qingqing looked at the rabbit and pork belly and asked, "Sister-in-law, what else can we make besides braised pork?"

"I see there's still some white flour. How about we make two-mixed flour dumplings and braised rabbit? The pork belly can be smelted to produce a lot of oil, and the oil won't go bad. The oil residue can be used to make dumplings. What do you think?"

"Wow, the second sister-in-law is worthy of being the second sister-in-law. I thought of braised pork. Well, I was thinking that braised pork alone is a bit too much, and it's repetitive and a bit monotonous." Yang Qingqing scratched her head awkwardly

"What's the big deal! You haven't married yet. You'll understand when you get married. I didn't think so much before. My mother didn't let me do anything at that time. She said I would have the time to do it in the future. Now that I'm a mother, I really can't help but think about it. I'm worried that the children will be hungry, cold, and sick. I think about the children in everything. I also have to remember that I can't let the children eat the same food all the time. I have to make it different. I'm so tired of thinking about cooking for them every day. But fortunately, I eat at my mother's house most of the time. It annoys their grandmother, and I'm really glad to have the help of my parents. You see where I'm going. Let's cook."

Yang Qingqing sighed, "Sister-in-law, you must be very happy in your parents' home. But it's still hard work. You have to go to work, do housework, take care of the children, and take care of my second brother. I feel that it will be so hard in the future! I don't even want to get married."

The second sister-in-law was embarrassed. "What's the big deal? There are many people who work harder than me. I am considered good. I have a job and can earn money. And my parents usually help me take care of the children. Your second brother can do housework, cook, and help me take care of the children when he has time. I am very satisfied. I think it's good to marry your second brother. You can't have such thoughts!"

"There are so many things you need to think about in a day, and you still think it's good, sister-in-law? It's scary to think about it. I don't want to get married or have children. Am I really rebellious? Do you regret marrying my second brother? Do you feel happy now?"

"You are still young. When you grow up, you won't feel the same way. Having your own career and family is also a very important part of life. Your second brother is better than many people. You can't expect a person to be perfect. I think my life is pretty good now. You should think about how to work hard now. Maybe your thoughts will change in the future. You meet a handsome boy who is good in every way, but you are not tempted." The second sister-in-law joked

"Okay. I won't talk to you anymore. I'm just thinking about how to do my job well. This is the most important thing right now."

Yang Qingqing thought to herself, "I'm not young either. I'm actually a little older than my second sister-in-law. I haven't even thought about getting married. There are many people who are afraid of marriage in the 21st century. Both men and women don't want to get married. Men are afraid of spending money, and women are afraid of marrying the wrong person. At that time, I had a house, a car, and savings, but I didn't want to get married. Now I don't want to get married even more. If I'm blind and find a lousy family, my second half of life will be ruined. Divorce is not popular in this era. It's better to be single to keep safe. By the way, is this era acceptable for single nobles? My second brother and second sister-in-law won't urge me to get married, right?"

Yang Qingqing shook her head vigorously, getting rid of all the unreliable fantasies in her head.

"Qingqing, what's wrong with you?" The second sister-in-law looked puzzled.

"Are you sick? If you feel uncomfortable, don't bear it, talk to the second sister-in-law. After all, the second sister-in-law is a nurse. Although she is not as good as the eldest sister-in-law, she knows the general situation. Tell me where you feel uncomfortable? Or you should go and rest. I can take care of the rest by myself." The second sister-in-law said with concern.

"Ah? It's okay, let's continue cooking."

The second sister-in-law's preparations were neat and tidy, unlike Yang Qingqing's flustered manner at all.

The dumplings were stuffed with cabbage residue from the vegetable garden. The braised rabbit was stuffed with dried radish and vermicelli. There was also a scallion and tofu dish, but no scrambled eggs. The dumplings were almost cooked, so the second sister-in-law asked Yang Qingqing to take them out and invite everyone to eat.

The whole meal was basically prepared by the second sister-in-law, and Yang Qingqing just helped out by washing vegetables, making dumplings, etc.

"Brother, Wenjing, Wenxuan, Wenyuan, Wenqian, we can eat now. Today's meal is very rich. It's very delicious."

After everyone was at the table, my second sister-in-law came out with a pot of dumplings.

"Everyone, come and eat. We rarely eat such delicious dishes on weekdays. Let's eat as much as we can today. If you have anything else, let's talk after dinner," said the second brother.