The 1970s: Military Family Beauty

Jiang Xiaocui went across the street to help Grandma Lu, leaving only Grandma Jiang and her granddaughter at home.

Jiang Furong took the opportunity to ask, "Grandma, where is my aunt's child? Is he staying at the Li family?"

"Your aunt doesn't have any children," Grandma Jiang shook her head, then froze for a moment. "You don't know? Well, that's right. You haven't been back to your hometown since you left. If your parents don't tell you about something, you don't know."

Grandma Jiang stood up and walked a few steps, shaking the latch on the gate to make sure it was fastened. Then she turned around and whispered, "Furong, this is your aunt's sad story. You must not mention it in front of her! Your aunt divorced Li Xiuhua because they had no children. Her mother-in-law thought she was a useless goose, and they always fought over this. This wasn't about the division of land. Your aunt and Li Xiuhua's mother had another argument, and your aunt was so angry that she didn't want to live with him anymore."

Oh! Jiang Furong nodded.

Girls should get married when they are old enough, and have children when they get married. This concept remains exactly the same even after decades, without any change.

Back in the 1970s, Jiang Xiaocui had been married for nearly ten years and still had no children, so there were definitely more people making sarcastic remarks and laughing at her.

Grandma Jiang was very depressed: "I don't know what's going on. She can eat, sleep, run and jump. There should be nothing wrong with her body."

Speaking of this, Jiang Furong had an idea: "Grandma, Auntie will be staying at my house for a while anyway. When my dad comes back, let him take her to the military hospital for a physical examination. I heard that the doctors in the army are very good and can cure any disease."

Grandma Jiang's eyes lit up for a moment, then dimmed again. She still wasn't comforted. "Even if Xiao Cui can be cured, what can we do? We're already divorced. Sigh, I'm already in my early thirties. What's going to happen in the future?"

Jiang Furong’s idea is very simple. No matter whether a woman is married or not, has children or not, or is divorced or not, she must first have a physical examination to ensure her health.

As long as you are in good health and want to get married and have children, can't you just find a partner to marry?

However, seeing Grandma Jiang's worried look, Jiang Furong felt that she should not give advice too rashly, but should comfort her:

"Grandma, there's a saying from the ancients: 'When a car reaches a mountain, there's always a way; when a boat reaches a bridge, there's always a way.' My aunt is as capable as you, and good days are still ahead."

Grandma Jiang was still in a heavy mood: "Furong, if everything you said could come true, then my heart would be a little relieved. Your aunt has been stubborn since she was a child. If you told her not to do something, she would do it anyway. She married Li Xiuhua without telling me. She held a collective wedding in the commune before coming back to tell me. Alas, what could I do? Later, she went to the big city to work as a temporary worker without telling me. I don't know what happened, but Li Xiuhua beat her so badly that she couldn't get out of bed. She asked someone to bring me a letter, asking me to take her back to her parents' home. She said she would rather die than die in the Li family.

When I returned to her parents' home, I took care of her and raised her like a baby, and I finally brought her back to life. But my stubbornness got in the way, and I raised her well, but then I sent her back."

Jiang Furong felt a little angry after hearing this: "They almost beat him to death, and you're sending him back?"

Does marriage transfer human rights to one's in-laws? One has no freedom or voice, and neither does one's own family have a say?

What kind of law of ignorance is this!

Grandma Jiang regretted this: "In the countryside, there are only widows, not divorces. What else could I do? I sent Xiao Cui back home and talked to Li Xiuhua, asking them to live a good life and not fight. I also gave them advice on having children. I said to go... ahem, I said to find a barefoot doctor to prescribe some medicine. Young people are in good health and will definitely have children. I said that our Jiang family usually has children late. I didn't have a child until I was in my thirties.

Oh, look at me, I'm getting old and confused. Why am I telling you this? No more, no more."

Grandma Jiang had been holding her worries in for too long and had never intended to say them out loud. However, she didn't expect her granddaughter to be so considerate, and she ended up saying a lot of things without realizing it.

Now that I have said it, although I haven't thought of any solution yet, I feel much better.

Jiang Furong smiled and said, "If you don't want to say it, then don't say it."

After all, I am just a teenage girl. I suddenly became talkative and chatted enthusiastically with grandmas and aunties of my age. Although they were talking about my family affairs, it still felt a bit strange.

"Grandma, I'll cook first. Zhaohui and Guoqing will be home from school soon."

The hour hand on the alarm clock has already pointed to eleven o'clock.

Grandma Jiang stood up and rolled up her sleeves. "I'll cook. Your thin arms can't be useless in kneading the dough. Just tell me what Zhaohui likes to eat during National Day. Or maybe you can give them some pancakes?"

"You are over seventy years old, so just stand by and give me instructions!" Jiang Furong would never let her grandmother do it herself, so she quickly took the basin, scooped the noodles, added water, and kneaded the noodles.

Grandma Jiang took a look and couldn't stand it anymore: "Let me do it, let me do it. The way you mix the dough is just wasting the grain. We don't say that wasting the grain is wasting it, but if the grain doesn't smell good, then it's wasting it."

Grandma Jiang took the basin and placed it on the stove. She tested the height, washed her hands with soap, and began to knead the dough. "You make dumplings with hard dough and pancakes with soft dough. To make pancakes fragrant, the dough must be soft. You can only know the softness of the dough by handling it. If you use chopsticks to stir the dough randomly, it will not be chewy at all."

Jiang Furong smiled and said, "Grandma, I stir the dough in a clockwise direction with my chopsticks. If you keep stirring in one direction, the dough will be very elastic!"

Grandma Jiang kneaded half a basin of flour into a large dough in a few strokes, poured it onto the worktop, and kneaded it with both hands: "I don't know how elastic it can be, but I know that only dough kneaded with strength in your arms can be chewy."

Jiang Furong's mind flashed back to the memory of eating hand-rolled noodles as a child: "Grandma, my dad learned to cook from you, right?"

The hand-rolled noodles she ate that morning when she woke up were delicious.

Grandma Jiang was still modest: "Your grandfather taught me. Your grandfather is very good at cooking, rolling noodles, making vermicelli, and cooking big dishes. In the past, when we didn't eat from the same pot, other people would ask him to take charge of the cooking when they had weddings or funerals."

Jiang Furong had a little impression, but not much: "My aunt's cooking is delicious too. How come everyone in the family can cook, but I can't?"

The original owner actually had no talent for cooking at all.

"You are still young. When you grow up, hey, you are not young anymore. Look at my brain, I always forget! When it comes to cooking, you have to like it. Only when you like it will you think about it. Once you think about it, you will slowly be able to make delicious food. Let your aunt teach you. Someone as smart as you will learn it in no time." Grandma Jiang is full of confidence in her granddaughter.