Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 929 928 Your Man Has Many Tricks
Sunday, May 7.

After having breakfast and getting ready, the young couple planned to go to Gu Yong's place first.

Before leaving, Tang Zhitong thoughtfully prepared corn for his younger sister to be crushed. For Fengzhi, the stone mill was indeed a bit big, but it wasn't impossible to push.

“Compared to when I was a child, you’ve practically grown up in a honey pot. Doing some work and experiencing the hardships of life will make you truly appreciate how hard it is to get food.” Tang Zhitong showed no mercy to Fengzhi, who was pouting.

After summer vacation, Fengzhi will be a third-grade elementary school student. If this were after the millennium, she would really be the little princess of the family, someone who would be afraid to melt in their mouth or drop in their hands, and would be so delicate that they couldn't even tell the difference between wheat seedlings and chives.

But if we go back another ten or twenty years, which child didn't grow up helping with farm work at home?

Children with stepmothers, in particular, have a very miserable life.

Tang Zhitong had two neighbors like this when she was a child, and according to seniority, she should call them "sisters".

His two older sisters were not much older than him. The two sisters had to go to the millstone before dawn, and they were never idle when they weren't milling. There was always plenty of work to be done in the fields.

They ate leftovers from home, wore hand-me-downs, and lived in a side room without even a stove. In winter, their hands would freeze like rotten eggplants.

It could be said that the two sisters took on all the housework, and even so, only the younger sister persisted in completing vocational school, while the older sister was illiterate.

It's not that we don't have money, it's just that we're worried about who will do the housework and farm work since everyone is in school.

Ironically, the two older sisters' biological father was once a teacher.

After making arrangements for his younger sister, Tang Zhitong didn't forget to grab the chain gun, planning to give his brother-in-law a surprise later.

To prevent his brother-in-law from being lazy and ignorant of farming, Tang Zhitong thought that after moving to Dashizuo Hutong, he should also arrange a work package for him. Anyway, there are plenty of rooms there, so even if he stays there every day, there will be room.

In addition to the wine and canned goods that Ding Jianhui gave them, Zhang Guifang also picked a bag of tomatoes for the young couple to take with them.

Although Tang Zhitong had said many times that the produce in this yard would still belong to their family after the move, Zhang Guifang still had doubts. Even if it all went to their family, it was still someone else taking care of it.

She was a little skeptical that someone would take care of her family for free.

Upon arriving at Gu Yong's home, Xiao Wang went straight into the bedroom to see Liu Yue and the child, leaving the space for her husband and Gu Yong to talk.

Upon learning Tang Zhitong's purpose, Gu Yong was both amused and annoyed: "Why are you doing all this? We're like family!"

"If it's to help me get transferred, I don't have to show any appreciation, but Ding Jianhui's matter was my suggestion after all. If I don't show any appreciation, then I'm being unreasonable." Although Tang Zhitong said this, he didn't agree with this statement in his heart.

Although the two had a good relationship, it wasn't Gu Yong who facilitated Ding Jianhui's transfer. When an elder intervenes, one has to show some appreciation, no matter who is being transferred.

If you really think this is Aunt Tian repaying a favor, then you're being too naive.

It's already quite kind of them to acknowledge this kindness; if they don't, it's nothing at all.

The two brothers were drinking tea and chatting outside, while Xiao Wang was chatting with Liu Yue in the inner room.

"It's only been half a month, and I already feel like I smell bad. There are still half a month left. How am I going to get through this?" Liu Yue immediately started complaining when she saw her friend.

Although she had heard of postpartum care before, she had never experienced it herself. Not being able to shower or wash her hair for a month, and not even being exposed to the wind, was something Liu Yue couldn't stand after just one week.

"Can't you just rinse a towel with hot water and wipe her down?" Xiao Wang was also a newbie and had no experience with postpartum care. Seeing that her friend's hair was starting to clump together, she tentatively offered this suggestion.

“My mother-in-law won’t allow it.” Liu Yue shook her head, her face calm and without any dissatisfaction.

She was just confiding in her classmate Xiao Wang; she wasn't really against postpartum care. Her mother-in-law had made it clear that she herself hadn't taken proper care of herself during her postpartum period and had developed health problems, so this time she was to follow the old traditions no matter what.

On one hand, there was the unpleasant odor and physical discomfort caused by not being able to shower; on the other hand, there was her mother-in-law's care. Liu Yue had no choice.

"That's Aunt Tian's way of showing you care. Just bear with it for now. You'll be out of confinement in half a month, then you can take a good bath." Upon hearing this, Xiao Wang didn't even offer any advice and directly advised Liu Yue to just bear with it.

"Sigh, this is the only way." Liu Yue said, reaching out to scratch her head again. If she didn't shower, her body might smell a little, but if she didn't wash her hair, her scalp would itch terribly.

"Yueyue, have you named the baby yet?" Xiao Wang didn't want to talk much about Liu Yue's relationship with her mother-in-law, so she started to tease the baby, gently stroking the baby's face with her thumb.

"Yes, his name is Gu Jianxun." Liu Yue scratched her head, feeling much better. She sat to the side, smiling as she watched Xiao Wang tease his son. In her friend's eyes, she saw a look of envy.

"This is a good name. You'll achieve great things in the future. Isn't that right, little Xunxun?" Little Gu Jianxun was fast asleep when he felt his face being stroked. He instinctively waved his little arms in protest.

"You'll have to comfort him if you make him cry; this child cries very loudly," Liu Yue said with a smile, covering her mouth as she watched her son begin to protest in a scribbled voice.

"I'll coax him, I'll coax him. How hard can a child be to coax? A loud voice is a good thing; he might become a general someday." Although Xiao Wang said this, he had already stopped what he was doing.

The baby's nervous system is not fully developed, and the overall response is delayed. Although little Gu Jianxun no longer had fingertips on his face, he still cried out loudly after waving his arms a few times.

"Go ahead and try to soothe him. Let you experience what it's like to soothe a child beforehand." Liu Yue, the mother, was not angry at all; instead, she smiled and teased Xiao Wang.

"Then I'll give it a try." Little Wang was quite fond of the child, so he carefully picked him up.

After Gu Jianxun was picked up, he immediately became much quieter. His little hands touched the grain bin and he started to pry at it unconsciously, and his mouth also began to make sucking motions.

"Want to experience what it's like to be a mother again?" Liu Yue knew that Xiao Wang was pregnant, and looking at the huge granary, Liu Yue felt a little awkward.

"I've noticed you've become even more unserious since you became a mother." Whether there's grain in the granary isn't determined by its size. Little Wang had no grain in the granary, and seeing that Gu Jianxun was about to cry again, he could only gently deliver it to Liu Yue.

"It's your man who's being indecent. What has he been teaching Gu Yong? He really tormented me when I was pregnant. Hey, now that you're pregnant too, are you even more adventurous?" Now that she's had a child, Liu Yue is no longer the same innocent girl she used to be, and her conversations have become increasingly open.

"Huh? Anzi is teaching Yong Ge?" Xiao Wang was taken aback. Did the two brothers discuss the details of sex in private?
"Would I lie to you?" Liu Yue took the child, lifted her clothes, and fed the baby while responding to Xiao Wang. "This guy, really, I'll give him a piece of my mind when I get back." Xiao Wang really didn't expect male friendship to go to the point of discussing sex. He was a little angry when he first heard about it. How could he not be able to grasp the right balance?

"Why criticize him? It's not a bad thing to communicate more. I was just saying your man has a lot of tricks up his sleeve..." As soon as she said it, Liu Yue realized the ambiguity and quickly tried to smooth things over: "I meant Anzi is very knowledgeable... Never mind, the more I explain, the worse it gets. They only say these things because they have a good brotherly relationship. Don't get involved in their brotherly affairs."

"Hmm? Why do I get the feeling that you're actually happy about it?" Although Liu Yue's words were a bit ambiguous, Xiao Wang saw that Liu Yue didn't seem to mind her husband's meddling, so she started teasing her instead.

Xiao Wang acknowledged Liu Yue's eloquence and extensive knowledge. The two maintained a correspondence, occasionally mentioning trivial matters in their letters, but mostly only briefly touching on the subject without going into much detail.

But it felt a little strange to hear such things from her friend. However, she didn't think much of it and just assumed that Liu Yue was just being silly because of pregnancy and would say things without thinking. She trusted her husband and Liu Yue.

Since getting married, married women in the National Library of China no longer avoid talking to her, and they often start rambling about car horns.

They said it was like being a thief, having to give the kids two cents for doing something decent, and then sending them all away, etc.

However, there is a difference. When Xiao Wang thought about it carefully, he realized that when his colleagues talked about those things, they never mentioned any fancy uses. It was as if chopsticks were only used to pick up food and there was no other way to use them.

Previously, I subconsciously thought everyone was the same, and the reason I didn't mention it was because it was too private. But after hearing what Liu Yue said, Xiao Wang realized that her husband did indeed know a lot. Perhaps he gleaned his knowledge from those picture books? But ballet didn't exist when those picture books were created!
"You're not an unmarried girl, do you really want me to spell it out?" Liu Yue didn't deny it, but she lowered her voice as she said this, afraid that people outside would hear.

"Is that thing really that interesting?" Little Wang realized, but with the 404 error blocking his way, he could only cover his mouth and chuckle as he teased Liu Yue.

“Yes, otherwise where would the child come from?” Liu Yue rolled her eyes at Xiao Wang.

Xiao Wang was stunned by the charm she exuded. Although Liu Yue before and after having children was still the same person, her charm was vastly different.

Seeing that Xiao Wang was silent, Liu Yue put down Gu Jianxun, who had already eaten and drunk his fill, leaned close to Xiao Wang's ear, and whispered something, making Xiao Wang blush.

Today, Xiao Wang truly witnessed the difference between married women with children and other married women; the scale was enormous.

When Tang Zhitong came over to say goodbye to Xiao Wang, Liu Yue was still a little reluctant to part. She had been holed up in bed for half a month and had never had such a pleasant chat as today.

However, she was still in her postpartum period, and Tang Zhitong and his wife had other plans for the day, so they didn't stay at Xibianmen any longer.

As they left the compound, Xiao Wang was still pondering Liu Yue's words. Sitting in the back seat, her fingertips searched for the right soft flesh on her husband's waist.

"What's wrong with you? You're giving me goosebumps." As the driver, Tang Zhitong didn't dare to move around too much in front of him and could only grit his teeth and endure the ravages from Xiao Wang's fingertips.

"Why do you men say all sorts of things to each other?" Even if Xiao Wang had a thousand thoughts in his mind, he could only keep them to himself at this moment, because it was not appropriate to talk about such things on the street.

"Huh?" Tang Zhitong was taken aback. Gu Yong had begged him not to tell anyone, so he had told Liu Yue?

"You, Gu Yong, look at me with thick eyebrows and big eyes, but I didn't expect you to be so weak-willed. When faced with the enemy's honey trap and forced confession, you spilled everything. Since you have betrayed the revolution, we will resolutely sever ties with you from now on!"

Tang Zhitong, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, also betrayed his friendship, leaving everything to Gu Yong.

"Better to die than to die myself," Little Wang thought. "You wouldn't go and confront Gu Yong, would you?"
"I'll deal with you when we get back." Xiao Wang pinched her husband's waist again, intending to postpone the matter.

"Yes, thank you for your magnanimity, Teacher Wang." Tang Zhitong had a bit of a headache, wondering how Teacher Wang would deal with her.

In the past, this could have been solved by going through the steps one by one, but Xiao Wang has only been in school for two months, so this method is clearly not suitable.

Upon arriving at Chunshu Hutong, Tang Zhitong took out a chain gun and gave it to his brother-in-law, demonstrating how to operate it.

Jingmin got a new toy and hurriedly put match heads on it. He originally wanted to shoot his older sister first, but remembering his agreement with his brother-in-law, he turned around and aimed at Jingying instead.

While aiming, he also made a sound effect: "Bang bang bang! I'll kill you, you traitor!"

Jingying glanced at her younger brother without saying a word, but silently rolled up her non-existent sleeve. It was hot, and she was wearing short sleeves today.

Seeing his second sister's behavior, Jingmin, outwardly fierce but inwardly weak, fired a shot into the air, then, while reloading "ammunition," threatened his second sister: "Don't come any closer, I have a gun!"

The chain gun wasn't very powerful, so Jingying wasn't afraid at all. Before Jingmin could even load it, she grabbed his ear and pulled him aside to start lecturing him.

Ye Zhijuan picked up the chain gun her son had dropped, examined it with interest for a while, and asked Tang Zhitong, "Did you invent this? Can we use it to generate foreign exchange?"

"Mom, this isn't really an invention, it's just a little toy I made for Jingmin." Tang Zhitong was very annoyed. He could tell that Director Ye was urging him to complete the invention task again.

“Mom, even a landlord’s donkey isn’t used like this. Anzi has been quite busy lately, he needs to take a break.” Little Wang also understood Director Ye’s unspoken meaning. Although she still had the incident written down in her notebook, at this moment she stood firmly on her husband’s side, holding her mother’s hand and acting coquettishly.

"You silly child, I'm just amazed by Anzi's ingenious idea, can't I even ask a question?" Ye Zhijuan was indeed trying to urge him on. Now that the city's overall rationing quotas were set in stone, all that was left was to implement them.

Due to her outstanding performance, high expectations were placed on her, and her foreign exchange earnings increased dramatically.

"Mom, please give me some more time. I'll try to give you an answer before the end of the month." Director Ye was dedicated to public service, and Tang Zhitong felt she had to push herself. Even though she didn't have any ideas yet, she still drew up a timeline for herself.

"Alright, let's talk about it at the end of the month." Director Ye was very satisfied with his son-in-law's attitude. As he handed him the chain gun, he praised him, "The design is indeed ingenious. You must have put a lot of thought into it. I thank you on behalf of Jingmin."

"We're all family, you're too kind." Tang Zhitong smiled as he accepted the chain gun, which felt unusually heavy in his hand.

For some people, it only takes ten minutes to walk to the Children's Palace, while for others it takes twenty years.

The first child a person raises after growing up is actually their childhood self.

Rather than saying this was made for Jingmin, it's more accurate to say that Tang Zhitong was making up for the regrets of his childhood. However, he never expected that making up for it would lead to another demand for more updates.

(End of this chapter)