The Red Era: Starting from a Truck Driver

Chapter 201 Zhou Lingying brings the female educated youth home

Jiang Cheng’s grandparents are Jiang Santian and Liu Hualian.

When I met Jiang Changhe's second granddaughter-in-law for the first time, I was naturally very warm and polite.

During dinner, he kept picking up dishes for Zhou Lingying, saying that she was pretty, just like the people in the paintings. He said that it was a blessing for their grandson Jiang Cheng to marry her, and that their Jiang family had never had such a beautiful daughter-in-law for so many generations.

To be honest, Zhou Lingying always had a good appetite. But tonight she only ate two bowls of rice and didn't want to eat anymore. This was at her parents-in-law's house, Jiang Cheng's parents' house. It wasn't Jiang Cheng's grandparents who served her the food. No matter how many dishes they served, it wasn't their grandparents who served her. But at her parents-in-law's house, she needed them to serve her.

Perhaps Zhou Lingying was prejudiced against Jiang Cheng's grandparents. Her husband was unwilling to give even three dollars as a filial gift. Last time, he told her that Jiang Changhe and his family didn't care how they took care of their grandparents, as long as they were filial to their parents.

Anyway, Zhou Lingying faked a lot of times today. Jiang Cheng's grandparents said that the printed cloth she brought was very beautiful. They said that since they were from the countryside, their sheets and quilts were torn in many places. They patched one place today, but in a few days another place would be torn.

Zhou Lingying pretended not to understand what he meant, and said that the life of rural people was indeed miserable. For example, the bed sheet that sister-in-law Li Xianglan slept on was not only worn out, but she also dared not scrub it hard if the child wet the bed.

Cotton cloth will easily tear after being used for a long time. If a child wets the bed, new cotton sheets will tear before long.

Unfortunately, Zhou Lingying was playing dumb. Her father-in-law Jiang Changhe, in order to show his filial piety, gave the bed sheets she brought for them to Jiang Cheng's grandparents.

In the end, Zhou Lingying had no choice but to give Zhao Yuxia another piece of bed sheet at night. As for trimming the edges, she could only sew it herself.

In fact, Zhao Yuxia was also helpless. Women should follow their husband wherever he goes. Jiang Changhe had to be filial to him, and she, as his daughter-in-law, could not say anything.

After all, Jiang Santian and Liu Hualian were Jiang Changhe's parents and raised him when he was a child. In the countryside, it was unheard of that a son could completely fail to fulfill his filial duties just because his parents were partial.

"Mom, this is foreign trade goods that Jiang Cheng's unit got and is now selling domestically. Do you know what foreign trade is? It's sold abroad. This piece of cloth is the size of a bed sheet, and an unfamiliar person is buying it. I can't bear to sell it for even eight dollars." Zhou Lingying said to Zhao Yuxia in the room.

At first, Qian Jiangcheng refused to give him three yuan a month for retirement, but now he is giving him things worth eight or nine yuan.

"Alas, your father is like that, and there is nothing your mother can do. It's actually difficult for him. When the family was divided, the relationship was not completely severed. But it is easier to sever the relationship with brothers than with your parents. Even if your parents are wrong, they are still your parents after all." Zhao Yuxia said.

Every family has its own problems. Jiang Changhe's parents took the initiative to come to the door. In rural areas, filial piety is important. Even if they really want to sever ties, it's fine if the family is poor, but if they are rich, they should at least give some money. And even if they do that, if the son breaks off ties with his parents, he will always be the one blamed.

Now Zhao Yuxia heard that the printed cloth was so expensive, and a piece of bed sheet would cost a farmer a month's work points. Zhao Yuxia felt sorry for it, because although it was Jiang Cheng's, as a mother she would definitely favor her son.

The eldest son is gone, although Zhao Yuxia likes grandchildren. But the only son left is Jiang Chengcheng. For Zhao Yuxia, there is not much difference between her son's things and her things. Of course, whether Jiang Cheng gives it to her or not is another matter. At least Zhao Yuxia cares about her son.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law chatted in the room for a long time, and Zhao Yuxia left at almost eight o'clock.

Zhou Lingying was lying on the bed alone, feeling a little anxious. Jiang Cheng had been away for seven days. She wondered what to do if he happened to come home today. Because of the nature of Jiang Cheng's work, she and Jiang Cheng only slept together for a few days a month.

But today I softened my heart because a former educated youth friend wanted to catch eels at night. I asked her to stay at my rural home for a day and go to the city together tomorrow.

In order to have a companion to go back with, and also because she wanted to let Zhang Yan and the others see her life in the city so that they would not disbelieve her, Zhou Lingying agreed to leave tomorrow morning.

She didn't think too much about it at the time, but if she calculated the date, Jiang Cheng might come back. If Jiang Cheng came back, she would have one less day to be close to her man.

In the countryside, people usually go to bed at 7 or 8 o'clock. Zhou Lingying didn't know whether she missed Jiang Cheng or was used to going to bed at 9 o'clock in the city. So she lay in bed until nearly 9 o'clock before falling asleep.

Zhou Lingying woke up early the next morning. She was pregnant, and now that she was back in the countryside, she didn't need to work in the kitchen.

Zhou Lingying had some porridge with some pickles in the morning and she enjoyed it very much.

Because the bus to the county town was not available until nine in the morning, Zhou Lingying played with her two nephews at home for a long time.

I don’t know if it’s because she already had a man or wanted to have a son, but when she was playing with her nephews who were wearing open-crotch pants, she said they had caterpillars~~.

It was not until eight o'clock that Zhang Yan and Wang Fang came to Zhou Lingying, each carrying a small basket of eels.

Zhou Lingying didn't say that eels can be sold in the city. The main reason is that eels are very expensive to eat. If you don't catch a lot of them, you can sell them in the city. If you find someone you want and know how to eat them, you don't mind paying a few cents for a pound. People in the city don't have much oil at home, so they may not buy them. But it's different if you ask Zhu Lan to sell them. She knows which people are rich and willing to eat them.

After the two arrived here, they chatted for a while and then set off.

They first walked to the intersection of the township road and waited for the bus to the county town, then waited for a while in the county town and got on the bus to Changcheng. Zhang Yan helped Zhou Lingying pay for the two-cent ticket to the county town, and Zhou Lingying paid for the two-cent ticket to the city.

After arriving in the city, the three of them got off the bus. Because Zhang Yan and Wang Fang were both educated youth who went to the countryside, and this educated youth who went to the countryside naturally meant that they had lived in the city before. They did not feel that they were eye-opening when they came to the city, but felt that it had been a long time since they had been there.

They asked for leave from the educated youth team leader this morning, saying they were going to visit their friend Zhou Lingying in the city. If they were visiting someone else, the leave might not be approved, but when they were visiting Zhou Lingying, her husband was the driver, so it was necessary to maintain a good relationship, so the leave was approved immediately.

It took more than ten minutes to walk from the station to where they lived. Zhou Lingying said she would treat them well on the way. She had malted milk at home and invited them to have a drink.

Just this kind of treat made Zhang Yan and Wang Fang very excited.

The journey took more than ten minutes, and for people of this generation, they would not feel tired. Soon they arrived at the intersection outside the courtyard alley.

"Zhang Yan, Wang Fang, have you seen this public toilet in the city? Although there are still mosquitoes biting your butt, it's much better than the pit toilets in the commune," said Zhou Lingying.

In rural latrines, maggots can be seen crawling out of the manure tanks most of the time, except in winter. Zhou Lingying has been in the commune for more than a year, but she still feels disgusted.

Especially when there are flies, they first lie on the feces and then fly towards people as soon as they enter.

So when they heard Zhou Lingying introducing the toilets, Zhang Yan and Wang Fang also missed the toilets in the city.

After the three of them entered the alley, the children who were playing in the alley and not going to school would politely call Zhou Lingying "Auntie" when they saw her.

In fact, even children from the city at that time were not very polite. But Zhou Lingying was special. When she was cooking lard residue, everyone gathered around to watch, and those who were polite could get a piece. If there were other food, as long as you saw her and kept staring at her, you could sometimes get a piece.

If it were anyone else, no matter how hard you stared at them, they wouldn't be able to eat even a bit.

"We're home, Zhang Yan, Wang Fang. The two rooms on the left and the small kitchen next to it are my house. You haven't been back for a day. Luckily I fed the chickens when I went out. I have to go feed the chickens first. I'll kill a chicken for you later." Zhou Lingying said happily.

It's almost noon and time to get off work, so I have to make lunch when I get back.

What made Zhou Lingying feel relieved was that the door was still locked, which meant Jiang Cheng hadn't come back. She and Jiang Cheng were not an old married couple. When Jiang Cheng was around, she wanted to stick to him. If Jiang Cheng came back and missed a day of their time together, she would feel it was a pity.

Zhang Yan and Wang Fang looked at the house where Zhou Lingying lived. Although it was not high-end and not a building, it looked big. Their dormitory was not as big as this one, let alone two rooms.

A few months ago, Zhou Lingying suddenly said that she wanted to get married, just to get a house. At that time, Zhang Yan said that Zhou Lingying got married too quickly from meeting her boyfriend, but Zhou Lingying said aggrievedly that her boyfriend wanted more houses, so she had to get married as soon as possible.

At that time, some people in the female educated youth dormitory advised Zhou Lingying to keep in touch with the couple for a while before getting married. After all, if they got married, they would have to sleep together, and there would be no chance to regret it later.

Now it seems that Zhou Lingying made the right decision to get married. With two such large houses in the city, she won’t have to worry about where to live when she has children in the future.

Zhou Lingying first opened the door of the side room and asked Zhang Yan and Wang Fang to put the eels in a bucket. Add a little water and wait to see if Zhu Lan will come back for dinner. If she does, she will help deal with it.

Now Zhu Lan is the deputy director of the supply and marketing cooperative. Her working hours have also changed. She no longer needs to take turns on duty at the supply and marketing cooperative at noon.

Zhang Yan and Wang Fang had never imagined that Zhou Lingying's side room alone had a bed, a table, a stool, and a cupboard. That didn't even include the rice jars and flour jars. There were even two bamboo beds for sleeping in the summer.

After packing the eels, Zhou Lingying took them to the main room to sit for a while. After entering the main room, Zhou Lingying was completely relieved. She was still worried that Jiang Cheng would come back, but now he went to work and locked the door. Nothing in the main room was moved, proving that he really hadn't come back.

When Zhang Yan and her friends came to the main room, they were really envious of Zhou Lingying. There was a desk with many books on it. There was also a dressing table and a wardrobe. There was even a sewing machine placed by the window.

Such conditions are rare even in the city. If it were them, their dedication to rural basics would be shaken.

(End of this chapter)