They were busy for most of the day and everyone left when it was almost dark. Wang Sufen swept the melon seed shells and cigarette butts on the ground, wiped the kang mat twice, opened the inner room and the front door, and let in some cold air for a few minutes, which finally got rid of the messy smell in the house.
After a tiring day, there was no need to cook anything new in the evening. Liu Xiulan had already put out the four dishes from lunch in a pot and placed it in the cupboard. She just had to heat it up in the evening. But because she was afraid that Zhenzhen would have to eat the same dish twice, she just steamed a bowl of egg cake for her.
This was the first time for Zhenzhen to encounter such a lively event since she was born. She joined in the fun while the adults were busy. The women chatted about family matters, all of which were things Zhenzhen had never seen before. She became so sleepy that she didn't want to go to bed until the afternoon, when she was so sleepy in Grandma Li's arms that she couldn't open her eyes. Then Wang Sufen carried her to the east room.
Mingdong and Guihua didn't feel anything during the day when there were many people around, but at night when there were only a few people left at home and they ate side by side, they realized that they were already married.
The stove and the kang in the back room had been lit five days ago, and the room had already been warm. When Li Mulin's family came back from Ice City, Old Lady Li did not arrange for them to sleep in the back room, but drew a curtain in the west room and let them sleep on the big kang in the south.
After dinner, the young couple sat next to each other with red faces. Although they were both a little sleepy, neither of them was too embarrassed to ask to go to the back room to sleep. Old Mrs. Li looked at the newly married couple and couldn't help but pull Wang Sufen to her side and asked her softly, "Have you talked to them about how to do that?"
Wang Sufen, who was in her forties, was embarrassed by Old Lady Li. She looked at Old Lady Li with some embarrassment and whispered, "What should I say?"
Mrs. Li thought about it and didn't know how to start: "Do you remember what your mother taught you when you got married? Just tell Guihua that. By the way, did you prepare a sheet for Guihua? They have a new mattress in their room. It's hard to take it apart and wash it in the winter if it gets dirty."
At least Wang Sufen was prepared for this. She had already taken apart an old bed sheet with holes in it, washed it, folded it twice, and sewed it into a mat. She called Guihua to the east room, took out the small mat and handed it to her. Guihua took it in her hand and looked at it: "Is this the new diaper mat made for Zhenzhen?"
Zhenzhen sat on the kang with a look of grief and indignation on her face but unable to express her pain: Actually, I don’t want to, but my body is too small and sometimes I really can’t control myself!
"No, um, this is for you." Wang Sufen said with an embarrassed look on her face.
Guihua did react a little: "Is this for me to do something good for me?"
Wang Sufen was so confused that she could only stammer and explain, "This is for you and Mingdong tonight. Put it under your body and don't dirty the mattress."
Guihua looked at Wang Sufen innocently: "But I just had my period, I don't need this."
"No." Wang Sufen was almost going crazy. She really didn't know what to say. She tried to recall what her mother said to her when she just got married, and tried to tell Guihua tactfully: "Well, you have to sleep on the same kang with Mingdong tonight..."
With just these words, Guihua's face immediately turned red like a stove, so hot that it was about to smoke. Seeing her daughter-in-law so embarrassed, Wang Sufen felt even more uncomfortable: "It may be a little painful, just bear with it, it will be fine in a while. Put the cushion in place, don't dirty the new mattress."
Guihua lowered her head and covered her face, her ears and neck turned red. Wang Sufen felt that she had not explained it clearly, so she could only flee and seek help from Old Lady Li. Zhenzhen, who had witnessed the premarital education, was almost laughing madly. She put down the pine nuts in her hand, wiped her hands and mouth with a handkerchief, and then walked to Guihua and put her arm around her neck.
Feeling Zhenzhen's little hand hugging her, Guihua finally let go of her hand, hugged Zhenzhen in her arms, and finally couldn't help but say, "How embarrassing."
Wang Sufen returned to the west room and discussed with Old Lady Li: "Guihua, a girl, can't figure this out. Why not let Dongzi's father teach Mingdong?"
"That's right." Old Lady Li tapped her pipe and cleared her throat: "Muwu, go talk to Mingdong."
"What are you talking about?" Li Muwu was a stubborn man who always followed instructions and never understood the turning point. Old Mrs. Li was so worried when she saw him: "Tell me about the wedding night."
Brothers Li Musen and Li Mulin couldn't hold back their laughter, which made Mingdong a little embarrassed. Looking at the group of boys on the kang opposite, Li Muwu's dull face also felt a little embarrassed: "What's there to say? You'll know everything once you get on the kang."
Mingdong couldn't stand it anymore. He stood up and wanted to leave, but he was too embarrassed. Old Lady Li waved her pipe and hit everyone with it: "Hurry up and talk in the inner room. After that, let Mingdong and Guihua go to bed. You've been making a fuss all day. Aren't you tired?"
The head of the family had spoken, so the father and son had no choice but to go in reluctantly with their shoes on. They came out not long after. I don’t know if Li Muwu understood what he said.
She laid new mattresses side by side and took out two new quilts from the kang. Guihua made the bed and sat on it, not daring to even look at Mingdong.
"Well, Guihua, let's go to sleep." Mingdong swallowed his saliva, his palms were sweaty from nervousness. Guihua blushed and took off her cotton jacket and trousers and put them under her feet, then got into the quilt in her shirt and trousers. Mingdong turned off the lights, took off his clothes, and got on the kang in the dark.
The couple lay in their own beds. Although the room was dark, they both kept their eyes open, but neither dared to move. The room was quiet, and only the sound of each other's breathing could be heard. Gradually, Guihua became sleepy. She yawned and could not open her eyes.
As if he heard Guihua was about to fall asleep, Mingdong became a little anxious. He reached his hand out from under his quilt, tentatively reached into Guihua's quilt, and grabbed Guihua's hand.
Guihua was just about to fall asleep when she was awakened by Mingdong. Feeling the hot temperature of Mingdong's palm, her face turned red again.
Seeing that Guihua did not pull her hand away, Mingdong bravely got into Guihua's bed and hugged her. Guihua lay in Mingdong's arms with a blushing face, not daring to move.
After being in a relationship for such a long time, this was the first time that Mingdong held the person in his arms. Feeling the warmth and soft touch in his arms, he felt that being in a relationship was really meaningless. No matter how long they looked at each other lovingly, it was not as real as holding each other in his arms.
The warm kang, the roaring stove, the thick quilt, and Mingdong's tight embrace made Guihua sweat all over. She gently pushed Mingdong's chest and said in a whisper, "Brother Mingdong, I'm hot."
Mingdong loosened his arms, estimated the direction, and kissed Guihua in the arms. Guihua looked up just in time and they bumped into each other. Mingdong was in so much pain that he almost cried.
Rubbing his chin, Mingdong heard Guihua chuckle in the bed, and suddenly felt the pain was gone. He held her face with both hands, found the right position and finally kissed her. Just like Li Muwu said, this thing doesn't need to be taught, it's all based on instinct. Mingdong kissed and kissed, and then moved from Guihua's lips to her neck...
But sometimes instinct alone doesn't work. After struggling for a while and still not being able to figure out what was going on, Mingdong got off the kang naked and turned on the light. Guihua was so embarrassed that she stuffed her head into the quilt. Mingdong jumped onto the kang and said, "Let me take a look. Where is it?"
***
In the blink of an eye, spring came and flowers bloomed. Zhenzhen took off her thick cotton coat, put on a brand new pink floral jacket, and rushed out the door that she hadn't left for more than five months. Standing in the yard, Zhenzhen stretched her arms and legs, and walked around her yard first.
After a winter, Zhenzhen not only became more agile, but also spoke more and more. Fortunately, since Zhenzhen was born, Old Lady Li had been talking about Zhenzhen's smartest and cleverest words every day, so the Li family had long been accustomed to the fact that Zhenzhen learned to speak quickly.
"The river has melted, brother, let's go fishing." Mingbei has been going to school like he was being tortured every day since the New Year. He was frowning every day. Finally, he counted on his fingers until the day of rest. After breakfast in the morning, he didn't even do his homework and started thinking about how to go out for the wild.
Mingnan, who was bored in the yard, was delighted when he heard this. He pulled out his fishing rod and picked up the bucket and urged Mingbei to hurry up. Zhenzhen finally got her legs and feet back in shape and was thinking about going out for a walk. When she saw Mingnan and Mingbei were going out, she immediately ran over and hugged Mingbei's thighs, looking at him with her chubby little face, "Brother, I want to go too."
Mingbei pinched her bulging cheeks, squatted down and coaxed her: "Baby, just play at home and wait for me to catch a big fish and bring it back for you to eat."
Zhenzhen took the opportunity to hug his neck and climbed up with her legs: "I'll go too, I'll go too, I'll go too."
Mingbei was overwhelmed when he saw this, and his legs were shaking as he squatted. "If I take you out, grandma will beat me to death. Since I love you, can you spare my life?"
Zhenzhen buried her little head in Mingbei's arms, holding him tightly with her two little hands, as if she would never get down. Mingbei had no choice but to stand up and carry Zhenzhen into the house: "Grandma, my brother and I are going fishing, and Zhenzhen must come with us."
When Mrs. Li heard this, she hurried over with her pipe in hand and tried to take Zhenzhen down from Mingbei's arms. Zhenzhen hugged Mingbei tightly and quickly blinked her eyes, squeezing out a few tears, looking at Mrs. Li pitifully: "Zhenzhen wants to go!"
Old Mrs. Li was not afraid of anything at her old age, but she was afraid that her little granddaughter would cry. When she saw Zhenzhen crying, she softened her heart and said, "Okay, okay, go if you want to."
Well, grandma has spoken, Mingbei didn't want to take Zhenzhen with him, so he had to hold the little fat girl in one hand and carry the bucket in the other hand as he walked out. But as soon as he walked out of the door, he stopped and turned around to ask old lady Li who had followed him all the way out: "Grandma, what are you doing out here?"
"We're going fishing, right? If I don't keep an eye on you, what if you drop Zhenzhen into the river?"
Mingnan and Mingbei's faces fell when they heard this. They had been running around the river naked all day long since they were two or three years old. They had never seen any boy with milk when he went out to play. But Mingbei didn't dare to say "no" as he was holding this big baby in his arms. If he went without milk, and Zhenzhen got hurt, his grandmother would definitely beat him so hard that he wouldn't even recognize his own mother.
Compared to his life, Mingbei feels that face is not important at all, really.
Although Zhenzhen had passed by this river many times when her consciousness was out of her body, this was her first time to actually come to the river. Now that the weather has warmed up in the spring, people who have been cooped up at home for a whole winter have come out. There are not many wild vegetables on the mountain at this time, and the wild animals are at their thinnest after starving for a whole winter. Except for the fact that there is really nothing to eat at home, most people don't go up the mountain to hunt at this time. Beicha is nothing but mountains and rivers. There is nothing interesting in the mountains, so the bad boys from each family all come to the river. Each person has a fishing rod, which is homemade at home. They can use some bean cakes from home and add some water as bait.
Old Mrs. Li has been busy with family affairs or working in the mountains for many years. It has been many years since she had the leisure to go to the Yongcui River to watch her son fishing. When Zhenzhen arrived at the river, she climbed down from Mingbei's body and squatted by the river to scoop up the still cold water with her hands.
Old Mrs. Li was so nervous that she didn't leave without him, fearing that she might fall into the water if she couldn't keep an eye on her. But Zhenzhen didn't feel nervous at all. Instead, she had a lot of fun.
Gradually, groups of finger-length fish seemed to sense her presence and swam over to gather around Zhenzhen's hands, vying with each other to peck and kiss her hands. Zhenzhen opened her eyes wide in surprise and teased the fish with great interest.
Old Mrs. Li's eyes were blurry. She could only see a dark object. She quickly squatted down and looked down. Only then did she realize it was a fish. She was shocked: "Where did such a small fish come from?"
Zhenzhen pulled her hand out, and the small fish immediately scattered away. Old Lady Li took out a handkerchief and wiped Zhenzhen's hands, while she couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "Did you call those fish?"
Zhenzhen thought that since she was born, the one who protected her the most was probably Old Lady Li. Her abilities didn't seem to have any other uses at the moment, but they were indeed very easy to improve the family's food, so she didn't plan to hide it from her. After all, when she was older, she would be able to go up the mountains and down the rivers, and by then she would be able to bring back more than just these little things. In order not to scare Old Lady Li, it would be better to let her gradually accept it.
Zhenzhen smiled sweetly and deliberately hooked her finger towards the river in front of Old Lady Li. In an instant, fish weighing seven or eight kilograms appeared swimming from a distance, popping up from the water from time to time and circling around the nearby waters.
The place where Mingnan, Mingbei and other children were fishing was about ten meters away from here. Even so, the group of children saw the splashes of water from the fish and immediately ran over here with their fishing rods, cheering.
Mingnan and Mingbei ran the fastest, and found a flat place in front of Zhenzhen to cast their fishing rods. Although the two of them could catch some fish every year, it was never as exciting as this time, as they could catch a big fish almost every time they cast the rod. The two of them caught quite a few, and other children also caught big fish one after another. Seeing that everyone had caught three or four fish, Zhenzhen quietly dispersed the school of fish. Mingnan and Mingbei's mouths were almost grinning from ear to ear, and each of them carried a bucket to show Grandma Li: "Grandma, look how great we are."
Old Lady Li gave them a disdainful look and muttered in her heart, "What does it have to do with you? It's obviously my granddaughter who is awesome!"
The author has something to say: Happy Little New Year! Northerners like to eat dumplings during the Little New Year. My family eats dumplings stuffed with lamb and carrots. What do you eat
The red envelopes for the first two chapters have all been sent out. Since Jinjiang has a draw whenever it gives out red envelopes, I either couldn’t send them out or I thought they were unsuccessful and ended up sending them out several times. So I guess some students may have received double or even five or six. Congratulations!
ps: There will be updates during the Chinese New Year for the fairies, so I shouldn't stop updating. I will save more manuscripts in the manuscript box next week, and strive to write at least 4,000 words a day, muah~~~