LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 36: Mother Ji’s Attitude
“Honey, how are you doing at home? I called Lao Qin, and he said that he had sent the saplings. Are they growing? It doesn't matter if they don’t grow, we are still young. And don't worry about the money. By the way, I recently accepted a mission. You don't have to worry about me. It's not dangerous. But if I get the merit record and get paid fifty yuan, I'll send it back to you. I know you can make money and don't like me doing this, but it's what I earn for you to spend. Go ahead and buy whatever you want, you don’t have to feel wronged.”
The letter was flowing with words like he was chatting with her, but the meaning between the lines told her that he missed her.
Su Danhong took in all the sweetness. She read through it a couple of times and then put the letter away.
First, she wrote a reply. After that, she took out the shoes and worked on them. She had to hurry up and send them to him.
A few days later, two pairs of shoes and a letter were sent to Ji Jianyun’s organization.
A friend came to have a look and said, “Oh, is there a package for Jianyun? He just went on a mission and I don’t know when he will be back.”
But with that said, the package was accepted and left in storage. It was fine to wait until Ji Jianyun came back to accept or reject the package.
“Did Jianyun's wife send him something again? The beef jerky she sent last time was very delicious,” another friend said and smiled.
“It must be her. Except for his wife, no one else would send him things so often.” The friend chuckled. “Jianyun has made it to the end. His wife is now thoughtful enough to care about him, he will be able to take up another fight.”
They were all very close friends, and how could they not know anything about how their pal, Ji Jianyun, had lived in the past two years? It was certainly impossible to talk about the character of a close pal, but that was not the case for his wife.But it was getting better now. She sent something to him from time to time. It's not like things were bad here, but it was just a matter of her attitude, wasn't it?
Look at how their pal, Ji Jianyun, came back after the New Year. His body unexpectedly put on a lot of weight, but the smile on his face was a lot more.
That was more like it!
Su Danhong continued to lead an ordinary life in the village. She didn’t know that her husband’s friends in the organization were talking about her while he went on a mission again.
In the past, when she was alone, she ate less than before at every meal. But with a little child in her stomach, she did not dare to eat like that any more. She needed to eat at least one bowl of rice at every meal, plus some fruits and snacks that she usually ate. Basically, her mouth never stopped eating every day.
It was to the point where Father Ji did not see her for a few days and privately said to Mother Ji, “When you have free time, go to Lao San’s wife and sit around so that she will be saved from those bachelors in the village whose bad intentions won’t die!”
Mother Ji did not disregard her husband’s request. She would visit every day, which was not unusual. She did feel that this daughter-in-law was becoming more pleasant recently. Her white goose egg face was very rosy and she was extremely blessed.
When the day was almost over, Mother Ji saw that there were many jujube seeds on the table. She smiled and said, “Jujube is good, but you shouldn’t eat too much since it produces heat easily.”
It looks like Lao San’s wife is eating a lot of lucky food? One look and it puts people in a good mood.
“Mother, have some, too,” Su Danhong smiled and said. She gave her a handful. “I've been having some cravings lately. Mother, go and see who has peanuts, and buy some for me.”
“Cravings?” Mother Ji caught an important word. Her eyes lit up and she asked, “Danhong, when was the last time your period came?”
It would be almost three months in a few days, so Su Danhong was not going to hide it. She smiled shyly. “Mother, my belly will be three months old in five days.”
With these words, Mother Ji was stunned, but she was overjoyed when she reacted. “Danhong, are you pregnant? And it’s been almost three months?”
“Mhm.” Su Danhong nodded.
Mother Ji was happy and anxious. She said, “You child, you have been pregnant for almost three months. Why do you only say it now?”
“I was going to wait three months before I say it,” Su Danhong responded and continued smiling.
Mother Ji did not blame her. They did have a saying: There is nothing to say if it was less than three months, but it is not too late to announce it if it has been more than three months.
“Say, haven’t you been eating more lately? You used to eat half a bowl of rice and you be full, but now you are willing to eat one bowl and one bowl is still not enough for you. You should eat more. You want to eat peanuts, right? Mother will buy it for you right now. If there is none in the village, will you be uneasy?” As Mother Ji spoke, she went down a rabbit hole. She put on her shoes and went out with a burst of energy.
Su Danhong didn't even have time to give her the money and she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Mother Ji quickly brought her five jin of peanuts. Not only peanuts, but also a few jin of sesame seeds. These were all very good things.
"Mother has made a deal with your Aunt Yang. I asked her to raise a few more chickens this year, and then they will be killed for you to eat later!” Mother Ji happily exclaimed.
“Mother, don't tell anyone else yet,” Su Danhong stated.
“Mother understands. Mother was speaking to your Aunt Yang about how your Uncle Yang saved Jianyun's life when he was younger. Our families are close, so don’t worry about this,” Mother Ji said.
“There was also that?” Su Danhong was shocked. She asked, “What happened? Mother, tell me about it.”
Mother Ji simply explained that Ji Jianyun was more like a tiger when he was a child. One winter, he was pushed into the river during a fight. It was the old man Yang who jumped down and pulled him out.
Because of this, Mother Ji had a very close relationship with Aunt Yang. Of course, it was also because Aunt Yang was easy to get along with.
While they were talking, Aunt Yang came over with a basket of eggs.
Da Hei probably saw that she was carrying eggs, and Mother Ji was there, so he didn't stop her. Yet, Aunt Yang still didn't dare to come in and shouted from the door.
Mother Ji came out to invite her in. She asked her, “Why did you bring so many eggs?”
“It’s to nourish Danhong’s body of course. Danhong, the five or six hens at aunt’s house lay eggs quickly, so don't be polite to aunt. Don’t hesitate to eat two or three of these eggs a day. With your current conditions, you have to nourish your child. In the past, when we were pregnant, it was fine to have a baby that could eat,” Aunt Yang said as she reminisced the bitter memories.
Mother Ji's interest in the conversation rose and began to chatter with her. “Who would say it’s not fine? During those three years of famine1, our side was still good. There was more or less a mouthful of clear porridge to drink, and the bark outside was almost eaten up.”
The two chatted about their past, and Su Danhong listened eagerly. When the conversation was pretty much over and Aunt Yang was about to go back, Su Danhong gave her almost half a jin of beef jerky wrapped in oil paper and said, "Aunt Yang, you take it back to my Uncle Yang to eat with his wine. Beef is good for the qi and I added a lot of strong herbs to strengthen his foundation. Take it back to eat. It’s very good.”
“That old fool will take advantage of this good thing.” Aunt Yang smiled and took it without being humble.
tarararawr’s rararamblings: Just to clarify something, I believe Su Danhong already knew about Uncle Yang saving Ji Jianyun when he was younger, but she is probably thinking another incident had happened so Mother Ji explains what she means.
- Wiki on the Great Chinese Famine