Chapter 8 Section VIII

After dinner, I helped my sister-in-law wash the dishes and chopsticks of the family, cleaned up the small kitchen, and locked the door. The fourth sister opened the foreign cloth curtain of her house and saw the third child sitting on a chair reading a book. She walked lightly. You walked behind him and covered his eyes with your hands.Sanwazi reached out from below and scratched her waist, she couldn't help letting go.But he pushed her down on the kang and scratched her neck and armpits, itching so much that she couldn't help giggling and rolling on the kang, begging for mercy, but he didn't let her go, and still scratched and scratched her vigorously.At this time, the voice of the old man calling "Jianfeng" came from the room. He stuck out his tongue, shrunk his neck, and walked out the door.

The fourth sister tidied up her skirts, jumped off the kang, picked up the plywood on the soles of Nabu shoes, and when her mother-in-law handed her the hemp and the cloth to wipe the sash, she solemnly confessed that from now on, Sanwazi's clothes, shoes and socks It's all up to her. If the clothes are too dirty, or if you wear rotten shoes with thumbs exposed, the villagers will not laugh at the man, but his wife. A man's clothes are like a woman's face.The mother-in-law also bluntly said that she should make a plan for her in the first year of marriage, and make enough cloth shoes and cotton shoes for the man and herself to wear for five years, in case a year later when I hold a baby in my arms, I will be too busy to catch it. splint.This is a rare thing for any new wife to avoid. Prepare as early as possible, and the more you do it, the easier it will be in the future.The fourth sister is very grateful to the old lady for her advice, and is determined to prepare enough shoes before the baby appears, so as to avoid emergencies in the future.

After entering this family, she and Jianfeng got acquainted quickly, and when they got acquainted, they liked him even more.This young man from Guanzhong has a strong body and good looks, with high browbones, high nose bridge, and a straight face, very masculine.He doesn't talk much, especially in the village, and he never gets involved in any disputes in the team.He doesn't talk much in the house, especially with his old father-in-law.In the small mansion, he lay on the same pillow with her, talking softly about this and that, saying that when he was in junior high school, he always got full marks in physics and mathematics. ", I failed to take the high school and technical secondary school exams, so I came home.His family has a high level of income, and he knew that he would not dare to participate in any activities in the village, so he just read idle books at home, and even got acquainted with electric motors and learned how to repair them.

The fourth younger sister came to this family for the first time in January, and there was nothing dissatisfied with her impression.The life of this family satisfies her. She usually drinks glutinous rice grits for breakfast, thin noodles for lunch, and glutinous rice grits for dinner. Momo is usually made from cornmeal, but during festivals, she always eats Wheat flour steamed buns, although there are a little more coarse grains, they are always decent grains!Unlike my hometown in northern Shaanxi, I always eat bran, and the best is yam, and yam is a dish rather than a staple food on the table of Guanzhong people.

Her Jianfeng has special skills, and often repairs motors for the brigade to earn a job as a technician. He used to do repairs in his own small building, but moved to an empty room in the brigade after marriage.When there were no motors to fix, he went to work in the fields.In the evening, he never went out to visit, nor did he join in the fun with other boys, but he just read the book of electrical technology with his hands.She was sitting on the small stool next to him, holding the splint to fit the soles of her shoes, softly humming the tune of his favorite folk song from northern Shaanxi, and the young couple was very passionate.The important matters of this big family of ten, such as the food plan, such as financial income and expenditure, such as gifts that should be given to relatives in a certain family, are all taken care of by the two old people, and she does not need to worry about it. She is in this seemingly huge In the family, she is actually the most leisurely. When it is her turn to go to work, the women's team leader will notify her.The most urgent thing is to learn how to roll various noodles and the techniques of spinning and weaving as soon as possible.Cotton is produced in Guanzhong. In order to save money, people do not buy foreign cloth. They are still used to spinning and weaving, dressing and making shoes or quilts.

The meals at home are cooked by the three daughters-in-law in turn, each for a month.Now it's my sister-in-law's turn to cook, and she helps her sister-in-law when she is free. Firstly, she can cook pots and wash dishes when she is free. Second, she learns the skills of rolling noodles and cooking from her sister-in-law, and is familiar with the family. eating habits.After the second sister-in-law's turn, it's her turn.She has roughly understood that before every meal, the sister-in-law first asks the old woman what to cook?The old lady is in charge of adjusting the recipes.After the rice is cooked, scoop out two bowls first, serve the first bowl to the husband, and then serve the second bowl to the old woman. Naturally, both hands are needed.Then scoop it up for the children, one bowl for each person, and then scoop it up for the brothers and sisters-in-law of the same generation.After the first batch of scooping, each person should do the second scooping by himself. The sister-in-law is only responsible for continuing to scoop up the two old people and scooping up the rice for the children who cannot reach the edge of the pot. This is the rule, and it is not difficult. Got it.

No worries about food, and a son-in-law who is basically caring, the fourth sister is very happy.As for the status of the upper-middle peasants in this family, it doesn’t seem to have much to do with her. Joining the party is only about the level of status, and recruitment is only about the quality of the status. She never thought about these things at all. Wearing a house to live in, a nest that can get enough food and clothing to survive, originally ran to this great plain from the deep mountains in northern Shaanxi with such a humble purpose! It has been a long time since Jianfeng was called into the back room by his father-in-law, but he still hasn't returned to the small mansion.

There was a sound of Yan Tada's footsteps, the door curtain was lifted, and Jianfeng came in.The fourth sister spotted it at a glance, and he frowned, not very happy. Compared with when he went out just now, he looked different.Did something happen at home?The fourth sister guessed that she was also a little nervous. Jianfeng poured a glass of water from the thermos bottle, sat on a chair, took a sip, and sighed, breathing unevenly. The fourth sister couldn't help it, and asked carefully, "What's wrong?" "My father gave me a scolding." Jianfeng said angrily.

"Teaching you?" Fourth Sister asked, "What wrong did you do? Did you fail to do a good job?" "Say I don't have a tutor," Jianfeng said. "No tutor?" The fourth sister couldn't help asking after hearing this, "Why don't you have a tutor?" Jianfeng sighed, took another sip of water, did not explain, remained silent for a while, and then said: "In the future, you don't have to sing and drink." "What's wrong?" The fourth sister opened her eyes wide, and suddenly realized that her husband must have said a lot about her, so she hurriedly asked, "I'm humming a tune, who is it?"

"Our father said that our family's family composition is not good, and we sing and drink, so others will say that we are crazy." Jianfeng conveyed the words of the old parents, "We are not good at work, just work, don't talk to others, Let's talk about the long and the short, and don't sing and drink..." "In total, it was my turn to work for three days. Only when I got off work in the afternoon, I went home and walked in the willow forest and hummed a few words." The fourth sister said, "Our family is not well established, and we can't even sing a song. Huh? I hum a few words in my own mansion, who can control others? Is it so lenient?"

"Our dad hates singing." Jianfeng said, "Our dad has a stubborn temper, and he can't see anyone humming and singing." "Well, I won't sing anymore." The fourth sister sighed, and asked tentatively, "Aside from not being allowed to sing, what else would our dad say?" "My father said, you have to walk steadily and steadily, don't jump around." Jianfeng said, "People will say that we are not prudent." "No singing, no dancing." The fourth sister curled her lips, "What else?" "Also... don't drop by." Jianfeng said. "I've never visited the house!" said the fourth sister, "I haven't even visited a family. I don't know the neighbors well, so I have nowhere to go if I want to." "My father said that we should try our best not to skewer in the houses of the elder sister-in-law and the second sister-in-law." Jianfeng said, "Everyone does needlework in their own huts. It is not good to cross over and cross over." "What else?" Fourth Sister asked angrily. "My father said that a man should act like a husband, and a woman should act like a daughter-in-law." Jianfeng said, "Don't be joking, it doesn't matter whether it's big or small." The fourth sister was silent, and the hissing sound of the hemp rope passing through the soles of the cloth shoes was very clear in the small building. No singing, no laughing, no talking to people in the village, and no visiting sister-in-law and second sister-in-law in the house. So, how should she live?In her hometown in northern Shaanxi, she carried millet up the mountain and her waist was sore and her shoulders hurt. She threw down the sheaf and started singing and drinking.When she was at her natal home, even though she ate bran pancakes, she hummed a sad song under the oil lamp, and she felt at ease after humming.Sometimes, when she hummed, her mother would hum along with her, and her father, sitting on the edge of the vegetable garden outside the kiln, would also slowly hum "It's hard to get a worker".She didn't expect that humming a little song would be against the family law, and even talking and walking would become problems. Is it because the customs in Guanzhong are different?Or is my husband's tutoring too strict? She is only now thinking carefully about the behavior of all members of the family, and she has come to her senses. The old father-in-law got up early in the morning, coughed twice in the yard, and after spitting loudly, the door of the elder sister-in-law and second sister-in-law followed. opened.The old man went to work three hours a day with his furniture on his shoulders. When he came home, he fed the pigs, padded the pigsty, and picked up the manure in the pigsty. The pig shaves, tickles, and catches bugs. The old man always enters and leaves the hospital with his hands behind his back, without squinting, those sharp eyes never look at any daughter-in-law's open or closed door.The fourth sister has been in this house for more than a month, and she has never seen her husband smile, nor does she smile at old daughter-in-laws like the elder sister-in-law and the second sister-in-law, nor does she smile at the five children of the elder sister-in-law and the second sister-in-law.The dolls are always pestering the old lady, very timid about the grandpa, and even avoid them.The elder brother teaches in an elementary school in another village. He came back late on Saturday and greeted his parents. At night, he and his sister-in-law stayed quietly in their own hut. They lived there for a day and two nights, and rode to work early on Monday morning. up.The second elder brother is a farmer with carpentry skills. He was sent from the branch of the team to a factory in the city to work as a sideline worker, and he came back only once in a month or so.When the second elder brother came back, he was also quietly, not talking to the second sister-in-law or laughing, just sleeping quietly. Thinking back on this, Fourth Sister felt that she was indeed a little out of tune.She used to wonder, what are the whole family doing with sullen faces all day long?It's just that the composition is not good, and it's fine to say nothing in the team. In my own home, the whole family spends the day and the moon, from morning till night, how uncomfortable it is to have a straight face!Now, she understands that her husband's family law is strong and his family education is strict.Although this upper-middle-peasant family has been reduced to ashes in Lujiabao, the customs handed down from the old society are still completely and even stubbornly preserved in that not-so-high gatehouse.She had to abide by the teachings her husband passed on to her through her son-in-law. This was the first time, and if this continued, unpleasant things might happen.She has only been in this family for a month, so she has to pay attention to her husband's opinion and impression of her... "What's so difficult about it?" Fourth Sister said lightly, "From tomorrow onwards, I'll just keep my face sullen." "The rules of our house are that whenever guests come to the house, no matter if they are relatives or anyone outside, they will all be received by the elders. It is enough for the younger generation to say hello, and they are not allowed to stand by and ask this or that." Jianfeng continued to tell her Conveying the old father-in-law's family law, "My father said, the second uncle came last time, and you were talking about this and that, it was too rude..." The fourth sister blushed. She wanted to argue, but she kept her mouth shut. What Jianfeng said was her father-in-law's will, what's the use of arguing with him!When the second uncle came that day, she poured tea and said a few words of greeting. She planned to leave immediately so that her husband could talk with the second uncle.However, the second uncle asked her which county in northern Shaanxi, which commune, how far it was from Yan'an, the climate, products, and the lives of the commune members.The second uncle works as a cadre in a mailbox in Xi'an, and he is quite friendly, not as intimidating as the old father-in-law.After answering the second uncle's question, she also asked about the second uncle's life in Xi'an. She took it easy and said that she didn't understand etiquette.It seems that apart from working and cooking, in this family, it’s best not to say anything or care about anything. Thinking of this, the fourth sister emphasized her tone and said in an obviously angry tone: "Hurry up tomorrow!" I tightened my face and pursed my lips!"