After Jiang Jingtao bid farewell and left, Leng Yongkang probed Leng Hui, “What’s your relationship with that Jiang boy?”
Leng Hui knew that at this moment, whether it was Old Lady Leng feigning illness in bed, Sun Xiaojuan hastily scooping leftovers into her bowl and wolfing them down, or the less noticeable Leng Mei, they were all straining their ears to hear the answer.
“What relationship? High school classmates, that’s all.”
Leng Yongkang clearly didn’t believe this answer. “Would a classmate come to visit our home after your mother was discharged from the hospital? If you have dozens of classmates in your class, should I take a day off tomorrow just to entertain them?”
Leng Hui, with her short temper, retorted, “Believe what you want.”
Her personal matters didn’t need to be aired publicly.
“You—” Leng Yongkang genuinely felt that his daughter had grown up and become too difficult to manage. He turned to Tang Lin and complained, “Aren’t you going to discipline her? I’m just worried about her, and she gets impatient after a few questions.”
As if he were some stepfather—would he ever harm her?
Tang Lin shot him a glare. “They really are just classmates. You’re the one with a dirty mind.”
“My mind is dirty? You—” Leng Yongkang was left speechless.
“Alright, alright, they’re just ordinary classmates. Don’t overthink it.” Tang Lin was tired and asked Leng Hui to help her into the inner partition to lie down.
Leng Mei secretly curled her lip, staring blankly at the swaying door curtain as the mother and daughter entered.
In her previous life, she hadn’t paid much attention to Jiang Jingtao. But in this life, since Leng Hui had no interest in him, could she try to get closer to Jiang Jingtao?
Being friends with him would benefit her, no matter what their relationship developed into.
Leng Hui helped Tang Lin into the innermost partition. As soon as they lifted the door curtain and entered, they were hit by a foul odor.
The mother and daughter were all too familiar with this smell. Back when they were on missions and couldn’t wash for days, their teammates would carry this stench, especially when they took off their shoes.
But after spending over ten days in this world, the two of them found the smell unbearable once again.
“Truly, it’s easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury to frugality.”
Tang Lin had Leng Hui help her back out.
As soon as they emerged, they saw Leng Yongkang slumped in a chair, half-asleep. She frowned slightly and said, “Don’t sleep. I have questions for you.”
Leng Yongkang opened his eyes and looked at Tang Lin, surprised to see her out again. “What do you want to ask?”
“Have you been skipping washing your feet before bed these past few nights?”
Leng Yongkang’s eyes darted evasively. “Well, there were a few nights when I was too tired, so I… didn’t wash my feet.”
Before he could finish, he met Tang Lin’s disgusted gaze, which struck a nerve.
His tone instantly shifted. “What’s that look for? Ever since we got married, you’ve demanded that I wash my face, rinse my mouth, and wash my feet before getting into bed. I haven’t dared to slack off all these years. With you not home these past few days, what’s wrong with me slacking off a bit? Is it going to kill you?”
Tang Lin rubbed her forehead, too tired to argue. “It might as well kill me. Get up now, take the sheets and quilt covers off the bed, and while the sun is still high, hang the bedding on the clothesline downstairs. Wash the sheets and quilt covers immediately. If the stench isn’t aired out by today, none of us will sleep tonight.”
With this ultimatum, Leng Yongkang cowardly gave in, not daring to disobey.
The sheets and duvet covers were taken off and soaked in a basin.
The bedding was carried upstairs to air and sun.
After settling Tang Lin on her own small bed, Leng Hui rolled up her sleeves to help wash the sheets.
Leng Yongkang, squatting in the laundry room and clumsily scrubbing the pillowcases, felt deeply comforted: “My youngest daughter knows how to care for people. Your mom making a grown man like me wash sheets—isn’t that turning the world upside down? Since when do men do such things?”
Leng Hui glanced at Leng Yongkang, whose face was dotted with soap bubbles. “You’re just lucky you married Mom. Otherwise, as a bachelor, who would wash your clothes and cook for you? Did you expect your elderly mother to wait on you, washing your clothes, bedding, and underwear?”
Leng Yongkang was taken aback; he had never considered this. “…If I hadn’t married your mom, I would have married someone else. It’s not like I’d have remained single. If I’d found a virtuous woman, she might have treated me as her heaven, and I might not have had to do anything at home.”
Leng Hui paused her work and studied him intently.
Leng Yongkang touched his face, where the increasing bubbles were starting to itch. He tilted his head and wiped his cheek on his sleeve, puzzled. “Why are you staring at me? Is there something on my face?”
“Hmph! You’re not that handsome, but you dream big—thinking you’d be someone’s ‘heaven.'” Leng Hui retorted bluntly. “Even if she treated you as her heaven, would that make you the Lord of Heaven? The Lord of Heaven gets whatever he wants. Why don’t you consider the possibility of ending up with an unemployed, slovenly woman? Take Wang Laoliu from the front street as your cautionary tale!”
Wang Laoliu from the front street came from a poor family, working as an ordinary laborer. He married an unemployed, sluggish woman and had a bunch of children.
Now, they couldn’t support his parents, and the children were neglected. The family lived in dire straits. If not for their urban household registration and fixed grain rations, they might not even be able to feed the children.
The home was bare, and chaos reigned daily—a life Leng Yongkang probably couldn’t endure for three days.
The thought sent a shiver down Leng Yongkang’s spine. He shook his head. “You’re so sharp-tongued and fierce—who would dare marry you in the future?”
“Haven’t you heard there’s always someone better, and beyond the sky, there’s another sky? The world is vast, with countless men. There’s bound to be one suited for me. If not, I can live perfectly well without a man.”
Men understand men. Leng Yongkang didn’t say it aloud, but any normal man would find a woman like Leng Hui headache-inducing.
Why speak of his own daughter this way? Because she gave him headaches too.
After scrubbing the sheets clean and placing them in a basin, Leng Hui said earnestly, “Comrade Leng Yongkang, marrying Mom was the accumulated virtue of eight generations of your ancestors. You should be content. Don’t be unaware of your blessings or fail to cherish them, only to regret it after losing them.”
“Hey, since when do you lecture me? You must have too much free time. Starting tomorrow, you’ll go make paper boxes.” Leng Yongkang, concerned about his pride, couldn’t help but feel irritated at being admonished by a junior.
Leng Hui clicked her tongue and focused on scrubbing the duvet cover.
By the time she finished cleaning the duvet cover, Comrade Leng Yongkang was still scrubbing the two pillowcases.
“How come you’re so slow at this?”
Leng Hui snatched the pillowcases from him and told him to help rinse the sheets and duvet covers.
Though there were no washing machines in this era, rinsing the sheets under the tap was still quite fast.
After several rinses, the water finally ran clear.
Father and daughter worked together to wring out the bedsheets and duvet covers, then hung them on the clothesline in the yard. They would dry within three hours.
“Alright, come collect them when the sun sets this afternoon. I need to head to work now. Take good care of your mother at home.”
Leng Yongkang checked the time and left first on his bicycle.
Leng Hui poured out the water from the basin and carried it upstairs. On the second floor, she encountered Leng Mei, who was leaning on a crutch and heading to the toilet.
Leng Hui stepped aside to let her pass.
But Leng Mei stopped beside her. “Sis, it’s a bit inconvenient to use the toilet with this crutch. Could you help me get there?”
“Your mother is here for that. I’m exhausted from taking care of my own mother.”
Leng Hui pursed her lips. Just then, Sun Xiaojuan, worried about Leng Mei, happened to step out of the room.
Seeing Leng Hui ignore Leng Mei and head straight home, Sun Xiaojuan complained, “Xiaomei needs to use the toilet. Why won’t you help her, as her older sister?”
Leng Hui lifted the large basin in her hand. “Take care of your own daughter. I’m tired too.”
She had been busy nonstop since returning from the hospital. She wasn’t made of iron—she got worn out too.