Qiao Xingyue heard someone calling her.
She didn’t stop kneading the dough in her hands, merely twisting her neck to glance back, “Comrade Xie?”
The morning mist hadn’t yet dissipated.
Although fire burned in the stove chamber, threads of chill still drifted in through the window.
Yet Comrade Xie standing at the kitchen doorway wore a grass-green short-sleeved shirt.
Early in the morning, he was drenched in sweat, his soaked clothes clinging tightly to his body, accentuating the firm muscular strength of his chest and abdomen.
Had this man gone for morning exercises before dawn?
Soldiers really do have exceptional physical stamina!
Last night he had gotten up in the middle of the night to empty the old lady’s chamber pot, then went to the washroom to clean up, and he could still wake up this early today.
Qiao Xingyue asked with concern, “Comrade Xie, has your wound healed already? Starting morning exercises so soon?”
Xie Zhongming nodded, his eyelids unmoving, but his back stiffened, “Much better.”
By now, the stitches in his private parts should have been removed for several days, Qiao Xingyue estimated it was about time for recovery.
Xie Zhongming at the kitchen doorway still didn’t raise his eyes, his gaze fixed elsewhere.
Fire rose in the stove chamber, congee boiling vigorously in the large iron pot, with a steamer set on the nearby honeycomb coal stove ready to steam buns. Several more nails had been added to the cement wall, hanging spatulas, ladles, rags, and steaming racks, along with two additional wooden shelves neatly organizing oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. Qiao Xingyue had rearranged the kitchen’s layout, tidying it up cleanly and orderly.
Xie Zhongming thought of her freshly washed white cotton underwear, the tips of his ears instantly tinged with faint red, “Comrade Qiao, your clothes fell on the ground and were blown by the wind to the outside of the courtyard. Please go retrieve them.”
Qiao Xingyue had finished kneading the dough.
She straightened up and looked at him.
If the clothes blew off, he could have just picked them up for her—a simple matter—why specially come to call her?
Though puzzled in her heart, Qiao Xingyue said straightforwardly, “Alright, I’ll go after I finish here.”
Xie Zhongming’s ears grew increasingly warm, “You should go now. Later, with people coming and going, it wouldn’t be good if they see.”
With that, Xie Zhongming turned and left.
Only then did Qiao Xingyue walk out of the kitchen, pass through the main room and the small courtyard in front of the building, and arrive outside the compound.
Beside the corner of the red brick wall outside the courtyard, her white cotton underwear hung on a short blade of grass.
That spot was right next to the Xie family’s main gate, highly conspicuous.
Anyone passing by would inevitably see it.
No wonder Xie Zhongming wanted her to retrieve it herself. So the so-called clothes he mentioned were underwear. Thinking of his ears turning red earlier, Qiao Xingyue found this tough, resolute man rather endearing, and his sense of boundaries in male-female relationships quite strong.
She picked up the underwear, washed it again, and hung it on the bamboo pole.
…
The next day around mid-morning.
In front of the Xie family’s two-story small building, An An and Ning Ning were playing marbles on the dirt ground.
In an adjacent vegetable plot, Qiao Xingyue was turning the soil. She buried the fruit peels and rotten leaves she usually collected underneath, mixed with dried branches, leaves, and plant ash, then turned the soil again, finally covering it with another layer of earth.
“Aunt Lan, in a few days, I’ll transplant all the newly sprouted cucumber, bean, eggplant, and luffa seedlings into this empty plot. Once we set up the trellises, we’ll have endless fruits and vegetables to eat in summer.”
Huang Guilan had never farmed before; she grew up in a wealthy family combining high education and business.
Her grandfather was a mathematician.
Her mother was an optical expert.
Her eldest brother participated in the Two Bombs, One Satellite Project; her second brother was a renowned geological expert; her third brother was a senior scientist in the rubber technology field, leading a team through years of research and preparation, breaking the imperialist blockade on domestic rubber supplies.
On her father’s side, the family had been merchants for generations. Her grandfather was the Match King, with businesses spanning matches, cement, textiles, coal mines, and more. Later, in response to the national policy of Joint Public-Private Ownership, the enterprises were all transformed into state-owned and collectively-owned businesses.
Huang Guilan was the only girl in the family, cherished since childhood. After marrying Division Commander Xie, she continued to be doted on by him and had never done such farm work before.
Before Qiao Xingyue arrived, Huang Guilan had at most planted some scallions and garlic in the compound’s vegetable patch, and even those didn’t grow well.
Watching how skilled Qiao Xingyue was at farming, Huang Guilan looked at her with admiration.
“Xingyue, you’re simply too capable! You can cook, practice traditional Chinese medicine, perform surgeries, and even farm. How many more things do you know that Aunt Lan isn’t aware of?”
“…” Qiao Xingyue couldn’t answer.
Just then, the double wooden gate at the front of the compound was pushed open, and someone carrying a leather suitcase walked in—a middle-aged woman and a young female comrade. Both had standard oval faces, their skin not particularly fair, but their features were delicate. They appeared to be mother and daughter.
Huang Guilan looked up, “Chunyan, Yingying, what brings you here?”
“What, aren’t you welcoming us?” The speaker was Jiang Chunyan.
Jiang Chunyan and Huang Guilan had grown up together and played since childhood. After Jiang Chunyan married Old Deng, an old comrade-in-arms of Xie Jiang, the two families became even closer.
However, Huang Guilan didn’t seem particularly pleased by the arrival of Jiang Chunyan and her daughter. On the contrary, her face showed a trace of concern, “Chunyan, what is this about?”
“I’ve come to seek refuge with you. I’m parched—let me go inside for a drink of water first, then we’ll talk.” Jiang Chunyan carried her synthetic leather suitcase into the main hall.
The young female comrade who remained behind smiled politely at Huang Guilan, “Aunt Lan, long time no see! How have you been lately?”
Huang Guilan nodded, “All is well. Yingying, you’ve grown even prettier in the two years since I last saw you. Hurry and follow your mother inside for some water.”
“Alright!”
This young female comrade was Deng Yingying. Before entering the main hall, she glanced at Qiao Xingyue who was holding a hoe, “Aunt Lan, who is this sister?Could she be Zhongming’s rural wife, brought to the compound?
She had only heard that Zhongming had married a rural wife but didn’t know what she looked like. How could this female comrade be so strikingly beautiful! Her skin was so fair it seemed to glow! Deng Yingying herself was somewhat dark-skinned and had always envied those eye-catching fair-skinned female comrades. Instantly feeling overshadowed, she felt quite sour inside.
Huang Guilan smiled and introduced, “This is Comrade Qiao—Qiao Xingyue—whom Aunt Lan hired to help with cooking and taking care of the elderly lady. From now on, you can call her Sister Xingyue. She’s very capable. Those two children over there are An An and Ningning, your Sister Xingyue’s twin daughters.”
Oh!
So she’s just a nanny, and with two children in tow.
Deng Yingying immediately stopped feeling jealous. A nanny posed no threat to her—at most, she could just cook and do laundry.
Deng Yingying had heard that Xie Zhongming was going to divorce his rural wife, which was precisely why she and her mother Jiang Chunyan had come to the Xie family.
She smiled warmly and greeted, “Hello, Sister Xingyue!”
Qiao Xingyue nodded, “Hello!”
After Deng Yingying entered the main room carrying the leather suitcase, Huang Guilan let out a long sigh, “Ah!”
Qiao Xingyue asked with concern, “What’s wrong, Aunt Lan?”These two mother and daughter are not easy to deal with. Now that they’re here, who knows how long they’ll stay with us.” Huang Guilan said with a headache.
Qiao Xingyue tentatively asked, “It seems Aunt Lan isn’t very welcoming of them?”
Huang Guilan sighed deeply again and said:
“Chunyan’s first husband was your Uncle Xie’s comrade-in-arms. Back then, Old Deng sacrificed himself to save your Uncle Xie. That’s why Chunyan remarried. Over twenty years have passed, but she keeps using this incident to make our family help with all sorts of things – arranging jobs for several of her relatives, repeatedly bringing her relatives to our house for cadging, borrowing money, seeking help, and even assisting her current husband… all kinds of matters.”
“If I show the slightest reluctance, she cries and shouts about how our family doesn’t know gratitude, making it seem like we’re in the wrong. Previously, she even wanted to marry Yingying to our fourth son, but Lao Si didn’t agree.”
“Now they’re coming to seek shelter with us again – who knows what headache-inducing matters will arise, ah!”
Qiao Xingyue understood – this was what people in her time called moral kidnapping.
However, in the 1970s, there was no such term as moral kidnapping.
This era advocated mutual assistance.
Since Jiang Chunyan’s first husband sacrificed himself to save Division Commander Xie, she could indeed use this incident to morally kidnap the Xie family in various ways. Meanwhile, Aunt Lan was beautiful, kind-hearted, soft-natured, and an intellectual – asking her to deal with an old white lotus like Jiang Chunyan who enjoyed moral kidnapping was probably beyond her capabilities.
“Xingyue, what kidnapping?”
“Moral kidnapping.”
“What’s moral kidnapping?”
“It means standing on the moral high ground to force others to act against their will and do things they don’t want to do. Simply put, when their family has done you a favor, if you don’t help them, they call you ungrateful, when actually you’re not in the wrong.”
Huang Guilan had never dared to mention this matter to anyone before, not even herself feeling that since Chunyan’s first man had done Xie Jiang a favor, they ought to help. But after helping for over twenty years, Jiang Chunyan still felt it wasn’t enough, continuously demanding and asking, endlessly. Over time, she had been feeling terribly stifled.
Suddenly confiding these grievances to Qiao Xingyue, Huang Guilan immediately felt much more comfortable in her chest.
For some reason, Huang Guilan just trusted Qiao Xingyue deeply.
Moreover, since Qiao Xingyue had just said she wasn’t wrong, she felt like she had found a kindred spirit, her heart filled with comfort. “Xingyue, you also think Aunt Lan isn’t wrong, right?”
“Aunt Lan, of course you’re not wrong. What she’s doing is demanding repayment for favors. Don’t worry, if she tries to morally kidnap you, I’ll help you deal with her.”
Huang Guilan held Qiao Xingyue’s mud-stained hands, her eyes brimming with grateful tears. “Xingyue, I knew you would understand the bitterness in Aunt Lan’s heart.”
“Aunt Lan, from now on, whatever’s on your mind, you can tell me. Even if I can’t help, I can at least help distract you.”
“Good!”
Huang Guilan only regretted not having the fortune to have such a good daughter-in-law married to her son.
But she could treat Xingyue as her own daughter, and An An and Ningning as her own granddaughters.
Evening.
The Compound was dyed golden by the blood-red sunset.
Qiao Xingyue was preparing dinner in the kitchen, while An An and Ningning played in the yard. Huang Guilan was gathering clothes drying on bamboo poles, and Jiang Chunyan had brought out a small bamboo-woven stool to sit leisurely in the yard, cracking melon seeds.
Melon seed shells littered the ground.
Holding the clothes, Huang Guilan passed by Jiang Chunyan and said, “Chunyan, it’s hard to clean melon seed shells off the dirt ground. Spit them into the dustpan instead.”
As she spoke, she handed the dustpan to Jiang Chunyan.
Jiang Chunyan continued spitting the shells onto the ground. “What’s there to worry about? Haven’t you hired a maid? Just have that little maid do it. You’re paying her—no matter how hard it is to sweep, she wouldn’t dare not clean it thoroughly, would she?”
Then, she called out to An An and Ningning, who were playing marbles in the yard, “Hey, you two kids of the maid, come sweep up these melon seed shells.”
Turning back to Huang Guilan, she added, “Guilan, that little maid eats and drinks at your place and even brings her two kids to freeload. You should make her work more, and those two kids should work too, or your family will be at a loss. Two extra mouths—think how much food they’ll eat!”
The real freeloader was Jiang Chunyan herself.
But Huang Guilan, being mild-tempered and afraid of offending others, couldn’t bring herself to say it.
However, when it came to An An, Ningning, and Qiao Xingyue, Huang Guilan’s expression darkened. Even if she couldn’t speak her mind, she corrected Jiang Chunyan unhappily:
“How much can two kids eat? Our family doesn’t mind.”
“Besides, Xingyue works hard. We can’t make her do everything.”
“If you don’t want to spit the shells into the dustpan, then maybe you shouldn’t crack melon seeds. That way, we won’t have to clean up after you specially.”
With that, Huang Guilan took away the entire glass jar of roasted melon seeds from the stool.
Jiang Chunyan snorted behind her: Had Huang Guilan eaten gunpowder today? All for a little maid, she wouldn’t even let her crack melon seeds?
A few minutes later, Xie Jiang and Xie Zhongming returned home one after the other.
Seeing Jiang Chunyan and her daughter Deng Yingying at their house, both father and son knew it couldn’t be for anything good. But Old Deng had once saved Xie Jiang’s life, and Xie Jiang had never forgotten that debt. So, no matter how unreasonable the mother and daughter’s requests were, he would agree.
Xie Zhongming had never liked the pair. After greeting them coldly, he noticed Qiao Xingyue stir-frying in the kitchen and headed straight there.
“Brother Zhongming, where are you going?” Deng Yingying hadn’t had a chance to speak with him yet.
Xie Zhongming’s voice was icy. “To help in the kitchen.”
Left behind, Deng Yingying felt a sour jealousy: Why would Brother Zhongming help that little maid with her work?
In the main room, Jiang Chunyan sat on a long bench and complained, “Guilan, your husband is a division commander now, yet you still won’t splurge on a leather sofa. These benches are quite old, aren’t they? I’ve seen you using this old furniture twenty years ago. You should replace it.”
Xie Jiang didn’t want to listen to Jiang Chunyan’s nagging. Holding his enamel cup, he also went to the kitchen.
Seeing this, Jiang Chunyan whispered to Huang Guilan, “Guilan, as soon as Division Commander Xie and Zhongming get home, they head straight to that little maid. Could it be that she’s bewitched both father and son? You’d better watch out for her—she might be a seductress trying to lure men away.”
Huang Guilan was both beautiful and kind-hearted, her voice remaining gentle even when angry. “Don’t talk nonsense. Xingyue has upright character and is a good person. If you keep this up, I’ll really get angry!”
“Hey! I’m saying this for your own good. She’s just a little housemaid. Why are you always defending her?”
“What’s wrong with being a housemaid? Housemaids deserve respect too.”
“Huang Guilan, you… forget it. I won’t argue with you. Let’s talk business. I’ve divorced Old Zhao, and Yingying is coming back to restart high school. She’ll need to live at your place from now on.”
“What? How could you divorce Old Zhao? Weren’t things fine between you?”
Deng Yingying’s father, Old Deng, had been a platoon leader under Xie Jiang’s command. When Old Deng sacrificed himself, Xie Jiang was only a regiment commander at the time. Less than half a year after Old Deng’s sacrifice, Jiang Chunyan remarried Old Zhao. Everyone thought Jiang Chunyan couldn’t bear loneliness, but she argued that there was nothing shameful about remarrying after losing her husband – she couldn’t remain a widow her whole life for a dead man.
Jiang Chunyan stated bluntly, “Old Zhao is being sent down for re-education. If we don’t divorce, Yingying and I would have to go to the countryside with him. It’s better for me to return as a martyr’s widow. Guilan, can you recommend Yingying for Elite High School again?”
This Deng Yingying was twenty years old now. Huang Guilan had previously recommended her for Elite High School, though she had dropped out later for unknown reasons.
That was the minor issue. The real problem was that Jiang Chunyan and Deng Yingying would be living with them long-term… Life was going to be quite troublesome from now on.
“What’s this, Guilan? My husband sacrificed himself to save your Division Commander Xie. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had to remarry with Yingying. Won’t you even help with this small favor?”
Xie Jiang and Xie Zhongming overheard Jiang Chunyan’s words from the kitchen.
Qiao Xingyue heard them too.
This Jiang Chunyan was really something else – quite the seasoned green tea.
Xie Zhongming carried two dishes Qiao Xingyue had cooked to the table.
“Aunt Jiang, our family can recommend Deng Yingying for high school. But our home is too crowded for you to stay. As martyr’s family members, I’ll apply to the authorities to arrange housing for you. You and Deng Yingying should qualify for a single-room dormitory.”
“That won’t do. The single rooms in the compound still require using the dry toilet, going to the water room for bathing and laundry, and sharing the kitchen. How could we live like that? Doesn’t your father have a study? Clear it out, and Yingying and I will make do with staying there.”
Besides, living with the Xie family would be so convenient.
They could eat and live here for free, plus the Xie family had a housemaid she could order around – what could be better?
Xie Zhongming stated firmly, “No. The study is already occupied by Comrade Qiao, An An, and Ningning.”
Jiang Chunyan was stunned. “What? You’re giving rooms to some housemaid? She’s your servant – she can just sleep on the floor in the main hall. Have her vacate the room immediately.”
Xie Zhongming responded with equal firmness, “…”