“Thank you, elder sister. I’ll work hard and won’t be lazy. I don’t need to eat much either—just one meal a day is enough.”
This sounded like the relationship between a landlord and a servant again, which felt inappropriate.
“Don’t say that outside. I’ve asked you here to help, and as for other matters, no matter who asks, don’t say anything. How about this? Since you call me elder sister, I’ll acknowledge you as my younger sister. That way, our relationship will be proper.”
In these times, employer-employee relationships weren’t acceptable. If handled poorly, one could be labeled as capitalist, which could be fatal.
“I understand. I won’t speak carelessly.” Wang Sheng nodded and squatted back behind the stove to tend the fire.
Wang Sheng prepared dinner. She brought the food into the room but then hurried to the kitchen, refusing to come in and eat no matter what.
Jiang Yue then portioned out a bowl of rice for her, added some dishes, and brought it to the kitchen.
When she entered the kitchen, she saw Wang Sheng adding water to the pot. Afraid of being misunderstood, Wang Sheng hastily explained, “Elder sister, there’s some leftover guoba in the pot. I’m heating water to soften it. I’ll eat the guoba rice.”
Jiang Yue sighed and placed the bowl on the stove. “I’m not some cruel taskmaster, and our family isn’t lacking in food. Besides, if you don’t recover your health, how will you help me take care of the child?”
Wang Sheng looked at the heaping bowl on the stove, her eyes stinging.
When Jiang Yue returned to the room, Lu Jingzhou had already finished eating and was holding Little Bean Sprout, playing with her.
After sleeping all day, the baby was now awake.
Since Jiang Yue was in her zuò yuèzi period, she couldn’t eat anything too hard, so her dinner was noodles cooked in fish broth with two poached eggs.
The items Lu Jingzhou had bought were put to use that very evening. She was now using a brand new, milky-white fine porcelain bowl adorned with a painted red plum branch.
“This bowl isn’t cheap, is it?” She examined it closely, noticing the plum blossoms were exquisitely painted and the craftsmanship was refined, unlike anything sold at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
Goods sold at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative during this era prioritized practicality over aesthetics. If items were too delicate, it could cause problems.
“I met someone in town selling private goods. They were his family’s belongings, which he secretly sold to earn some money.” Lu Jingzhou carried their daughter over and sat beside her. Father and daughter both stared at her with identical dark, gleaming eyes.
That statement carried significant implications.
“Was he a former landlord?”
Lu Jingzhou thought for a moment and shook his head. “Probably not. He seemed like an educated man.”
Jiang Yue immediately understood. In the past few years, those who could afford an education came from well-off families.
Their status was even higher than that of landlords.
Of course, the persecution they suffered was also multiplied.
Jiang Yue took a bite of her egg and glanced at Lu Jingzhou, hesitating to speak.
But Lu Jingzhou didn’t look at her, focusing solely on playing with their daughter.
Suddenly, the little girl began to fuss as if she were unhappy.
Lu Jingzhou immediately grew alert. “Is she hungry?”
Jiang Yue took a sip of broth and looked over. “I just fed her. Check if she’s wet.”
Lu Jingzhou’s expression visibly stiffened. Sensing something amiss, Jiang Yue was about to say something when she saw him lay their daughter on the bed, unwrap the swaddling cloth, clumsily remove her little cotton pants, and take off the damp diaper. The next moment, however, he hesitated, unsure what to do.
“Let me handle it.”
“No, just tell me what to do.”
Jiang Yue was momentarily stunned before breaking into a smile. “The clean ones are by the bedside. Hold her foot with one hand and lift it gently. You’ll need to wipe her bottom too—keep it dry, otherwise she’ll get a rash. Then put the diaper on, making sure to tuck it properly at both front and back, or it might leak…”
By the time the diaper was changed and the baby swaddled again, Lu Jingzhou was drenched in sweat. This was even more exhausting than his ten-kilometer weighted cross-country runs.
“Just practice a few more times. You’ll get used to it.”
After all, mastery comes through practice—no one is born knowing how to care for an infant. She herself had only recently gotten the hang of it.
See! Lu Jingzhou’s way of holding the child was already much more practiced than yesterday.
When Jiang Yue finished eating, Lu Jingzhou handed the baby back to her and very naturally picked up the soiled diaper to wash it.
But after wandering around for a bit, he returned empty-handed.
Seeing his empty hands, Jiang Yue understood immediately. “Is Jiang Sheng’s matter settled?”
“Yes. The team leader said Wang Sheng has a problematic class background. If we want to keep her here to work, we’d be taking a risk. He told us to think it through carefully.” Lu Jingzhou sat stiffly on the edge of the bed, head slightly bowed, looking somewhat ill at ease.
“Are you afraid of being implicated by her?”
Lu Jingzhou shook his head.
Jiang Yue gently patted and soothed their daughter, speaking softly. “I don’t dare hire anyone from the village. You know how those aunties and grannies talk behind my back. Besides, they’re close with your mother—what if they collude? I’m not afraid to offend you by saying this, but just the other day, your mother brought Da Gu over, saying her daughter has no children. You know what they were hinting at. I didn’t give them a friendly reception and sent them packing. In short, I don’t trust these villagers. Wang Sheng is different—she’s alone in the world, with no family or support, and burdened by her class status. She wouldn’t dare run away, nor could she. I feel at ease using her. It’s not like we’re formally employing her—just having her lend a hand. Think of it as my younger sister from my maiden family coming to help with the baby. I’ll provide her food and lodging. Seen that way, doesn’t it seem perfectly reasonable?”
If she really had a younger sister from her maiden family who was struggling, she would certainly bring her to live with them.
Lu Jingzhou listened quietly until she finished, his head lowered, hands on his knees secretly clenching.
Seeing him like this, Jiang Yue felt uncomfortable pressing further. “You are you, and they are they. Even if only for Little Bean Sprout’s sake, don’t worry—I won’t take my anger out on you. That girl is truly pitiful. If it weren’t for me…”
If she hadn’t transmigrated into this body in time, the baby would likely have joined her mother in the underworld.
The more she spoke like this, the more guilty Lu Jingzhou felt. “Don’t worry, I’ll treat you both well from now on. No matter who comes or what they say, if you’re unhappy, handle it however you see fit.”
Jiang Yue laughed at this. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll make unreasonable trouble and deliberately drive people away? After all, they are your relatives.”
Her words came true the very next day.
At daybreak, just after the rooster’s third crow, even Lu Jingzhou hadn’t gotten up yet and was still in bed playing with their daughter.
He was proving to be a very responsible new father—aside from nighttime feedings, which he couldn’t substitute for, he single-handedly handled everything else, including diaper changes and soothing the baby during the night.
Jiang Yue hadn’t even woken during the latter half of the night, sleeping soundly, and her complexion had improved noticeably.
Moreover, since moving here, there was no noisy commotion in the mornings, and her breast milk flowed much more smoothly.
“Third Son, are you home? It’s your Da Gu. Still not up?”
The flimsy courtyard gate rattled under heavy knocking, looking ready to fall apart at any moment.
Wang Sheng stood helplessly in the courtyard. She had slept in another room last night, and there were no extra quilts here. Her old tattered belongings couldn’t be salvaged, so she had gathered some dry straw to spread over the bed board, covering herself with the old cotton quilt Jiang Yue had given her.
This resulted in the three of them sharing one quilt last night—a truly pitiful situation.
“Eldest sister, should I open the door?” she asked cautiously by the window.
Lu Jingzhou sat up, tucking the quilt securely around the mother and child. “You two stay in bed. I’ll go see what’s happening.”
Jiang Yue had initially intended to get up, but upon hearing this, she naturally lay back down. “Fine then!”
She had dealt with such situations before—now it was his turn.