Before Mother Lu could finish her nagging, she continued, “What’s the use of having daughters? They’ll belong to other families in the future, and we’d have to waste over a decade’s worth of food on them, not to mention the dowry! It’s not that I’m biased or cruel, but in times like these, even adults don’t have enough to eat. How can we raise so many children? Besides, without sons, who will take care of you when you’re old? Who will perform the funeral rites and carry your memorial tablet?”
Lu Lao Er immediately declared, “Mom, Suqing and I will have a child next year, and it’ll definitely be a son this time.”
Mother Lu glanced at Lu Er Sao’s thin frame and shook her head disdainfully. “If we’re counting on her, you’ll never have a son in this lifetime.”
Lu Lao Er awkwardly rubbed his nose. Could he really divorce and remarry? He’d like to, but it was impossible… What a pity.
Lu Er Sao said bitterly, “Mom, I’m just deficient. If I could eat more nutritious food, I’d be fine.”
Lu Da Sao couldn’t resist sneering, “You think too highly of yourself. How many good things does our family have to nourish you? If you eat them, what will the children have? As adults, how can we only think of ourselves?”
Mother Lu felt her eldest daughter-in-law spoke from her heart. “Your sister-in-law is right. This is innate and has nothing to do with what you eat. I must have misjudged you back then. Ah, enough of this nonsense! That wretched Jiang Yue, she’s changed since returning from death’s door. She actually dares to oppose me now—what respect does she have for me as her mother-in-law? If Third Son were home, hmph!”
Old Man Lu poured a cup of strong liquor, which the three men shared. The liquor was potent, turning their faces red.
Old Man Lu smacked his lips and declared firmly, “No divorce. None of you are allowed to help her send a telegram. Third Son won’t be back anytime soon anyway. If we drag this out, she’ll give up the idea. We’ll deal with everything else later.”
Lu Laoda nodded. “I understand.”
Whether they divorced or not had nothing to do with him—he only cared about money.
Lu Lao Er put down his bowl and picked a broom straw to pick his teeth. “How did having a child change her so much?”
“She’s traumatized!” Lu Er Sao recalled when she gave birth to her second child—she nearly went mad missing the child and couldn’t sleep at night. Even now, thinking about it made her heart heavy.
Mother Lu knew what she was thinking with one glance. “It’s just a girl. What’s there to cherish?”
Lu Xiaocao accidentally dropped a pickled vegetable on the floor.
Old Man Lu glared. “Pick it up! Wasting food—do you know how precious our family’s food is?”
Mother Lu also shot her a disgusted look. The more Lu Xiaocao acted like a crybaby, the more she detested her.
Then she looked at Lu Dabao’s chubby little face—everything about him pleased her. “Grandma’s precious grandson, are you full? Oh dear! Why did you eat so little today? Did you lose your appetite? Look how thin your little face has gotten.”
Although many in the Lu family earned work points, there were also many mouths to feed.
By year’s end, when accounts were settled, the work points were just enough to exchange for food. They barely managed to save a little money for emergencies.
Mother Lu never missed a chance to complain about poverty, making it seem like their family barely scraped by.
But in reality, the money Lu Jingzhou sent back was far from insignificant.
Mother Lu kept all of it tightly in her grasp. No one but her knew exactly how much there was.
Lu Xiaocao started crying again. Her grandfather had never once smiled at her, so she was terrified of him.
Lu Er Sao felt upset but didn’t dare show it, so she pulled her daughter away.
Lu Lao Er seized the opportunity to sneak out and fool around, showing no concern for his wife and daughter.
Jiang Yue waited in the room until past nine o’clock before hearing a knock on the window.
Zheng Xiaoliu brought a burlap sack, and Jiang Yue passed the items through the window to him. “Are you scared walking alone at night?”
Zheng Xiaoliu grinned dismissively, “I’m the only one in my family—I’m used to it. Besides, I borrowed a donkey cart, so I’ve got the donkey for company!”
“Thanks for the trouble. You can’t just use someone’s donkey for free.”
“I know, Third Aunt. You should rest first! I probably won’t be back until after midnight. I’ll knock on the window then.”
“Mm!”
After seeing Zheng Xiaoliu off, Jiang Yue retrieved a pot from her space and continued boiling eggs on the Alcohol Stove. Her mother-in-law had given her the eggs—no point letting them go to waste. This time, she made egg noodles, though without lard or bok choy, the flavor and appearance fell a bit short.
After the meal, she heated a basin of water and used a damp cloth to wash the baby’s bottom and wipe its body.
The baby’s bottom was utterly adorable—tender, fragrant, and soft.
“Sweetie, I haven’t settled on your formal name yet. How about we call you Little Bean Sprout for now? You’re Mommy’s little bean sprout, my precious, my darling. Grow up strong and fast, okay?”
Having lived two lifetimes, this was her first experience of motherhood. For her, the word “happiness” had taken tangible form.
However, her small supermarket had virtually no baby supplies. The clothes Little Bean Sprout wore were altered from old garments—ill-fitting and made of rough fabric, with no socks to speak of.
She’d heard that belly bands kept infants the warmest. Though she didn’t know how to make one, she could arrange an exchange of labor.
Of course, the most urgent task now was to get hold of some cotton cloth.
She had nearly dozed off waiting when she faintly heard movement at the door and jolted awake.
Listening carefully, she confirmed it was the door, not the window.
Then, to her shock, she saw the door bolt shifting.
“Who’s there?”
The bolt abruptly stopped moving. After a few seconds, footsteps hurried away—clearly heading toward the main house.
Jiang Yue cracked open the window facing the courtyard and spotted Mother Lu sneaking furtively back inside.
Sneaking around in the middle of the night like a thief.
Her mother-in-law was truly something else.
She wondered: was she trying to steal something, or the baby?
Just then, the other window was tapped. “Third Aunt? Third Aunt! I’m back.”
Jiang Yue walked over and opened the window to see Zheng Xiaoliu’s grimy but excited face. “How did it go? Everything go smoothly?”
“Third Aunt, look! I traded for so many things. Here are eggs—no hens available, but I got fish, freshly caught last night. See? Still lively! Though where will you keep it? Oh, and pork—over six pounds, all fatty. And this—I saw someone with cotton cloth they wanted to trade. Thinking it might be good for making clothes for the little one, I went ahead and swapped for it. Third Aunt, did I do the right thing?”
Zheng Xiaoliu held up each item proudly, as if presenting treasures.
Jiang Yue was overjoyed. “Xiaoliu, you’re amazing! Here’s what—take some of the eggs and pork. I told you before, you get a share of whatever we trade for, as payment for your efforts. I can’t let you work for nothing!”
Zheng Xiaoliu waved his hands hastily. “No, no, Third Aunt! You’ve just given birth—you need to regain your strength. I’m on my own; as long as I don’t starve, I’m fine.”
“You have to listen to me on this matter. Let’s be clear about one thing at a time—no mixing things up!” She took out a kitchen knife, cut a piece of pork weighing about half a kilogram, placed twenty eggs in a small basket for him, and finally gave him some rice.
“So much?”
Jiang Yue fabricated an excuse: “Before your third uncle left, he gave me quite a few grain coupons. I secretly went to the county town to buy these and have been saving them, hiding them in the house. You’re still growing and need proper food to build up your strength. It’s already dawn—hurry and take these home!”