Mother Han and Yu Wazhe ultimately did not dare to go make a scene at the commune, and her desire to go find Han Qingsong to weep about it did not come to fruition either.
Han Qingsong led a group of people to help transport bricks and tiles, borrowing two carts from the slaughtering unit and another one from the commune. Han Qingyun borrowed two more from the production brigade, making a total of about a dozen people going to help haul the bricks and tiles.
It was also good luck for him; when they arrived at the brick and tile factory, there were actually bricks and tiles ready to be hauled. If they didn't haul them all away this time, there was no telling when the next opportunity might arise.
Therefore, they made two extra trips, keeping busy until nightfall before they finished, even helping to unload all the bricks and tiles at the new building foundation of Han Qingsong's home.
By the time they finished working, it was already around ten o'clock at night. Han Qingsong thanked everyone one by one, telling them that if there was any heavy labor in the future, they should just feel free to come to him for help.
In the countryside, it was always like this; when there was work to be done, everyone did it together, helping one another without spending money, and getting things done quickly.
Han Qingyun was still worried: "Third Brother, if we leave them here, will someone come to steal them?"
Han Qingsong said: "Who would dare to steal them?"
Han Qingyun smiled, "Right, unless they want to have their arms chopped off. I'll go talk to the security director and ask the patrol to walk by here more often."
When Han Qingsong arrived home, the children were all asleep, and Lin Lan was still keeping the lamp lit, sewing a cotton-padded jacket while waiting for him.
He washed his hands and feet before entering the room. "It's so late, there was no need to wait for me."
Lin Lan put away her needle and thread. "It's not late." It was only ten o'clock; in her previous life, many night owls' nightlife had barely just begun.
She got off the bed and took out the food she had kept in the pot for him to eat.
Han Qingsong was indeed truly hungry; although he had nibbled a few bites at the cafeteria, he got hungry quickly when doing hard labor.
He handed his satchel to Lin Lan and went to eat. "The things inside are for you and our guinv."
Lin Lan gave him a surprised look; he was buying her a gift?
She opened the satchel and discovered red and pink items inside. When she took them out to look, they turned out to be two scarves.
One was bright red and slightly smaller; it must be for their guinv.
The other was a tender, princess-pink color—puffy and pink, the favorite color of young girls.
Lin Lan: ...
She was the mother of five children; at this age, she was supposed to wear this color?
Was there something wrong with Bureau Chief Han's aesthetic sense?
She noticed that the pink scarf was quite large and long, and the outside was even covered with a layer of silk gauze, also in a dreamy pink color. The scarf was large enough to wrap around the head, or wrap around the neck, and the gauze could even be taken off to be used as an ornament.
"It's quite expensive." Lin Lan suppressed her desire to complain about the princess-pink color and asked about the price.
At this time, buying clothes and shoes required both money and cloth coupons. Decorative items like gauze scarves did not need cloth coupons, but the prices were expensive.
Like the bright red one, it was a normal-styled scarf with a fair price; one yuan was enough.
Generally, it was young women or families with daughters who would buy them; those of slightly older age would not consider it, for fear of being ridiculed for being vain or acting like a vixen.
However, among country folk, whether for their daughters or for the young women themselves, almost no one would buy such a dreamy princess-pink color.
The reason was simple: they couldn't pull it off!
Country folk had rough skin; tanned black in the summer and wind-burned red in the winter, wearing a tender pink gauze scarf really was an eyesore.
Being so expensive, of course, they wouldn't buy it. Even if a cadre had some money, their wives wouldn't want such things, claiming the color was too juvenile and hard to wear, and just adding a gauze cover made it several mao more expensive—why on earth would they buy it?
Only a fool would buy it!
Lin Lan glanced at the "fool" who was currently eating. The fool gave her a gentle look and said, "Try wearing it."
Han Qingsong naturally couldn't think of all those concerns others had; he only thought it was the season for scarves, so he bought one for his wife and one for his guinv.
Although it was a bit expensive, his wife would surely look good wearing it.
The salesclerk also said that women liked this kind the best.
Of course, he didn't know why Qiu Dongmei had pushed this style so hard; it was because the supply and marketing cooperative had several pieces that had been unable to sell and were just gathering dust, so they were sold at a discount as defective items.
Originally three yuan a piece, now it only cost two yuan and five mao.
After Han Qingsong bought them and left, Qiu Dongmei and the others were still gossiping, "I never expected the new Public Security Bureau Chief to have a taste for this."
"I wonder what his wife looks like, to be able to wear this color, haha."
Although Lin Lan had originally come with her household registration book to buy things, except for the old manager, no one had paid special attention to her, so they naturally couldn't connect the two.
In their view, country women worked in the fields and were tanned dark; wearing such a tender pink scarf would be like putting frost on a donkey's dung.
In fact, Lin Lan had fair skin. Although the original owner had not maintained it and it was slightly rough, since Lin Lan had transmigrated, she had habitually paid attention to protecting it, and now her skin had become fair and soft again.
To be a village beauty, not only did one have to be pretty, but naturally one also had to have soft skin—the good looks and good figure that heaven had gifted.
Otherwise, Han Qingping wouldn't have emitted such a sigh of grief, and now he was happier about her change than he would have been about his own wife's improvement.
However, a woman is never satisfied with herself. Although her skin was already fair and fine compared to other women, it was simply unbearable compared to the well-maintained skin of her previous life.
Lin Lan had zero confidence, even thinking in a broken-can-must-be-broken way that she was already in the countryside, so she wouldn't think about those unnecessary things.
Facing such a pink and tender color at this moment, she really felt a bit helpless.
However, since it was a gift from her husband, she still had to act happy to avoid chilling his heart and dampening his enthusiasm so he wouldn't send gifts anymore.
She wrapped it around herself and smiled at Han Qingsong, "It's... good."
Han Qingsong's eyes were full of astonishment, and he nodded without hesitation, "It looks good!"
Lin Lan: "It's better for Maisui to wear it; young girls look good in any color."
Han Qingsong: "Doesn't she already have a red one?"
Little children are always festive in reds and greens.
Lin Lan said again: "Are there any other colors? Something not so flashy? Can I exchange it?"
Han Qingsong remembered the salesclerk had told him quite kindly that they could exchange it. He shook his head: "The supply and marketing cooperative does not accept returns or exchanges."
This piece was the best-looking one, no need to exchange.
Lin Lan felt that there was a lot of wind and sand at home, and such a light, tender color would be dirty in no time, so she'd better put it away for later.
Han Qingsong said: "Then let's buy another one for home wear."
Lin Lan: ...Can you be more realistic? We just built a house and are poor again.
Lin Lan wondered if she was giving him too much pocket money. On the first day, he carried two yuan, bought meat, and even owed a debt by paying in advance for grain.
So, early this morning, she gave him some extra money so he could pay off the grain and oil debt, and also have some pocket money left over, as well as money for his meals.
How was she to know he might be the type who couldn't keep money in his pocket—if he had money, it would itch, and he had to spend it, bringing back such a flashy and impractical scarf.
She tactfully said: "We have to spend a lot of money to build the house; the bricks and tiles alone cost over a thousand yuan, plus other materials, hiring carpenters and masons, and we have to buy grain to feed everyone. The children are all in school, I'm afraid..."
"It's okay, I'll be getting my salary monthly from now on." Han Qingsong wasn't worried.
Lin Lan thought, forget it, the house was the biggest expense; with a brick and tile house, she wouldn't have to worry for the next ten years or so.
But at the thought of her four sons needing to marry, and having to build houses for them when the time came, Lin Lan didn't feel good at all.
Can't be satisfied; must find a way to earn money!
Fortunately, by the time the children grew up, the Cultural Revolution would be over, and the people's communes would be disbanded to begin the Reform and Opening-up.
Mm, there was still time.
Lin Lan felt that the future was bright, but that tender pink scarf was pressed to the bottom of the chest, and she didn't know when it would see the light of day again.
The next day, Han Qingsong rode his bicycle to the commune to pay a visit and meet with Luo Haicheng. Seeing that there was nothing going on, he went to a nearby commune to collect wood.
To build a house, relying only on the little bit of wood he had saved wouldn't cut it; he still had to go out and buy some.
There was an advantage to buying from the commune members in the countryside: one could buy things without coupons.
When he returned in the afternoon, Sun Zhuowen found out that he had foolishly gone out to collect materials on his own, and he truly didn't know what to say.
How could there be such a dense bureau chief?
The key was that this dense person had replaced him; truly, it made him want to cough up blood.
Sun Zhuowen couldn't help but obliquely show off, implying that Han Qingsong didn't need to look for it himself; as long as he put out the word, someone would soon deliver it to his door, and he could still pay for it without violating any rules.
The commune Public Security Bureau buying wood—could that be compared to him riding a bicycle to collect it himself?
How could he be so stupid.
Han Qingsong, however, acted as if he didn't understand and didn't appreciate the favor.
A few days later, he had run to several communes, collected all the wood, and incidentally collected several bolts of homespun cloth and several jin of cotton for Lin Lan.
Of course, he didn't spend little money; it was at least half again as much as what it would have cost if people had delivered it to the Public Security Bureau.
If people delivered it to the door, even if he paid money, it would be at the market price or even lower.
Going to buy it himself, even if people didn't want coupons, it was the market price plus the depreciation of the coupons.
Han Qingsong wanted to start work as soon as possible, otherwise, he would have to wait until after the autumn harvest, around October, to build the house.
In October, the weather would turn cold, and mixing mud would be cold and hard, which would affect the wall-building.
Although it was already cool now, it was still very hot at noon, so, generally speaking, the temperature was suitable.
With materials ready, it was time to find people.
Han Qingsong hired Carpenter Wang from Wanghetun to help. Besides building the house, he would also need his help making furniture when the time came. Carpenter Wang participating in the building action would give him a clear idea of the house's dimensions, allowing him to build the furniture to fit the space. Because there was too much furniture, and the wood wasn't being hauled back, he would work right there on the spot.
The mason was from the village, also a family craft; with him leading, the other laborers would have no problems.
The other laborers were just people from the village. This was also a custom; whoever's family was building a house, the brigade leader would organize strong, capable young men who didn't shirk work to help.
Lin Lan suggested to Han Qingsong that when he was looking for people, whether they were from his own clan or other surnames, he should find those who were also applying to build their own houses. This way, they would be willing to come, and he could return the favor by going to help them later.
This would save a sum of money and grain.
As for those who simply wanted to get on good terms with him, it was better to forget about them; such people wouldn't reach their goal and were prone to gossip.
Han Qingsong followed her advice and did as she said.
While it was not yet the peak of the autumn harvest, the foundation of Lin Lan's new house was laid and work began.
Seeing the house being built at home, Dawang wondered if he could stop going to school to help. Lin Lan didn't give him the chance to skip class: "Go to school as usual, and help when you come home after school." Not to mention stopping school, even the morning exercises hadn't been relaxed by your father, what are you thinking, kid?
The manpower was sufficient, so the work was carried out in an orderly manner, absolutely avoiding any situation where one task was waiting on another, so the progress was fast.
Because it was all a reciprocal help, there was no need to provide meals for now, only needing to treat the few male laborers to a meal on the day the ridge beam was raised. So Lin Lan could relax a little.
She also exchanged all the meal coupons Han Qingsong brought back for coarse grain, so when the time came, she could make mixed-flour steamed buns, which would be enough to get by.
Besides that, people in the village also supported them; after a while, autumn grain would be distributed, and those who had some surplus at home would bring it over to lend to her first, to be returned later.
Lin Lan took a notebook and recorded everything, fearing she might mix things up.
However, when she calculated carefully, the family's grain supply was still a bit tight.
Not to mention the laborers, the children were also putting in a lot of effort from morning exercises to school and then helping build the house, and their appetites were all increasing, which Lin Lan could barely keep up with. She was also racking her brains to find ways to make the meals more plentiful and a little more abundant, trying her best to fill the children's stomachs to avoid wronging them and delaying their growth.
Since she had transmigrated here, the children had grown quite a bit.
Seeing them grow, she felt her efforts were worth it; whatever they ate was eaten, and it wasn't wasted. Fortunately, there was Han Qingsong's grain coupon subsidy, otherwise, they would have been hungry long ago.
That day at noon, the children all went to school, and Lin Lan was washing and scrubbing at home when she saw Han Qingsong return from outside, shirtless.
Years of exercise gave him a perfect body ratio; sturdy and well-proportioned muscles, smooth and beautiful lines, without being overly bulky.
Typical "clothes look thin, clothes off have flesh"—it was the type Lin Lan liked.
She couldn't help but look twice, and when she caught Han Qingsong's gaze, her cheeks warmed slightly, and she quickly looked away. "Bring your clothes over, and I'll wash them for you."
Han Qingsong: "They aren't dirty yet."
He was afraid of wearing out his clothes while working, so he took them off and draped the gun butt shoulder pad he had brought back over himself when carrying things, which actually fit quite well.
His body was itching, so he bent over on a rock and asked Lin Lan to help him rinse his back with water.
Lin Lan discovered there were places on his back where his skin had been rubbed raw, oozing little blood spots.
Originally, the old wounds on his body were enough to make people's hearts ache, and now he had rubbed them raw again to build the house; Lin Lan couldn't help but feel a bit heartbroken.
"You'd better put your clothes on; patch them if they get torn." She carefully avoided his raw spots and gently wiped them with a towel.
Her movements were gentle, and because she had been washing clothes, her hands were also cold. His body, however, always had an amazing amount of heat; when the cold and heat touched, it made him ticklish.
"It's fine, it's not even a minor injury, it'll heal in two days." Han Qingsong gestured for her to use more force.
Lin Lan finished wiping him, but he still said it was itchy and asked her to scratch it.
Lin Lan had no choice but to scratch it a couple of times.
"Use some force." Han Qingsong felt even itchier from her scratching and couldn't help but shrug his shoulders.
Lin Lan felt the muscles under her palm rubbing against her, scorching hot, and couldn't help but be curious, so she reached out and touched them.
No wonder people spoke of a body of steel; these muscles, when trained to a certain degree, really contained immense power, as hard as a rock.
Han Qingsong didn't feel her rinsing with water anymore; instead, his back felt all tingly and itchy, so he stood up immediately. Who knew that Lin Lan was bending over behind his back? When he stood up suddenly, he knocked her right over.
"Ah—" Lin Lan let out a cry, her body falling backward. In a flash, she thought, "Sure enough, there's a price for taking advantage of someone."
The expected collision did not come.
A sturdy arm instantly wrapped around her slender waist, pulling her back with force, and a large hand traced the shoulder to lock onto the back of her head, securing her safely in his hot, sturdy embrace.
Lin Lan's face was pressed seamlessly against Han Qingsong's chest, and in her ear was his strong and powerful heartbeat.
He held her a bit tightly, making her feel a little suffocated.
"Ha... almost... fell." Lin Lan was a bit embarrassed and struggled a little, but who knew he would hold her tighter, especially with the domineering force on her waist, pressing her tightly against his body.
Almost instantly, she felt his response—rock hard and quite frightening.
Lin Lan: ...!!
His heartbeat was getting faster and faster, making Lin Lan wonder if it would overload. She didn't know why, but her own heartbeat was also getting faster and faster, her cheeks like fire, and even her ears and neck were burning hot.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. She was held tightly, unable to move, and was afraid that prolonged abstinence would make him lose control and carry her into the room in broad daylight.
Suddenly, he lowered his head and planted a heavy kiss on her neck, his voice low and hoarse: "I'll go put on some clothes."
As soon as he left, the scorching body departed, and even the noon breeze felt chilly.
Lin Lan couldn't help but shiver, subconsciously touching her neck. "My goodness, that's a kiss; he sucked it so hard it hurts."
She had long discovered that Han Qingsong's strength was exceptionally great; sometimes when she asked him to break a pancake, it would crumble into several pieces if he wasn't careful, and the children thought he was angry and immediately shut their mouths to eat, not daring to chatter anymore.
Just now, if you didn't know better, you would have thought he was catching a criminal when he hugged her; it felt like her waist was going to be snapped. tt
"Lan!" A man's voice calling her came from outside.
Lin Lan froze for a moment. No wonder he let her go; it turned out he had heard something.
She responded and walked out, seeing Brother Lin carrying a bag of grain, standing at the door. He was covered in sweat, and his clothes were soaked.
Lin Lan hurried up to take it: "Big Brother, why did you come?"
Brother Lin said: "The Meis went to talk about you building a house, and we were worried your grain wasn't enough, so we gathered a bag first, to help out when you treat guests."
When Lin Mei went to the market, she would stroll over to the Public Security Bureau, find Han Qingsong to pass a message to Lin Lan, and also show off that she knew the Public Security Bureau Chief, so those who caught speculators would stay away from her.
Lin Lan was moved; the family's grain supply was just getting tight. "Big Brother, you don't have to; your grain isn't plentiful either."
"Also, isn't the autumn grain coming down soon?" Brother Lin didn't let her take it, carrying it into the courtyard. Seeing a shadow in the room, he said, "Qingsong is home."
Han Qingsong quickly put on his jacket, tidied up his trousers, and while tying his belt, greeted from the room: "Big Brother."
Brother Lin was puzzled: Why was it that when he came to deliver grain, his brother-in-law didn't come to greet him and was even hiding in the room?
Putting on such airs?
Becoming a bureau chief is really different.
Han Qingsong strode out, talked to Brother Lin, and invited him in to sit.
Lin Lan stole a glance at him; that place, which was too proud, still hadn't completely settled down, but fortunately, his jacket was covering it. It was estimated that he would recover quickly when facing Brother Lin.
She couldn't help but blush.
Han Qingsong glanced at her, feeling that the heat he had just suppressed was about to roar again, and quickly pulled Brother Lin: "Big Brother, let's go to the new house and have a look, and you can give us your opinion."
Brother Lin was happy now, waving his hand: "I don't understand, how can I give an opinion? Let's go see."
After they left, Lin Lan breathed a sigh of relief, actually feeling her hands and feet go soft. She hurriedly rubbed her face and continued to wash clothes.
After Brother Lin had seen it, he, Old Man Lin, and Lin Mei's husband all came to help the next day.
They came in the morning, ate a meal at noon, and went home in the evening, helping for three days like this.
Because the manpower was sufficient and all were strong laborers, in three days, they had cleared the site, laid out the lines, dug the earth, tamped the foundation, and then mixed the mud, matched the bricks, and built the walls, coordinating seamlessly, basically without wasting any time.
Stopping for two days in the middle, the women found time to go help tie sorghum stalks; it was almost finished in two days with more women.
In August, the autumn air was crisp, the wind was rustling, and corn, peanuts, and the like had matured one after another; the production team began to mobilize for the autumn harvest.
Lin Lan's house was also nearing its end, waiting for the ridge beam to be raised.
The matter of raising the ridge beam couldn't be rushed; they had to check the date.
A few years ago, during the "Smash the Four Olds," feudal superstition wasn't allowed, and everyone just did it on whatever day it fell.
But now it wasn't that strict, so the members began to be particular again.
Old Man Lin was incomparably attentive, went back to his own village to find someone to quietly check the date, and specially instructed Brother Lin to come tell Lin Lan.
Lin Lan, as a modern soul, how could she care about this? "Big Brother, an auspicious day is not as good as meeting it by chance; let's raise the ridge beam and lay the tiles early, so we can move in early."
"Is that something you can be sloppy about? Dad said, if you don't know, forget it, but if you do know, you have to follow it; listening to Dad is never wrong. Don't you remember when you were little, when Panpan's Second Dada's family built a house, they checked the date but didn't listen? His Dada fell from the beam and broke his waist, and he's still paralyzed on the bed to this day."
Lin Lan: "Is it really that serious?"
Originally it was an unrelated event, but after Big Brother said it, she felt a lump in her throat. If she didn't listen and nothing happened, that was fine, but once something happened, everyone would blame her for not listening to the date.
She had no choice but to say: "Okay."
She asked Brother Lin to tell Han Qingsong, but Brother Lin refused: "You tell your brother-in-law yourself."
Who knows if Bureau Chief Han believes this? If he doesn't believe it and then gets stubborn, how embarrassing would that be? Better for the husband and wife to talk about it in their own bed.
In the evening, after the construction site dismissed the workers, Lin Lan had finished cooking and went to call Han Qingsong and the children to eat.
After eating, the children picked up the radio and ran to the new house, saying they were going to watch the house, to avoid someone stealing the bricks and tiles.
Once the children left, the originally noisy house instantly quieted down, with only the sound of Han Qingsong eating.
He handed the bowl to her, signaling her to pour him a bowl of water.
The water jar was at Lin Lan's hand.
When Lin Lan took the bowl, she touched his hand and hurriedly brought it over. These past two days, she was a bit afraid of Han Qingsong, almost not daring to be alone with him, always feeling that his gaze toward her carried aggression and was very oppressive.
Especially in the evening when the children were asleep and he hadn't yet come onto the bed, for a moment, she felt he would force his way into her quilt.
Fortunately, he didn't, of course, maybe it was just her own guilty conscience thinking too much.
When she couldn't sleep, she even searched her memory regarding marital life, but unfortunately, the few sparse occasions really didn't provide much to draw from.
For example, when they got married, from the matchmaking to the wedding, it hadn't exceeded five days in total; she only saw him once when he came to pick her up, and then it was sleeping at night.
Back then, they were both young; she was naive and he was reckless, so it really couldn't be called enjoyable. If one spoke of memories, there was only pain, pain, pain; too big, too big, too big; fear, fear, fear.
Just for those two nights, he returned to the military, and she actually got pregnant.
Afterward, whenever they met, there was still no good experience; he came and went in a rush, either staying for one night or just three or five days.
During the day, a houseful of people, and the two of them didn't have much time to say a word.
While she was expectant, she was also nervous and afraid; anyway, it was about the same mode as other men and women getting along, very reserved and conservative in romantic matters, although she liked him as a person, she somewhat loathed and avoided doing that kind of thing.
Each time, it was only after the children were asleep in the middle of the night that they would have marital life in a busy and messy way.
She was nervous and couldn't let go, and he had been suppressed for too long; just thinking about it was terrifying. Not only was there no good experience, it would leave deep shadows on both parties.
Repeating this mode a few times, it led to even less communication afterward. Although he tried to guide her after he matured, it was too big and she was even more afraid and resistant; doing it was just to fulfill her duty to her husband, and the process still couldn't be called enjoyable.
This led to the woman resisting, and the man also finding it very boring.
But what was funny was that I don't know if she was too easy to conceive or if he was too capable; every time they had close combat, she would conceive.
Now, it made Lin Lan nervous and under pressure again; she was very afraid that marital life would really be that terrifying.
No way, the shadow was too big.
She put the water bowl on the table and sat there herself, lowering her head to take small sips of water, refusing to make eye contact with him.
Han Qingsong looked at her quiet and still appearance with lowered brows and eyes, and couldn't help but look twice, very much wanting to reach out and touch her face.
Just as he was about to reach out, Lin Lan looked up and asked him: "When is the ridge beam being raised?"
She looked up suddenly like this; Han Qingsong didn't know why, but he had a feeling like being caught doing something bad, and immediately picked up the bowl to drink water.
Then he calmly said: "The day after tomorrow."
Lin Lan hesitated for a moment and smiled: "Are you not checking the date?"
Han Qingsong: "There's nothing to check; an auspicious day is not as good as meeting it by chance."
Lin Lan: "That..."
Han Qingsong: "Did you find someone to check the date?"
Lin Lan was afraid his professional habit would lead him to blame her for being superstitious, so she immediately shook her head: "No, no. Where would I find someone? I don't know anyone."
Han Qingsong said: "If you didn't check, then it falls on whatever day it falls on."
"Dad and Big Brother helped us check it," Lin Lan said quickly.
This anti-feudal superstition was talked about from the commune to the village; he was from the Public Security Bureau—would he think they were holding them back?
Han Qingsong knew she was talking about his father-in-law and brother-in-law. He asked: "Which day?"
Lin Lan said in a low voice: "The tenth of the eighth month." She really was feeling a bit guilty.
The tenth of the eighth month was right in the middle of the busy autumn harvest.
Han Qingsong seemed to be a bit stuck.
Lin Lan immediately said: "Actually, checking the date for this doesn't matter; it's just that everyone says so. If you don't believe it, when you move in later and have a headache or a fever, people will say it's because the ridge beam wasn't raised on a checked date."
Just like when she married in; because she didn't use the bride's "Big Profit Month," the old lady nagged for a lifetime, and even a headache was blamed on her. Now that the fourth child had been arrested, it was blamed on her even more.
"Then we'll go by the date," Han Qingsong said: "No need for everyone's help tomorrow for now; on the tenth, find a few people to raise the ridge beam."
"Then the autumn harvest..."
"No need to worry about this; just find a few people to help raise the ridge purlins at noon, and then spread the rafters. The rest can be done by ourselves."
Besides him, there were the hired carpenter and mason.
The wages he gave were higher than the work points they earned from working, so naturally, they were happy to come.
And so it was decided.
Lin Lan was quite happy. Although Han Qingsong looked pedantic and serious, he wasn't the type who was overbearing and unreasonable. If there was something at home, he was willing to let her express her opinion.
It's just that he hadn't formed the habit of actively discussing and consulting with her when something happened; it was estimated that he was influenced by the men in the village, thinking that men take care of the outside, and if something happens, men just carry it themselves.
Putting it nicely, it's not letting the woman worry; putting it not so nicely, it's feeling that women don't matter.
At least there was progress, and she was happy. Otherwise, if Han Qingsong were like Han Dage or other men who demonstrated a man's mettle by not speaking of idle matters with his own woman, that would be truly shitty.
Since the ridge beam wasn't being raised, the construction site paused. By this time, the production team's autumn harvest had also begun.
First, the brigade held a mobilization meeting, asking all members to participate in the autumn harvest.
"Don't think you are working for the production team; you are working for yourselves! The autumn harvest is the harvest of grain, the harvest of life! If it rains continuously and you can't harvest it, the grain will rot in the ground, and everyone will starve. All of you have some sense; participate in labor actively and proactively. Don't wait for the captain to chase and urge you; it's embarrassing!"
Han Yongfang roared a few times with a tin-plate loudspeaker, and then the brigade leader spoke. Afterward, each production team leader gave a mobilization lecture to their team members and distributed the work.
This second wave of the autumn harvest required concentrated manpower to snap the corn, and also to pick cotton and harvest peanuts. After finishing these, they had to dig sweet potatoes and dry sweet potato chips; it could be said to be the busiest time of the year.
Lin Lan naturally had to follow along to work, unavoidably tired with an aching back all day, to the point of having psychological shadows.
That day, Han Qingsong went to work, and she hurried the children to school. Once Dawang and Sanwang went out the door, they slipped and ran in another direction.
Lin Lan couldn't care about washing the bowls and hurried to work, happened to see the two children, and shouted: "What are you two doing? Get back here!"
It was okay for the two children to run off, but once seen by Lin Lan, they didn't have the guts to dare ignore their mother's roar and run off, unless they weren't afraid of their bottoms blooming; their father's rattan stick was absolutely merciless.
The two of them rubbed their way back, Dawang looking unhappy.
Lin Lan: "You two aren't going to school, what are you doing?"
At this time, the schools arranged their own time, and there was no such thing as Saturday or Sunday rest; as long as it wasn't raining knives, they had to go to school.
And now it was the busy autumn season, so the teachers also led the children to take action together, combining education with labor, without delaying studies.
Dawang: "I don't want to go to school!"
"Why don't you want to go to school?"
"I just don't want to go to school; there's no why, the same as how you don't want to labor." Dawang glanced at Lin Lan.
Lin Lan decided to argue irrationally: "Where did I not want to labor? I am a laboring person; I love labor, I..."
"Stop pretending; why don't you go to my class for me, and I'll go snap sticks for you." Dawang brought out his trump card.
Lin Lan was actually quite tempted.
Dawang glanced at her with an expression that said, "This village has passed, so there's no shop like this." "How about it?"
Lin Lan straightened her waist: "What kind of attitude is that? Talking to your mother like that? Your nerve isn't small, bribery reached the home of the Public Security Bureau Chief's family member; you are asking for a beating!"
Dawang rolled his eyes and began looking at the sky.
Lin Lan saw he was obedient in front of Han Qingsong and acted tough in front of her, so she wanted to show him something厉害.
She went to get Han Qingsong's rattan stick: "You think I don't dare to beat you?"
Dawang had an expression like "beat me, I'll let you beat me, you can beat me whenever you want," even actively moving his bottom toward her; truly a dead pig that isn't afraid of boiling water.
Lin Lan whipped the small rattan stick on the hayrick with a pa-pa sound: "Are you afraid?"
Dawang pursed his lips.
Sanwang pursed his mouth and laughed. He followed his big brother; if the sky fell, the tall guy would hold it, and Mom couldn't bear to beat him either.
"What are you laughing at? Pack your teeth back for me; I said close your mouth when sleeping. If it's like that for a long time, buckteeth will look ugly."
Once Sanwang heard this, he immediately closed his mouth tightly and even licked it to see if he really had buckteeth.
Lin Lan poked Sanwang with the rattan stick: "Hurry up and go to school; your older brother and sister have all gone."
From the first day of school, it was Dawang carrying the book bag, and since coming home from school, it had always been Erwang.
Sanwang ran off in a streak of smoke, abandoning his big brother to no longer share the trouble together.
Dawang let out a chi sound: "Coward!"
Lin Lan tested it by whipping him once, although she didn't use force, the thin rattan stick whipped on his legs still hurt.
Dawang's expression didn't move, like he didn't feel it, exerting all his strength to skip class while Dad wasn't home.
"Hurry up and go to school; if you want to labor, follow the teacher and go together." She specially went to audit Han Qingping's lecture; even if he was working, he didn't delay, reciting while working and checking how to write characters. She thought it was quite good.
Erwang and Maisui learned quite well. Although Sanwang was mischievous and couldn't sit still, he could at least learn a song, but he couldn't write many characters.
In one ear and out the other; when learning pinyin, he learned aoe for half a day, read it just fine, but if asked to write it down, he wrote it in a mess; if asked to read it, he read it in a mess.
Or else, he recognized 'b', but couldn't spell 'ba'. When teaching, it was fine, but in the blink of an eye, it changed.
It could truly make a dead person angry.
Lin Lan listened to Han Qingping's complaints, itching to tutor the child's homework, but then thought that if she did, her cover would be blown.
She now deeply realized what her best friends used to say: tutoring a child's homework is enough to have a heart attack or have to go get a heart stent. Back then she thought it was an exaggeration, but now it seems it really wasn't an exaggeration at all!
Thinking of herself in her previous life, she saw reality clearly and didn't want children to lower her standard of living, and now it was good—she had directly become a cheap mother to someone else's children.
And still couldn't escape tutoring homework!
The key was that she didn't dare to do it openly, not having a proper name or being proper; she could only secretly follow Erwang and Maisui to discipline Sanwang and Dawang.
Dawang was even more of a rock!
Sanwang could recite but not recognize; Dawang wouldn't even recite or look at the book. The teacher lectured until spittle flew, but he turned a deaf ear and a blind eye.
Simply... Lin Lan felt her hair was going to turn white from anger.
Dawang didn't move.
"Why won't you go to school?" Lin Lan didn't understand.
Dawang: "There's no why, I just don't want to go."
Lin Lan was also helpless; this child just didn't love school, and no matter what, wouldn't say why.
Anyway, from the day he started school, he skipped class every three days; she was afraid Han Qingsong would beat him harshly, so she covered for him several times.
"You say you don't go to school, what do you want to do? Do you want to farm like this at home for a lifetime?" Lin Lan gritted her teeth.
Dawang looked at her, very calm: "What's the use of going to school? Don't you still have to come home to farm? People from the city go to the countryside; that's what you said."
Lin Lan: You only remember these few sentences, why can't you remember so many good words?
"Who says it's useless? Isn't the university starting to recruit students now? I heard there will be Worker-Peasant-Soldier students in the future!"
Dawang didn't believe it at all. "You're just spouting; you must have heard some scraps from Bureau Chief Han and are just showing off."
Lin Lan: "Go to school; the teachers are leading the autumn harvest these few days, so there's no class. You don't have to sit there, scratching your ears and cheeks, feeling uncomfortable."
Dawang: "The one scratching ears and cheeks is Sanwang."
"Hurry up, stop talking back and angering me!" Lin Lan whipped the small rattan stick with a pa-pa sound.
Dawang ran off, naturally not willing to go to school.
Just as he walked to the west river, wanting to meet up with Zhuzi, he saw Han Qingsong returning from a small path in the west.
Dawang was scared and shivered, hurriedly drilling behind the hayrick on the side.
Han Qingsong returned home, Xiaowang was energetically blowing the flute for Wangwang, and Lin Lan had already gone to work.
Han Qingsong gave a couple of exhortations and went to find Lin Lan.
Lin Lan was currently using a towel to wrap her head and neck, drilling into the cornfield to snap corn; the leaves had small jagged edges, cutting her arms and neck.
She worked while feeling uncomfortable, thinking what kind of person she had transmigrated into; in her previous life, in order not to do manual labor, she studied hard and finally made it out, only to be kicked back to the countryside in a flash.
It really was thorough.
The cornfield was hot and stuffy, truly like a steam can; she felt she was about to faint from the heat and really wanted to slack off and not go to work.
But thinking of what she told Dawang, she didn't want to lose her authority, so she had to grit her teeth and persist.
Just as she was feeling uncomfortable, she saw a tall figure walking toward her from the front.
She recognized it was Han Qingsong at a glance.
"Why are you here?"
Han Qingsong picked off the corn tassels and silks that had fallen on her head: "The Public Security Bureau is fine; I let everyone go back for the autumn harvest. I'll take your shift to work, you go home and take care of the cooking."
Lin Lan felt a bit embarrassed; the students were all led by teachers to work, so how could she be lazy.
Han Qingsong took her basket without further ado, his large hand gripping her shoulder, kneading it not too lightly or too heavily, and then pushed her toward the lane that had been dug out: "Go back. The children want to eat boiled corn at noon."
For some tender and not-so-solid corn, the production team would also pick up a large pile every day to distribute to the women to take home to boil and eat.
Lin Lan couldn't believe it—could she really escape manual labor? "Then, I'm really going back?"
Han Qingsong showed a hint of a smile: "Could it be a lie."
Lin Lan cheered: "Oh, it's holiday!"
She walked out happily.
As soon as she left, Han Qingsong resumed his usual coldness, expressionless, his hands nimbly snapping corn.
Nearby women heard, some envious, some jealous. The men in this whole village were watching their own wives work, so where was there one letting his wife go back to rest?
Not working means not earning work points; what do you eat?
The key is that men, except for looking for their wives to sleep at night, rarely will be sticky with their own women in broad daylight and are determined not to laugh or talk in public.
So they watched Han Qingsong and Lin Lan whispering there, especially Han Qingsong gently cleaning the silks off Lin Lan's head, and Lin Lan actually made such a cheerful sound, which sounded very grating.
"Old married couple, what are you doing being so sticky? So sour!"
"Isn't that the truth, acting like those educated youths, pretentious, nauseating!"
Lin Lan didn't care what others said; she only cared that she was comfortable. "Going home, going to cook something delicious!"
Before she could walk to the head of the field, she was intercepted by Han Xiaogu.
Han Xiaogu hadn't gone to school a while ago to avoid the limelight, and a few days ago when she wanted to go, it was already the autumn holiday, so she had to go home.
In reality, the school had ordered Han Qinghua to drop out, and was also brewing to let Han Jinyu drop out; originally she should have graduated, so there was no need to keep clinging to the school.
And now the family didn't have the conditions to support her wasting time and money by clinging to the school, so her studies basically went down the drain, and she completely returned to farming at home.
Snapping corn—she hated it even more than Lin Lan and couldn't bear it. Even though she wrapped her head and face and wore long sleeves, her neck and hands were still cut and scratched, and her whole body was itching, just like insects crawling.
Han Jinyu had never suffered such bitterness?
From childhood to adulthood, she had never done any work.
Now it was good—every day she was forced to do work, and she didn't want to do it; the eldest and second sisters-in-law had opinions, and even didn't want to cook, so Old Man Han made her work.
She originally said she would cook, but now Gumi and Gaoliang could both do it, so they didn't need her at all.
But in fact, she wasn't even as capable as Gumi in the field work.
Especially since the two sisters-in-law even gave her long faces; she couldn't take it anymore.
Now Han Qinghua had gone to the reform-through-labor farm, and she also had to earn work points and wasn't going to school, so the family didn't need to earn work points for them and didn't need to save fine grain. They had separated the family, and the five children from Lin Lan's family had been separated out, so the days for the others in the Han family were actually better than before.
So the eldest sister-in-law and the second sister-in-law were even happier.
The bad ones were Mother Han and Han Xiaogu, because now there was no money for them to spend.
"You help me snap sticks!" Han Xiaogu was bossy.
Lin Lan rolled her eyes at her: "You think you are the Seventh Fairy? It's a pity I'm not Dong Yong either." She turned her head and was about to leave.
"Hey, didn't you hear me!" Han Xiaogu saw Lin Lan ignore her and was very angry.
"I'm working for my own work points; what does it have to do with you?" Lin Lan gave a qie sound.
"Then why aren't you working?" Han Xiaogu interrogated her, "You want to slack off and avoid labor! The mobilization meeting said no one can avoid labor." Otherwise, they wouldn't give her grain ration, otherwise she would have hidden away long ago.
Lin Lan said triumphantly: "Your third brother came back to help me work, I'm going home to rest!"
Han Xiaogu was so angry she was dying. Seeing Lin Lan walk away with a light pace, she immediately went to find Han Qingsong.
After much difficulty, she found Han Qingsong, and she started shedding tears with her mouth pouted: "Third Brother—"
Han Qingsong looked at her: "Mm?"
"Look, my hands are cut, my face is cut, and my whole body is itching." There was no bathhouse at home, and taking a bath was inconvenient.
Han Qingsong didn't even look at her, only snapping the corn without stopping.
He had great strength and quick movements; one person was worth more than three others.
"Snapping sticks is all like this." Han Qingsong's tone had no ups and downs.
To put it plainly, he didn't have deep feelings for his younger siblings; his younger siblings were much younger than him, and he was already in the military when they were born, so they hadn't cultivated feelings together. In the past, it was always the old lady nagging about how difficult your sister and younger brother were, how pitiful they were, and that you as an older brother must love your younger siblings more and earn money to spend on them.
He always prioritized filial piety to his parents, and along the way, he was good to his younger siblings.
And he hadn't taken much care of his own children in the past, so how could he particularly value his younger siblings?
Moreover, at this time, children as big as Gumi were all in the field snapping sticks, none of them could complain of being tired, yet she, this sister-in-law, was calling out that she was tired—what kind of problem was this?
Han Jinyu felt extremely wronged hearing him say this; why didn't Third Brother love her anymore?
Could it be that what Mom said was true—that once you have a wife, you forget your mother and sister?
She sobbed once and wiped her tears: "Third Brother, help me snap sticks."
She regarded Han Qingsong's contribution to the family as a sign of love for her, and she was convinced that she was different in Third Brother's heart, and whenever she had a chance, she wanted to act like a spoiled brat to Han Qingsong.
Han Qingsong: "Do your own things yourself."
Han Xiaogu stomped her foot: "What's my own business, how is this my business? Besides, why do you snap for her and not for me?"
Han Qingsong only then turned his head to look at her, his gaze light and calm: "Who is she? That's my wife."
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