Bai Fumei in the 70’s

After dinner:

Sister He was still working hard, Zhao Lanxiang stood beside her and couldn't help but patting her shoulder.

"Do it for tomorrow. For these tasks, you don't have to be in a hurry."

He Songye raised her head and continued sewing without caring.

"It's okay, finish early, feel at ease."

She looked like a warrior, gritting her teeth to get rid of this task without sleeping or even eating or drinking.

Suddenly Zhao Lanxiang felt that her scheme was too successful.

She coughed lightly and pushed the elder sister to eat.

"Don't do it anymore. Using the lamp at night will cost oil. There is more time to do this during the day."

Sister He didn't care at all. She only stopped for a moment when she heard "cost oil", and she said, "Do it for a while longer."

Zhao Lanxiang paused and said, "If you do it in a hurry, and the quality is too poor, people might refuse to accept it. Instead, they will ask me to replace the cloth or pay them. Where can I get the money?"

Finally, Sister He listened. She stopped her hands and feet, and put down the cloth in horror.1

Zhao Lanxiang bent the corners of her lips, patted her shoulders, and said, "You just gotten started, don't be too hasty. Just follow me to do it slowly. Two people can finish the work quickly if we do it together."

That being said, Zhao Lanxiang carefully reviewed the result of Sister He's hard work. She made small parts such as sleeves and collars, which are simple but requires patience. Sister He sewed it step by step according to her instruction. She did not make any wrong stitch. Even if something went wrong, she cut the stitches and sewed it again. The quality was not bad.

When Sister He left Zhao Lanxiang's room, she still had lingering fears and patted her head straight.

If she accidentally breaks the cloth, she can't afford to replace it!

Zhao Lanxiang looked out the window to stare at Sister He's back. She said in her heart that there must be a process for Sister He's thinking to change gradually, and it would take time. But what she has is time. The trick of boiling frogs in warm water was too familiar to her.2

The dark sky only lit by scattered starlight, and the moonlight paved a whole area of frost on the ground. Autumn cicada creaking softly, made people faintly sleepy.

After eating, Zhao Lanxiang yawned, staring calmly at the closed doors and windows of He Songbai.

It's so late... He Songbai still hasn't come back, where did he go?

Zhao Lanxiang didn't know what he was working on lately. She only knew that he must have another work plan, and this work plan seemed to be busier than before.

Zhao Lanxiang guessed this from his erratic whereabouts. In the past, Zhao Lanxiang knew when he came out of at night and cut pigs at the pig farm without sleeping.

But this time, it was even more confused.1

Zhao Lanxiang laid on the bed and spent the time reading a few pages of books under the light. She was drowsy, and finally she slept for most of the night with her head tilted.

Zhao Lanxiang taught the elder sister how to make clothes the whole afternoon. When Sister He was working hard beside her, she had also worked hard and was really tired.

When she woke up, she noticed a slight ray of light shining through the door of He Songbai's room diagonally opposite hers. In the silent night, the tiny wooden bed in his house was overwhelmed by the squeak.

Zhao Lanxiang jumped up and walked over to knock on He Songbai's door.

She smelled a faint smell floating in the air.

The man in the room heard the knock, and he felt a little stunned. He didn't expect it because it was midnight, and his girlfriend was asleep. He changed clothes faster.

He put on his old clothes, jumped off the bed in three steps, and opened the door in two steps. He yawned sleepily and asked, "Is there something wrong?"

"It's very late. Let's talk about it tomorrow. Go to bed."

Zhao Lanxiang asked suspiciously, "Why did you come back so late?"

He Songbai froze, neither wanted to confess to her nor deceive her, so he fell silent. The bad thing he was doing was severe enough to go to jail. He didn't expect to keep hiding it from her, but it was good to be able to hide it before it stabilized.

He went to the black market a while ago to wander around to make money, didn't she ask him what he did?

Holding this "lucky" mentality, He Songbai squinted, pretending to be thirsty and sleepy. He pushed the woman and said indifferently, "I've been back long ago!"

"I just woke up to relieve myself."

Zhao Lanxiang pushed him and squeezed into the room.

She tucked her waist and said, "Do you want me to figure it out myself, or will you confess to me?"

He Songbai did not speak.

Zhao Lanxiang paused and said, "You still smell of pig's shit! Your fart hasn't been wiped clean, and yet you want to hide it from me."5

He Songbai heard the rude words that unintentionally came out of his girlfriend's mouth. His eyes twitched, and his brain ached.

He mumbled, "What kind of girl saying about pig shit and fart."

Zhao Lanxiang couldn't help, but glare at Songbai with her squinted eyebrow.

He Songbai's ears blushed suspiciously under her glare.

He rubbed her head and begged her for mercy, "Don't ask."

"I'll tell you when you should know, ah?"

The ending of his words rose slightly, and his rough voice was thick and hoarse, as if he had talked a lot all day, revealing his unconcealed exhaustion.

Suddenly Zhao Lanxiang didn't want to ask anymore.

She groaned, looked at him intensely, and let it go. Finally, she only said, "You haven't eaten anything yet. I'll warm some porridge in the pot for you!"

He Songbai also knew that the awkward flicker just now was undefendable. He couldn't scorn her, and he couldn't stand the hunger, so he followed her to the kitchen.

Zhao Lanxiang sprinkled the pre-cut pieces of minced meat into the porridge with chopsticks. The white porridge boiled a little, and she poured it out in a bowl.

This was not just some porridge in the pot like she said. She had already made up her mind to accompany him to dinner.

Not sure how long she had waited.

He Songbai felt inexplicably complicated when he saw it. His heart beat quickly and felt warm. A flow of heat surged up in him.

"You are a foolish woman. Did I broke my hand so I can't even heat a bowl of porridge?"

Zhao Lanxiang only glanced at him and didn't want to talk to him.

She greeted the man to sit down. He Songbai drank the porridge. It was quiet at night, and he was indeed sleepy, but he cheered up and drank a few sips of porridge. The hot rice porridge in his lower abdomen brought a warm mellowness in his pulse and moistened his thirsty stomach.

He Songbai immediately regained consciousness.

"Fish?"

Zhao Lanxiang nodded vigorously.

"Yes, today the brigade dry the river to fish, and the vigorous younger brother, Daniu, especially carried a big fish to our door."

After Li Dali was injured, members of the brigade voted democratically and decided to let Li Daniu to be the captain of the first team. However, Li Dali returned from the ghost gate, and Daniu wanted to return the position he shouldered to his big brother. He said to his brother that he would take care of it for the time being.1

"It's rare to eat such fresh fish, so you should eat more while it's hot!"

He Songbai buried his head in the bowl again, and drank a few mouthfuls of porridge. There wasn't much of porridge left. It ran out in two or three sips.

The intention was still unfinished, and the fish fillets were thin as cicada wings. It was tender and smooth, as if they were only cooked a little. They have been heated and solidified by the rest of the porridge. The juice from the tender yellow ginger melts into the porridge, leaving a warm spicy flavor, blended with the taste of fish. It was fragrant and creamy, melted in the mouth, and made the lips and teeth soft and fragrant.

He Songbai was still muttering in his heart that this woman especially warmed the porridge for him to drink. She was so stupid that he couldn't help but ask for another bowl after drinking it, but she only glanced at him faintly.

"It's all gone!"