Dressed up as a Real Mom

Chapter 54.1: Love (2)

They were about to leave in two days, and He Xiaoyun went back to visit her maternal family's house.

This time, by coincidence, her brother, He Xiaojun was also there, and when Wei Yuanhang saw his young uncle, he pestered him to play.

When the two went out, Li Yuegui warned loudly behind: "Don't take Xiaoyuan to the water's edge!"

"Got it!" He Xiaojun replied.

Li Yuegui looked at the door with ease before turning around and asking He Xiaoyun: "Why didn't Jianwei come with you?"

"He's still working at home. Why? If your son-in-law didn't come, you wouldn't let your daughter in?"

"I just casually asked. When will you not be allowed to return? I have a conscience." Li Yuegui glared at her.

He Xiaoyun smiled, "Mom, I want to eat some Qingtuan."

 

Qingtuan

As soon as He Xiaoyun stepped into the yard, she saw a pile of barley grass on the ground, still with dew, which should have been picked in the morning.

Li Yuegui had planned to cook Qingtuan in the past two days, and the ingredients were ready. Seeing her daughter say she wanted to eat, Li Yuegui rolled up her sleeves and was ready to do it, but still said: "You'll ask for food as soon as you get home, Xiaoyun, why don't you come and help me?"

"Coming."

The mother and daughter picked out the barley grass, washed them, blanched them and smashed them, filtered out the juice with gauze, mixed them with glutinous rice flour, and knead them into a big green dough.

 

-----

Qingtuan is also called Qingmingguo. It comes with both sweet and salty flavors. The salty Qingtuan is filled with diced bacon, diced winter bamboo shoots, diced shiitake mushrooms, etc. It's very troublesome to make, and they don't have enough time to make its fillings, so temporarily, Li Yuegui made some sweet Qingtuan. 

They knead the green dough into a long strip, pull off a small part, round it, patted it flat, coated it with white/brown sugar, press it into a small ball shape, pour oil into the pan, add the green ball, and slowly fry it until both sides are golden and fragrant. The Qingtuan is completed.

If conditions permit, the fillings inside can be replaced with sweet-scented osmanthus, sesame, red bean paste, etc.

 

-----

The two talked while cooking.

"Your cousin's wife is pregnant, and your aunt couldn't stop talking about it when we met."

He Xiaoyun thought about it for a while and said, "So soon? They haven't been married for a few months ago."

Xiaoyun remembers going to the woman’s house to prepare the banquet. Both she and He Xiaofen went to the maiden's house to visit, but when they(Xiaoyun's cousin) got married at the end of the year, she was already in the army and didn't participate.

Li Yuegui nodded, "In just a few days, she'll be exactly five months pregnant. Back then, your aunt was quite worried. Your cousin’s temperament is ambiguous, his wife is so young, and I’m afraid they won’t get along. To think there will be good news so soon."

He Xiaoyun quietly listened, thinking that this is another type of urging from her mother to give birth to another son. Unexpectedly, Li Yuegui didn't say anything about pregnancy. 

He Xiaoyun became curious, has her mother changed her temper?

Actually speaking, in Li Yuegui's heart, she still hopes that her eldest daughter(Xiaofen) can give birth to a boy. After all, people in rural areas value this most.

It’s just that when He Xiaofen went home and complained that her mother-in-law keep urging her to birth a son, Yuegui keep quiet and listened. She doesn't want her daughters to think that she was the same and that they can't even relax in their maternal home, so Li Yuegui thought and keep quiet about wanting more grandsons. 

When the Qingtuan is ready, He Xiaoyun called He Xiaojun and Wei Yuanhang back to eat. The little chubby kid was lazy and asked his young uncle to carry him on his back. When the two arrived, Xiaojun was tired and sweating profusely.

Xiaoyun said a few words to Wei Yuanhang, then took a towel to wipe the sweat on her younger brother, "Don't do this stupid thing next time. You're still growing, be careful not to grow taller in the future."

He Xiaojun scratched his cheek and smiled: "Xiaoyuan is actually not that heavy."

"Stop talking nonsense." He Xiaoyun said, "After half a year, you'll graduate from junior high school. When you go to high school, you have to spend some time thinking about your studies."

He Xiaojun didn't answer but kicked the stone under his feet with his head down.

Seeing his appearance, He Xiaoyun guessed something, "What's wrong? You don't plan to go to high school?"

"...Learning or not, isn't it the same?" He Xiaojun whispered.

After finishing junior high school, he'll come home to farm. After finishing high school, he will also get a job in the field. Xiaojun didn't know the use of reading when he'll still go to the farm after graduating. It's such a huge waste of money.

"How can it be the same? The difference is big. Look at the leaders and scientists in our country. Which one of them didn't finish junior high school?"

And the college entrance examination will be resumed in more than a year! Which He Xiaoyun can't say at all, so she can only persuade: “If you have a high school diploma, you can be chosen(for what though?). It's because you have what others don't. Are you planning on farming your whole life in Qingshuihe? You don’t want to visit the capital at all?"

He Xiaojun opened his mouth, a little shaken. He Xiaoyun knew that her brother was good in nature, that was, he was influenced by the big environment in his studies and didn't pay much attention to it. In addition, Li Yuegui and He Dazhi can't understand him, so they couldn't give him advice in this regard.

Xiaoyun was afraid that when she returned to the army, no one would discipline Xiaojun, and he'll become lazy, so she said, "I will write to you every month. If you need materials and extracurricular books, just tell me."

As she said, she took out three yuan, "I will send you eggs for you to eat at school."

"I, I don't want it." He Xiaojun blushed and pushed out her hand holding the money, "I have my own money!"

He Xiaoyun smiled, "You know how to save some private money? But whether you still have money or not, I will give this to you. It's your second sister's care. If you really can go to college in the future, this sister will follow. With you backing me, your brother-in-law won't dare bully me."

He Xiaojun immediately said, "If my brother-in-law bullies you, I will beat him."

He Xiaoyun happily smiled, squeezed the boy's growing thin arms, and didn't dare to beat the young man's confidence, and said: "Okay. If he dares to bully me, I will write to you immediately."

After staying at her maternal house for a short while, Xiaoyun went back. When she left, Li Yuegui packed seven or eight Qingtuan for her to take.

Li Yuegui advised her daughter: "You and Jianwei should always discuss things. Both of you should be patient and don't quarrel. If you have any grievances, you should write back and tell me, alright?"

He Xiaoyun nodded, "I see, mom. Go in, I'm leaving."

Li Yuegui waved her hand to her grandson, her eyes a little red. When He Xiaoyun returned home, it happened that Wei Jianwei was about to go out. He Xiaoyun asked, "Where are you going?"

Wei Jianhua interrupted: "Second sister-in-law is back. Second brother said he was to pick you up."

He Xiaoyun glanced at Wei Jianwei, took out the Qingtuans, and handed it to Wei Jianhua, "I just made it, and it's still hot."

"Thank you, Ersao(second brother's wife)!" Jianhua ran to the main room while holding the food.

Wei Yuanhang ran with his short legs to chase after his little uncle: "Uncle, don't run! I want a Qingtuan!"

He Xiaoyun smiled and shook her head, heading back to their room, Wei Jianwei followed closely.

"You've finished cutting firewood?" He Xiaoyun asked him.

Wei Jianwei nodded, "Why didn't you wait for me to get you back?"

In the morning, Jianwei was chopping wood in the backyard, and he heard his wife telling him that she was going back to visit her maternal home. When Jianwei came out, she and the child were already far away, obviously not planning on bringing him with them.

"It's okay. We got back safe. Now, get out of the way. I'm going to change my clothes." He Xiaoyun gave a push but the man didn't budge.

Wei Jianwei: "No."

He Xiaoyun looked up at the man, feeling angry and funny, "Why are you so petty? How old are you? Are you sulking because I didn't bring you out?"

"I'm only three years old." Wei Jianwei said. (this man is really...)

He Xiaoyun snorted, "It's your son who's more than three years old, stop being embarrassing."

Wei Jianwei was indeed embarrassed by his behavior but he had no choice but to have thick skin (shameless). Seeing that he didn't want to budge, He Xiaoyun had to hide on the bed, put down the navy blue mosquito net, and quickly changed clothes.

After that, she pushed Wei Jianwei out of the room, "Let's go, let's have a meal. I really want to tell my mom that you're such a childish ghost."

 

---

On their last day at home, He Xiaoyun began to pack their things. Wei Jianhua brought Wei Yuanhang's quilt and pillow.

He Xiaoyun let the child sleep in their room tonight, to save Wei Jianhua's the noise when they leave early tomorrow morning.

"I have troubled you during this time." He Xiaoyun took the quilt and put it on the bed.

"Why is Ersao so polite?" Wei Jianhua said, "In fact, it's interesting to sleep with Xiaoyuan." (it sound so wrong to me, damn, dirty mind.)

Even if Jianhua was made to cry without tears by his little nephew at first, he has long been used to it after more than ten or twenty days. Now that he sees them leaving, he feels a little reluctant.

He Xiaoyun smiled and suddenly asked him: "How are you with that girl? Have you confessed to her yet?"

Wei Jianhua suddenly stuttered, "What...What confession?"

He Xiaoyun simply said: "You should be brave. If you don't tell her, how would she know you like her? Do you need the girl to confess to you first? Why don't you try holding her hands?"

"We are very... very pure! Second sister-in-law, don't think about it." Hearing her words, Wei Jianhua's cheeks reddened, and he ran off after leaving such a sentence as if he was afraid that she would say anything more.

He Xiaoyun looked at his back and shook her head. She really couldn't see through him. A person who's so careless in normal times can also be so awkward when talking about the girl he likes.

Wei Jianwei walked in from outside and said, "What happened to Jianhua?"

"He's okay." He Xiaoyun wanted to save Wei Jianhua some face.

Wei Jianwei walked to the bed, sat opposite her, and squeezed her face, "You're hiding something from me."

He Xiaoyun slapped his hand away, raised her head, and glared at him, "If you want to know, just ask Jianhua."

Wei Jianwei didn't care much about his little brother, but his wife is involved, so he just wanted to ask.

"Not interested."

"Even if you're interested, you may not know it." He Xiaoyun agitate him.

Wei Jianwei slightly raised his brows, "If I guess right, will there be a reward?"

He Xiaoyun got up, put the folded clothes into her bag, and said, "It's none of my business. Why do you ask me for a reward?"

Wei Jianwei didn't seem to hear the other, and so he guessed, "It's related to the girl Jianhua likes, right?"

He Xiaoyun turned around to look at him, and said strangely: "Since you know, why do you keep asking?"

Wei Jianwei smiled, stretched out his hand to pull her, tossed the person down on his lap, then wrapped her waist, burying his face in her neck.

"Get up! Don't delay my work." The door was wide open, and she could see the courtyard at a glance. He Xiaoyun didn't want to cuddle with him and be seen by the family.

He Xiaoyun stood up from Jianwei's lap, continued to pack things, and said, "It's a little strange. Isn't Jianhua's temperament very carefree? Why doesn't he dare to say that he liked the person for so long?"

"He's been a coward since he was a child." Wei Jianwei said.

 

---

When Jianwei was a child, Wei Jianhua liked to follow him all day long. If Jianwei didn't allow him to follow, he would cry like a little girl. Sometimes, when Jianwei fights with people, the boy(Jianhua) would be so scared that his legs become weak, and can't run. Jianhua was once chased by a big goose when he was a child, so he didn't dare to go near them... and all other kinds of embarrassment.

As Jianhua's sister-in-law, He Xiaoyun still wanted to save some face for him. But his brother, Wei Jianwei, couldn't wait to reveal all his embarrassments. 

Jianwei's intentions are just to discredit Wei Jianhua's image in He Xiaoyun's heart. Who told him to be so close to his wife? (Jianwei getting jealous of his brother is so cute )

He Xiaoyun was amazed. In Wei Jianwei's explanation, Wei Jianhua was a pitiful and unlucky kid as a child. It surely wasn't easy for him to grow up to such a big size and still be quite cheerful.

So at dinner, Wei Jianhua found that his second sister-in-law looked at him like a caring older generation from time to time.

The next day, three people got up. After breakfast, they were sent to the commune by their family members.

It was foggy today. Before getting into the commune, He Xiaoyun looked back and saw the Qingshuihe brigade was shrouded in the morning mist, hazy and unclear. Only the peaks of the mountain were exposed, like an island, suspended in the sea of fog. 

He Xiaoyun took one last look and turned around to get into the bus.

 

T/N: This chapter is so damn long that I need to split it in half to relieve some burden. And yeah, I plan to dedicate this whole week to translating DUAARM.