Chapter 90
Xu asked in disbelief
“Don’t use this as an excuse With the new welfare policy, hasn’t the number of discharges decreased significantly? Do we still need to bring people home every week to do ideological work?”
She, an ordinary citizen, thought that the new welfare was really good, and that it made up for some of the soldiers’ spiritual losses
It couldn’t be equaled, but there was something to be gained and something to be lost
You couldn’t make this much money in any other profession
Of course, the risk is not as high either
Lu Yuanzheng sighed: “Daughter-in-law, you have to know one thing Money is very important, but when you live in a place where every day is very depressing, the temptation of money for people is not big
Soldiers with families miss their wives and children
Soldiers who don’t have a family are looking forward to finding a girl to fall in love with, to get married and to have a small family of their own
There’s something I haven’t told you You and I have to be the cause of this”
“What do you mean?” Xu Man twisted her head from his arms to look him in the eye
Lu Yuanzheng played with her hand, “You’re too good! Too good for me too The two of us together are going to be envied Originally, some fighters didn’t want to go home or look for someone, but when they see how happy we are, they’ll be tempted”
Xu Man frowned: “You mean it’s my fault? Then why don’t I go back to my hometown?”
She said, “Then why don’t I go back to my hometown?” She said, “I’m going to break away from Lu Yuanzheng’s arm
Lu Yuanzheng slightly used a little force to hoop her, almost helplessly said, “Ask, what’s wrong with you today?”
She is especially sensitive, and is always misinterpreting his meaning
Always misinterpret his meaning
“What’s wrong? You mean I am also unreasonable?”
Lu Yuanzheng: “”
After a moment of silence, he moved his hand to Xu Man’s stomach, “Daughter-in-law, are you about to have your period?”
Every time Xu Man has her period, she will be irritable and unreasonable, but it doesn’t last long, just a day or two
Xu Man thought for a moment, “Seems like it!” Then she twisted Lu Yuanzheng’s ear, “Don’t change the subject You tell me where Li Mao has to be If you can’t tell me, you’ll sleep in the living room tonight”
Lu Yuanzheng: “”
He can’t help but feel aggrieved for himself, “Why are you punishing me for Li Mao upsetting his fiancée?”
“Who made you the leader of Li Mao It proves that you didn’t do a good job Not only did you fail to control him well, but you still think he had no choice but to aggravate his fiancée Do you want to be like him?”
Lu Yuanzheng: “”
He took a deep breath and rubbed his big hand on Xu Man’s belly, “Do you know how excited everyone gets every time a family member comes to the team? You also know that we have no privacy in this profession It’s all about how many people eat together, live together, go in and out together 24 hours a day
But, even if the relationship is good, people still want some space for themselves, right? No one likes to stretch the sheets until there’s not a single wrinkle, fold the quilt into tofu blocks, and arrange all the items so that they can’t be measured with a ruler
This kind of neat and tidy will seem too cold and less human and warm
Although the family building is only a temporary home, and then temporary is also home, in the family will be relaxed will be slightly relieved
This is the reason why people like family buildings This feeling is even stronger now on the island
Li Mao is an instructor, other people call him he can go less or not go, but not his own family members to come who do not call
The company commanders and instructors who are on the same level with him have to be called, right? The family members of other people to come is also invited him to be a guest
The platoon leader of his own subordinates must be called, right? As an instructor, he has several squads below him
He has sent gifts to the families of those in his squad Li Mao’s family came, others do not have to reciprocate?
People’s gifts have arrived, so don’t you invite them to dinner?”
Xu Man thought about it and said that Li Mao hadn’t done anything wrong, “But there’s no need to invite them every week, right?”
“Our rest time is limited When we say it’s a weekend, it’s actually just a day off Saturday morning meeting, Sunday afternoon cleaning meeting But so many people need to be invited, it can only be week after week”
“In the end, it’s still Li Mao who chose the job and condescended to Jiang Yi Yi Soldiers can’t be left out in the cold, they have to be rained on Then where is the companionship that belongs to Jiang Yi Yi? As she complained, she was a girl who traveled all the way out this far just to be with Li Mao As a result, she came to be just a tool person who provides a house for them to talk about work and exchange feelings Who could not be aggrieved?”
Changing Xu asked, she would also be aggrieved
“That’s why women who can be military wives are absolutely extraordinary Every military wife is especially great They can withstand loneliness, support the elderly and educate their children by themselves, and are constantly on edge, so they may not hear from their men one day When you do hear from him, you don’t have much to say
Across thousands of mountains, every time a letter on a few sentences are how are you? How is your family? How are the kids? How are your parents? There are hardly any sentences about my daily life that I can write in a letter
There are too few women who can still keep on writing
So even Sister-in-law Huang, although she often talks to annoy people, she’s still a good person, and she’s not ambiguous when it comes to right and wrong”
As Lu Yuanzheng said this, he glanced at Xu Man, “To say something you don’t want to hear A girl like Jiang Yi Yi who shouts all day long for company and coaxing to be especially sticky is not suitable for our profession If Jiang Yi Yi doesn’t change, the two of them might not make it to marriage”
“Why should Jiang Yi Yi change? Why didn’t Li Mao change?” Xu Wen fought for Jiang Yi Yi
“It’s not that Li Mao doesn’t want to change or be a considerate and gentle fiancé His profession is here Even if he wanted to change careers for Jiang Yi Yi, it’s not something he can do easily It’s not easy for the army to train a cadre, and if he has to go back to the local area just a few years after he got out of the military academy, that wouldn’t be fair to the army to the other cadres who graduated from the military academy It was equivalent to him wasting such precious educational resources So even if he applies for a career change, it won’t necessarily be approved
Of course, with my understanding of Li Mao he won’t change careers either He is already under enough pressure at work, what he wants is for Jiang Yi Yi’s arrival to give him a breathing space a warm home, instead of being busy in the camp during the day and coming back to have to deal with Jiang Yi Yi’s cries, after a long time he won’t be able to carry it either
At that time the two of them will have no second way to go except to break up”
“Then Jiang Yi Yi will be able to carry on? Yes, it’s not easy for you guys Then Jiang Yi Yi is easy? She graduated from a junior college and is considered highly educated She also gave up the job she was subbed for and risked the anger of her parents who severed ties with her to run to this lonely island She has nothing but Li Mao now, and she’s not allowed to complain about it? Who can she complain to if not Li Mao?”
“That’s why each has their own compulsion It’s hard to be a military wife” Lu Yuanzheng pinched Xu Man’s waist and placed her beside him, asking her, “Xu Man, are you aggrieved then? Do you regret being with me? Li Mao I have all these last resort”
Xu Man was stunned, talking about Jiang Yi Yi’s grievance, she could empathize with her, but she really didn’t seem to have much grievance herself
Because they haven’t been separated since they confessed to each other, Xu Man hasn’t tasted the heartache of a long-distance relationship
Although Lu Yuanzheng would often bring people home for dinner, he would accompany her for a while even if he was busy
To compare it to what Jiang Yi Yi did for Li Mao, she seemed to have given up more
However, Xu Wen realized that she had no regrets, and that she had been aggrieved once or twice in a while
Lu Yuanzheng knew she had figured it out, “That’s the difference between you and her You can be a military wife, Jiang Yi Yi is bad enough”
Without waiting for Xu Man to retort, Lu Yuanzheng lowered his head and kissed her lips
Xu Man resisted at first, she felt that Lu Yuan Zheng’s logic wasn’t right, but she didn’t think of where it was wrong for a moment
Lu Yuanzheng’s large palm clasped the back of her neck, not giving her room to dodge, deepening the kiss
Slowly Xu Wen forgot to resist, pushing and shoving her hands changed to wrapping her arms around his neck
Gradually, the two people’s breathing became disorganized
Lu Yuanzheng picked up Xu Man and went upstairs
The next day, Xu Man really had her period
Lu Yuanzheng also breathed a sigh of relief
She had her period, which means that the sensible Xu Man is back, and will not be able to get angry with him every time he says something
Xu Man has a cold uterus, and every time she has a vacation, her stomach aches to no end
Lu Yuanzheng warmed up milk for her, brought her a warm water bag, and told her to get some rest before going back to her camp duty
Xu Wen slept for a while, got up and sat on the bed, or began to work
Whether it’s a soldier or an officer, whether it’s a sister-in-law or not, each has their own grievances and feelings for each other and can’t be separated how to do it?
Xu Man thinks there are two ways
First, let the officers and soldiers to understand more sister-in-law’s not easy, can not just know, have to see We also need to let the sisters-in-law understand more about the officers and soldiers’ difficulties, and we can’t just know, we need to see
Secondly, let the sisters-in-law get busy, so busy that they are no longer like a princess waiting for the emperor’s favor, and take their eyes off the men and fall back to themselves
Work hard to improve themselves, become beautiful and strong to become independent new age women
Xu Wen grunted lightly, by then she might become a complaining woman!
Isn’t it just a competition of who is busier?
Xu Wen asked Dongsheng to help her run errands to Mrs Li’s place to spread the word that she wanted to invite all the sisters-in-law on the island and the children for dessert
The date was set for the day after she left home, and she needed one more day to prepare the ingredients needed to make the dessert
The sisters-in-law and children combined had dozens of mouths to feed, so it was too much trouble for Xu Wen to rush out
Just a simple double cream was made
He borrowed some small bowls from the cooking class and sent them to the cafeteria in portions
For whatever reason, the sisters-in-law all arrived, including Sister Huang It was just that she unconsciously averted her eyes as soon as she saw Xu Man
Xu asked Dongsheng to distribute the double-peeled milk to the children, and to take up a few corner tables so as not to disturb the adults’ meeting
Xu Man waited for his sisters-in-law to get their own portions of double-skinned milk before he spoke, “Apart from inviting all of you to try my double-skinned milk, there are a couple of other things I want to tell you today
The first thing, which I guess you’ve all heard from the cadres or squad leaders at home, is the matter of the self-reserved land ”
Xu Wen conveyed the specific distribution program on behalf of Shi Lei
Shi Lei just slightly improved on the program she mentioned
Although the sisters-in-law had all heard about it, they still couldn’t help but be happy knowing that they were really going to distribute the land, and they applauded one after another
“Self-retained land want to grow vegetables can also, planting food can also, depending on their own interests If there are any who are willing to help the sisters-in-law who didn’t come to the island to take care of their own land, come and find me later to sign up”
“And the second thing! It’s about a tournament We all know how difficult it is for all these warriors Your own squad leaders or company commanders and instructors should more or less have little blisters on their feet These little blisters can be very itchy and are known as foot odor Most of the reason for this is because they wear such airless rubber shoes for long periods of time in sweltering heat
So the battalion wanted to organize the sisters-in-law to make some lasagna-soled shoes for the soldiers Before New Year’s Day, we will award certificates and prizes to those who do it quickly and well Anyone who wants to participate should find me later to sign up”
Immediately, a sister-in-law raised her hand, “What if I want to participate and don’t know how?”
Xu Wen smiled, “Don’t be afraid, I don’t know how to do it either We can ask Mrs Li and the others to teach us for a few days first, and then start the competition after we’ve learned”
The sisters-in-law were fine with it, for one thing, none of them were willing to be idle For one thing, they didn’t want to be idle For another, all of the men in their families had foot odor, and once they heard that the thousand-layer shoes nourished their feet, they were more than happy to participate
Lu Yuanzheng arranged for a few soldiers to take turns watching the kiosk for Mrs Li, so that she could have time to teach Xu Man and the others
Xu Man knew that making lasagna shoes was troublesome, but he didn’t expect it to be so troublesome
The first step was called knotting the back
This is what Mrs Li learned from her sister-in-law in the compound, who was uneducated and could not write, and had a heavy dialect accent
Sister-in-law Li only knew the two words “knotted back”, but she didn’t know what they meant, how to write them, or what the written language was
But it doesn’t matter, practice makes perfect, we all know what it means after we tie the knot once
First get a bunch of unused rags
The warriors had provided a lot of these rags for them
It’s all clothes they’ve broken down to the point where they can’t wear them, patches on top of patches, or sheets and covers washed until they’re torn
Sister Li said it was better that way
Then she boiled a pot of thick batter, soaked the fabrics directly into the batter and fished them out like washing clothes, and then laid them out in layers, about three or four or five or six layers of fabric to a sheet
The number of layers depends on the thickness of the fabric itself
As there were many fighters on the island, the sisters-in-law would simply put all the tattered sheets and covers provided by the fighters and tie them together into knots
After all, nearly a thousand pairs of shoes had to be made
After that, they had to wait for them to dry
It would take a few days for the ten layers of fabric to dry completely
During this time, Mrs Li led the group in drawing shoe patterns
A shoe pattern is a drawing, divided into two parts: the upper and the sole
The soles were easy to draw, just follow the insoles directly, the difference was just the size
The upper is a bit troublesome, Xu Man feels that the unfolded upper is a bit like the face of a girl with shoulder-length hair, but there is only the hair part and not the face part
There was a notch on each side of the bangs, where the elastic was stretched
Drawing the sample of the upper is a little tricky, because the hair of the girl is slightly more or less tilted, and the notch on both sides of the bangs, how big the notch is, is a matter of principle
Because the shoe pattern has to be folded over and over again, the best “scrap paper” is used
The paper needs to be not too hard and not too easy to break when folded over and over again
This kind of paper is quite expensive, sisters-in-law are not willing to waste, let the camp to help find some unused waste paper
In the end, Lu Yuanzheng found some New Year’s paintings that were distributed during the New Year’s festivals
Although it is not too qualified, it is already the best paper on the island
Once the shoe samples were ready, the next step was to cut the uppers and sock cards
The uppers are the uppers of the shoes which are usually made of black cloth, a color rarely seen on the island, and in order to make their clothes look more compatible, the sisters-in-law went to the center of the island to buy some of the same style of army-green fabric and came back
It was then cut along the pattern into a bangs “girl”
The sock card is a one-inch wide, elastic bandage that is used in the grooves of the shoe pattern to make it easier for the soldiers to lift their shoes when their feet go in
After the pattern was cut, the edges had to be locked first
It just so happens that Xu asked before the wedding more kind of sewing machine as a gift, she has not had the time to drum up, this time come in handy
Every step of the process is a very simple task to say, but very trivial to do
And they do not just do a pair, anyway, is to send warmth, simply the whole battalion soldiers a pair
That’s seven or eight hundred people!
And this almost seventy military wives, more than half of them do not know how to do this kind of cloth shoes, all apprentices, the real main force is still sister-in-law Li them
So for days on end, everyone was cutting out shoe uppers and then locking the edges and straining the sock cards
After locking the edge Qi Liu Hai girl will become a beautiful shoes without bottom, along the bottom of a circle also have to wrap a layer of white edge
Sister-in-law Li could not say why such a layer of edges, about for the sake of aesthetics, right
Xu Wen should be the one who is the most unscrupulous among the apprentice sisters-in-law
While other sisters-in-law made ten pairs of uppers, she only made one or two
It’s not that Xu Man is lazy, but she’s too busy
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Her main job is to follow the wind power generation side, every day in the big sun to follow the construction team behind, running around the island
After installing the windmill, she has to lay the cables and wires and set up the engine room, and she memorizes every step of the way, after all, she has to hand it over to the fighters later on, so she can’t afford to make any mistakes
Busy day and night home is not allowed to rest, but also to study the cake
Dongsheng’s fifth birthday is getting closer and closer
When it comes to Dongsheng, Xu Man is also considered to be an early feeling of a child is not mother
Dongsheng and DouDou’s relationship is getting better and better, the two children are inseparable, and have a great influence on each other
For example, if Dongsheng does not want to take a bath, just say “DouDou likes to take a bath, and she says she doesn’t like smelly kids”
Dongsheng will run to the bath without saying a word
According to Doudou’s mom, it’s the same with Doudou
At home as long as Doudou misbehaves, mentioning Dongsheng’s name is especially good
And little Dongsheng’s emotional intelligence is getting higher and higher, can be coaxed
Every time he picks a few beautiful wildflowers on the island, he gives them to Doudou
Occasionally, Xu Wen also has a share
On another occasion, it was said that when Dongsheng sent flowers to Doudou, several sisters-in-law were there, so they teased Dongsheng: “Dongsheng want to marry Doudou as a daughter-in-law?”
Dongsheng nodded vigorously
He didn’t know what marrying a daughter-in-law meant, but he knew that Lu Yuanzheng called Xu Qin his daughter-in-law
He also knew that mom and dad were always together, and he wanted to be with Doudou
The sisters-in-law pointed to Doudou’s mom and continued to tease him, “Dongsheng, if you want to marry your daughter-in-law you have to call your mom first”