Chapter 021.
Spring light filled the trees.
Clusters of 鈻♀枴 colored flowers pressed against the branches.
A few birds flew up from the branches, dusting down the cherry blossoms.
The sunlight glittered like broken gold between the curtains.
Zhen Zhen lay down on the bed and stretched, get up and put on the clothes and make up the bed, then go to the window and pull open the curtains.
The sunlight fell in in large swaths, imprinting a white light on the bedding at the foot of the bed.
It had been almost two months since Zhen Zhen had arrived in the city.
She has now adapted to life in the city and is no longer as unsettled as she was when she first arrived.
During the weekdays, she focused on her studies, and if she had time to finish her studies, she would help Wu Dafeng take care of her vegetable patch, or help her with her sewing, as well as play with Dabai, and on Sundays, she would have a day of freedom.
Shi Huai Ming didn’t interfere much with her other matters, except in her studies, he was very strict and rigorous with her.
In the process of learning, there were inevitably omissions and poor mastery, and naturally, she was often criticized.
Sometimes when she couldn’t write a word, she would be punished for copying it a few more times.
Of course, being criticized would always make her unhappy.
The screws in her head had been tightened for a week.
Today was Sunday, and it was a rare day when she could completely relax again.
After washing up, Zhen Zhen went to the kitchen to make breakfast, humming a song, full of the pleasure of relaxation.
When she was done cooking, Mr. Huai Ming came back from his morning training.
When they sat down to eat, Mr. Huai Ming asked Zhen Zhen, “Do you have any plans for today?”
Zhen Zhen naturally didn’t have any plans and directly said, “Let’s go talk to sister-in-law Da Feng, she’s bored alone.”
Servant Huai Ming thought that Zhen Zhen was with him every day, and he urged her to study every day, so she probably wanted to find someone else to talk to and relax on Sundays. So he didn’t say anything, only nodded and said, “Uh-huh.”
Zhen Zhen did need to find someone else to relax.
After dinner, she greeted Shui Huaoming and went out, ready to find Wu Dafeng.
However, after taking a few steps, she suddenly heard Li Shuang calling her again.
Zhen Zhen usually does not bother Li Shuang, because Li Shuang is very busy, she has her own job, a husband who loves her and has something to say, has her own good friends and hobbies, life is very rich.
Unlike Wu Dafeng, she needs to find someone to talk to to relieve the boredom in her life, so as to pass the time.
Hearing the sound, Zhen Zhen turned around, looked at Li Shuang and asked, “Sister-in-law, what’s wrong?”
Li Shuang waved at her, beckoned her to herself and whispered to her, “Have you forgotten? Last time we went out to dinner, didn’t I say that I would help you get better.”
Those were the words spoken when she was not completely drunk, but Jen still remembered them.
But it was something that was said when the atmosphere was hot, and she didn’t take it to heart, and indeed it was forgotten in the back of her mind.
Jen laughed a little, “You still remember that, huh?”
Li Shuang looked at her, “Of course I remember what I said, it’s not like I’ve been drinking. Do you still want to become a person that Servant Huai Ming can’t afford to climb up to, if you do, take the money and tickets and go out with me.”
Zhen Zhen understood for a moment, “Going shopping?”
Li Shuang nodded, “Yes, I’ve already made an appointment with Wen to help you get a makeover first.”
When she first came here she took Zhen Zhen shopping and bought all the necessities, the last time she went out shopping, Zhen Zhen didn’t spend any money at all following her and Shizuku around, she literally couldn’t spare a penny.
Zhen Zhen hesitated, “I’ll go ask third brother?”
Li Shuang nodded, “Go ahead, ask and come directly over to me.”
Zhen Zhen also nodded at her, which then did not go further to Wu Dafeng’s house, but turned around and went back home.
When she returned home and entered the house, she saw Shui Huaiming sitting in his room reading a book.
Although he had a high level of education and had tried to find various books and magazines when he was in the countryside, the books he had access to in the countryside were limited, so he had been looking for books to read since he returned from the army.
He was a little sorry for disturbing his reading.
Zhen Zhen looked at him and said, “I plan to go out for a stroll with sister-in-law Li Shuang.”
Servant Huai Ming was still at ease with Li Shuang, and he directly took out money and tickets from the drawer and handed them to Zhen Zhen.
He kept all the money and tickets in the house in this drawer, so if anyone used them, they could just take them themselves.
Zhen Zhen took the money and ticket and asked again, “Can I …… use it as I please?”
Thinking of her last week and Li Shuang went out, shopping outside for half a day but did not buy anything, the service Huai Ming did not say anything else, directly to Zhen Zhen nodded: “Can.”
Zhen Zhen’s heart was a little more solid.
After she finished talking to Shui Huaiming, she went next door and called Li Shuang, and the two of them went out together.
When Wu Dafeng saw Zhen Zhen go out with Li Shuang again, she asked at the door, “Zhen Zhen, what are you doing again?”
When Zhen Zhen heard the voice, she turned around and said to Wu Dafeng, “Sister-in-law, I’m going out for a stroll, and I’ll come back to play with you.”
As she watched Zhen Zhen follow Li Shuang away, Wu Dafeng muttered to herself, “Going out again, sooner or later Li Shuang is going to bring her down, and this Shihuaiming doesn’t care either. If this goes on, what kind of life is this?”
Said shaking her head, sighing with great concern.
***
Zhen Zhen and Li Shuang went out, and went to Ah Wen’s house to call up Ah Wen.
After drinking and speaking from the heart together, they were friends, and now they walked together as friends.
Li Shuang and Ah Wen do not plan to buy anything today, mainly to help Zhen Zhen buy.
The two of them took Zhen Zhen to the department store and showed her all kinds of nice things between the counters.
Shizuku took a hair clip and compared it to Zhen Zhen’s head, “This one is a bit better looking, it’s not too flashy and it complements you.”
Li Shuang looked at the side and nodded, “Well, this one does look better on you, just don’t put it behind your ear.”
Good looking is good looking, but Zhen Zhen always felt it was unnecessary.
The hair card wasn’t necessary, the little leather shoes that Li Shuang and Wen had helped her pick out, that wasn’t necessary either.
Seeing what she was thinking, Li Shuang leaned over to her and said, “The money Sai Huai Ming earns is used to support the family, why don’t you spend it? You and he don’t even have a child, so if you don’t spend it on yourself, who will you spend it on?”
Zhen Zhen thought about it and felt that Li Shuang was right.
So she tried to overcome her reluctance to spend money and bought a hairpin and shoes.
Li Shuang and Ah Wen later took her to buy some nice headbands, bought new cloth, and helped her make two new clothes.
On the way out of the tailor’s store, Wen said to Zhen Zhen, “When Li Shuang dresses you up like this, you’ll be a great beauty. Those clothes you wore from the countryside are indeed a bit rustic, and you feel grimy when you wear them.”
Li Shuang also said beside: “For you to make new clothes you take out to wear, don’t be reluctant to wear, has been put at home to put away. Now I’ve made you two more sets of clothes, so you can wear them differently.”
Zhen Zhen was embarrassed to say, “It’s a bit hard to wear.”
She only took them out to wear when she needed to go out, and washed and put them away afterward.
As for the blue floral dress she had made earlier, she hadn’t worn it until now.
Arwen smiled, “It gets old even if you don’t wear it.”
***
After shopping, Li Shuang Arwen and Zhen Zhen didn’t eat out.
The three came out in pairs and went home together in pairs.
Back home, before entering the house, Li Shuang and Zhen Zhen said, “After eating to find me, show you a good thing.”
Zhen Zhen knew that the good thing must be something new.
She was happy to see something new, and smiled as she answered, “Okay.”
After saying this, the two parted ways, each going back to their own homes.
Wu Dafeng saw Zhen Zhen and Li Shuang return from outside in the window.
Sitting down to eat at the table, she said to Old Zhou, “What do you think that Li Shuang is like? Whenever there is a little time to go out to play, meals also do not do husband and child also do not care, he chief married to her such a wife, also really bad luck. She is so unlike herself, even if it is, and now bring Zhen Zhen together, I see ah, Zhen Zhen sooner or later called her bad.”
Old Zhou did not like to chew these parents, only said: “Other people’s family matters you do not care.”
Wu Dafeng said: “I do not care, I just say a few words.”
Old Zhou: “Also less talk.”
Wu Dafeng looked at Lao Zhou chewing rice in silence.
She did not swallow all the gas, she looked at Lao Zhou and said: “Then I am dead? I can’t even breathe.”
Old Zhou looked at Wu Dafeng impatiently and ignored her.
***
When Zhen Zhen arrived home there was already food in the house.
She took her purchases to the bedroom and put them away, and came out to wash her hands at the table to eat.
She herself has not spent so much money, the heart is a little apprehensive and weak, so soft breath and slow tone of voice and the service Huai Ming carefully said, I went out today to buy what.
It’s all lesbian stuff, and Squire Huai Ming doesn’t know much about it, so naturally he didn’t say anything.
He simply said to Zhen Zhen, “As long as you like it.”
Hearing this, Zhen Zhen couldn’t help but smile and reached out her chopsticks to give Shi Huai Ming a piece of chicken.
Servant Huai Ming paused to look at the chicken in the bowl, then raised his eyes to look at Zhen Zhen.
When he met Zhen Zhen’s eyes that sparkled with brilliant light, his heart seemed to become clear and bright along with her.
However, he didn’t show anything and said, “Let’s eat.”
After saying this, he lowered his head and ate the meat that Zhen Zhen gave him.
Zhen Zhen didn’t say anything else and finished her meal with a bright and happy mood.
After eating she rested a little in the house, then went next door to knock on the door again and went to find Li Shuang.
The one who came to open the door for her was He Shuo.
When He Shuo saw her he greeted her with a smile, “Little Cotton, come in.”
Zhen Zhen explained to He Shuo, “Before dinner, I made a deal with sister-in-law Li Shuang to come and play with her after dinner.”
He Shuo knew, “She’s waiting for you.”
As she followed He Shuo into her house, Zhen Zhen couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.
This was the first time she had entered He Shuo and Li Shuang’s house, before that, she had only talked at the door.
The layout of Li Shuang’s house was the same as hers.
The configuration of the furniture was also similar, but the layout and feel was completely different.
Li Shuang’s home is decorated in a very cozy and regular way, with white lace cushions on the wooden sofa and a clean and beautiful tablecloth.
There are many photos hanging on the wall of her house, all of which are of the three members of her family.
Compared to Li Shuang’s house, Jen felt that her house had only one thing to compare to – cleanliness.
If she hadn’t come over to take a look, she wouldn’t have known that there were people who lived like this.
Jen couldn’t help but look around.
A few moments later Li Shuang came out of the restroom and came over to greet her, “Coming.”
Zhen Zhen smiles a little, turns her head to look at Li Shuang and says, “Sister-in-law, your home is beautifully decorated.”
Li Shuang didn’t think so and said with a smile, “It’s nothing special.”
They hadn’t lived here for a long time, so they hadn’t made any special arrangements, but simply made some dustproof covers for the furniture, and usually brought some of the family’s things this way.
Li Shuang brought Zhen Zhen to the sofa to sit down.
He Shuo went to the kitchen to work, a moment out of the kitchen, his hands carried two exceptionally beautiful small cups, each cup is steaming hot, there is also a short silver spoon.
He Shuo bent down and put the cups on the coffee table, first greeting Zhen Zhen and telling her to have fun here, then turning his head to Li Shuang, he said, “I won’t bother you guys at home, I’ll go next door to find Huai Ming.”
“Go.” Li Shuang answered, “Bring He Ziran there as well.”
He Shuo called He Ziran out of his room, took him with him and left.
He went next door and knocked on the door of Shui Huai Ming’s house, and said to Shui Huai Ming, “Your wife and my wife are dating next to each other, I’ve come to make up a pair with you, you make some tea, and we’ll play a game of chess.”
“Come in.” Servant Huai Ming brought He Shuo and He Ziran into the house.
He went to get tea leaves and brewed two cups of tea, and by the way, he got some snacks for He Ziran, and then took out the chess board and pieces for Xiang Xiang Chess, set them down under the window, and sat down with He Shuo to play chess and drink tea.
He Ziran sat next to him and watched the game blindly, and when he got sleepy, he fell asleep on He Shuo’s lap.
He Shuo and Serving Huai Ming played chess seriously, after thinking about a move, He Shuo and gossip, looking at Serving Huai Ming asked: “You and your wife, intend to always sleep in separate rooms ah?”
Serving Huai Ming lowered his head to think about which move to make, and said, “I don’t intend to do so.”
After thinking about it, he picked up the rook on the chessboard and pulled it straight to He Shuo’s side.
He Shuo said while looking at the chessboard, “Being a wife for you is really not a simple thing, you and Little Cotton have been together for some days now, you still don’t have any feelings for her?”
Hearing He Shuo ask this question, Servant Huai Ming’s mind subconsciously flashed through Zhen Zhen’s eyes that were often tinted with smiles, her face that occasionally turned red, and the soft sweetness that belonged to a girl, and his mind shallowly moved.
But after a moment of silence, he said in a faint voice, “I just want to hurry to teach her to read and write.”
He Shuo made a move and looked at him with a smile.
He Shuo: “I don’t think Little Cotton should give you a wife, it’s most appropriate to give you a student and a sister.”
Servant Huai Ming looked at the chess and answered, “I originally treated her as a student and a sister too.”
He Shuo still laughed.
“I’d like to see how long you can treat her as a student as a sister.”
***
Next door.
After He Shuo left with He Zi Ran, all the space in the house was left for Li Shuang and Zhen Zhen.
There was no need for polite pleasantries between the two, Li Shuang stood up from the sofa, walked to the high table by the sofa, and directly spoke to Zhen Zhen, “Come here and take a look, this thing is something that I purposely asked He Shuo to go to the house and bring over.”
“What exactly is it?” Zhen Zhen harboring curiosity in her heart, she got up and followed beside Li Shuang.
Standing in front of the high table, she only saw that there was nothing else on the high table, just two wooden boxes of different sizes.
She was slightly puzzled, thinking that the wooden boxes could be something rare.
Li Shuang sold the box without saying anything and reached out to open the larger one first.
Jen looked over and saw only a round object in the large box and a small stick.
Before she could ask what it was, she saw Li Shuang open the small box next to it.
Inside the small boxes were all yellow paper packets one by one.
Li Shuang took the yellow paper packets in her hand and picked one.
Then she put her fingers into the yellow paper packet, and pinched out a black disk from inside, there was a small hole in the center of the disk, and a small circle around the hole was red, and there was a dense circle of lines on the disk.
Li Shuang did not say anything, smiled and put the disk on the round thing in the big box.
The disk suddenly turned slowly, Zhen Zhen suddenly froze, then watched as Li Shuang gently placed the small stick next to him onto the disk, and immediately after that, the wooden box suddenly made a nice sound – it was gentle and moving music!
Almost the instant the music started, Zhen Zhen’s eyes went round.
She stared at the wooden box in disbelief, only thinking that this was too amazing – it was really rare!
And at that moment another sweet and melodious song came out of the wooden box–
The moon traveled through the white lotus-like clouds ……
The evening wind blew in a burst of happy song ……
We sat beside the tall pile of grain ……
Listening to my mom tell me about the past ……鈶�
……
Listening to the song, Zhen Zhen froze for a while before returning to her senses, brushing her head and turning to look at Li Shuang.
Li Shuang smiled and told her, “This is a record player, this disk is a vinyl record, fun, right?”
Zhen Zhen nodded heavily, “It’s the first time I’ve seen a box that can sing, it’s really fun.”
They didn’t see these rare things in the countryside, and it was rare to see a movie once or twice a year.
The jukebox sang, with a melodious tune.
Li Shuang took Zhen Zhen to sit back on the sofa, picked up the cup on the coffee table, and told Zhen Zhen: “This is coffee, try it.”
Coffee?
This was also the first time Zhen Zhen had heard of this word.
She followed Li Shuang’s example and reached out to pick up the cup, then clumsily pinched the small spoon and slowly stirred it in the cup.
Li Shuang took a sip first and then told Zhen Zhen, “Nothing special, just like drinking tea.”
Zhen Zhen nodded and brought the cup to her mouth, trying to drink a little bit.
She felt nothing else in her mouth but bitterness, so her face wrinkled together.
Seeing her like this, Li Shuang couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Zhen Zhen was a little embarrassed, and quickly stretched her expression again, looked at Li Shuang and said, “It’s a little uncomfortable.”
Li Shuang smiled and said, “All first time drinkers are a bit uncomfortable.”
Saying this, she stood up and went to the kitchen to get a jar out.
She opened the jar and put it in front of Zhen Zhen and told her, “This is sugar, you add more.”
Zhen Zhen listened to her and added a little more sugar to her cup, pinching up a small spoon and slowly stirring it in.
This time, when she picked it up and drank it again, it was indeed slightly better than just now.
So she nodded her head, “It’s not that bitter.”
Li Shuang said, “Drink slowly, to taste.”
Zhen Zhen nodded her head and followed Li Shuang’s example of drinking slowly.
After a few more sips, her tongue seemed to adapt down a bit, and the flavor became slightly more acceptable.
Zhen Zhen sipped her coffee and listened to the song, her eyes sweeping over to the window.
The breeze rolled up the curtains, and the sunlight outside the house was bright and warm, spilling in a large portion through the window.
Such a scene gave her an indescribable feeling, and she couldn’t find words in her thesaurus to describe it.
At this time, Li Shuang smiled and opened his mouth to say, “If you can read and write, the sun’s warm afternoon, we so a person brewed a cup of coffee or brewed a pot of hot tea, put the music on, a person in the hands of a favorite book, while reading and communicating, is not quite romantic and beautiful?”
Is this called romantic?
Zhen Zhen imagined along with her words for a while, then slowly nodded her head, “It is quite beautiful.”
Li Shuang looked at her and continued, “Not only is it beautiful to look at and imagine, the world in the book is also particularly beautiful. In the book there is love, there is affection, there is friendship, there is revolution, there are dreams …… there are a lot of things you have not seen, have not thought about, there are many, many beautiful and poignant stories, and each story will give you a different sense of life, give you a different experience, can make you understand more people, more things. ”
Zhen Zhen looked at Li Shuang, listening attentively, with yearning and longing born in her eyes.
When Li Shuang finished speaking in a slow tone, she also spoke slowly, “I must learn to recognize words well, and go to see these beautiful stories.”
Li Shuang smiled, “You will get better and better.”
Jen smiled and nodded, “I’ll try to get better and better.”
***
Jen listened to songs all afternoon at Lee Shuang’s.
When she returned home in the evening to cook dinner, the vocals of the song still echoed in her head –
The moon traveled through the white lotus-like clouds ……
The evening breeze blew a happy song ……
We sat beside a tall pile of grain ……
Listening to my mom tell me about the past……鈶�
……
Jen loved every song she listened to in the afternoon.
But her favorite was the first one the jukebox sang.
Li Shuang told her that the song was called – Listen to Your Mother Tell Stories of That Past.
Later, in her old age, every time Zhen Zhen heard this song, she would remember this time in her youth.
In her eyes, tears were saved.
The author has something to say:
鈶犫憽 “Listen to Mother Tell Stories of That Past”: a song sung by the Children’s and Youth Choir of the Central People’s Broadcasting Station, with lyrics by Guan Hua, arranged and composed by Qu Xixian, the song was released in 1957.