Chapter 104

Ye Qingshui stroked the longevity lock. Its outer casing was cool, but it warmed her heart. She gazed at her sons’ tranquil sleeping faces, feeling an impulse to cry.

A newborn’s skin is delicate and fragile. Their hands were tiny; Ye Qingshui measured them with her thumb for a while. Their feet were not even as big as three of her fingers.

Xie Tingyu had brought a camera. While his wife was foolishly fiddling with and gazing at their son’s feet, he took a “click” and captured the moment.

“Grandma, the children haven’t been named yet! Please help us pick a name for them.”

Xie Tingyu was beaming, his entire being radiating the pride of a new father.

Don’t look down on the names Grandma Xie chose for her two sons—one is called Xie Jun and the other Xie Min—as simple. But in those years, no matter how much education one had, the names chosen had to be localized, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember.

Grandma Xie chided with a feigned annoyance, “I knew I couldn’t just rely on you two. Only after they were born did you remember to name them. Don’t worry, your grandpa has already prepared several names.”

“We need to think about nicknames too. We can’t keep calling them Eldest and Second… that sounds terrible.”

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Fkdnl vbl qsaxyz dyxlp olal tkhld cu vbl lzelap, vbl nswrzl dyvwayzzu bye vs nbsspl vbl dknjdyxlp vblxplzhlp.

Dkl Mkdtuw alnyzzle vbl ralhkswp dktbv. Tl bye dlhla bye pwnb y rasqswde xlxsau sq ydu dktbv kd bkp zkql. Zlv, zypv dktbv oyp ps zsdt, yp kq kv bye ds lde, yde lhlau xkdwvl yde plnsde oyp ytsdkgkdt.

Wkdyzzu, vbl eyod casjl, yde vbl naklp sq vbl vos zkvvzl csup, ynnsxrydkle cu vbl qkapv ayu sq xsadkdt pwdzktbv, elpnldele kdvs vbl osaze.

Mbkp pnldl oyp sdl Dkl Mkdtuw oswze dlhla qsatlv.

Tl pyke okvbswv blpkvyvksd, “Tso ycswv nyzzkdt vbl szela casvbla Ubldnbld yde vbl uswdtla sdl Qwydttwydt?”

Ubldnbld yde Qwydttwydt.

Zl Ckdtpbwk psqvzu nbydvle vbl dyxlp. Mbl dknjdyxlp vbyv pbl wvvlale olal kdnalekczu psqv yde nwvl, xlzvkdt bla blyav.

Zl Ckdtpbwk jkpple vbl cycklp sdl cu sdl.

“Daddy chose such lovely names for you. Do you like them, babies?”

She held their hands and silently said in her heart, “Chenchen, Guangguang, thank you.”

Thank you for being willing to come back and be our children in this lifetime.

Ye Qingshui would definitely do her utmost in this life to protect and cherish these two babies, giving them the warmest haven.

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Ye Qingshui stayed in the hospital for observation for seven days and was discharged a week later.

The young couple each held a child, their faces filled with sweet satisfaction, as if they were holding treasures that could not be exchanged for a fortune.

Ye Qingshui wrapped the babies in soft cotton cloth and carefully pulled down the wind cover, making sure not a single cold breeze touched them.

After returning home, Xie Tingyu placed the children onto the bed one by one.

Newborn babies love to sleep, so Xie Tingyu didn’t disturb them. He just watched the children, unable to tire of the sight. So this is what his and his wife’s features looked like when they were mixed together.

The elder son looked more like his wife and was much bigger than his brother, appearing more lively and active.

The younger son looked like him, loved to sleep, and his eyes were perpetually squinted into a slit.

Back at home, Ye Qingshui was pleasantly surprised to smell a familiar scent coming from the kitchen.

Xie Tingyu leaned against the door, smiling easily, “Shuier, look who’s here?”

Ye Qingshui turned her head, and her eyes nearly reddened.

Inside the kitchen, Mother Ye, who was brewing sour plum soup for her daughter, turned around and revealed a mouthful of pearly white teeth. “Why are you standing there? Come and drink a bowl of sour plum soup. I remember you love it the most.”

She carefully scrutinized her daughter for a few moments.

Mother Ye didn’t rush to see her grandsons first. She looked at her daughter with a heartache, wanting to see every strand of Ye Qingshui’s hair clearly to confirm that her daughter was indeed doing well before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

Mother Ye kept muttering, “You’ve gotten thin… so thin…”

In fact, Ye Qingshui wasn’t much different from when she left home. When she left, she was four months pregnant, and her stomach hadn’t swelled up yet. Now, Ye Qingshui had given birth, and her stomach was flat again.

Mother Ye said, “Although there are many delicious things in the capital, and you’re well-fed and warmly dressed, unlike in the countryside… I know what you like to eat the most. Your grandma wanted to come too, but she’s old and can’t handle the journey like young people, so I didn’t let her come.”

Mother Ye prepared a confinement meal for her daughter. Although she was always frugal and thrifty, the porridge, at the very least, had two eggs mixed into it.

The porridge, cooked with chicken broth and mixed with soft, shredded old hen meat, was considered a “luxurious” confinement meal in the countryside.

“These eggs are from home. Your mother-in-law specifically picked out the biggest ones for you. The eggs from home don’t have a fishy smell; you can’t buy such good eggs in the city.”

Good things were always saved for one’s own family. The supply and marketing cooperative bought eggs by the count, and among those of similar quality, the larger ones were naturally kept for family consumption. The family’s hens were specially fed with corn, and their eggs tasted better than those sold elsewhere.

Ye Qingshui drank the egg and meat porridge made by Mother Ye, her eyes moist. She drank two bowls consecutively before reluctantly stopping.

She felt extremely warm inside.

She looked at Xie Tingyu, who smiled faintly at his wife.

“Mother, since you’ve come to the capital, please stay here.”

His mother-in-law had been a widow for many years, with only Ye Qingshui as her daughter. It was natural for the couple to take on the responsibility of supporting her. With the capital and Ye Family Village being thousands of kilometers apart, Xie Tingyu decided to bring his mother-in-law to the capital.

“Oh my, I’m exhausted from the train ride,” Mother Ye hammered her lower back.

“Mom, go and get some sleep. I’m dead tired.”

In fact, Xie Tingyu had booked a sleeper ticket for Mother Ye. However, once Mother Ye boarded the train, she met someone who wanted to exchange a hard seat ticket with her; by swapping, she could earn ten yuan outright.

It was only a few days’ journey, so Mother Ye readily made the exchange.

Xie Tingyu said to his wife, “You can go back to school after your confinement period is over. Academics shouldn’t be a problem, as I’ve been helping you catch up every day. It’s just that, Shuier, you’ll be a junior schoolmate to the 7th or 8th batches of students.”

He paused and then added, “The lease for our house expires at the end of this year. I won’t renew the lease for the tenants. How about we keep it for ourselves once they move out?”

Ye Qingshui had no reason to disagree.

In Ye Qingshui’s eyes, Mother Ye was meant to be with her for life. She couldn’t leave Mother Ye in the countryside. Since that was the case, continuing to live at the Xie family’s house was also inappropriate; there was no reason for a mother-in-law to stay at her in-laws’ house forever.

Ye Qingshui also didn’t want Mother Ye to suffer any slight. What if Xu Maofang stirred up trouble and returned?

Speaking of Xu Maofang, it was strange that there had been no news of her after staying at her parental home for so long, and she hadn’t caused any more ruckus.

But Ye Qingshui was busy giving birth, caring for the children, and undergoing confinement, so she didn’t have the mind to deal with Xu Maofang’s messy situation.

Xie Tingyu was taking care of these matters.

This was the time when “the wife, children, and the warmth of the kang bed” were most important. The babies had just been born, soft and extremely fragile. Looking at these lively and adorable children, Xie Tingyu’s heart melted. His sense of responsibility also grew stronger.

How could he allow anyone to hurt his wife and children?

Xie Tingyu was keeping a very close watch on Xu Maofang’s side of things.

After giving birth, Ye Qingshui’s appetite returned to normal, and she wanted to eat everything.

Mother Ye brought three old hens from the countryside, which Ye Qingshui quickly finished.

As a countrywoman who moved to the city in the late seventies, Mother Ye was trying hard to adapt to city life every day. She found that while the city was convenient in every other aspect, buying vegetables was inconvenient.

It was costly and troublesome, and she often couldn’t buy any. Vegetables were hard to purchase in the city; a large cart of cheap cabbages would be snatched up as soon as it was brought out. Mother Ye was new to the city and unfamiliar with the routine, returning empty-handed many times.

In Mother Ye’s eyes, what was the worth of vegetables? Were these things that were usually worthless in her eyes going to stump her today?

Mother Ye specifically inquired and learned that the military compound also encouraged the military wives to cultivate private plots and be self-sufficient. So, she planned to cultivate a vegetable patch in the yard.

Mother Ye took out the ten yuan she had earned from swapping train tickets and asked her son-in-law to take her to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy farm tools.

“Buy farm tools? Mother, you want to grow vegetables?” Xie Tingyu was a little surprised to hear this.

He had been acquainted with Mother Ye for two years and understood her to some extent.

She was a typical rural woman, kind and hardworking, and very frugal.

Now that his mother-in-law was in the city, she had nothing to do except care for her daughter, so it was good for her to find something to keep herself busy.

Thinking this, Xie Tingyu supported his mother-in-law in cultivating a vegetable patch.

After buying the tools and seeds, Mother Ye, who was excellent at growing vegetables and had cultivated them for decades on her fertile private plot at home, got to work. Taking advantage of the still-warm weather, she spent a few days reclaiming a plot of land and sowing the seeds. A closer look showed a rich variety of vegetables: spinach, radishes, coriander, scallions, broad beans…

Ye Qingshui didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Mom, we’re going to move out later.”

Mother Ye didn’t care. “It’s fine, it’s not much effort anyway. When the vegetables grow, Little Xie’s grandma can come and pick them every day too. They’re busy with work, and I find it annoying to line up at the vegetable station every day.”

“Spinach sprouts grow very fast; eating the tender sprouts nourishes the blood.”

Ye Qingshui was both amused and speechless. So, her mother not only wanted to grow vegetables herself but also wanted to rope Grandma Xie into it.

She had been worried that Mother Ye wouldn’t adapt to city life and would be timid, but now her heart settled.

Mother Ye guarded her small plot of land every day and personally taught Grandma Xie how to grow vegetables. The old and the young got along quite harmoniously.

By the time the spinach had grown four or five thick leaves and the vegetable patch was a lush green, Ye Qingshui’s confinement period was over.

Mother Ye managed the vegetable patch so well that it provided enough vegetables for the Xie family every day. She also managed to nourish her daughter until she was glowing and radiant.

Mother Ye even sold the surplus vegetables from the patch at the vegetable station for money every day.

In just one month, she managed to save five yuan.

However, Mother Ye’s behavior of cultivating a vegetable patch and carrying a basket of vegetables to the vegetable station for money every day was truly unsophisticated, inevitably earning her some disdain from the neighbors in the compound.

When Grandma Zhou heard about this, she laughed herself silly. But after the lesson from last time, she didn’t dare to speak about it outside. Behind closed doors, she told her family:

“Which backwoods place did the Xie family marry their daughter-in-law from?”

After struggling for so many years, they were actually regressing. The daughter-in-law sells preserved sausages, and the mother-in-law sells fresh vegetables. How could Old Man and Old Lady Xie still save face? Didn’t they have any thoughts about this after all this time?

Although Grandma Zhou’s words didn’t spread, other families also whispered about it behind closed doors.

When Mother Ye heard the gossip, she returned home anxiously and asked her son-in-law, “Will I be embarrassing you two by doing this?”

“Maybe I should level the vegetable patch.”

In Mother Ye’s view, the vegetables in the patch were too abundant to eat and would rot if left in the ground. The vegetable station also bought vegetables from farmers in the countryside. Taking them to the station for money felt like she was making use of waste, and others could also eat the vegetables she grew. It was a win-win.

However, if this brought shame to her son-in-law, Mother Ye would definitely refuse to continue.

She felt both angry and ashamed. She hadn’t realized that this was a disgraceful thing to do, or that others would mock her for it.

Xie Tingyu smiled and said, “It’s not embarrassing.”

“Thanks to Mother, we have so many vegetables to eat.”

If farming were embarrassing, why would Xie Tingyu have gone to the countryside as an educated youth? In the past two years, he had even personally tended to the family’s private plot.

This vegetable patch was also Grandma Xie’s favorite. She would tend to it every day after work, getting some exercise.

Watching the radishes buried underground grow bigger and bigger, Grandma Xie, who had lived in the city all her life, cherished them deeply. The lush green vegetables growing bit by bit made her feel particularly comfortable. Her heart wasn’t troubled, and her temper wasn’t easily agitated anymore; it was very good for self-cultivation.

Grandma Xie spat. She realized her recently-improved quick temper was flaring up again.

“Why bother with what other families are doing? Zun’er, you just keep planting. We’re not eating their rice; why are they so nosy?”

Ye Qingshui also knew that people’s mouths couldn’t be controlled.

When a person starts living a good life and achieves a little success, the ensuing jealousy and envy from all directions can overwhelm you. But when you leave these people far behind, forcing them to always look up to you in the future, the gossip naturally fades away.

Why was Mother Ye being talked about?

It was because she was bold and unsophisticated enough to swallow her pride and carry a basket of vegetables to exchange for money every day. The families living here were all respectable, and even if they grew vegetables themselves, they wouldn’t have the face to sell them.

Ye Qingshui immediately decided, “Mom, I’m taking you to have some clothes tailored.”

“The weather will be getting cold soon. I haven’t had a new outfit made for you yet!”

Mother Ye was about to say that she had brought clothes from the countryside!

But her daughter held her hand and led her to the tailor shop. Mother Ye touched the soft, beautiful, and pleasant materials. Once worn, she would look neat and spirited, just like a city person.

Mother Ye was dizzy from the selection.

Ye Qingshui decided on three outfits and dressed her mother from head to toe.

Mother Ye was very attractive when she was young; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been selected to sing in the community opera troupe. When she was young, she had sweet dimples and a gentle, enchanting, and moving singing voice that was loved by men and women, young and old, in the surrounding villages.

Father Ye had also fallen for Mother Ye at first sight.

Mother Ye had never even dared to dream of such fine fabrics.

She was about to refuse, worried about wasting money.

But Ye Qingshui held her mother’s hand firmly, “This is the money I earned before; it wasn’t given by Brother Yu. Don’t worry about spending it, Mother. This is your daughter Shuier’s filial piety to you.”

Mother Ye’s eyes welled up with tears upon hearing this. She was incredibly touched; this was her daughter’s filial gift to her.

“Yes—yes, alright, I’ll wear them, I’ll wear them. Let me try them on.”

She excitedly tried on the clothes and touched the fabric she was wearing in surprise, full of admiration. “It’s so soft, and it can stretch and snap back!”

With this change of clothes, Mother Ye looked much younger. It was just that her skin was still somewhat rough. After years of sun and rain, the fact that Mother Ye still looked this good was entirely due to her good base complexion.

Ye Qingshui also bought a few containers of Snowflake Cream and Pechoin and gave them to Mother Ye.

A few days later, Ye Qingshui collected her textbooks from the school, neatly styled her hair, dressed smartly, and prepared to go to Beijing University with her schoolbag.

Ye Qingshui was still young; she was only nineteen after giving birth. She ate and slept well, and her face was smooth and bright. Looking in the mirror, she was in the prime of her youth. People would believe she was an unmarried young woman.

Before leaving, she hugged her two babies and kissed them one by one.

The older and younger babies drooled all over, clutching their little fists and kicking their little legs.

A month had passed, and the children’s eyes were as clear as water, exceptionally bright. When held in her arms, they looked at her with such soft eyes that Ye Qingshui’s heart softened completely, and she couldn’t bear to let go.

“Mommy is going to school. Chenchen and Guangguang need to be good. Mommy will come back to hug you tonight.”

She paused and told her mother, “I’ve pumped the breast milk and put it into bottles separately. Mom, remember to feed them.”

Mother Ye waved her hand, “Don’t you worry at all. I remember.”

Ye Qingshui’s younger uncle and Ye Qingshui herself were both raised by Mother Ye, so she had much more experience raising children than her daughter. Taking care of two little nursing babies was more than enough for her. Before Ye Qingshui left, she straightened her collar and instructed her daughter:

“You worked so hard to get into university. You must work hard and make something of yourself!”

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