These two items were small in size, so being stuffed into a pile of clothes would not easily make Comrade Xiao Jin, who was a scout, suspicious.
She has always adhered to the principle of "people respect me one foot, and I respect others one foot".
However, there was an extra bottle of medicated oil and a sprig of wild ginseng in the package. Could Comrade Xiao Jin, who was a scout, not be suspicious?
"Daughter-in-law, did you have these things when you were cleaning up in the morning?" He tilted his head and looked at her.
Xu Yin resisted touching her nose and pretended to be calm and said: "It's been wrapped in my clothes all the time. You may not have noticed."
Cheng Shaojin raised his eyebrows and did not continue the topic.
But - "This ginseng is too valuable. Keep it for yourself. My mother just has a bad waist and is not weak. Just use this medicinal oil."
What he was thinking in his mind was that his wife might have spent a lot of effort to find this old wild ginseng in the deep mountains and old forests. Her parents’ family was not even willing to give it to them, so how could they give it to her husband’s family in its entirety? . His wife is kind-hearted, but he can't shamelessly take advantage of her.
So he refused to take it and asked her to take it back and hide it.
Xu Yin thought for a while, then stopped insisting and said, "Okay, I'll keep it for now. If you need anything, just tell me. We are husband and wife, there's nothing we can't say."
Cheng Shaojin's heart felt warm, and he stretched out his long arms to hold her in his arms, pretending to kiss her, but was interrupted by Cheng's father coughing.
In order to avoid suspicion, Cheng's father quickly took a few steps back, stood far away and shouted: "Put your luggage first, pack it slowly, and come out for snacks first."
Cheng's mother came out of the kitchen with two bowls of brown sugar and eggs. When she saw her husband shouting from a distance, she wondered: "I asked you to ask them to come out for snacks, but you just stand here and shout? What does it look like!"
Father Cheng blushed: "You don't understand."
"..."
Cheng's mother didn't understand, but the young couple in the room understood. Xu Yin pinched the man and said angrily: "Why don't you get out quickly!"
"As ordered." Cheng Shaojin suppressed a smile and rubbed her hair, then came out of the room first.
"Mom, this is the medicated oil that Yinyin asked someone to get. I heard that it is very effective in curing back pain. I will ask dad to give you some medicine in a while. Massage it until it feels warm. It will relieve the pain in your back."
"Really?" Cheng's mother happily took it, "Yin Yin is interested. Not to mention that this kind of massage medicine is so expensive that even the trustee can't buy it."
"Mom, you use it first, use it well, and I will bring it to you later." Xu Yin walked out and said.
"Oh, this bottle is enough, don't waste this money. I have an old waist problem, and even the doctor said that it can't be cured, but it can only be relieved. Since it can't be cured, why bother spending this money. I Just pay attention and try not to let it happen, and it will pass."
Xu Yin smiled and said nothing.
The medicated oil prepared by others may only provide relief but not a cure. How can she not be confident in the medicated oil prepared by her?
Father Cheng and Mother Cheng only feel happy. It is the best thing for their children to be filial. As for whether the medicinal oil is effective for back pain, it doesn't matter. Whether it is effective or not is up to the children.
Cheng's mother even wanted to keep this bottle of medicinal oil as a family heirloom, but she was reluctant to use it.
Or was it Father Cheng who said, "Don't tell me whether it's useful or not. The children brought it all the way. You can use it if it's for you. Otherwise, they'll think you don't like it. How sad would it be if they found out?"
"Okay, just press it for me."
Cheng's mother carefully poured out a little medicated oil and applied it to the sore parts of her waist. "Old Cheng, please hold back a little and press gently. I don't know what's going on today. It's particularly painful."
"Okay, I know it. It was probably aggravated by twisting too quickly when I went downstairs."
Father Cheng said while giving his wife a massage.
Outside, Xu Yin rolled up her sleeves and took over half of Cheng's father's busy work.
By the time Cheng Shaojin brought two buckets of water up from the patio downstairs, Xu Yin had already killed and cut up the chicken, scaled the fish and removed the internal organs, and was waiting to wash them and put them into the pot.
According to her, it would be so convenient to just lift the dishes down and wash them in the patio. Why bother fetching water back and forth to bring them up? But Comrade Xiaojin said that every household here is like this - the meat and vegetables are washed at home, and only clothes, quilts, vegetables, etc. are taken downstairs to be washed, mainly because they are afraid that the neighbors will be jealous if they see it.
Even though the people living here are all power plant workers, there are not many couples like the Cheng family who work both jobs and have one child. They basically support a large family with one labor force.
For example, some families have given birth to seven or eight children, the eldest is fifteen or sixteen, and the youngest is two or three years old. Not only do they have to arrange for the eldest son's marriage, but they also have to take care of the youngest's food and drink. How can life be so tight? Even during the Chinese New Year, we don't eat much meat and vegetables. How happy is it to see that there are only three members of the Cheng family, but they kill chickens and fry fish during the Chinese New Year?
If you’re celebrating the Chinese New Year, it’s better not to cause such trouble. I'd rather be tired and carry the water home for washing.
"I'll do the rest." Cheng Shaojin put down the bucket, took off his coat, and took over the cleaning job.
Xu Yin picked up the spatula and said, "Then I'll be the chef."
"..." Cheng Shaojin couldn't laugh or cry, "My mother said that a new daughter-in-law cannot work on her first day."
Xu Yin looked at him with a smile but not a smile: "If you don't work on the first day, you should do it from the second day on, right?"
"That's not possible." Cheng Shaojin had a strong desire to survive, "I married my daughter-in-law because I feel sorry for her. There is no reason to let her do all the work at home."
Xu Yin looked away with an angry smile, neatly smeared some oil into the pot, and started frying the fish.
You can celebrate the New Year without meat, but you can’t live without fish. There will be plenty every year!
The rooster was chopped into pieces, and there were potatoes at home, as well as the dried mountain bamboo shoots and wild mushrooms she brought, and the rooster was stewed in a pot.
Father Cheng was massaging his wife's waist in the room. He smelled a scent as he pushed and massaged, and sniffed: "What's simmering next door? Why does it smell so good!"
Cheng's mother really hadn't slept well in the past few days. She was not only thinking about getting up early to grab the balcony, but also worried that her daughter-in-law would be difficult to get along with. At this moment, she applied medicinal oil and was pushed by her husband with appropriate force, so comfortable that she almost fell asleep.
Hearing what he said in a daze, I suddenly woke up: "Oh! It's almost noon. Why are you lingering here if you don't go to cook?"
Father Cheng: "..."
Do you think he's wasting his time? Is he being lazy or pushing her back?
"My dear, you have to speak with your conscience. I have been pushing your back and I am not lazy. I don't know if your back pain is getting better. I only know that my hands are so tired."
Mother Cheng was angry and funny: "Okay, okay, thank you for your hard work! Go out and cook! It's already noon! The food in other people's pots can be served, and our chickens haven't been killed yet."
With that said, she also sat up from the bed, "Hey", she touched her lower back, "It doesn't hurt anymore."
"Hey! Do you think it's a panacea? It won't hurt in a while?" Cheng's father said happily, "Doesn't the daughter-in-law's filial piety not only work well but also work well?"
Mother Cheng rolled her eyes at him: "I'm not kidding, it really doesn't hurt anymore. Except for being a little sore, it's much better than before. Just now I really felt like the bones in my body were about to fall apart."
"It really doesn't hurt anymore?"
"Why are you lying to me! Let's go! Go stir-fry and cook! Don't let the children go hungry."
(End of chapter)
