Liu Sanjin didn’t head ho imdiately. She clutched at her chest groaning for a while, intending to speak ill of Shen ng after Lu Mingyang erged. Regardless of whether Lu Mingyang’s children were her biological grandchildren, they were now officially registered under the Lu Family’s household, legitimate heirs to the eldest son. When they grew up, they were expected to show her filial piety, unlike Shen ng.
She married into the family, an outsider, and in her heart, she felt she had been quite good to Lu Mingyang’s children. Thus, she firmly believed that should a conflict arise between her and Shen ng, the children would undoubtedly side with her.
But after waiting a long while without seeing anyone co out, she stamped her foot and stord off in a huff.
Shen ng, holding the letter and remittance receipt, returned to the main room. The receipt showed thirty-five yuan, and Shen ng felt a surge of happiness. The original amount she’d kept for herself, plus compensation from Liu Sanjin and the production team, and now with the amount from the receipt, totaled sixty-two yuan. In those tis, having such liquid assets was considerable.
After she opened the letter, there was another remittance receipt inside, wrinkling her brow as it only held eighteen yuan, accompanied by five ten-kilogram food coupons, eight ters of cloth tickets, and various other miscellaneous coupons.
Shen ng frowned, what was Lu Zhenping up to, sending two remittance receipts? And this parcel collection notice seed to be sent separately, too.
While she was still puzzled, Lu Mingyang shuffled over.
"Mom, has Dad sent a letter ho?"
Hesitating, Shen ng spoke, "Yes, but why did your father send two remittance receipts? And this parcel seems to be sent separately as well. What’s going on?"
"Mom, that, that might be collected by Dad’s comrades in the unit, sent for , Ming Liang, and Ming Fang." His voice carried a weight as he slowly bowed his head. Only at this mont did he feel that there were still people who rembered him, who cared for and loved him—his father’s old comrades-in-arm.
Shen ng was startled for a mont, looking at the allowance sent back by Lu Zhenping. Last year he had been promoted to deputy regintal commander, and his allowance should have been over fifty yuan a month. The original owner was overjoyed to know of his promotion and modestly abstained from asking about the allowance, expecting it to be substantial. But this month, Lu Zhenping had sent only eighteen yuan.
It dawned on her why there was a saying "poverty enlists," as a regular soldier made six or seven yuan a month with food and lodging provided by the unit. However, so had made sacrifices and their families lived in hardship. She wondered how many families like Lu Mingyang, Lu Mingliang, and Lu Mingfang there must be.
Shen ng was deeply moved, suddenly feeling the weight of the letter, parcel voucher, and remittance receipt in hand, almost too heavy to hold. Shen ng tugged at the corners of her mouth, but couldn’t muster a smile.
"Ah, I understand now. I’ll pick these up later and bring them ho. This letter, Mingyang, co and read it to your brother and sisters."
Lu Mingyang: "..."
Why bring this up? Wasn’t it you who said you didn’t want to go to school? Old age must bring forgetfulness!!!
"Mom, big brother can’t read, and neither can I, hehe!"
Shen ng: "..."
Hehe, your head, hehe, at the pri age for studying, how can you not attend school? Just listen to your loud proclamation of illiteracy, as if it were sothing to be proud of!
"After autumn, I’ll find soone to ask. Mingyang, Ming Liang, and Ming Fang all need to go to school, none can fall behind. Xiao Kai is young, but he must also go to school when he’s older."
"Mom, didn’t you say going to school is useless? Besides, look at those educated youth who were sent to the countryside. They all end up working the fields anyway," Ming Liang hastily argued. He had no desire to attend school. Daqing started third grade this year and complained that the teacher had them morize texts. If they couldn’t recite properly, the teacher would pinch their eyelids until the tears stread down. He definitely didn’t want that!
Shen ng raised the letter in her hand and smiled at the clearly resistant child, "If you don’t go to school, you won’t be able to read. If you can’t read, you won’t understand what your dad’s letters say. I can barely read myself, but when I go to collect things from the post office, I still have to leave a thumbprint or sign my na. Over the past few years, the educated youth have gradually returned to the city. They were recruited for jobs and now have iron rice bowls, earning wages. Do you really want to farm for the rest of your lives? Of course, I’m not saying farming is bad. The money in my hand was scraped together by your dad’s army buddies and sent to you. Don’t you want to repay their kindness? If you can’t read, you won’t even know where to go when you step outside, right?"
Ming Liang: "..."
Mingyang: "..."
The other two onlookers: "..."
That makes a lot of sense!!!
"There’s no room for debate on this matter. After the autumn harvest, you’re all going to school. I’ll find the village chief later to help enroll you. My head hurts. Your third aunt seems quite literate. Next ti she visits, I’ll have her do so serious reading for us illiterates. It’s really giving a headache. Ming Liang, go wash the bowls. Don’t dawdle. I’m going back to the room."
Ming Liang: "..."
Why am I the one who has to do it? Not only do I have the misfortune of going to school, but why do I also have to wash the dishes???
When Xie Jinghao arrived, she saw several children with sullen faces, which made her heart skip a beat. She held Xiao Gang’s hand a bit tighter as he shyly did not want to co out from behind her. He had seen the elder aunt disciplining people before and found it very frightening.
"Mingyang, what’s happened to you guys? Where’s your mom?"
"Third Aunt, we received a letter from my dad. My mom can’t read it herself and couldn’t understand what dad wrote. She’s upset. She wants us to go to school after the harvest. It made her so angry that she’s gone to lie down with a headache."
Mingyang/Mingfang: "..."
You’re a real ssenger!!!
Listening to Ming Liang’s words, Xie Jinghao breathed a sigh of relief. She had thought the elder sister-in-law was rubbing the children the wrong way again!
"Going to school is good. Learning to read and write is a good thing, and it will lead to prospects for the future. Xiao Gang, your brother, is young, but when he grows up a bit more, he’ll go to school too. You can’t suffer the disadvantages of being uneducated. Xiao Gang, you stay here and play with your siblings. Mom is going to find your elder aunt."
"Okay."
Ming Liang felt sowhat disappointed. He thought Xie Jinghao would take their side. He hadn’t expected her also to want them to study. What’s so great about studying? Spending every day sitting in the classroom—how could that compare to climbing mountains to catch birds, fishing in the river, or secretly roasting stolen sweet potatoes in a secluded spot!
Shen ng read the letter again. The main ssage was to ask if the children were well, to say he wasn’t sure if his leave to visit family would be approved this year, to tell her to take care of herself, and if there were any issues, to have soone write to him. He reminded her to honor her father-in-law and mother-in-law, to give three yuan to Liu Sanjin, and also shared a bit about the local customs in Diannan.
Lu Zhenping had given up his family visitation leave last year to a comrade who hadn’t been ho in three years. If he doesn’t return this year, he too would have been away for three years. Shen ng sighed. She had heard it wasn’t easy being a military spouse, but she only truly understood the unspeakable grievances and the tough reality when she found herself in that position. She couldn’t articulate it well; though she had only been a military spouse for a short ti, she was filled with a myriad of emotions.
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