After Xia Jing finished cooking the al, Xia Xiao told her to take the pot of rice outside, and Gao Jiaxing ca in to carry out the dishes. On the way, he also asked, "Are the bowls washed yet?"
"My sister washed them, they are right here. You can take them out." Xia Xiao said.
"I’ll carry out the dishes first," Gao Jiaxing said, and then he took the dishes outside.
Xia Xiao chuckled to herself; this obsession with washing dishes had even brought him specially inside to offer to wash.
Today’s al included rabbit at, fish, fish soup, and so greens. It was simple, without any elaborate preparation, but everyone felt it was quite a feast.
Yan Hao, Xia Jing, and Hong Xing all felt too embarrassed to eat much, while Zheng Xianghong kept urging everyone to eat more, and also said to Xia Xiao, "Xia Xiao, take good care of your sister. You should just treat this like your own ho, don’t be shy, eat plenty, and don’t leave any leftovers. We can’t afford to waste food now."
"Mom, why don’t you sit down and eat as well," Xia Xiao urged Zheng Xianghong to sit down to eat, then said to Hong Xing and Yan Hao, "Help yourselves to the food. You need to eat your fill so you’ll have the energy to go out. Otherwise, you might get hungry after walking just a bit in the town, and during the New Year’s ti, there probably won’t be anything to eat in town."
Everyone enjoyed a harmonious al together, and after everyone was full, Hong Xing rushed to transport Xia Jing and Yan Hao into town by ox cart to send a telegram.
Xia Xiao and Gao Jiaxing cleaned up the table and washed the dishes, while Zheng Xianghong attended to Ge Liang. anwhile, Gao Jiazhi went to arrange accommodation for Yan Hao.
This year, since many educated youth arrived at the Youth Point, beds were in short supply, and Gao Jiazhi had to consider where would be the most suitable place for them.
By the ti Xia Xiao and Gao Jiaxing had cleaned up, Gao Jiazhi had already returned. Ge Liang was already asleep in Zheng Xianghong’s arms, so Zheng Xianghong prepared to take him to bed. Xia Xiao said, "Mom, bring him to my room instead."
Xia Xiao didn’t feel right letting Ge Liang sleep in Zheng Xianghong’s room, so as not to disturb Zheng Xianghong and Gao Guoqiang’s rest, so she suggested that Ge Liang sleep in her and Gao Jiaxing’s bed.
Gao Jiaxing imdiately took Ge Liang from Zheng Xianghong’s arms and headed to his own room, and Xia Xiao followed suit.
Noon had already passed. After a hearty al and drink, it was ti for rest.
Next door, Gao Jiazhi ca into his room and saw Sun Yuhua holding their daughter by the window with the window wide open, letting in the cold wind. He said, "The child is still small, how can you hold her here in the cold wind?"
Gao Jiazhi imdiately picked up his daughter and placed her on the bed. Noticing that Sun Yuhua didn’t move or react at all, he asked, "What’s the matter? Is sothing bothering you?"
Sun Yuhua indeed unwelcod, glanced at Gao Jiazhi, closed the window before saying softly, "We don’t have much grain at ho, and Xia Xiao and your brother keep bringing people back for als."
Sun Yuhua didn’t continue, but Gao Jiazhi understood her. He laughed and said,
"Are you upset over this trivial matter? It’s not a big deal. They don’t co often, and besides, Jiaxing’s salary from the army is all sent to mom. I make just a little from work points, I have nothing else. Plus, today’s fish and the rabbit at we had from last night to today, weren’t they caught by Jiaxing and Xia Xiao? The cooking was done by Xia Xiao and mom. You haven’t lifted a finger, haven’t cleaned up the table, haven’t wanted to wash dishes, or even sweep the floor. Mom and Xia Xiao haven’t made a fuss about it, yet you’re the one who’s upset?"
Gao Jiazhi said these things, which made Sun Yuhua feel like she couldn’t save face. She indeed didn’t want to get her hands dirty, nor did she often step into the kitchen, so she really hadn’t touched any housework.
Yet, seeing Xia Xiao constantly bringing people back for als made Sun Yuhua quite uncomfortable. She didn’t enjoy such bustling scenes either, but Zheng Xianghong was a warm and hospitable host. Sun Yuhua felt helplessly resigned, and since she got along well with Xia Xiao, she didn’t like to complain about her, so she just grumbled a few words to Gao Jiazhi.
She was even thinking about a previous conversation when Sun Yuhua said, "You ntioned moving out last ti, when were you thinking of doing that?"
Gao Jiazhi gave Sun Yuhua a glance and said helplessly, "You, why are you always thinking about these things? Do you think moving out would be better? The number of educated youth coming here is increasing. Just look at how many arrived today; there’ll be more next year and the years after. Youth Points can’t accommodate everyone; surely, they’ll have to stay with the team mbers’ families. If we had our own house, we’d be expected to take people in, then you’d be even less happy."
Sun Yuhua said, "Then we simply won’t take anyone in."
Gao Jiazhi said, "It’s not for us to decide. We’re all part of the production team, and Dad’s still the team leader. We need to set an example. If our house weren’t so small and could fit more, we would already have people staying with us."
Sun Yuhua thought about it and realized that if their house were bigger, perhaps Xia Xiao’s sister, Yan Hao who had co today, or even Yang Xuehua would all end up living here.
Gao Jiazhi continued, "Right now, the old house isn’t being assigned for others to move into, but mark my words, if the old house’s family doesn’t co back, sooner or later soone will be arranged to live there. It’s not up to the family of the old house."
"Forget it then," Sun Yuhua conceded.
Gao Jiazhi cast a glance at her and said, "Sotis you really should lend a hand. Aside from breastfeeding, Weilin is mostly taken care of by my mother. Besides sleeping with her, everything else about Weilin—eating, bathing, even peeing or pooping—is either done by or my mom. You don’t do chores at ho; you should at least take care of your daughter."
Sun Yuhua looked at Gao Jiazhi coldly and said, "I don’t like it."
Gao Jiazhi felt resigned; he had always liked Sun Yuhua and pursued her, knowing she was a clean freak, which he never saw as a big problem. In fact, he even liked her cleanliness.
But he never anticipated that living with Sun Yuhua would be this difficult. Now Gao Jiazhi felt like his head was about to explode. He could not believe any other man had to do as much to persuade his wife every day as he did.
"So you still want to move out. You don’t want to cook or do chores, nor do you want to look after our daughter or even seem willing to do laundry. If we move out, do you expect to do everything? I can’t possibly handle all aspects of our ho myself," Gao Jiazhi laid out the issues directly to Sun Yuhua.
Sun Yuhua muttered in response, "Why can’t it be you? Fang Yuejin does the sa, and Wang Aihua also doesn’t have to do anything now."
Gao Jiazhi scoffed, "You see Wang Aihua not needing to do anything now, but do you not see Wang Aihua, pregnant as she is, still going out to earn work points? Don’t you think about how inconvenient it is for Wang Aihua with her big belly? You forget how when you were pregnant, you lived like a landlord’s wife, having everything handed to you, utterly pampered, without lifting a finger. Now that the child is grown, have you done a thing for the house?"
Gao Jiazhi’s remark about the landlord’s wife hit a nerve, and Sun Yuhua exploded.
This wasn’t the first ti the couple had been angry with each other, but it was the first real argunt, with their voices involuntarily rising, which frightened Weilin into crying.
Anger filled Sun Yuhua, and Gao Jiazhi beca even more furious, bordering on despair. He felt like he was speaking sensibly, but Sun Yuhua was simply being unreasonable, totally beyond communication.
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