"ihua, you could consider the brothers of the He family. Li Shengi likes you so much, marrying a soldier isn’t bad, you could even follow the military unit." Feng Ying said.
ihua smiled, "That’s unlikely, and I’m still young, not thinking about these things. I’ll look into it in a year or two."
"That’s true, I really envy you younger ones," Feng Ying said admiringly as she looked at Dong ihua and Xia Xiao. Sun Yuhua and a few others also looked at Dong ihua and Xia Xiao with envy. Fortunately, they didn’t know Xia Xiao was only fourteen, or else who knows what they’d think.
Neither Xia Xiao nor Dong ihua had anything to say about this. Not considering marriage yet made things more relaxed, without the heavy pressure Sun Yuhua and the others faced.
After all, this wasn’t about dating soone under the watchful eyes of one’s parents; it was self-decided, and it felt pretty good to be in charge. Yet, ultimately, one’s choices were very limited.
Moreover, in such a place, choosing a partner was even more cautious. Though the goal was to find a comrade-in-arms, to establish revolutionary feelings, and to fight side by side, it was ultimately about starting a family, having children, becoming parents—a vital choice in life that affects one forever.
In the afternoon, when the production team finished work, Xia Xiao went to the Gao family, mainly to look for Gao Jiaxing.
By now, Gao Jiaxing’s injury had healed well, and he had quickly returned to his lively self. He had also gone back to school to continue his studies, and according to Zheng Xianghong, Gao Jiaxing was now studying diligently, which pleased her greatly.
But ever since the incident when Old Lady Gao hit Zheng Xianghong, Gao Jiazhi had gone into the city to find Gao Yongfang. After a quarrel, the siblings returned ho and ceased all contact.
Zheng Xianghong was even more disappointed in her daughter. Li Shengi also had acquaintances and friends in the city, and if it weren’t for her daughter and son-in-law deliberately doing so, the matter wouldn’t have reached Li Shengi’s ears.
Moreover, Li Shengi was sneaky too. When telling Old Lady Gao, she deliberately omitted the part about marrying into the family. In any case, it was a good match that Zheng Xianghong had rejected.
Old Lady Gao had never heard about this matter. And when it concerned her grandson’s crucial life choice, the fact that Zheng Xianghong didn’t ntion it, and neither did Gao Guoqiang, one can only imagine how Old Lady Gao felt.
So, being instigated by Li Shengi, Old Lady Gao lashed out at Zheng Xianghong in anger, and when Old Lady Gao asked, Zheng Xianghong didn’t dare to reveal the matter about marrying into the family. In the end, she hid the truth for the sake of her daughter and son-in-law, not anticipating that Zheng Xianghong’s good intentions would be wasted. This was precisely what her daughter and son-in-law had intended, and when Old Lady Gao heard a story similar to Li Shengi’s, she flew into a rage.
After being beaten by her mother-in-law, Zheng Xianghong distanced herself even more from her in-laws, never visiting unless necessary, and no longer asking Gao Jiaxing to go there. Even when the other side sent things over, Zheng Xianghong wouldn’t accept them.
Her relationship with Gao Guoqiang was decent; otherwise, she’d have found it impossible to live with such in-laws and endure for so many years.
When Xia Xiao arrived, Zheng Xianghong was there and asked, "Xia Xiao, why didn’t you go to the canteen for a al after finishing work?"
"I will in a bit, Auntie, have you eaten yet?" Xia Xiao inquired.
"Not yet. I just finished work as well, and I’m now nding clothes for your uncle and Jiazhi, and the others," said Zheng Xianghong.
"It’s about ti for dinner. We should go eat now, and you can nd later when you co back," suggested Xia Xiao.
"No need, you go ahead. I’ll finish nding first. It’ll be dark soon, and I want to get it done before then," Zheng Xianghong shook her head.
"Then how about I get so food for you? Otherwise, you’ll have nothing good left if you go too late," Xia Xiao offered.
"Alright, that works. Thank you for the trouble," Zheng Xianghong nodded.
Seeing this, Xia Xiao knew Gao Jiaxing hadn’t returned ho, so she went ahead to fetch food for Zheng Xianghong first.
Soon, Xia Xiao brought back two portions of food, one for herself and one for Zheng Xianghong, and she ate at the Gao family’s ho.
"I didn’t see Brother Gao in the canteen, just saw the team leader and Brother Gao. Auntie, should I get food for Brother Gao too?" By this ti, Gao Jiaxing should have finished his classes, but Xia Xiao still hadn’t seen him.
"He’s fine. You don’t need to bother with him. Your team leader will have it taken care of. That boy got out of school early this morning, and no one knows where he’s been hanging out, or if he’s gone to play with Ge Lai. Now that Bingzi isn’t at ho, Jiaxing loves to spend ti with Ge Lai," explained Zheng Xianghong.
Xia Xiao nodded, and after finishing her al, she finally saw Gao Jiaxing co ho, but he had the sll of fish on him.
With her new heightened sense of sll, Xia Xiao was especially sensitive to odors, so when she ntioned it, Gao Jiaxing glanced at her, "You’ve got the nose of a dog to be able to sniff that out."
"Watch your language," scolded Zheng Xianghong, "Fish sll is quite strong, where have you been?"
Gao Jiaxing chuckled, "Went fishing with them today, and we actually caught so."
"The fish?" asked Zheng Xianghong.
"Sold them," Gao Jiaxing replied. "Gave them to Ge Lai to sell on the black market."
"Selling them for money? Why didn’t you bring one back for us to taste?" Zheng Xianghong questioned.
"The production team now doesn’t allow private cooking. We have to eat at the big canteen. Bringing it back would just stir up idle gossip," said Gao Jiaxing, shrugging with a helpless look.
Zheng Xianghong sighed, "Having a big canteen is good too. At least nobody goes hungry. Everyone eats together, drinks soup together, works together. Ti for als together."
Xia Xiao said nothing. Now was a ti of collectivization, and this system had its benefits, but not allowing private cooking and penalizing those caught was quite strict. However, without such strictness, the desired effects wouldn’t be achieved.
After eating, Xia Xiao followed Gao Jiaxing into the house.
"What do you want?" Gao Jiaxing looked at Xia Xiao warily.
"Brother Gao, teach how to hunt," Xia Xiao said with a sheepish smile. She had wanted to ask for a long ti, but never found the right opportunity.
"Not teaching," Gao Jiaxing said bluntly.
Xia Xiao was at a loss for words, not expecting Gao Jiaxing to be so forthright, but still pleaded, "Brother Gao, if you teach how to hunt, I’ll share half of any ga I catch with you."
"Just you," Gao Jiaxing scoffed, looking down on Xia Xiao.
Xia Xiao bit her lip, "Are you going to teach or not?"
"Not teaching," Gao Jiaxing stated firmly.
"This is just a small favor. Considering how well we know each other, do you really have to be so unwilling?" Xia Xiao pleaded with Gao Jiaxing. She couldn’t find anyone else to teach her to hunt, but in reality, she only needed cover.
Now Xia Xiao could easily get at at Black Bear Cave; she didn’t need to hunt herself. But she still wanted to learn. Despite the collective system that forbade private hunting, with penalties for those caught, learning a skill was always useful.
"Teach a girl to hunt? One who can’t carry on the shoulder or lift with the hands, with no strength? I’m not crazy," Gao Jiaxing said, looking at Xia Xiao’s slender arms and legs, as if he found the idea humorous.
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