amaotonovel Chapter 414 - 412: Visitors
Chapter 414 - 412: Visitors
Chen Zhaodi smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Little Lan. Jiaojiao would have really suffered if it weren’t for you." As she spoke, she pulled a chicken and a duck from the basket on her back. "We raised them ourselves. You can stew them with those mushrooms."
The chicken and duck flapped frantically, sending downy feathers flying everywhere.
Lin Lan looked embarrassed. "Aunt Chen, you’re too kind. Uncle Wan just brought over dried mushrooms yesterday, and now you’re bringing a chicken and a duck. Please, come in and sit for a while."
"A small gift like this is nothing compared to the trouble you all went through carrying Jiaojiao out."
After some polite back-and-forth, Chen Zhaodi and her daughter followed Lin Lan into the courtyard. Pointing at the vegetable garden, Chen Zhaodi lamented, "Your mother used to keep this garden so neat. Look at it now, she’s only been away for half a year and it’s already full of weeds."
Lin Lan nodded with a smile. "I know. My mom’s heart ached when she came back and saw it."
The three of them reached the covered veranda, and Wu Shufen, hearing their voices, came out of the kitchen.
After exchanging greetings, the three of them sat down on the bamboo chairs by the main room’s entrance.
Lin Lan took the chicken and duck to the kitchen to cover them with a carrying basket, then brought out some refreshments for their guests.
Chen Zhaodi beamed at Wu Shufen. "I was planning to come over for a chat the day before yesterday afternoon, but we had guests, so I couldn’t get away."
Wu Shufen smiled. "We’ll be here for a couple of days before we head back. It would have been the same if I went to see you." She had heard that Wan Jiao had gone to a matchmaker’s introduction a few days ago, and it looked like nothing came of it.
’I’ve always liked Wan Jiao,’ Wu Shufen thought. ’She’s pretty and has a frank personality. If she and Guoqiang really liked each other, we could get them engaged first. It wouldn’t be too late for them to marry when he gets back.’
But then that boy Guoqiang had written to say he didn’t agree, claiming he and Jiaojiao were just friends.
’And now Wan Jiao is going on dates with other people. It seems they really don’t feel that way about each other. Young people these days are so hard to figure out.’
Chen Zhaodi’s eyes crinkled with a smile as she looked at Wu Shufen. "Your family has it so good. Your children are so successful, and living in the city must be so comfortable!"
Wu Shufen said, pleased, "Oh, listen to you. Your children are doing well too. I heard Wan Yong even bought a tractor."
Chen Zhaodi said with envy, "But how can that compare to your Guozhu? He transferred out of the military right into a state-registered job."
Back then, having a state-registered job meant you were working for the government. You’d never have to toil in the fields again, breaking your back just to scrape a living from the soil.
When Lin Lan came back out, she saw the two mothers praising each other’s successful children and found the scene quite amusing.
Suppressing a smile, she placed a tray on the table. Pointing to the melon seeds, candies, and pastries, she said, "Jiaojiao, Aunt Chen, please have some candy and seeds."
Wan Jiao picked up a couple of seeds and looked at Lin Lan with a grin. "I remember you used to love eating melon seeds more than anyone, Little Lan."
Lin Lan nodded with a smile. "I still do." Looking at Wan Jiao reminded her that Wan Jiao and Lin Guoqiang had been writing to each other. She glanced at Chen Zhaodi. ’Are they here to bring that up again?’ she wondered.
Chen Zhaodi picked up the conversation. "Little Lan is so lucky. Her new husband is tall and handsome, like a movie star. You’re blessed, Shufen. Both your son and son-in-law are impeccable in looks and ability."
She paused, then added, "And your Guoqiang. He used to seem a little wild, but who would have thought he’d do so well in the army after he enlisted."
Wu Shufen glanced at her before giving a polite, self-deprecating smile. "What’s so good about it? He’s a far cry from Guozhu. There’s not much of a future in being a soldier these days. Once his three years are up and he’s discharged, the only option is to come back to the brigade and work the fields."
’I know what she’s getting at,’ Wu Shufen thought. ’But Guoqiang isn’t interested. If I make my own decision and ask Wan Jiao to wait three years for him, what happens if they don’t end up together when he comes back? How could I ever face the Wan family again?’
"Well, three years of discipline is a good thing. Young men who come back from the army are more mature," Chen Zhaodi said, changing the subject. "Last night’s storm was terrible. The river flooded and washed all sorts of things downstream. I heard a lot of people from the brigade went to the riverbank to see what they could salvage."
Lin Lan and Wu Shufen looked at her in surprise. "It washed things downstream? Do you think somewhere upriver got flooded?"
Chen Zhaodi frowned. "I’m not sure. I heard the Gou family, who live by the pass, salvaged a lot of wood from the river. It was probably firewood washed down from the mountains. Old Wan and Little Yong both went to the riverbank to take a look."
Wu Shufen glanced worriedly at the sky. The rain still hadn’t stopped. "When the rain lets up, we should go take a look too."
Chen Zhaodi pointed toward the northeast mountain peak. "Look, more dark clouds are gathering over there. We’re going to go take a look and come back while the rain is still light."
Wu Shufen glanced at Lin Jun and the other children reading picture books in the main room and shook her head, unconvinced. "I’d better not. It would be a real problem if they snuck out while I was gone."
"You’re right. I heard the water is already up to the foot of the levee. It would be no joke if someone fell in." Chen Zhaodi pulled on Wan Jiao’s arm and stood up. "Well, we’ll head over and take a look first. When the rain stops, come visit us at our place."
"Alright." Lin Lan and Wu Shufen got up and politely saw the pair to the gate. They watched the mother and daughter walk away under their umbrella before closing the courtyard gate and heading back inside.
After they had walked a short distance, Chen Zhaodi glanced back at the Lin family’s gate. "It seems the Lin family doesn’t want to discuss Lin Guoqiang’s marriage right now," she said.
Wan Jiao snapped, "Before Guoqiang joined the army, you two couldn’t stand him, always finding fault with this and that. Now you’re falling all over yourselves to make it happen. If I were him, I wouldn’t agree to it either."
"We’re only doing what’s best for you." Chen Zhaodi gave her a light pinch and lowered her voice. "Jiaojiao, you and Guoqiang have been writing to each other this whole time. Why didn’t you mention that to your Aunt Wu?"
Wan Jiao scoffed. "What’s there to say? You think she doesn’t know I just went to a matchmaker’s meeting with someone else!"
Chen Zhaodi took a deep breath to suppress her anger. "Nothing is settled between you and Lin Guoqiang. By the time he’s discharged and comes home, you’ll be an old maid in your twenties."
She paused. "If things don’t work out between you two, the only men left for you will be widowers or guys who couldn’t find anyone else. I told you to settle things with him in your letters, but you wouldn’t listen. Just you wait. You’ll regret this."
Wan Jiao said, her voice tight, "If he really likes me, he’ll be the one to say so. It’s not like he’s the only man in the world. I refuse to be the one chasing him."
Chen Zhaodi shot her a look and fell silent.
Wan Jiao held the umbrella, listening to the pitter-patter of raindrops on the fabric, her heart a maelstrom of emotions.
’My parents have to calculate every little thing,’ she thought. ’They take something simple and keep changing their minds about it. I’m just the brigade leader’s daughter, not some princess. Do they really need to be like this?’
After Wan Jiao and her mother left, Lin Lan asked Wu Shufen, "Mom, is Guoqiang still writing to Wan Jiao?"
Wu Shufen shook her head. "I don’t know. How could we, from so far away? Young people today aren’t like we were. Back then, our parents made the decisions for us, and that was that."
Hearing this, Lin Lan pulled her mother down to sit, a playful grin on her face. "Mom, had you and Dad ever met before you got married?"