Father's Land Mother's River

Chapter 38

It was past noon when Wang Aiqing woke up, so she skipped lunch, washed some clothes and went out to buy vegetables and prepare dinner.

A plate of pork head meat mixed with cucumber, my husband is doing hard work, no meat can do; a plate of stir-fried clams with chili, my husband likes this; a plate of stewed tofu with cabbage, cabbage heart rolled with scallions dipped in miso.Four dishes with two bottles of beer are enough for the taste and taste.

When it was getting dark, the husband came back by bicycle, took off his overalls and washed his face, and the couple sat down to have dinner.

Wang Aiqing opened the two bottles of beer, poured himself a glass, and put the rest in front of her husband.The husband refused to drink, and looked at her suspiciously. In the past, there was only one bottle of beer, and each person drank in turn.

Wang Aiqing told about Zhang Shiyao renting a house for them. Her husband picked up the wine bottle and toasted her. He raised his neck and took a big sip and said, "Good thing, we are getting closer to the city center."

Wang Aiqing took a sip of beer and said with emotion: "The rent may be more expensive, but you have to rent it anyway. In the past few years, you picked me up to and from get off work, did heavy work during the day, and stayed up late with me at night. It was really hard work."

The husband said: "It's okay to work hard, the main reason is that it's not safe. I don't feel at ease when you walk that part of the road alone during the day."

Wang Aiqing smiled: "What are you worried about? I'm not pretty, so I'm afraid of being raped in broad daylight?"

"Isn't it beautiful?" The husband deliberately asked, "Then why is Zhang Shiyao so concerned about your affairs?"

"Are you jealous?"

"I'm not jealous, I only drink."

Wang Aiqing didn't force her husband to admit that he had been jealous of Zhang Shiyao since he jumped in the queue, because Zhang Shiyao was always paying attention to her life.She knew it well, but she just didn't reveal it. She was happy to see her husband jealous.

When she set the record of [-] meters of flawless cloth, she once told her husband that Zhang Shiyao was also responsible for it.He maintains her machines meticulously, and few mechanical failures are a must.

The husband said that Zhang Shiyao should be invited to drink, and he really invited Zhang Shiyao to the tavern through her. She didn't know what they talked about, and there was no need to ask.

After dinner, the couple strolled around as usual.Wang Aiqing held her husband's arm, snuggling up to her tall and strong husband like a little girl.Constrained by the environment in the countryside, it was impossible for her to make such an intimate move. Now she is willing to be a little girl who will never grow up in front of her husband.

Tired from walking, went home and set the alarm clock to sleep together, and fell asleep quickly head to head.Sometimes, Wang Aiqing would be very relieved to think, if she left her husband, would she fall asleep so peacefully?

In the fifth year of going to the countryside, the educated youth began to return to the city one after another.Because Wang Aiqing was married in the countryside, she was excluded from those who returned to the city, unless she got divorced.

Before Zhang Shiyao returned to the city, he secretly found her and said bluntly: "You can't die in the countryside, divorce and return to the city, I will wait for you."

Zhang Shiyao's words were tantamount to negating everything she had done in the countryside. She was very disgusted and replied: "Even if I rot in the countryside, it is still a good piece of fertilizer."

The educated youth spot gradually became empty, but Wang Aiqing still went to work to earn work points, and still squatted in the bottom of the pot to cook.She wants to prove to everyone that she is not marrying a rural man to gain some capital for fame.

She also wanted to go back to the city, not because she didn't want to, but because she didn't dare to think deeply about it.

Going back to her own city, returning to her parents, having a job with a stable income, and living a comfortable and comfortable life, is what every woman thinks about.Originally, she didn't belong here, staying here is out of friendship, and leaving is a matter of course, there is nothing wrong with it and nothing to blame.

But she has lived in this humble home for five years, where her youth, her sweat, and her devotion are left, and the marks of her life are engraved everywhere, and kittens and puppies will give birth to reluctant feelings.

One year, one of my husband's relatives from out of town took a cat away from home and walked over mountains and mountains for more than 20 miles blindfolded.After arriving home, he was tied up for more than ten days, but he let go of the rope and ran away. He found his home by memory and sense of smell.

That evening, her husband led her to the highest mountain ridge, allowing her to overlook the whole picture of the small mountain village and see how the small mountain village has changed in recent years.She didn't need to look at her to know that the small mountain village hadn't changed much and was still living in hardship and poverty.

The husband said: "Do you know why the rural people are so keen on being a soldier? They just want to find a way out. When they got to the army, they did their best. As a result, very few were able to stay in the army. I became a soldier to get out of the small mountain village, and I couldn't do it." You can’t drag another one down. Even if you are willing, what about your son? Are you afraid that your son will complain about you when he grows up? Are you afraid that your son will not be able to marry a wife? My son has a city hukou, so my son will not resent me in the future and blame me."

Wang Aiqing hugged her husband's arm tightly and lamented: "As soon as I leave, this family will fall apart."

The husband said: "Don't think about anything else, just think that all this is for my son."

Wang Aiqing divorced her husband, and went through the formalities of returning to the city smoothly.The night before returning to the city, she wrapped herself around her husband like a vine, as if the vine would die if she left the big tree.There was no sleep all night, but they hugged each other tightly, with snot and tears all over their husband's body and face.

Her husband personally sent her and her son back to the city.By car and train, she and her husband teased and laughed with their son. From the perspective of outsiders, this was a happy trip for the family of three.

She figured it out, if her heart doesn't leave, the family won't leave. A divorce certificate doesn't mean anything.She and her son went back to the city first, leaving her husband alone to figure out a solution.

Back at the home where she was born and raised her, the husband coaxed the ignorant son, saying that Dad had to go away for business, and he might not come back for a long time, so he had to listen to his mother at his grandma's house; the husband told her parents, I will send your My daughter was sent back safely, and I didn't make her suffer.

The husband didn't stay, stood up and said a few words before leaving, saying that he would be home tomorrow morning by catching the night train, and that the brigade needed him and the tractor.

She didn't force her husband to stay even for one night, she understood that this was a way for him to show his resolute attitude.She escorted her husband to the train station and warned him not to seek other women during her absence.

After returning to the city, Wang Aiqing and his son temporarily stayed at their parents' house.A house of more than forty square meters, two small rooms, the younger brother added a small bed in the parents' room, and gave up another small room to her and her son.

Soon, Wang Aiqing got a job and was assigned to Bincheng Textile Factory as a car operator.Unexpectedly, Zhang Shiyao also worked in the textile factory, in the same workshop and on the same team, as a security worker.It was less than a year before and after returning to the city. Zhang Shiyao already had a girlfriend, and he felt ashamed when they met.

After receiving her salary in the first month, Wang Aiqing took advantage of the night shift to take the train with her son in her arms, and rushed back to the small mountain village before evening, and returned to her rural home where she had lived for five years.

Everything in the house remains the same, the pictures of her labor and the awards she received are still hung on the wall, but her husband has lost weight due to the pain and longing.

In front of her father-in-law, mother-in-law, sister-in-law and neighbors, she hugged her husband tightly and wept bitterly, even more sad than when she left the small mountain village.For more than a month, why hasn't she missed her husband every night, chewing on the sorrow of separation alone?
After staying for one night, after having lunch, Wang Aiqing rushed back with her son in her arms, and returned to Bincheng when it was dark.I didn't get enough rest after the night shift, and I traveled more than 300 kilometers back and forth in two days, so I was too tired.She lay down early to sleep and rest, and started a new round of intense work the next day.

I ran back and forth like this for more than half a year, exhausted and happy, and I can only stay for a few more days on holidays to enjoy the short happy time of husband and wife reunion.

Seeing that Wang Aiqing really couldn't let go of her husband in the countryside, her parents said to her cruelly, "Take your man home. Every step counts. The roads are made by people."

Wang Aiqing wrote a letter to her husband in advance, in which she "threatened" that if you have the heart to let me run around like this for the rest of my life, you should stay in a small ravine and not come out.

The husband was also moved by Wang Aiqing's persistence, and took the initiative to come to Bincheng to reunite with her.The family is complete, and the difficulties in life are everywhere.Because it involves benefits such as housing allocation and other related treatment, it is impossible for her and her husband to remarry, and they can only "cohabit illegally".

There are many people in the factory who are older than her and who have worked longer and do not have a house to live in. I don’t know when they will be allocated a house based on their seniority. A family of three living in their parents’ house for a long time is not a long-term solution.

Her father was a dock worker and found her husband a job as a temporary laborer on the docks.In the past, it was called carrying big bales, but now it is called stevedores. Dirty and tiring rely on strength.The husband eats a lot, and the rations of both her and her son are not enough for him alone, so she can only buy extra grain and oil at bargain prices.

Difficulties in life are easy to overcome, but the hard part is how to take care of my husband's self-esteem.Wang Aiqing knows some customs in the countryside. Living in the father-in-law's house is equivalent to being a door-to-door son-in-law, which means that a man is unable to support a family, and it is difficult for a man to hold his head up.

She used laughter and tenderness to adjust her husband's mood, for fear that he would be depressed and cause trouble with the family.Fortunately, my husband is optimistic by nature and understands her difficulties. He always walks into the house with a smile on his face and never talks about how hard and tiring work is.

But the father understood how hard it is for a son-in-law, so he dragged her husband to drink a few cups every night. The two drank and chatted happily.

Half a year later, Wang Aiqing's younger brother had a partner. She and her husband could no longer stay at their parents' house, and had to go out and find a house by themselves.Housing is generally tight, and it is common for several generations of a family to live in one house. It is even more difficult to rent a house in the city.

She can only go to the urban-rural fringe area to look for it, and it has to be closer to the commuter bus stop to meet her requirements for safe and convenient commuting to and from get off work.

Due to various reasons, I have moved several times, and home has become an illusory concept.Fortunately, the parents feel sorry for their grandson and stay by their side to take care of them, not allowing their grandson to wander around with them.

She and her husband are grateful to their parents and younger brother, otherwise, it would be a big problem for their son to go to school, and life would be even more chaotic.

After the land was contracted, the small mountain village became their logistics base, and a steady stream of grain, oil, meat and eggs was delivered to subsidize part of the family's expenses. During the busy season of "May [-]st" and "[-]th", she and her husband will also use the holidays to go back and help with farm work for a few days.

Their home, wandering between the city and the countryside.

However, you have to think about the good in everything, and you can see hope when you think about it.Wang Aiqing became an expert in production and became a team leader. Her salary was increased by one level compared with others, which was more than 20 yuan. Her husband carried big bags for several years and became a truck driver. It is much more airy than driving a tractor back then.

The husband works two jobs, covering for a stevedore while driving.Wang Aiqing is worried that her husband is tired, as long as he has enough money to spend, he doesn't have to work so hard.

The husband has his own reasons: now he can buy grain and oil at a bargain price without a grain book, and maybe one day he can buy a house at a bargain price without checking his household registration.At that time, we must buy a big house for her and my son, and then I must re-register for remarriage.

Wang Aiqing did not ridicule her husband's wishful thinking, which is also the driving force and source of her life.The couple wandered on the fringes of the city, harboring a dream that no one else could even dream of, and accumulating strength for that dream little by little.

At 22:[-], the alarm clock rang on time, and Wang Aiqing and her husband woke up at the same time.The husband rode his bicycle to take her to the commuter station. In the front basket of the bicycle, there was a one-meter-long locust wood pick handle with one end thin and the other thick, and the other end hung on his shoulder for convenience.

This pickaxe has been with them for several years, picking her up from get off work on the middle shift and sending her to work on the night shift, but it was never used.

Under the dim streetlights, those who plan to do evil will probably have to weigh it when they see the tool and weapon that looks like a signboard and its owner.

At the commuter bus station, Wang Aiqing got on the commuter bus, and her husband turned around and left.

The night bus was driving on the brightly lit city streets. Wang Aiqing looked out the window of the car and looked at the lighted windows, thinking that it was time to go back to her parents' house to see her son after the night shift tomorrow morning.

(End of this chapter)