Chronicle of the 70s
Chapter 73 - 070 Got sick so I woke up at the first watch of the night_2

Chapter 73: 070 Got sick so I woke up at the first watch of the night_2

Li Xianglu knew that this person, despite looking burly, was actually quite shy and had a strong sense of self-esteem, so she didn’t insist any further and saw the guest out.

Returning to the kitchen, Li Xianglu cooked some rice porridge, fried four eggs, made a cucumber salad, sliced some pickles, and heated up ten buns and some steamed rolls.

Before long, Qin Xi arrived with Qin Xiaopang in tow. Qin Xiaopang, looking groggy, sat at the table and perked up instantly at the sight of the golden eggs, snatching one up and devouring half of it in one bite.

Li Xianglu shook her head, picked up a soft steamed roll, tore it evenly, stuffed an egg inside, added some sliced pickles, and handed it to Grandpa.

Mr. Li had taken a liking to this way of eating as well. He took a bite, enjoying the flavor of the egg and the taste of the pickles, then took a sip of the rice porridge and felt utterly comfortable all over.

Qin Zhen was gobsmacked, incredulous at such a way of eating. His own egg was consumed in two bites without him even tasting it.

Qin Xi, somewhat helplessly, split his own egg in half, placed it on the other side of his plate, and gestured to his younger brother to eat.

Then Qin Zhen imitated Li Xianglu’s way of filling his steamed roll with pickles and egg, took a delicious bite, and exclaimed, "Wow, this is really tasty!"

Meanwhile, Li Xianglu deftly helped Qin Xi with his roll before making one for herself.

Qin Zhen glanced at the filled roll in his hand, then at his brother’s, and pouted again, complaining within himself that Li Xianglu was playing favorites, only filling for his brother and not him.

Qin Xi’s face turned slightly red, and he gave his brother a firm smack on the head, saying, "Hurry and eat, we still need to go dig the river channel."

Qin Zhen flinched at the pain and quickly started to eat.

After finishing their meal, the two left first. Li Xianglu washed the dishes and then reported to Grandpa Li, who was wandering around the yard, about Qu Yeyu’s visit earlier in the morning.

Upon hearing this, Mr. Li’s expression turned dark, and he nodded, saying, "Yeyu is right; you need to be careful lately. Don’t go out. Later, we’ll go pick vegetables in the field, then I’ll accompany you home. You stay indoors and lock the door. I’ll talk to the captain about this matter."

Li Xianglu gave a wry smile, wondering if the situation was really that serious.

After picking quite a lot of vegetables, Li Xianglu was sent home and stayed indoors.

Mr. Li went out and didn’t return until noon.

Qin Xi and the others wouldn’t be coming over at noon as they had brought steamed rolls and pickles with them; therefore, Li Xianglu simply made two bowls of noodle soup.

Mr. Li scooped up the thick noodles from his bowl, paused and asked, "Where did these noodles come from? They are so white."

Li Xianglu replied with a smile, "It’s the ones I bought on the day I bought the bicycle. I met a woman selling a bag of refined noodles, no food tickets required, but a bit pricey, two yuan per pound. I bought two pounds to keep on hand, cooking them just for you now and then. It’s so convenient."

Mr. Li didn’t suspect anything, took a mouthful, and nodded, "Hmm, not bad, they have a good chew, and the noodles are white. Two yuan is not expensive, but next time you run into this, don’t buy it anymore; things are not safe nowadays."

Li Xianglu quickly nodded in agreement, "Yeah, Grandpa, rest assured, I won’t be going to the county for a while."

Mr. Li, seeing her quick agreement, felt reassured and said, "I talked to the captain about the situation with Li Sanhe’s house. He assured me there won’t be any more problems. There’s heavy work coming up with the river channel digging, and it’ll be fine once Li Erfu returns."

Li Dafu was truly at his wits’ end because Li Family Village was close to the river channel and had the task of clearing it every year, a burdensome task that had to be completed on time. He was already busy enough when his sister-in-law came along causing trouble.

Somehow the rumor that Li Huai Ren had ten thousand yuan in savings had spread, which was nonsensical. Oh, even if Li Huai Ren did have that amount, what business was it of hers? Her daughter had been adopted out, what more was there to dwell on?

Just after breakfast, heading to the brigade office, Li Huai Ren came to him again, saying his sister-in-law and Li Sanhe’s daughter-in-law were scheming to marry off Xiang to Tu Gou, Li Sanhe’s son. As if that could happen! How could Li Huai Ren ever approve?

If it had been in the past, he wouldn’t have made such remarks, but now he was convinced it was impossible. Li Huai Ren was a man of considerable means. Just look at Shouren’s situation; he had been stuck here for years, but within one year of Li Huai Ren’s return, he had a chance to move back to the city. If it wasn’t Li Huai Ren who had arranged it, that would be strange. You couldn’t blame Li Dafu for his conspiracy theories.

This Li Huai Ren was someone to be allied with, not to offend. When he thought of the people in the county that Mr. Li had mentioned to him at noon today, it warmed his heart. He was already forty-eight himself, advancing further seemed unlikely, but for his eldest son – who had completed junior high and knew quite a few people from running errands – taking over his position wouldn’t be bad. However, he had inquired at the commune and found out they couldn’t decide who would be the brigade leader.

It seemed this matter might still fall into Li Huai Ren’s hands, so he couldn’t afford to offend him.

Liu Aidang made a cup of tea for the man and brought it over with a smile, saying, "Why not go to the county and speak to Second Brother? This can’t go on like this. Mom’s gotten so angry she’s sick and can’t even get out of bed now."

Mrs. Wu had run herself ragged the day before, got upset, and started running a fever at night. She felt uncomfortable all over, and after her son got her some medicine from the commune in the morning, she still hadn’t improved. Liu Aidang was worried; her mother-in-law was not young anymore, and she feared that this incident could lead to something serious, and if anything happened to Mrs. Wu, they wouldn’t be able to clear their name.

The best course of action would be for Second Brother to come back earlier to see what had happened, so that Mrs. Wu didn’t get sick due to their negligence, but because she was angered by his wife.