Daily Life in the 70s
Chapter 90 Uncle

Chapter 90: Chapter 90 Uncle

Yang Peimin thought Shen Yixiang’s idea was good, but it wouldn’t look good if implemented. An unmarried girl, if labeled as disrespectful to elders, could be affected in her future marriage and career.

"Yixiang, your brother is there for you, we should trust him to handle it well." Although Shen Yixiang wasn’t likable, a little bickering at home was okay, but outside, they were one family, united and facing the outside together.

Shen Yixiang snorted at her and lifted her chin high, "Of course! He’s my brother, I know him better than you do."

Shen Yiyue tugged at her, whispering, "Sister-in-law cares about you too."

Shen Yixiang dismissed it with irritation, "Isn’t she just showing off?"

Shen Yiyue shook her head, "Sister-in-law is worried about you rushing into things and ruining your reputation."

Yang Peimin shrugged nonchalantly and gave Shen Yiyue a smile.

Shen Yiguang had bought four jin of pork belly, planning to make braised pork.

As soon as Shen Yiyue entered the kitchen, she swiftly took the knife and started cutting the meat.

Yang Peimin had just measured the rice and washed it, putting it in the pot to steam. Steamed rice was much more fragrant than boiled rice. The Shen family had better conditions than the Yang family; while the Yang family was still eating coarse grain porridge and steamed buns, the Shen family could already afford brown rice and white flour buns.

Shen Erniu, who had participated in the revolution, even though he was retired, still had some honors reserved in the brigade. He was given an easy job with high work points, which was to look after the warehouse. Sometimes he could even offer opinions on brigade matters, and this made him a respected figure in the village.

Chen Guizhi was also diligent, a great hand at work. Not to mention her daily work, she also took great care of the family-owned vegetable plots, growing better vegetables than other households. What they couldn’t consume, she would exchange at the subsidiary food purchasing station for some subsidies.

With the addition of Shen Yiguang’s subsidies, their family had fewer mouths to feed and lived a more comfortable life.

Shen Yiyue quickly finished cutting the pork belly and discussed with Yang Peimin what other dishes to prepare, suggesting that pouring the braised pork sauce over some vegetarian dishes would definitely be great.

Yang Peimin nodded in agreement and didn’t skimp on praising her.

Shen Yiyue’s eyes sparkled, and she worked with much enthusiasm.

Shen Yixiang volunteered to wash the cabbage. Yang Peimin handed her a ladle of hot water, "Mix in some hot water to wash."

Shen Yixiang rolled her eyes at her, "You think I’m as delicate as you? Needing hot water to wash vegetables, you should try chopping wood in the snow then."

Yang Peimin smiled slightly, "Washing too much with cold water harms your hands, believe what you want."

Shen Yixiang paused, her gaze involuntarily drifting towards Yang Peimin’s hands. In fact, during meals, she had noticed too, thinking spitefully that this woman clearly wasn’t someone who did physical labor, which rural woman has hands softer than her face?

Yet, she couldn’t help feeling some jealousy.

She couldn’t resist taking a few more peeks, thinking to herself that she should let her do more household chores in the future. The reason her hands were softer and more beautiful than others was just because she hadn’t done much work at home before.

Shen Yiyue also looked over, "Sister-in-law, besides not touching cold water, what other tricks do you have? Your hands look really nice." Yang Peimin’s fingers were delicate, like slender onions.

Yang Peimin leaned over and whispered to her that after soaking hands, it’s best to apply some hand cream. Of course, using warm water in cold weather, and if there were scrap cloths at home, she could make a pair of gloves to wear while working, which should help protect her hands.

Shen Yixiang watched them whispering to each other, her face not looking good. She perked up her ears, trying to catch what they were discussing but couldn’t hear. Wanting to get closer but unable to lower her pride, she remained sullen, banging things around for the rest of the time.

Yang Peimin continued talking to Shen Yiyue without even glancing up.

After they had prepared the meal, they returned to the main house only to discover that Uncle Yang had already left.

Shen Erniu and Chen Guizhi were sitting silently on the kang, while Shen Yiguang acted as if nothing was wrong, busily stripping corn.

Shen Yixiang cheerfully entered the room, "Did Uncle leave?"

"Good riddance, he should have left earlier. Thankfully he didn’t delay our meal, otherwise I couldn’t have eaten with him watching," this uncle, using his status as the eldest sibling and senior, often meddled in their family affairs. He had even wanted to marry his sister off to an idiot for his son’s sake, a clear sign of his wicked heart, yet outwardly he always pretended to be considerate and thoughtful, which was even more nauseating than Grandma Yang’s direct aggression and theft.

However, Shen Erniu scolded her, "How can you speak like that? No matter what, he is still your uncle, and even if he has done something wrong, that is no excuse to point and curse."

Shen Yixiang pouted, unconvinced, "That would hold if he behaved like an elder himself."

Shen Erniu raised his hand as if to strike her and glanced uneasily at Yang PeiMin, hesitated, and then scolded again, "Enough of your nonsense! You’re grown up now, and not only are you failing to set a good example for the younger ones, but you’re also taking the lead in badmouthing your elders."

Shen Yixiang ran to Shen Yiguang’s side, "Brother, save me."

Shen Yiguang called out, "Dad, although Yixiang’s words were crude, she wasn’t wrong."

"He came here today probably to borrow money or to ask for help finding jobs for his children, even going so far as to pretend grandma was ill."

After lunch, Yang PeiMin and Shen Yiguang returned to their room.

She planned to take a nap, as she had woken up too early.

Shen Yiguang moved closer.

"Stop bothering me, let me sleep for a bit."

Shen Yiguang wrapped his arms around her, inhaled deeply against her body, and sighed softly, "I’m not bothering you, I’ll sleep with you for a while."

Yang PeiMin hummed in response, finding a comfortable position in his arms.

Shen Yiguang took her hand, their fingers interlocked, and suddenly Yang PeiMin felt an itch in her nose and tried to pull her hand away. Shen Yiguang, not understanding, held on tightly.

"Let go, my nose is very itchy, I need to scratch it," Yang PeiMin said urgently, hurrying to pull her hand away.

Unfortunately, her hand brushed against a certain part of his body.

The awkwardness passed briefly, and she pretended nothing had happened as she continued to scratch her nose, while asking, "Today, when I was queuing up with my cousin, where did you go?"

Shen Yiguang saw her lower her hand but then grab it back, placing it where it had just brushed...

He replied hoarsely, "I went to the post office to get my salary."

Yang PeiMin tried to pull her hand away but he held it tightly, her face slightly flushed as she glared at him.

Shen Yiguang seemed to want to keep talking, "I’ve gotten the salary, and I’ll hand it over along with what we’ve saved before, so we can discuss how much to give the family each month for living expenses?"

Yang PeiMin’s hand ventured into new territory, sparking her curiosity.

She hardly noticed what he was saying.