bestfiction Chapter 65 "Full of Love" - World Widows Raising Children 6
Chapter 65 "Full of Love" - World Widows Raising Children 6
Upon arriving at the library, Liu Yuxi first arranged for the two children to read picture books in the reading area and told them not to talk loudly. Then, she found a staff member and asked where the books on things like fitter work were located.
The staff of that era, especially the older employees, possessed a level of diligence and responsibility rarely seen in modern people. Technical books weren't a large category in the library, but the staff still knew their locations immediately. Liu Yuxi followed the directions and found the area, only to find two books: "Illustrated Explanation of Basic Fitter Work Methods" and "Basic Fitter Operations" (the latter was published in June 1959, but since he couldn't find any others, he borrowed it beforehand; thank you!). In that era, most knowledge was disseminated through word of mouth, handwritten copies, and notes.
Liu Yuxi took the two books to the reading area to read with her two children. Around noon, she took the two books and the two children to the front desk, showed her work ID to the staff, and asked them to help her get a library card. (At this time, to get a library card, you either need a student ID or a work ID; otherwise, you can only borrow books from the library.) Then she borrowed the two books.
After asking the two children's opinions, we had roast duck for lunch. In the afternoon, I took them for a stroll around the overpass area. I figured the overpass would be deserted next year, so I wanted to see it while it was still there. I bought quite a few snacks. We walked until the two children were tired, then each of them took a clay figurine and headed back to the courtyard house. I had already told them on the way back that they shouldn't tell anyone what they ate or bought. The two little brothers had already prepared their excuses on the way, which amused Liu Yuxi. It's true that children of this generation have their own unique characteristics. I put the snacks into my bag in front of the children, but most of them ended up in my storage space.
Sure enough, when they returned to the courtyard, they found the children playing at the gate. As soon as they saw the clay figurines in Jianguo and Jiandang's hands, they all gathered around and followed Liu Yuxi's bicycle into the front yard. The people in the front yard greeted Liu Yuxi, "Did you take Jianguo and the others out to play?" "Yes, the children have been staying at home for a week, so I took them out for a stroll."
As Liu Yuxi spoke, he carried Jianguo and Jiandang off the car, then took out a bag of sweet pastries (not melons, but the kind with a doughy, horn-shaped exterior and a sugary filling, extremely sweet), and gave one to each of the children in the courtyard. He even gave one to Banggeng, who was being held in Jia Zhangshi's arms. In those days, anything with sugar was precious, and no family would buy snacks for their children for no reason. Being able to eat their fill was already a good life. Not to mention children, even adults would be tempted, but everyone knew their limits. Only children under ten years old accepted them. Liu Guangqi and Yan Jiecheng were too embarrassed to accept, but Liu Yuxi insisted. As for older children, there were none; anyone older than that was considered an adult.
Everyone in the courtyard said that Liu Yuxi was spending too much money. Even Jia Zhangshi, while biting off a section of the honeydew melon to reveal the syrup inside and letting the stalk of the melon lick it, said, "Why did you buy this expensive stuff? You could have bought a pound of meat with that money." The bag that Liu Yuxi was carrying was prepared in advance; there were only 16 in total, and now there were 4 left.
Listening to her neighbors' polite remarks, she smiled and said, "They're all kids from the same compound, what's the big deal? We don't usually buy these things, it's just a coincidence. When Jianguo and Jiandang go to school, the kids in the compound will have to take care of them." "Of course, they're all kids from the same compound, it's always the older ones looking after the younger ones. You can rest assured when Jianguo and Jiandang go to school!" "Don't worry, it's always been like this in our compound, the kids are very close!" "That's right!" While Liu Yuxi was chatting with the people in the compound, Jianguo and Jiandang had already started playing with the other kids.
Liu Yuxi happened to see the deaf old lady chatting with everyone in the front yard. The old lady was still under 70 and quite healthy, but she rarely came to the front yard. Since she'd seen her, Liu Yuxi couldn't pretend not to, so she gave the old lady the remaining honeydew melon to sweeten her mouth. The old lady, still sharp of hearing and sight and not yet at the stage of feigning deafness, chuckled and declined, saying, "Give it to the children, why should I?" If she hadn't been so gentle, Liu Yuxi would have believed her. That's how Chinese people are; even something as simple as giving something requires back-and-forth politeness to make the giver seem sincere and the receiver reluctant to accept. (The author isn't very good at this kind of description because she's never actually done it herself. Since she's unmarried, the elders handle the social interactions among relatives. Among the younger generation, the author, being the eldest, accepts whatever is given to her. As for friends, close friends are like sisters, but there's no such interaction between ordinary friends.) Finally, after placing the honeydew melon in the deaf old lady's hand, Liu Yuxi lost interest in chatting with them. It was time to prepare dinner, so she told them she was going home.
She put all the snacks she bought in the afternoon into the cabinet in her room and locked it. From now on, she would give them both some every morning. Kids never have enough to eat, and if you don't lock it, it'll be gone in two days. Then she went to the kitchen to cook. When Jian Guo and Jian Dang saw their mother cooking, they stopped playing and went back to their room to help with the fire. The other children also gradually went home to wait for their meals.
"Did you have fun today?" "Yes!" "Yes!" "Mom, will you take us out to play again next time you have time off?" Jian Dang asked, while Jianguo watched Liu Yuxi from the side. "Sure, I'll take you out to play whenever I have time off." "Oh, that's great!" Seeing the two of them happy, Liu Yuxi was happy too. These two children are usually quite sensible, but they were a bit mischievous today. After dinner, the two children were sleepy, so Liu Yuxi washed them up and put them to bed.
She put the children's smocks, their inner clothes, and her own clothes into the washing machine in her space to wash and dry them. Then she put them in a large wooden tub at home to wash them again before hanging them out to dry, trying to save as much trouble as possible. After hanging the clothes out to dry, she returned to her bedroom and took the two books she had borrowed from the library to her space to make copies. Then she compared the two books with reference books from her future life and her own notes in her space. When she felt tired, she returned to her room from her space to check on the two children. They had played all day, and to prevent them from kicking off their blankets, she changed them into diapers. After taking care of everything, she went back to her room to sleep.