Siheyuan: Big City, Small Love

Chapter 192 Old Lady Wu

With the arrival of Old Mrs. He, everything went according to plan.

At first, Grandma He was not used to the life of luxury, but when she knew that the fish were caught by He Zhan and He Lai themselves, and the bean sprouts and oyster mushrooms were also grown at home, she didn't care.

Now, Grandma He and Wu Juan enjoyed the same treatment. In the morning, they had malted milk, eggs, soy milk, vegetable porridge, and lean meat porridge, alternating between them, and occasionally some fish maw and bird's nest.

At noon and in the evening, we have bean sprouts, oyster mushrooms, various kinds of fish, chicken, and vegetables from the market. We buy whatever is available, and fruit is also available every day.

These days are so comfortable.

"Little Laizi, bring less. Your mother and I can't finish it."

When Old Mrs. He saw He Lai coming back with another big bag of things, she hurried to persuade him.

"Grandma, don't worry about eating. I can find some. This is not a rural area. As long as you don't steal or rob, or engage in reselling, we don't have to be afraid."

He Lai put the bag on the table and said to grandma with a smile.

There was no other way. In order to get food, He Lai now started to secretly sell fish to Fengzeyuan. After all, it was normal for a state-owned restaurant to buy fish.

"I know, I know. Xiao Laizi, you have said it many times. Grandma is not here to take care of your mother. She is here to enjoy herself."

Old Mrs. He said with a smile.

It is true that Wu Juan is not pregnant yet, and she basically does all the housework by herself, and Yu Shui often brings Chun'er over.

Grandma He just needs to help out from the side, and the work shouldn't be too little.

"Mom, you've been busy for most of your life, it's time to enjoy your life."

He Zhan interrupted happily.

"How could you be so lucky? If it weren't for you, Juanzi wouldn't have had a second child until she was this old. Look at your eldest brother and second brother, they all have three children. Go away. I get angry when I see you."

Seeing that He Zhan was still smiling playfully, Old Lady He immediately retorted.

Old Mrs. He had no good face for her son. If he had not left home to fight twice, her family would not have felt that they owed the Wu family.

He Zhan could only curl his lips and shut up. It was his own fault.

Old Mrs. He continued to criticize He Zhan, making He Zhan lower his head.

"Xiao Laizi, have you had your meal?" Wu Juan ignored He Zhan's affairs and continued to ask He Lai.

"Of course I ate it. Mom, didn't I tell you? Fengze Garden is my canteen. Dad, take the bag to the kitchen and wash some fruits for Mom and Grandma."

He Lai came to see He Zhan and felt a little embarrassed after what Old Lady He said, so he simply asked him to wash the fruit.

"Okay, I'll go right away."

When He Zhan heard this, he immediately stood up, took the bag and went to the kitchen.

"Xiao Laizi, grandma has been away for two months. Why don't you let grandma come over for a while? I'll go back to see the old man. I'm a little worried about him."

When Mrs. He saw that her son was sent away by He Lai, she told him about going back to the countryside.

"Uh." He Lai was embarrassed now. He didn't know what to say. He could only look at Wu Juan and let her speak.

"Mom, as long as you've made up your mind, I have no objection." Although Wu Juan also wanted to see her biological mother, it was impossible for her to drive Grandma He away.

"Okay, I'll go back this weekend. I haven't been back for such a long time, I miss them a little bit."

When Mrs. He saw Wu Juan agreed, she immediately smiled.

Although she had good food and drink in the city and people in the courtyard respected her, there was no one with whom she could chat. Only Li Dawa's mother across the street could she chat with. She felt a little suffocated and thought it was more comfortable in the countryside where they could get together and chat.

……

Just like that, within a few days, Old Mrs. He was replaced by Old Mrs. Wu.

Old Mrs. Wu is much easier to talk to than Old Mrs. He. Although she also dislikes He Zhan, Wu Juan is very happy. After all, she is her own mother. The two of them are less restrained and more affectionate.

At night, the He family gathered together.

"Xiao Laizi, what you said is indeed correct. Now the village canteen can no longer operate and we are running out of food.

The head of this commune is a liar. He says that food will be delivered soon, but in the past half month, nothing has been delivered.

They also ask us to have the spirit of hard work and perseverance, which is really like ivory being spit out by a dog.

Alas, now every household is going out to dig wild vegetables and borrow grains.”

Old Mrs. Wu talked about the current situation in the countryside and regretted that she had not stored more food.

"Grandma, it's okay. If you run out of food, you and grandpa can come to the city. I have a way to get you some food."

He Lai comforted Old Mrs. Wu. Now his space was much larger, more than ten times larger than before, and he had also collected a lot of food.

"What do you think the country is thinking? These big canteens have bred a bunch of lazy people. Now no one is farming the land. Everyone is competing to see who works the least.

Everyone thought that since it was the same distance when sitting on the edge of the field and working, it was also the same distance when eating, so they just ate however they wanted.

Isn't this a mess? How can you do this? "

Old Mrs. Wu got angry when she thought about a group of people sitting in the fields without working.

Many of them are young people who have no elderly people at home. If there were an elderly person to discipline them, they wouldn't be like this! They slack off every day and only know how to eat in the cafeteria.

He Lai also smiled bitterly. This is the era. Not to mention the countryside, there are such workers in factories now. Widow Qin is not the only one who is slacking off. There are many second-rate people who are just sitting there doing nothing.

The blind pursuit of egalitarianism, coupled with three years of severe drought, led to three years of natural disasters.

Several people were listening to Old Lady Wu sighing. They didn't expect that what He said would happen so soon.

Old Mrs. Wu was glad that she had prepared some food at home, otherwise it would have been really difficult.

"Grandma, don't think about it. No matter what the higher-ups say, we just need to not oppose it openly. Don't make any radical remarks."

He Lai reminded him. He Lai knew how good those people were at putting accusations on others.

Even the smallest mistake could be labeled a big crime! The term "cutting off the capitalist tail" was used throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

"Grandma knows. She's complaining about this in front of her family. Hey, your grandpa and uncle have gone to the mountains to pick acorns. We also dig wild vegetables every day. We dare not take out the hidden food to eat now. What do you think of this?"

Old Mrs. Wu sighed and spoke slowly.

"Xiao Laizi, do you think we should also store some food?"

Wu Juan was shocked when she heard that the situation in the countryside was so serious. It was almost 1959, and they had no food in the winter.

"Mom, don't worry, I've prepared all the food. There's enough to eat."

"Where is it? Is it hidden outside? Is it safe? Or you can ask your father to go."

Wu Juan was worried that He Lai would be discovered.

"It's okay. It was arranged by the person who introduced it from Fengze Garden. It will definitely be no problem."

He Lai started to fool people.

"Okay, the boss, you should also move and get some food back. You, a deputy section chief, are not as useful as Xiao Laizi."

Wu Juan began to dislike He Zhan again.

He Zhan looked embarrassed. It was not a good thing for his son to be too outstanding. If he did everything, he would seem useless.