Eighties Sweetheart Wife-Chapter 29 - Splitting Up_1

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Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Splitting Up_1

Chapter 29 -29: Splitting Up_1

Everyone heard everything loud and clear.

But they quickly used eating as an excuse to cover it up.

We mustn’t let Little Nuan find out and scare her.

[The best plan is to first stir up trouble within the Wang family, but how to hint to them about Old Woman Mrs.

Wang’s weak points?]

Old Mrs.

Song’s mood suddenly brightened, “This afternoon I’m going to Li family village.

I’m going to ask around for some gossip.”

Song Yunuan’s eyes lit up, “Grandma, what are you going to inquire about?”

“Old Woman Mrs.

Wang, that woman has a bad heart.

She has offended quite a few people even in her own maternal village, and she even spread rumors that caused a girl to jump into the river.

You would think she would feel guilty, but she doesn’t.

She keeps on eating and drinking as usual.

When the girl’s parents made a fuss, she said that the girl jumped because she had a guilty conscience, which resulted in both families becoming enemies.

Later, she married into our village.”

Song Yunuan felt pity, “Then I can’t go with grandma this afternoon because I have to sell shepherd’s purse.

You should be careful.”

Song Liang said, “No problem, I’ll take your grandma to the Li family village and wait for her outside the village.”

Old Mrs.

Song took out a yuan from her pocket and gave it to Song Yunuan, who couldn’t go to the county town empty-handed in the afternoon.

Song Yunuan said, “Oh, uncle gave me a dime, and auntie gave me two dimes, but it seems like they don’t know about each other.”

Old Mrs.

Song laughed heartily.

She told Song Yunuan to rest and to secure her money well, lest it get stolen in the city.

Little Asheng followed her like a little tail, “Sister, I’ll keep you company and make sure the big rat doesn’t climb onto the kang (heated brick bed).”

Song Yunuan pinched her little brother’s chubby cheeks that seemed about to fly off, “Why, do you want to go to the county town with grandpa and me?”

Asheng clung to Song Yunuan’s leg and acted spoiled, “Sister is the best, Asheng likes sister the most.”

She picked up her brother in response, heading to her bedroom.

The little guy wrapped his arms around her neck, “Sister, can I have another piece of biscuit?”

“Didn’t you just finish eating?”

The little one was easy to raise, not a picky eater, everything tasted good to him, otherwise he wouldn’t have grown so white and chubby.

Being the youngest in the family, it was hard for everyone else, as nobody was willing to let him suffer.

“Sister, it’s like this—I saw Huzi make a crescent shape by biting a biscuit, and I’ve always wanted to try it, I just forgot because I ate in a hurry earlier.

I want to really try it this time.”

The little guy said it with a very serious face, tensing his little cheeks.

By the time they had reached the room, Song Yunuan put him on the kang and went to the cabinet to get biscuits, a total of five biscuits, three milk candies, and two strips of beef jerky.

These were given to Asheng by Sun Zhiqing.

It was that type of old-fashioned biscuit, with a faint wheat aroma.

Song Yunuan handed him a biscuit, “Here, try biting a crescent shape.

If you can’t do it, your sister will show you how.”

The little guy’s eyes were like black grapes, watery.

He eagerly looked at Song Yunuan, and after a few seconds, he obediently handed it over.

Song Yunuan laughed heartily, stopped teasing her brother, and just reminded him to rinse his mouth after eating.

She also told him to have a milk candy on the road and then forbade him from eating any more candy that day.

Outside in the courtyard, Old Man Song placed more than a dozen carrying baskets in the shade against the wall.

From time to time, he sprinkled them with clean water.

Otherwise, they would wilt and lose their freshness.

Still, such business dealings could not be made obvious; neighbors were all watching with eagle eyes.

Although speculation was not officially condemned, getting caught could still lead to significant trouble.

How to take it out then?

Old Man Song went to the Brigade office

and borrowed a horse cart.

The Brigade office had rules: the horse cart could be borrowed, but there was a fee.

It cost fifty cents for one use, with fodder being the borrower’s responsibility.

The time limit was one day; it couldn’t be kept overnight and any damage had to be compensated for.

Fifty cents, at that time, in Erdao River Village, could cover a month’s worth of soy sauce and salt, purchase twenty-five boxes of matches, or even buy six ounces of meat.

Anyway, the money from the eighties really had value.

After the horse-drawn carriage hurried back to the Song family residence and entered the courtyard, a pile of green grass was thrown to the chestnut horse, and on the other side Old Man Song began to get busy.

He attached the sideboards to the large carriage, enclosed it with willow branches, and as Old Man Song was loading firewood into the vehicle, Old Man Sun from next door, seeing this over the hedge, called out, “You’re sending firewood to your youngest son again?”

Old Man Song replied loudly, “Yep, he came over the day before yesterday saying they had run out of firewood at home, so I’m taking some to him.”

“Children are really like debts, aren’t they?”

“Aren’t they just!”

After Old Man Sun had left, Old Man Song loaded baskets of shepherd’s purse into the carriage and covered them with dry branches, and there was no need to cover the woven willow baskets he’d made specially, as they all had lids.

By the time Song Yunuan came out from the house, Old Man Song had already finished loading the carriage.

From the outside, it appeared to be just firewood.

In a quiet voice, Old Man Song told Song Yunuan that he also packed a few extra small baskets of shepherd’s purse for the ticket inspector, the driver, and others who offered help such as Sister Zhao from the Women’s Federation, as well as the warehouse manager from the fertilizer plant, to share some with them.

Song Yunuan’s eyes sparkled brightly, “Grandpa, you’ve thought of everything.”

The old man sure was thorough with his work.

“We’ll set off in a bit.

We might come back a bit late, so don’t dress lightly.”

As Song Yunuan agreed, she also complimented, “These little baskets are so pretty, delicate and intricate, they could be used for buying vegetables.

Grandpa, did you weave them all yourself?”

“I did,” he answered.

“In our village, there are lots of red willows, just perfect for weaving around this time.”

The old master was skillful not only in weaving tightly and meticulously but also in creating beautiful shapes.

However, there were many in the area who knew how to weave baskets.

The horse-drawn carriage was quickly put in order.

Little Asheng woke up, didn’t see his sister, and thought they had left without him, so he burst into tears.

Hearing the cry, Song Yunuan hurriedly opened the window, “Why are you crying?

Did you have a nightmare?”

Song Mingsheng: …

He not only saw his sister but also the chestnut horse leisurely grazing in the yard.

The little guy wiped his tears, mumbled as he climbed down from the heated brick bed, put on his shoes by himself, and ran outside.

Song Yunuan caught him and went back to the room to find him clothes and a hat, only to realize that her brother hardly had any clothes, and it seemed all altered from adult’s clothing.

One pair of pants even had a big patch on the seat.

But that was the norm back then.

By the time the grandfather and grandchildren trio arrived at the designated spot, it didn’t take long for the bus to come.

They were waiting at the turn of a slope.

Sister Niu liked the shepherd’s purse and told Song Yunuan they were headed to the city now, and that their horse-drawn carriage could just follow behind the bus.

Old Song felt his heart, which seemed to have been hanging in his throat, somewhat ease at this news, with the other half of his worries dependent on the boarding house kitchen’s satisfaction.

Song Yunuan and her brother boarded the large bus.

She took the baskets of shepherd’s purse intended for Sister Niu and the driver and handed each a small basket, “They were washed with water from our well and picked cleanly.

This season, it’s all about the freshness.”

The shepherd’s purse was picked neatly and washed in cold water, looking vibrant green and tender.

Sister Niu beamed with joy, “There’s so much here, we can make dumplings.

Oh my, these baskets are also so lovely.”

“It’s my grandpa’s handiwork.

They even have lids, can be used for buying groceries.”

“The old man’s hands are truly skillful.”

Sister Niu thanked the old master sincerely and after pondering a moment, she asked Song Yunuan, “The Brigade Leader Song from Erdao River Village—is he related to you?”

“…

He’s my dad.”

“Sister has something to tell you.” Sister Niu said seriously as she began to speak.