Daily Life in the 70s-Chapter 13 - Heading to Town

The New Year was just a few days away, and whether the celebration could be lively or not, everyone hoped it would be whole and complete. So Yang Dahai discussed with his children, whether they should bring back the second child's family and the kids.

"Now it's all Peihua there taking care of everything. Bai Hehua is such a handful; I don't know how much my son has to put up with. We should just bring them back. Which woman gives birth and causes as much trouble as she does? She sure acts like royalty, doesn't she? Everything costs money every single day!" These were Zhang Minghua's words.

Then there was Yang Peijun, whose wedding date had been set.

There were hardly any objections from the rest; as long as the hospital said it was stable, they would bring them back.

"Alright, I'm planning to go to the town's Cooperative Society tomorrow to buy some things for Peijun's wedding banquet. I'll ask about it while I'm there. Peijun, you come with me. Let's borrow the ox cart from the team. If it's possible, we'll bring back the second child's family on the way."

Hearing that Zhang Minghua was going to town, Yang Pei Min was also tempted. She needed to buy a toothbrush, towel, underwear, and sanitary pads. Those were all personal items that she could hardly bear to use after the previous owner, not to mention they were worn out and old. Again, her obsession with cleanliness was acting up.

Fortunately, Zhang Minghua's original plan was to take her along too. "Minmin, do you think your body can handle it? Going to town can be done anytime, your health is the most important, you know?"

Zhang Minghua almost always took Yang Pei Min with her to the Cooperative Society otherwise her predecessor would make a big fuss, because of her "special move"—suddenly collapsing and foaming at the mouth (Yang Pei Min couldn't figure out how the previous owner managed to do that, but whenever someone asked her to work or scolded her, this skill would just come out!), and the whole family couldn't deal with it. So, despite being worried about her health, Zhang Minghua still suggested taking her to town.

Yang Pei Min nodded and said, "I'm fine, Mom, you can tell by looking at my face." Lying down for a few days really helped her recover a lot, and the family had even gotten her some tonics. She adjusted the ingredients of the medicine and made herself some medicinal meals several times. Her color had returned, remarked upon ironically by Yang Peiyan, and though still a bit pale, she disguised it well with her homemade lipstick so that the family couldn't tell.

After Zhang Minghua carefully examined her complexion, she felt relieved. "Then dress warmly with your clothes and scarf, don't catch a cold again."

"Yes, I know, Mom," Yang Pei Min happily agreed, bustling about to bundle up as round as a ball.

Da'an Town was a small town in the northern part of Qinghe City.

It had a distinctive era-feel. There weren't many pedestrians in town, and both sides of the road were lined with old grey bungalows or two-story buildings, including the Cooperative Society, Huimin Restaurant, grain shop, and vegetable market.

Zhang Minghua first took her to the town's hospital to see Bai Hehua.

The first thing she did upon entering was to find Bai Hehua's attending physician and inquire about the condition of the mother. She then delicately suggested, due to family circumstances, whether it was possible to go home for convalescence.

The doctor was quite direct, "The patient and child are basically stable now, just need to be careful at home. Also, make sure to caution the mother to keep her emotions stable. Fluctuations could affect recovery. She needs to watch her diet and be carefully looked after. That should suffice."

Zhang Minghua was overjoyed and thanked the doctor before heading to Bai Hehua's ward.

They had set out at after 6 a.m., and it was just after 7 a.m. when they arrived at the hospital. When the three of them entered, Yang Peihua and his wife were having breakfast, still enjoying the same small wontons, savoring each bite with relish.

Yang Peijun could even hear the sound of Yang Peijun swallowing his saliva...

Zhang Minghua's face looked rather unpleasant. The Huimin Restaurant charged 0.7 yuan plus 2 liang of food tickets for a bowl of small wontons. When they came to town, Yang Dahai, afraid they wouldn't have enough cash on hand, specially asked Zhang Minghua to give an extra ten yuan for meals to Yang Peihua, on top of the medical expenses. But now, thinking about how, because of this thankless situation, they had borrowed money from the team and were eating sweet potatoes and coarse grains at every meal, they couldn't bear to spend another cent on anything else.

These two, on the other hand, were enjoying delicious and spicy food at every meal. Even their breakfast included meat-filled small wonton soup. Their family had not tasted meat for months, and the two little granddaughters did the same as the adults. They never complained, even when they envied other children with better circumstances who could have candies, they just secretly swallowed their saliva.

It wasn't that Zhang Minghua was stingy and didn't want to treat a patient well, but there were many people who couldn't even eat fine food when they were sick. Being able to eat an egg was already a great pleasure. How could they waste money like this, eating the same thing every day? Couldn't they just eat eggs and fine grains instead?

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Yang Peijun was the first to lose his patience and said coolly, "Second brother and sister-in-law lead a pretty good life, huh."

"Mom, Peijun, Minmin..." Yang Peihua jerked around upon hearing that, and seeing his mother's unhappy face made him feel somewhat guilty, "You're here."

Bai Hehua, however, was much more gracious than her husband. She smiled, "Mom, you came to see me? Please sit down. The pain was unbearable last night; I couldn't sleep, and we only just had breakfast now. Have you eaten? If not, let Peihua go buy something for you."

"We've eaten already," Zhang Minghua said with a stern face as she walked over to Bai Hehua's bed, scanning the food in their hands and a box of Friendship Cream on the little table with her eyes, her tone growing even more displeased, "Seeing that the color has returned to the second brother's face and his appetite is good, it seems like it's time for discharge. Dad has been missing his eldest grandson and wants him to come home for the new year."

"You can say that again, eating small wontons meal after meal. It's not easy for mom and dad at their age, laboring so hard and not once having had such a meal," Yang Peijun's cutting remarks followed Zhang Minghua out the door.

Yang Peihua, feeling increasingly guilty, hung his head, while Bai Hehua, after finishing the wonton soup, said, "Peijun, it's just that I've been weak, and Peihua bought it out of concern for me just twice, and you happened to see it this time. Mom, I'm not that thoughtless. I'm really not well; last night I was in so much pain I was sweating cold sweat. Peihua bought it because he felt sorry for me. As for being discharged, I'm afraid I can't just yet, I need a couple more days."

Zhang Minghua gave her a cold glance, "I've already asked the doctor. He said you can be discharged. Peihua, start packing up your wife's things. I've brought the little quilt and clothes for the child. I'm going to buy a few other things, and by noon we should all head home."

Without waiting for Bai Hehua's expression to change dramatically, she walked out of the room with the Yang Peijun siblings in tow.

"Mom, that Bai Hehua still wants to stay in the hospital; she really dares to dream! If it weren't for us coming, who knows how much more money they would have squandered from home. Second brother really doesn't think about home at all. Are they really in a position to afford this?" Yang Peijun clenched his fists, seething with indignation.

Yang Peimin watched Zhang Minghua, who had been silent, figuring that she must also not feel good about this. He said sympathetically, "Third brother, just lay off a bit, mom is also angry. Don't add fuel to the fire. Luckily, we can be discharged now. We'll discuss this after we get back. Mom and dad are well aware of what's going on."