Daily Life in the 70s-Chapter 17 - : Again

Yang PeiMin, fearing that Zhang Minghua would draw the conversation to her, leaned back in her seat and pretended to sleep as soon as she got on the vehicle.

Bai Hehua, eyeing Shen Yiguang, who stood tall and heroic in front, moved her eyes twice and interrupted, "I wonder what kind of girl the Shen family's young brother is looking to find? My family has an unmarried sister, very pretty, diligent and quick, and she has read a few years of books, too, a cultured girl. In our village, who doesn't give her a thumbs up!"

Before Shen Yiguang could speak, Zhang Minghua scolded her first, "Nonsense! Your sister whose eyes are on top of her head should save it. Does someone like Xiao Shen need your introduction?"

After this topic ended, it was no longer good to continue chatting. The vehicle became somewhat silent until Yang Peijun brought up the topic of military life, which interested all the boys, and they talked all the way to Xiahe Village.

In this era, four-wheeled vehicles were exceedingly rare. When Shen Yiguang's car stopped, a group of village children quickly surrounded it, and the adults from a distance also watched and discussed, "Whose relatives have come?"

"I didn't even know we had such impressive relatives in our village. I think it's a leader who has come."

"Goodness, this is the first time I've seen such a vehicle!"

Zhang Minghua got out first.

"So, it's from the captain's family!"

"Who brought them back?"

Zhang Minghua greeted the villagers, a mysterious flush of red flickering across her face, as she hurriedly instructed Yang Peijun to bring down their belongings and told Yang PeiMin to get out and hold the child.

Yang PeiMin, who had initially feigned sleep, actually dozed off near Xiahe Village.

Hearing Zhang Minghua calling her, she drowsily opened her eyes, "Are we there?"

Then she heard a pleasant male voice answering her, "Yes."

"Oh, good."

Shen Yiguang thought she would get out of the car after saying "good," but she remained motionless, leaning on the seat, prompting him to take another glance at her side.

Yang PeiMin, having just woken up, had a touch of blush on her cheeks, radiant like the dawn, her black lustrous eyes staring blankly ahead, lost in thought.

"What's the matter?" Shen Yiguang asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Oh, nothing, I'm just a bit grumpy when I wake up, need a moment..."

Knowing that Shen Yiguang had other matters to attend to, Zhang Minghua did not insist on him staying, but invited him to attend Yang Peijun's wedding in a few days.

Shen Yiguang politely uttered a few words, saying he might not have time to come, but his mother would definitely be there.

Once Yang PeiMin was fully awake, she thanked Shen Yiguang once again, "I don't know when you will return to the army?" Looking up slightly due to Shen Yiguang's towering height of 188 cm, her face fully exposed in the sunlight, giving off a lustrous, jade-like appearance.

Shen Yiguang raised his eyebrows slightly, nodded gently, and said, "After the fifteenth of the first lunar month."

Yang PeiMin nodded her head, not saying anything more.

Back at home, Yang PeiMin quickly took her child back to his room.

As she passed by the courtyard, she overheard Zhang Minghua chatting with someone.

"Sister-in-law, why did a military vehicle drop you off today? When I first saw Minmin get out, I thought it was your son-in-law who had brought her back. Where did this soldier come from? He looks so smart!" This was a familiar aunty gossiping with Zhang Minghua.

"Don't talk nonsense!" Zhang Minghua scolded her lightly, "Last time, it was him who saved my Minmin. Today, the ox cart broke down and it happened to be him again who helped out. And to be honest, he really is a rare young man, and he's not married yet."

By the end of that sentence, Yang PeiMin could still hear the slight excitement in her voice.

"Oh, you don't actually fancy him, do you?" the aunty asked in a lowered voice. "Minmin is not getting any younger, it's about time you thought about matchmaking for her."

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"I'm still thinking about it, let's go inside and talk," the two women went into the house, continuing their gossip enthusiastically.

Yang PeiMin hurriedly ducked into her own room. This was terrible, just a ride and suddenly there was a new round of gossip.

In this simple and straightforward era lacking entertainment, a woman changing into a new dress could be the talk of the town for up to a fortnight, and she felt rather helpless about it.

She had dozed off in the car, and now she was completely without sleepiness. She brought out the household items she had left over from the day, bought two towels and a toothbrush, and firmly refused to let Zhang Minghua pay. With the 3 yuan and 20 cents left, she reckoned it was enough to buy several doses of medicinal herbs.

She planned to prepare a few packs of herbal medicine for Shen Yiguang to relieve fatigue, which was great when soaked in hot water for a foot bath, one of the most popular recipes in her grandfather's clinic. Modern people lived with much stress and were prone to occupational diseases like subhealth conditions, and such simple yet effective herbal remedies were very popular at her grandfather's place.

She knew Shen Yiguang was always in the military, and military life was tough; she hoped that these little tricks could help a little.

The herbs needed were commonly available; she was just not allowed to go to the back mountain by her family, so she had to buy some from the village barefoot doctor.

By evening, she had prepared ten packs of herbal medicine.

When Zhang Minghua entered and saw her handling these items, she approached, surprised, "Minmin, where did all this medicine come from? Whose is it?"

Yang PeiMin explained her plans, and fearing Zhang Minghua would probe into the source of her medicinal knowledge, she attributed it to the barefoot doctor.

Zhang Minghua's eyes gleamed with amusement, and she deftly helped tie the medicine packs with straw rope, "Good, having a heart of gratitude is important."

She then smiled and took a closer look at her daughter, leaning in to whisper, "Minmin, tell mom, what do you think about this Shen family boy?"

Yang PeiMin straightened up and looked at her, "He's fine, but I want to make it clear, I'm not planning to marry so early. Mom, don't get any ideas."

Zhang Minghua suggested with a negotiating tone, "How about just seeing him then? Marriage can happen later, but you can start seeing him first, right? We are in the New China now, and both your dad and I are open-minded. Just try dating for now, where else would you find a man with such good conditions? Once this opportunity passes, you won't find another. Listen to mom, didn't you see how many people were staring when he drove that car into the village today?"

In her previous life, Yang PeiMin had never encountered forced matchmaking or pressured marriages, but she had witnessed neighboring leftover women being forced to go on blind dates and get married. At that time, she also shed tears of sympathy for them and swore to herself that her loving grandparents would never force her to do anything unwillingly.

But who would have thought that good times wouldn't last forever.

She wanted to wail.

"Mom is telling you, marrying a military man is so honorable. Everywhere you go, people would look up to you. Haven't you heard people say that marrying is like rebirth? Have you not seen enough of those girls who ended up with harsh mothers-in-law, troublesome sisters-in-law, and foolish husbands? Shen Yiguang's family, I have seen them, and they're definitely not miserly people. The unmarried sisters-in-law are still in school; they must be reasonable... Even your clueless second sister-in-law knows to plan for her sister..."

"Mom, with such conditions, could the Shen family really think highly of me?" To break Zhang Minghua's train of thought, she could only find reasons against it herself. Given the original host's reputation, she doubted any decent family would approve of her — she not only couldn't do agricultural work but also couldn't manage basic household chores and was frail, embodying the delicate character of Lin Daiyu.

And yet, it was Zhang Minghu's blind belief as a mother that her daughter was the best.