Daily Life in the 70s-Chapter 234 Trivial Matters

It wasn’t easy to get back to the troop. Finding someone to help and passing by the entrance of the Cui family’s house, it was no longer like it was in the morning, bustling with people coming and going. It had regained its usual calm. Only Mrs. Cui was seen sitting at the door on a chair, picking vegetables and muttering something under her breath. Her gaze shifted and, upon seeing Yang Peimin and the sack of stuff her comrade had helped carry, she smiled and greeted her, "Mrs. Shen, are you out shopping?"

Yang Peimin simply nodded lightly.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Shen’s boy is really something, bringing bags upon bags. I’ve been eyeing them quite a few times," she said, craning her neck trying to get a glimpse into the almost invisible sack to find out what was inside. Yang Peimin pretended not to hear and followed her comrade upstairs to see him place her sack on her own floor. That’s when she finally came to life.

The summer heat was oppressive, and just climbing the stairs with her belongings had made her too hot to even want to talk.

But no matter how hot or tired, she had to struggle and get ready to light the stove. It was nearing six o’clock and almost dark. Luo Dahua, thinking about her daughter’s congee meat, hurried upstairs as soon as she heard her come back.

Yang Peimin couldn’t bother with the stove and ended up taking out everything again, handing the lean meat over to Luo Dahua.

Luo Dahua invited her, "Come eat with us tonight. You’re all alone over here, no need to cook and go through the hassle."

Yang Peimin shook her head. She had meat at home and couldn’t go to eat there. The children were looking forward to having an extra bite of meat; how could she go and enjoy it herself? "No, thank you. I have eggs and such at home, and I’m not hungry yet. You don’t have to worry about me."

Luo Dahua said she would come over after dinner to help tidy up.

Yang Peimin agreed.

After she left, Yang Peimin didn’t cook or go to the cafeteria. She opted to just heat up the meat buns and cornbread she had taken out from town and make do with that.

After heating up two buckets of water and taking a bath and washing her hair, she put on a comfortable nightgown and began to sort out the things she had bought. Not having curtain hooks, she sewed them in place with needle and thread and gave the floor another couple of sweeps before Luo Dahua arrived. Luo Dahua came with her youngest daughter in her arms, and her eldest trailing behind her. They came in exclaiming, "Wow, your floor is so clean! I’m almost too embarrassed to step on it."

Yang Peimin pulled up her eldest daughter and said with a smile, "Come on in, it’s fine. I figured you’d bring the kids over, so I didn’t want them to get their clothes dirty."

Luo Dahua gave her a playful look, "Look at you, so particular. We mud children usually don’t care about that much. Is there anything you haven’t cleaned up yet?"

Yang Peimin let her put the children down and took out some snacks for them. She said to Luo Dahua, "Actually, there is. I was thinking of planting something on the balcony. Can you help me figure out how to do it? Where can I find flower pots?" She had previously dug up several aloe vera plants from the wild and moved them from the old dormitory. They were looking thin and small, with a withered appearance, as they hadn’t been watered for a long time. She planned to transplant a few more, "I’m not sure if you’ve ever seen these plants before, but I want to plant some more."

Luo Dahua took a quick look and laughed, "Yeah, there are plenty in the small woods behind here. What do you use this plant for?"

"This is aloe vera; it’s quite useful. It can be applied for burns, mosquito bites, itchy skin, heat rash in children, and it’s also good for beauty purposes. When applied to the face, it can improve the skin."

Luo Dahua expressed she also wanted to plant a few aloe vera at home.

After discussing it, they thought, since the balcony was just sitting unused except for drying clothes, why not put a few pots of soil on it and plant something?

Yang PeiMin thought about it. Her balcony was quite large, and there was enough space. Simply using flower pots might not fully utilize the space. If someone could help bring some wooden boards over, design them, and bind them to create a staircase shape, it would look nice and provide plenty of space.

Luo Dahua, with her head buzzing with ideas, slapped her thigh, "Perfect, my man knows how to do this carpentry work. I’ll get him to come over."

Yang PeiMin was also pleasantly surprised, "That sounds great, but about those wooden boards, where can we find them?"

"That’s easy, we have them in our military unit. Just buy some from the procurement department."

"Okay, just let me know when, and I’ll have the money ready."

Then Luo Dahua started talking about the vegetable patch below, "It’s been sort of evenly divided. The land was just lying there unused, so it’s better for us to grow some vegetables to help ourselves out. I’ve already done a season with my plot, and usually it’s enough for my family - fresh, money-saving, and convenient. Just go and pick when you want to eat. I’ve looked at your plot; it’s quite close to mine. Think about working on it. Seeing it sit empty for so long, some people have been eying it, saying if you’re not going to plant anything, they’d like to take it over and grow something. You mustn’t agree to that. Just do a bit of work with your own hands, plant anything, and you’ll have something to eat."

Grow vegetables?

Yang PeiMin was completely perplexed, but Luo Dahua was right. Home-grown produce was fresh and convenient. If she didn’t know how, she’d just have to learn. Everyone starts somewhere after all.

She nodded in agreement, "Alright, sister-in-law, lead the way tomorrow." She felt a bit embarrassed as she continued, "Teach me, too. I don’t know how to do this."

"That’s nothing, I have some seeds on my side. Tomorrow, I’ll show them to you. We’ll plant whatever vegetables you like to eat."

After chatting for a while and with the sky turning dark, Luo Dahua stood up to leave with her child.

The next day, Yang PeiMin actively went to find Luo Dahua. She wanted to get the vegetable plot sorted out first before anything else. She decided she wanted to start immediately; the sooner the vegetables were planted, the sooner they could be eaten.

Luo Dahua had seeds for vegetables like string beans, cabbage, carrots, green peppers, and pumpkins. The autumn came early in this region, and the weather was relatively cold, so the seeds currently being sown were those that could withstand the cold, like cabbages and potatoes.

Luo Pei-min thought it was fine; she wasn’t picky about these. As long as she practiced her cooking and made it taste good, nothing else mattered.

Getting to know Luo Dahua really was her lucky break. When Luo Dahua heard she didn’t know how to grow vegetables, she initially thought it just meant Yang PeiMin didn’t know how to cook certain dishes, but it turned out she had no idea at all. After getting to know her a bit during these days, and learning she came from the countryside, Luo Dahua was somewhat surprised and teased her a bit.

But she was clear and efficient when it came to teaching, showing Yang PeiMin how to till the land, scatter the seeds, and explaining the important tips one by one.

At noon, Luo Dahua’s husband came back and she asked him to help set up the flower bed that Yang PeiMin wanted, even hauling the soil up for her. Yang PeiMin was touched and decided that once Shen Yiguang returned, she would definitely invite these helpful neighbors over for a good meal.

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