Back to the 60s: The Struggle Career of a Charmed Wife
Chapter 786 - 0786: Reap What You Sow1_1

Chapter 786: Chapter 0786: Reap What You Sow1_1

Upon stepping into the Lu Family courtyard and entering the house, Lu Shuai, Cui Shaoyuan, and the others had just one overwhelming impression — cleanliness and orderliness!

It was so clean!

It was so orderly!

Even the grains and dry vegetables piled in the corner of the western wall were neatly arranged and easy to take in at a glance.

On the front wall, there was a color portrait of the old leader, with the leader’s calligraphy hanging beside it. A picture of Xibao with the old leader and others was nearby, all spotlessly clean.

On the Kang, a traditional Chinese bed-stove, three cotton quilts, a towel quilt, two large pillows, and two small pillows were neatly stacked. The large pillows were covered with red pillowcases and the area below was spread with quilts and bedsheets. There were no wool blankets or quilts, but all the bedding, sheets, and pillowcases showed signs of wear and tear. Some even had patches, clearly indicating they were old items.

An old Kang table leaned against the wall on the Kang, old bamboo basket holding sewing materials and toys was on the table.

Towels, clothes, and diapers dangled from the clothesline. None of them were new, and all of Lu Jiang’s clothes had patches.

Cui Shaoyuan counted the towels mentioned in the accusatory letter. There were four towels in total, three of which were old and quite worn out. Only one was new, as white as snow.

There were two large chests and a cabinet on the side with an assortment of shoes lined up next to them.

Among the shoes, there were liberation shoes, leather shoes, army boots, and cloth shoes; shoes for adults and children; single-layer shoes and cotton shoes — more than a dozen pairs in total. All were neatly cleaned and arranged, and most were old. The leather shoes from Badaling and the Blue Begonia may have been polished shiny, but one could easily tell they were old leather shoes, having been worn for at least two to three years.

There were two enamel basins in the room — one with chipped enamel that had an old towel draped on it, probably a footwashing basin located near the shoes.

The other enamel basin was placed on the chest and held two or three bottles of YaShuang snow cream, clam oil, and an enamel Gangzi with toothpaste and a couple of toothbrushes inserted upside down. None of these were new.

As Feng Qingxue was unlocking the cabinet and fetching the enamel Gangzi to pour water for the guests, a comrade named Ding Aihong stepped up to help, taking the opportunity to sneak a few glances inside the cabinet and quickly took in the interior scene.

The bottom of the cabinet had two doors, the upper part was divided into three layers separated by wooden boards; the top layer held lunch boxes, bowls, cups, plates, spoons, and jars for oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. The middle layer had a row of enamel Gangzis. Including the one Feng Qingxue was holding, none of these Gangzis were new; one of them seemed to have been knocked against something, its enamel chipped off, revealing dark traces underneath.

The bottom layer held baby bottles and the expensive commodities mentioned in the accusatory letter — malt essence, milk powder, candy, canned goods, and luncheon meat. The quantity was rather small and well within Lu Jiang and Feng Qingxue’s means.

Feng Qingxue handed the enamel Gangzi to Ding Aihong, then opened the lower cabinet to take out a tin thermos.

"Our little guy is quite a handful, and we dare not leave the hot water bottle out in the open for fear he might knock it over and burn himself. So we always keep it locked in the cabinet," Feng Qingxue explained with a smile as she poured the water, deliberately allowing the others to see that there were only two thermos flasks and two slightly worn army water bottles in the small cabinet.

With many guests in the house, there weren’t enough enamel Gangzis, so Feng Qingxue used all the bowls as tea bowls.

Cui Shaoyuan accepted a bowl of the butter tea that had been prepared and asked, "How has life been since you followed the army?"

"Quite good," Feng Qingxue replied with a smile. "We don’t have to worry about food, clothing, or housing. The army canteen provides meals regularly, and we have grain subsidies from our hometown. The salary of my husband and I is more than enough to support the family, and we even have some left over."