Chapter 89 Radio

Ye Fengqin exclaimed in surprise, "That Li Zhiqing's belly is so big! Could it be twins?"

Bai Xiaoyue and Li Mingyue exchanged a glance, and Li Mingyue whispered:

"Under the big locust tree, the old ladies said that when she first got married, she was already several months pregnant."

Ye Fengqin's eyes widened: "This Li Zhiqing is so open-minded!"

Wen Tong said disdainfully, "Criticizing this person and criticizing that person? I think she's the one who should be criticized."

The group chatted as they picked hazelnuts, and thankfully they had invited Ye Fengqin along, who led them to pick quite a few hazelnuts from the familiar spot.

They also found a lot of fruit under a tree, which Ye Fengqin said were walnuts.

Upon hearing the name "mountain walnuts," Bai Xiaoyue assumed it was the same pecans she had eaten before and happily picked up half a basketful.

When I got home, I picked up a few, took a knife to remove the outer skin, and then realized that they were not pecans at all.

It's a bit like the walnuts from my hometown, but smaller and with a thick shell that's very difficult to peel.

Bai Xiaoyue threw it in the corner in great disappointment. Later, Yan Ci would peel a few for the child to eat whenever he had time.

As the weather grew colder day by day, Yan Ci prepared firewood and went up the mountain to hunt some pheasants and rabbits.

The couple prepared plenty of things for the winter, just waiting for their child to come home for the holidays so they could stay home and hibernate.

That evening at dinner, Xiaobai excitedly said:

"Dad, Mom, that Brother Li has a little box that makes sounds and tells stories."

Bai Xiaoyue asked, "What kind of box is it?"

Yan Ci asked, "Where did this Brother Li come from?"

Xiaobai looked at his father and said:

“It was Li, the educated youth from the educated youth settlement. He told me to call him brother.”

Then, after gesturing for a while to describe what a small box looked like, Yan Ci said to his wife, "It's the radio that Xiao Bai is talking about."

Bai Xiaoyue suddenly realized, and then asked her son, "Xiaobai likes it?"

Xiao Bai nodded vigorously: "I like it, there are people telling stories inside."

Bai Xiaoyue patted her son's head and said:

"Okay, we'll buy it for Xiaobai when we have the money."

That evening, Bai Xiaoyue said to Yan Ci:

"Aci, go ask how much that radio costs?"

Yan Ci asked his wife, "Do you want to buy this for the child?"

Bai Xiaoyue nodded: "The child is indeed bored staying at home all day. It's good that he can listen to the radio."

She knew that radios in this era must be expensive, but when Yan Ci told her that a radio cost ninety-five yuan, she still gasped.

Bai Xiaoyue blinked and asked Yan Ci:

"We're about to hand in our task pig, so instead of killing the other one, we'll sell it to the food station. Would that be enough to buy a radio?"

Yan Ci stared at her for a long time without saying a word.

Bai Xiaoyue, clinging to Yan Ci's arm, asked, "What's wrong? Isn't that enough?"

Yan Ci asked helplessly, "Wife, are we out of money?"

Bai Xiaoyue replied, "Yes, we don't usually spend much money."

Yan Ci asked, "Then why do we need to sell pigs to buy it?"

Bai Xiaoyue scratched her head:

"That's because we were afraid of arousing suspicion. Every year, the money that the brigade allocated to us was used to buy grain."

"Where would I get so much spare money to buy a radio?"

Yan Ci patted his wife's head and said:

"If the radio is left at home, who will see it? If anyone asks, just say it's an old one that I bought for twenty dollars."

"Don't sell the pig; slaughter it and keep it for our own consumption. The children need nutrition."

Bai Xiaoyue patted her head:

"Oh dear, Aci is so smart. It's my fault for being inflexible. I'll listen to you."

When Yan Ci brought the radio home, Chang Le and Xiao Bai were overjoyed.

Yan Ci let the two children adjust the arrangement themselves, while he and his wife stood by and watched.

Xiao Bai gently turned the knob, and a faint rustling sound was heard, followed by a beautiful melody.

Bai Xiaoyue saw that the radio was working properly, so she let the two children play with it.

She was about to go to the kitchen to cook dinner, and Yan Ci accompanied her.

Just as the two reached the kitchen, there was a rapid knocking at the door from outside the yard.

Bai Xiaoyue and Yan Ci exchanged a glance. It was already dark; who would come knocking?

Before Yan Ci could even open the door, he heard a voice: "Changle, Changle, open the door."

He recognized the voice as Ye Changxing's and opened the courtyard gate.

Sure enough, Ye Changxing and a thin boy were standing outside.

Yan Ci led the two of them into the house. Bai Xiaoyue saw that Ye Changxing had arrived and greeted him warmly, "Changxing is here, come sit on the kang."

Chang Le was also very happy: "Brother, it's been so long since I've seen you."

Ye Changxing pointed to the people he had brought with him to Chang Le:

"Changle, could you take care of her for me? I need to talk to my aunt."

Yan Ci glanced at him sideways, and Ye Changxing quickly took off the person's hat; it was a girl.

Ye Changxing said to Bai Xiaoyue, "Auntie, let's talk over there."

Bai Xiaoyue then took him to Xiaobai's room, where the kang (heated brick bed) was heated.

Ye Changxing sat down and said to Bai Xiaoyue and Yan Ci:

"I'd like to ask my aunt to take care of Jiang Nan for a few days."

Bai Xiaoyue asked, "Who is she? Why not bring her back to the Ye family and let your mother take care of her?"

Ye Changxing said, "My mother can't keep a tight tongue, and Jiang Nan's identity is rather complicated."

Bai Xiaoyue and Yan Ci exchanged a glance before asking, "How complicated is it?"

The Jiang family used to be a wealthy family in the city. A few years ago, when the movement first started, Jiang Nan's parents left with their son.

Before Grandpa Jiang and Jiang Nan could leave, the Jiang family's house was ransacked. Grandpa Jiang was criticized and struggled against every night and forced to do labor reform during the day.

Grandpa Jiang has a strong will and persevered for his granddaughter.

Some time ago, some scoundrel claimed that his family still had assets that hadn't been handed over.

Grandpa Jiang was arrested and interrogated; those people were very harsh with him.

His injuries were very serious, and he was unable to control his urination and defecation.

Grandpa Jiang was a strong-willed man who didn't want to be a burden on his granddaughter, so he committed suicide at home.

Jiang Nan sat blankly beside her grandfather's body, neither eating nor drinking.

Bai Xiaoyue felt extremely sad, and her eyes reddened.

Yan Ci asked Ye Changxing, "How do you know so much?"

Ye Changxing said, "Jiang Nan's grandfather was the principal of my junior high school. He used to bring Jiang Nan to the school often."

I knew he was being criticized and denounced, but there was nothing I could do.

Now that Grandpa Jiang has passed away, I'm afraid they'll go after Jiang Nan.

Yan Ci asked, "Then what do you want to do?"

Ye Changxing's eyes were a little red: "Grandpa Jiang was helped by kind people to bury him."

He taught and nurtured students for decades, yet he didn't even have a coffin after his death.

In the end, all that was left was a tattered mat, which was then hastily buried in a pit.

I can't save him, but I want to save Jiang Nan.

Bai Xiaoyue kept wiping away tears after hearing this.

Yan Ci asked, "So what are your plans?"

Ye Changxing: "The dilapidated house where Jiang Nan and his grandfather lived was far away from everyone else."

When I took Jiang Nan away, the place had already been set on fire.

I want to send Jiang Nan away, to another place.

Yan Ci: "Since you have already made up your mind, let's leave the person here for now."

"Go back first, don't give yourself away, and come back to pick them up after you've made all the arrangements."

Ye Changxing said to the two women, "Auntie, Uncle Yan, I'm counting on you." Then he hurriedly left.