The 1970s: Married First, Fell in Love Later-Chapter 94 - 93: Newly Acknowledged Cousin

Wang Shumin blushed and said, "They’re all for you."

Xue Yue smiled.

When she had seen her fighting Gu Yuwei, she had seemed quite capable. But now, no matter how she looked at her, she just found the girl a bit silly.

"You should take them back and eat them." ’I don’t deserve this,’ Xue Yue thought. Not only did she suddenly have a new aunt, but now a new older cousin too. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

She wasn’t used to it at all.

Wang Shumin shook her head. "I have more. I’m tired of eating these, so they’re all for you."

Xue Yue was left feeling helpless.

Out of the corner of her eye, Wang Shumin spotted Ruanruan on the kang bed. The baby was looking at her with big, blinking eyes, her little hands playing with her tiny feet. She was unbelievably cute.

Watching her, Wang Shumin felt her heart melt.

She leaned over the edge of the kang bed and gently held Ruanruan’s tiny foot.

"You are so cute."

Little Ruanruan cooperatively let out an "AHH~."

Wang Shumin kept playing with Ruanruan, showing no signs of leaving, but she and Xue Yue didn’t have much to talk about.

Xue Yue felt helpless but couldn’t just kick her out. Seeing her amusing the baby, she went back to her own chores.

At noon, Xue Yue invited Wang Shumin to stay for lunch, but she refused.

"No, thanks. I’ll eat back at my place. They’ve already prepared my meal, and it’ll go to waste if I don’t eat it."

Besides, she was too embarrassed to stay and eat.

Xue Yue wanted to tell her to take her things back, but before she could say anything, the girl had already run off.

’This girl is a whirlwind, but she doesn’t seem to have any ill intentions,’ Xue Yue thought. She didn’t dislike her.

Wang Shumin skipped all the way back to the Educated Youth Point, just in time to meet Liu Nana, who was coming to look for her.

"Lunch is almost ready. By the way, where did you go this morning? I saw you leave with a bag of stuff."

Wang Shumin whispered secretively to Liu Nana, "I went to my cousin’s house."

Liu Nana’s eyes went wide. "Cousin? Since when do you have a cousin here?"

Wang Shumin let out a proud "ahem." "We just found out."

Liu Nana asked curiously, "Just found out? Who is it? Have I met her?"

Wang Shumin nodded. "You know her. It’s Xue Yue, He Accountant’s third daughter-in-law."

"What? Her? For real?" Liu Nana exclaimed.

Her shout drew the gazes of all the other educated youths in the courtyard.

"Keep your voice down! Why would I lie about this? Didn’t my mom come yesterday? My mom and Xue Yue’s mom are sisters, so doesn’t that make us cousins?" Wang Shumin said in a low voice.

"Oh my god!" Liu Nana quickly covered her mouth.

Then she added softly, "But I did say before that you two look alike. I said you might be related. See? I was right!"

Wang Shumin chuckled softly.

"You’re right, how did I not think of that? No, I can’t keep this good news to myself. I have to write to my brother and tell him."

Wang Shumin’s older brother, Wang Qiming, was a soldier in the army. The two siblings were very close.

True to her impulsive nature, Wang Shumin rushed inside to write the letter as soon as she finished her meal.

That evening, Xue Yue brought up Wang Shumin to He Lang.

"She brought me a whole pile of snacks. I was actually a little touched. Maybe we really are cousins. I have a good feeling about her, so I think we can get to know each other better."

Xue Yue could sense Wang Shumin’s goodwill. She also spoke with a certain propriety, which at least proved she was a decent person.

He Lang smiled and said, "As long as you want to get along with her, that’s fine. And now we have another relative."

He Lang had met Wang Shumin before but didn’t have much of an impression of her. He just hadn’t expected the two of them to be connected by fate.

"I wonder how the talk between Eldest Brother and Dad went last night," Xue Yue mumbled.

Over at the old He Family residence, the second branch’s household was in an uproar.

The reason was that the second branch had run out of grain.

He Ze suspected it was because Gao Cuiyun was usually wasteful when she cooked. Otherwise, how could they have run out?

Gao Cuiyun felt terribly wronged. She had been very frugal! It wasn’t her fault the grain ran out. There were many people in their family. When they’d bought grain last year, the plan was for He Ze not to eat his meals at home. But after he bought a bicycle, he started coming back every day, so they went through the food much faster.

"You’re so bad at managing the household. What are you even good for?" He Ze said to Gao Cuiyun before opening the door and walking out.

Gao Cuiyun was furious. "How am I bad at managing the household? I’ve been incredibly frugal! Besides, I have to take care of three children by myself. What more do you want from me?"

But He Ze didn’t hear her. She was so aggrieved she was on the verge of tears. It was clearly his fault for not buying enough grain, so how had it suddenly become all her fault?

He Ze went to Mr. and Mrs. He’s room.

"You’re out of grain? Then go buy some from the brigade. What’s the use of telling us?" Mrs. He said angrily.

He Ze shook his head. "I already stopped by on my way home from work. The brigade is out of grain too."

Mrs. He was taken aback. "The brigade is out too? Then what are you going to do?"

Mr. He sat on the kang bed, holding his pipe and packing it with tobacco flakes.

"I’ll go to the brigade office tomorrow and see if any family has extra grain to sell. You can buy some then. If that doesn’t work, you’ll have to go to town to buy some, but the price will definitely be higher than at the brigade."

He Ze nodded.

Mrs. He grew angry just looking at him. "I told you last year! With so many people in your family, that little bit of grain would never be enough. But you said it was. Well, look now! It’s only May, and there are still five months until the grain distribution, but your family is already out. What are you going to eat for all that time? I don’t even care about you adults, but what about the three children?"

He Ze just stood in the room without saying a word, letting his mother scold him like a wooden post.

After a long while, he finally said slowly, "Mom, can you lend me some grain for now? We haven’t had dinner yet."

Mrs. He froze, her mouth open to scold him again. But seeing He Ze’s head hanging low, she managed to hold her tongue.

She ladled a few scoops of cornmeal from the cabinet, picked out two sweet potatoes, and handed them to him. "Hurry back and cook for the children."

He Ze took them and left immediately.

Mrs. He fumed, "He goes to work every day, but who knows what he does with the money. He can’t even feed his own wife and children. What kind of life is this? So promising."

Mr. He remained silent, his brow furrowed, as he smoked his pipe, puff after puff.

Early the next morning, Mr. He went to the brigade and had the village chief make an announcement over the village’s loudspeaker.

He asked if any family had surplus grain to sell. And what do you know, one or two families did. They came over pushing their grain, though it was only potatoes and corn, no other varieties.

Some families had more people, so they received more grain. If they also earned full work points, they would have a surplus by the end of the year. Selling it was a good option, allowing them to wait for the new harvest.

He Ze had learned his lesson this time. He wasn’t picky. He took out fifty yuan and spent it all on grain.

This was all the money the family had left.

To be fair, He Ze had it tough. He was supporting a large family by himself. Gao Cuiyun had to watch the kids and couldn’t work in the fields, and the two younger children couldn’t work either.

The little money he earned was just enough to keep his large family from starving.