Raising Babies in the 70s - Chapter 75

In mid-November 1971, it had been three months since they came to the island. For more than a month, the temperature in other places may be as low as single digits, but Qiongzhou Island entered a very comfortable season.

They were able to wear skirts and short sleeves…so to speak, it was about the same as summer elsewhere.

Although the temperature was high, there was a sea breeze. As long as a person was not exposed to the sun, they would not feel uncomfortably hot.

Some colony members felt that July and August were hot, but Qin Rou didn’t feel that at all. After all, she used to grow up in Shenzhen, and the summer in Shenzhen and Guangcheng was really hot as there was no wind.

Many people couldn’t survive without air conditioning.

In a long time of heat, people would get used to it, and the heat resistance would increase. Qin Rou once had a friend who stayed in Shenzhen for three months. It was said that she later returned to her hometown to spend the summer. Her father saw her at home in July and August without an air conditioner or fan, and looked at her like looking at a lunatic.

“Aren’t you hot?”

“…It’s not hot.”

When Qin Rou was in college, she also met a classmate from Qiongzhou Island. She shivered and said to her, “Winter in Guangcheng is so cold…”

“I can’t get through it.”

Qin Rou, who was still wearing the bare-legged dress, “???”

In short, the Shu dog barks at the sun, and the Cantonese dog barks at the snow.

“You must not have seen snow in your hometown.” 

Qin Rou couldn’t help but think of a picture in the circle of friends. In a certain year, a “thick” layer of snow fell, and all the snow on the car cover piled up. Finally, she built a fist-sized snowman with two toothpicks inserted.

A dozen people in front of the car took pictures with their phones and sent them to the circle of friends.

Other places were about to welcome winter. Qin Rou had a bumper harvest of melons and fruits. The lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. that were planted before could be picked. Her yard had changed a lot.

That year’s eggplants and loofahs were not lucky. The rotten roots were broken in the previous typhoon, and the replanted ones produced green shoots. Only tomatoes and cucumbers and leeks were growing very well, especially tomatoes. She built a pergola. It was covered with pretty little tomatoes.

She grew two kinds of tomatoes, one was a big red tomato and the other was a small tomato. The small tomato was very fruitful. There were more than 20 red and bright small tomatoes hanging on a vine, hanging down like beautiful curtains of agate beads.

Qin Rou took her little nephew to collect tomatoes, gave him a small basket, and picked off beautiful small red ones one by one.

“Try it, is it sweet?”

“Sweet.”

They went to the chicken coop and got fresh eggs, and made a wonderful fairy dish – scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

She went to pick two batches of lettuce that she took care of and grown, ordered fungus, frozen tofu, shrimp slips, vermicelli, plus some prawns, abalone, squid, scallop meat, and cooked it into a small seafood hot pot to celebrate the autumn and winter seasons.

Qin Rou took her little nephew Chen Jingyi to eat seafood hot pot in the yard.

Xia Mingxi had been picked up a month ago, as a soldier friend took him to his mother.

Her man had gone to the sea for more than half a month and had not come back.

There were only her and her nephew left.

Qin Rou’s sister Qin Mian’s family was going to arrive at Qiongzhou Island in early December.

And she was going to go to Guangcheng in two days. She had to pass a week there, so she wanted to leave her little nephew Chen Jingyi and the yard to Li Qinghua who readily agreed.

“Xiao Qin, don’t worry, leave it to me,” Li Qinghua guaranteed that she would water the plants and feed the chickens on time.

“Sister Huahua, you can also pick a few of these in my yard and take them home. Don’t let them spoil.”

“Okay.”

When Political Commissar Liu returned home, he saw his little wife seriously writing future plans.

Political Commissar Liu: “Future plans?!”

His wife was amazing, as she could write about future plans.

‘On a certain day in a certain year, I have to go to Xiao Qin’s yard…’

Political Commissar Liu didn’t know if he should be laughing or crying, “I have never seen you so caring about our yard.”

There was still a jackfruit tree in the yard, not even a little squirrel hung out at their house. Even if one wanted to steal coconuts, they didn’t come to their house to steal them.

Only a little bit of leek lettuce was grown on the second floor terrace.

“Xiao Qin’s yard is so beautiful, of course I have to pay attention, it’s not like our yard.”

“I don’t have to worry about it.”

Political Commissar Liu: “…” You have the face to say that?! You can help others to take care of their yard, but you can’t take care of your own yard? Why is our yard like this? Who is the culprit?

The Lu family’s yard was the most beautiful yard in the whole colony. Many of the yards were full of flowers, but they were not as beautiful as her small vegetable garden, because she was very good at layout and diligent in pruning the branches and leaves. The yard was not only fruitful, a few new flowers had been added.

Her yard had vegetables, flowers, chicken coop, thatched umbrella, deck chairs, and a small green lawn on which a shade swing was placed. The flower vines climbed onto the swing and formed small flower buds.

When many people passed by Lu’s house, they took a look in the courtyard and praised the ingenuity of the hostess.

Recently, several new colony members had come there. Every time they came, they always asked who the home belonged to.

“That’s Xiao Qin’s house, and the yard is beautifully laid out.”

“It’s really ingenious.”

“Isn’t she an announcer? She goes to work late in the morning and comes back early in the afternoon. She has nothing to do all day, so she can take care of her own small yard.”

“Aren’t there some colony members who don’t work? Don’t they have more time?”

“She doesn’t have any children yet. When you have a child, there is no time to take care of other things.”