Raising Babies in the 70s

Captain Jiang’s wife, Yang Yufeng, was very warm-hearted and loved to gossip and watch dramas. Hearing that a new family had arrived, she took the initiative to help.

There were still two people standing guard at the entrance of the family home, and several young soldiers helped unload the luggage and moved it to the small transport car in the family home.

Seeing Qin Rou’s face, Yang Yufeng asked curiously, “You are also from the northwest?”

Generally, people who came there from places with sandstorms preferred the air there. The air did not get stuck in the throat and was very comfortable.

Before she came there, she never imagined that there would be such fresh and clean air.

“I came from Bincheng, my hometown is at the junction of Sichuan and Hunan.”

“Is that so? No wonder you are so beautiful.”

Yang Yufeng thought to herself that the new girl was so beautiful. She was probably a girl from the city. Many people had been transferred to the place, and more colony members had been added.

The wives brought by the officers were all different, squeamish, down-to-earth, and various types, but they could be roughly divided into two categories.

Yang Yufeng judged Qin Rou as squeamish.

Among these two categories, the squeamish new colony members were the most entertaining to watch, they were the most tactful, and in the first few months of their arrival, they always did something new which made everyone have fun to watch.

The down-to-earth type was more able to endure hardship and easily satisfy the existing environment. They didn’t do things, like chase the baby, beat the baby, scold the husband, etc., and were more likely to have bitter scenes.

The climate and scenery of Qiongzhou Island were quite strange. Some especially liked it, and couldn’t wait to bring their parents from their hometown to enjoy the happiness. While some didn’t like it and ran away.

Many of the squeamish colony members were the spouses of young military officers. They had never suffered much and couldn’t accept many things.

There were no sandstorms in the place, but there were frequent typhoons. From April to October every year, especially these two years, the locals said that typhoons were the most frequent.

Once the typhoon left many trees, and the telephone pole fell. The previous one even crushed people to death. It was very dangerous, and some colony members couldn’t bear to leave their home.

In addition to these, Qiongzhou Island was hot and humid all year round, and the big bugs, centipedes, and big snails were fat, enough for those squeamish girls to suffer.

The conditions of the family home were not bad. Many people liked it when they first arrived, but they have changed from liking to collapsing.

Yang Yufeng didn’t show it on her face and wanted to watch the play in secret. She felt that Qin Rou was enchanting, coquettish and squeamish, so she would cause a lot of trouble.

The house Lu Yan was assigned was a small two-story building with white walls and a red roof, with a yard, a small terrace on the second floor, and three tall coconut trees on the side. It was very beautiful, like a small villa. Qin Rou fell in love at first sight.

When the electricity was turned on, the family rooms in the row also received tap water.

There was no need to go outside to fetch water. Qin Rou was very satisfied with it. It was good to have water in her yard.

At that moment, Yang Yufeng pretended hesitantly and said, “Do you want to change the house?”

Qin Rou asked, “What’s wrong with this house?”

“No big problem, just… oh, let me tell you the truth. If so, everyone thinks that the luck in this house is not very good.”

Qin Rou: “…” Defeat all monsters and demons.

Yang Yufeng covered her mouth and whispered, “It’s not that luck, it’s another kind of luck, Sister Qin, you know, this house has been replaced by five or six people living here in two years.”

Qin Rou: “Why?” She got goosebumps, why so gloomy?

“This house is beautifully built, and a girl like you likes it, but… I don’t know what happened. It didn’t take long for people to get divorced after moving in. Several couples left.”

Qin Rou: “…”

It turned out that it was that kind of luck.

“If you want to change houses, you can change to the other side, but there is no tap water connected to that side. There is a public tap water station not far in front of you.”

“Don’t think that it is good to have tap water at home. If you are in a hurry, you still have to dig a well. The water for a day is fixed and not much. You have to rush to use it early, and usually you will not get any water at night.”

…

“Sister Qin, will you change the house?”

Qin Rou shook her head, “No, I’ll stay in this house.”

“That’s fine.” 

Yang Yufeng saw more people as tough as Qin Rou, and was not surprised by her choice.

In fact, she also concealed one thing. Zhang Tuan lived next door to the house. His wife was from Sichuan Province. She cooked vegetables deliciously, had quick hands and feet, and was beautiful. She was a model wife in that place.

Those male officers envied Zhang Tuan, who married such a good wife.

With such a pair of good models staying next door, it was hard not to quarrel.

As soon as they quarrelled, they began to dislike their wife, “Why don’t you learn from Zhang Tuan’s wife?” 

“How is his wife at home?”

“Are you comparable to Zhang Tuan’s wife?”

It was not easy for Yang Yufeng to tell people about these things, but Xiao Qin lived there, and she would find out later.

– There would be a good show to watch.