The Daily Life of a Stepmother in the 1980s
"Okay" Zhao Weiguo readily agreed and took on the responsibility of buying groceries.
The next day, Zhao Weiguo took a hundred yuan from Xu Tao's small box and, before going out to buy the groceries, discussed with Xu Tao what they should buy.
"Fish, pork, chicken, I'll buy some of those. If there are yellow eels, I'll get a few as well" Zhao Weiguo said, thinking of the fragrant oil eel strips Xu Tao made.
Since that day, Zhao Weiguo was clearly more eager than Xu Tao.
"Anything else we need to buy?"
"Buy some condiments too, I plan to make boiled fish, so get some dried chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and such" Xu Tao responded.
"Alright." Zhao Weiguo nodded.
Xu Tao and Zhao Weiguo discussed what vegetables to buy and also planned out what dishes Zhao Weiguo would make, with the understanding that the handling of these ingredients would be completely his responsibility.
"Well, I'm heading out" Zhao Weiguo said as he prepared to leave.
"Dad, Xiao Nan wants to go too." Zhao Linan happily grabbed onto Zhao Weiguo's pant leg. He couldn't miss out on going out.
"Just stay home, you'll only cause trouble" Zhao Weiguo pressed down on his son's head, not wanting to take Zhao Linan with him.
This kid had been spoiled by Xu Tao, and usually, when going out with Xu Tao, he would occasionally want to be carried, but the child generally wouldn’t tire Xu Tao too much. However, when he was with Zhao Weiguo, the kid didn’t care about how tiring it would be and would treat his father like a mule.
"Xiao Nan can help" Zhao Linan pouted, feeling dissatisfied with his father’s tone.
"Just take him with you!" Xu Tao mischievously suggested.
With no choice, Zhao Weiguo had to bring Zhao Linan along to the market, but he wasn’t wrong, whenever Zhao Linan went out to the market he could walk on his own. But on the way back, Zhao Weiguo had to carry a big load of groceries in both hands.
This little kid never considered whether his father would get tired. He insisted on being carried, and of course, Zhao Weiguo couldn’t spoil him, so he let Zhao Linan cry all the way to Lao Ba Alley.
"Stop crying, I'll carry you home." When they were almost home, Zhao Weiguo finally had the patience to comfort his son.
He didn’t want to comfort him, but since they were almost home, if Zhao Linan kept crying, Xu Tao would scold him when they got back. For the sake of his own happiness, Zhao Weiguo had to soothe Zhao Linan.
Zhao Linan blinked, seemingly not expecting his father, who had made him feel so miserable, to suddenly agree to carry him.
"..." Zhao Linan didn’t understand, but still reached out his chubby little hands, testing whether his father would really carry him.
Zhao Weiguo bent down and reluctantly picked up his son to head home, reminding him before entering the door, "Don’t tell your mom, okay?"
"Okay!" Zhao Linan grumbled.
"If you dare tell, I'll spank your butt till it blooms" Zhao Weiguo continued to threaten.
Zhao Linan just hung in Zhao Weiguo’s arms, blinking his eyes and pursing his lips.
Zhao Weiguo thought his threat had worked, so he was relieved as he carried his son into the yard.
Xu Tao was wiping the table in the living room and had also borrowed a table, along with bowls and dishes, from the neighbors.
Since there were only three people at home, and they rarely had guests over, they didn't have enough bowls and dishes. After all, it would be wasteful to buy too many, so borrowing was the usual practice. This was also why it's important to maintain good relations with the neighbors.
Every family has times when they need to entertain guests, and when they don't have enough bowls or plates, they borrow from the neighbors. After the meal, they return what was borrowed. This is the way things work in their neighborhood.
"You're back!" Xu Tao glanced at Zhao Weiguo and his son, seeing that Zhao Weiguo had one hand full of chicken, duck, fish, and meat, and the other hand was still holding Zhao Linan. She couldn’t help but sympathize with his plight.
She knew how Zhao Linan was. Once kids were past the "toddler" phase, they began to get lazy and constantly wanted to be carried. Unfortunately, the kid ate well, so he wasn't light.
"Mm." Zhao Weiguo responded, handing over most of the items to Xu Tao.
"Mom, Dad bullied me" Zhao Linan, now placed down, immediately ran over to Xu Tao and grabbed her leg to complain.
"Oh? How did he bully you?" Xu Tao asked, carefully placing the meat and eggs on the table while casually responding to her child.
"Dad didn’t carry me, and he wouldn’t let me tell you." Zhao Linan said, then turned to show his teeth at Zhao Weiguo.
Bad dad! He definitely wasn’t going to skip telling.
"..." Zhao Weiguo suddenly had a headache. This was his clever son, always making trouble for him.
"How did he not carry you? I saw your dad carry you in earlier, and with all that stuff, Xiao Nan didn’t help, adding more burden for your dad. You’re not being good!" Xu Tao squatted down and patted Zhao Linan's head.
"Mom, that’s not it." Zhao Linan hurriedly explained. "Dad only carried me at the door."
"Oh!" Xu Tao glanced at Zhao Weiguo.
"This kid’s learned how to lie." Zhao Weiguo gave an innocent look, even panting as if he were exhausted from the trip.
Xu Tao looked suspiciously at both Zhao Weiguo and Zhao Linan. "Is your dad this bad?"
"Yeah, bad dad! Mom, don’t let Dad eat meat today" Zhao Linan said with a look of "we must unite against Dad" pressing his little lips together and demanding Xu Tao’s support.
"Is that so? Alright, no meat for Dad from now on since he bullied our Xiao Nan!" Xu Tao bent down and tapped Zhao Linan’s little nose.
"Mm!" Zhao Linan looked a bit conflicted as he glanced at his dad, feeling like he might have gone too far. Could they really not let him eat meat forever?
Zhao Weiguo saw Zhao Linan’s conflicted look, raised his hand, and shook it at the kid. This kid definitely wanted to get punished.
Zhao Linan immediately shrank his neck in guilt, worried his bottom might be "blossoming" soon. He quickly said to Xu Tao, "Mom, let Dad eat meat, okay? Not letting him eat meat every day would be too miserable."
"No way, Dad bullied Xiao Nan, he shouldn’t eat meat. From now on, no meat for Dad" Xu Tao firmly shook her head.
Zhao Linan didn’t dare look at Zhao Weiguo anymore, his hands quietly patting his bottom. "Mom, Dad didn’t bully me"
"How didn’t he bully you? Didn’t you just say Dad bullied you?" Xu Tao raised her eyebrows. "Xiao Nan, little kids can’t lie, okay?"
"Wow!" Zhao Linan, already conflicted, was asked by Xu Tao and received a slap from Zhao Weiguo as a warning. He felt torn: "Mom, I was wrong, let Dad eat meat! Otherwise, Xiao Nan's bottom will hurt."
"Then give Dad the meat?"
"Yeah, give it to him" Zhao Linan nodded reluctantly.
"Alright! Mom will listen to Xiao Nan" Xu Tao smiled as she stood up, took the eggs and vegetables to the kitchen, and came back. Seeing Zhao Linan still standing there with his head drooping, she called him over "Xiao Nan, go help Mommy get a water basin to keep the fish, okay?"
"Okay." Zhao Linan immediately nodded and happily ran to the kitchen.
As the child ran to the kitchen, Xu Tao looked at Zhao Weiguo and asked quietly, "Did you really just pick him up at the door?"
"Yeah" Zhao Weiguo didn't hide it.
He had only pretended to pick the child up at the door.
Xu Tao chuckled, looking at him, "Why pick him up at the door? You were almost there already." Xu Tao actually knew the truth without even asking. Zhao Linan was a well-behaved child who never lied.
"To show you!" Zhao Weiguo responded matter-of-factly.
"Huh?" Xu Tao raised an eyebrow, puzzled. "Show me?"
"If I didn’t pick him up, he would have been crying all the way, and if I didn’t console him at the door, he would’ve come back inside and cried loudly, not just reporting to you." Zhao Weiguo understood his son well.
Zhao Linan had become more mischievous and harder to fool.
"He would’ve cried his heart out, and you would’ve thought I was a stepdad." Zhao Weiguo was very clear about Xu Tao's protective attitude toward their child.
"You really know him well." Xu Tao couldn't help but laugh.
In truth, Zhao Linan didn't cry much. The little one wasn't the type to have real breakdowns, but he did fake cry sometimes, like many kids do—pretending to cry, thunder without the rain.
"Mom, Xiao Nan brought the basin!" Zhao Linan came back holding a large basin, standing next to the water tap in the yard waiting for Xu Tao.
"Coming." Xu Tao took two fish and went over to put them in the basin, then turned on the tap to fill it with water. The fish, touching the water, lazily wagged their tails.
"Bring the loach over too and put it in the water to raise it. We’ll deal with it after lunch!" Xu Tao said to Zhao Weiguo.
"Sure." Zhao Weiguo grabbed a few loaches, untied the straw ropes, and placed them in the basin.
"Meat, Dad, put the meat in too, and the big chicken." Zhao Linan stood beside him, tiptoeing, tapping Zhao Weiguo’s leg.
"You won’t let me eat meat, don’t call me Dad. I’m not your dad." Zhao Weiguo coldly responded to the child, wanting to draw a line.
Although the child had made up for it later, Zhao Weiguo still felt it necessary to teach him a lesson.
"... " Zhao Linan was dumbfounded: "I already let Mom give you meat. Why are you still mad?"
"Your apology doesn’t change anything, at most it just means I won’t hit you." Zhao Weiguo sneered, showing no awareness that adults shouldn't argue with children.
As expected, sons are like jackets with holes in them for their fathers.
"Mom." Zhao Linan could only turn to Xu Tao for help.
"The chicken and meat can’t go in here." Xu Tao replied, looking at the old hen with its legs tied up and smiling.
Was the child planning to throw the old hen into the water to drown?
"Oh!" Zhao Linan didn’t insist.
After buying all the necessary ingredients for hosting guests, Zhao Weiguo even went out again to buy two bottles of wine. At this time, the wine had no brand, but there was an old shop in the neighborhood that brewed good wine, high in alcohol content, perfect for a small drink during a meal.
Since dinner would be busy, the family of three simply cooked noodles for lunch. After a simple meal, Xu Tao began preparing a lavish dinner.
She first boiled water to kill the chicken and prepare it for stew.
The old hen Zhao Weiguo bought was very big, plucked and cut into pieces, filling up a large basin. Xu Tao had to take out a clean large aluminum basin to place the chicken pieces in, then blanched the chicken before putting it into the basin and setting it over a steaming rack in a big pot for stewing.
Stewing the chicken over water makes it tastier but takes longer, so Xu Tao started the fire early, asking Zhao Weiguo to heat it up.
While the chicken was stewing, Xu Tao began preparing other side dishes. The fragrance of food filled the house all afternoon, attracting the attention of children in the alley who couldn’t help but be envious.
Time passed quickly.
By evening, Zhao Weiguo’s comrades began arriving one by one. The first ones to arrive were a few who came without their families, each bringing something. Some carried fruits, others brought meat, and some brought dry noodles.
Xu Tao was busy in the kitchen but came out to greet them with a smile. The three big men saw Xu Tao and immediately called out in unison.
"Sister-in-law!"
Hearing his comrades call Xu Tao "sister-in-law" Zhao Weiguo raised an eyebrow and smiled in satisfaction. "This is Zhan Yue, this is Qin Yubin, and this is Liao Tuhang."
"Hello."
"These are your comrades, Xu Tao, and that’s my son, Zhao Linan." Zhao Weiguo made introductions before asking the three comrades to sit in the living room.
"I’ll make tea for you." Zhao Weiguo went to the kitchen, took out the already heated thermos, and brought some tea cups. He poured some tea leaves from the Ye Zhenhua family and poured tea for his comrades.
With the arrival of the three comrades, Zhao's courtyard became lively. Not long after, Ye Zhenhua and Wu Hui also arrived, along with Ye Zhenhua's youngest daughter, Ye Xiaohua.
"Sister-in-law, why don't you bring the three girls from your house over?" Xu Tao, seeing Wu Hui helping in the kitchen, continued to persuade her.
"Last time, it was few people, so it was fine. But now there are so many, I can’t ask them to come" Wu Hui shook her head and refused.
She didn’t have the audacity to bring them all along. It was fine for her and Old Ye to come, but bringing four children along? It just didn’t feel right.
Xu Tao was somewhat helpless. "We’ve set up two tables today. The men are at the main table, and us women with the kids are at the side table. There aren’t that many of us. If you bring your kids, it’ll feel livelier."
Since they were preparing double portions for every dish anyway, with what was on the main table also available on the side, Xu Tao thought adding a few more children wouldn’t make a difference.
"Well, let me think about it" Wu Hui hesitated but still didn’t agree.
Before long, the other two sisters-in-law arrived: Zhang Shufen from Hubei Province and Guo Pingping from Sichuan. Both were a few years older than Xu Tao and seemed quite easygoing.
Having both been military wives, they shared a lot of the same mindset and were generally understanding.
Especially Guo Pingping from Sichuan, who had a spicy and bold personality, but her daughter was very quiet, shy, and always stuck to her side, not daring to speak.
"Look at my girl, like a little shadow, sticking to me" Guo Pingping laughed as she tapped her daughter on the head.
Her daughter didn’t say anything when tapped but just pursed her lips, sticking close to her mother and glancing shyly at the women in the kitchen.
"Do you want to go outside and play with the little boys and watch the chickens?" Zhang Shufen, who had a son a year older than Zhao Linan, suggested. The two boys, both extroverted, were already in the yard together, watching the chickens.
The two boys, of similar age and outgoing, hit it off immediately. But Guo Pingping’s daughter, being quiet and shy, didn’t know how to interact with them.
The little girl shook her head, looking nervous and shy.
"She’s really timid, doesn’t know who she got it from. Her dad and I are both bold and carefree" Guo Pingping said, her tone filled with helplessness.
"Girls are often quiet and shy, that’s normal" Zhang Shufen said kindly.
"How about I let Xiao Hao take her to play? He's a good boy" Zhang Shufen added, referring to her son, who was four years old, named Qiu Zhenghao.
"No need, she just likes to cling to me" Guo Pingping waved dismissively, accustomed to her daughter’s clinginess. "She’s spoiled, cries non-stop if she doesn’t stick to me, and I can't calm her down."
Guo Pingping spoke with a tone of exasperation, clearly used to her daughter’s behavior.
Xu Tao and the other sisters-in-law laughed and continued chatting.
"Ye, where are your big girls? Why didn’t they come? I thought they’d talk with our third son, Zhao Linan. They’re around the same age and could get along well" Xu Tao mentioned, referring to Ye Xiaoshue, who was well-behaved and knew how to take care of younger children.
"I don’t like too much noise, so I told them to stay at home" Wu Hui responded.
"Since it's lively today, why not bring the kids over?" Guo Pingping chimed in.
"I told my sister-in-law the same. There are two tables today one for the men and one for the women with the kids!" Xu Tao added, hoping the other two sisters-in-law didn’t think she hadn’t invited Ye’s children.
"Since it's a table for the women and children, you should just let the older girls come and join" Zhang Shufen also tried to persuade Wu Hui.
"Alright, I’ll go home and call them" Wu Hui finally agreed, influenced by everyone’s suggestions.
Though she wasn’t particularly indulgent with her daughters, she still felt some sympathy for them. Today’s meal was especially luxurious, and the kids wouldn’t often get to enjoy such a feast perhaps not even during the New Year.
"Let Wei Guo go call them."
"No need, they’re all catching up, it’s lively enough! Let’s not interrupt them. It’s not far, I’ll just run over myself. You all take care of this little one" Wu Hui said, handing her youngest daughter to Zhang Shufen.
"Okay!" Zhang Shufen agreed, holding Ye Xiaohua and sitting by the stove.
Ye Xiaohua was well-behaved, looking cute and quiet in Zhang Shufen’s arms, showing no signs of shyness.
Guo Pingping, tending to the fire, occasionally poked some firewood and teased her daughter, "See, this is your little sister, isn’t she cute?"
"Mm." Guo Pingping’s daughter, Li Pandi, who was licking a piece of ginger candy, casually nodded in response.
"Always eating, little glutton, now you’ve got ginger all over your mouth" Guo Pingping laughed as she teased her daughter.
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