Chapter 11: The Hen That Can’t Lay Eggs

Gu Yunting, who had been on Yang Manman’s mind, got off work, swung his long legs over his bicycle, and pedaled furiously toward Huaihua Village.

As he entered the village, the villagers heading home from the fields with their farming tools only caught a fleeting glimpse of his tall figure in a blue worker’s uniform, almost flying past.

“That must be the eldest of the Gu family. That blue work uniform looks so good on him.” These days, being a factory worker was a guaranteed iron rice bowl. Rural folks all toiled in the fields for food, so if a family could produce a factory worker, it was like their ancestors were smiling down on them.

Everyone envied the Gu family’s eldest for landing a factory job—not only did he get a monthly salary, but there were all sorts of benefits during holidays, and the job could even be passed down to his children.

“But the Gu family’s eldest has been married for three years now and still doesn’t have a child.”

Wu Meili, standing nearby, spat, “That Yang Manman is just a hen that can’t lay eggs. I say, the two of them will never have children in this lifetime.”

Some of the aunties who overheard Wu Meili frowned. “Wu Meili, that’s a nasty thing to say. You’d better hope Yao Chunhua doesn’t hear you, or she’ll tear your mouth apart.”

Yao Chunhua was fiercely protective—not just of her own children, but even her daughters-in-law who married into the Gu family.

Someone had mocked Yang Manman before for not being able to have children, and when Yao Chunhua heard about it, she’d gotten into a fight with the person right then and there. Afterwards, the offender was made to haul manure for a whole month.

Wu Meili remembered this and immediately felt less confident, but she still bristled, “I’m just telling the truth.”

“Wu Meili, are you still holding a grudge because the Gu family’s eldest didn’t want to be matched with your daughter Baozhu? Is that why you keep badmouthing Yang Manman?”

Wu Meili’s eyes flickered with guilt. She put her hands on her hips and raised her voice, “Nonsense! Don’t talk rubbish. I’m not going to argue with you—I need to hurry home and cook.”

With that, she hustled away, her legs moving fast. Even as she passed by, people could still hear her muttering curses about Yang Manman being barren.

When Wu Meili got home, she saw her daughter Gu Baozhu, who had come back to visit with her grandson and son-in-law Yang Guangming. Instantly, her face lit up with joy.

Avoiding her son-in-law, Wu Meili pulled her daughter aside in the kitchen and told her about the Gu family’s eldest becoming a factory worker.

“Just think, if you’d married him back then, you might be a city person by now.” Wu Meili looked down on Yang Guangming, who was just a carpenter.

Gu Baozhu’s eyes flashed with resentment. She glanced at her son eating candy nearby, then her expression relaxed and she said smugly, “Gu Yunting is sure to regret it.”

Regret refusing to be matched with her and marrying Yang Manman instead.

Just like her mother said, Yang Manman was a hen that couldn’t lay eggs. If Gu Yunting had married her, he’d have a son by now.

She was just waiting for the day Gu Yunting would regret his choice.

While others were waiting for him to regret it, Gu Yunting had already arrived home. He listened to his wife talk about her treatment that morning and got the prescription his little sister had written from his mother.

After looking over the prescription, he carefully folded it and put it in his pocket. “I’ll go out and buy the herbs after breakfast. Tonight, you can have your medicinal bath.”

Sure enough, when Gu Yunting came home that evening, he brought back the herbs. After dinner, he personally brewed the medicinal bath for Yang Manman.

In Huaihua Village, winter didn’t bring snow since it was in the south, but the nights were still bitterly cold, and the wind howled outside.

Inside the house, soaking in her medicinal bath, Yang Manman’s heart was warm.

As she soaked, she chatted with her husband, who was reading nearby, about what gift they should give his little sister for her wedding.

“I heard it’s cold up in the Northwest Military District. Why don’t you help me get some red yarn? I’ll knit her a thick scarf,” Yang Manman suggested.

Her knitting skills were top-notch—something she could truly be proud of.

If she finished in time, she could give the red scarf to her sister-in-law on her wedding day.

“That’s a good idea,” Gu Yunting agreed, closing his book. He checked the water temperature, found it had cooled, and carefully added hot water from a thermos. “I’ll bring you some yarn tomorrow. I’ll trade for some more ration tickets with my coworkers.”

They didn’t know exactly what his sister would need over there, but the more tickets she had, the better—she could buy whatever she wanted. As for money, their parents would make sure she wasn’t shortchanged.

Sure enough, in the main room next door, a candle was burning in the room belonging to Gu’s father and Yao Chunhua.

By candlelight, Yao Chunhua was threading a needle, sewing a cotton-padded jacket stuffed with the new cotton they’d saved up this year. She worked carefully, occasionally glancing at her husband, who was also busy, and muttered, “I heard it’s much colder up in the northwest than here in the south. It snows in winter, and temperatures can drop to minus ten or twenty degrees. I wonder if Ningning will be able to handle it when she follows her husband there.”

After all, their daughter had been spoiled since childhood and wasn’t used to hardship. Of course, they couldn’t bear for her to suffer, and they worried about her.

As a mother, just thinking about her daughter getting married and moving far away to a harsher place where she couldn’t see her, made her uneasy.

She was making this cotton jacket for Gu Jianing, stuffing it with as much new cotton as possible, hoping to finish it before her daughter left. That way, when she got to the northwest, she wouldn’t freeze.

Gu’s father, who was calculating the family’s money and ration tickets, took a moment to reply, “That’s true, but this is the path our daughter chose. Zexi is a good man, and we should support them. You finish the jacket as soon as you can, and we’ll give them some extra money and tickets, especially cotton tickets. She’ll need jackets, pants, and quilts, and once she’s there, she can buy more if she needs to.”

The family had just over 1,000 yuan in savings. Gu’s father planned to split it into five parts—one for each of their four children, and one for the two of them. Then, he’d take 100 from their share to make it a round 300 yuan for their daughter.

He shared his plan with Yao Chunhua, who nodded in agreement. They loved their daughter, but their sons were important too—their interests couldn’t be neglected.

With that in mind, she sewed even faster, though her stitches remained neat and tight.

In the west wing, the candlelight shone on Su Miao, who was lying in bed, bundled up for her postpartum confinement, a headscarf tied around her forehead to keep out drafts. She watched her husband, Gu Yunnan, gently changing their son’s diaper, and they too discussed what gift to give his little sister for her wedding.

Su Miao didn’t have strong feelings about her sister-in-law—she was spoiled and a bit dramatic, but the Gu family, including her husband, doted on her.

But Su Miao didn’t feel jealous. Ever since she married in, the Gu family had treated her well, a world apart from her own family, who favored sons over daughters. Even her spoiled sister-in-law had given her food and clothes when she first arrived, seeing how thin and frail she was.

So now, as her sister-in-law was getting married, she was happy to give whatever she and her husband could.

The family hadn’t split up yet, so most of the money and tickets were still managed centrally, but that was fine.

“Tomorrow I’m not working, so I’ll go up the mountain and see if I can hunt something. If I get lucky, I’ll bring it back quietly and have Mom smoke it. Then little sister can take it with her when she goes with the army.”"