In the Fourth Team, almost every household had bundles of reeds lying in its yard.
People usually harvested reeds by cutting a large armful, tying it up with a reed, and leaving it outside. After cutting for a morning or afternoon, they would haul the bundles home.
It was 1983 now. Most families had donkey carts, a few had horse-drawn carts, and the Li family still owned the only two tractors.
Tao Daqiang was drawing reeds in his own yard, too, and the baby's face would come to mind.
Pregnant women back then weren't as well nourished as those in later years. The baby had been wrinkled at birth, and he had only seen her once at the Township Health Center before a nurse wrapped her up and placed her beside Yang Pingping.
Later, Yang Pingping had gone to her parents' home for her postpartum confinement. After all, Tao Daqiang's mother was gone, his older brother had set up his own household, and there was no one at home to care for her.
Yang Pingping would return once her month of confinement was over. There were only a few days left.
Tao Daqiang went to his in-laws' home practically every day. Even if he couldn't see Yang Pingping and the baby, listening to the baby's voice outside was good enough.
He had taken up his fishing net again and gone fishing every day. Crucian carp soup helped with milk production, but after a few trips, his father-in-law told him to stop. For one thing, they couldn't eat all the fish, and with the weather not yet freezing, they wouldn't keep. For another, Yang Pingping had plenty of milk.
His parents-in-law had come from the Loess Plateau and still favored boys somewhat. They had also worried that Tao Daqiang would blame