"Why don't we rest at home today? I'll pick up Mom and little sister for lunch."
Gu Xingdong held two children, one in each arm, his smiling, energetic demeanor making Chen Lishu's teeth itch.
Li Xiulan: "Lishu isn't feeling well? You must be tired from being so busy lately. You really need to rest and not push yourself."
Hearing the word "tired," Chen Lishu's face flushed as she thought of something.
"Mom, it's nothing serious, just a bit of a heavy head since this morning."
Chen Lishu descended the stairs. "I'll call the factory in a bit. I won't be coming in today."
"Lishu, is that a new ring? It's so beautiful." Zhao Qiuyue placed breakfast on the table and couldn't help but praise the ring on Chen Lishu's finger. Da Feng Novel Network
"Mm." Embarrassed to elaborate, Chen Lishu only nodded vaguely.
"When I was young, let alone gold, if I had a pair of silver earrings, all the young women in the village would envy me. I remember one year, right after I married Xingdong's father, there was a silver ring left by your great-grandmother. We heard a silversmith from a neighboring village could make jewelry. In the middle of winter, your great aunt and I chased him for over thirty miles just to find him. By the time we finally had a pair of earrings made, it was already past midnight when we returned. Your father thought I'd gotten lost and was worried sick. I even got a good scolding."
Thinking of those times, despite the hardship, Li Xiulan's eyes couldn't hide her nostalgia.
"Later, when the children grew up, I didn't have time for such vanity. And then during those ten years, people were even more afraid to be stylish."
Chen Lishu took a sip of her porridge. "Mom, since I'm free today, how about I take you all shopping this afternoon?"
Li Xiulan seemed tempted. "That sounds good."
After breakfast, Chen Lishu called the factory to inform Nan Haitao that she wouldn't be coming in today.
After playing with the children for a while, Chen Lishu felt a bit drained. She told Li Xiulan and went back to her room to sleep.
At noon, Gu Xingdong went directly to the train station from his company.
The summer train station was packed with people, each carrying quite a bit of luggage, some even lugging two or three large bags.
Numerous vendors crowded the area in front of the station, shouting their wares despite the sweltering heat.
"Soda, orange and lychee soda~"
"Popsicles, hawthorn and cream popsicles~"
"Tea eggs, fragrant tea eggs..."
Gu Xingdong stood by a pillar at the exit, glancing at his watch. The train was already past its scheduled arrival time; it was likely delayed again.
He pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, bit down on it, and then took out his lighter, clicking it. Just as he was about to light it, he caught sight of a figure out of the corner of his eye. He snapped the lighter shut, put it in his pocket, tucked the cigarette behind his ear, and walked towards the person opposite him.
"Mom."
Wu Chunmei was tightly holding Chen Lizi's hand, searching for Chen Lishu when a tall figure suddenly stood before them.
"Big brother-in-law," Chen Lizi called out crisply.
"I thought you might be delayed. Were you exhausted?" Gu Xingdong naturally took the two bags from Wu Chunmei's hand.
They felt heavy, suggesting they contained a lot.
"Not at all. Knowing I was bringing the children, Lishuo bought us sleeper tickets. We arrived after a good nap."
The three of them exited the arrival hall and got into a car across the street.
"Big brother-in-law, why didn't my big sister come? Is she at home looking after the little nephew?"
Chen Lizi looked curiously at the scenery rushing past outside, finding the city so vast and so different from the village.
Gu Xingdong smiled, "Your big sister is at home preparing delicious food for you."
Chen Lizi pursed her lips and smiled happily.
About ten minutes later, the car stopped.
Gu Xingdong got out to retrieve items from the trunk, while Wu Chunmei took Chen Lizi inside.
"Big sister!" Seeing Chen Lishu, Chen Lizi ran towards her happily.
"It's so hot, you two must be overheated. I've made mung bean water with rock sugar. I'll go get you some," Li Xiulan said as she entered the kitchen.
Gu Xingdong came in with two bags.
Chen Lishu: "Mom, why did you bring so much?"
Wu Chunmei accepted the mung bean soup from Li Xiulan. Cooled with cold water, the drink dispelled much of the summer heat.
"It's all from our garden, plus new melons and sticky corn from the mountains. Lishuo and the others grew them with plastic film, no fertilizer. I brought them for you to taste."
Chen Lishu said to Gu Xingdong, "I made cold noodles. Why don't you eat lunch here before you go?"
As it was hot, no one had much appetite, so Chen Lishu made cold noodles for everyone.
The smooth, delicious buckwheat noodles, combined with specially chilled broth, and toppings like cucumber shreds and tomatoes, made the sweet and sour cold noodles whet everyone's appetite.
Each person ate a large bowl.
Xiao Bai and Xiao Cheng were too young, and Chen Lishu feared that the extreme cold might cause them stomach problems, so she only made room-temperature cold noodles for them.
Even so, the two little ones ate quite a bit.
The two children had good appetites since starting solid foods and had never caused their elders any worry about eating.
After the meal, Gu Xingdong left for his company. Chen Lishu asked Wu Chunmei and Chen Lizi to go to their room to rest.
In the afternoon, when the heat outside had subsided a bit, she pushed the stroller, brought the two little ones, and went to the commercial street with everyone.
...
"If you want to go, then you go by yourself. I won't embarrass myself."
Ever since Liu Yuemin had mocked him yesterday, Chen Mancang no longer wanted to face such embarrassment.
Chen Mancang dropped the salvaged junk on the ground, squatted down, and began to sort through it.
He and Zhang Chunhua were currently renting a small house next to the railway tracks. Although the environment was poor and it was noisy with trains passing by every day, it was cheap.
Zhang Chunhua: "It's hard enough to find a place. What's face worth? If we save more, we can save more for our grandson's tuition."
"I don't want to eat rotten vegetables. The other children make fun of me, and this stale pancake is so hard it hurts your teeth. It tastes awful! I want to eat meat, I want to eat fish!"
A six or seven-year-old boy nearby suddenly threw the pancake he was holding onto the ground and even stomped on it in frustration.
Zhang Chunhua quickly picked the pancake up from the ground, but it was already covered in dust. She felt heartbroken.
This was made of fine white flour that the old couple themselves were reluctant to eat, and their grandson had ruined it like this.
But looking at her grandson, who resembled her son by seven or eight tenths, she swallowed the criticism that was about to escape her lips.
"I'll wash it with water in a bit. We can soak it in hot water tonight and eat it."
"I don't want to eat this rotten pancake, I want to eat meat, I want to eat meat!" The little boy, whose voice hadn't changed yet, shouted in a high-pitched, piercing tone.
But after wailing for a long time, not a single tear fell.
Zhang Chunhua immediately compromised.
"Grandma will give you five cents. How about you go buy an ice pop? Don't cry. Later, Grandma will go to the vegetable market and see if she can buy some meat if it's cheap."