For several days in a row, the weather in the north city was not very good, either it was windy or it was snowing.
Therefore, Wen Nuan did not take Gu Qinglan to visit the family compound, but Gu Qinglan did not mind at all. The scar on her face had not healed yet, and she did not want to go out to see people, saying that she did not want to be treated like a monkey by others.
However, sisters-in-law Guihua and Juxiang came over several times and were heartbroken when they saw the injuries on Gu Qinglan's face. However, Gu Qinglan didn't care about it and even talked and laughed with the two sisters-in-law.
Gu Qinglan has a nice personality, she is cheerful and lively, and she will also rush to do housework. However, because she loves the food cooked by Wen Nuan, she always rushes to wash and chop the vegetables. When Wen Nuan cooks, she helps to light the fire.
Wen Nuan discovered that Gu Qinglan could actually chop wood!
He is very strong.
That day Wen Nuan told Gu Qinglan that Lin Meizhi's child was saved. Qinglan's first reaction was relief, but then she became indifferent and no longer wanted to mention the matter of Lin Meizhi and Gu Qingsong.
Wen Nuan guessed that Gu Qinglan had her name changed when she went to the countryside, and was falsely accused of deliberately pushing Lin Meizhi down when she returned home this time. She was now completely disappointed with her hometown and both Zhao Wuzhu and Gu Qingsong.
Since Gu Qinglan didn't want to mention it anymore, Wen Nuan never talked about family matters in front of her again.
These past few days, Gu Qinglan took Lele, who had just begun to learn to walk, to play in the house during the day. She took the trouble to teach her to walk. I don't know how many times they walked back and forth in the small living room.
Gu Qinglan would occasionally take the little one to build a snowman in the yard after it snowed.
The little guy also likes to play with Gu Qinglan very much. Other children are a little scared and alert when they see the wound on Gu Qinglan's head, but Lele will definitely go to Gu Qinglan first thing every morning when he wakes up and drinks milk.
Every time the little girl stretched out her arms and pointed in the direction of the small room, she wanted Wen Nuan and Gu Qinghan to take her there to find her aunt. If they didn't, she would get angry and yell, trying to attract Gu Qinglan over.
Except when he needs her for meals and sleep, the little guy usually likes to follow the carefree Gu Qinglan. Now Lele can stand up by himself with the help of a stool, but he has not learned to walk yet.
Every time I stood up, I wanted to go to Gu Qinglan, but I just didn't dare to take the first step.
Every time Gu Qinglan took Lele out to play, she would say, "I feel like I have a special affinity with this little girl. Look at her, she really likes me as her aunt. I wonder if we met in our previous life, hahaha..."
Every time Gu Qinglan smiled, little Lele would laugh along with her, and the house was suddenly filled with a lot more laughter and joy.
Wen Nuan seemed to have some free time all of a sudden, so while Gu Qinglan was helping to take care of the children, she followed Sisters Guihua and Juxiang to learn how to knit sweaters.
By the way, she also knitted one for Gu Qinglan. She had observed in the past few days that Gu Qinglan only had two sets of clothes and the thread on her sweater had fallen off, so she sewed it together with cloth.
Wen Nuan asked her why she didn't knit a new one, and she smiled and said, "I'm too lazy to do it. Anyway, I just need to have something to wear."
Wen Nuan touched her head and felt very distressed. Her life in the countryside in the past few years must have been very tiring, busy and difficult.
Considering that Gu Qinglan was only in her teens when she went to the countryside, it was probably difficult for her to adapt to the heavy farm work. There was so much work to do in the countryside that she would fall asleep as soon as she finished her work every day.
I guess it’s not that they are too lazy to make it, but that they simply don’t have the money to buy the wool.
Many educated youth had families in the city to help them, but Gu Qinglan had not contacted her family since she went to the countryside. She probably had to earn everything on her own. How much could a little girl like her earn
After thinking about it, Wen Nuan asked Sister Guihua to borrow some wool and knit a sweater for Gu Qinglan first. Although the Spring Festival was over, it would not be too late to wear new clothes before the Lantern Festival.
After a few days of leisure, the Lantern Festival was approaching. Gu Qinglan only asked for a half-month vacation, and she would go back to the village after the Lantern Festival.
Wen Nuan was really reluctant to leave her sister-in-law, and didn't want her to go back to the countryside.
The day before the Lantern Festival, Gu Qinghan, who had already returned to the team, had eaten the flight crew meal in the regiment before returning home. Wen Nuan took his military coat and brushed off the snowflakes on it.
Wen Nuan asked, "Is it still snowing outside?"
Gu Qinghan washed his hands and wanted to hold the child to play with him, but he heard Lele and Gu Qinglan playing in the small room. The two of them were laughing, and he didn't know what they were playing.
Gu Qinghan pulled Wen Nuan to sit on the sofa next to the coffee table and said, "It's a light snow. It will probably clear up soon and the weather will gradually get better."
As a pilot, Gu Qinghan would look at weather maps and routine aviation weather reports before flying and training every day, so he could roughly predict the weather within one or two days.
Wen Nuan nodded and handed him a glass of water. "That's good. Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival. Qinglan will also be going back to the countryside in a few days. I thought of taking her to town and buying her some food and daily necessities to bring back."
"Qinglan mentioned it before. It's inconvenient for her to buy things in the countryside. She has to take a donkey cart to go to town to buy things, and she can't go there often."
During the Lantern Festival, the comrades in the family compound should go shopping, so Wen Nuan planned to take Gu Qinglan to the town to buy some things for her to take back to the educated youth dormitory. It happened that it snowed the whole winter when she came to the north city, and she had never been to the town, so she had to go out to buy two more boxes of snow cream.
The winter in North City is still quite dry. If it weren't for the few boxes of vanishing cream and clam oil that Gu Qinghan had bought in Beijing before, Lele's little face would have been frozen and cracked long ago.
Gu Qinghan took the enamel cup handed to him by Wen Nuan, took a sip of tea, and then held Wen Nuan's hand: "Yes, just take a look, buy whatever you want."
Some tickets were distributed during the Chinese New Year, and Gu Qinghan gave them all to Wen Nuan. It happened that she had never been to the town, so she decided to go and have some fun while Qinglan was with her.
Wen Nuan looked at the man and asked expectantly, "Are you going? Didn't you say before that we wanted to take a family photo together? Qinglan is here too, so after we take a photo with Lele, we can take another photo with Qinglan."
Wen Nuan discovered that Gu Qinghan had no photos of his family. There were a few photos in the house in his hometown, but they were all of Gu Qingsong and Zhao Wuzhu.
There is also a photo of Gu Qinghan, but it was taken when he first joined the army. The color has already faded, and it is difficult to see what he looked like as a teenager.
After coming to Beicheng, she also wanted to see photos of these men after they joined the army, but he didn't have any solo photos, only photos taken with his comrades.
Wen Nuan suddenly felt how precious taking photos was.
She didn't like taking photos or posting on social media before, but now, in comparison, it is so wonderful to have the opportunity to record her life.
She often wanted to record everything about Lele's growth, but cameras were still a "luxury" those days, and if she wanted to take pictures she had to go to a photo studio in town, which was very inconvenient.
Gu Qinghan met Wen Nuan's sparkling eyes and gently pinched her palm with his long fingers. "I have an important meeting tomorrow. Next time I have a day off, I will go take photos with you and Lele."
Wen Nuan also knew that Gu Qinghan was very busy in the past few days after the New Year. He had eaten the flight attendant meals in the group before going home. Hearing him say this, she nodded in understanding and said with a smile: "Okay, then we'll go shoot when you have a day off."
Lele in the small room didn't know if he heard Gu Qinghan's voice, but he kept yelling "ah ah" and wanted to come out.
Gu Qinglan carried the little guy out and said to Gu Qinghan, "Brother, Lele is looking for you. He has been calling out since he heard your voice. This little guy has a really loud voice."
The little girl stretched out her arms towards Gu Qinghan and cried "babababa" a few times. As soon as Gu Qinghan took her, Lele stood up straight and jumped on his legs.
Gu Qinghan supported the little girl's armpits with both hands, and seeing that she was jumping happily, he just let her do what she wanted.
Wen Nuan watched the little guy having fun and said with a smile, "It seems that little Lele will soon be able to walk. His little feet are still quite strong."
Gu Qinglan also sat down and breathed a sigh of relief: "I guess he will be gone in another month. This little guy is too energetic. Oh my god, I need to drink some water first."
After saying that, she took a big sip of tea, but after drinking it, she found that the water in the enamel cup was already cold. It made her teeth sore and she hissed in pain.
Wen Nuan took the aluminum teapot from the stove and added some hot water to it: "Drink slowly, why are you in such a hurry? Your water has been there for a long time, it must be cold."
Gu Qinglan touched the cup that had warmed up and smiled: "Thank you, sister-in-law."
Then she looked at Gu Qinghan and said, "Brother, you are so lucky to have married such a good woman like my sister-in-law."
Gu Qinghan curled his lower lip in enjoyment, but said nothing. He just kept jumping up and down while holding the little guy.
Wen Nuan pinched Gu Qinglan's arm and pretended to be angry and said, "You are the only one who talks too much!"
"No, sister-in-law, you are the most considerate person I have ever met." Gu Qinglan hugged the warm arms and rubbed her head, which was messed up by Lele, on her shoulder. "If I were a man, I would want to snatch you away!"
Gu Qinghan then raised his head and said seriously: "Then you are destroying the military marriage."
Gu Qinglan stuck out her tongue, held Wen Nuan's hand, and said to Gu Qinghan: "It's just a joke."
Gu Qinghan sneered: "This is not funny."
Gu Qinglan leaned close to Wen Nuan's ear and whispered, "Sister-in-law, how can you stand my elder brother? He is so boring!"
Gu Qinghan must have heard Gu Qinglan's whisper, he turned his head to look at the two of them and raised his eyebrows.
Wen Nuan smiled and lowered her voice, speaking in her man's favor: "No, your brother is actually quite nice."
After saying that, she observed Gu Qinghan's expression. Their eyes met, and the man finally stopped having a stern face and started interacting with the little guy with a smile.
Gu Qinglan: “…”
Okay, I can't stand them. It's like honey is coming out of them just by looking at them.
*
A few people chatted in the living room for a while. Wen Nuan saw Lele yawning twice and prepared to take her back to her room to sleep.
However, when the little guy saw Gu Qinglan going back to the little room, he started to clamor to go with her.
Gu Qinglan couldn't stand the child's coquettishness, so she teased her: "Okay, then you can sleep with my aunt tonight. I haven't slept with you before!"
As he said this, he actually carried the little guy to the small room and closed the door.
Lele didn't cry or make a fuss, but the big and small ones started to make a noise again, and Wen Nuan couldn't do anything about them.
Gu Qinghan had already brought a basin of hot water to her room. Seeing her come back alone, he asked, "Where's Lele? Are you still playing with Qinglan so late?"
Wen Nuan sat down beside the bed, took off her socks, put her feet in the enamel tray, and said, "Yeah, I guess she'll come back soon, let her play for a while."
My child is getting older and older, and he doesn’t sleep as long as before. He used to sleep for two hours in the afternoon, but now he wakes up after a little over an hour.
During this period of time, because Gu Qinglan is here, the little guy doesn't go to bed as early as before, and only wants to sleep when he is tired from playing.
Gu Qinghan also sat down on the bed and put his feet in the basin. The water in the basin seemed to be overflowing all of a sudden, so Wen Nuan immediately lifted her foot and stepped on his feet.
"Can't we just have two basins? It's so crowded!" Wen Nuan bumped the man next to her with her shoulder, but Gu Qinghan was so steady that he stretched out his arms and hugged her.
Gu Qinghan stretched his slender arms under her clothes, rubbing the smooth skin with his calloused fingertips: "Don't move, go to bed after you wash."
Wen Nuan felt the scorching heat and turned away slightly. Then she thought of Gu Qinglan's going back to the countryside, so she asked, "Qinghan, is there really no way to let Qinglan stay here?"
Gu Qinghan lowered his eyes slightly and glanced at her, with a little doubt in his eyes: "Do you want her to stay here?"
Wen Nuan nodded and no longer concealed her thoughts: "I think Qinglan is not having a good time in the countryside. You have seen her clothes. They must have been worn for many years. The cotton has become much thinner. She just patched her sweater with rags and didn't even buy wool."
Although everyone sews and mends clothes every three years these days, you still cannot save on clothes in the cold north.
Wen Nuan sighed: "You know, Qinglan hasn't contacted you for many years. If she had good friends or companions in the countryside when she was injured this time, she probably wouldn't have come to you, as she is so strong-willed. There must be nothing she can do."
Gu Qinghan didn't say anything after hearing this. He leaned towards Wen Nuan and then pulled her into his arms: "Then what do you want me to do?"
Wen Nuan looked at him and said, "Just see if you can help Qinglan and let her stay here so that we can take care of her in the future."
Thinking about the place in the countryside where there was a scumbag eyeing Gu Qinglan, Wen Nuan was really worried about letting her go back.
If Gu Qinglan had not been an educated youth sent to the countryside, it would have been much easier. She could have been brought here as a military dependent. The difficulty lay in the fact that she was an educated youth, and it would have required approval at every level before her household registration could be transferred.
Wen Nuan noticed that Gu Qinghan looked a little embarrassed, so she reached out and held his hand, smiling: "Qinghan, I'm not asking you to use public power to help her, I'm just asking if you have any other ideas."
Wen Nuan knew very well what kind of person Gu Qinghan was. If he were to break her principles, it would be better to kill him.
Gu Qinghan's eyes softened, he looked at Wen Nuan, and said to her, "It's not impossible, but this is the worst option."
Wen Nuan asked: "What method?"
Gu Qinghan's face turned serious, and after a pause he said, "Let her marry a soldier in the army."
To become a soldier from a sent-down youth is as difficult as taking the exam to become a worker-peasant-soldier. It is obvious that Gu Qinglan has not been able to get a place in all these years.
Therefore, she could only be allowed to marry a comrade in the army, so that she could be taken in as a military dependent.
Wen Nuan frowned: "Forget it, Qinglan is still young, there is no rush, it would be better to wait for her to make her own choice."
Moreover, Wen Nuan knew too few people, so she really couldn't help Gu Qinglan choose an "ideal husband". Besides, in her opinion, twenty years old was really young.
Gu Qinghan met her eyes and smiled: "I think so too. She is still young, so it won't be too late in two years."
Wen Nuan curled her lips and suddenly said, "I think I was also 20 years old when I married you."
Gu Qinghan lifted his feet, took the prepared towel and wiped the water stains on his feet, and said, "That's different."
Then he added, "The water is cold. Lift your feet up and I'll wipe them for you."
"What's the difference?"
Wen Nuan subconsciously lifted her feet. Gu Qinghan had already taken her towel, squatted down, gently pinched her feet and wiped them a few times without saying a word.
Gu Qinglan carried Lele to the door, and when she saw her elder brother wiping her sister-in-law's feet with a towel, she stepped back.
But then he thought again, it seemed like he was not surprised at all, so he knocked on the door: "Sister-in-law, Lele is not willing to go again, probably wants to go to bed."
Wen Nuan saw Gu Qinglan bringing the child back, so she put on her slippers and walked over, took the little one in her arms, and patted her little butt: "I knew this little one just loves to play."
Then she said to Gu Qinglan, "Go to bed early tonight. Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival. Let's go to town to buy some things. Buy some cumin and chili powder. Use the lamb chops your eldest brother brought back to make you a cumin lamb chop."
Gu Qinglan was overjoyed when she heard this, "Oh my God, I have to go to bed early!"
After saying that, she turned around and ran back to the small room. Then I heard the sound of her jumping onto the bed.
This time, the little guy didn't want to follow Gu Qinglan. He hugged Wen Nuan's neck, rested his little chin on her shoulder, and twisted it.
Wen Nuan took the child back to bed and said to Gu Qinghan, "She must be sleepy. I'll take her to bed first."
As he said this, he unbuttoned his cotton-padded jacket and the shirt underneath, intending to put her to sleep.
Lele played too much and after drinking, he turned around and fell asleep.
The light in the room had gone out. Just as Wen Nuan was about to button her clothes back up, she felt the man's hand coming over her, and his long fingers pulled her collar open a little.
In the darkness, the warm hearing and touch were magnified countless times. She couldn't help but shrink back when she felt the man's hot breath spraying on her neck.
Wen Nuan grabbed the hand that was slowly moving upwards and cursed in a low voice: "You'll wake the child up later!"
Besides, the child is secondary. Gu Qinglan is in the next room. Who knows if she is asleep
Gu Qinghan turned over and leaned down to kiss the corner of her lips: "I will be more careful."
Wen Nuan wanted to push him away, but her hands had been tied behind her head. The man was too strong, so she had to give up struggling and bite her lower lip to prevent any sound from coming out.
…
The next day is the Lantern Festival.
Wen Nuan woke up a little late and looked around, but the man was nowhere to be seen.
Gu Qinglan's voice came from outside the living room, and it seemed that she was washing something. Wen Nuan thought that she had to go to town and couldn't lie down any longer. She got up quickly, put on her clothes, and went to wash.
"Sister-in-law, are you awake? Big brother has already prepared steamed buns and porridge for us. Go brush your teeth and wash your face first. I'll go heat them up." Gu Qinglan hung the washed clothes next to the stove, then picked up the things on the eight-immortals table and went to the kitchen.
Wen Nuan looked at Gu Qinglan's carefree appearance, thinking that she might not have heard anything they did last night, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
After she came out of the shower, Gu Qinglan had already heated up breakfast for her. The little one at the other end woke up as well, perhaps because she heard the adults' voices.
Gu Qinglan ran into the room and took the child out.
Gu Qinglan brushed the child's hair and said with a smile: "Lele's hair is from sleeping. I'll go to the market to buy you a few more hairpins to help you dress up beautifully!"
I don't know if the little guy understood it or not. He looked at Gu Qinglan and laughed. He even touched her face with his hand but did not touch her injured forehead.
Wen Nuan had taught her many times before, but the little one didn't know what was too strong or not, and would touch anything out of curiosity. But to adults, that would be a beating.
So a few days ago, Wen Nuan had taught her not to hit Gu Qinglan where she was injured, so she remembered it.
"Come, auntie will change your diaper and take you to the market later!" Gu Qinglan felt so sweet in her heart seeing how well behaved the little girl was. She wished she could go to the market right now and buy her some pretty hairpins.
After hearing this, Lele clapped his hands, as if to express his good intention.
Wen Nuan smiled as she looked at the two of them. The bruises on Gu Qinglan's face had already faded, except for the bump on her forehead where the scab hadn't fallen off yet.
The flesh wounds on her body caused by the beatings with bamboo poles had almost healed. Wen Nuan applied Gu Qinghan's external injury medicine to her every night. When she first discovered it, there were several bruises on Gu Qinglan's back.
Zhao Wuzhu really wanted to kill someone. She could kill such a grown girl. She is so cruel.
Then Wen Nuan asked, "Qinglan, have you had breakfast? Why don't you have breakfast first and then make it for her."
"Sister-in-law, I've eaten with my eldest brother. He said you slept very late last night and asked me not to wake you up. I've been up for a while." Gu Qinglan had already put the little one on the sofa covered with a quilt, skillfully pulled off Lele's diaper, and then put a dry diaper under her.
warmth:"… "
When that man comes back, I will definitely beat him up.
Today's weather has gradually cleared up just as Gu Qinghan predicted, and the sky is slowly showing a little blue.
Maybe because it was a holiday and the weather had turned good, many military wives in the family compound left for the town.
When Wen Nuan went out, she met He Dazhuang, but He Dazhuang just glanced at her and walked towards the birch forest.
Wen Nuan looked at the child and always felt that he looked at people with a sinister look in his eyes. She didn't know if Political Commissar Li had changed his ways after educating him for so long.
However, Sister Guihua and Gu Qinglan were urging him, so Wen Nuan ignored him.
Because Gu Qinghan informed the comrades in the quarters in advance, Wen Nuan, Gu Qinglan, and Sister Guihua all took a military vehicle with a canopy, so that the little ones would not be blown by the cold wind.
Maybe it was because everyone had been shoveling snow after the New Year. Although it had been snowing before, the road was still quite smooth. It took less than half an hour to get to the town.
After the young soldier parked the car, he told everyone in the car the time of the return trip, and then the family members in the truck jumped out of the car in a swarm.
Wen Nuan carried her child on her back and did not squeeze with them. She walked at the end before getting off the bus.
Because Wen Nuan was also visiting the town for the first time, she and Gu Qinglan followed Sister Guihua and listened to her introduce the shops in the town one by one.
But in the end I still went to the most concentrated supply and marketing cooperative, where the things were relatively complete.
Because it is the Lantern Festival, Wen Nuan plans to stew the lamb chops she had made earlier tonight, so she has to buy some ingredients, such as cumin powder and chili powder.
Oh, I also have to buy two boxes of vanishing cream for Gu Qinglan. Actually, Gu Qinglan has a pretty good foundation, but maybe she didn't apply any skin care products, so she has some frostbite on her face, and the scar on her forehead makes her look a little haggard.
Gu Qinglan watched Wen Nuan buy a little at this counter and a little at that counter, and said that many of them were for her to take back to the countryside, so she stopped her and said, "Sister-in-law, that's enough. You bought so many things at once, it must cost a lot of money, right?"
Wen Nuan smiled and asked the salesperson at the counter to weigh out another pound of sugar: "It's okay, it's all for you. If you can't finish it, just eat it slowly. It's cold in the north in winter anyway, so those things won't go bad."
After Wen Nuan gave the money, she stuffed a candy into Gu Qinglan's mouth and said, "Come, try one."
Gu Qinglan looked at the candy handed to her by her sister-in-law and felt a little embarrassed: "I, I'm so old, I won't eat it. I... I don't really like candy."
Wen Nuan smiled and said, "Come on, open your mouth."
Although not everyone likes to eat candy, people who are short of food and clothing in this era all have a yearning for sweetness, and it is nice to try it occasionally.
Not to mention that Gu Qinglan went to the countryside when she was only in her teens, and she didn't know whether she could eat sweets in the past few years.
Gu Qinglan took the candy that Wen Nuan handed to her and put it in her mouth. The sweet taste immediately exploded between her lips and tongue and spread to her heart.
So sweet.
Really fragrant.
*
There were a lot of people in the supply and marketing cooperative. Fortunately, Wen Nuan carried the little one in front of her in advance so that she could see her every move.
When Lele saw that Gu Qinglan had candy, he sucked it with his little mouth and called out to Wen Nuan a few times, "Ahh..." and "Mama..."
The little hands kept patting her warm shoulders, wanting her to give her some candy.
Wen Nuan looked at the White Rabbit milk candy in her hand and felt that it was a bit too big, so she simply gave it two grains of sugar and stuffed it into the little guy's mouth. The little guy only tasted the sweet taste and smiled.
Wen Nuan smiled and said to her, "Children can't eat too much. That's enough. I'll give you some more when we get home."
The little guy understood, his mouth pouted, looking aggrieved, his little head buried in the warm arms, feeling a little depressed.
However, the lively sounds around the supply and marketing cooperative still attracted the little guy. After a while, he twisted his neck curiously and looked left and right.
Gu Qinglan on the other side also looked at the things on the counter curiously, but did not say anything to buy, because she only had eight dollars in her pocket.
She had to save it to buy hairpins for Lele, otherwise it would be gone after she used it.
Sister Guihua hadn't been out of town for a long time. After scanning a few counters, she said, "There are too many people here. Why don't we go to the market and take a look? There are many things to buy there."
Wen Nuan also felt that there were too many people. The sisters-in-law were fighting for things and no one wanted to give in to anyone else. She was afraid of squeezing the children, so she pulled Gu Qinglan and Sister Guihua out of the supply and marketing cooperative.
She had been here for so long, but this was the first time she had seen such a crazy rush to buy.
In my hometown, there were more supply and marketing cooperatives in the city. In addition, the temperature in the south was high and many things could not be kept overnight. People bought only as much as they ate, and people did not rush to buy.
Sister Guihua was carrying two baskets of things, still full of energy: "It's just ahead. You can check to see if there are any frozen pears, hawthorns, etc. It's snowed for so long, and I haven't eaten much fruit. I'm craving for some."
Wen Nuan thought so too: "I just happen to want to buy some fruit. The frozen pears that Sister Juxiang brought over earlier are delicious. We'll buy some later."
Gu Qinglan looked at the things in the market and seemed to want to buy a lot of them. No wonder her sister-in-law wanted a little here and a little there, these delicacies were so tempting!
Wen Nuan turned her head to glance at Gu Qinglan, and then asked: "Qinglan, if you want to buy anything, just tell your sister-in-law, your eldest brother will give you enough money!"
In fact, all of Gu Qinghan's salary was in her hands. He hadn't spent much of his salary in the past few months, and Gu Qinghan didn't send all the money home like he did before, so after a few months, he had saved more than three hundred yuan.
It's okay to be a little extravagant occasionally, especially since they have been staying in the staff quarters for several months. They must buy as much as they can today!
Gu Qinglan was a little hesitant, but Wen Nuan had already followed her gaze and found the stall selling candied haws, so she walked over and said, "Comrade, please give me... four strings of candied haws."
The ones in Beicheng are not called Tanghulu, and they are sprinkled with a layer of sesame seeds on the surface, which makes you want to eat them just by looking at them.
This candied haws is only 20 cents and no ticket is required. It is really cheap for Wen Nuan.
She gave one string to Gu Qinglan and one to Sister Guihua, and she took one string herself and ate together with the little guy. The little guy's front teeth were already able to bite a lot of things, and he bit through the sugar coating of the candy ball with a little force, but he couldn't actually eat anything, just a little sweetness.
There were quite a few sesame seeds on the little girl's mouth, but she was eating very happily and kept jumping around.
There is another string that she wants to take back to Gu Qinghan. Although men usually say that they don’t like to eat this or that, they will still eat it if they are really given to them.
I want to share all the delicious food and warmth with him.
Gu Qinglan took a bite of a candied haws and purred in satisfaction, "It's so delicious. How much is this?"
Wen Nuan smiled and said, "Two cents."
Wen Nuan knew that Gu Qinglan was stingy with money, and she might not have much money left, so she didn't dare to buy anything.
Gu Qinglan calculated that if each person also wanted to buy a skewer, it would cost a few cents.
But thinking about how Wen Nuan was so good to her, she hardened her heart and said, "Two cents, not expensive. Sister-in-law, I'll treat you to another one later."
"No, I can't eat anymore. If you want to eat, just buy one yourself." Wen Nuan also wanted to save her some money. Although it was only two cents, a few skewers added up to one dollar, and she didn't know how much money Gu Qinglan had now.
Sister Guihua also shook her head: "I don't want any more either. This bunch may look small, but I only ate three. Now I feel a little sick of it."
Gu Qinglan had already finished the candied haws in her hand, and when she heard them say they didn't want any, she simply decided not to buy any.
Wen Nuan bought a lot of things at the market, especially frozen pears and frozen persimmons. She bought 20 kilograms at one time. She used to eat fruit every day, but in the past few months she only ate a few frozen pears and hasn't eaten any fruit since. So she wanted to buy more this time and eat them slowly to her heart's content!
Later, they bought some radishes, chestnuts, yams and other things. Gu Qinglan was in charge of carrying the things. Although it was a huge pile, she seemed to have no effort because she was tall.
Wen Nuan wanted to help carry some, but Gu Qinglan took Sister Guihua's rice as well: "What is this? I can carry a hundred kilograms of rice in the village where I went to work!"
After hearing this, Wen Nuan felt both distressed and proud of her.
Later, Wen Nuan saw someone selling frozen milk again. She thought that Lele was growing up and it would be good for him to drink some milk.
And she could make some milk tea then. She remembered that Gu Qinghan gave her two bags of tea during the Chinese New Year, but he didn't drink much of it. It would be nice to buy some iced milk and make some tea.
I thought there was nothing to eat in the north city in winter, but I didn't expect there were still many things to sell in the town. If I had known this, I would have come out with Sister Guihua earlier.
On the way back to the family compound special vehicle, Wen Nuan bought three more strings of candied haws and gave them all to Gu Qinglan: "I know you like them, eat them slowly when you get home."
Gu Qinglan almost burst into tears when she saw the three strings of candied haws. "Sister-in-law, you are so kind."
At this moment, Gu Qinglan was very reluctant to leave North City.
But she was afraid that her elder brother and sister-in-law would think that she was dependent on them after coming here once. She felt depressed when she thought about going back to that remote place where there was not enough space for a bicycle among three villages and facing her disgusting nephew, the village party secretary.
My heart feels both sweet and bitter.
But at least I'm happy now, and that's enough.
&
Wen Nuan carried the child all the way and her shoulders were so sore that she put the child down as soon as she got on the truck.
The little fellow looked at Wen Nuan with his big black eyes. He still wanted the candied haws he had just had, so he called out to her a few times.
"Mom...Mom..."
Wen Nuan took out a piece of frozen milk that she had asked the frozen milk seller to cut and gave it to the little one to taste.
Maybe it was because he smelled the familiar fragrance of milk, but it was different from the milk he usually drank. The little guy frowned and spit it out, sticking out his little tongue, shaking his little head, and making a "mmm" sound.
Wen Nuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "What a waste of you!"
The frozen milk fell into her arms, and Wen Nuan picked it up and put it back into the bottle.
Gu Qinglan also wanted to eat a string of candied haws, but there were too many people on the bus, so she couldn't take it out. However, from time to time she reached out and touched the three strings of candy balls that Wen Nuan bought for her, and she felt very satisfied.
When the car arrived at the family compound, the sky changed again. A strong wind blew, making it impossible for people to open their eyes.
Although I bought a lot of things, I didn't feel so embarrassed because of Gu Qinglan's help.
If she had gone to the market alone with her children, she would definitely not have bought so many things.
Wen Nuan turned around and looked at Gu Qinglan: "Qinglan, do you want me to get some? Or should I go back home and get a cart?"
Gu Qinglan was thinking about going back to eat the candied haws as soon as possible, so she smiled and said, "It's not heavy, just be careful holding Lele. The wind is a bit strong today, so please walk slowly, sister-in-law."
Just as everyone was walking towards the family compound, the shrill roar of an airplane suddenly sounded in the sky, and a large group of soldiers in military uniforms ran out of the family compound in unison.
The family members who had just returned from shopping stopped and watched the scene, curious about what had happened.
Soon after, several military jeeps drove out from the training ground, and Wen Nuan looked over curiously.
Gu Qinglan had never seen such a scene before, so she asked, "Sister-in-law, what happened?"
Wen Nuan had been here for a long time and this was the first time she had seen such a scene, so she shook her head and said, "I don't know either."
Until someone shouted loudly: "Something happened...something happened, an avalanche...the plane fell down!"
Immediately afterwards, there were bursts of rumbling sonic booms overhead, tearing through the sky.
The warm candied haws hidden in my pocket suddenly fell to the ground. The red sugar coating on the top broke into small pieces and fell next to the silvery white snow, looking a bit dazzling.
Suddenly, a jeep drove towards them. Wen Nuan saw that it was Li Daxiang driving the car and waved to him.
The car stopped beside them. Li Daxiang sat in the driver's seat with an anxious, sad and conflicted expression.
Wen Nuan's head was buzzing, his face was pale, and his hands holding the child were a little limp, but he still walked to the car and asked, "Is it him?"
"Tell me, is it him?"
From Li Daxiang's hesitant expression, Wen Nuan knew the answer, "Take me there, take me there!"
Gu Qinglan threw the things in her hand directly to the ground, but Wen Nuan turned around, kissed Lele on the forehead, and handed the child to her: "Take care of her, I'll go find Gu Qinghan." Then, she opened the car door and closed it with a "bang".
"Drive, quick, quick, drive!"
It's not like she hadn't thought about it, but she hadn't thought that this day would come so soon, catching her off guard...
She also didn't believe it. She didn't believe that the man with the best flying skills in the division would... crash.
"Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, don't be excited, you..." Gu Qinglan suddenly burst into tears, but Lele had no one to take care of her. Her sister-in-law entrusted the child to her, so she couldn't cry...
Wen Nuan in the car had been listening to Li Daxiang's words, but her buzzing head could not keep up with his rhythm. Her mind was full of Gu Qinghan, but she heard the three most crucial words: "wild ginseng".
Wen Nuan's voice was trembling as she spoke: "Northeast corner, in the northeast corner..."