"Don't be so smug. You wouldn't be here if that person hadn't deliberately provoked me."

The sales clerk pulled the shutter shut right in front of them and hung up the sign indicating the item was out of stock. Zhou Lian glared at Song Qing, annoyed that she'd gotten away with it again.

"I'm not smug. In fact, I have to thank you. Otherwise, how would I have gotten the last can of food?"

Anyway, she ended up with a can of food.

"you!"

Song Qing hadn't eaten breakfast when she came out, so she didn't want to talk to her and quickly took An'an back.

When An'an left, she had already eaten half of the vegetable bun she was holding. When they slowly walked back, she grabbed the bun again and continued eating.

"Xiao Song, did you manage to get any?" As they passed Fang Jie's house, she poked her head out of the yard and looked at Song Qing with concern. Song Qing waved the can of food she was holding.

"Lastly, I have to thank Sister Fang. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have any canned food today."

"Oh, I just called you. I'm going back to do laundry now." Fangjie turned around and went back to wash her clothes.

The mother and daughter walked briskly along the road, carrying cans of food. When they returned to the bungalow, there were already quite a few people loitering at the door. When they saw Song Qing, they all asked her what she was doing so early in the morning and what she was carrying.

"Meat, canned food," An'an mumbled, biting into a steamed bun.

Song Qing patted her head and told her to finish eating before talking.

"It's supposedly canned yak meat from Inner Mongolia, so we went to pick it up early."

"Meat?" Everyone was delighted to hear that and rushed back into the house to get the money before heading out.

"I was lucky, I was just last in line, I don't know when the next batch will come."

Upon hearing that it was gone, everyone sighed with regret, wondering why they hadn't known.

"We didn't even know about this great thing. What a loss!"

"Who would run over there so early in the morning? They're keeping the news a secret from us, so we can only rely on hearsay."

These newcomers are just going to be bullied to death. They never tell anyone when something good comes their way, and by the time they find out, they're left with nothing.

Others were also dissatisfied.

"Everyone knows that things are hard to get, so naturally, as soon as they find out, they immediately run to queue up. There's no time to tell others."

I was lucky; someone else had asked their child to line up and specifically came to tell me. When I heard the news, I rushed over immediately, afraid I'd be too late.

Song Qing understood that they were a little unhappy about not getting any canned food, but they shouldn't direct their dissatisfaction at her.

Things are all in a rush, who has the time to tell others? If you don't hurry up and queue up, you might miss your turn.

Fangjie only had time to tell her because her own child was in line.

"Yes, yes, yes, even a second later we might miss out. Let's pay more attention to the news next time."

"If my own family knew, they would go and queue up immediately. I can only send my child to tell them."

The group tried to smooth things over, explaining that they all lived in the same row of houses and interacted frequently, and they didn't want things to get too tense.

The woman who had just spoken wanted to say something more, but she also saw the child Song Qing was holding. How could a three-year-old child possibly relay a message for you? She could only snort coldly and turn back.

"She was a little unhappy because she didn't manage to get it."

"Don't even mention her, I can't even enjoy my porridge today. Sigh, that was a huge can of food."

Everyone started joking around again. Since there was no more canned food, there was no need to make things so tense. What did it have to do with them?

They just saw them on their way back after they finished shopping.

Most people on this street were unaware of the news. Song Qing was truly hated for carrying that can of food, so she didn't linger and hurried home.

"What are we having for breakfast?" The three steamed buns on the table were brought back by Lu Yang from the cafeteria, but they were cold by now. An An had eaten one, and there were still two left.

"Popcorn."

"You have a good memory. Eat later."

Song Qing originally wanted to cook something hot, but when she lifted the lid of the pot in the kitchen, she found millet porridge warm inside, with three eggs in the water below.

Looking out of the kitchen window into the yard, I saw a clothesline that had been set up sometime earlier; they had washed the clothes they had taken off yesterday.

Song Qing pursed her lips, wondering how early he had gotten up to do so much work. He must have boiled enough eggs for three people this morning; she wondered why he hadn't eaten hers.

"Come and have some porridge."

The kitchen table is too high, which is inconvenient for the little one. It seems they'll have to make a small table to put under the tree so they can eat there in the summer.

An'an was peering through the door of the main room at the cabinet containing snacks when Song Qing grabbed her and playfully slapped her on the bottom.

"You can only eat after you've had breakfast."

"Just take a look."

"What are you looking at? Do you want to eat this with your rice?" He grabbed the person and made them sit on a stool in the kitchen, then placed a small bowl on their table.

"Mom, are we going to Grandpa Laogen's house later?"

Uncle Lao Gen's house has a big tabby cat. When they went there that day, it was lying lazily in the kitchen warming itself. The cat looked particularly intimidating, but An An wasn't afraid. She just squatted down and stared at it for a long time.

"No, we need to clean the house today."

Okay then, we'll go again next time. An'an reached out and pulled over her small bowl, then slowly began to eat with the spoon in her hand.

Song Qing cracked an egg and placed it next to An'an; this was An'an's way of entertaining herself during breakfast.

She doesn't want adults to help her peel eggs; she prefers to do it herself at her own pace. If she manages to peel a perfectly intact egg, she happily holds it up to her mother so she can praise it.

"You're so clever! Hurry up and eat, Mom has to wash the dishes."

The mother and daughter didn't plan to go out all day. Song Qing cleaned every corner of the house and put everything back in its proper place.

An'an wasn't bored, so she hugged her little stool and followed Song Qing around.

"We've finally settled down completely. We should write back to your grandmother so she won't worry."

"Mom, I miss Grandma." An'an immediately became sad. Besides her mother, her favorite person was her grandmother.

“We’ll go back to see her during the Chinese New Year. If you have anything to say, tell your mom, and she’ll write to your grandma.” Her mom often helps take care of An’an, and the child is closest to her grandma.

"And my maternal grandfather."

"Write, write, write everything."

An'an had many other things to do, but writing the letter was the most important thing right now, so she immediately took Song Qing's hand and started writing. The mother and daughter finished writing the long letter at the octagonal table in the main room.

"Mom, when are we going to mail the letter?"

"Have your father send it when he gets back."

There is a post office in the residential compound, which makes it very convenient for them to receive and send packages and letters.