As soon as I got home, I heard Sanqi wailing loudly; she was hungry.
Bonnie quickly washed her hands and then used a towel to clean the Panax notoginseng granary, working up a sweat in the process.
"Sanqi, come on, dinner's ready."
Sanqi, who had been staring at her mother, quickly reached out her hand, wanting to break free from her grandmother's embrace.
“Now that your mother is back, your maternal grandmother won’t be so affectionate anymore.”
"He's not a mother to be loved, he's a food source."
When Sanqi was in Bonnie's arms, his little hands started tugging at his mother's clothes. The tiny baby, only a few months old, couldn't get the clothes off and cried out in frustration, his eyebrows turning a little red. Bonnie quickly took him inside to nurse; it looked like he was about to cry!
"We've picked them up, how's that?"
"They've all been picked up. They're all suffering from severe seasickness and are resting in bed. They'll have lunch at the cafeteria, and there'll be a welcome ceremony."
"It's not easy for anyone, so let's take care of them as much as we can."
These days, most families are struggling to make ends meet, and few have any surplus food.
"Yes, judging from their appearance, they've had a tough time. They're pale and thin, which doesn't match their age. They've suffered a lot."
“It’s not easy when the man isn’t home. He has elderly parents to care for and young children to raise. He has to take care of everything.”
After Sanqi finished eating, his maternal grandmother took him away.
“Mom, there are noodles and eggs in the kitchen. Cook some seafood and egg noodles, and I’ll find Liu Jiu. This child, once he goes out, he’s like he’s lost. He forgets everything when he’s playing.”
Bonnie grumbled as she walked towards Liu Jiu, wondering where they could play. It was too cold to stay outside. And they couldn't stay at Zhao Yuan's house either; the little pine tree wasn't on holiday yet.
"Sister-in-law, have you seen my Liu Jiu?"
"Go to the cafeteria and see, it seems like everyone's watching the commotion."
Okay, I forgot about that.
"Okay, I'll go take a look. Bye, sister-in-law."
"I'm going home to cook too, it's almost noon."
Bonnie entered the cafeteria, where a red paper with the words "Welcome, Family" was pasted on the wall directly in front of her.
"Bonnie, what brings you here? Is something wrong over there?"
When Aunt Zhang saw Bao Ni, she thought she was looking for her, so she quickly came over to ask.
"It's alright, everything's arranged. I'm here to find my Liu Jiu. Sister-in-law Li said she's here."
"Ah, it's alright, it's alright. These kids were just here a moment ago."
It's been years since so many family members have come to visit. Aunt Zhang is a little nervous; at this time of year, everyone is afraid of making a mistake.
"Mom, did you come to see me?"
Liu Jiu appeared out of nowhere, with a gray tuft on his head and a black mark on his face, I don't know how he got it.
"It's time to eat. Isn't your stomach growling?"
"I didn't call out, but I was hungry. I was already on my way home, and as soon as I came out, I saw my mother."
"Naughty." Bonnie tapped Liu Jiu's forehead and took the gray hair off his head.
"Sister Zhang, I'm going back now, I'll come over in a bit."
"Okay, let's take the child back first."
The mother and daughter walked out hand in hand, greeting acquaintances from time to time.
"Mom, what are we having for lunch?"
"Are you happy with the seafood and egg noodles that Grandma made?"
"I'm so happy, everything Grandma makes tastes delicious."
Liu Jiu couldn't wait any longer and ran home on her little legs; she missed her maternal grandmother.
Following behind, Bonnie watched her daughter running wildly ahead. Short hair, wild running posture—was this still a little girl? Thinking of Bai Yang from Zhao Yuan's family, she sighed and thought, "Oh well, let her develop freely. As long as she's happy."
When Bonnie entered the room, Liu Jiu, who had just washed up, was looking at her younger brother on the kang (a heated brick bed). A delicious aroma wafted from the kitchen; her mother had prepared a meal.
It was cold, so Bao Ni put the kang table on it and ate while sitting on the kang.
Bao Ni's mother made seafood and egg noodles, and they tasted so good that Liu Jiu's mouth was watering.
Sanqi lay there smelling the aroma, while Baoni and her two children ate heartily on the side.
Bonnie ate quickly, then went to the cafeteria. She didn't know if Ge Honghua could find it, so she walked to the back row to check.
"That, that regimental commander's wife."
Ge Honghua forgot what the regimental commander's wife's name was, and felt a little embarrassed.
"Just call me Bonnie. Kids, let's go to the cafeteria for lunch."
Bonnie pretended not to notice that Ge Honghua had forgotten her name and invited them to the canteen. The first meal was provided by the military for the visiting families; from then on, they would have to take care of their own meals—the military's budget was limited!
"Shuanzi, Cao, come out quickly, it's time to eat."
As soon as Ge Honghua finished shouting, four people of different ages came out of the house. The leader was a boy of about fourteen or fifteen years old, followed by two other children, and finally a girl of sixteen or seventeen.
"The two older ones are my sister-in-law and brother-in-law, and the two younger ones are my and Zhigang's children."
Ge Honghua introduced the children, who walked awkwardly with their heads down and their feet shuffling on the ground.
"Call out to people, Shuanzi and Cao, call out to your sister-in-law, Tiedan and Gangdan, call out to your aunt."
"sister in law."
"Auntie."
Her voice lacked a bit of confidence, but Bonnie smiled and agreed, leading them to the cafeteria.
There were already quite a few people in the cafeteria. Bonnie helped the family sit down and then went to find Sister Zhang.
"Sister-in-law, shall we eat first? I think the children are hungry."
"Let's eat first, we'll talk about the rest later. It hasn't been easy getting here, I don't know how we managed."
Sister Zhang recalled her first visit to her relatives. She was afraid to move around, fearing she might encounter bad people. The dry rations she brought from home later became hard and choked her, making her eyes roll back in her head. She also couldn't bear to buy the food on the train; it was too expensive.
"Alright, let's get straight to the point. First of all, welcome to all our relatives and friends. I hope you have a great time these next few days. If you need anything, please ask me or your group's wives for help. Now, let's eat. You must all be hungry."
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