Deng Cuixiang pursed her lips.
"That's because Zhouzhou is beautiful! And so well-behaved and sensible, who wouldn't like her!"
As she spoke, she looked down at the chicken noodles in her bowl, poked around in it with her chopsticks, picked up the biggest piece of chicken and put it into Zhouzhou's small bowl. She sighed softly at the end, her eyes full of envy.
"If the one-child policy weren't so strictly enforced now, I would really like to have another baby girl, but unfortunately I'm not so lucky."
As she spoke, she suddenly turned to Zhu Yingying and Zhou Qiqi opposite her and asked curiously.
"Yingying, Qiqi, you two are still young. Do you want to have a boy or a girl in the future?"
As soon as she said this, Zhu Yingying lowered her head, bit her lip, and whispered.
"I don't even know if I'll be able to have children..."
She has been taking her medication on time for over a month, and when she went to the hospital for a check-up last week, her polycystic ovary syndrome still hadn't improved much.
"It's only been a short time, what's the rush?"
Zhou Qiqi quickly comforted her, "Didn't the doctor say that you need to relax and have confidence in yourself so that the baby can come?"
“Yes, I know,”
Zhu Yingying forced a smile, "Spending every day with you two, chatting and laughing, I can't help but feel worried."
After saying that, she turned to Zhou Qiqi and asked, "Qiqi, what about you? You've been married to Commander Shen for a while now, why haven't you made any moves yet?"
"I..."
Zhou Qiqi paused for a moment, her eyes darting around...
She and Shen Huaichuan hadn't even properly "connected" yet; it was still like a field that hadn't been planted with any seeds. How could they possibly have a fruit out of nowhere?
"Let nature take its course, let nature take its course."
She stammered a few words and quickly changed the subject.
"Oh, right, there's something else I'd like to discuss with you."
Seeing her serious expression, Zhu Yingying and Deng Cuixiang nodded earnestly and said in unison, "Okay, go ahead."
......
After she finished speaking, the two nodded, especially Deng Cuixiang, who spoke up.
“I was just about to say that, but I was afraid you two wouldn’t agree. Since everyone thinks so, I’ll talk to Master Chen about it later.”
After finishing their meal, the three of them strolled leisurely to Master Chen's auto repair shop.
When Master Chen saw them from afar, he assumed the three were heading home to their family compound, so he quickly put down his work and greeted them warmly.
"I'll go ahead and call a tricycle right now."
Deng Cuixiang quickly reached out to stop him, smiling, "Don't rush, don't rush, we have something else we need your help with."
Upon hearing this, Master Chen immediately perked up, straightened his back, and greeted the crowd with enthusiasm: "What kind of help do you need? Just tell me!"
But after Deng Cuixiang finished explaining, he stared wide-eyed, completely bewildered. "Huh? Why would you want to make a brand new car look old? That's such a waste!"
Seeing this, Zhou Qiqi quickly explained with a smile.
"We don't really want to make it look old, we just want you to help us 'fix' it so that it looks old to her. We... don't want it to be too conspicuous."
"Understood! Understood! Little girl, you may look young, but you're surprisingly insightful!"
Master Chen suddenly realized what was going on, immediately gave a thumbs up, and then patted his chest heavily.
"Don't worry, leave it to me. I, Old Chen, can refurbish old cars and also age new ones. I guarantee it will look natural and won't damage the car!"
With that, Master Chen strode ahead, leading the group toward the small courtyard at the back.
There were many parts scattered haphazardly on the muddy ground in the backyard, and a dirty wooden basin sat in the corner.
Master Chen walked to the wooden basin, picked up a ladle and scooped up half a spoonful of muddy water. Then he grabbed a brush and lightly flicked it a few times on the frame. Mud splattered onto the tires and mudguards, making it look like he had ridden a bad road after rain.
After cleaning up the mud, he took out a piece of sandpaper, squatted down, and rubbed it back and forth on the edge of the foot pedal a few times. After a while, the metallic color underneath was revealed, and the marks looked like they had been worn down by the heel of a shoe for a long time.
Finally, he pulled out a rag soaked in engine oil from his pocket and vigorously rubbed it back and forth on the edge of the car seat several times. The originally shiny artificial leather immediately turned grayish and looked like it was covered with a thick layer of paste.
After finishing all that, Master Chen straightened up, put his hands on his hips, and asked with a smug look on his face.
"That's all. It looks impressive, but you can wipe it off yourself and there won't be any trace left. How about that?"
Zhou Qiqi circled the car carefully twice, her eyes full of admiration, and gave it a thumbs up.
"Master Chen, you are indeed an expert in this field. The details are impeccable!"
Just as Master Chen was about to say something modest, he suddenly frowned. "Something feels off to me. Is this a compliment?"
However, he didn't think much of it and quickly aged the other two vehicles as well. Then he asked his youngest son to go to the intersection to call a tricycle.
I had just sat down to catch my breath when someone shouted from the front, "Old Chen! The flower seller is here, he says he has spider plants!"
"You all sit down first, I'll go take a look."
Master Chen patted his bottom and walked out. Zhou Qiqi and the others sat on small stools, listening to the voices coming from the alley entrance, waiting for the tricycle to arrive.
Before a minute had passed, Master Chen stormed back, kicked a broken basin on the ground, and cursed, "Damn it, what a crook!"
Deng Cuixiang suddenly became interested and quickly stood up, leaning forward to ask, "What's wrong? Why are you so angry?"
Master Chen plopped down on the stool, spitting as he spoke.
"A while ago, a woman came selling flowers from a donkey cart. The neighbors bought some and all said they were good. A pot of spider plant was seven cents, and she also gave me a bunch of wildflowers and a few wild walnuts. My wife told me to buy one too when I saw it."
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