As the days passed and the New Year drew closer, Lu Fangfang went to the county town to mail New Year's gifts to Beijing and her hometown.
On her way back, she went to the grocery store again and bought some things for the New Year.
A few days before the Lunar New Year, she and Zhuang Mingcheng took Qingqing and Dandan to call their father in Beijing.
Dandan and Qingqing, however, didn't know the foreign language Xiu had just learned. The two of them kept talking into the microphone.
On the other end of the phone, the old man was very happy and talked to the babbling children, Dandan and Qingqing, for a long time.
After a while, Lu Fangfang took the phone and explained why she couldn't go back this year.
“Dad, the children are still young, so Mingcheng and I won’t go back this year. We’ll bring Dandan and Qingqing back to see you next year.”
"Alright, alright, Fangfang, it's very cold this year, so you don't need to come back. You and Mingcheng take good care of yourselves. If you need anything, just tell me."
The old man held the phone, still somewhat hesitant.
After thinking for a moment, he whispered, "Fangfang, if you come back next year, I was thinking of having your mother come back to see the children too. She's been reformed at the farm these past two years..."
Lu Fangfang was taken aback upon hearing this.
To be honest, she really didn't want to see Zhuang's mother.
But... after all, she is her husband's biological mother and her mother-in-law, and that cannot be changed.
After a moment of silence, she smiled and said, "Dad, I'm fine with it. You can decide what to do."
She handed the phone to Zhuang Mingcheng, then held Dandan and began to ponder.
She plans to go to the capital next year to see if she can buy a house; she doesn't want to live with Mrs. Zhuang in the future.
In the past two years, she and her husband have earned quite a lot of money, and since they had nowhere to spend it in Qilian, they have saved more than two thousand yuan.
By the end of next year, I should have over four thousand. Without using a nugget, I should be able to buy a small courtyard house.
In this day and age, I don't know if it's even possible to buy a house.
After letting Dandan and Qingqing chatter for a while longer, Zhuang Mingcheng hung up the phone.
The Lunar New Year is just around the corner, and the troupe has been very busy lately.
Lu Fangfang put Dandan into the wooden baby carriage she had made, and then took Qingqing from her husband.
"Mingcheng, you go ahead and get busy. I'll push them around for a bit."
"Alright then, you should head back early."
"By the way, the military region's cultural troupe will be here soon for a performance. Do you want to come and watch?"
"Forget it, I've already seen it last year, I'd rather stay with the kids."
Lu Fangfang shook her head, showing no interest whatsoever.
She said a few more words to her husband, then pushed the stroller away.
It was a sunny day, and the sun felt very comfortable. She pushed her daughter and son out of the troupe's compound and went straight to the pasture in front of the breeding farm instead of returning home.
"Ah...ah..."
Egg stretched out its little hand, as if it were calling out something.
On the distant grassland, a wild donkey that was idly munching on wild grass heard the noise and immediately ran over.
It stretched out its donkey head, brought it close to Egg's head, and barked.
"Oh...ah..."
"Ah...ah..."
Lu Fangfang's lips twitched, and then she raised her hand to slap him.
"Smack."
"Go away, go eat your grass, and stop causing trouble."
"Oh...ah..."
The little wild donkey raised its head and looked at her with displeasure.
Lu Fangfang rolled her eyes.
She took out a handful of sunflower seeds, stuffed them into the donkey's mouth, and then slapped its rump hard.
This year's sunflower seeds were fertilized more, resulting in fuller seeds that taste even better.
The little wild donkey had something in its mouth, so it wagged its tail and walked to the side.
However, it didn't go far, staying close to the stroller.
After a while, it lowered its head to nibble on some grass, then raised its head again and looked at the egg in the donkey cart.
Eggy made "ah ah" sounds and kept staring at the little wild donkey.
Seeing this, Lu Fangfang shook her head helplessly.
It's really strange that their relationship is almost better than mine.
Pushing the wooden stroller, she continued to wander around the meadow.
"Squeak~"
"Squeak~"
Not far away, Xiao Huang was hunting pikas with three children.
Lu Fangfang stood there watching for a while, but didn't go over to disturb them.
The three little weasel cubs from back then have grown almost as big as Little Yellow now, which makes her quite envious. People raise their cubs so quickly; they've reached adulthood in just one summer.
These two babies in her stroller will take another ten years or so to raise.
"Meow~"
"Meow~"
Inside the stroller, Qingqing opened her mouth and started meowing again.
Lu Fangfang glanced at her daughter, then reached out and hugged her. "Qingqing, stop calling out. Your sister isn't here."
"It's been hanging out with Big Fatty for so long that it's almost forgotten about home."
As she spoke, she sighed again.
Now that Xiaohua is an adult, she learned to stay out all night two months ago, and this time she hasn't come back for two or three days. I wonder if she has run off to be with Da Pang.
Thinking about it makes her, as an elderly mother, feel quite heartbroken.
The little yellow dog also runs wildly on this pasture in front of the farm all day long, as if it has made it its own territory. It spends more time here than at home.
"My daughter and son have grown up and are no longer under their mother's control."
"Meow~"
"Meow~"
Qingqing stretched out her little hands and kept calling out, and the calls grew louder and louder.
Just as Lu Fangfang was about to say a few more words of advice to her daughter, she heard a noise behind her.
A thought struck her, and she quickly turned around.
"Bang!"
"Meow~"
Xiao Hua released the little ibex from her mouth and looked up at Qing Qing, letting out a cry.
"Giggle~"
Qingqing waved her little hand and laughed.
"My goodness, Xiaohua, did you drag this all the way back?"
Lu Fangfang carried Qingqing forward, marveling at the sight.
This is a small blue sheep, probably weighing twenty or thirty pounds. It must have been quite an achievement to drag it here from the snow-capped mountains in the north.
"Meow~"
Little Flower, slightly out of breath, lay down directly on the grass.
Lu Fangfang patted its big head, knowing that Xiao Hua was exhausted.
She put Qingqing back in the stroller, took out a dagger, and cut open the ibex's belly.
She pulled out the internal organs and placed them in front of Xiaohua.
"Eat up, and don't do that again. You don't bring anything with you, and I'm just happy that you can come back."
"Awoo~"
Xiao Hua glanced at her, then lowered her head and began to eat.
Lu Fangfang looked around the grassland but didn't see the little Tibetan fox.
She immediately pulled out her whistle and blew it loudly.
"Beep beep~"
"Beep beep~"
Before long, the little Tibetan fox appeared out of nowhere.
"Awoo~"
"Awoo~"
Upon approaching, the little Tibetan fox nudged Lu Fangfang's leg, then began pawing at the ground as if demonstrating something.
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