Zhou Mingli didn't get his holiday until the 26th of the twelfth lunar month. When he came back, he was carrying a black bag, a box of longan, a box of tangerines, and a two-jin bag of Fuqiang flour on his bicycle.
The neighbors were astonished when they saw it.
It's no wonder that the municipal government gives the kitchen helpers a lot of New Year's gifts.
Zhou Mingli moved all his belongings back home.
Jiang Ci and the little ones are not here, and we don't know where they went.
He looked around and found that all the dumplings for the New Year had been made and were being dried by the window. As long as the wind blew them in, they would freeze and keep for several days.
On the shelf in the corner were stacks of firecrackers and couplets that Jiang Ci had bought.
Zhou Mingli put the things on the table and then noticed a note on it.
Zhou Gou brought Xiao Huai along, and I took a few children to the department store to buy clothes. Jiang Ci, 10:30.
They've been at the department store for several hours.
Zhou Mingli held the small note, smiled, and put it away.
They've been gone for almost six hours, they should be back soon.
Just as I was thinking this, I heard a noise coming from outside the door.
The door was unlocked, and Zhou Mingli heard the sound of the door opening. Before he could see anyone, he heard the children chattering.
Zhou Yang: "Sister Xiaohuai, do you think the one I bought is the best?! Miaomiao is a girl, pink doesn't look good on her!"
Zhou Miao: "Pink is pretty! Even my mom says pink is pretty!"
Zhou Yang: "I dislike pink the most. A real man should like blue!"
Neither Zhou Yang nor Zhou Miao could convince the other. They exchanged a glance, snorted in unison, and turned their heads to the sides, ignoring each other.
Zhou Yang and Zhou Miao have completely different personalities, and they have argued more than once or twice, but they always make up on their own soon afterward, so Jiang Ci is used to it.
Zhou Huai was busy trying to soothe the two children, but when she looked up, she saw Zhou Mingli first. She quickly stood up straight and said, "Uncle Zhou."
Jiang Ci, who was carrying things behind, turned around when she heard this and asked, "You're back?"
"It's vacation time."
Zhou Mingli let the children in and took the things from Jiang Ci's hands. "Why did you buy so much?"
“Sister Ailian and I took five children with us. Zhou Gou also asked me to pick out a few outfits for Xiao Huai, so we spent quite a while shopping.”
"Zheyue, are your legs alright?"
She turned around and called out to Huang Zheyue behind her.
Huang Zheyue's forehead was covered in sweat, but she gritted her teeth and said, "I can do it!"
Huang Zheyue also worked hard, spending several hours shopping with them.
Jiang Ci told him not to go, but Huang Zheyue insisted on going with him.
Zhou Mingli walked over and carried him home. After Huang Zheyue sat down, he breathed a long sigh of relief.
He was tired, but he was really happy to be able to go out with Aunt Jiang.
Aunt Jiang even bought him a set of clothes.
Huang Zheyue turned her head to look at one of the bundles piled together, her face turning red.
Zhou Yang and Zhou Miao rushed to the bundles and asked Jiang Ci, "Mom, where are our clothes?!"
They wanted to wear their blue (or pink) clothes so their dad could see which one looked better!
Jiang Ci found their clothes and said, "You're only allowed to wear your coats. We'll have to wash them later."
"oh!"
Zhou Yang and Zhou Miao responded in unison and started putting on their clothes.
Then stand in front of Zhou Mingli and let him see which one looks better.
Zhou Mingli: They're all the same.
The two children are the same age, twins, and look quite alike. After coming to Beijing, they eat and play well, and they no longer play in the mud. The children say they want to become fair-skinned, and that happens very quickly.
The two children are like the little boy and girl in a traditional Chinese New Year painting; they are very beautiful.
He patted the two children on the head and told them to play by themselves.
Then he asked Zhou Huai, "Where's your dad? Why didn't he come with you?"
Zhou Huai: "My dad was playing cards with Uncle Cheng and Brother Wenyun, so he didn't come over."
Zhou Huai suddenly remembered something and said, "Uncle Cheng said we're going to his house for dinner later!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Mingli glanced at Jiang Ci, who suppressed a laugh, and said, "Let's wait for the chef to cook."
Zhou Mingli: “…”
He smiled helplessly, "Then I'll show you another skill."
"I bought you some clothes too. Go try them on and see if they're too small. If they're too small, take them to exchange them tomorrow."
Jiang Ci took out one of the bags and handed the contents to him.
"good."
Zhou Mingli carried the bag into the house, but stopped halfway and said, "Come and help me take a look."
Jiang Ci followed.
Huang Zheyue, Zhou Yang, and Zhou Miao were used to it and didn't react much. Zhou Huai glanced at the closed door and said enviously, "Aunt Jiang and Uncle Zhou have such a good relationship."
She lived with her father, and many of the older women in the military compound told him that her father should find another woman so that she could help take care of her.
Zhou Huai had been taught to be very submissive by Widow Wang for several years, but when he met Jiang Ci, she forced him to change his personality.
When she heard the older woman say that her father should find another one, Zhou Huai would get angry, but she wouldn't argue back. When her father took her to the military camp for training, she would specifically seek out that older woman's child to spar with.
She beat the other person until they were black and blue, and then went back to her mother crying.
When the older woman came to his door, Zhou Huai finally said, "If you come to me again and tell me to make my dad find a stepmother, I'll challenge your son to a sparring match. He can't beat me, so can you blame me for getting beaten up?"
The old woman was furious. Instead of confronting Zhou Huai, she went to Zhou Gou to complain that her daughter had bullied her son.
After Zhou Gou learned why, he became even angrier.
He had no intention of finding another stepmother for Zhou Huai. The father and daughter were both still a little scared after what Widow Wang had done. He angrily confronted her lover and argued with him for a long time before anyone dared to suggest that her father find another stepmother.
Seeing how good the relationship was between Aunt Jiang and Uncle Zhou, Zhou Huai wondered if it was because of him that his father couldn't find anyone else.
Huang Zheyue glanced at her and said, "I have never seen a couple with a better relationship than Aunt Jiang and Uncle Zhou."
Although Aunt Jiang and Uncle Zhou would sometimes argue, they only argued about things that Huang Zheyue couldn't understand. At least they wouldn't argue about trivial matters.
Zhou Huai said, "I've never seen it either."
Zhou Mingli, who was being talked about inside the house, took the money out of his pocket.
"This month's salary and the money the chef gave me for helping out with cooking."
Jiang Ci looked down and saw that it was almost a hundred.
"You go out cooking with Chef Mo, and you make so much money?"
Jiang Ci took it and counted it: ninety-five.
Zhou Mingli opened the bag and took out a very thick woolen coat. It was dark gray, well-fitting, and meticulously tailored.
“My master only cooks big dishes. I guess he can earn forty or fifty yuan per meal.”
This is what a state banquet chef is like; he's capable, and people who hire him pay him more.
Since the beginning of December, Zhou Mingli has been going out with Chef Mo to earn extra money quite a few times. Chef Mo said he would settle the accounts with him at the end of the year, but Zhou Mingli never asked how much money it would be.
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