She glanced at Ning Tang and Mrs. Luo with envy. Chen Lie and Political Commissar Zhao handed over all their wages without keeping a cent.
Ning Tang was amused. "Me? How can I give you advice? This is Captain Qi's own money. If he doesn't want to give it to me, no matter what anyone says, it's useless."
Zeng Xinlan also understood this and said repeatedly, "I know, but if the money is with Qi Wei, he always wants to subsidize their family."
She pursed her lips, as if recalling a bad memory. "Recently, I discovered that he was secretly sending money back home. Although he didn't give me the money for safekeeping, he gets a fixed salary every month. I know how much money he has on hand."
"When school starts in September, Dahu will have to pay tuition and miscellaneous fees. I have already prepared the money, but I deliberately asked him for it. Even if he doesn't give it, I have to let him know how much it costs to raise a child." Zeng Xinlan smiled. This was taught to her by Ning Tang.
After laughing, she frowned again. "His face immediately changed. He said he had no money. How could that be? Tuition and fees were only two dollars. I quickly asked and found out that he had sent the few hundred dollars he had saved back home. He said his younger brother was waiting to marry his sister-in-law and couldn't wait any longer. When he had a big fat boy, he would still have to call me aunt."
Zeng Xinlan rolled her eyes for the first time. "A few hundred dollars for an aunt, do you think I'm precious?"
She has always been shy and gentle, and she wouldn't have acted like this if she hadn't been so angry.
Zeng Xinlan stopped eating the barbecue, grabbed Ning Tang's hand, and said anxiously, "So, Xiao Ning, quickly give me an idea on how to get him to hand over the money to me. I finally understand. His parents are vampires, a bottomless pit. Instead of giving the money to them, it's better to throw it in the water. At least you can hear it. It's better to let me keep it. At least I can save it."
Ning Tang frowned. This matter is actually quite difficult to handle.
Because, after all, this money is Captain Qi's salary. It is the hard-earned money he earned by risking his life to defend his country, and he has the power to distribute it.
It's just that he is not very smart, not clear-headed, and is foolishly filial. In fact, it is reasonable to give his parents three or five dollars for expenses every month, and use the rest of the money for his own family.
Of course, normal parents are not like Captain Qi’s parents, who ask their son to send most or all of his income back home to support them every day. Instead, they try every possible way to support their son’s family.
Ning Tang told Zeng Xinlan the truth, "Xinlan, Captain Qi is already 38 this year, right? He's already lived half his life. At this age, his personality is already set. If he has any flaws, such as his foolish filial piety, he would have changed them long ago. He hasn't changed because he accepts it and thinks it's to his benefit."
"He sends money back home. He's the good son his parents talk about, the good elder brother his brothers see as a good brother, the filial son everyone in the village talks about as a role model. He thinks exchanging his reputation for this money is worth it." Ning Tang asked Zeng Xinlan, "Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Zeng Xinlan pursed her lips and nodded, "I understand."
"Actually, the current situation is much better than it was at the beginning. You want both now. It is possible, but it is difficult. But there is a solution," Ning Tang said.
When Zeng Xinlan heard Lian Ningtang say that it was very difficult, she almost gave up hope and felt that she would be tied to Captain Qi's family for the rest of her life.
After all, Ning Tang is the smartest person among them. If even Ning Tang has no way, then others, including herself, will be even more helpless.
Fortunately, Ning Tang left a final thought. Hearing this twist, Zeng Xinlan quickly pressed on, "What else? What else can we do? Xiao Ning, tell me quickly."
Ning Tang said, "If you want to put his money into your pocket, you have to prove to him that you have the ability and skill to manage money well. Otherwise, why would he let you manage money? No one's money is big. It just comes from the wind. Would you be happy to do it?"
Zeng Xinlan brought in the money she had worked so hard to earn. If Captain Qi asked her to give it to him for safekeeping, she would definitely not be happy.
"Then, how can I prove it?"
Ning Tang was amused: "Well, I can't teach you this. You have to consult on your own."
Zeng Xinlan pondered Ning Tang's words, and the more she thought about them, the more they made sense to her. Then she seemed to have thought of something, and her eyes lit up.
Mrs. Luo said, "You guys were so busy talking that the barbecue has gotten cold."
Ning Tang picked up a piece of roasted eggplant with garlic sauce with chopsticks and said, "Eat it quickly."
With Ning Tang's idea, Zeng Xinlan felt relieved. She felt relieved and her appetite improved. She ate a lot by herself.
Mrs. Luo asked while eating, "By the way, Xinlan, will your work be even busier after you become a regular employee?"
Zeng Xinlan shook her head. "No, the work is still the same as before, but I've been very busy lately. In the past two months, many people on the island have been sick and caught colds. The clinic is always full, and we don't have enough staff. Occasionally, I even have to help with IV drips and other things."
At the turn of summer and autumn, the weather was hot and cold. Many people on the island caught colds, both adults and children. Many people went to see doctors and get intravenous drips. Zeng Xinlan also had her first overtime job.
She has been coming home later and later recently, sometimes arriving home after seven o'clock.
Captain Qi couldn't cook, so he and Dahu and his son could only wait for Zeng Xinlan to come back on an empty stomach.
This went on for several weeks, and Captain Qi went to the army canteen to eat.
Zeng Xinlan discussed with him and asked him to bring back some food for Dahu.
Unexpectedly, Captain Qi was not happy about it. He thought it was troublesome to bring Tang Tangshui with him, and most importantly, it was not good-looking. It seemed like he was poaching the troops and fleecing them, so he refused.
But Zeng Xinlan was so angry that she died. It seemed that since you could eat in the army, your son deserved to starve.
Because of this, the couple had another quarrel.
Zeng Xinlan said, "I'm really too busy. I want to talk to Qi Wei about it. Whether it's learning how to cook or getting food from the army, I think we need to take good care of Dahu."
She looked at Ning Tang expectantly, "Xiao Ning, I need you to help me come up with an idea on how to convince him."
Ning Tang was amused: "So you're treating me like a consultant."
Zeng Xinlan glared at her, "If Qi Wei was like your Captain Shen, who could handle both housework and cooking, why would I need your advice?"
You know what, Chen Lie is really good at doing housework.
He cooks delicious food and can do housework. When Ning Tang was not around, he, as a grown man, raised three children very well.
Ning Tang guided her, "What are you going to do? Talk to Captain Qi?"
Zeng Xinlan thought for a moment and said, "Just tell him directly and ask him to take care of Dahu."
She had just finished speaking when she rejected it. "Old Qi will definitely say, 'I'm a woman, it's natural for a woman to take care of a child, and being a mother means it's a bit harder. How can I refute that?'"
Ning Tang thought for a moment, "Then you're just asking him like that. A father shouldn't take care of the child, right? Did you give birth to Dahu all by yourself?"
Mrs. Luo burst out laughing.
Zeng Xinlan was also amused. "Old Qi would definitely glare at me and say he's a man. Are men the same as women? Raising children is our job as women. I have to be worthy of the name of mother."
Captain Qi, that's pure male chauvinism.
Ning Tang said, "Then you fight back. You're just like that. You're still a father, so what do you do? Don't you earn hundreds of dollars a month to bring home? Have you fulfilled your responsibilities as a father? He wants to fight you, asking you why you don't earn hundreds of dollars a month, and you fight back with his words, saying you're a woman, how can women be the same as men? Earning money to support the family is the job of men."
Zeng Xinlan imagined it for a moment and became even happier. She slapped her thigh and said, "Okay, I'll do as you say."
She finally figured it out: Qi Wei is a person who responds to soft tactics and does not respond to harsh ones.
If I go along with him softly, I will just be controlled by him like before. It would be better to be tough and fight back as Ning Tang said. Maybe I can control him completely.
She also thought that if Ning Tang and Qi Wei had gotten married, Ning Tang would definitely not have fallen to the point of having to rely on picking up seafood to fill her stomach like her. Qi Wei would probably have been scolded by her until he was obedient.
She sighed and thought that she should learn more from Ning Tang and be more tough, so that her life would get better and better.
Now let’s talk about the men.
Although fruit wine has a low alcohol content and is not easy to get people drunk, they still drank a lot and one or two of them became a little tipsy.
Chen Liegao was in high spirits, so he waved Erniu over and asked her to sing a couple of songs.
He said to Political Commissar Zhao and Battalion Commander Qi, "I'm not bragging, but my second daughter sings beautifully. Do you know that Taiwanese singer named Li Jun? My second daughter sings just as beautifully as her."
Hedgehogs think their own offspring are shiny, and dung beetles think their own offspring are fragrant.
Erniu's singing skills are definitely not comparable to those of professional female singers, but Chen Lie, a daughter slave, can't resist and thinks that Erniu's singing is good in every way and can even release an album.
Captain Qi curled his lips and thought, just keep bragging.
He really wanted to say that his son also had talents, but he usually paid too little attention to Dahu, and he had no idea what Dahu was capable of, so he could only talk but failed to refute.
Political Commissar Zhao was in high spirits and said, "Okay, then let Erniu sing a song for us."
Erniu wasn't shy either. She took two steps over to Chen Lie and the others and started singing a song she often sang along with the radio: "The Rain Keeps Falling, My Heart Is Beating Restlessly." "The drizzle keeps falling, my heart is beating restlessly..."
Her voice is tender and clear, which is definitely not comparable to that of a professional female singer, but it sounds unique.
Moreover, she has a very good sense of pitch, as if she knew naturally how to sing this song beautifully and melodiously.
But three big ones? Men don’t understand this, they just know one thing, Erniu is not out of tune.
For a kid, it's pretty good to sing like this.
They kept clapping and clapping for Erniu, not noticing that Erniu secretly winked at Da Wa and San Wa while she was singing.
The eldest and third child immediately understood, and the two children looked at each other and saw cunning in each other's eyes.
While everyone's attention was on Erniu, the eldest boy used a bottle to scoop up half a bottle of sea buckthorn wine from Chenlie's table. The third boy took the bottle, put it behind his back, and secretly carried it back to their table.
The barbecue party lasted until ten o'clock in the evening. We ate barbecue and sang songs together. It was so pleasant.
In the end, Zeng Xinlan and the others were all drunk and walked away with unsteady steps.
Ning Tang didn't drink much, and Chen Lie had a good alcohol tolerance, so he sobered up in a short while. After seeing Zeng Xinlan and the others off, the two of them started cleaning the rooftop.
She wanted to call the eldest child and the others for help, but when she turned around, she saw that the three younger children had passed out drunk at some point, their cheeks flushed.
Ning Tang saw the overturned wine bottle at their feet. How could he not understand what was going on? He suddenly laughed.
Said to Chen Lie, "You clean the rooftop, I?ll carry them back to the room."
Chen Lie waved his hands, "If you can't carry her, I'll come. We can clean the rooftop tomorrow."
He carried the three children back to the room, and Ning Tang tucked them in.
The three little ones were still drunk. The eldest one kicked the quilt aside, punched and kicked randomly, and performed a set of "drunken boxing" for Ning Tang and Shen Lie.
The corners of Erniu's slightly upturned mouth moved, as if she was saying something. Ning Tang put his ear close to her mouth and was immediately amused. The little girl was still humming the song "The Rain Never Stops, but My Heart Is Unsettled".
Sanwa's little face was buried in the quilt, with only the upper half of his face exposed. He looked very well-behaved.
But when I think about the good things these three have done, this being good becomes questionable.
It was getting late, so Ning Tang and Shen Lie took care of the three children and went to bed.
The next morning, Ning Tang woke up and felt a slight headache. He couldn't help but press his temples. This was the consequence of a hangover.
Even if the alcohol content of fruit wine is low, it can still make you drunk if you drink too much.
As soon as she went downstairs, she smelled the aroma of porridge. She looked and saw four bowls of vegetable porridge on the table.
The eldest, second and third children were already sitting on the stools and drinking porridge.
Seeing Ning Tang, Chen Lie said, "Come and eat."
Ning Tang asked, "Why are you eating so lightly today?"
"I ate too much barbecue yesterday, it was too greasy, so I had some vegetable porridge at noon to soothe my stomach." Chen Lie said, "By the way, does your head still hurt?"
Ning Tang said, "A little bit."
The eldest child wiped his mouth and raised his hand, "Dad, my head hurts."
Chen Lie sneered, "Who told you to drink secretly yesterday?"
Sanwa smiled and said, "It's you and mom who forbade us to drink. We were curious, so we tried some."
"Is that a little?" Ning Tang asked, "Did the three of you drink more than me last night? You and your dad were all drunk."
The three little ones realized they had gotten into trouble and didn't dare to talk back. They just smiled and concentrated on drinking their porridge.
After lunch, Chen Lie went to the army, and Ning Tang and the three little ones stayed at home.
She went up to the rooftop and took a look. It had been cleaned thoroughly. It must have been done by Chen Lie while she was asleep.
Ning Tang also recovered. The alcohol had worn off and his headache was gone.
The eldest child saw a bag of tea on the table and poked it with his finger, "Mom, what is this?"
This was given to Ning Tang by Chen Lie two days ago, saying it was tea sent by someone else.
Ning Tang didn't like drinking tea, so he just put it on the table after taking it. "It's tea leaves, someone gave it to me. You can use it to make tea."
"Is the tea delicious?" The eldest child's eyes lit up.
As soon as he heard it was about food, he became more enthusiastic than anyone else.
"It's not food, it's a drink. It's a little bitter, but with a sweet aftertaste. It's neither difficult nor delicious. People who like it like it very much, but people who don't like it won't even touch it." Ning Tang said.
The eldest child pouted and looked at the tea leaves again without giving up.
All three kids prefer sweet things.
Seeing this, Ning Tang said, "I'll make you some milk tea. We still have a lot of sugar left at home."
The Spring Festival is approaching, and the army has issued a lot of sugar coupons. It’s okay to indulge yourself occasionally?
"Milk tea?" Sanwa asked with his head tilted.
"It's sweet, don't worry." Ning Tang said.
She had made milk tea herself before and still remembered the recipe. It was not difficult to make.
The tea leaves are just sitting there anyway, so I might as well use them to make milk tea to sweeten the three kids' mouths.
Before making milk tea, Ning Tang went to the milk station and bought seven bottles of milk, three bottles for Da Wa and the others, and four bottles for making milk tea.
It was the first time for the three of them, Da Wa and the others, to drink milk. They held the milk bottle carefully and sipped it in small sips.
Ning Tang was frying tea leaves when he saw this and couldn't help but say, "If you like it, we can order milk from now on so we can drink it every day."
She calculated that a bottle of milk was 1.5 cents, and with three children at home, each bottle would cost 45 cents. The milk would be delivered every three days, and there would be discounts if she bought more. All in all, it wouldn't cost much in a month, and the milk would provide nutrition and help her grow taller. It was much more economical than buying malted milk.
In the evening, when Chen Lie returned home, he saw three children sitting in a row, holding enamel cups and drinking milk tea with relish.
A sweet aroma lingered in the air, and he swallowed subconsciously. "What should I drink?"
The eldest child said, "Let's drink milk tea. Mom made it. It's delicious."
Chen Lie: "Give it to me? Have a taste." This time he learned his lesson and went to ask Sanwa.
Sanwa wouldn’t give it to him. It’s just a small cup of milk tea, and it’s gone after he finishes it.
Ning Tang was amused: "Don't tease Sanwa, yours is on the table, go get it yourself."
Chen Lie picked up the enamel pot and took two sips. "Not bad, it tastes like milk and tea. No wonder it's called milk tea."
As soon as he finished speaking, he reacted, "Wait, the smell of tea?"
He subconsciously looked at the table and sure enough, the tea leaves had been opened.
Chen Lie held the enamel pot, not knowing whether to drink it or not. "So this milk tea is made with the tea leaves I gave you."
"Is there a problem?" Ning Tang asked, "No one at home likes to drink tea, so if I make it into milk tea, everyone can drink it. As for me, I still have a lot of tea leaves left, so I'll just make some tea eggs tomorrow."
Chen Lie said, "No problem, but let me tell you, this tea is called Jin Jun Mei, this small bag costs 20 yuan, and it's very hard to buy." He laughed as he said, "You are really wasteful."
This is the best Jin Jun Mei. Most tea farmers will not sell it. If Chen Lie did not have a comrade serving in the military in Haixi Province, it would be difficult to get it.
"Let me tell you something even more exciting. We decided to order milk for Da Wa and the others," Ning Tang said.
Chen Lie was stunned: "Order milk?"
"Yes." Ning Tang said, "Drink one bottle every three days. Each person drinks ten bottles a month. It will replenish nutrition and help you grow taller. With sufficient nutrition, you will not be easily sick."
It is always better to spend money on delicious food than on medicine.
What? You can save on anything, but you can’t save on food.
Chen Lie nodded: "Okay, I'll go to the milk station in a few days."
Not long after the Spring Festival, a milk delivery box appeared at the gate of the Shen family's yard.
A blue metal box with four big red "?" characters printed on it means milk delivered to your door.
The three little ones spontaneously took over the task of collecting milk and felt it was a special ritual.
When it was time to deliver milk, the first thing they did when they got up in the morning was to get the milk. The three little ones even competed for this job.
On the afternoon of April 10th, Li Yun came to Su's house to find Ning Xue. As soon as she arrived, she saw the milk delivery box at the door of Shen's house.
She entered the house and said, "Didn't you say your cousin treats the three children of the Shen family very badly? How come she even ordered milk for them?"
Milk is a precious thing. Very few children on the island drink it. Only the commander's and division commander's families would order it.
Ning Xue pursed her lips and muttered, "Too much money to burn."
Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu exchanged a glance, and Su Yaozu said crisply, "Mom, is the milk good?"
Ning Xue remained silent, but Li Yun took over. She smiled and said, "It's delicious. It tastes like milk and is sweet."
She had never drunk it either, she just heard about it from others, and they kept using these two adjectives over and over again.
Su Yaozu suddenly felt greedy. Why did the eldest, second daughter and third daughter have milk to drink, but he didn’t?
He and Su Guangzong took Ning Xue's arms, one on each side, and said coquettishly, "Mom, we want to drink milk too."
If it were in the past, Ning Xue would have ordered it without hesitation.
But now she is still thinking about saving money to buy an electric fan and other electrical appliances. She is reluctant to spend the money she has saved to make ends meet.
She comforted the twins, "Be good and listen, the milk doesn't taste good."
Su Guangzong pursed his lips and said, "You're lying. Aunt Li just said it was delicious."
Li Yun laughed twice.
Seeing the twins about to start making a scene again, Ning Xue came up with an idea to appease them. "Let's not drink milk. It only sweetens your mouth for a short while. I'll make you new clothes that you can wear all year round, okay?"
I have a lot of cloth at home, so I don’t have to spend extra money on this.
When the twins heard that they had new clothes to wear, they stopped making a fuss immediately.
Ning Xue said, "Whatever patterns you want to sew on your clothes, I can sew them for you."
Su Guangzong said loudly, "Then I want to sew the tiger's head."
Ning Xue curved her lips into a smile, "Where's Yaozu?"
"I want the wolf's head." Su Yaozu said.
Ning Xue responded repeatedly, "Okay, I'll sew it for you right away."
Li Yun rolled her eyes, "My Xiaoliu..."
I just want her to make one for Liu Xiaoliu as well.
Ning Xue cursed inwardly, but her smile remained unchanged. "I'll make Xiaoliu's outfit as well. Can I sew him a panda?"
Li Yun smiled broadly, "Oh, I'm so sorry. Thank you for troubling me."
As soon as Li Yun left, Ning Xue started working hard and finally finished all three pieces of clothing before mid-May.
She had great craftsmanship and could make the wolf head, tiger head and panda head come alive. The three children were very happy when they put on their new clothes.
Su Yaozu looked at the clothes on his body, which were so beautiful.
So what if the older kids have milk to drink, they also have new clothes to wear.
Who is worse than who?
The eldest daughter whom he missed so much was waiting at home to eat rice dumplings.
The day before the Dragon Boat Festival, Chen Lie went out early to buy rice dumplings and glutinous rice, and made rice dumplings with Ning Tanghe and the three little ones.
This year, just like previous years, we are making three flavors of rice dumplings: rice dumplings with pork and salted egg yolk filling, sweet rice dumplings with red dates, red bean paste and chestnut filling, and what else? No fillings are added, white rice dumplings the size of ping-pong balls, made of pure glutinous rice.
The rice dumplings were ready, and Ning Tang's arms were sore. She rubbed her shoulders and said, "Your dad and I make delicious food for you every day. When you write about us in your essays, I've even thought of a title for you: The greatest dad and mom in the world."
The eldest child quipped, "It's unlikely to be written into the composition, but it can be written into the leave application."
Shen Lie didn't react, "What the hell?"
Ning Tang said, "Big Brother means that he's using you as an excuse to ask for leave. For example, today you have a cold, and he has to stay home to take care of you, so you don't go to school. Tomorrow you sprain your ankle, and he has to help you go to the hospital, so you still don't go to school."
Chen Lie sneered, "You mean you're cursing me? I'm always plagued by misfortunes, getting sick all the time."
The eldest child covered his mouth and laughed secretly, "I'm just kidding, Dad, don't mind it."
Shen Lie snorted, "Shen Da Wa, I want to beat you up. This is not a joke."
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