Xu Qianjiao pursed her lips helplessly, snorting inwardly. Did she think she didn't know? Wasn't it just a delivery? He was so secretive that he even hid it from her.
A hint of understanding flashed across Cheng Jiawen's eyes. He knew what Xu's mother was trying to do at a glance, and judging from her expression, it was probably not the first time. That was fine, as long as he paid attention to safety, he had no idea about it.
After the family was ready, they walked to the village entrance and prepared to set off. Today they did not ride bicycles, but all took ox carts.
There was no other way. The weather was getting colder and the snow was piling up thicker. It was not safe to ride a bicycle. Besides, they were not in a hurry today, so they decided to take a ox cart.
A few people walked to the ox cart, and there were already many people sitting on it.
"Mrs. Xu, you're here. Come and sit down." Aunt Zhou waved to Xu's mother, motioning her to sit next to her.
"Hey, here you come~" Mother Xu waved at her and answered loudly, then quickly walked over and sat down beside her. Aunt Zhou glanced at her big backpack, and a hint of understanding flashed in her eyes.
They looked at each other, exchanged glances, and knew what the other was going to do.
Xu Qianjiao, Cheng Jiawen and Xu's father got on the car one after another, sat next to Xu's mother, and listened quietly to their aunt chatting in the car.
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The wooden wheels of the oxcart creaked, creating a unique rhythm as they rubbed against the ground. The ox walked at a leisurely pace, its steps steady and powerful, each step carrying the tranquility of the village.
Uncle Liu sat on the shaft of the cart, dressed in simple clothes, his face showing the traces of time. He gently waved the whip, guiding the ox cart forward. Behind the cart, a light cloud of dust rose, as if it had left its mark.
After more than an hour, the ox cart finally stopped at the city gate.
Uncle Liu jumped down from the cart and said, "Wait here at three o'clock this afternoon. If you're late, you'll have to walk back by yourselves."
"Got it, Uncle Liu."
Everyone got off the oxcarts and rushed towards the city. Mother Xu carried her large backpack and looked at Xu Qianjiao and the others. "Hey, Jiaojiao, Jiawen, go take a shower first. I'll go deliver something to someone and come back to see you later."
Cheng Jiawen and Xu Qianjiao looked at each other and saw the understanding in each other's eyes. "Okay, let's go take a shower first."
"Okay, that's it."
After saying that, Xu's mother walked towards Aunt Zhou, and the two of them walked into the alley mysteriously, carrying things on their backs.
Here, Xu's father, Cheng Jiawen, and Xu Qianjiao went straight to the bathhouse. Originally, Xu's father wanted to follow Xu's mother, but Xu's mother refused to go, so he had no choice but to follow Xu Qianjiao and the others to the bathhouse.
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The three of them walked for more than ten minutes and finally stopped in front of a grand gate. There was a counter outside the two-meter-wide door, and a person was standing there selling tickets.
"Do I need a bath ticket to take a bath?" Xu Qianjiao looked at the person in front of her handing the ticket seller a bath ticket plus ten cents. She looked at Cheng Jiawen in disbelief and asked.
Cheng Jiawen nodded. "Yes, this is a state-owned bathhouse. You need a bath ticket to take a bath."
"What should we do? We don't have bath tickets." Xu Qianjiao asked awkwardly, counting on her fingers.
"Uh." Cheng Jiawen was also a little confused. He hadn't thought about this problem. Now that he arrived at the door, he suddenly found that he didn't have a bath ticket. It was indeed quite embarrassing.
They both looked at Father Xu at the same time. Father Xu spread his hands helplessly and said, "The bath ticket is with your mother."
"Ah, then what should we do? Wait for mom to come?" Xu Qianjiao looked at the bathhouse so close at hand with a bit of despair. She felt a little depressed. She was there, but couldn't get in.
Cheng Jiawen reached out and touched her head, saying gently, "It's okay, we can just find someone to exchange some bath tickets. There's no need to wait for Mom to come. It's better to go to the bathhouse early. The sooner you go, the cleaner the water."
"Yeah." Xu Qianjiao nodded in agreement.
"Wait here for me. I'll go see if anyone wants to exchange a bath ticket."
"good."
Xu Qianjiao and Xu's father stayed where they were and waited, while Cheng Jiawen went to the nearby staff quarters to see if anyone wanted to exchange a bath ticket.
Suddenly, a fat woman carrying a bundle was about to enter the bathhouse. Seeing Xu Qianjiao and her daughter standing at the door, she smiled at them friendly and asked, "Why don't you go in?"
Xu Qianjiao smiled shyly at the fat aunt and said gently, "Sister, I'm waiting for my husband. We only realized we forgot to bring the bath ticket when we got here, so I quickly asked him to go and exchange it."
The fat lady's eyes turned, and she said enthusiastically, "Oh, so you want to exchange bath tickets. You're lucky you met me. I can exchange them for you. I have extra bath tickets."
Xu Qianjiao looked at the fat aunt in surprise, "Sister, is it true?"
"Well, how could I lie to you? My home is nearby. Wait for me for a while and I'll go back and get it for you." The fat aunt said and hurriedly turned and left.
She couldn't help but feel secretly happy. The family had so many bath tickets that they couldn't use them all. She could just take them out and exchange them for some money. Her family was a full-time working family, and everyone was given bath tickets. If Lin Ling added up all the tickets, they wouldn't be able to use them all even if the whole family took a bath every day.
Besides, in the winter in the north, if you take a shower every day, your skin will become dry and cracked.
The fat lady walked quickly. In a few minutes, she came back with a few bath tickets in her hand. "Girl, how many bath tickets do you want?"
Xu Qianjiao hesitated for a moment, "Auntie, will this bath ticket expire?"
"Well, bath tickets don't expire. There's no date and they can always be used." The fat aunt waved her hand and said with a smile.
Xu Qianjiao nodded in understanding. "Is that so? Then I'll exchange it for ten. I don't know how to do it."
The fat lady counted out ten bath tickets from her hand and gave them to her. "Here, just give me 50 cents."
"Okay, thank you, big sister." Xu Qianjiao smiled sweetly at the fat aunt, then took out 50 cents from her pocket and put it in her hand.
"Hahaha, so are you still waiting for your husband now?" the fat aunt asked kindly.
Xu Qianjiao nodded, "Yes, he should be back soon."
"Okay, then I'll go in first. See you later." The fat aunt waved at Xu Qianjiao, then walked into the bathhouse carrying her clothes.
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Xu Qianjiao and her father waited at the door for a while. Mother Xu and Cheng Jiawen came back one after another. Cheng Jiawen also had four bath tickets in his hand. Xu Qianjiao waved at him and raised the bath tickets in her hand, "I got a bath ticket too."
"Huh? Where did you exchange it? So much." Cheng Jiawen looked at the thick stack of banknotes in her hand and asked curiously.
Xu Qianjiao pursed her lips and smiled, saying proudly: "Hahaha, I was standing here, and a big sister came over to change with me."
"Okay, you're awesome. Come on, let's go in." Cheng Jiawen praised sincerely.
"Hmph~" Xu Qianjiao snorted at him and walked into the bathhouse first.
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