New Year's Day has passed, and it is a new year.

The family of three began to pack their luggage to return to the north, and Qiao Lu prepared gifts for Xu Haizhou's family.

My brother's watch, my sister-in-law's woolen coat, my parents-in-law's cashmere sweater... I heard that my eldest brother has a three-year-old daughter, so... I'll design a little dress for her myself. It can be worn in late spring and early summer. I guarantee that she will look as beautiful as a little princess when she wears it.

There was still half a month before departure, so Qiao Lu had plenty of time. In her spare time, she made a school bag for her husband and son, sewing them with hard cloth, making them sturdy and durable.

I didn't think much about the aesthetics, but it is very practical. There are net pockets on both sides for thermos bottles, a secret pocket inside the bag, and three layers on the outside, each of which can hold different items.

After getting his own little schoolbag, Qiaoan jumped up and down excitedly, opened the treasure box, and poured all the snacks inside into the schoolbag.

He also said confidently: "Dad said the train ride would take three days, so we should bring more food with us, otherwise we would be hungry."

Qiao Lu didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "There are lunch boxes for sale on the train, we can buy some. Besides, don't your parents know more about this than you do? Why should we adults do anything when you, a little kid, have to worry about it?"

The amber eyes rolled around, and she asked with a smile: "Are there cakes on the train? Are there candies? Are there biscuits? Yes..."

"Yes, we have them. You just have to pay for them." Qiao Lu ruffled his hair.

"Mom, can I take it myself? That way we don't have to spend money to buy it." He is quite good at helping his parents save money.

"Sure, but you have to carry the backpack yourself. If you feel tired, you can't throw it to dad. Dad has to carry a lot of luggage."

"Well, I can do it myself. I won't throw it to Dad!" He clenched his fist firmly, put on his small schoolbag and ran to the yard: "Look, Mom, I can carry it! I can even run with the schoolbag on my back! I run very fast."

Chen Jingkang came out of the house with a bowl of rice and came forward in surprise: "Qiao An, is this the new schoolbag your mother bought for you?"

The boy stopped and stood still to let him touch it: "Yes, my mother made it for me. It is exactly the same as my father's schoolbag."

"Wow, your dad has it too?" he said vaguely while chewing a mouthful of rice.

Qiaoan raised his head proudly: "Yes, because we are going to the north, which is very far away. It is my father's hometown, and my grandparents are there."

Chen Jingkang opened his mouth in surprise: "So you have a grandfather, I thought you only had a father, a mother and a second aunt."

Chen Jiamei came out of the house carrying a basin of water, casually splashed it into the yard, and noticed Qiao An.

After a pause, he suddenly put down the wooden basin, went back to the house and stayed there for half a minute, then hurried out and went straight to Qiao Lu's house.

At that time, Qiao Lu was making Xu Haizhou's schoolbag. When she saw the person coming, she looked up and continued to work: "Jiamei, what's the matter?"

Glancing at Xu Haizhou packing his luggage in the bedroom, she pursed her face and asked a little embarrassedly: "Um...do you have any cheap things that women would like?"

She spoke differently than usual, cautiously. Qiao Lu looked at her and seemed to guess her purpose.

"A lot of lesbians like woolen coats."

"No, didn't you hear me? I said I wanted a cheap one." Chen Jiamei was speechless.

Qiao Lu scratched her ears: "Oh, sorry, if it's cheap..."

She pointed to the several handbags piled on the dining table, which she was about to give to Wu Guifang for mass production: "This one is cheaper than clothes, 15 yuan each."

"Ah? Is this a bag?" He picked one up and looked at it again and again: "It's not much bigger than my palm... and it's only fifteen? You are a profiteer!"

She admitted that it was nice, but what could such a small bag hold? Wouldn't it be able to fit a wallet or a few hairpins and hair ties?

"No, no. Feel it. It's not made of cloth. It's made of leather. Do you know how much it costs?"

"How much?" he asked while touching the material.

"Three times the cloth."

"Ah... Is this true? Is it really so expensive?"

Qiao Lu curled her lips slightly and pointed at the pair of pig leather shoes on Chen Jiamei's feet: "Then let me ask you, how much are these 765 leather shoes on your feet?"

"Uh..." If you ask about this pair of pig-skin shoes, they are indeed expensive, costing twenty-seven yuan a pair!

If you think about it this way, fifteen dollars for this bag seems reasonable, right?

"Besides, I've only made four of these bags, and they haven't been mass-produced yet. You won't find the same model on the market. Just for this reason, the value is more than fifteen, right?"

The uniqueness, preciousness, and weight of the authentic ingredients...

"But I don't have that much money." Chen Jiamei was depressed.

"So what do you want to buy? The cheapest thing I have here is a vest, one dollar each."

"Who would give someone something so personal as a gift..." Chen Jiamei pouted speechlessly and asked tentatively, "Do you have... a bag that costs around three or four yuan?"

Qiao Lu smiled and said, "That's not true. The cheapest bag I have here costs six bucks. Here, this one."

It is the patchwork cloth bag that was very popular before.

"Oh, this is not good, my sister-in-law has already bought it... uh..." Realizing that she had let the cat out of the bag, Chen Jiamei quickly covered her mouth: "No, no, I mean, I see a lot of people have your bag..."

Qiao Lu looked at her jokingly: "Oh~ So you wanted to buy a bag for Song Qingping to apologize..."

Chen Jiamei's face flushed red: "It's not for her!"

"It's not for her? Well, I was thinking that Qingping would definitely like this bag. She said before that she wanted a bag to match her New Year's uniform. You see, I designed this bag specifically to match a wool coat. Look how smooth and comfortable the material is, and it's white, which is perfect for a red coat."

The corners of his lips slightly raised, and he said nonchalantly: "I was also thinking, if you want to give it to your second sister-in-law, then I can give you two pieces less as appropriate..."

"Yes, yes, yes! I bought it for my second sister-in-law!" For the sake of money, Chen Jiamei was willing to slap herself in the face. It wasn't the first time anyway: "It's for my second sister-in-law! Sister Qiao Lu, please be kind and give me a discount. I get scolded by my second brother and beaten by my nephew every day. If I don't coax my second sister-in-law back home, I'll really be a big sinner!"

Puff——

Forgive Qiao Lu for laughing unceremoniously.

"Okay, I'll give you thirteen yuan. Hey, your mother, didn't she slap your sister-in-law? Isn't she going to do something to show her appreciation? Are you sure that sending a bag will make your sister-in-law come back?"

"Oh! The women in our courtyard are more concerned about their reputation than the other. It's impossible for my mother to apologize to my sister-in-law." As he spoke, he took out a pile of crumpled banknotes from his pocket and counted them: "I have to be shameless to coax her... It's been half a month, and her anger has subsided. I gave her such an expensive bag. If she doesn't come back, I will instigate my brother to divorce her! Give her face!"

Chen Jiamei is a person who never forgives others with her words. If her brother and sister-in-law were to divorce, she would probably be the first one to disagree. After all, if it weren't for her, this matter wouldn't have become such a big deal.

"It's impossible that the money for the bag was from you alone, right?" Qiao Lu asked.

After counting the money and handing it to Qiao Lu, Chen Jiamei nodded and said, "Of course, where did I get so much money? My second brother gave me some, my mother gave me some privately, and I paid two yuan myself... Well, it's a little less, but I also had good intentions."

Qiao Lu took the bill and counted it. It was exactly thirteen yuan.

"Okay, just take the bag."

"Thank you!" He picked up his bag and rushed out of the yard without looking back.

…

Around five in the afternoon, the big courtyard was bustling with people!

Song Qingping was invited back from her mother's home by Chen Jiamei. The family put aside their past grudges and lived in harmony as if nothing had happened. With the previous experience of Aunt Tian's big mouth, Chen Ershun specifically reminded everyone not to talk about Qingping's affairs, lest she be angry and leave again when she just came back.

Although Aunt Chen did not apologize, her attitude softened a lot. Conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law exist in every family. Nowadays, there is no such thing as divorce due to conflicts. Now that the daughter-in-law is back, they should live a good life. There is no overnight hatred in the family. No matter whether you are convinced in your heart or not, you have to do the surface work.

Thus, the big courtyard finally returned to its former tranquility.

…

Because they were going to the north, Qiao Lu and her husband had to hand over their work to Li Hongjun before leaving.

The business is best around the Spring Festival. After a week of observation, the two men found that there is a huge market for the handbags designed by Qiaolu.

Bags made of leather have better texture and luster than cloth bags. Especially the sapphire blue leather bag, which is made into the shape of a classic saddle bag. It can be carried on one shoulder, or the strap can be adjusted to make it a crossbody bag, an underarm bag... one bag has multiple uses.

The cost of leather is high, and the price is generally not less than 15 yuan. Not only does it sell well, but many customers even come to Baiyun Street just to buy this saddle bag!

The wages of urban workers in this era were low, but prices were also low, and consumption levels were increasing with reform and opening up.

With just a little bit of innovation, you can earn several times more profit than others.

Xu Haizhou has observed that most people who buy handbags are factory workers, 40% are single, and 50% are in a relationship but not married. Some gay men are particularly generous in giving bags to their female companions.

The remaining group consists of high school and college students and married women.

After identifying the target consumer group, two more bags were designed, both of which were specifically made for this group.

After everything was explained and the luggage was packed, on January 15th, half a month later than the expected date of birth, Qiao Yan finally gave birth!

Led by Yuan Jianghe, the family of three hurried to the hospital ward.

The man's relatives and friends surrounded the ward in circles. There were two beds in the room, one with a newborn baby and the other with Qiao Yan. There was only Yuan Jianghe beside them, and everyone's attention was on the children.

"Sister, sister, how are you? Is everything okay?"

"No." The voice was hoarse and the tone was pleasant and relaxed.

Her lips were pale and dry, and she looked at her sister with a dazed look: "I'm just a little tired. If something happened, your brother-in-law wouldn't have the energy to inform you."

"It seems like nothing happened. He's joking with me."

"Auntie~" Qiao An broke free from his father's hand, rushed to the ward and hugged Qiao Yan, "Auntie~ Uncle said you gave birth to a baby!"

Qiao Yan rubbed his cheek lovingly: "Yes, a younger brother was born. Go and see him. Where is he?"

"Where is it? Where is it? Where is my little brother?"

Xu Haizhou found it funny. He picked up his son and walked to another bed. From top to bottom, he used his height to see the red-skinned baby lying in the cradle through the crowd.

“Wow—wow—”

It was even more surprising than discovering a new continent.

Retracting her gaze and holding Qiao Yan's hand, Qiao Lu choked up and said, "My heart almost jumped out of my chest on the way here. I kept thinking of some bad cases. They all said that giving birth is like going through the gates of hell. Fortunately, you are fine."

Qiao Yan chuckled, her lips cracked from laughing: "What's the problem? There are a lot of pregnant women giving birth every day."

Qiao Lu shook her head helplessly: "It's dangerous anyway, I hope nothing happens."

Qiao Yan patted her hands gently: "Don't blame me, go and see the child, it's a boy, go and see if he is as pretty as An An."

Looking back, she saw the baby was surrounded by a group of people and she couldn't squeeze in even if she wanted to see.

"I know without even looking that he is definitely not as pretty as Qiao An. Newly born babies are so ugly. You have never seen Qiao An. He was a wrinkled little old man when he was born. I was so scared that I almost threw him away."

Qiaoan has sensitive ears and slid off his father in one gulp.

He ran over and grabbed her clothes: "Mom, was An An really ugly when she was little? Mom, you want to throw me away, how could you do this?"

The voice sounds so aggrieved.

It made everyone laugh.

"Qiao Yan, this is your third sister?"

"This is your little nephew, so handsome and well behaved."

"He came once during the Spring Festival last year. I think he just arrived. He's growing fast. He's almost as tall as my waist now."

After chatting with Yuan Jianghe's relatives for a while, Qiao Lu squatted down, held her son's face and kissed him again and again: "No, Mommy was just joking, and you were just ugly when you were born, but you are very beautiful now."

The little mouth was pouty: "What if An An becomes ugly again when he grows up, will mom still like me?"

"Of course I like you. No matter what you look like, you are always mommy's little baby."

It's so easy to make this little guy happy with just one sentence. He trusts his mother unconditionally.

There’s actually nothing good to see about a newborn baby. All it does is sleep, and it can’t even open its eyes. Even when it’s awake, it often keeps its eyes closed. Don’t even think about interacting with you.

Seeing that her sister and child were safe, Qiao Lu felt relieved. She stayed until noon, as it was time to go home.

"Where are our parents? Do they know that you gave birth?"

Qiao Yan paused, pursed her lips and said, "I just asked Jiang He to write a letter to inform them. It's up to them whether they come or not."

"That's fine." Anyway, the notice has been sent, and whether they come or not is their own business. "By the way, sister, I didn't have time to tell you that I will go to the north with Haizhou on the 21st."

"Are you going by train?"

"Um."

"This stall... is it very crowded?" Qiao Yan asked worriedly.

"It's OK. He asked someone to get him a hard sleeper."

"That's good." He raised his head and glanced at Xu Haizhou, then looked at his sister.

Whether a woman is happy or not can actually be seen from her mental state. Two years of marriage has made Qiaolu more plump, more confident and more cheerful than before. Qiaolu herself may not have noticed these small details.

"The ugly daughter-in-law is finally going to meet her parents-in-law."

"It makes me nervous when you say that." Qiao Lu said with a smile.

"Why should you be nervous? I think since you and Xu Haizhou are settling in Li'an, you don't need to care too much about their attitude. What's the most important thing?" He hooked his finger to signal Qiao Lu to come closer, and then lowered his voice and said, "The most important thing is, if you have a conflict with your in-laws, you have to see who your man speaks for."

Qiao Lu raised her eyebrows, glanced at her man, and nodded thoughtfully.

"Especially when his parents or siblings make things difficult for you, do you want to see if he will help you or protect you?"

"Where's your brother-in-law? Will he help you?" Qiao Lu asked, glancing at Yuan Jianghe who was holding a child next door.

"Nonsense, how dare he not help me? Besides, my parents-in-law were very satisfied with me before marriage, and they liked me even more after marriage. I don't make such an assumption here, so I'm just asking you to pay attention."

Then he sighed and said, "Actually, judging from your appearance, you are likely to be loved by the elders. But since you have Qiao An with you, it's not certain."

What normal parent would be happy for their first-married son to marry a second-married woman with a burden?

"I don't know. Let's talk about it later. If an enemy comes, we will stop him with a general; if a flood comes, we will block it with earth." The tickets have been booked. I can't just escape from the battlefield. If I marry Xu Haizhou, I will have to meet his family... once in my life, right?

Qiao Yan smiled, held her hand and rubbed it until it felt warm and hot.

"Don't be afraid. Even if... no matter what happens, you still have me."

Qiao Lu laughed and held her hand back: "If there ever comes a day when I have to rely on you, I will be such a failure as a person."

"Silly girl." Qiao Yan's eyes were filled with unprecedented tenderness: "What's the point of failure? Even though I'm married, I'll always be your support."

…

On the morning of the 21st, at daybreak, the couple was woken up early by Qiao An.

"Mom, Dad, wake up. We have to catch the train. Don't sleep in."

The little hands are warm, and they make a crisp sound when they hit my face.

Xu Haizhou woke up in a daze, stretched out his long arms, put his son into his armpits, and stuffed him into the quilt.

"Why are you in such a hurry? It's still early. Go to sleep a little longer."

After laughing for a while, Qiao Lu and Xu Haizhou still didn't wake up. Qiao An felt bored after laughing for a while, and fell asleep in between the two adults in a daze.

When he woke up again, Xu Haizhou's breakfast was almost ready.

The little guy rubbed his eyes and leaned into Qiao Lu's arms.

Qiao Lu was stunned for a second or two: "An An, why are you here?"

The little guy whispered, hugged her neck and said, "Mom, I came a long time ago, and then Dad caught me in."

Puff——

Finally, I recovered some vague memories.

Patting his little butt: "Then get up now, and go to the train station after dinner."

"Okay~"

After dinner, someone was arguing outside again. It sounded like Chen Jiamei and Tian Jianzhong, with Auntie Tian's voice occasionally interrupting.

When I went out, I saw Wu Guifang covering her mouth and laughing out loud, standing under the eaves eating watermelon, looking very happy.

"What's wrong, sister? Who is making noise again?"

Wu Guifang was just worrying about where to gossip, so she grabbed the man and said, "Tian Jianzhong was on a date, and Chen Jiamei messed it up! Tell me if it's a loss or not, hahahaha - if you scold him now, you'll get beaten later."

"ah?"

Here's what happened. Today, Tian Jianzhong got up very early, dressed neatly, put on his newly bought suit and prepared to go on a date with a lesbian. Aunt Tian didn't know about this and wondered why her son went out in a suit. It was so cold, so she thought to herself, don't let him catch a cold, and quickly sent him a cotton jacket.

The old man's legs were far from being able to catch up with his son, so he had to ask Jiamei to chase after him and deliver the cotton-padded jacket to Tian Jianzhong.

Well, Chen Jiamei chased after them, and saw a man and a woman flirting with each other at the entrance of the alley, walking side by side in a sloppy and crooked manner.

"Hey, Tian Jianzhong! Your mother asked me to bring you a cotton-padded jacket!" After saying that, he trotted over, and when he saw the female comrade, he covered his mouth in surprise and said, "Hey, Tian Jianzhong, why is the female comrade you brought today different from the last time?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the lesbians' impression of Tian Jianzhong was shattered.

Thus, the budding love that had not yet begun was directly crushed into the cradle.

"Is there such a thing? Chen Jiamei is so rude... Tsk, these two are really enemies that don't meet in a century."

"Yes, he's very rude."

"Okay, let's stop chatting. Let's go back and pack up and leave."

When he came out of the house five minutes later, the two enemies were still chasing and fighting in the yard. After running for a long time, Tian Jianzhong didn't even touch the corner of Chen Jiamei's clothes.

Wu Guifang hurriedly called out to everyone: "Hey! You two, stop making trouble. The couple from Haizhou are going back to their hometown soon!"

Everyone came out of the house at once.

"Ah, are you leaving now?"

"Do you need our help to send you off?"

"No, just two bags of luggage." Qiao Lu declined with a smile.

I sent the family of three to the gate of the courtyard and said goodbye to each other: "An An, say goodbye to everyone."

"Goodbye! Goodbye aunt, goodbye uncle, goodbye grandpa and grandma, brother Kang Kang, sister Nan Nan, brother Tao Tao..." He shouted a long string of words and almost couldn't breathe.

The little red mouth opened and she took a deep breath, making everyone laugh.

"Qiao An, when you come back, remember to bring some delicious food from the north," Chen Nannan reminded him.

"You kid." Lin Caihe patted her head speechlessly.

"Okay~"

“Have a safe trip!”

At the end, Chen Jiamei didn't forget to trick Tian Jianzhong: "Send us a message when you arrive. Tian Jianzhong bought a pager. I'll let him pick you up!"

Tian Jianzhong kicked him and said, "Get lost! They didn't even buy a pager, so how could they send me a message? Why don't you answer it yourself?"

Chen Jiamei dodged flexibly and made a face: "Hahahaha, lululu——"

…

The couple had a train ticket for 1:00 p.m. and arrived at the train station at 10:00 p.m.

I have to say that Xu Haizhou was very foresighted. It took him an hour to squeeze in from the train station gate to the waiting hall.

Because they had to protect Qiao An from being hit or dispersed, the speed was naturally much slower.

Even after we squeezed in, the waiting room was still packed.

In the cold last month of winter, the couple was sweating in the crowd.

I finally found a small space in a corner to sit down and quickly dropped my luggage off.

She let Qiao Lu sit on the luggage while she held her son in her arms.

"You should sit for a while, An An, come here with mom."

She twisted her butt and struggled away from Xu Haizhou and threw herself into Qiao Lu's arms.

Xu Haizhou didn't get on the train. These days, train stations are a mixed bag with all kinds of people, so he had to stay alert at all times.

In the 1980s, population mobility was not very strong, except for an explosive increase around the Spring Festival.

As the team slowly entered the platform, the couple each held Qiao An tightly with one hand to prevent them from being separated by the crowd.

I finally squeezed onto the platform and the train pulled in slowly. The door of the hard seat compartment was crowded with people, while there were only a few people walking around on the sleeper side. It was very quiet.

The berths are so comfortable.

After leaving the crowd, the family of three walked leisurely into the carriage and finally could no longer smell the messy and sour smell.

At a glance, the people in the carriage were either wearing military uniforms or "old cadres" wearing Zhongshan suits.

These days, sleeper berth tickets are not easily available to ordinary people. Generally, only business travelers dispatched by factories or institutions can buy them. There are even fewer families of three like them.

For a moment, it caught the attention of many people.

After entering the carriage and finding the beds for the three people according to the numbers, Qiao Lu whispered to her son: "Hey, An An, see, there are many elders here. We can't make any noise, understand?"

The boy also followed her example and lowered his voice: "Yes, Mom, I know."

It was Joan's first time riding on a train. She was so excited that she didn't know where to look. The window was open, and she climbed onto the bed and leaned against the window. Seeing this, Jo Lu quickly hugged her.

"Be careful, it's windy here, if your little body is blown away, mom won't be able to find you anywhere."

"Mom, then you hold me." I feel safe when my mother holds me. "Mom, I can still stretch out my hands. You see, I'm not afraid."

With my mother by my side, I have nothing to fear.

"I'll blow your hand into ice." Qiao Lu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and pulled his little hand in. "When we get to the north in two days, let's see if you dare to stretch it out again."

It was a novelty when I first got on the train, but gradually, after about half an hour, the scenery along the way became more or less the same, and I felt tired.

He curled up in Qiao Lu's arms and yawned: "Mom, I'm so sleepy."

Patting his head gently, he said, "If you are tired, go to sleep. Choose your bed, Daddy's or Mommy's."

I bought two tickets for the sleeper berths, two tiers next to each other. Qiao Lu slept on the lower berth, which was convenient and safe, and Xu Haizhou slept on the upper berth. A man in military uniform sat on the lower berth opposite, and the other berth on the second tier was empty. I don't know if the ticket was not sold or the passenger did not get on the train.

"Well...I'm going to sleep with mommy's first, and when I sleep with daddy's second time."

Qiao Lu smiled and patted his little butt: "Okay, go quickly, Mommy's bed is downstairs."

He crawled backwards, fell directly onto the bed, hugged the quilt and fell asleep.

When I woke up, I had just arrived at a station. The train had already left the province and stopped at a way station, a small county town.

"Wow——" Qiao An rubbed his eyes before fully waking up, and was extremely surprised: "Mom, there are so many people outside! There are so many foods in that little car!"