Chapter 21 The Return...
It was a rare opportunity to meet, and considering that Da Ni was also preparing to find a husband, Liu Limei led her people straight in.
Remembering that Miya was about the same age as Dani, she couldn't help but ask, "Miya, do you want to buy some too? They'd look good made into clothes, or added to collars and cuffs."
"No need, no need," Miya waved her hand hastily. "I bought quite a lot last time, and I haven't finished using it yet."
Upon hearing this, Liu Limei stopped trying to persuade her, seemingly thinking of Ren Qingsong's grand gesture.
Having acquired some rare and exceptional materials, Liu Limei was in high spirits and prepared to lead the group on a further shopping spree.
But the eldest child, who was already squatting in front of the roast pork rice noodle stall, was unwilling to move an inch.
He gripped his mother's swirling dress tightly, swallowed the saliva in his mouth, and, gazing up at the sun that was about to rise halfway into the sky, said:
"Mom, I'm hungry."
As soon as Da Wa sticks his butt out, Liu Limei knows what kind of fart he's about to let out.
As if she hadn't noticed anything, she simply pulled out the vegetable dumplings she had prepared the night before from her pocket.
"It's time for lunch, let's eat."
The eldest child stared in astonishment at the vegetable dumpling in front of him, his eyes wide, and said dryly:
"No...not this."
Erni glanced at her foolish younger brother, then took the vegetable dumpling from her mother's hand, saying, "If he won't eat it, I will."
Liu Limei didn't indulge her son. Seeing that he was still trying to play tricks, she directly handed the next vegetable dumpling to Da Ni.
Then she took out a vegetable dumpling and stuffed it into her mouth, while walking away to other places, not giving her eldest child any chance to eat outside.
The eldest child stared blankly at their actions, his mind blank as he made a pleading sound.
"Mom, I want to eat braised pork rice noodles."
"I'm selling roast pork rice noodles, do you want some?" Liu Limei grabbed her son and pulled him out, completely ignoring the stall owner's greeting.
"Comrade! Roast pork rice noodles are cheap, only 50 cents a bowl."
Miya glanced back at the pieces of meat grilling over the fire on the stall, the snow-white rice noodles next to it, and the red and green condiments on the side, imagining the taste of the roasted pork rice noodles in her mind.
The eldest child shared the same thought as her; when she was first dragged away, she was still trying to be cute and get a bowl of food.
But when the eldest child noticed his mother's gloomy, almost dripping face, his instinctive reaction to danger saved his life.
The group walked around for a while longer, buying local cooking spices from the stalls, as well as various vegetable seeds that Mia was currently very eager to obtain.
Afterwards, the group strolled around the market and found many people waiting at the meeting point they had come from, so they joined them.
At 3 o'clock sharp, Jiang Yu, as the organizer, checked whether everyone was present and raised her arm to call out:
"Everyone's here, let's go back!"
They came with high morale and returned with great satisfaction.
It's fair to say that the families who came to the market today had a very fruitful day, as they were able to find almost everything they needed for their homes.
Not long after leaving, Miya heard people praising the market.
"I never expected that the market in a border town would be so lively."
"I guess the military is stationed here, which attracts local residents to set up stalls here."
"I bought a lot of things that I can't buy in the city today, pork and fabric. I'll come again next time."
...
On the other side, the villagers in the market also warmly welcomed the arrival of the family members.
Everyone knows that the military base is not far from the towns and villages, but a group of men don't often go to the market. It's only after their families come that the villagers are inspired to bring their unused items to the market to sell.
One wants to buy, and the other wants to buy; they're practically a match made in heaven.
*
As the journey back took longer and longer, the group slowed down, and Miya was no exception.
She bought relatively few things today, nothing big, but Da Ni still helped her walk all the way home to the family compound.
When Mia and the others got home, the sky was overcast, and they had to strain their eyes to see the road ahead.
Just as the group was feeling frustrated, a fire suddenly broke out at the foot of the opposite mountain, and at the same time, a sound came from there.
"Mother, is that you back?"
"Mother, eldest sister!"
"The child's mother?"
Miya immediately recognized Commander Zhou's voice, and Da Ni and the others, as his children, were even more perceptive.
Da Wa, disregarding the darkness and inability to see the road clearly, rushed towards the direction from which the sound came from, showing no trace of the pitiful state he had just been wailing in pain on the road.
"Dad! I'm here! I'm here."
"You brat," Zhou Qiang scooped him up from the ground and scolded, "What are you doing running around like that? Be careful not to fall into the stream."
"hey-hey!"
The eldest child had firmly secured his place in his father's arms and could finally rest; he didn't care about anything else.
Zhou Qiang, holding a child in one arm and a torch in the other, walked towards Miya and the others.
His eyes immediately fell on his wife, and he asked in confusion, "Why are you so late?"
"I accidentally bought too many things, so I walked a little slower."
Liu Limei turned around and showed her husband the harvest in her basket.
When Zhou Qiang saw the food almost overflowing, his brows furrowed instantly. He put down the baby he was carrying and handed the torch to Da Ni.
Then, he directly transferred the basket from his wife's back to his own.
"Next time you go out, don't buy so much if you can't carry it all. It's exhausting, and you'll have another chance to go again."
"What do you know! It's rare to find something good like this. If you don't buy it this time, who knows where you'll find it next time?"
Liu Limei rolled her eyes at her clueless husband, pointed at the red fabric in the basket, her eyes full of pride.
It was getting late, and she wasn't in the mood to talk to the man about family matters.
Turning to his eldest daughter, who was holding a torch, he said with concern, "Miya, you two wait a while. Da Ni's father will take you up later."
"No need, no need, the two of us have enough torches."
Miya waved her hands repeatedly in refusal, pointing to the torch in Dani's hand, feeling that the two of them could go up without any problem.
Liu Limei thought it was feasible and watched the two of them go up the mountain.
As soon as she got home, Miya took out the meat she had just bought that day, cut off a portion for dinner, and marinated the rest with salt to wait for her third brother to come home.
With meat, vegetables, and staple food, the two of them were very satisfied with their meal.
The next day, Da Ni left as soon as she got up, not daring to stay on the mountain any longer, for fear that Miya would keep her at home for dinner again.
Miya was also helpless about this, as Da Ni's help to their family could not be compensated by a single meal.
Dani left, and now Miya is all alone at home again.
I just planted the potatoes in the vegetable garden the day before yesterday, and yesterday I bought a lot of vegetable seeds that can be planted around Qingming Festival. Now I can start preparing the land.
This time, Mia decided to develop the land in her yard.
If there were any seeds that hadn't been planted, she would wait for news from the quartermaster. As long as it was possible to clear land, she would do her best to clear land and plant crops.
"Heave-ho!"
Miya shouted, and the hoe in her hand fell, immediately digging a hole in the ground.
She dug as she backed away.
By noon, she had cleared out half of the yard.
Seeing the soil being dug up and piled up, Miya was in a particularly good mood, especially when she smelled the natural fragrance of the soil, which made her feel comfortable all over.
The thought that he wouldn't have to pay taxes or rent on the land, and that all the harvest would belong to him, brought an irrepressible smile to his face.
Miya's mind was filled with images of the harvest three months later, and she became more and more energetic as she worked.
I had a quick bite of the vegetable pancakes I made that morning, and then got back to work.
However, by 4 p.m., the entire vegetable garden in the yard had been sprouted by Miya.
Only a narrow path, deliberately created in the middle, remains, winding its way from the main entrance all the way down the stairs for people to walk on.
After having dinner at home, Da Ni went up the mountain to keep Miya company while she slept, as usual. When she entered the house, she thought she had come to the wrong place.
The ground was all turned over, completely different from when I left in the morning.
If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, Da Ni would never have believed that Miya, with her thin arms and legs, could have cleared such a large area of land in just one day.
Da Ni ran upstairs quickly, pointed to the yard below, and said, "Miya, what did you dig today?"
Miya nodded affirmatively and began to describe her ideal vegetable garden to Dani.
"I plan to pave the middle of the path with stones, and plant chili peppers and tomatoes on both sides, keeping them low so the view is unobstructed. Further back, I'll plant green beans, string beans, and corn..."
Following Miya's description, Dani imagined a beautiful picture in her mind of the vegetable garden a few months later, filled with all sorts of vegetables.
Even in my dreams, I see scenes of red and green interspersed with purple and yellow accents.
So, when Dani left in the morning, she excitedly said to Miya:
"Miya, we want our yard to be just like yours. It would be so beautiful."
"hey-hey."
Miya couldn't help but laugh out loud when she saw that her friends liked what she had come up with herself.
Before the smile on her face had faded, bad news suddenly struck Miya.
Before Da Ni had even left home, Er Ni's anxious figure suddenly appeared at the door.
Miya looked at the newcomer with suspicion, wondering why Erni had suddenly come.
Before she could even ask a question, Erni breathlessly relayed the news she had just learned from her father.
“Phew… Miya… Something terrible has happened! Phew… My dad told me that Battalion Commander Ren had an accident during a mission and was injured in the chest. He is currently being treated at the military hospital.”
"My dad wants you to go take a look right away!"
The sudden bad news caused Miya's mind to freeze, and she didn't have time to figure out what Ren Qingsong meant by his words before he left.
All she could realize was that Ren Qingsong was injured, and that he was her only support in this unfamiliar place.
Miya gripped her trembling legs tightly, met Erni's worried gaze, and took a deep breath.
"I'll go home to get the money first, and I'll be right there."
As soon as he turned around, his weak legs were completely out of control, and he knelt down on the muddy ground that had just been dug.
"Be careful!" Dani's worried voice rang out.
She rushed towards Miya, wanting to help her up.
Before she could even make a move, Miya pushed herself up from the ground with both hands, completely ignoring the mud on her knees, and hurriedly ran upstairs.
Taking out the remaining money in my hand, I felt even more panicked.
If I had known, she wouldn't have gone to the market the day before yesterday. Now she only has this much money, and I don't know if it's enough to see a doctor.
The thought that Ren Qingsong might die young like his neighbor, Brother Li, because he couldn't afford medical treatment filled Miya with remorse.
Miya had no recollection of how she got to the hospital; she only knew that one moment she was getting money and the next she was already at the hospital.
Looking at the hospital, a vast expanse of white, sadness instantly overwhelmed my heart.
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