Liu Yanran bought another backpack and placed the chicken, duck, fish, and pork at the bottom. She placed two portions each of brown sugar, malted milk, peach cakes, and White Rabbit candy in the middle. She prepared twenty meat buns and fifty free-range eggs on top. She also ordered some fresh vegetables from Meituan—potatoes, cabbage, radishes, and tofu, all common in the 1970s. Finally, Liu Yanran covered herself with an old cotton-padded jacket.
Liu Yanran ate some snacks she had bought before leaving the villa, then left the space, and rode her bicycle back home with the prepared supplies.
When she arrived at the gate of the staff housing complex, Liu Yanran parked her bicycle, put on her backpack and walked home.
"Yanran, aren't you taking a day off today? Why are you back so late?" Neighbor Aunt Wang asked enthusiastically when she saw Liu Yanran coming back.
"Oh, I went out for a walk and bought some things." Liu Yanran replied with a smile.
"Yanran, what did you buy? So many!" Aunt Wang looked curiously at the basket on Liu Yanran's back, which was full of things.
"Nothing much, just some daily necessities and food." Liu Yanran didn't want others to know what she bought, so she spoke vaguely.
"Oh, then you should go back quickly. Your mother must be waiting anxiously." Aunt Wang nodded and stopped asking questions.
Liu Yanran returned home and Cao Cuilan was cooking.
"Yanran, you are finally back. Where have you been? Why did you take so long to come back?" Cao Cuilan asked with some resentment when she saw her daughter coming back.
"Mom, I'm going out for a walk and buying some things." Liu Yanran said as she put the backpack on the ground.
"What did you buy? Such a big bag?" Cao Cuilan looked at the contents of the backpack curiously, muttering to herself: "What on earth did this kid buy? He's so secretive."
"I didn't buy anything, just some daily necessities and food." Liu Yanran didn't want to make her mother worry, so she said casually.
"Yanran, you're not going to rob, are you?" Cao Cuilan looked at the full basket and thought about the money and tickets she gave to her daughter. She realized that she couldn't buy these things no matter how she looked at it!
"Mom, what are you talking about? With my thin arms and legs, who can I rob?" Liu Yanran really admired her mother's imagination.
She looked at Cao Cuilan with a mixture of laughter and tears, feeling somewhat helpless. After all, in modern society, she was just a lonely child, without the company and love of her family.
Now that she had traveled here, Cao Cuilan cared for her deeply, making her feel warmth and happiness she had never experienced before. Therefore, she had long regarded Cao Cuilan as her biological mother and was full of gratitude towards her.
Then she lowered her voice again and said carefully: "I just happened to go to the black market, where you can buy things with money, no receipts are needed. Besides, you and dad gave me so much New Year's money before, it's only natural for me to use the money to buy some delicious and useful things for my sister-in-law!" At this point, Liu Yanran couldn't help but reveal a smug smile, as if showing off her intelligence.
Their family was relatively well-off and lived a prosperous life. Furthermore, Cao Cuilan was not a hostile mother-in-law, but rather tolerant and kind towards her daughter-in-law. Consequently, the family atmosphere was harmonious, with harmonious relationships between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and between the sisters-in-law and their husbands. Many people would envy such a harmonious and happy family.
"Okay, okay, you are the only one who cares about your sisters-in-law. I will go and make chicken soup for your eldest sister-in-law and second sister-in-law. You take care of Niu Niu and Ding Ding Dang Dang." Niu Niu is the eldest brother's son, whose full name is Liu Yunfei, and Ding Ding Dang Dang is the second brother's twin daughters, whose full name is Liu Yunchu and Liu Yunjin.
Originally, the birth dates of the two sisters-in-law should have been one month apart, but the eldest sister-in-law gave birth prematurely, so the two were born only half a month apart. The eldest sister-in-law's newborn daughter was nicknamed An An, and her real name was Liu Yunyan, and the second sister-in-law's newborn son was nicknamed Ning Ning, and her real name was Liu Yunxiao.
Cao Cuilan first cooked some brown sugar eggs for her two daughters-in-law to fill their stomachs, and also gave a boiled egg to Liu Yanran and the three children. "Dinner will be a while, you all should eat something first." Nowadays, few people have refrigerators, and Liu Yanran took a lot of things, so Cao Cuilan wanted to pack them all up for everyone to eat, otherwise she would be sad if they went bad.
Liu Yanran looked at the eggs in her hands, her heart filled with warmth. She knew that this was her mother's care and concern for them. She looked at her mother with gratitude, then handed the eggs to the children.
The children took the eggs with happy smiles on their faces. They peeled the eggshells carefully and enjoyed the delicious food.
Liu Yanran sat aside, quietly watching the children, feeling extremely satisfied. She felt very lucky to live in such a warm and harmonious family where everyone cared for and supported each other.
In this family, everyone is doing their best to make life better. These small moments of happiness are the little bits of beauty in life that make people cherish them even more.
Soon, the eldest and second brothers, Liu Guoqiang and Liu Guodong, returned and were surprised to see a table laden with delicious dishes. The table boasted braised pork with potatoes, roast duck with radish, stewed fish with tofu, and spicy stir-fried cabbage. There was also old hen soup prepared specifically for the two confinement wives, and even a few low-salt versions of their dishes.
"Mom, is today the early New Year? These dishes are even more sumptuous than the New Year's Eve dinner!" Liu Guoqiang asked with a smile.
Cao Cuilan replied cheerfully, "You're dreaming! These are things your younger sister bought for your sisters-in-law to nourish their bodies. You two are really benefiting from your wives' help this time." Hearing their mother's words, the two brothers laughed foolishly. With a harmonious family, they could more confidently contribute to their country.
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