Chapter 129 New Friends

The weather is getting colder. The autumn clothes that several children put on for a short time are no longer able to keep out the autumn chill and they need to wear thicker clothes.

Lin Yue discovered that Lingling and Wanli seemed to have made new friends recently. Although they still went to school together, they gradually stopped playing together.

Early in the morning, Lin Yue was busy making breakfast in the kitchen. This kitchen was originally shared by four families, but Wang Tingting rarely cooked, Xu Xiaodi was pregnant and couldn't stand the smell of oil smoke, and there was another family that hadn't moved in yet, so she was almost always cooking in this kitchen by herself during this period.

When she turned back to get the food, she saw Wanli stuffing something in his arms and quietly leaving the house. Lin Yue leaned on the kitchen window and looked down, and saw a boy of seven or eight years old standing downstairs, standing under a tree as if waiting for someone.

Lin Yue knew this child. He was the grandson of Auntie Li, named Xu Aijun. He was in the first grade and was attending a primary school in the military area. She watched Wan Li run to Xu Aijun and carefully take something out of her arms. Lin Yue had good eyesight and could vaguely tell from the third floor that it was a music box that Liu Fang had bought for him a few years ago.

She was still wondering what the kid was doing with this thing when she saw Xu Aijun take out some tools from his pocket, sit down under the tree, and quickly take apart the small music box. Wanli watched intently, touching the disassembled parts from time to time.

Lin Yue was actually a little shocked, because she knew that Wanli treasured his music box very much, and she didn't expect that he would be willing to let someone dismantle it.

After the music box was disassembled, the two children whispered to each other for a long time. Lin Yue then saw Xu Aijun put the small parts back one by one and checked them carefully. Lin Yue listened carefully and could vaguely hear the music coming from the music box.

Many children have the experience of dismantling things. Lin Yue thought that the two of them were done, but Xu Aijun handed the music box and tools to Wanli. Wanli followed his example and carefully disassembled the music box again, and carefully placed each part in order, but his movements were very slow and cautious.

"Mom, have you prepared dinner? Can I have biscuits this morning?" Ling Ling rubbed her eyes and stood outside the kitchen, which scared Lin Yue.

Lin Yue just looked at Wanli. The water was boiling in the pot, but the noodles had not been put in yet. She quickly put the noodles into the pot and told Lingling, "Wash up first. If you want to eat biscuits, wait until after dinner."

Ling Ling rolled her eyes and asked, "Can I take a few to school?"

Lin Yue was busy cooking and agreed without thinking much.

Ling Ling came over to take a look at the clear soup noodles in the pot and grumbled unhappily, "Mom, I haven't eaten meat for several days. When are you going to cook meat for us?"

"We used up all our meat coupons on your brother's birthday, so we haven't had any meat to eat lately. But I can cook fish tonight."

Ling Ling was somewhat dissatisfied and sighed like a little adult: "Oh, it's really not easy to celebrate a birthday. I don't have milk to drink and meat to eat."

Lin Yue smiled and glanced at her, then exposed her: "What nonsense are you talking about? You ate crispy pork yesterday and chicken drumsticks the day before yesterday. When did that stop you from eating meat? And the malted milk and milk powder didn't stop you from eating these past two days!"

These children have really never been treated harshly in terms of food since they were young. As long as conditions permit, Lin Yue will prepare delicious food for them in different ways to supplement their nutrition.

Ling Ling chuckled and asked, "Then mom, can I have a few slices of crispy meat?"

"Take it, take it, but you can't eat it before meals. Those crispy meats are snacks prepared for you. If you finish them, there will be no more this week. Do you understand?"

Ling Ling nodded and ran away. By the time Lin Yue found that more than half of the crispy meat in the cowhide bag was gone, it was too late.

Lin Yue came out of the kitchen with breakfast in his hand and saw Wan Li hurriedly coming up the stairs. The little guy ran so fast that sweat broke out all over his forehead. Lin Yue already knew what he was doing, but pretended not to know and asked, "Why are you running so fast? Where did you go just now?"

Wanli had no time to fool around with his mother and said hurriedly, "I'm going to see my friends, Mom. I'm going to wash my face first!" Before he could finish his words, he ran away.

Lin Yue heard another sound coming from the stairwell. She looked over and saw that it was Zhang Yuandong who had returned from his morning run. As soon as he came up, he asked, "What did that kid do again? Why did he run away when he saw me from a distance?"

Lin Yue told Zhang Yuandong about Wan Li dismantling the music box with Xu Aijun downstairs. Zhang Yuandong's face darkened. "Why don't you take good care of things? I'll go and take a look."

Lin Yue quickly pulled the man back and whispered, "What are you doing? All children go through this process. He tore it apart because he was interested in it. It's his own stuff. It's his business how he wants to deal with it. As long as he doesn't damage other people's stuff, let's just ignore him for now."

Zhang Yuandong didn't quite understand. He was used to cherishing things and couldn't accept such a thing. But he knew he couldn't take care of the child, so he chose to listen to the child's mother.

The two sneaked into the house and saw Wanli had not wiped his face after washing it, his face was still wet, and he was half-kneeling on the ground, still fiddling with his music box. Lin Yue listened to the music and found nothing wrong with it. He looked at Zhang Yuandong, pretending that he didn't know about it, and called him: "Wanli, go and dress Little Mushroom, we're going to eat soon."

Wanli was obviously in a good mood, and he ran in after agreeing. Before he ran into the bedroom, he saw Little Mushroom coming out with his butt and feet bare. Lin Yue was startled and asked, "Little Mushroom, who took off your clothes for you?"

The little mushroom just smiled foolishly, patted his belly, and wanted to run away. Lin Yue quickly went forward to pick him up, and said helplessly: "What a little troublemaker, it's so cold, aren't you afraid of freezing naked!"

She let Wanli wash his hands and eat by himself, and she carried the little guy to the bedroom.

Little Mushroom is getting more and more naughty. He used to be obedient when you put clothes on him, but now he is no longer like a caterpillar, twisting left and right, refusing to let you put on his clothes. Lin Yue finally puts his pants on, but he takes them off again in a few seconds.

Lin Yue was so angry that he put his hands on his waist and wanted to slap his little butt twice. "Well, you can take off your pants by yourself now, right? You are amazing. I just put them on you and you took them off again so quickly!" As he said that, he started to pinch his belly.

The little mushroom was tickled on the itchy flesh, and he kept giggling. After laughing for a while, he saw that his mother stopped tickling him, and he shouted with full energy: "Take it off!" Lin Yue was so angry that she laughed. This child was teasing her! She gently patted the little guy on the buttocks twice and scolded with a smile: "You little bad boy!"

The little boy thought his mother was playing a joke on him, and he tossed and turned on the bed, laughing.

When she came out with Little Mushroom dressed, the father and his two sons were already sitting at the dining table waiting for her.

Lingling was particularly anxious today. She urged Wanli to finish her meal quickly, then hurried away with the small shoulder bag that Xu Xiaodi had woven for her.

Zhang Yuandong watched the two children walk away and asked Lin Yue, "I saw some children wearing sweaters in the courtyard. I heard that they are warm. Do you want to make some for the children?"

Lin Yue shook his head. "Children's skin is too delicate, and they exercise a lot. Once they sweat, they will feel that the sweater is prickly. It is not suitable for children of this age. But you also reminded me that it gets cold earlier here than in my hometown. Now I can prepare cotton pants for them."

She thought for a moment and said, "Oh, I don't know how people here survive the winter. There's no heating in the winter. How do other people keep warm?"

"Heating?" Zhang Yuandong was stunned. Thinking that this might be something he didn't understand, he didn't ask any more questions. He continued, "Most people use braziers. Some people use stoves, but they are not very common."

Lin Yue's eyes lit up. She had wanted to buy a foreign stove a few years ago, but she couldn't find one in the small county town. She asked, "Can I buy a foreign stove here? The brazier is not very safe, so a foreign stove is better."

Zhang Yuandong hesitated. "It is possible to buy it, but it requires a lot of industrial coupons. I originally wanted to save some to buy you a bicycle."

He had saved a lot of industrial coupons before, but he had used up almost all of them when he bought new things for his family. A bicycle required fifty industrial coupons, and he might not be able to save that much in a year.

"Bicycles are not a necessity for our family. With so many children at home, it's not easy for me to go on a long trip. Even if I have a bicycle, I can't take four children with me. Let's buy a stove first. It's too cold in winter. Don't let the children freeze."

Zhang Yuandong nodded. He knew this was the case. When he lived in the dormitory, he only needed a quilt to survive the winter. That was because soldiers moved a lot and they had to rely on hard work. But he had a wife and children at home. As long as he had the conditions, he naturally hoped that they could live more comfortably.

He thought for a moment and said, "When you are free, find Wang Tingting and ask her to help you get some IV bottles from the hospital. You can use them as hot water bottles."

Lin Yue nodded, indicating that he had made note of it.

Zhang Yuandong finished the rest of his meal in a few bites, then got up and hurried to work.

Lin Yue and the two children were the only ones left at home, and the family instantly fell silent. Seeing that Little Mushroom was eating well and that there was nothing wrong with him except that his food was a little dirty, she sat aside and calculated quietly.

You need a coal purchase certificate to buy coal, and there is a fixed amount every month. Their family now only uses honeycomb coal for cooking, which is still manageable, but if they have to burn coal for heating in winter, it will definitely not be enough. In fact, many families will save some coal in advance for winter use, but Lin Yue came late, and it is definitely too late to start saving coal now. Moreover, supplies are tight now, and it will definitely be difficult to buy coal in winter.

Thinking of this, Lin Yue could no longer sit still. She got up and packed her things, planning to take the two little ones out to see the world and buy some coal to store. She also wanted to buy some wool loops to knit sweaters for Zhang Yuandong and herself.

Because she had to feed little Sisi, Lin Yue didn't go out too early. After walking around outside, she came out of the stairs and ran into Xu Xiaofang and Liu Erya who were blocking her door. They looked like they were here with bad intentions.