Chapter 031 Going into the city alone
night.
This place is located on the side of a mountain. Because the temperature is lower than my hometown, the forest is not as lush and green as my hometown, and the sound of birds is not as frequent as my hometown.
At nine o'clock in the evening, the lights went down on time.
The troops restricted electricity use, and the power was cut off in the residential area after 9 o'clock, leaving only one or two dim street lights.
Wei Dai took out the candles he had asked someone to buy this afternoon, and gave a flashlight to the two sisters next door.
Wen Chun and Wen Xuan were actually a little scared. This place was extremely unfamiliar to them, so they needed Wen Jiajia to accompany them before going to bed.
"Aunt, let's sleep together." Wen Xuan hugged her and said, "Uncle is an adult, he can sleep by himself."
Wei Dai pushed the door open, put the flashlight on the bedside table, and ruthlessly refused on behalf of Wen Jiajia: "No, I can't."
Wen Jiajia actually didn't want to sleep with the two children.
How to say it? A crow lands on the back of a black pig. It only sees the blackness of others, but not its own.
Wen Jiajia knew that she didn't sleep well, but she firmly believed that Wen Chun and Wen Xuan's sleeping postures were not that good either, and were even worse than hers.
It would be fine if it was Wen Chun, but he would often press his lower body on her, making her often feel what it was like to be paralyzed by a ghost.
Wen Xuan was as bad as she could be. She practiced martial arts in bed almost every night.
When she was at home, Wen Jiajia recalled that she was knocked unconscious by a punch from Wen Xuan in the middle of the night. Since then, Wen Jiajia went back to sleep obediently, leaving Wen Chun to torture her together.
Wen Xuan was incredulous at Wei Dai's words, and then glared at him: "Bad uncle!"
Wei Dai showed a sad expression: "Really? I was going to make new blocks for you."
The expression on Wen Xuan's face froze for a moment, and she stopped talking. She shrank down like a balloon that was punctured by a toothpick. It was obvious that being controlled by others made her feel insecure.
Wen Jiajia covered her mouth and laughed.
The building blocks of the two sisters were left in her hometown. They cried whenever they thought about it for the past two days. Wenzhu said that she cried in her dream one night and kept asking, "Don't leave my building blocks behind."
But there is no way, you have to make a choice. The building blocks really take up space and you can completely remake them after coming here.
"Go to sleep." Wen Jiajia patted the two girls, "Didn't you make an appointment with Xie Yi to go build sandcastles tomorrow?"
Yes! The two girls quickly closed their eyes. Although their eyeballs were moving and their eyelids were fluttering, they were gradually feeling sleepy in the darkness.
Wen Jiajia waited until they fell asleep before leaving.
She gently lifted the quilt, got up on tiptoe, went to the living room, and called Wei Dai, who was playing with building blocks, to come over: "Carry Wenchun to her bed."
The two girls sleep in separate beds, and no one should bother the other in the future.
Wei Dai sorted out the building blocks a little bit, then washed and dried his hands. Then he went into the room, picked up Wen Chun from Wen Xuan's bed, and carried him to the bed next door.
The two girls' beds were very close to each other, with a bedside table in between.
The flashlight was placed on the bedside table, and I taught them how to use it after dinner.
Wei Dai carried Wen Chun back to the head of the bed, and Wen Jiajia carried the toilet to the corner of their room.
The toilet is a rare enamel toilet, small and suitable for children.
After settling the two ancestors, Wen Jiajia was finally able to take a break and return to her room.
Wen Jiajia had already taken a shower in the evening. Now she changed into pajamas and hid under the quilt, feeling much more relaxed.
"Is there a nursery in the army?" she asked. She needed to send her two children to school as soon as possible.
Wei Dai half embraced her and said, "Yes, there is a red education class, it's in the army primary school."
"You'll accept a three or four-year-old, right?"
"Probably. I don't know. I need to go and ask." Wei Dai hugged her tighter.
He is a hot-tempered man, his body is like a furnace. In this season and with this temperature, Wen Jiajia likes to lean on him and use him as a large hand warmer.
Wen Jiajia frowned slightly, her eyes still glowing in the darkness, she sighed and said softly, "Only if they go to school can I be free to find a job."
Wei Dai rubbed her cheek and said, "Do you want to be a teacher? The military school seems to be in great need of teachers. I heard from the principal of an elementary school some time ago that we should look for teachers among the family members. Unfortunately, there are not many educated family members."
Wen Jiajia didn’t really think about it.
First, she has little patience and no love for supporting others. She is fine with well-behaved students, but she can get so angry when she meets naughty ones.
Secondly, the profession of teacher is quite dangerous nowadays. She is a person from decades later. Who knows when she might develop some quirks in her speech and reveal some ideas that go against this era. By then, Wei Dai will not be able to save her.
After thinking about it, Wen Jiajia shook her head and said, "If I don't become a teacher, I can't be one."
Then what should I do?
Wen Jiajia couldn't give an answer at this moment.
She was not familiar with the place yet, and she didn't know what positions there were in the army or what other positions were around the army.
"Well, let's wait a little longer." Wen Jiajia said.
Wei Dai held his hands up and looked down at her: "Work can wait, but some things can't wait."
Wen Jiajia: “…”
I'm talking to you about work, and you're talking to me?
Well, food and sex are human nature. After eating and drinking, I really want to do these things.
Wei Dai took out the condoms from the drawer of the bedside table that he had secretly picked up from the military hospital today, and started exercising until late at night.
The moon was high in the sky, and the dark clouds were drifting farther and farther away in the wind.
The next day.
Wei Dai had already woken up, and there was no trace of him at the moment. He only left a small note on the bedside table.
[Breakfast is in the pot.]
The two girls also woke up, and when Jia Jia was still in a daze, they heard the two people's childish talking.
"Sister, you take one, I take two, and the remaining two are for aunt, okay..."
"No! I add half a piece to one piece, and you add half a piece to one piece, too. That's fair."
Wen Jiajia was woken up, and when she opened her eyes, what she saw was the curtains illuminated by the sunlight.
The curtain doesn't block much light, so Wen Jiajia can tell that it's already noon.
"What are you arguing about?"
Wen Jiajia stretched her body, put on some clothes and went to the living room.
Wen Chun sat on the chair and swung her feet: "Aunt! We are sharing the cakes, come and have some."
Wen Jiajia went over to take a look. Wow! There were meat pies.
"Who made this?" Wen Jiajia asked them, "We didn't buy any meat yesterday."
Wen Chun smiled and said, "It was given to me by Teacher Shen."
Wen Jiajia understood that it was given by the neighbor next door.
She was puzzled. She thought the cake was too expensive. After all, it was made of flour and meat, and was fried in oil.
Wen Jiajia guessed that Teacher Shen might have had a good family background in the past, and probably was living well now as well, at least materially better off than others, otherwise he wouldn't be able to be so generous.
"Okay, let's eat." She came to the kitchen, "Have you had breakfast?"
Without waiting for the two girls to answer, Wen Jiajia saw only one portion of breakfast left in the pot in the kitchen.
A bowl of egg custard and a bowl of rice porridge.
There was also a small dish of pickled mustard tuber on the side, but no one knew where Wei Dai got it from.
Wen Jiajia brought the food to the dining table. The sunlight had already filled the open space at the door and was about to spread to the yard.
The orientation of this house is really good. The living room is bright, and the breeze blows in from time to time, then blows out from the windows on both sides of the living room door, leaving only the scent of spring.
Wen Jiajia sniffed and seemed to smell the scent of grass. She guessed that someone was clearing the grass not far away.
First bite, eat the egg custard first.
The egg custard is very fragrant, with soy sauce and a little bit of lard added, and it is steamed without any holes, with just the right softness and hardness. This is how it is when Wen Jiajia steams it herself.
The zhacai is also good, very similar to Fuling zhacai.
Upon tasting it, it turned out to be Fuling pickled mustard tuber, which shows that this pickled must have come from people in Sichuan and Chongqing.
Wen Jiajia finished her breakfast and ate half a cake.
Wen Chun and Wen Xuan had already eaten their own portions and were staring at the remaining piece.
Wen Jiajia bandaged her face and covered the cake with a plate: "Don't eat it anymore. Do you remember that day when you ate too much meat and had a stomachache? You were the ones who cried while seeing a doctor and taking bitter medicine. What did your aunt say afterwards? Have you forgotten it again?"
Wen Chun and Wen Xuan became depressed, and said in unison in a dragging voice: "Don't overeat, eat in moderation."
Look, this is pretty tight.
Wen Jiajia felt that they had eaten enough this morning and their stomachs were obviously bloated. If she had not brought dried hawthorn, she would definitely have made a cup for them to help them digest the food.
The sun was shining brightly, so she rushed the two sisters out of the house and told them to go out and play more so as to digest the food in their stomachs.
"Don't run around. Your aunt is going out. As for lunch...if your uncle isn't back, you can eat the cakes on the table." Anyway, since you've eaten enough in the morning, it's no big deal to eat less at noon.
"I know!"
After saying that, he rushed out and ran next door to play with his new friends.
Wen Jiajia washed the dishes, left two bowls of leek on the table, and walked out of the troop with her backpack on her back. There was a passage in the family compound that led directly to the outside of the troop, but it took nearly 20 minutes.
She heard yesterday that a bus would pass by the military base at 10 a.m. every morning.
As for the return trip, there is also a bus that will depart from the city at four o'clock in the afternoon. Wen Jiajia recalled that Wei Dai had said that they have to go to the entrance of the state-owned hotel on Shenglin Street to catch the bus.
When Wen Jiajia arrived at the station, there were already quite a few people waiting there.
There are villagers from nearby and family members of the troops.
She was a new face and attracted attention as soon as she arrived.
"Are you Wei Dai's wife?" someone asked. The man was carrying a child on his back in a sling. The child looked to be only a little over one year old.
Wen Jiajia nodded: "Hello, I'm Wen Jia."
"Hey, you're quite polite." The lady smiled and said, "I'm from Wang Fuhai's family on the third floor of Building 1. You can go back and ask your husband and he'll know."
Without waiting for Wen Jiajia to speak, she asked again: "You just came in the past two days, are you going to the city?"
"Yes, go into town to buy some things."
Wen Jiajia still feels that her home lacks many daily necessities, such as thermos and rain boots.
The rainy season is coming soon, and you won’t be able to have an umbrella without rain boots.
Since we weren't familiar with each other, we didn't talk much.
Wen Jiajia arrived at the right time. A few minutes later, the bus wobbled to a stop and a group of people swarmed on.
This is the second stop. There aren’t many people on the bus and there are even some empty seats.
At least Wen Jiajia's several months of farm work were not in vain. She was agile and, relying on the fact that she did not bring any bamboo baskets or backpacks, she squeezed to the front of the crowd. As soon as the door opened, she grabbed the handrail to get on the bus.
Coincidentally, when Wen Jiajia got on the bus, there were only two seats left. She was quick to act and took one directly.
The remaining one was quite far away from her, and she couldn't help the aunt with the child.
As for asking her to give up her seat...that's impossible. This road can shake things out of a person's stomach. And they are not acquaintances, so Wen Jiajia is of course only caring about herself.
The car started slowly. There were chickens and ducks in the car, and the smell wafted around my nose.
Wen Jiajia could only be thankful that she didn't get motion sickness and that the original owner's body didn't get motion sickness either, otherwise she would have vomited as soon as she got in the car.
Ten minutes later, we were almost at that rocky road again.
The lady was obviously familiar with this route. She squeezed her way to Wen Jiajia and said, "Sister, can you hold the baby for me for a while?"
That's fine, as long as she's not allowed to get up, everything will be fine. Although Wen Jiajia is selfish, she's not that selfish.
She took the child and placed it on her lap, then she noticed that it was a girl.
"It's a little girl." Wen Jiajia was surprised, "Why does she have such short hair?"
I'm almost bald. Not only is it cold, but it also damages my hair follicles.
My aunt smiled and said, "She is still young and afraid of getting lice. When she is three or four years old and can withstand it, she can grow it longer."
Wen Jiajia: “…”
She is now a little scared and wants to wrap her head with a piece of cloth.
After a moment of silence, Wen Jiajia couldn't help but say, "Comb your hair more often, and wash your hair with sulfur soap every day, and the lice will disappear soon."
The aunt said calmly: "Sister, you are from the city, right? We can't wash our hair with sulfur soap every day. If we can take a soap bath once a week, we are considered clean. There are five children in the family, how can I wash them all?"
Wen Jiajia felt a little depressed, and even the violent shaking was a little bit unnoticed. She sighed and said, "I'm not a city person, I'm a country person."
Hearing what Wen Jiajia said, Auntie was a little surprised.
She prided herself on being good at judging people, but she didn't expect to make a mistake with Wen Jia.
She added, "Then you must have been educated." She spoke in a very coherent manner.
Wen Jiajia was speechless.
After this journey, she will take the child back.
Wen Jiajia waved her hands: "Let me hold the little girl. She's very well behaved."
He was indeed very well behaved. He leaned against Wen Jiajia, occasionally turning his head to look at her, then looking up at his mother, without crying or making any noise.
"Right, she's the best behaved one, otherwise I wouldn't be able to bring her out." Auntie said, "Her sisters have never been to the city with me."
The scenery outside the house slowly receded. After passing that section of the road, Wen Jiajia moved her butt and felt much more relaxed.
Maybe she was mentally prepared, so she didn't want to vomit this time, and she was in good condition all the way to the city.
Wen Jiajia got off at the state-owned hotel stop that Wei Dai mentioned. Her aunt didn't get off, so Wen Jiajia left her seat for her.
Jump out of the car and take a deep breath.
Ah, so fresh and sweet.
This street is very busy. Walking along the street, Wen Jiajia can see the supply and marketing cooperative and the retail store. After turning a corner to another street, she can also see the grain station and the department store she has been longing for.
The streets are bustling with people and bicycles can be seen everywhere.
Occasionally, a bus would pass by slowly, and surprisingly, there weren't many people on the bus. This shows that buses that only travel within the city are not as congested as urban and rural buses.
Wen Jiajia vaguely remembered that the capital's subway should have been opened at this time, but she didn't know when the subway here would start construction.
When I arrived at the door of the department store and looked up, I saw that it was a three-story building.
When I entered the store, there were not many people inside, but there was a wide variety of goods, which beat the supply and marketing cooperatives in both quantity and quality.
There was even a row of ready-made clothes for sale! But the styles were average, it would be better if she bought the cloth and made them herself.
She is now a garment-making expert, and reform and opening up have given her another way to get rich.
Wen Jiajia touched the stack of bills in her chest pocket and planned to buy some cloth to make summer clothes for herself.
She left the clothing counter and began to look at other items.
The first floor mostly sells food and clothing. After taking a look around, Wen Jiajia went up to the second floor and bought some more things on the first floor before leaving.
She came to the second floor with a purpose.
On the second floor were luxury goods such as watches and radios. Wen Jiajia took out a watch ticket and pointed to a watch in the window and said, "I want that Shanghai watch."
Shanghai watches are the hottest watches at the moment.
But there were none in her hometown, because every piece was sold out, and often when Wen Jiajia went to the county town, the cabinets were empty.
This place is close to Shanghai, so there is no shortage of Shanghai watches. There are even several Shanghai brand radios waiting to be sold.
It just so happened that Wen Jiajia saw a watch ticket among Wei Dai's various tickets. Adhering to the principle of buying early and enjoying early, Wen Jiajia went to buy a watch the next day after she arrived here.
"Wait a moment." The salesperson took the bill, clipped it with a clip, and then followed the track into a place where Wen Jiajia couldn't see. Then the salesperson took out a watch and said to Wen Jiajia, "Do you want me to adjust it for you directly or do you want to adjust it yourself?"
At this time, the new watch needs to be adjusted.
Wen Jiajia: "Comrade, please help me adjust it."
The salesperson adjusted the watch in no time, checked it carefully to see if there were any scratches, and gave it to her.
Wen Jiajia put it on right away. With the watch, she felt more secure, and her life of relying on the weather to estimate time was finally over.
After buying the watch, she stood for a while in front of the radio counter.
The salespeople are all of high quality and no one drives you away.
After all, it is common for people to come and look at the radio. Even if they can't afford it, can't they still enjoy the sight of it?
Wen Jiajia didn’t go to the third floor, which is where foreign exchange securities are required.
Back on the first floor, she bought a cloth and a thermos, and weighed two kilograms of sugar, one kilogram of original milk candy and one kilogram of chocolate flavored candy.
The toffee nowadays is made of real ingredients, but Wen Jiajia thinks it's a bit too sweet and doesn't like it very much. She prefers chocolate flavor, so she will have to hide in her room and eat this pound of candy slowly after buying it.
Then I weighed a pound of biscuits and a pound of butterfly cakes.
Wen Jiajia was so surprised. She used to buy butterfly cakes every time she went to Shanghai on business trips, but she never bought them again because of the long queues. She didn't expect to find them here.
Butterfly pastry is really fragrant, and really expensive.
Just one pound of this cost Wen Jiajia two yuan, which is more expensive than meat.
Finally, she bought rain boots, a pair of Huili canvas shoes, and two bottles of white wine. Before leaving, she bought a few pairs of ropes and a bottle of Pechoin. After spending all the money on her chest, she left reluctantly.
There's still stuff to buy!
She took the big bag out of the small bag and put all the things she bought into the big bag.
Then go to the grain station and buy some rice and flour.
Then go to the store and buy a live chicken, a live fish, a pound of meat and a few ribs.
At this time, the meat can only be lean meat.
Fortunately, it was pork belly, and Wen Jiajia was thinking of using it to make barbecued pork.
Finally, I bought some vegetables and waited for the bus to go home, dragging a big bag of things.
Wen Jiajia was panting and wanted to run back to the department store to buy a bicycle.
Unfortunately, I didn’t bring enough money or tickets.
Finally, the car came slowly.
Because her boarding point was close to the starting station, there were still empty seats on the bus.
But when they arrived at the next stop, the bus was crowded with people. Wen Jiajia looked carefully and found that this stop was the vegetable market station.
No wonder. When she gets a bicycle someday, she will come here to take a look.
When we entered the suburbs, the sky was already filled with sunset glow.
The fiery red sunset glows like colorful satin, spreading across the sky, breathtakingly beautiful.
Every evening, people's desire to return home becomes stronger.
Wen Jiajia couldn't help but think of home. She went out in the morning and didn't prepare lunch before leaving. She didn't know whether Wei Dai had brought home lunch at noon. If not... would Wen Chun and Wen Xuan be too hungry?
Today the journey was faster and the car arrived at nearly five o'clock. Wen Jiajia got off the car in a hurry, only to find that the lady she met in the morning was also on the car.
He looked quite arrogant at this moment, with a sleeping child on his back, things in his hands, and a cloth bag hanging on his chest. Wen Jiajia couldn't help but slow down her pace.
"Auntie, do you want me to help you?" she asked.
"Sister Wen, it's you. You can just call me Sister Hong, the rainbow." She looked up and smiled, "But I don't need your help. These things are not heavy and can be easily removed."
As he spoke, he shook the things in his hands.
Seeing this, Wen Jiajia did not insist.
Sister Hong seemed to be interested and asked her, "I heard that you brought two girls from your family to join the army?"
Wen Jiajia was surprised. Wow, has this matter spread? But Sister Hong didn't know about it this morning, so how did she know about it now?
She nodded and said, "I and my two sisters are the only daughters left in my family. My father is the only child with no brothers, and I don't even know where my mother's family is, so I am the only one who can raise these two children."
Sister Hong sighed. Although she didn't know why there were only three girls left in the family, she knew that they must have experienced a tragic disaster.
"You've had a hard time, too," she said.
Wen Jiajia thought, finally someone understands how hard I’ve been suffering.
After I got to know Fang Mingyan, she kept talking about how great her life was.
It's not fun at all. I was very stressed when I first wore it. Every morning there was hair on my pillow.
"But now I've made it through." She added, "Hey! You are at least raising your own niece, and I raised her to be close to you. The two girls in my family are from my husband's side."
Wen Jiajia didn't know how to respond. Let's make friends, but remember not to talk too much. She never liked to get involved in other people's family affairs.
The two walked all the way to the troops.
Sister Hong talked as we walked.
Wen Jiajia is a good listener. Although she doesn't say anything, she can give a response. Sister Hong thinks this girl is not bad.
As they were almost at the family area, the child on Sister Hong's back woke up. She quickly shook the child and tried to comfort him: "Oh, oh, Yaya, we're home, we're home..."
As he was shaking, the medicine in his pocket shook out.
Wen Jiajia helped pick it up, and it turned out to be mercurochrome.
People these days often use mercurochrome and gentian violet. After Wen Jiajia was born, these two potions were almost nowhere to be seen.
Why? Because it contains mercury. Using it not only carries the risk of mercury poisoning, but it can also easily leave pigmentation.
"Sister Hong, did you go to the hospital today?" Wen Jiajia handed her the mercurochrome.
Sister Hong stuffed the medicine back into her pocket and said, "No, why go to a hospital? Our military hospital is good enough. I'll go to the pharmacy. Xiao Wen, if you need any medicine in the future, just call me. I have someone at the pharmacy."
Wen Jiajia: “…”
Do pharmaceutical companies sell all kinds of drugs these days?
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