After Yu Shui and the others left, Bi Qiaoan waited for a while. Seeing that there were fewer people in the corridor, she tugged at Hu Xiaoqin's sleeve and gestured for her to look into her bag.
"This is the milk powder that my husband and I bought through connections. Because it was obtained privately, it's not convenient to show you the packaging box."
Don't worry, the quality is absolutely fine, and it's still within its shelf life. Give it to him after the baby is born; it'll help him recover faster.
When Hu Xiaoqin saw the milky white powder in the plastic box, her eyes lit up, and her voice trembled slightly, "Are you really going to give it to me?"
"This isn't for you, it's for Xiao Le! This is infant formula, it's not suitable for you," Bi Qiaoan joked.
Hu Xiaoqin grabbed Bi Qiaoan's hand emotionally and said, "I know, I know, sister, thank you!"
You wouldn't believe it, but Xiao Le hasn't had much good food since he was born. Back then, I was the sole breadwinner, and with a child in tow, I couldn't find a good job and could barely make ends meet.
He finally grew up and was old enough to be sent to kindergarten, but not long after, the world changed drastically.
Since the apocalypse began, life has become increasingly difficult for my daughter and me. Our previous job fell through, and we only managed to survive thanks to the aid from Qinghe Alliance.
It wasn't until I got the job as a labor worker that Xiao Le and I's lives really improved.
Although the wages are low and the work is tiring, the monthly benefits from the labor officer, plus the food that Xiao Le and I can buy, at least ensure that we have enough to eat three meals a day, so we don't have too much to worry about in terms of life.
If it weren't for the extremely cold weather in North Harbin, I would probably still be working in the greenhouse at this time.
"But given the current situation, we lost our jobs over there, and we all fled here for refuge. We've lost all our benefits and don't know how we're going to get through this winter."
Hu Xiaoqin gripped Bi Qiaoan's hand tighter, her voice trembling with tears again, "Sister, please, do you have any ways to buy food? Can you tell me?"
My son, Xiao Le, has had a hard life. He was born at a time like this, and into the womb of a mother who isn't very capable. He's suffered so much; I'm the one who has let him down.
He's five years old, but his body is still as thin and small as a three-year-old's. It breaks my heart to see him like that!
"Hey girl, you guys have such a great life, could you please help me out?"
Bi Qiaoan's eyes widened as she tried to pull her arm back, but the other person held it tightly.
She thought to herself, "My husband and I have been kind enough. We've already given you a can of baby formula for free, what more do you want?"
Seeing that she couldn't pull her arm back, Bi Qiaoan simply gave up. She slumped her shoulders, leaned back in her chair, and gave a bitter smile. "Sister Qin, it's not that I don't want to help you, but do you know where I got this can of milk powder?"
"Where did it come from?" Sister Qin didn't notice the expression on Bi Qiaoan's face at all; her entire focus was on the question, "Where did the milk powder come from?"
"It was traded for grain!"
Sister Qin was somewhat surprised. Her intuition told her that this wasn't the case, because she didn't believe anyone would be foolish enough to exchange life-saving food for milk powder that didn't keep them full.
For example, she would never do such a losing business.
Under Sister Qin's gaze, a mixture of surprise and disbelief, Bi Qiaoan explained, "I'm pregnant, with twins. You know, I can't breastfeed two children on my own."
So when we found out I was pregnant with twins, my husband and I went to the supermarket to ask. We learned that even with the current quota, it's still very difficult to buy baby formula. That precious stuff is always snapped up as soon as it hits the shelves.
There was no other way; my husband had to look outside for connections. He finally found one, but they didn't want money, so we had to trade food for milk powder.
Bi Qiaoan fully demonstrated her acting skills, and tears welled up in her eyes. With her red eyes, she looked at Hu Xiaoqin and said, "We only changed seven or eight cans of milk powder, but we used up two-thirds of the food in our house."
Don't be fooled by the potatoes and cabbage I brought you today; what you don't know is that my husband and I drink wild vegetable porridge at home all the time.
We people from Haishi value our reputation. If it weren't for this unexpected situation today, I wouldn't have taken out all this, nor would I have said so much to you.
After saying that, Bi Qiaoan blushed slightly.
Hu Xiaoqin looked at Bi Qiaoan and opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything. She felt that something was wrong, but what Bi Qiaoan said made sense.
Hu Xiaoqin was somewhat unwilling, "Your family is so poor, how dare you still provide brown sugar water for free?"
Bi Qiaoan's lips twitched slightly. "Brown sugar is precious, but I won't go hungry without it. We all come here with great enthusiasm, so naturally we hope to do our best."
Because there weren't many people in the hallway, even though Hu Xiaoqin and Bi Qiaoan lowered their voices, Shen Yanming still overheard their conversation.
His face was dark and brooding, barely holding back his anger.
He turned and left to find Zhang Heping, telling him to keep an eye on things for a while before returning to call Bi Qiaoan: "Honey, I just got a call. Old Ji has an urgent matter and needs us to go over there."
Bi Qiaoan was taken aback, thinking that something had really happened to Ji Kangyong. She hurriedly got up and said to Hu Xiaoqin, "Sister Qin, I'm sorry I have to leave. If you need anything, just let me know in the group."
They didn't say whether they would help or not; it was just a polite remark.
Shen Yanming stepped forward, took Bi Qiaoan's hand, and turned to say, "I've already spoken with the doctors here, and they will do their best to treat Xiao Le. As for anything else, I'm afraid we can't do anything about it."
Hu Xiaoqin bit her lip as she watched the two figures disappear into the distance, feeling a sense of helplessness once again.
She knew that her question had angered Shen Yanming, but she didn't regret it. All she wanted was to live a good life.
"It's alright, just ignore her!" After the two got into the car, Shen Yanming comforted Bi Qiaoan when he saw that she didn't look well.
"Huh?" Bi Qiaoan stared blankly at Shen Yanming, then said after she came to her senses, "I didn't take her seriously. I was just wondering what happened to Ji Kangyong."
Shen Yanming chuckled, "He's fine. He just doesn't really like that woman. He used her as a cover to bring you out."
Bi Qiaoan breathed a sigh of relief, "It's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright. I was really scared just now."
Then he looked at Shen Yanming and said, "I can actually understand Hu Xiaoqin quite well. If I were her, I would probably seize every opportunity to improve my life and my child's life."
However, I don't like her aggressive and bullying attitude.
If she had phrased it differently, asking me to help her get some baby formula or food, I probably would have agreed.
But she probably did that because she wanted to take control of the situation.
However, I don't like to create trouble for myself.
Moreover, I always feel that giving willingly and being forced to give are two completely opposite things.
I gladly accept the former, but the latter breaks my heart.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
