However, the eldest boy still looked at Shen Lie in a childish way. His face fell as soon as the dishes were served.
Bitter melon stuffed with meat, bitter melon stuffed with shrimp, fried egg with bitter melon and shrimp skin, and finally there is even a dish of cold bitter melon!
Not to mention Da Wa, Ning Tang would also frown when she saw the green table.
Those who know would think that Shen Lie is punishing Da Wa, while those who don’t know would think that he is hinting at something.
Ning Tang stepped on him under the table. Shen Lie also felt that he seemed to have gone a little too far. He coughed and said, "Well, the weather is hot. Eat more bitter melon to cool down."
Erniu and Sanwa were not afraid of eating bitter melon. They just picked up the bowl and started eating. They didn't have any psychological barriers at all and they ate with gusto.
In contrast, the eldest child's eyebrows were wrinkled into a knot.
I want to eat a piece of meat, so I pick up my chopsticks but don’t know where to start.
He was wrong. He could eat any kind of meat. Even though the meat inside the bitter melon stuffed with meat looked fragrant, the green bitter melon wrapped around it was enough to make his little face turn pale.
Look at bitter melon stuffed with shrimp paste. It’s the same, the difference is that the hollowed-out green bitter melon is filled with pink and white shrimp paste.
Not to mention the cold bitter melon. Big Brother also admires his dad for being able to eat bitter melon in this way. He can imagine the unpalatable taste without even tasting it. He estimates that one bite would make him sick for the whole night.
Finally, I could only think of stir-fried eggs with bitter melon and shrimp skin.
Da Wa thought, since he couldn't eat meat and shrimp slips, then he could try some shrimp skin and eggs to go with his rice.
As a result, just as he was about to pick up the shrimps and eggs, Shen Lie's eyes came over.
Big Boy: ...wuwuwu...Isn’t it okay for him to eat bitter melon?
The meal ended with the eldest boy’s face wrinkled more bitter than bitter gourd.
The next day, when Shen Lie came back from the army, he saw Ning Tang and the three kids sitting around the table, whispering to each other, and no one knew what they were discussing.
They were talking so seriously that they didn't even notice Shen Lie approaching.
The eldest boy took out a small clay pot and turned it over. A stack of banknotes, both small and large, fell out of it, along with a few coins, which fell on the table with a crisp sound.
Looking at his kingdom, Da Wa nodded with satisfaction, "Well, this should be enough."
Erniu took out a cookie box and struggled to open the lid, revealing the neatly stacked bills inside. Each bill was neatly stacked together. It looked much neater than Da Wa's scattered bills, and the total amount also seemed to be more than Da Wa's.
It was the third child's turn. Unlike his older brothers and sisters, the youngest child did not prepare his own piggy bank. He put some of his money here and some there.
Occasionally, when Ningtang helped him clean the house, she would find money under his pillow, or when she helped him wash clothes, she would take out a dime or two from her pocket.
The third child took out a handful of bills from the small pocket of his clothes. It looked like a lot. His little hands could hardly hold them and the bills "burst" out from between his fingers.
Ning Tang looked around and saw that the three kids all had savings. He was very satisfied. "Not bad, not bad, that's enough. Let's go to Xinhua Bookstore next Saturday."
The eldest child yelled that it was not enough, "Mom, don't just go to Xinhua Bookstore. It won't take much time to buy books. Let's go to the cinema and watch some movies. I heard from my classmates that there are some good movies coming out recently."
Erniu continued, "Okay, okay, sister Qingqing told me that there are a lot of food for sale at the entrance of the cinema, including popcorn, maltose, roasted sweet potatoes..."
Every time she said something, Big Boy slurped his saliva and wished he could fly to the cinema right away.
The third child pulled Ningtang's arm. Ningtang looked down and saw the little child tilting his little face up with big watery eyes. It seemed that he was looking forward to it.
Ning Tang was happy and waved his hand, "Okay, let's all go."
Since they had decided to go to Jiang City together next Saturday, Ning Tang discussed the specific travel plan with the three children, such as what time to get up, what time to take the boat to Jiang City, what time to go to Xinhua Bookstore, and what time to go to the cinema...
The three little kids want to go everywhere, so we basically have to stay in Jiang City for the whole day.
The eldest child said, "Let's go to Xinhua Bookstore first. I have many storybooks I want to buy."
Erniu said, "No, let's go to the cinema first. I want to watch a movie."
The eldest child said, "No, it takes at least two hours to watch a movie, and the Xinhua Bookstore might be closed by the time we're done."
The third child interrupted, "Why don't we go to the department store first? I want to buy some toys." The only toy at home was a wooden toy car, and he and the eldest child were already tired of it.
The three little kids were making a lot of noise and no one could convince anyone else.
Ning Tang didn't say anything and just let them arrange the itinerary.
After arguing for a long time, we finally settled down. We got up at six in the morning, washed and had breakfast until seven. Then we took a two-hour boat ride to Jiang City. We arrived in Jiang City at exactly nine o'clock. As soon as we landed, we went shopping in the department store. It took about two hours to go around the department store. It was eleven o'clock when we finished shopping, so we went to the state-owned hotel for lunch.
After lunch, I took a break and went to the cinema to watch a movie at one o'clock. The movie lasted no more than two hours. When I came out, I had digested the lunch and had a good time to eat some green bean cakes and roasted sweet potatoes sold by the small stall at the entrance of the cinema. After that, I went to Xinhua Bookstore and bought the books that my three children had wanted.
If you want to have other activities, that’s another matter.
Shen Lie listened behind them and nodded repeatedly, "Well, it's a good arrangement."
But the more I listened, the more something seemed to be wrong. This 'Saturday plan' sounded like it had nothing to do with him.
He suddenly coughed, "Ahem."
The eldest child was startled and turned around to see that it was him. "Dad, when did you come back? Why didn't you tell me?"
Shen Lie: "I came back a long time ago. I stood here and listened to your discussion for quite some time. But you were so engrossed in your discussion that I didn't notice it."
He then said, "Come on, tell me what you are going to do next Saturday."
The eldest described it to him with excited gestures, and the second and third kids added to his story. It was obvious that they were very excited and were looking forward to next Saturday.
Shen Lie nodded as he listened, and then said, "Well, the discussion went well, and the itinerary was well arranged, but, have you ever thought of taking me with you?"
There was nothing for him in the Saturday plan for the three adults and children. They even agreed to buy only four boat tickets to Jiang City.
Ning Tang slapped his head and said, "Oh, I forgot about you." Then he glanced at him and said, "How would we know when you are on vacation? What if we have made arrangements and you suddenly say you have to go to a meeting in the army and can't go? Our plans will be ruined."
The three little kids nodded in unison to show their full agreement.
Shen Lie blew his beard and glared, "What about you? Can't you go on one of my days off?"
Ning Tang blinked and thought, isn't this something I didn't think of?
The three little ones also felt guilty...
Looking at the innocent eyes of the three children, Shen Lie almost fainted and said, "Then let's go next Saturday. Remember to buy my ticket."
Ning Tang nodded and asked him, "Where are you going?"
Shen Lie walked to the entrance, put on his shoes, and said without raising his head, "I'm going back to work overtime."
I worked overtime to prepare the materials for the meeting so that I could spare some time next Saturday to accompany Ningtang and the three children on a wonderful Saturday trip.
April 12th, Saturday.
Shen Lie woke Ning Tang up early in the morning.
Ningtang has been on the island for so long, and the earliest time he woke up was nine o'clock. He has never been woken up by a slap at seven o'clock.
She almost exploded when she woke up. When she opened her eyes, she saw the three little ones all dressed up and standing in front of her bed. She suddenly remembered that she was going to Jiang City to play today.
"You three got up really early." Ning Tang yawned, and his bad mood disappeared completely.
The eldest child nodded excitedly, "Of course not, we are going to have fun."
And they are a family? Going out to play together.
He and his third child were so excited last night that they almost didn't sleep the whole night. They kept whispering in their quilts, saying that they went to the department store and Xinhua Bookstore to buy something: fun toys, or interesting books.
I muttered to myself until almost dawn before I went to bed. I guess I only slept for two hours, but I still felt energetic when I woke up.
Shen Lie prepared breakfast. Ning Tang washed up and drank lean meat porridge and ate scallion pancakes with the three kids. Now that they were full, they prepared to set out for the boat ride.
When I left home, the sun had already risen to the middle of the sky, making most of the island shine brightly.
Ning Tang and Shen Lie walked at the back, while the three little kids, Big Boy, Second Girl and Third Boy, carried small backpacks and walked in a row in front.
From their heroic and high-spirited posture, those who knew would understand that they were going to Jiang City for fun, while those who didn't would think they were three little kids going to fight.
When we arrived at the port, it was already bright. Over the water in the east, the fiery red sun slowly emerged from between the white clouds, like a huge fireball.
Shen Lie bought the boat tickets and his family of five boarded the ship.
The eldest, second and third kids looked at the blue sea and exclaimed in amazement.
The last time I went back to Shangang Village, two families, four adults, and five children were squeezed into one boat. The captain's skills were not good, and the boat was swaying all the way. The whole boat ride was a terrible experience. The eldest child and his three children didn't even notice the scenery while on the boat.
Looking at this moment, the blue sea is sparkling, and occasionally a bird flies over the water, causing ripples.
Not only the three little kids were amazed by the beautiful scene, but even the two adults, Ning Tang and Shen Lie, were fascinated by it.
Big Brother looked at the sea view for a while, then turned his attention to the captain in the cockpit.
He exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, Grandpa, you are so awesome. You can actually drive a boat, and you drive so steadily." He is much better than the uncle who drove them on the boat last time.
The captain stroked his white beard complacently, "Of course, your grandpa is nicknamed Old Sea Wolf, and he has been sailing for nearly thirty years."
The eldest child's eyes lit up, "I want to sail a boat, too."
Captain? Laughed.
Erniu also said in a crisp voice, "Grandpa, I want to sail too."
"Okay, okay, when you all grow up, you can sail the boat." The captain said with a smile.
When Da Wa heard Er Niu say that she also wanted to drive a boat, he was not convinced and puffed up his cheeks, "If you drive a boat, then I'll drive a train."
Erniu argued with him, "Then I will fly the plane."
The third child refused to be outdone, "I'll drive a tank."
You and I were chatting back and forth, making the three adults on the boat laugh.
The two-hour boat ride was spent with the three of them chatting in their own way and appreciating the beautiful scenery of the sea.
When we arrived in Jiang City, we got off the boat, and stepped on the ground, I finally felt solid ground.
Ning Tang asked, "What time is it?" She was afraid that if she missed the boat ride, she would not have time to go to the department store.
Shen Lie looked at the sky and estimated, "Around nine o'clock."
His eyes moved around Ning Tang's empty wrist, he moved his mouth as if to say something, but swallowed it back.
The three kids were very excited and shouted, "Let's go to the department store first."
Shen Lie pinched his little face and agreed, "Okay, let's go to the department store first."
The department store in Jiang City is a small four-story building. Nowadays, there are bungalows everywhere, and two-story buildings like the Shen family's are rare. The department store is simply unique. You don't have to look for it specifically, you can see it as soon as you look up, like a landmark of Jiang City.
The sunlight gradually became brighter, and the family of five walked into the department store to avoid the sun.
The first floor of the department store sells big-ticket items, including shiny new bicycles, 12-inch black-and-white TVs, sewing machines... everything you can think of.
However, there were no people on the first floor, it was empty, because the big items were not only expensive but also required tickets, so only a few people could afford them, so there were not many customers staying.
Ning Tang and Shen Lie took the three kids directly to the second floor, which mainly sold clothes and shoes.
Shen Lie looked around the clothing store and picked up a white dacron shirt. "This shirt suits you very well."
Ning Tang took a look at it. The lotus leaf collar design of this dacron top is very fashionable these days. If she wears it, it should make her neck look longer. "Not bad."
Shen Lie immediately took out his money and bought it. He also picked out another pair of blue denim pants and a black and red plaid skirt and paid for everything at the same time. His generosity amazed the salesperson.
Such a generous man is so rare. Even city dwellers would pick and choose when buying clothes, and spend an hour to buy just one piece. They would also have to bargain and persuade the salesperson to reduce the price, and at least they would get a piece of wool with a red ribbon.
After buying clothes for Ning Tang, Shen Lie asked the three little ones if they wanted anything, "Do you want me to buy two pieces for you too?"
The three little ones are really not interested in clothes or anything like that.
The eldest child looked at the cloth shoes with rubber running shoes on his feet and said, "Dad, I want to buy shoes."
Erniu and Sanwa raised their hands, "We want some too."
Three children, going up mountains and down the sea every day, shoes are worn out the fastest,
Shen Lie looked at the three children's feet. The shoes of the eldest and second daughter had already come apart, and the soles of the third child's shoes were also worn thin. He readily agreed, "Let's go and look at the shoes."
Since the National Games held at the Hongwan Stadium in Shanghai in 1948, Huili, a domestically produced shoe brand, has been vigorously promoted, attracting many young students as customers. Today, the sales of Huili shoes are still very popular. There happened to be a Huili shoe store in the department store, so Shen Lie and Ning Tang took their three children there.
When I arrived at the shoe store, I saw white Huili sports shoes neatly arranged on the shoe rack. On the side of the shoe was a huge trademark. Nowadays, Huili's trademark is not a lying 'F' like in later generations, but a 'W'. But it looks good just the same.
Three little kids stood in front of the shoe rack and exclaimed in unison.
Big Boy couldn't help but retract his feet. Compared with the fashionable and beautiful Huili sports shoes on the shoe rack, the pair of fairly trendy Liberation shoes on his feet didn't seem so presentable.
Shen Lie asked, "Which pair do you want to buy?"
The eldest and third child looked at the two pairs and thought that both of them were good. They looked at Ningtang and asked for her opinion.
Ning Tang took a quick look. The styles of today's Huili shoes are certainly not comparable to those of later generations, but they are considered very fashionable these days. In fact, all pairs are almost the same. "They are all the same. You guys take a look and choose. Your father will pay for it."
Shen Lie was amused, "You really know how to manipulate me." He waved the salesperson over, "Bring some of the most popular shoes in your store so my little kid can try them on."
The lazy male salesperson leaning against the counter opened his mouth and was about to say that he was not allowed to try on the products.
When Shen Lie looked at him, he involuntarily walked to the shoe rack and took two pairs of shoes.
After the shoes were brought to the three children, the male salesperson finally reacted. Hey, this is really strange. How could they be frightened by the man in front of them?
He was about to say a few words when Shen Lie gave him another fierce look.
The male salesman swallowed his words, smiled awkwardly, and introduced the shoes to the three children, "These two are the most popular items in our store right now. Many people like to buy them. The price is not cheap either, only RMB 5 for a pair."
Da Wa touched the money in his pocket. He had saved a total of six yuan, which included the red envelopes given to him by Ning Weiguo and Sun Aiju during the Chinese New Year, as well as the pocket money he earned from helping Ning Tang and Shen Lie with housework in the past few months.
After saving for so long, I have only saved six dollars. If I buy a pair of sneakers, I will spend most of it at once and only have one dollar left.
Fortunately, it was his father who paid for it, and the eldest boy breathed a sigh of relief.
The eldest and third child tried on the shoes. They had soft soles and were very breathable, not stuffy at all.
The two children blinked their big, bright eyes and looked at Shen Lie, their meaning was very clear: buy it, buy it.
Shen Lie was happy and paid for the two pairs of Huili shoes.
The eldest and third child wrapped the shoe boxes tightly and treasured them so much.
Ning Tang saw that Erniu didn't even try it and didn't look very satisfied, so he asked her, "What's wrong? Don't you like it?"
Erniu nodded and shook her head, pointing to the sandal store opposite the Huili shoe store. The little girl liked open-toed sandals more than Huili sports shoes. After all, summer was coming soon.
Ning Tang understood what she meant and took her to the sandals store.
Erniu's eyes brightened when she saw the exquisite and beautiful sandals.
She immediately picked out a pair and said to Ning Tang, "Mom, I want this pair."
Ning Tang followed her gaze and saw that Erniu had picked out a pair of plastic sandals, also known as crystal sandals, with a small yellow plastic flower embedded in the green upper.
In her opinion, it was the most rustic thing.
Erniu asked in a low voice, "Isn't it very beautiful?"
Ning Tang swallowed the words, "...well, our second girl has really good taste, these plastic sandals are especially nice."
Shen Lie led the eldest and third child over, and Erniu also asked him a question.
Shen Lie's straight male perspective is consistent with Ning Tang's.
However, looking at the expectant eyes of his lady, he chose to convince himself, "It looks good, especially good-looking, look at the green upper, look at the yellow plastic flowers..." Shen Lie had to rack his brains to continue praising, "...well...it's just like the freshly picked cucumber with thorns on the top."
Ning Tang couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Hey, Captain Shen, your description is really good. The green shoe upper and the yellow plastic flower are exactly the same as the small cucumber with the cucumber flower on the top. The description is really apt.
Cucumber and cucumber flower.
Erniu looked at Shen Lie with resentment, "Dad, after hearing what you said, I don't want to buy it anymore."
"No, I'll buy it for you now." In order to prove that he and the young lady had the same taste and were equally fashionable, Shen Lie took out a bill from his trouser pocket and bought it immediately.
After buying shoes, Shen Lie asked the three children if they wanted to go around some more, like buy some toys or snacks.
The three children shook their heads in unison and said no, as they had already spent a lot of money today.
Shen Lie felt relieved and thought that the three of them were quite sensible.
After leaving the department store, it was already noon. The family was hungry, so Shen Lie and Ning Tang took the three of them to a state-owned hotel to have lunch.
On the way, Shen Lie whispered to Ning Tang, "Why are the three of them so sensible now? In the past, when I took them to the supply and marketing cooperative, they would always refuse to leave, and I would at least buy them a bag of candy to get rid of them."
Ning Tang glanced at the three children who were leading the way in front and said with a smile, "That's because they know that making money is not easy."
Shen Lie blinked his eyes, "No? I understand."
Ning Tang explained to him, "In the past, if they wanted pocket money, they would just give it to you with their palms facing up, without any effort, as if the money was blown by the wind. Now they have to do housework to exchange for money, and they can only earn a penny at a time. If you were in their shoes, would you be frugal?"
Shen Lieshen took it for granted. When Ning Tang first suggested doing housework to earn pocket money, he thought it was unnecessary. He didn't want to mistreat the children anyway, so they could just ask him for pocket money.
Now it seems that Ning Tang is the one who thinks clearly.
Firstly, it exercises the housework ability of the three children. With pocket money hanging in front of them, the enthusiasm of the three children in doing housework is improved.
Secondly, the three little ones only know that money is hard-earned. With the concept of money, they will cherish the hard-earned rewards even more.
He told Ning Tang about his idea, and Ning Tang was amused. "Well, your first point can be changed to, training their ability to do housework, and freeing our hands as parents. The second point can be changed to, saving money for the family. We can use the money saved to buy electrical appliances, which still frees our hands."
Shen Lie was speechless. So you just can't stand doing housework. "That's true, but can't you let me think more positively?"
As we were talking, we arrived at the state-owned hotel. The money and bills were ready, and we had also decided what to eat.
As soon as he arrived at the restaurant, Shen Lie ordered a large amount of braised pork, mapo tofu, pig's feet stewed with soybeans, and a plate of dumplings stuffed with leeks and pork.
The waitress who took the order was shocked by him and said hesitantly, "Comrade, are you sure you want to order so much?"
Shen Lie said, "Of course, you see, we are two adults, plus three children, I am worried that there is not enough food."
The waiter muttered, "Okay then," and went to place the order.
As soon as the dishes were served, Shen Lie was dumbfounded.
These days, restaurants are very honest and each dish is generously portioned.
Shen Lie was confused. He didn't know. He joined the army at the age of sixteen and had dedicated half of his life to the army. The army provided him with food and accommodation, and he had never been to a state-owned hotel.
Thinking that I had finally brought Ningtang and the kids out for a trip and they had fun, I wanted to eat to my heart's content, so I lavishly ordered four dishes. Who could have thought of this?
However, after ordering everything, the chef of the state-owned hotel was still very good. Every dish was well-cooked and tasty. Ningtang and the three children were very satisfied with the meal, and Shen Lie bought all the remaining dishes by himself.
He ate so much that his stomach was full and the food got stuck in his throat.
Ning Tang didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "I told you not to eat it, at worst we can just pack it up."
Shen Lie burped and waved his hands, "No, that won't work. The waiter is staring at me. I've already made a promise, so I have to finish it."
Ning Tang laughed at him, saying that he was suffering from his own stubbornness.