"Mom, you and Dad drink first. We'll drink after you finish." The younger ones also said the same thing. Mother Liu and Father Liu each took a sip of soda and handed it to the children. This was also the first time for Mother Liu and Father Liu to drink soda.
After finishing their sodas and returning the bottles, the family continued on their way to the cinema. On the way, they stopped by a cloth shop, and Liu's mother bought another five feet of cotton cloth. She spent five feet of cloth coupons to make a sweatshirt and underwear for Liu's father. The white cotton Liu's father had bought last time was used up for the children's underwear and Liu's mother's vest and underwear. This year, the family had a total of sixteen feet and two inches of cloth coupons, and this time, they had spent nearly a third of their total. Liu's mother was heartbroken.
They walked and stopped along the way, and it was already past 11 o'clock when they arrived at the cinema. The earliest movie was at 1:30 in the afternoon, so Liu's mother bought six movie tickets for 1:30 in the afternoon, each for the child at 5 cents and each for the adult at 10 cents, for a total of 30 cents.
"Dad, we'll have to wait for about half an hour. Should we take the kids to the state-owned restaurant to eat something first?"
"Okay, let's go! Father Liu put on the backpack and started walking."
Xuemei and her three siblings were thrilled to hear they were going to a state-owned restaurant. They skipped around and followed Liu's parents, constantly asking if it was true. This was their first time at a state-owned restaurant. Arriving at the restaurant's entrance, they saw that everyone inside was either wearing nice clothes or new clothes, or carrying pens in their pockets. They all became a little reserved and timid, hiding behind Liu's mother.
"What are you afraid of? We are here to eat. Your parents have brought money. Hold your heads up." Father Liu said to the four children.
Xuemei and her three siblings finally raised their heads, but continued to follow behind Liu's father and mother.
The state-owned restaurant was packed at the time, so Xuemei and her family waited ten minutes before a table opened. Liu's father quickly asked the child to sit down, put the backpack under the table, and tucked his legs between the backpack. Then he said to Liu's mother, "Mother, go order something. Remember to buy some meat."
Mother Liu thought about buying some meat, thinking that Chinese New Year would be coming up in a few days and they still had some meat at home. But then she thought about the children's timid expressions and decided to buy two taels of sliced pork. These were the meat coupons issued by the village this year. Now, all they had was the three jin of meat coupons that Liu's father had exchanged on the black market. Mother Liu also ordered five bowls of vegetarian noodles and asked the waiter for a bowl for the family to share. The meal cost a total of one jin of grain coupons, two taels of meat coupons, and nine cents, which made Mother Liu feel bad. But when she saw the children start to cheer up after realizing they had eaten almost as much as the people next to them, and they skipped out after finishing their meal, Mother Liu felt it was worth it.
After finishing their meal, Xuemei and her family returned to the cinema and waited another twenty minutes before they began checking tickets. They saw Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy, which moved everyone to tears. Afterward, Qingya and Ruirui kept saying they wanted to join the army. It was already four o'clock when the movie ended, so Liu's parents took the children to the bus station to wait for the bus back to the commune.
On the way home from the commune, Qingya kept singing: "Little Changbao, accusing the Japanese army of crimes..."
"Qingya, you are amazing. You remembered how to sing it after watching it once, and you sing it so beautifully." Xuemei said.
"Your sister looks like your mother. Your mother sings folk songs very well. When you were little, your mother sang to put you to sleep. Do you remember?" Father Liu said to Mother Liu.
"I remember. I heard it when my mother was coaxing my two younger brothers." Xuemei replied.
Qingya and the other two shook their heads, indicating that they didn't remember.
"Mom, sing one too." Qingya said in a teasing tone.
"Go home and sing. We are outside now," said Liu's mother embarrassedly.
…
Back home, Liu's mother soaked the beans, planning to make tofu the next day. She then steamed some sweet potatoes, and the family ate them before washing up and going to bed.
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