Chapter 7, Chapter 7, 007...
007
Well, Jiang Lai doesn't know how other people's blind dates go, but she was kicked out by Liu Aihua after just confirming with Ye Anguo that they would give it a try. The feeling was super awkward.
"What are we going to do?" Jiang Lai asked, breaking the awkward silence.
"How about we go see a movie?" Ye Anguo asked, unsure of what Jiang Lai liked.
"Are there any good movies to watch right now?" To be honest, Jiang Lai wasn't very interested in the movies these days.
"I'm not really sure either. How about we go to the cinema and see what they're showing?" Ye Anguo felt he should prepare more thoroughly next time.
"Then let's forget it, I don't really want to go to the movies." Jiang Lai thought about it and decided not to force herself.
"How about we go to the department store?" Ye Anguo's three adopted sons all love going to department stores to buy food, but he doesn't know if Jiang Lai will like it.
"Is there anything you want to buy?" Jiang Lai thought for a moment and agreed. While you can't necessarily tell if a man is stingy by how he buys things, you can definitely tell if he is generous.
“My three children started school in the fall of this year, but I noticed their clothes aren’t very new, so I was thinking of buying them a couple of new outfits,” Ye Anguo said truthfully.
“Let’s go then,” Jiang Lai said, and the two of them went to the department store.
At that time, it was called a department store, but it was actually a large supply and marketing cooperative. Because this department store was the largest supply and marketing cooperative in the city with the most goods, it seemed like there were always many people coming here.
Because Ye Anguo said he wanted to buy clothes, Jiang Lai led him straight to the clothing section on the second floor.
"Have you been here before?" Jiang Lai asked.
"I've been here, but I've never been upstairs," Ye Anguo answered honestly.
"The second floor is full of clothing, televisions, watches, and the like." It can be described as luxury goods.
Clothing is considered a luxury item, since these days relatively few people buy ready-made clothes. Most people buy fabric and make their own clothes to save money. Nowadays, almost every woman knows some needlework.
Compared to the bustling crowd downstairs, there were far fewer people on the second floor. The fact that it wasn't crowded was what Jiang Lai liked most, as she had never liked crowded scenes.
"How old are your three children?" Jiang Lai asked.
"The eldest is Ye Wenyu, who is nine years old. The second is Ye Lixin, who is eight years old. The youngest is Ye Zhangpeng, who is five years old." Ye Anguo introduced his three adopted sons to Jiang Lai very seriously: "All three children are very obedient. Only the youngest one is a little naughty, but they are all good children."
"Is the middle character in their names their father's surname?" Jiang Lai asked.
"Yes, I was thinking that when they grow up and their household registrations are separated, I would let them revert to their original surnames," Ye Anguo explained. "These three children I adopted all have no family left. If even they forget who their fathers are, then who will remember their names in the future?" Here, Ye Anguo was referring to his deceased comrades-in-arms.
In fact, Jiang Lai had guessed to some extent that if those children had other relatives, it wouldn't be so easy for Ye Anguo to adopt them even if he wanted to.
“You’re right to do this. Your comrades shed blood and tears for the country, and we should remember them,” Jiang Lai said.
"How old were you when you adopted them?" Jiang Lai had been curious about this for a long time, because Ye Anguo was only 28 years old, but his eldest adopted son was already 9 years old. Could it be that the reason Ye Anguo had been single for so many years was because he adopted Ye Wenyu when he was a teenager?
“It hasn’t been many years. When Wen Yu was adopted, he was already six years old. He was the child of my former class monitor. His parents had passed away, so we took him in to take care of him. Li Xin was adopted in the same year as Wen Yu, but in a different month. We didn’t take special care of them; we just sent them to school. Zhang Peng was the youngest when we adopted him; he was only a little over three years old. But thankfully, Wen Yu and Li Xin took care of him.” Ye Anguo answered in detail.
"So when you go to work, how will these three kids eat? Will they eat in the cafeteria every day?" Jiang Lai asked curiously. "And when you're not home, are you worried about leaving the three kids alone at home?"
“What’s there to worry about? It’s already so big, and it’s right inside the military compound with guards at the entrance. It’s not near the pond or the road, and the neighbors all know about it and help take care of it.” Ye Anguo didn’t think there was anything wrong with it.
"You raised these three children rather roughly," Jiang Lai concluded. This was probably due to the difference in the times. Decades later, no parent would feel at ease leaving a five- or six-year-old child alone at home.
As they spoke, they arrived at the clothing section, but at this time it mostly sold clothes for young people, with very few children's clothes available, and the styles were limited and the prices were high.
"How tall is the child? Do you know?" Jiang Lai asked.
Then Jiang Lai stumped Ye Anguo. Ye Anguo frowned and thought for a while before gesturing to his body, one reaching his chest, one his waist, and one his leg.
Jiang Lai was speechless: "You see them every day, don't you know how tall they are? Haven't you measured them?"
"I've been on a mission for two months now, and I just finished it and haven't gone back yet. Kids change every day, it's been so long, I don't even know how much they've grown." Ye Anguo was extremely embarrassed.
"Didn't you say you were on vacation? You don't even come home to see the kids when you're on vacation?" Jiang Lai felt that if that was really the case, then she would have to reconsider.
"No, I just finished my mission here and haven't gone back yet. I'm on my way back and I'll stop by to visit my parents in my hometown." Ye Anguo noticed that Jiang Lai was reluctant to talk about this, so he quickly explained.
“Alright then, that’s understandable. But you shouldn’t buy these clothes today. Wait until you get back and take the kids to try them on. Otherwise, it’ll be a waste if you buy the wrong size,” Jiang Lai said.
“Yes, what about you? I think those women’s clothes are quite pretty, do you want to buy a couple?” Ye Anguo said, pointing to the red and green women’s ready-made clothes hanging on the wall.
Jiang Lai glanced at it and immediately said with disgust, "No, I want to buy the fabric and make it myself."
Of course, Jiang Lai didn't say that the clothes were too ugly, just because of what the salesperson said. To be honest, the original owner of this body could make clothes, and she did a very good job. If she bought the ready-made clothes, Jiang Lai felt that Liu Aihua would nag her to death. So no matter what, she couldn't buy these clothes.
"Shall we go downstairs and take a look at the fabric?" Ye Anguo asked.
Jiang Lai realized that Ye Anguo had been asking her to look at clothes and fabrics because he wanted to buy her something.
Ye Anguo's performance was so clumsy that Jiang Lai wanted to tease him: "When you came out, did anyone tell you that you had to buy me something?"
"Well, I've never dated a woman before, but from my parents' interactions, I know that a man's behavior towards outsiders is one thing, but he must be generous to his woman." Ye Anguo didn't say that he also didn't want his blind date to think he was stingy, cheap, and incapable. For a city girl like Jiang Lai, whose parents both work and she also has a job, he had to demonstrate his financial resources.
Jiang Lai looked Ye Anguo up and down. She didn't expect that he, who looked so honest, was actually quite shrewd. Look at the information he revealed in just one sentence.
Having never interacted with a woman before, let alone in this innocent era, Jiang Lai, a person accustomed to grand occasions, thought, "Hmm, not bad," after hearing this.
The way his parents interacted suggested that he was an easy person to get along with, and he implied that he was the same kind of person. It's hard to believe that Ye Anguo, who seems honest and simple, is actually quite shrewd.
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