Chen Jiaojiao got up angrily and started dressing herself layer by layer: "What does her bad mood have to do with me? Isn't she just deliberately bullying people? What do you mean by all she does is eat and sleep? What kind of weather is this outside? Everyone's indoors, isn't she? If she's so capable, why doesn't she go out and find something to do?"
Mo Ze sat up in bed: "She can say whatever she wants, just ignore her. Where are you going?"
Chen Jiaojiao wrapped herself up tightly: "I'm going back to my parents' home to see my mother."
Mo Ze sat on the bed without moving, and said insincerely, "It's so cold, don't move around. Do you want me to come back with you?"
Chen Jiaojiao rolled her eyes at him, then left the bedroom. Sun Miao had already gone back to his room after his outburst. Chen Jiaojiao quickly ran to the storage room, picked out some easy-to-grab food, filled a basket, and went out.
Once outside, even though she was dressed warmly, Chen Jiaojiao still shivered from the cold. She sniffed and quickened her pace toward her parents' home.
It was so cold that there was hardly anyone around outside. Everyone on the street was in a hurry, and no one recognized anyone else or paid any attention to anyone else.
She stumbled and fell several times while walking and stopping. Chen Jiaojiao felt a little resentful towards her mother for not listening to her and moving in with her instead of suffering in that one-bedroom apartment. This made her feel helpless and alone in the Mo family, and she was constantly being verbally and physically abused by that old woman.
Seeing snowmobiles offering rides on the road, Chen Jiaojiao gave them a small bag of biscuits as fare and squeezed onto one.
Finally arriving at her doorstep, Chen Jiaojiao knocked on the door. Inside, there were three people: her younger brother, Chen Qi, was lying on the bed, looking somewhat pale; and a tall man was sitting to the side, drinking tea.
Chen Jiaojiao frowned slightly, but quickly relaxed her expression: "Mom, what's wrong with my brother? Captain Gao is usually so busy, how come he has time to come over?"
Li Zhenzhen closed the door tightly and took the things from her daughter's hands: "Your brother has a fever. When Captain Gao found out, he sent some medicine over. You can't buy fever reducers at the pharmacy now. If it weren't for Captain Gao, your brother would still be feeling unwell."
Chen Jiaojiao hurriedly thanked Captain Gao: "Thank you so much. In this weather, many people are getting sick from the cold. The pharmacy is out of stock of many medicines. Captain Gao, we really don't know how to thank you enough for bringing your own medicines."
Captain Gao put down his cup, stood up, and replied, "Your mother and I are colleagues. A few pills are nothing. Your brother's health is the most important thing. You two can talk. I have something to do, so I'll take my leave now."
Li Zhenzhen didn't try to stop him. She got up and saw him to the door. Captain Gao turned around and said, "It's too cold outside. I'll close the door when I go out. Don't see me off. The baby isn't better yet, and you'll catch a cold too."
Li Zhenzhen nodded, and Captain Gao opened the door and walked out, closing it behind him. Li Zhenzhen then locked the door from the inside.
Chen Jiaojiao sat in front of her younger brother's bed and reached out to touch his forehead. Li Zhenzhen turned around and saw this, and quickly stopped her.
"Don't keep your brother cold. He's just starting to feel better. If you really want to touch him, rub your hands together first," Li Zhenzhen said.
Chen Jiaojiao pouted: "My hands aren't cold either. It's true that once your daughter is married off, you don't care anymore. All you care about is your younger brother."
While grumbling, Chen Jiaojiao carefully rubbed her hands together, and only when she felt it was about time did she touch her younger brother's forehead. Chen Qi opened his eyes and looked at her. Chen Jiaojiao's jealousy subsided a bit, and she felt a little sorry for him.
"Qiqi, I brought back some eight-treasure porridge. I'll heat it up in a bit and you can have some. I also brought back a piece of frozen meat. When you're better, Mom will cook it for you," Chen Jiaojiao said to her younger brother.
Chen Qi smiled at his sister, then closed his eyes wearily. Li Zhenzhen sat beside him, picking out the good beans from a plate of soybeans: "Let him sleep for a while; his fever just broke."
Chen Jiaojiao moved to sit next to her mother and frowned as she looked at the beans in her plate, which were mixed with a lot of dirt and bad seeds: "Why are you picking these up? Don't you have anything to eat at home? Why didn't you tell me?"
Li Zhenzhen smiled and said, "How could there be no food? I picked this up from the supplies department. Food is so precious these days. Don't underestimate this little bit. I can exchange it for a lot of useful things."
Chen Jiaojiao knew that life was tough right now, but she still couldn't help feeling sad: "I already told you to move in with me. No matter what happens to the Mo family, it won't make a difference if you two live together."
Li Zhenzhen had her own thoughts: "What would that look like? Your brother and I aren't having a hard time right now. Compared to the others in this shelter, we're already doing quite well. If we still go to your house to eat and drink for free, what will the people here think of us?"
Chen Qi's work was suspended for more than a month, but Li Zhenzhen's work in the supplies department continued, only she didn't have to go there every day as before. Now she was on shifts, taking two days off and working half a day, and her work points were reduced to only ten per month.
However, Li Zhenzhen and Chen Qi had accumulated some work points, and the work at the supplies department made it convenient for Li Zhenzhen to stockpile some things. Chen Jiaojiao had also gotten married and would occasionally bring some things back, so her and her son's life was not difficult at all.
Chen Jiaojiao sat silently to the side. Li Zhenzhen noticed the resentment on her face and, remembering that Chen Jiaojiao's expression hadn't been good since she came in, asked, "Did you argue with your mother-in-law again? Did she say something hurtful again?"
Chen Jiaojiao glanced at her younger brother, who seemed to be asleep, and tugged at her mother: "Let's go inside and sit on the bed to talk for a while, so as not to disturb your brother's rest."
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