After a busy day, everyone was exhausted. Yan Aidang took out a few bath tickets. There was a bathhouse in the garrison area. They would go take a bath after dinner. Yan Xiaonan then reached out her hand: "Grandma, my mom wants to go too."
Yan Aidang spread his hands: "I'll ask my mom for it tonight. I only have four bills, one for me and my uncle, and one for you and Chen'er."
Ye Chen'er quickly said, "Nan Nan, how about we don't go, and we go for Grandma and Auntie instead?" Now Ye Chen'er was also calling people along with Yan Aidang. Ye Chen'er nodded, "I'll go ask Auntie first. If she has any, we'll go together. If not, I'll have Mom and Grandma go."
The group of people dragged their weary steps home. Yan Xiaonan asked Yan Aidang, "Isn't there a bus from the courtyard to your house?"
Yan Aidang shook his head: "There can't be public buses in the garrison area, so there are no buses that go there. Even if there were, they would be far away from the garrison area. If we go around in circles, we might as well walk back."
Yan Xiaonan asked again, "Dad, have you talked to Uncle about it? Do you have any bicycle tickets? We need to buy one, otherwise it's so tiring to walk back and forth every day."
Before Yan Xiaoqiang could answer, Ye Chen'er suddenly remembered the bicycle ticket her grandfather had given her: "Nannan, I have a bicycle ticket. I'll give it to you tomorrow. Let's go buy a bicycle first, otherwise our legs will be ruined."
"Chen'er, where did you get the tickets?" Yan Xiaonan asked curiously.
"My grandfather gave it to me when he came last time. He told me to buy one when I came to Beijing, but I had completely forgotten about it," Ye Chen'er said somewhat embarrassedly.
Yan Aidang wanted to say something, but she held back. This bicycle ticket was Chen'er's dowry, right? Let's buy it then. I'll ask my close friends later. Getting a bicycle ticket shouldn't be too difficult.
“No, your tickets were part of your dowry from your grandfather. You can’t use them here. I don’t agree.” Yan Xiaonan immediately refused.
Yan Xiaoqiang nodded in agreement: "Nannan is right. I've already told Daqiang that if he can't even get a bicycle ticket, he should just take off his green bike and go back to his hometown to farm."
Everyone fell silent; Dad (the younger uncle) was too fierce.
The house was filled with the aroma of braised pork as usual. Ye Chen'er and Yan Xiaonan went to wash their hands, while Ai Dang and Yan Xiaoqiang pounced on their food like wolves, stuffing two pieces of braised pork into their mouths. Cuihua's braised pork was really delicious, oily but not greasy, and the aroma filled their mouths and noses.
Everyone had only eaten a bowl of vegetarian noodles at the state-run restaurant for lunch and was starving. Halfway through the meal, Yan Aidang remembered the bath tickets, slowly moved to Xue Ying's side, and quietly asked Xue Ying, "Mom, you haven't taken Nan Nan and the others to the bathhouse yet, have you?"
Xue Ying slapped her head, realizing she had forgotten something so important. She quickly found her small bag, pulled out a stack of bath tickets, and handed five to Yan Xiaonan: "Nannan, go to the bathhouse after dinner and take a bath to feel better."
He then went to the bathroom and found two bars of soap and shampoo, giving them to Cuihua and Yan Xiaoqiang: "You both have towels, right? Here are the soap and shampoo, don't forget to take them with you."
Yan Xiaonan cheered, "Thank you, Auntie! Are you coming?"
Seeing Yan Xiaonan's unbelievably beautiful face, Xue Ying nodded resolutely, even though she had already showered at work.
Everyone went to prepare their change of clothes. Yan Xiaonan helped her grandmother prepare, Cuihua helped Yan Xiaoqiang prepare, and Chen'er prepared her own. Yan Daqiang, who was not originally going, also joined the bathing activity. The group of people rushed to the bathhouse in a great hurry.
When they arrived at the bathhouse, Grandma Yan and Cuihua were dumbfounded. Everyone was bathing naked. You could see me, and I could see her. How were they supposed to bathe like this? Yan Xiaonan chuckled to herself, thinking that Grandma and Mom probably weren't used to it.
"Grandma, Mom, it's okay, no one's watching you." After saying that, she took off her clothes first, leaving only her little clothes, and ran inside. Grandma Yan gritted her teeth and took them off. It's just a bath, who's afraid of who?
Seeing that everyone had taken their clothes off, Cuihua could only awkwardly take off her outer clothes, but she still kept her cotton undershirt and trousers on. She took a basin and a towel and went inside. Yan Xiaonan took a bar of soap out of his small basket and handed it to Cuihua: "Mom, the tap here is very big. You can wash your clothes."
Cuihua's eyes widened. She could even wash clothes here! She looked around and sure enough, there were children playing in the big bathtubs while their mothers washed clothes. After washing the clothes, the mothers would wash the children's clothes, and after the children finished, they would let them play in the water. Only then would the mothers wash their own clothes.
It's a little strange showering with so many people in one space, but it's much more comfortable than showering back home. I don't have to change the water every time; I can just rinse off. This faucet is amazing; how does it produce hot water? I'll ask Nan Nan later; she'll definitely know.
Yan Xiaonan helped her grandmother wipe her back. Goodness, there was so much dirt on her grandmother's body, it seemed like she could never wipe it all off. Grandma Yan herself was embarrassed, realizing that she was indeed covered in mud.
Everyone was laughing and joking as they took a bath, washed their clothes, and scrubbed their backs. They stayed in the bathhouse for more than an hour before leaving. It was only because Yan Xiaonan was worried that the baby couldn't take it that she kept urging them to come out. During that time, she even used her supernatural ability to quickly scan the baby.
Once outside, a breath of fresh air greeted everyone, and they all took deep, comfortable breaths. It was only then that Grandma Yan realized why Yan Xiaonan had been so eager for her to come out.
"My dear baby, how come you're so sensible?" Grandma Yan lovingly held Yan Xiaonan's arm, and they all walked home together. Tonight, neither Yan Daqiang nor Xue Ying went to sleep at work. Daqiang slept in the study with Yan Aidang, and Xue Ying slept with Chen'er.
Early in the morning, Cuihua got up to prepare breakfast. There were two more people to eat today, so she had to make a lot more. Xue Ying was awakened by the aroma and followed the smell to the table. She ate each breakfast item as if she had discovered a new continent: congee with preserved egg and lean pork, steamed rice cake, scallion rolls, steamed buns, and pickles brought from her hometown.
"Old Yan, you're so mean! You didn't tell me about this delicious breakfast, and I had to eat plain porridge in the cafeteria," Xue Ying complained.
Yan Daqiang felt wronged. "I also eat in the cafeteria, okay?" The couple stared at Yan Aidang at the same time. Yan Aidang was so frightened that he grabbed a few pieces of steamed rice cake from the table and ran away, saying, "I'm going to the courtyard house."
Yan Xiaonan and Ye Chen'er both laughed. Xue Ying tapped the two girls' foreheads with her finger: "Neither of you are good people. You didn't tell me you had something good to eat."
Grandma Yan watched all this with a smile. The eldest daughter-in-law was so much better than the second daughter-in-law, but the best one was still Cuihua. Not only was she hardworking and capable, but she also gave birth to a little fairy for her.
Xue Ying and Yan Daqiang decided to go home. How could they give up such a delicious breakfast? They would also come back for lunch, and dinner was a given.
Xue Ying took out money and tickets from her bag and handed them to Cuihua: "Cuihua, if you don't have enough money, just tell me. Don't put your own money into it. Lao Yan's salary is high."
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