Grandma Yan nodded with a smile. This daughter-in-law really had a good temperament. Xue Ying ran into the room and took out a stack of money and tickets: "Mom, I have to give a gift for the housewarming tomorrow, but I don't know what to buy. How about I give you some money and tickets? You can buy whatever you need, okay?"
Grandma Yan took twenty yuan and some grain and cloth coupons, especially the cloth coupons, taking a little extra. She returned the excess to Xue Ying. Xue Ying wanted to say something, but Grandma Yan interrupted her:
“My dear daughter-in-law, I originally wanted to take ten yuan, but I was afraid you would be unhappy, so I took twenty yuan. Ai Dang is getting married soon, so you have to save some. You still have to love your country, so I took a little more cloth coupons.”
Xue Ying sighed: "Take it, I don't need cloth coupons now. Mother, I'm not worried about Ai Dang, but I don't know what's wrong with Ai Guo. He just doesn't want to get married. Look, he doesn't even have time to come home. You've been here for ten days, and he still hasn't made it back."
Grandma Yan knew that Aiguo was stationed at the border and it wasn't easy for him to come back. Fortunately, she was already in the capital, and there would be plenty of time in the future.
Early in the morning, Cuihua had already prepared a lot of food. Today, she and her mother were moving away, so she wanted to make more to leave for Xue Ying and her older brother. When they came back in the evening, they could just steam it and eat it.
"Sister-in-law, there are still some vegetables in the kitchen. You can just steam them when you get back tonight," Cuihua reminded her.
Xue Ying ate some vegetable porridge and held a rice cake in her hand: "Thank you, I really hate to see you go, Cuihua. No wonder Ai Dang always thinks about me. How did you make this rice cake? It's so soft and sweet, it's so delicious."
"Sister-in-law, once Nannan and Chen'er go to school, I'll make a lot more when I have time and bring it over for you to eat," Cuihua said quickly.
"Hey, let me and Lao Yan come and get it. We can even get a free meal," Xue Ying said shamelessly.
Yan Daqiang nodded quickly: "Mom, don't look down on us when the time comes."
Grandma Yan beamed with joy. How wonderful it would be if her children and grandchildren could all be together! Unfortunately, as trees grow bigger and branches spread, they eventually have to separate, just like herself, whose brothers and sisters are now scattered and she doesn't even know where they are.
Yan Xiaonan and Ye Chen'er helped clean the house. Since they were leaving today, it was only right to clean it up. Xue Ying quickly told them not to bother, that it would be quiet again after her mother left, and that it was good to leave some work for her to do.
Today, Yan Daqiang had Baoguo borrow a car and loaded all of his younger brother's luggage into it. He also secretly added a lot of daily necessities and food that he had bought. Yan Xiaonan helped his grandmother, and Ye Chen'er helped Cuihua and Xue Ying into the car. Yan Daqiang and Baoguo followed behind on their bicycles.
As for Yan Xiaoqiang and Yan Aidang, they had already gone to the courtyard to prepare. The firecrackers were already set up, and all they had to do was light them. The stove was already lit, with a large pot of water boiling. There was a large stack of small bowls next to the stove, all of which were cleaned, as well as a box of brown sugar.
The capital city is great. You can just turn on the tap to get water, unlike back home where you have to watch the water tank and fetch water anytime, anywhere. There's also a coal stove for cooking, so as long as you don't let it go out, you don't need to light a fire every day. The market is also close to home, so it's convenient to buy groceries.
Seeing the car approaching, Yan Xiaoqiang quickly lit firecrackers. The crackling sound attracted the neighbors. Ai Dang quickly took out the rice cakes he had prepared and cut them into small pieces to distribute to the neighbors who were watching the commotion.
With sweet rice cakes in their mouths, everyone spoke sweet words, which made Grandma Yan and the others beam with joy. They greeted each other along the way, calling out to the aunties and grandpas from the neighboring houses, and they became familiar with each other's faces.
As soon as Xue Ying entered the courtyard, she felt refreshed: "Mother, Cuihua, this place is really nice. When summer comes, I'll get a few reclining chairs and put them here and here. You can sit on them, listen to music, drink tea, and eat some rice cakes. This is the life."
Grandma Yan looked on with longing after hearing what she said, and Yan Xiaonan also thought that her aunt's suggestion was really good. In the future, we can build a grape trellis and a swing chair here, and put a rockery and stream in the corner between the back room and the east wing. Yes, let's do it this way.
Yan Xiaonan helped Grandma Yan into her room. The room was warm and cozy, probably because the radiator was on. On the left was an antique-style mahogany canopy bed, and in front of the bed was a couch. The bedding and blankets were neatly made and looked very soft.
Grandma Yan sat down: "My dear, is Grandma sleeping on the dragon bed?!"
Yan Xiaonan smiled: "Grandma, you're sleeping on a phoenix bed, do you like it?"
Grandma Yan smacked Yan Xiaonan on the head: "You little brat, you're always causing trouble."
Yan Xiaonan pointed to the mahogany cabinet on the right: "Grandma, you don't have enough clothes right now. I'm embarrassed to even open the cabinet door. In a few years, I'll make sure you have new clothes to wear every day."
Grandma Yan nodded. She believed what her darling said. When she was little, her darling said she would take her to the capital when she turned eighteen, and now she was living in the capital herself.
It got lively outside: "Grandma, someone's probably here. Let's go out and see."
As soon as they stepped out of the north room, several men in military uniforms carried in two tightly wrapped packages. Ai Dang and Chen'er worked together seamlessly, one making sweet soup and the other handing over rice cakes.
Cuihua and Xueying were busy in the kitchen, preparing more food and drinks for the day, as the people who brought gifts would have to stay for a meal. However, Cuihua was doing most of the cooking, as Xueying's skills were only good enough to assist.
The brothers Daqiang and Xiaoqiang helped carry the things into the north room. Yan Xiaonan knew what they were just by looking at the packaging: "Grandma, you can watch TV tonight."
Grandma Yan had heard news on the radio about the successful manufacture of a television set, but she had never actually seen one. Yan Daqiang seemed to know what his mother was thinking, and he and Xiaoqiang unpacked the television.
A Butterfly brand sewing machine was a gift from Commissar Yang's father, and a Beijing brand nine-inch television was a gift from Xue Ying's father, Xue Honggen. However, the two elderly people did not come over. The thermos flasks, washbasins, sugar jars, fabrics, and other items were all gifts from Yan Daqiang's colleagues.
Grandma Yan quickly grabbed Yan Daqiang: "Daqiang, we can't accept such a valuable gift. How will we repay it? How will you do your job after this!"
Yan Daqiang admired his mother from the bottom of his heart. With such a precious gift in front of her, she didn't think about accepting it immediately, but rather that she couldn't accept it, worried that she wouldn't be able to repay the gift and would cause him trouble.
“Mother, you deserve it. Do you still remember all those ginseng roots? They saved so many lives. This is just a housewarming, and my father-in-law has refused all the gifts he wanted to give.”
"Oh, it's all thanks to my darling. Well then, I'll accept it without worry." Grandma Yan was relieved.
Yan Daqiang looked at Yan Xiaonan with doting eyes. Not only her mother benefited, but everyone in the Yan family benefited. He had to protect this little girl for the rest of his life and no one should dare to bully her.
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