Chapter 55
They took the mooncakes Gao Wenbin had given them home first, and then went out with the other things they had prepared.
They went to their brother and sister-in-law's house first.
My brother and sister-in-law's house and Political Commissar Xu's house are close by, so visiting both of them is convenient. Naturally, I should also send some of the things sent from Beijing to my brother and sister-in-law.
Gu Yuanyang and his wife were both home. Gu Yuanyang was writing a report and didn't have time to go for a walk with his wife and child tonight, so the three of them stayed at home.
Ji Ya reads with her child.
Gu Xi greeted them, "Brother, sister-in-law, you're both home?"
Gu Yuanyang's eyebrows twitched when he heard the word "brother".
I don't know when it started, but my sister stopped calling him "big brother" and started calling him "brother," as if he were her only brother.
Thinking back to how she used to call Shen Mingzheng "Big Brother," she understood perfectly well that Shen Mingzheng was her "Big Brother," and he, her biological brother, could only be called "Brother." Even Gu Yuanzheng, her "Second Brother," might no longer be considered a brother. So calling him "Brother" directly was completely without any burden.
Although she didn't treat Gu Yuanzheng as her brother, which was Gu Yuanzheng's own fault, he still wanted to maintain his dignity as the "elder brother".
As Gu Yuanyang thought this, he couldn't help but glare at Shen Mingzheng.
Shen Mingzheng: ? ? ? What's wrong with my brother-in-law this time?
"Xixi, Commander Chen, what brings you here?" Ji Ya got up to pour them water.
Gu Tuantuan slid off the chair and rushed towards Gu Xi, tilting her cute little face up and saying happily, "Auntie, we have mooncakes at home. Here, have some mooncakes, they're so delicious!"
Gu Xi hugged the child and said happily, "My family also has mooncakes, so I'll give you some too."
Previously, Chief of Staff Gao had given them a package of mooncakes, and they shared half of it.
Ji Ya smiled and said, "My family sent some mooncakes over today. I was originally planning to send some to you later."
Her family lives in the city, so it's very convenient for them to send things over.
Gu Xi said, "No need, we have some too. It was a gift from next door. We can't eat too much."
Gu Xi and Ji Ya told her they were going to the market in town tomorrow and asked her sister-in-law if she wanted to go.
"I can't go, I have to go to work," Ji Ya said gently. "But if I don't have anything to do tomorrow, I can go home early in the afternoon. Would you like to come over for dinner?"
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone wants to spend the holiday with their families, and if there's nothing much going on, people usually leave work early.
This year's Mid-Autumn Festival is a rare occasion, as both Gu Xi and Shen Mingzheng are here, allowing the two families to have a reunion dinner together.
Gu Xi hesitated for a moment, then agreed.
My brother and sister-in-law are good people, and they are family, so it's only right that the two families eat together during holidays.
She smiled and said, "Then I'll go to town tomorrow to buy some vegetables and cook them together here."
Then Gu Xi asked them if there was anything they needed to buy, and she bought it for them and brought it back.
"No need, we have everything we need at home," Ji Ya said. "Don't overwork yourself."
Knowing that her health isn't very good, it's not a good idea to ask her to buy things. What if she gets tired?
Gu Xi said, "It's okay, we have bicycles. It won't take much effort to ride there. When we buy things, we can put them on the bicycle and bring them back."
If we let her walk there by herself, she might get tired, but having a bicycle means she won't have to worry.
Except for the few days when she has her period, she goes out to ride her bicycle every day and gets used to it quite well. She finds that riding a bicycle is really not tiring, and it only takes an hour to go back and forth, not a whole day.
Upon hearing this, Ji Ya asked her to buy some needles, thread, and fabric. These items were lightweight and didn't take up much space, perfect for making a set of clothes for her daughter.
After talking with his brother and sister-in-law for a while, they went to Political Commissar Xu's house.
The person who opened the door was Xu Xiaoyin, the eldest daughter of Political Commissar Xu. Upon seeing the two of them, she happily said, "Uncle Chen, Aunt Gu, you've come!"
Gu Xi asked, "Xiaoyin, are your parents home?"
Xu Xiaoyin said cheerfully, "Yes, he's inside beating up my brother."
Gu Xi: "..."
Just then, a terrible scream came from inside the house, followed by the voice of the youngest son of Political Commissar Xu and his wife begging for mercy.
"Dad, Mom, please stop hitting me. I know I was wrong. I promise I'll never skip class again!"
Commissar Xu and his wife have two children: their eldest daughter, Xu Xiaoyin, is ten years old, and their son, Xu Yongzhi, is eight years old.
Xu Xiaoyin looks very much like Xia Xiuxiu; both are cute girls who are delicate and petite. Her son, Xu Yongchuan, looks like Commissar Xu, tall and strong, but unlike Commissar Xu, he is not shrewd and looks a bit simple-minded.
The couple took their child's education very seriously. Because their son skipped school today, after dinner, they gave him a double beating.
After Xu Xiaoyin and Shen Mingzheng finished explaining, they covered their mouths and secretly laughed.
Seeing the two approaching, Xu Yongzhi ran over crying and shouting, "Uncle Chen, save me!"
He darted behind Shen Mingzheng, hiding behind the tall Uncle Shen, where he felt safer.
Commissar Xu and his wife were nearly driven mad with anger by him. They pointed at him and said, "Come here right now! If you don't come over by the time I count to three, you won't be sleeping tonight!"
Xu Yongzhi had no choice but to walk out with a long face and obediently accept his parents' double beating.
The couple beat him up, sent him back to his room to write a self-criticism, and then entertained Gu Xi and Shen Mingzheng.
Commissar Xu and Shen Mingzheng were partners. Before Gu Xi came, their family had already become familiar with Shen Mingzheng and often invited him to their home for meals, treating him as a close friend.
"I'm sorry, you all had to see this." Xia Xiuxiu said helplessly, "That child has actually learned to skip classes. If we leave him alone, who knows what will happen to him in the future. We have to give him a good beating so he'll be scared and won't dare to do it again."
Gu Xi didn't know what to say, so she smiled politely.
Shen Mingzheng wasn't one to meddle; he offered a word of advice and then said nothing more.
Shen Mingzheng handed over the things they brought and said, "These were sent by my mother today. Please try them."
Seeing that it was just some dried goods and nothing expensive, the couple didn't stand on ceremony with them.
Xu Xiaoyin poured water for them, sat down next to her mother, propped her chin up with her hands, and stared at Gu Xi across from her.
Gu Xi took a sip of water and asked, "Sister-in-law Xia, are you going to the market in town tomorrow? It's my first time going, and I don't know the way. If you're going, I'd like to go with you."
Xia Xiuxiu laughed and said, "Of course I'm going! I was planning to go anyway, and I specially switched shifts with someone tomorrow so we can go together."
There are many people in the military but few jobs, and most of the family members in the family compound are unemployed.
However, Xia Xiuxiu is different. She is a teacher at a military kindergarten. She seems straightforward, but she is actually very meticulous and knows how to take care of children. All the children in the kindergarten like Teacher Xia very much.
It was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the town market was sure to be bustling. Since she was short of a lot of things at home, she specially switched shifts with someone so she could go and buy some things.
Since Gu Xi rarely came over, Xia Xiuxiu pulled her aside to talk. Because their husbands were business partners, Xia Xiuxiu wanted to build a good relationship with Gu Xi so as not to embarrass her husband and affect their work.
Before Gu Xi arrived, she was worried that Commander Shen's wife would be difficult to get along with, but it turned out that she was worrying unnecessarily.
Although Gu Xi looks like a pampered young lady from the city, she is quiet and gentle. She listens patiently to anyone who talks to her and never looks down on anyone. Even some eccentric older women love to talk to her.
After the two talked for a while, Xia Xiuxiu saw her daughter propping her face up and staring blankly at Gu Xi, so she couldn't help but slap her.
"What are you looking at, you silly child? How can you stare at people like that? That's so rude!"
Xu Xiaoyin covered the back of her head where her mother had slapped her and muttered, "I was looking at Aunt Gu. Aunt Gu is really beautiful... Mom, calling her Aunt Gu feels too old. Can I call her Sister Gu instead?"
Girls are powerless against beautiful older sisters. Xu Xiaoyin felt that she had never seen such a beautiful older sister in her life. She was amazed when she first saw her.
No matter how many times, she still thought Commander Shen's wife was very beautiful.
Xia Xiuxiu was amused by her: "If you call her Sister Gu, then you'd have to call your Uncle Chen 'brother'? Be careful your dad gets angry."
Even though he and Shen Mingzheng were of the same generation, his daughter's way of addressing him made it seem as if he were a generation older, which Political Commissar Xu wouldn't allow.
Xu Xiaoyin said disappointedly, "Okay."
She silently pleaded in her heart, "Isn't that enough?"
Sister Gu is so beautiful. Even though she usually wears the same white shirt and black pants, she looks better than other women.
After agreeing on a time to leave together the next day, Gu Xi got up and left.
By the time I got home, it was completely dark.
The two took a shower first, and then went to bed to rest.
Before going to bed, Shen Mingzheng held her hand and gave her a long talk, saying, "If you're tired, find a place to rest. Don't push yourself. If you feel unwell, tell Aunt Xia and the others..."
After arriving at the military base, it was the first time she went out, and he was very worried about her.
Gu Xi was quite surprised that he, who was usually so quiet, was so talkative.
In front of outsiders, he was always concise and to the point, never rambling on, giving people a cold, stern, and unapproachable impression. However, in front of her, as long as she spoke to him, no matter what she asked, he would answer gently and patiently. He wasn't exactly quiet, but it was quite rare for him to be so verbose as he was now.
How worried must he be about her?
After he finished rambling, Gu Xi finally said, "Big brother, don't worry, I understand! And I'm really not that fragile. When I was in high school, it was quite far from home, and I always went to school by myself. Besides taking the bus, I also had to walk a bit, which was much farther than going to town..."
Shen Mingzheng held her in his arms, remembering how she looked when she returned from taking Chief of Staff Gao's wife to the health station. How could he not worry?
Gu Xi cupped his face and kissed him several times, then looked at him with a smile, telling him not to worry.
Under the dim light, her eyes were brimming with a gentle, spring-like tenderness that touched the heart.
Shen Mingzheng held her head, pressing his lips hard against her soft lips until their breaths became unsteady. He then pulled her into his arms, his voice hoarse: "Sleep, you still have to go to town tomorrow."
I can't mess with her tonight!
**
Gu Xi slept until dawn. When she woke up, she realized it was getting late, so she quickly jumped out of bed and hurriedly got ready.
Then she went to the kitchen, ate some of the breakfast left in the pot, and hurriedly left with her bicycle.
Ye Fenghua next door was already waiting for her. Seeing her in such a hurry, she smiled and said, "Don't rush, don't rush. We don't need to be in a hurry. Take your time."
Unlike going to the city, where you have to get there early to wait for the bus, there's no need to rush like this.
Gu Xi wiped the sweat from her face and said apologetically, "I was afraid you'd have to wait too long."
It's never good to keep people waiting.
"No, I just finished washing clothes and doing housework too," she said with a smile, then added, "By the way, did you bring a basket rope? If you buy a lot of things, you can tie it to the car and pull it back."
Gu Xi said, "I brought a few cloth bags; we don't have a basket at home."
Ye Fenghua said, "You can definitely find baskets at the market. See if you need one. If you do, you can buy one. Baskets are quite useful."
As they talked, the two went to Political Commissar Xu's house to find Xia Xiuxiu.
Ye Fenghua and Xia Xiuxiu were not very familiar with each other. Their husbands were not in the same brigade and lived quite far apart. They did not interact much and had hardly spoken a word to each other.
Because of Gu Xi, the two of them got to know each other.
Xia Xiuxiu said, "I'll pick up Sister Ye. Gu Xi can come with me."
Gu Xi shook her head, "No need, I can carry her." It was she who insisted on taking Ye Fenghua to town; it was her idea. She couldn't very well let Xia Xiuxiu carry her, and it would be tiring to carry someone to town.
Finally, the two discussed it and decided that one of them would carry Ye Fenghua for half the journey.
The three set off on bicycles. Gu Xi took the first ride. She was strong and didn't mind carrying more people. With the bicycle as a means of transportation, she pedaled very fast.
Xia Xiuxiu couldn't catch up with her from behind, so she called out, "Gu Xi, slow down!"
Gu Xi slowed down and waited for her to ride over. She said apologetically, "Sister-in-law Xia, I'm used to riding around the family compound, so I go pretty fast."
That speed wasn't just fast, it was extremely fast; it was like it was about to take off.
Looking at Ye Fenghua again, she was gripping the back seat of the bicycle tightly with both hands, looking somewhat dazed. If she hadn't been holding on so tightly, she probably would have been thrown into the air.
Halfway through, Ye Fenghua finally breathed a sigh of relief as she sat on the back of Xia Xiuxiu's bicycle.
She patted her chest and said, "I've ridden on other people's bicycles before, but no one has ever ridden as fast as her. Even men can't ride as fast as her."
The speed was so fast, she thought she was going to fly away; it was terrifying.
Xia Xiuxiu looked at Gu Xi riding her bicycle ahead of her, relaxed and carefree, and agreed wholeheartedly, "That's right."
She looked so quiet and pretty, but who knew she could be so wild on a bicycle? You really can't judge a book by its cover.
Half an hour later, the three arrived in town.
This town is little known. The houses in the town are all gray and low, only one or two stories high. Three-story houses are rare. The town is also small, with only three main streets that crisscross each other, so that you can see the end of the town at a glance.
At this time, both sides of these three streets were already filled with stalls selling things.
Villagers from nearby towns would bring their own agricultural products to town early in the morning to set up stalls and earn some money to supplement their household income. Alternatively, some people from the commune or production brigade would bring handicrafts from the brigade to sell.
These are all permitted transactions and are not considered speculation.
There were also some food stalls on the street, selling local specialties, and the aroma of food wafted through the air.
The three of them went to park their bicycles.
The bicycle parking area is in a small shed, where there are people to look after it. You just need to pay a management fee, so you don't have to worry about your bicycle being stolen or deliberately damaged.
After parking the car, the three of them went to the town's supply and marketing cooperative to buy things.
The town's supply and marketing cooperative sells a wider variety of goods than the military base. This is partly because the town is close to the base, and family members often come here to buy things, so the town's supply and marketing cooperative has a more complete selection of goods to provide convenience for the families. Also, because the people in the town do not have the same spending power as military spouses, most of them are not willing to spend money.
Gu Xi went to look at the fabrics and found that the fabrics in the town were indeed more varied in pattern.
She picked out several fabrics, felt they were suitable, and readily took out her fabric coupons and money to buy them.
Ye Fenghua felt very distressed when she saw the cloth coupons she took out. She pulled her aside and whispered, "Why are you spending this money? It's not worth it. If you want to buy cloth, you can go to the textile factory. They have some flawed cloth there, almost the same material, for half the price and coupons."
Although it's a defective fabric, it's just that the printing pattern is a bit off, but the fabric itself is good and the price is much cheaper.
People with connections like to buy defective fabrics.
Gu Xi wasn't stupid, and asked, "Sister-in-law Ye, you know people from the textile factory?"
“I wouldn’t say we know each other, it’s just that someone in my family works at a textile factory,” Ye Fenghua said, a look of envy on her face.
A job at the town's textile factory is a secure, stable job; having such a position is considered very respectable.
Gu Xi didn't ask any further questions and said, "Okay, next time I need to buy fabric, I'll trouble you for help, sister-in-law."
Ye Fenghua smiled and said, "Okay, leave it to me."
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