In the room, Zhou Jiao was holding her son and reciting the Three Character Classic. When she saw Zhang Guoqing come in, covered in dirt, she smiled and said to the child, "Ping'an, look who this is? Why does he look like a beggar? Our little baby understands, right? Ping'an, I'm your mother, and that's your father. Look at your father, and ask him where he came from? Is he so fat?"
Zhang Guoqing shook his head helplessly. He knew she really couldn't lie down. She hadn't taken good care of herself during the confinement period, and she didn't know what would happen in the future.
"Why don't you lie down? Your arms will get tired if you hold them like this."
"It's okay. I just held her to feed her and will put her down soon. Are we coming down from the mountain? Are we going to the county town in a hurry? Do you want to eat something before we go?"
Zhang Guoqing found his clothes and pants, took his toiletries, shook his head and said, "We are all back from the mountain. We are so lucky today. I didn't expect to encounter a herd of deer by the stream. We killed six wild deer, three spores, and a goat. We have one more goat for the three families. There are six pheasants in the bamboo basket under the eaves. I picked them out and killed them for you to supplement your diet. Time is tight, and I don't have time to take the eggs when I see them. I will take you there after you have finished your confinement. I will clean up the pheasants when I come back." After that, he left in a hurry.
After he left, Zhou Jiao carried her son back to the inner room. She coaxed him down onto the kang. She opened a secret compartment in the closet, pulled out a cardboard box, and returned to the kang to open it. She discovered the bicycle and watch tickets inside were invalid after the end of the year. Having checked the dates last time, she probably hadn't paid much attention to these tickets.
She hesitated for a moment, then poured it out and looked again to see if there were any expired bills. Her mother had given her all the bills before she left. Since she hadn't left the house, Zhang Guoqing had been using them all the time, and she hadn't noticed what bills were there.
Nowadays, aside from the three major items—grain coupons, cloth coupons, and sugar coupons—they don't need any other coupons. Some management isn't strict. For example, the cotton coupons they have are all from the provincial capital, so they can buy them directly from the county at a high price. Her mother said they didn't ask for cotton coupons yesterday, and they don't need cloth coupons for homespun cloth either.
Zhou Jiao carefully sorted the bundles. These would be used back in the city. The food coupons she had were all national coupons, probably left behind by her mother. She also had to prepare some for Zhang Guoqing to take to a restaurant today. She looked at the food coupons in her hand with a pang of pain.
Finally, she pulled out the bicycle and watch tickets and tossed them aside. She didn't feel bad about the tickets at all. She already had two watches, and she didn't feel comfortable giving the inferior one to her mother-in-law, so she just tossed them in the drawer. As for giving them away, well... she really hadn't thought about that.
Looking at the coats in the closet, she realized that Zhang Guoqing really had no clothes. Thinking about the fabrics on hand, she decided to make a few coats for her father while he was at home. She believed in her craftsmanship and would not look down on ordinary ones.
Aside from their wedding dress, all the clothes in their closet were old, bleached, or patched. That was the case with her four new coats hanging there. She had plenty of clothes, too. She also had several designer coats in her space, all classic styles. She wasn't used to fancy clothes, so she planned to wear them back in Beijing.
Unfortunately, some of Zhang Guoqing's coats hadn't been stored in her space back then. Now, the only things she'd seen that were new and unworn were the two large down jackets and wool sweaters she'd bought for him while shopping. But she didn't dare take them out.
Zhou Jiao glanced at her son, who was still quietly lying on the kang. She pulled out a down jacket and wondered if she should tear it apart and add some cotton. That wouldn't be noticeable, right? With a few changes to the style, it would be just the right warmth for this freezing winter.
When Zhang Guoqing came back, he saw Zhou Jiao trying on a down jacket and hurried over to take a look. "When did you buy this? Is there anything else underneath that belongs to me? Don't you know that military coats are warm, but they're so heavy?"
Zhang Laoer was not there at the time, otherwise he would have spit in his face.
"I plan to alter this black one, add some thin cotton inside, and improve the shape. You see it's very thick, I originally bought it for you to wear when you worship your ancestors in the cold weather. And this brown one is even better looking, I can't bear to alter it, so I'll keep it for when you go to a big city. You rarely keep your clothes here. The ones I bought later are all in there, and sometimes I put them in there before the season is over. But it doesn't fit, and you can tell the craftsmanship is very high-end." Zhou Jiao casually put a pile of clothes on the kang.
Zhang Guoqing nodded after hearing this, flipped through the clothes, looked at them, and shook his head. "Don't alter them, wear them later. They're all good, put them away quickly. Son, do you understand? Darling, these will be suitable for you to wear when you grow up, haha."
Zhou Jiao put away the pile of clothes, touched the down jacket, and decided to alter it. Her current skills were no problem. But she didn't plan to tell him, otherwise he would stop her and stop her from doing it.
"Hurry up and get out. Second brother must be waiting impatiently. Take all the receipts on the kang. Give him the bicycle and watch tickets. We don't need them. Oh, and the bicycles at the Friendship Mall are cheaper than in the county town. If you're going to the provincial capital, take the overseas remittance coupons."
Zhang Guoqing shook his head. "Forget it, let's give him the ticket and let him buy it himself. We can keep the overseas remittance coupons for our own use to avoid the trouble of finding someone to exchange them. Besides, it will be troublesome to buy them back. I'll keep the watch ticket and give it to my eldest sister when she warms up the house in a few days. She mentioned wanting to buy a watch before but couldn't find the ticket. I ignored her and planned to keep it for myself. Now that I'm wearing it on my wrist, this one is useless."
Zhou Jiao took the receipt and put it directly into the space. She asked curiously, "They said they would warm up the house a long time ago, why haven't they done anything for so long? I thought they didn't want to do it anymore."
"Haha, they are in a hurry to move in. My brother-in-law has told me at least three times that he would treat us to a housewarming dinner, and we are about to move into the new house, but he still hasn't moved. But this time it should be soon. It seems that there is something going on with my brothers at home, and I didn't ask carefully. Mother told us three brothers not to give gifts. Wait for you to go to the yard in the county town and take a look. There are a lot of old things there, pick some for your eldest sister. They are all good things piled up in the warehouse. Dad said that they are for you to give away. Haha... Didn't Aunt Cheng bring home a lot of military supplies? Dad told Mom to give things from the warehouse in the future, and keep the new ones for you." Zhang Guoqing laughed after he finished speaking. He had seen the pots and bowls in the kitchen, which were better than those at home.
Zhou Jiao shook her head. "Don't give them away. Let's see if those porcelain bowls are antiques. After Mom and Dad leave, I'll pick out some useful ones. I'll let Mom take a look at the rest and decide. The last time Mom bought a lock, she was upset for several days. If we just give it away, she'll probably be angry. By the way, when you go to the county town, remember to see if the lock is there. Bring it back to Mom and let her know what she wants to lock it with."
Zhang Guoqing ruffled her hair with amusement. "Okay, I'll listen to you. We'll talk about it later. The things are piled up in the warehouse and Mom will go and see them herself. If you hadn't told me, I really forgot to check if the vase in the study was an antique. I don't think Dad paid attention to these details either. This time I really went to check the pickle jar, maybe it was Yuan Dynasty blue and white porcelain. I'm leaving now, you should take care to rest."
Zhou Jiao laughed out loud. She didn't expect that he took her joke seriously. Watching Zhang Guoqing leave, she thought and smiled again. If there were any more antiques, the house would be given away for free.
She turned on the phonograph and played a song for her son. Zhou Jiao took the sewing basket from the outer room and returned to the inner room, where she sat humming a tune and busying herself with her work.
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