Around three o'clock in the evening, a car drove slowly and stopped at the gate of Zhang's house at the foot of Beishan Mountain. Xizi had just woken up and was very excited to see his home. He first greeted Lin Lishan, then hurried into the yard, shouting for his grandmother. He knew that everyone in the family had gone to work, so he called his grandmother to come out and move things.
Lin Lishan looked around and saw that there was no one around, so she went upstairs to move the things and returned to Zhou Jiao's room in the west wing. Without saying anything to Zhou Jiao, she went out and moved the things from the car back with Zhang's mother who had rushed over after hearing the news.
Zhou Jiao watched her mother coming in and out, and guessed that she had a lot of things. When she saw them come in, she quickly asked them to take a break first and put the things in the car so that no one would dare to go back and steal them.
Lin Lishan took the warm water and drank it, then shook her head. "It's not a lot. I bought small, inconspicuous items, so I brought them all in. The radio is the big one, so you can listen to it while you're in confinement. The things in Friendship Mall are indeed much cheaper than outside. As for the other things, you don't have to get up to look at them. Just lie back and relax. I'll sort them out later and you'll see. I've also bought all the necessities."
After that, he opened each package, took out the contents and put them into the wardrobe and box one by one. When they were full, he was stunned, looked at the pile of packages on the ground, and patted his head.
Zhang's mother had been opening her mouth wide, as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself from saying it. Seeing her actions, she burst into laughter and pointed to the cabinet.
The two of them worked together to lift a few pieces of cloth and put them on top, and placed the radio. Seeing this, Zhang's mother shook her head and kept nagging her in-laws not to buy any more in the future.
Zhou Jiao watched with great interest at first, but gradually became silent, winking at her mother. Fortunately, Lin Lishan understood and didn't open the remaining packages, but directly filled the outer cabinets and boxes.
In the end, what is left is just side dishes and pastries.
Zhou Jiao noticed two packages in the corner. "Mom, where did those two packages come from? Why is one of them so big?"
Lin Lishan knew immediately that it was from Fang Jianmei; she had forgotten about it. She dragged two packages in the middle, making Zhou Jiao's eyes twitch. Opening them, she found two military coats, two pairs of boots, and three army bags. Another smaller package contained two cans of malted milk, a piece of fabric, and about a pound of wool, with a piece of red paper carefully placed on top.
Zhou Jiao looked at her mother in confusion. Putting down the red paper meant that people had to exchange favors.
Lin Lishan smiled and said, "This is a gift from Xiaofei's aunt Fang Jianmei. Her niece plans to join the Beijing Art Troupe, so you can take it with confidence. We usually have an average relationship, but this time it's up to me to make the final decision. Xiaowu will tell you the details when he comes back."
After saying that, seeing that she understood, he didn't explain any further.
Zhou Jiao watched as her mother took out a piece of wrapper and put a lot of candy and cakes inside. She also stuffed books into the military bag and put a pencil on Xizi's back.
Lin Lishan looked at the gifts for the children and said to Xizi, "Put the military bag in your own room first. Then come to grandma after you put it away. You can arrange the gifts for your younger brothers and sisters. Grandma will give them all to you." After that, she pushed him out.
Xizi really loves his beautiful grandma, who actually thought of hiding the military bag for him first.
The little guy hid secretly, went out to call his younger brothers and sisters back, and brought them back to Zhou Jiao's room.
Looking at them shouting and yelling, he warned them with a stern face: "Whoever is not good will not get a gift. You must thank grandma first later." Seeing that they were obedient, he nodded like little adults.
Lin Lishan wasn't in a hurry to pack up; she was contemplating where to install the coal stove in the outer room. After discussing it with Zhang's mother, she discovered that Zhang Guoqing had taken this into consideration when remodeling the new house, having already planned the ventilation holes and even installed the pipes.
She heaved a sigh of relief. "Jiaojiao. I have three hundred overseas remittance coupons left, plus the three hundred Fang Jianmei gave me. I'll keep them all for you. When you're out of confinement, go check it out yourself. They have good things there. I bought two stoves, one using coal and one using alcohol. The alcohol stove can be used in the room. I'll try it later."
The coal stove should be placed in the outer room. When Xiaowu returns, we'll have him install this one in the outer room. In the winter, we can cook food and boil water, and even if we open the small doors of the two rooms, it'll still be warm. We have 300 kilograms of coal tickets, so we won't have to worry about running out of coal this winter. Just keep the stove running when you're free, and the temperature inside will rise."
Lin Lishan disassembled the coal stove. This one is more exquisitely made than the common ones on the market, and the sealing gate is designed to be easy to push with less strength.
Zhang's mother quickly said, "Sister, there's no need to wait for Xiaowu to come back. Ask his brother to help set up the stove first. We can stew something and keep it there. You don't have to worry about Jiaojiao being hungry late at night. She can eat whenever she wants. Ask his father to borrow an ox cart to buy some coal briquettes in the city."
Lin Lishan nodded happily. Seeing Xizi finally come in, she handed him all the gifts she'd prepared for the children, asking him to share them with his siblings. Mother Zhang, unable to intervene, anxiously urged him not to give them to the children, but Zhou Jiao and her daughter persuaded her to give up. Meanwhile, Xizi was distributing gifts and recounting his experiences in the provincial capital, much to the children's amusement.
After chatting for a while, it was time to prepare dinner. Zhang's mother took Xizi and the others out, leaving Zhou Jiao and her daughter inside.
After Zhou Jiao watched her mother pack up, she couldn't help but ask her, "Mom, you bought so much, and you're driving, aren't you tired? Take a rest first. Is Xiaowu okay there?"
Lin Lishan sat down and looked at her with a smile. "Very good. He told me today that you can rest assured that he will be back in a few days. Your grandfather took him to the military area to meet people last night and praised him. He adapted very well and performed well."
Zhou Jiao felt relieved upon hearing this. She watched her mother packing two small packages, her eyes twitching. Who was she planning to send them to? If she was right, she was planning to prepare gifts for both her sisters-in-law.
"Mom, you won't give the military coat and bag to Xiaowu's two sisters, right? Keep them for me."
Lin Lishan laughed heartily and rolled her eyes at her stingy daughter. "Don't you and Xiaowu already have military coats? Give them to them anyway. I was planning to give them that anyway. I didn't prepare any gifts for them, but I thought of it when I saw them yesterday. This way they each get one, and it's fair. There's no need to be reluctant to part with two military coats. When yours is worn out, I'll give you a new one. Ask your father-in-law to bring it over tomorrow, along with some fabric and candy. I bought a lot of fabric today, so give away any you don't like."
Lin Lishan took out all the scattered fabrics.
Zhou Jiao looked at each one and frowned, saying, "Forget it. These fabrics are all good. Let's save them for later use. I have some wool yarn, so how about giving each of them a pound of wool? They both have textile factories, so they're not short of cloth coupons. Can you pick out some good wool yarn and help me take a look?"
Lin Lishan looked at her speechlessly. Yesterday, she had met Zhang Meili and her sister, and even their children. How could she not have realized that their family had no shortage of fabric? Seeing her ingratiating smile, she thought, forget it, it's better to listen to her own Jiaojiao. The gift was originally given for her, otherwise who would she know?
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