Fabric, sugar, seasonings, shoes.
Zhao Qinglan worked tirelessly, moving between various counters.
When she and Wu Mei finally met up, both of them were carrying a lot of things, but Zhao Qinglan had bought much more than Wu Mei.
Although Sun Shengli, as a regimental commander, had a higher rank and longer service in the military, earning more than Li Huai, he was not as well-off as Li Huai.
Li Huai's family does have elders, but putting aside his strained relationship with his biological father and stepmother, given his father Li Zhenhua's treatment and circumstances, he doesn't need his son to contribute money or help him at all.
Li Huai's allowance is only needed to support his family.
Wu Mei was somewhat surprised to see that Zhao Qinglan had bought so much.
"Qinglan, even though your Li Huai is getting a stipend, you still need to be careful with how you spend it. If you spend it all this time, how will you get by in the remaining days?" she said kindly.
Zhao Qinglan smiled. "Sister-in-law, don't worry. I bought a lot this time mainly because we were short of a lot of things at home. Now that I've got everything ready, I won't buy as much in the future."
"As long as you have a plan, that's fine." Wu Mei was much relieved.
"Sister-in-law, I'll leave the things with you for now. Please keep an eye on them while I go find Da Wa and the others."
"Okay, go ahead." Wu Mei waved her hand.
The supply and marketing cooperative had three floors, so Zhao Qinglan quickly started looking for it.
One floor, none.
Another layer, not yet.
She searched all three floors but couldn't find a single child. Zhao Qinglan was so panicked that her hands started to tremble.
Nothing can happen, nothing can happen to the children. Xiaoduo's disappearance is a shadow that will haunt her for the rest of her life. If all three children were to die together, she probably wouldn't be able to live on.
When Zhao Qinglan ran to the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative and saw three little ones standing next to Wu Mei, she almost burst into tears.
Once she grabbed her daughter, she couldn't help but slap her back hard a few times.
"Why are you running around like that? Do you know you scared your mother to death?"
Xiaoduo was hurt by her mother's beating, and feeling scared and wronged, she bit her lip and sobbed.
"Mom, I... I was wrong. I won't do it again."
When Da Wa saw Xiao Duo crying after being hit, he immediately rushed over and stood in front of her.
"If you want to hit someone, hit me, not your sister."
Zhao Qinglan paused for a moment, but showed no mercy and slapped Da Wa hard on the back a few times as well.
"As the older brother, you should take good care of your younger siblings. Have I ever told you not to run around?"
The eldest child was hit, but he didn't cry. He just muttered, "I did."
"Do you know you're wrong?"
"knew."
Although Erwa had witnessed Zhao Qinglan's power and strength, those were all for outsiders. Zhao Qinglan had always been very gentle with them.
When Erwa suddenly saw her scolding and hitting someone, he was so frightened that he shrank behind Wu Mei.
"Qinglan, Qinglan, why are you hitting them?"
Wu Mei quickly grabbed her.
Zhao Qinglan stopped and looked at Wu Mei before tears streamed down her face.
“Sister-in-law, you don’t know, I searched the whole place just now and couldn’t find them. I thought they were lost. Tell me, if I lost all three children while I was out here, how could I live?”
She was genuinely worried and anxious.
Seeing her like this, Wu Mei finally understood why she was reacting so strongly, and sighed to comfort her, "It's alright, it's alright, they're all fine now."
Even though Zhao Qinglan, his stepmother, had hit him, Da Wa was touched when he saw her cry because she was worried about them.
He raised his hand and tugged at Zhao Qinglan, whispering, "Mom, I know I was wrong, please don't cry."
Zhao Qinglan and Wu Mei were all stunned.
This is the eldest child, calling Zhao Qinglan "Mom" for the first time.
This also marks the beginning of Li Yansen's life, when he officially accepted Zhao Qinglan as his stepmother.
Wu Mei knew perfectly well how much Da Wa had resisted his stepmother and how much he had opposed Li Huai's remarriage.
This is also why she has always been worried about whether Zhao Qinglan and the two brothers, Da Wa and Da Wa, get along well.
Although Zhao Qinglan and Da Wa and Er Wa seem to be getting along well these days, that's all there is to it. Wu Mei thinks that Da Wa probably still has some resistance in his heart.
But now, when she heard Da Wa call Zhao Qinglan "Mom," Wu Mei understood that Da Wa had truly accepted Zhao Qinglan.
Zhao Qinglan also understood that Da Wa was very stubborn and once he made up his mind, it was difficult to change it.
If he's willing to call her "Mom" without any coercion, then it means he truly accepts her.
In an instant, her sadness dissipated, replaced by excitement and joy.
What seems like a misfortune may actually turn out to be a blessing in disguise; unexpectedly, a bad thing can turn into a good thing.
Carrying their purchases, they arrived at the meeting place.
Seeing how much Zhao Qinglan bought, some of the military wives present were moved, some were envious, and some secretly complained that she was wasting money and didn't know how to manage a household.
Zhao Qinglan didn't care what others thought; she just wanted to live her comfortable life.
There are still a few military wives who haven't arrived yet, and there's a place nearby where I can buy meat.
Zhao Qinglan asked Wu Mei to watch the child and the belongings, and she ran over.
When she returned, she had two large pig trotters and a piece of pig's head meat in her hands.
The supply of meat in the military's food stores is usually not very sufficient, let alone pork trotters and pig's head meat.
Seeing her buy these things, the three children were naturally happy. The second child even forgot that he had been frightened by Zhao Qinglan and started drooling as he looked at the still-raw pig's trotters.
At the supply and marketing cooperative, Zhao Qinglan bought quite a few seasonings that she didn't have at home before. Although it wasn't a complete set, it was enough to make braised pig's trotters and a delicious cold pig's head dish.
Zhao Qinglan is human too, and she has cravings too. If she has the means to improve things, she would like to try her best to do so.
She used to love eating cold pork head salad. Although it's not really appropriate to eat cold dishes on such a cold day, she couldn't resist the pork head meat when she saw it while buying pig's trotters.
Is it just the lack of seasonings? She pondered. Too few people use these seasonings now. Next time she has the chance, she will go to other places to look for them. Many seasonings are actually Chinese medicinal herbs. If the supply and marketing cooperative and the food store don't have them, other places might have them too.
However, she doesn't know where to buy Chinese medicinal herbs now, so she'll ask someone when she gets back.
Once they got back on the bus, there were fewer students, making the space much more spacious. Otherwise, they would have been really worried about all the things they had bought.
On the way there, the three children were excited, but on the way back, they all became sleepy shortly after getting in the car.
The eldest child thought he hadn't slept well because he couldn't go into the city, while the second child and Xiaoduo were excited and exhausted because they were small.
Zhao Qinglan held Xiaoduo, Wu Mei held Erwa, and Dawa leaned against the wall. Everyone started to rest and take a nap.
They were woken up by the wives of soldiers in the same vehicle.
After returning home with her belongings, Zhao Qinglan had just sat down when she heard Wu Mei calling her from across the wall.
"Qinglan, Qinglan, hurry, your phone!"
Why did her sister-in-law sound so anxious? Zhao Qinglan replied, "Coming!" and immediately ran out.
After receiving the phone, she had just said, "It's me."
On the other end of the phone, Sui Wenjing said anxiously, "Qinglan, something terrible has happened! Something's happened to your family!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
