"Got it, Mom!"

Chang'an Changning nodded obediently, licked the popsicle, smiled, his eyes narrowed into crescents, and his face was full of satisfaction.

“So sweet.”

"It's icy and delicious."

Shen Huanxi smiled and touched the two girls' heads. They were furry and felt a bit like stroking a cat.

"Come on, mom will take you for a walk again."

"good!"

The 1980s was a time of rapid economic development, and all kinds of new things appeared on the market like mushrooms after rain.

Chang'an and Changning, two little greedy cats, kept their eyes on the various snacks.

Spicy tofu skin, nine-process preserved plums, calcium milk biscuits, orange soft candy... These snacks that were rarely seen before the reform and opening up are now ubiquitous in stores, street stalls, and on the shoulders of traveling merchants.

There are also shops selling various toys, daily necessities, paintings and calligraphy, and other sundries.

"Chang'an and Changning, if you want anything, just tell mom and she will buy it for you."

"Okay." The two girls nodded, but they followed Shen Huanxi around in circles, just looking at everything. They seemed interested in everything, but they didn't ask for anything.

Shen Huanxi saw children's hats and scarves for sale at a small stall, so she squatted down to choose.

Xiao Shanhe bought clothes for Chang'an and Changning, and she also had to buy gifts for Tangtang and Zhengzheng.

But she didn't know how tall she was, so she was afraid of buying clothes and shoes that didn't fit her. Elastic woolen hats and scarves were just right.

This was the era when the state-owned economy had just begun to develop into a market economy. There were not many counterfeit and inferior products, and the things sold in the market were of genuine quality. Even the things sold on the street stalls were genuine and of reasonable price.

Shen Huanxi picked out a blue hat and scarf for Tangtang Zhengzheng, and also picked out gloves for the two children.

After making my selection, I wanted to ask Chang'an Changning to come over and choose as well, but I saw Changning staring intently at the colored pens and drawing paper on a stationery stall next to me.

Just then, a mother came with her five or six-year-old daughter to buy a set of colored crayons, and Changning looked envious.

"Changning, what do you want? Just pick it and Mom will buy it for you."

Changning shook his head.

"Mom, I don't want it."

Shen Huanxi pursed her lips. She knew that Changning definitely wanted it. Children are innocent and their preferences are written on their faces. How could she not see it?

Chang'an and Changning were like this in my previous life. No matter what I liked or what I liked, I would not buy it even if it was not expensive.

When she was at the Su family, it was she who earned the money. Su Chaoyang and his mother lived off her and never complained about Chang'an and Changning spending money, always accusing them of wasting it. As a result, the two children became stingy in everything they did.

She thought the child's habits were developed in the Su family, but it turned out that he was already like this when he was in the Feng family.

Shen Huanxi felt guilty and distressed, and pulled Changning to the stationery stall.

"Changning, Mommy will buy you a set of colored pencils and a piece of drawing paper, okay? Changan, come over and pick some too, Mommy will buy them for you."

Chang'an and Changning were somewhat tempted, but still a little hesitant.

"Your brother Xiao Yutang is already in the first grade. He can read and write. You should also buy stationery and study hard, otherwise he will laugh at you in the future." Shen Huanxi said again.

Chang'an Changning then nodded.

Finally, Changning chose a set of twelve colored pencils and a drawing paper, while Changan chose a plant atlas, a notebook, and a black pencil.

Shen Huanxi also bought a pencil sharpener and an eraser for each of the two children before paying, spending a total of thirty-two cents.

The two children held the newly bought stationery and couldn't let it go. Shen Huanxi's eyes were a little red.

These two children have loved studying since they were young. If their childhood experiences had not ruined their lives, they would definitely have been promising children.

She also had to transfer Chang'an Changning's household registration to the Xiao family as soon as possible. Changning was seven years old and it was time for him to enter the first grade.

Shen Huanxi took them back to the hat stand.

"Each of you choose a hat, pick your favorite color. Your cousin and brother have one, and you should have one too."

Shen Huanxi had already said this, so Changan Changning squatted down to choose.

Changan chose a light yellow one, Changning chose a pink one, and Shen Huanxi paid for the hats he had chosen.

The stall owner heard her conversation with the child and looked envious.

"What about the four children?"

"Yeah." Shen Huanxi didn't explain too much. Anyway, after marrying Xiao Shanhe, she would indeed have four children.

"I'm so jealous. Now we have family planning. A couple can only have one child. You gave birth too early. You can have so many children. You wouldn't be able to do that now. More children means more blessings. You are such a happy woman."

Shen Huanxi shook his head.

"It's better to have fewer children, so that you can have more energy to take care of them and accompany them. If you have too many children, it's easy to neglect their growth."

"Hey, you're saying that because you've given birth. If you couldn't give birth, you would still say that."

Shen Huanxi smiled and didn't say much. They had different ideas and could not communicate.

And how could others know her guilt towards Chang'an and Changning? She would spend more energy taking care of her children in her life.

…

There was nothing to prepare for the second marriage. Shen Huanxi went home to get her household registration book, and then went to the Civil Affairs Bureau with Xiao Shanhe.

The marriage rate was still very high in that era. The two went to the Civil Affairs Bureau early in the morning and waited in line for a long time. It was not until almost noon that they received the marriage certificate.

Shen Huanxi held the big red book in her hand. It was a guarantee for Chang'an and Changning. She would take the child away from the dusty Taolin Village soon.

She was leaving home with nothing. Many of her clothes and things from Chang'an and Changning were taken away by Yao Cuihong. She didn't have much luggage to move, and most of it had been taken to the Xiao family by Pan Jianguo last time.

Therefore, there is nothing to bring back to the village. Just bring Chang'an and Changning.

But Xiao Shanhe still arranged a tractor for her. It has more power than a car, so it doesn't have to be parked at the entrance of the village like Pan Jianguo's car. It can be driven to her yard and can hold things and people.

Shen Huanxi moved the remaining luggage onto the tractor, and the mother and daughter brought a small stool and sat in the back cargo box.

The village road was difficult to navigate, so they drove very slowly before leaving the village. Villagers working in the fields saw them and shouted at them.

"Chang'an and Changning, you and your mothers are going to marry and move to the city to live a good life."

"You are wearing new clothes that your new father bought for you. You look very energetic. Your new father treats you very well."

"Is the new father better, or is your old father better?"

Chang'an Changning looked down at her new clothes, and thought of how Feng Shenghui usually scolded them as "money-losing bastards", so she decisively shouted, "Hello, new daddy."

The villagers laughed.

"It seems like your new dad is really good to you."

"No matter how good she is, she is not as good as mom. I am your biological mother." Shen Huanxi continued to shout.

The tractor was very noisy, and she spoke at the top of her voice, as if she was afraid that others couldn't hear her.

The farmers in the fields laughed again.

"Oh, happy, you are still standing here jealous."

Shen Huanxi shook his head.

"No, after all, Comrade Xiao is not their biological father, so how can we just count on him? I am their biological mother, and I am the closest person to them in this life no matter what."

After hearing what Shen Huanxi said, Chang'an Changning nodded like a chick pecking at rice and leaned on Shen Huanxi.

"Mom is the person closest to us."

Shen Huanxi was satisfied after hearing this.

The villagers still said.

"But no matter what, Comrade Xiao is willing to treat Chang'an and Changning well, which is a good thing for you."

Shen Huanxi smiled at them, this was undeniable.

Taolin Town is not very far from the city, especially from Guixiang Village, only five or six kilometers away, and the tractor quickly took them there.

When she first arrived in the city, Shen Huanxi thought that Xiao Shanhe was so thoughtful, and she couldn't go to the Xiao family empty-handed. Giving a formal gift would not count, but that would be a reciprocity.

So he asked the driver to go to Xiao's house first, and she took Chang'an and Changning to the vegetable market first.

This was Chang'an Changning's second time in the city, and he still looked around curiously.

After buying a few pounds of apples from the vegetable market, Shen Huanxi took Changan Changning towards the hardware factory.

The last time I brought Changan and Changning to the provincial capital, we went to the market. The hardware factory here is more like a living area, and Changan and Changning saw a different scene again.

It was summer vacation, and the children had not yet started school. The streets were full of children playing.

The little boys lay on the ground playing with glass beads and spinning tops, while the girls played skipping rope, catfishing, shuttlecock and kickball together.

Chang'an and Changning looked here and there, curious about everything. It turned out that the children in the city were indeed different from those in the village. The children in the village now only knew how to play in the pile of sorghum stalks or play in the mud.

Shen Huanxi touches the child's head.

"Chang'an, Changning, we will live here from now on. You can see all these beautiful and interesting things as soon as you leave your home. You don't have to take a car to come here like before."

"Yeah!" Chang'an and Changning nodded. It was obvious that they liked the city very much.

The mother and her two daughters turned into an alley nearby, walked forward to the old locust tree, turned another corner, and walked forward for another twenty or thirty meters before they reached Xiao Shanhe's house.

I don’t know how Chang’an and Changning will react when they go to their “new home”. I heard that Xiao Shanhe’s two sons are at home now. I don’t know what those two children are like and how they will react when they see them.

Just as I was thinking about it, I suddenly heard the voices of a group of little boys coming from the front, noisy and mixed with the crying of children.

Shen Huanxi saw several children aged eight or nine trying to snatch a book from a three or four-year-old boy. A child aged seven or eight wanted to help the boy, but the book was still snatched away by the older children.

The older children snatched the books and laughed.

"Sissy! You're still reading comics! Sissy!"

"Let me see, ah ha ha! It's really a painting! You really are just like a girl, looking at things that only girls look at! Sissy, sissy!"

"You look like a girl and like the same things as girls. You are a sissy! So embarrassing, sissy."

…