Two-in-one
Qin Yao started to bring her two children to work. The two children were over two years old, so it was not troublesome to take them there by car. The cultural center was large like other units, and it had its own yard for employees' families. There was a security guard guarding the door, so there was no need to worry about the children getting lost when they were brought into the unit.
At this time, the children of employees' families were left alone in the company. More than a dozen children of different ages gathered together to play. Young children aged two or three could not blend in with the group of children, but they could still watch the older children play.
In addition, there is a three-story library in the cultural center. There is a children's picture room on the first floor, which is open to the public free of charge, which is very convenient for Qin Yao to take her children to look at pictures and learn to read.
Not far from the library building is the Art Activity Building, which houses various art activity rooms, calligraphy rooms, musical instrument rooms, dance rooms... There are young teachers teaching inside. The musical instrument room at this moment happens to be teaching Hulusi to external students, and the registration fee is only two yuan.
Qin Yao bought a small Hulusi for the two children, and when she was free, she would accompany the two children to Hulusi lessons.
Hulusi is a simple and easy-to-learn musical instrument. Most musical instruments are suitable for children aged five or six, and the Hulusi is similar. However, compared with instruments such as the pipa and flute, playing the Hulusi does not require any difficulty at all. For children, it is enough to be able to play it.
Children love to join in the fun. When Ruirui and Mingming saw people in a classroom playing the Hulusi, the two little brothers also held the Hulusi and played it while leaning their little bodies back and forth.
"Why are you just like a little mouse?" Qin Yao held her youngest son's chin and observed his little white teeth. This guy was about to bite his gourd mouth bald.
Qin Yao was quite worried that her son's teeth would grow crooked, but according to her observation, Xiao Mingming's upper and lower teeth were straight and there were no other problems.
Maybe this guy was born with a sharp mouth and teeth.
"Mom, I'm hungry."
Hungry little Mingming drooled on his mother's palm.
Qin Yao wiped her hands with a handkerchief and said, "I'll give you and your brother some biscuits when the time comes. Now drink some water first."
"Mom, I want to eat my brother."
Qin Yao: “…”
Ruirui sat down on the ground with a white paper and a pencil in his hands, and he was drawing with his little paws.
This eldest son was no pushover either. Aunt Deng at the cultural center raised more than a dozen ducklings, and this guy was always sure to catch one. All these fluffy little ducks followed Ruirui, and he led the ducklings into the ditch, making it difficult for Aunt Deng to find them.
"Xiao Qin, give these chicks to the two children to play with."
The elder uncles and aunts in the cultural center like these two little ones very much and they wish Qin Yao could bring them to the office more often. When many of their children were young, they would bring them to the office and ask the people in the same office to help take care of them.
"Thank you, and don't thank Auntie."
"Thank you, auntie."
In the family compound of the cultural center, many people living in the bungalows raise chickens. There are also pigs raised near the public toilet and an orchard. The cultural center does not raise many pigs, only four or five, and they are usually taken care of by Grandma Chen, who sweeps the floor. Grandma Chen is a relative of a small leader.
In order to bring the children to experience life, Qin Yao also assigned the two little ones to pick grass for the pigs. The two kids were very strong, and after Grandma Chen prepared the pig food, they followed her to feed the pigs.
Mingming, this little greedy cat, thinks rice bran smells so good that when Grandma Chen sifts the rice bran in, he wants to stretch out his finger to taste it.
“You can’t eat this!”
Granny Chen smiled and said, "You two children are so fair-skinned... I gave birth to seven, but only four survived. Children are greedy when they are young, so eating this is nothing. Be careful when children urinate or defecate, and don't let them taste urine."
"There are a few kids who eat shit. Hey, you've lived a lot, you've seen everything. Watch them more when they're young and don't let them eat shit."
Qin Yao: “…”
Listening to Grandma Chen talking about children made her scalp tingle. She taught the two little kids in a verbal instruction to wash their hands before meals and after defecation, and especially not to drink raw water.
Children born after 2000 have fewer parasites, but children born in the 1970s and 1980s had more parasites, and you could even see live worms falling out.
Children in the workplace pay more attention to hygiene, so fewer of them get parasites, but some do exist.
"You can't just bite people randomly, especially you, little Mingming."
Qin Yao's job at the cultural center is easy and her working hours are flexible. Bringing her two children to work has doubled her workload, but it is not too difficult. Except when she has to attend meetings and has to leave her children in the care of others, she can spend the rest of the time writing and accompanying her children.
Lan Baiyu would occasionally come to help her look after the children and play games with the two kids.
After following their biological mother to work for ten days, the two children have adapted well and are more active at work than their biological mother. They mainly play, "Mom! Mom! Go to work!"
Early in the morning, like the two little Zhou Baopi, he imitated the crowing of a rooster and urged Qin Yao to go to work quickly.
Gu Cheng hadn't left yet. When he heard the noises of the two children, he thought about these two kids and hoped that they would become workaholics when they grow up.
Ruirui and Mingming happily called their mother to go to work, but in the evening they were extremely reluctant to let her go. They waved their hands and went home in tears. Even though they got off work early, they still wanted to play in the mud in the orchard.
"Qin Yao, you're back? This is a homemade date and walnut sandwich for you." Gao Lili from the next door house saw Qin Yao and her two sons coming back, and hurriedly walked out of the yard with a basket, offering to deliver the gifts.
Although Gao Lili is talkative and narcissistic, she is surprisingly generous. She took the initiative to send a lot of things to Qin Yao's family, such as glutinous rice cakes, green dumplings, dried tofu... and other things.
The fruits at home that are not so fresh are also sent to the neighbors.
Qin Yao accepted her things and also gave her some biscuits and candies in return. The two families were not on close terms, but they still interacted with each other.
There are no flowers planted in Gao Lili's yard, but there are a lot of peppers, dragon fruit, and other onions and garlic. The dragon fruit is not growing well, but the peppers have green and juicy leaves.
"Try this date and walnut sandwich. The dates are very sweet, the walnuts are not bitter at all, and they are peeled very cleanly..." Gao Lili said as she took the initiative to show the back of her hand. Her orange-red nails shone with a rusty light in the sun.
She dyed her nails with Impatiens balsamina four times in total and applied Impatiens balsamina mud four times before she dyed them into this slightly golden color.
Qin Yao had already guessed Gao Lili's intention. She hesitated and asked, "Your hand?"
"I dyed it with Impatiens balsamina. It took me most of the day..." Gao Lili happily shared with her how she dyed her nails with Impatiens balsamina. Her greatest hobby in life is dressing herself up. After getting married, she doesn't have to work and spends all her free time on dressing up.
Gao Lili not only dyed her nails, she also drew her eyebrows, drew her eyeliner with charcoal pencil, and had a layer of white powder on her face.
"This thing won't stay for too long. If someone sees it, they'll blame me. These people's eyes are always on me. I don't understand why every time I do something random, they talk about me behind my back."
Qin Yao swallowed her saliva and looked at Gao Lili's orange-red gradient nails. She no longer dared to eat the walnut and date in her hand.
Comrade Xiao Qin now admires Gao Lili's husband the most. How could she tolerate this? She suspected that Gao Lili aged quickly, which was not only related to her bone structure, but also because she always put makeup on her body.
The skin around her eyes had become loose due to excessive use. She used homemade cosmetics, which were not as effective as the cheap student cosmetics she used to use. She also didn't have any makeup remover, so her skin became loose too quickly.
Gao Lili's look looks okay from a distance, but up close, she looks almost like a monster. The powder on her face is very obvious, and there is a dark spot at the corners of her eyes.
It’s no wonder that no matter what she does, everyone pays attention to her.
"You painted your nails a very dark color?" Qin Yao gave her a few tentative compliments. She was too embarrassed to openly say that she was not good at dressing herself up and pour cold water on others.
Many girls in the countryside use Impatiens balsamina to dye their nails, but most of them can only dye them into light colors. Gao Lili dyed hers into a distinct orange-red color, which probably took her several hours.
"Yes, it's obvious. I have a special method. Comrade Qin, do you want to dye your nails? I will help you dye your nails?" Gao Lili raised her eyebrows proudly.
"It's quite obvious, but I don't need to. Lili, I'm going to go home first. Ruirui, Mingming, children, come and wash your hands."
Comrade Xiao Qin quickly refused. She couldn't stand such nail color. Even if she wanted to do manicures, she liked bright red, or those with sequins, or other exquisite shapes. She refused such manicures.
Not as good as the original pink color.
Qin Yao called the children over to wash their hands and wipe their faces. The two kids became dirty every day after playing, so Qin Yao washed their paws and asked them to pick leaves to feed the chickens.
"Xiao Qin, if you don't like to dress up, you will age quickly in the future." Gao Lili stood outside the yard, looking at Qin Yao with her bare face. She felt sorry that Qin Yao was like those country girls who didn't know how to dress herself.
Qin Yao felt a little creepy when Gao Lili looked at her, and hoped that this guy would go to other sisters-in-law to spread the news.
Gao Lili stood at the door for a while, still not giving up showing off her newly painted nails in front of Qin Yao. From time to time, she raised her face and pointed her nails at Qin Yao, and her hands naturally formed orchid fingers.
Qin Yao pretended not to see anything. At this time, she had already understood the people around Gao Lili. This girl was up to no good every day, no wonder others always paid attention to her. However, everyone loves beauty, and it is human nature to like to dress up beautifully. It is understandable.
Gao Lili stood at the gate of the courtyard for a while, and finally waited for Gu Cheng to come back after a long time. She was not interested in seducing the husbands of other family members, but she liked to show off her dress to others.
Whether male or female.
"Captain Gu is back." Gao Lili took the initiative to greet him with a smile, putting her hands on her chest and naturally showing off her newly painted nails.
Gu Cheng, who was wearing a snow-white military uniform, frowned slightly. It was a surprise to see Gao Lili at the gate of his own yard, but her nails... Captain Gu was a little afraid to look at his own yard. Could it be that his wife also had such nails?
Women's aesthetic taste is really weird. As a grown man, he can't understand why dyed nails look good?
"Gu Cheng." Qin Yao called him.
Gu Cheng took off his hat and nodded.
Seeing this, Gao Lili continued to talk to Gu Cheng. Generally speaking, men were happy to talk to her. "Captain Gu, are you busy at work? You have been busy for two days. I know people like you are monotonous at work and you don't even see a young girl."
"Young girls talk in an interesting way. When we were in the hospital, we girls were so much fun."
…
"You guys chat."
Gu Cheng didn't say a few more words. He walked into his yard with a cool and aloof look, and then walked back to the house with big strides.
The smile on Gao Lili's face froze.
Qin Yao hurriedly said, "Xiao Gao, don't pay too much attention to these men. Our Captain Gu is not good at talking and doesn't like to chat."
"Don't be fooled by his young appearance. He sounds old-fashioned and will talk nonsense when he speaks."
Comrade Xiao Qin didn't say much else, but he did say a lot of things to smear and criticize Captain Gu. Anyway, it was just a casual chat.
Gao Lili didn't like hearing these words, so she found an excuse to go home.
Qin Yao returned to the room, and Gu Cheng, who had changed his clothes, followed her like a ghost. Qin Yao turned around, and Gu Cheng lifted her hand and checked her nails.
Qin Yao's nails were rosy and plump, with a small white crescent underneath, which was warm and beautiful. Seeing this, Captain Gu felt relieved.
"What's wrong with you? You want me to dye my nails too?" Qin Yao teased him.
Gu Cheng shook his head: "Please don't do that. Give me back my original wife."
Gu Cheng frowned. He had never expected that moving in a new neighbor next door would cause such trouble. What if one day when he returned home, his wife came to see him with flour on her face...
"I can't stand Gao Lili's dressing style. Don't worry, I won't learn from her."
Captain Gu breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this.
"Yaoyao, you look really pretty like this, like a lotus blooming in clear water."
The move of Gao Lili's family had little impact on Gu Cheng and his wife, but caused a sensation on Political Commissar Zhou's family. Political Commissar Zhou was extremely melancholy. It was a rare daytime return home, and when he saw Zaohua with claws and strange-colored nails, he thought he had seen a monster in broad daylight.
There was a fierce quarrel in Zhou's family. Qin Yao and his wife lived nearby, so they went to the neighboring house to mediate.
"Oh, you are already old. If you are ugly, don't imitate others. You put on makeup to look like a goblin. I thought you went back to the Black Wind Cave."
Political Commissar Zhou has a very sharp tongue and is not merciful at all.
Sister Zaohua's hair was disheveled, her temples were all messy, and there were tears in the corners of her eyes: "I am a demon, I am beautiful, bah, no matter how beautiful I am, I am not your wife, your wife is me, even if I am a centipede demon, you have to bear with me."
"I'm suffering? Why would I marry a centipede spirit, you old snake spirit?"
"You stupid ass."
…
The couple quarreled so badly that they almost got into a fight. Qin Yao and Gu Cheng each pulled one away. Qin Yao and Sister Zaohua returned to their room, leaving Political Commissar Zhou and Gu Cheng standing by the window. Political Commissar Zhou was smoking a cigarette with a melancholy look on his face.
He raised his eyes to look at Gu Cheng, feeling a little embarrassed that this guy had seen the situation at home.
Political Commissar Zhou coughed and said, "Captain Gu, you should be prepared in advance. After a decade of marriage, it is natural for a couple to become like me and your sister-in-law."
"When you two quarrel in the future, your sister-in-law and I will go and mediate."
Gu Cheng asked doubtfully: "Can't you say a few nice words to your wife?"
"Even if I've been married for more than ten years, I won't say Yaoyao is a snake spirit."
Captain Gu felt sad: only his wife despised him, but he did not despise his wife.
Political Commissar Zhou sighed and said in the tone of an experienced person: "Women are like this at this age. They are old and ugly, and it's annoying to look at them. You haven't gotten tired of looking at your own wife yet, so of course you don't understand."
Gu Cheng: "This is the first time I see my sister-in-law like this."
Political Commissar Zhou covered his forehead with his hands: "This is worse than usual..."
"As a husband, you should give sincere compliments."
Political Commissar Zhou gasped: "Your wife came home in such a state, and you can still sincerely praise her?"
Gu Cheng paused for a moment. He understood what was going on and suggested, "Then you should stop talking to the Shen family. Your sister-in-law might be jealous."
"The daughter-in-law of the Shen family, you mean Xiao Gao, right? She is really beautiful. She looks good no matter what she does. Your sister-in-law is just imitating her. If she doesn't feel ashamed, I do."
Gu Cheng looked at Political Commissar Zhou with an indescribable look.
"Why are you looking at me like that? It's pretty good that Xiao Gao can maintain this at his age. Your Xiao Qin might not be able to maintain the same state when he reaches that age."
"This Xiao Gao was definitely a beauty when she was young, and she will still be a beauty when she is old."
Gu Cheng had a strange expression on his face: "Commissar Zhou, how old do you think Xiao Gao is?"
"I call her Xiao Gao, but why are you calling her Xiao Gao? You should call her Sister Gao, or sister-in-law. Don't be disrespectful. Xiao Gao is probably around 40 years old, so she should be a few years older than you."
Gu Cheng: “…”
"She is older than your sister-in-law, but she can still maintain this appearance. It's really good. Captain Gu, you are still young, you don't understand. You will understand if you observe older women more. It's pretty good that Xiao Gao can maintain this appearance."
Gu Cheng was speechless and choked: "Comrade Gao is in his twenties, not even thirty yet."
"She is not much older than Yaoyao."
How "taken for granted" is the life that Political Commissar Zhou lives? If Gao Lili knew that Political Commissar Zhou thought she was in her forties, she would probably want to eat someone alive.
"She's only in her twenties." Political Commissar Zhou almost bit his tongue. "But why does she talk like those women who have been married for more than ten years?"
"A girl in her early twenties is quite shy."
Women who have been married for more than ten years are really powerful. In the countryside, middle-aged women are very good at telling dirty jokes.
Political Commissar Zhou thought that Gao Lili took the initiative to talk to him because they were the same age. He felt that a woman in her forties who could maintain this appearance was a great beauty.
How can we chat if we are not of the same age?
"Is she really in her twenties? Captain Gu, did you misunderstand? If she was so young, why would your sister-in-law be interfering here?"
Political Commissar Zhou didn't understand. Why would his wife compete with a young girl? Qin Yao didn't compete with her either. However, Xiao Qin and Xiao Gao didn't seem to be of the same generation.
Gu Cheng: “…”
You two are awesome!
Qin Yao didn't know about the conversation between the men outside. She was comforting Sister Zaohua in the house, dipping a towel in water and wiping her face. She held back her laughter and was a little confused as to why Sister Zaohua had to compete with Gao Lili.
Or was it because Political Commissar Zhou spoke too much to Gao Lili? This is also Political Commissar Zhou’s fault. He doesn’t know how to keep his distance.
Could it be that Political Commissar Zhou likes this kind of thing?
"Xiao Qin, do you also think I look ugly like this?" Sister Zaohua touched her face and said hesitantly.
Qin Yao: "Not ugly, but sister-in-law, your original appearance is more natural, and naturalness is beauty."
"You get old naturally, but others don't." Sister Zaohua muttered.
Qin Yao: "Why do you have to compete with Gao Lili?"
"He said that Gao Lili is so old but still looks so beautiful, and he despises me for not caring about my image. I just dressed up, and he laughed at me for imitating others."
Qin Yao: “…”
Qin Yao: "Gao Lili is only three or four years older than me, so she's not too old, right?"
Sister Zaohua was stunned: "?"
Sister Zaohua was a child bride. She was a little older than Political Commissar Zhou and had always been concerned about her age. When she heard what Political Commissar Zhou said, she thought that he disliked that she was too old and didn’t like to dress up, and that he liked old witches like Gao Lili.
"She's not even thirty yet?"
Qin Yao: "...I'm only in my twenties."
Sister Zaohua stood up and washed her face. She felt ashamed that at her age, she still bothered with... and argued with her.
Sister Zaohua blushed, "No wonder Lao Zhou said I was an old witch. Xiao Qin, you young people should compete for it. This powder will look good on your face."
When Qin Yao learned of this shocking mistake, she admired Political Commissar Zhou and his wife. How could she have preconceived that they were older?
"Sister-in-law, you can't say that. It's human nature to love beauty. Why don't you change your hairstyle? I think you will look much younger."
Sister Zaohua has a few sunken temples, so Qin Yao thinks short hair is more suitable for her than combing her hair up like this. In addition, Sister Zaohua is getting old and her face shape is not very regular. Cutting her hair to chin length and leaving some bangs on the forehead will definitely modify her face shape and make her look younger.
"Cut it short? I don't look good with short hair. I look like a man."
Qin Yao: "Let me give you a try?"
"You can cut it. My hair grows fast anyway." Sister Zaohua stroked her hair. She didn't really care about her image before. Now that she had a son and a daughter, she took good care of the housework. But this time, there was a big mistake, which made Sister Zaohua obsessed with her image and dressing up.
Who doesn’t want to look better? She powdered her face and seemed to enjoy it.
Qin Yao helped her cut her hair, trimmed her eyebrows, and drew a gentle eyebrow shape. She also deliberately made some air bangs and curled them manually to create the shape.
Sister Zaohua has good hair quality. Although the hair on her forehead is a bit rough, it is particularly charming. The hair wraps around her face and has an obvious effect of modifying her face shape. The hair on her forehead just covers her forehead wrinkles.
From some angles, he looks more like a young student.
When Sister Zaohua saw herself in the mirror, she couldn't accept it at all. She was horrified and said, "Oh my god, who is this?"
The woman inside is a witch! How come she seemed to have suddenly become a dozen years younger? She didn't recognize the person in the mirror. She wasn't this pretty when she was a teenager.
"What should I do, Xiao Qin? I don't dare to go out."
"This won't do. This won't do. This won't do..."
Qin Yao didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Sister-in-law, it's not that serious. You look pretty good like this. Why don't we go out and let Political Commissar Zhou judge for us."
Sister Zaohua grabbed her hair and said anxiously, "Don't let him see it, don't let him see it!"
Qin Yao tried to persuade her for a long time, but Sister Zaohua was still stubborn. She found a white towel and wrapped herself tightly around her head before going to the kitchen to wash rice and cook.
"Xiao Qin, you can go back with Captain Gu. We don't have anything to do now."
Qin Yao and Gu Cheng exchanged glances, and the couple went home with their children who had come to join in the fun.
Political Commissar Zhou stood at the kitchen door and wanted to say a few words to Zaohua, but Zaohua looked at him nervously and then wrapped the white towel on her head more tightly.
Political Commissar Zhou: “?”
What on earth is going on.
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