Chapter 117 Chapter 117 Tomorrow is the fifteenth day of the first lunar month...

Tomorrow is the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival.

On the Lantern Festival, of course, people have to eat glutinous rice balls. Mrs. Zhang went to the supply and marketing cooperative early in the morning to queue up to buy glutinous rice flour.

The climate here is very suitable for the growth of glutinous rice, so glutinous rice flour is not a rare thing. The supply and marketing cooperatives will purchase it every once in a while.

Because tomorrow is the Lantern Festival, the supply and marketing cooperative specially asked the supply ship to bring a lot of glutinous rice flour today. It is all the rice that was harvested before the New Year and has just been pounded into flour.

When I was carrying the glutinous rice flour back, I passed by the door of Meng Yufei's house, but found that the gate was open, so I looked into the yard.

Oh, Captain Xia is washing the sheets.

Mrs. Zhang was surprised and asked, "Captain Xia, when did you come back?"

Xia Junshan heard the voice and looked up at the gate. Seeing that it was Mrs. Zhang, he smiled and said, "I came back last night. Happy New Year, sister-in-law."

Mrs. Zhang smiled and nodded: "Happy New Year. I was wondering why I seemed to hear some noise last night. It turns out you guys are back."

Meng Yufei just walked out of the house and saw Mrs. Zhang. She smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, come in and sit down."

Mrs. Zhang waved her hands and said, "No, you guys are busy. I haven't finished my housework yet. I'll come back to you later."

"Okay, then take your time."

Xia Junshan quickly washed the sheets and curtains, then went back to the room and started mopping the floor, while Meng Yufei wiped the furniture with a rag.

Xia Qinqin also took a small rag and followed her mother to wipe the furniture.

After a busy day, the family of three finally cleaned the house, which looked much cleaner.

Xia Qinqin sat comfortably on the sofa, looking at the house that had just been cleaned, and said with a smile: "Our home is so clean."

Xia Junshan bent down to pack his luggage, which was filled with things he brought from Hai City. Meng Yufei said, "Sit down and rest for a while. It won't be too late to get things done later."

Xia Qinqin reached out and patted the seat next to her, "Dad, come and sit down and have a rest."

"Okay." Xia Junshan walked over with a smile and sat next to his daughter.

Meng Yufei poured three cups of tea, and the family of three sat on the sofa, drinking tea and chatting, while the moist and warm wind from outside blew in through the window.

"The weather here is so warm, it's like going from winter to summer in just one day." Meng Yufei said with a smile.

Xia Qinqin nodded her head in agreement: "That's right, that's right, we've arrived in summer all of a sudden."

As they were talking, there were two knocks on the door.

"Aunt Meng, Uncle Xia, I'm here to write for Sister Qinqin." Lu Yannan, carrying a military backpack, stood at the door and spoke.

Meng Yufei smiled and waved to him: "Yannan is here, come in quickly, the study has just been cleaned, you guys go ahead."

Xia Qinqin whined and refused to get up from the sofa, "School hasn't started yet. It's the winter vacation for the kids. It's time for us to play. I don't want to write."

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "There are no winter or summer vacations for practicing calligraphy. If you want to write well, you need to practice every day. You have stopped for so many days, you must be rusty now. Let's practice with Yannan today."

Xia Qinqin pried her hands together and bargained, "Mom, can I rest for two more days? I'm so tired."

She blinked her big round eyes and looked up at Meng Yufei, looking pitiful and cute. Xia Junshan said hurriedly, "Yes, Qinqin spent half a day wiping the furniture this morning. Her hands must be sore."

As he spoke, he took his daughter's hand and began to rub it.

"Yeah, it's very sour." Xia Qinqin nodded quickly.

Meng Yufei looked at the father and daughter helplessly.

Lu Yannan took out a picture book from his bag and handed it to Xia Qinqin, "This was sent to me by my grandfather."

Xia Qinqin looked down and pointed at the word on it curiously, "What does this word mean? It's so complicated. Hey, the picture on it is Sun Wukong!"

"Journey to the West, don't you like to watch the Great Ragnarok in Heaven? It's here." Lu Yannan explained.

Xia Qinqin happily took the book: "Wow, thank you Brother Yannan!" She got down from the sofa, took Lu Yannan's hand and said: "Let's go to the study to read, you write and I read."

Lu Yannan nodded, and the two children went to the study.

In the living room, after the couple leisurely drank tea, Xia Junshan got up and opened the suitcase in the living room. He had left it there when he came back last night.

The first one was filled with their clothes. The clothes they had worn in Haishi were definitely not wearable here. Xia Junshan said, "I'll wash them and put them away after drying. Otherwise, they'll get moldy after a while."

Meng Yufei took out Xia Qinqin's fur coat separately. "I just need to wipe the fabric inside. You don't need to wash the fur outside. It won't be warm if you wash it."

Xia Junshan nodded, holding his cotton coat and walked out. After a moment's thought, he said, "Oh, by the way, I haven't had time to wash the clothes I took off yesterday. Let's take them to the dean's faucet and I'll wash them all at once."

"Okay, I'll get it." Meng Yufei went to the room and took out the clothes she had changed yesterday. As usual, she checked every pocket, fearing that something might have been damaged in the washing.

When Meng Yufei picked up Xia Qinqin's clothes, she reached out and got a bag of candies.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. When did this little girl put so much candy in her pocket?

Meng Yufei took out a handful of candies from her two pockets and casually placed them on the cabinet beside her. She then reached into her trouser pocket and found another bag of candies...

In the study, Xia Qinqin sat at the desk, reading a picture book with great interest. She happened to see Sun Wukong becoming a disciple and Patriarch Bodhi knocking on his head three times.

"Qinqin, where did you get so many candies?"

Xia Qinqin looked up and saw her mother standing at the door, holding the clothes she wore yesterday.

Oops, my mom found out!

Xia Qinqin turned her head to look at Lu Yannan beside her. He stopped writing and looked at her with a smile.

"Qinqin?" Meng Yufei spoke again.

Xia Qinqin said hurriedly: "Mom, Aunt Ding gave me the candy yesterday. She told me to take as much as I wanted, so I put it in my pocket..."

Meng Yufei took a breath and said, "Next time someone asks you to take candy, just hold it in your hand. Don't eat and take candy at the same time and fill your pockets. This is impolite behavior, understand?"

Xia Qinqin nodded after hearing this, "I understand."

Meng Yufei said with a straight face: "Then I will confiscate these candies. From now on, you can only eat one candy a day."

"Ah..." Xia Qinqin pouted unhappily.

After Meng Yufei left the door, Xia Qinqin stared at Lu Yannan.

Lu Yannan spread his hands and said, "It's not me who made the complaint. I just came to your house today and have been under your nose the whole time."

Xia Qinqin clenched her fists and whispered in frustration: "I forgot to hide the candy last night!"

Lu Yannan smiled and lowered his head to continue writing.

Xia Junshan was washing clothes in front of the faucet. Meng Yufei put down the things she had brought with her, took out the gifts for Zhang Dasao's family, and went out.

Mrs. Zhang was kneading dough at home. When she saw Meng Yufei, she smiled and said, "Sister, you are here. Please sit down."

Meng Yufei walked over and sat beside him, putting the things she brought on the table, "This is a gift for you."

Mrs. Zhang said, "Why bring gifts? It's such a long distance, it's a hassle to come back, why bother bringing gifts?"

Meng Yufei smiled, "They are all small gifts. I brought you a silk scarf from Haishi, and small hairpins for Wei Mei and Fang Fang, as well as some Haishi specialty candies. They are not heavy."

"Oh, you're carrying so many rare things. I'm embarrassed." Mrs. Zhang was surprised. "I've never worn a scarf in my life. It must be expensive, right?"

Meng Yufei said: "My mother has a friend who works at the Haishi Silk Scarf Factory. Every year, she gives us some silk scarf coupons from the factory. We don't need a ticket to buy this."

In this day and age, buying something without a ticket is a great bargain.

Mrs. Zhang smiled and said, "Thank you very much. Next time I go back to my hometown, I will bring you some local specialties."

Meng Yufei smiled and nodded.

"By the way, sister, you just came back last night, and you haven't heard yet, right? Didn't Captain Fang's family go back to their hometown before the New Year? As a result, something big happened. Guess what?" Mrs. Zhang came over and whispered.

Meng Yufei's eyes moved slightly and she shook her head.

Mrs. Zhang stopped kneading the dough and said with wide eyes, "His family lost their child! His little one, Zhaodi, was kidnapped by a trafficker at the train station!"

Meng Yufei said: "I know about this, too. We were also at the train station at the time, and it was Junshan who called the police for them."

"Tsk tsk... What a sin... Didn't they return to the island a few days ago? Tong Caifeng held Director Wang and cried for a long time. Now she wants to hold him and cry to everyone she meets."

At this point, Mrs. Zhang shook her head and sighed, "Tong Caifeng usually seems to dislike her little daughter, but I didn't expect that she still cares about her in her heart... Hey, I wonder how the child is doing now?"

Does Tong Caifeng care?

Meng Yufei smiled sarcastically in her heart.

"Did they go to the Public Security Bureau? What did they say?"

Mrs. Zhang said, "I really don't know. I just heard Tong Caifeng crying these past few days. Director Wang asked her yesterday, but she just kept crying and I didn't know what was going on. I saw Captain Fang leave the island early this morning, so I guess he went to find out."

"Oh, I hope nothing happens to the child. My heart breaks down every time I think of how well-behaved he is." Mrs. Zhang has taken care of the child in the kindergarten for more than half a year and has developed feelings for him.

Meng Yufei comforted him, "That child looks blessed, nothing will happen to him."

Mrs. Zhang nodded: "Indeed, the child has big earlobes, she is a blessed child. I hope the police can get her back. These damned human traffickers are really conscienceless..."

After talking to Mrs. Zhang, Meng Yufei got up and went home. Xia Junshan had already washed the clothes, and the two clotheslines in the yard were full.

"Now that you're back, what would you like to eat for lunch?" Xia Junshan asked with a smile.

Meng Yufei said: "Let's go to the cafeteria together later."

"Okay." Meng Yufei nodded gently, poured out the water in the washing basin, and then turned the basin upside down against the wall.

Meng Yufei walked up to him and whispered, "I just heard from Mrs. Zhang that Captain Fang and his men are back. He left the island early this morning."

Xia Junshan paused, then smiled and said, "He should go. His own child is missing, so how can he not go and inquire about the situation?"

"Then the police..."

"Don't worry, they said at the time that the child was snatched away in public. The police will definitely focus on investigating the whereabouts of the traffickers."

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "Yes, it's a human trafficker. Tong Caifeng has been promoting this on the island these days."

Xia Junshan shrugged and said with a smile: "That's all, forget about them, let's go to the cafeteria to get food."

Meng Yufei smiled and nodded.