Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Sending a Telegram

After dinner, Xia Junshan washed the dishes and Meng Yufei wiped the table.

Xia Qinqin couldn't wait to look around the pineapple, and from time to time she stretched out her little hand to touch the leaves, but was pulled back by the prick.

After washing the dishes, Xia Junshan took out a knife from the kitchen, peeled the pineapple neatly, cut it into small pieces, and put it on the plate brought by Meng Yufei.

Xia Qinqin picked up a piece and put it in her mouth with great anticipation, and said in surprise: "Ah, so sweet, not sour at all." Obviously, her uncle said it was both sour and sweet.

Meng Yufei tasted a piece and explained to her daughter: "It's because the weather here is warm and sunny, so the fruits are sweeter and have more sugar than those in other places."

Xia Qinqin thought for a moment and asked, "Mom, are they sweet because they've been exposed to the sun for too long?"

Meng Yufei: "Well, about the same."

Xia Qinqin: "If I get more sun, will I become sweeter?"

Meng Yufei: "..."

Xia Junshan laughed and said, "Qinqin, you don't need to bask in the sun to be sweet in the hearts of your parents."

Xia Qinqin tilted her head and asked, "Really?"

Xia Junshan said with a determined look: "It can't be more true." He turned his head to look at Meng Yufei, and Meng Yufei nodded.

After making sure that she was sweet, Xia Qinqin stopped basking in the sun and continued to eat her pineapple happily.

After she ate two or three pieces, Meng Yufei wouldn't let her eat anymore. She had just finished her meal. If she let the little girl eat more, she would complain of stomachache.

The family of three squatted in front of the faucet to wash their hands. Meng Yufei said, "By the way, Junshan, you said yesterday that the post office is inside the town government, right?"

Xia Junshan said: "Yes, are you going to send a letter?"

Meng Yufei said, "I'm going to send a telegram this afternoon to let my parents know I'm safe."

Xia Junshan nodded and said, "Yes, I should have reported my safety. I was so busy that I forgot. The post office is in the building to the east of the town government yard. It's on the left when you enter the door."

After a nap, Xia Junshan went to work in the army. Meng Yufei took Xia Qinqin to the post office.

The afternoon sun was a little too hot, so Meng Yufei took out a silk scarf and wrapped it around Xia Qinqin's head.

The town government was some distance away from the family compound. Meng Yufei walked out of the gate of the family compound and passed by the supply and marketing cooperative. She went in and bought two straw hats.

Xia Qinqin touched the straw hat on her head and said, "Mom, this hat is so big."

"The hat is so big to protect you from the sun. Now you feel less sunny, don't you?"

"Well, no more sun exposure." Xia Qinqin nodded vigorously, and the wide hat tilted down, covering her face. "Ah, Mom, I can't see."

Meng Yufei adjusted her hat with amusement, then wrapped a silk scarf around her head and tied it at her chin to secure it.

"Okay, now it won't fall off."

The mother and daughter continued on their way. On the way, Meng Yufei wanted to hold her daughter, but Xia Qinqin firmly refused, "I can walk by myself."

After walking for about ten minutes, we finally arrived at the town government. After entering the gate, we walked directly to the house on the left. The sign outside the house read "Qiongzhou Post and Telecommunications Bureau Nanya Island Office".

After entering the door, there is a large hall that is half the size of the room, with several rows of wooden benches. There are four windows opposite, but only three people are sitting there, and the seat on the far right is empty.

After Meng Yufei came in, she took off Xia Qinqin's hat first. The little girl's hair was wet with sweat and her face was red.

He quickly used his hat to dry his daughter's skin. "Qinqin, you must be hot. Let's take a break." Then he took her to sit on a wooden bench.

Xia Qinqin stretched out her little hand to take off the hat on Meng Yufei's head, and then she held it with both hands and waved it up and down like her mother to let the wind blow on her.

After the mother and daughter rested for a while, Meng Yufei walked to the front desk and asked the young girl in the middle of the front desk: "Hello, I want to send a telegram."

"Oh, wait a minute." The girl turned around and shouted to the office behind her: "Director Zheng, someone wants to send a telegram."

After a few seconds, the office door opened and a middle-aged man came out with a cup of tea in his hand. He yawned and said impatiently, "Here I come, here I come."

He sat down in an empty seat, casually took out a pencil and a notebook from the table, put them on the table, and said without raising his head: "Write down what you want to report."

Meng Yufei picked up a pen and wrote on the notebook: Qinqin and I have arrived safely, don't worry.

And write the receiving address at the bottom of the notebook.

"Comrade, it's done." Meng Yufei handed over the notebook and pen.

Director Zheng took the notebook, glanced down, and was immediately attracted by the clear and neat handwriting on the paper. It was obvious that it was written by an intellectual. He then looked up at the person standing in front of the stage.

Seeing that Meng Yufei had a good appearance and temperament, he relaxed his stern face and reminded her in a calm tone: "Comrade, just report that you are safe. It's not a serious matter. Just write a letter."

Meng Yufei said: "My parents at home are quite anxious, and it takes too long to write back."

Director Zheng looked at the address on the paper and said, "Your home is in Haishi, which is indeed a bit far. However, your telegram has too many words. Just write the two words 'arrived'. The telegram is charged by the number of words, and each word costs seven cents."

Meng Yufei insisted: "I know, but please just send me the words I wrote."

Director Zheng shook his head and continued, "Why don't you listen to my advice, comrade? We all have the same idea. Why spend that extra money..."

Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by the girl next to him, "Director Zheng, why do you care so much? She said she would send the words she wrote, so just send it. Are you afraid that she won't pay?"

Director Zheng's face froze, and he said unhappily, "You young women nowadays don't know how expensive firewood and rice are until you are in charge of the household. Tsk tsk... Telegrams are only sent when there is something important. Isn't it enough to just write a letter to report safety... Isn't using telegrams a waste of national resources?"

He kept talking more and more, and Meng Yufei frowned as she listened.

The girl who just spoke rolled her eyes and interrupted him, "What a waste of resources! Are the people who come to our place to send letters and things every day dealing with national affairs? Even if there is something important, we have troops on the island, and they don't need you to send telegrams."

Director Zheng was choked by her and his face darkened, "Qi girl, you are so sharp-tongued, who will dare to marry you in the future?"

Qi girl snorted and said, "That's my parents' business, you don't have to worry about it."

"You... okay, okay, I meant well but ended up doing something bad. I'll publish it now."

He operated the telegraph and sent out the words Meng Yufei wrote on the paper. He also wrote a few words on the receipt and slapped it on the table. He said in a hard tone, "Okay, go to the right to settle the bill."

Meng Yufei took the receipt, on which was written: Eleven words, 77 cents.

She went to the counter on the right and handed in the receipt and money. The person behind the counter took the money, stamped the receipt and handed it back to her.

After collecting the receipt, Meng Yufei turned around and saw that Director Zheng's seat was empty again. She guessed that he had returned to the office.

She walked up to the girl who had just spoken for her and said, "Comrade, thank you for speaking for me just now."

The girl smiled and said, "What's there to thank me for? I'm usually annoyed by his nagging."

Meng Yufei said a little embarrassedly: "Because of what you said on my behalf, I guess you have offended your director. I am really sorry."

The girl said indifferently, "What's the big deal? I call him Director only because he has more years of service than us. He is not my direct supervisor, so he can't control me."

"By the way, my name is Qi Zhenzhen, what's your name?"

"My name is Meng Yufei."

"Okay, next time you come here, just come and see me if you have any questions."

"Okay, thank you."

Meng Yufei said goodbye to Qi Zhenzhen with a smile and walked home with Xia Qinqin.

The sun was still a little hot, but the sea breeze made walking much more comfortable.

After arriving home, the first thing Meng Yufei did was to wash the faces and hands of the two people, and took out the pineapple left over from lunch to quench their thirst.

After eating the pineapple, Meng Yufei took out the colored pencils and drawing books she brought and handed them to Xia Qinqin, letting her lie on the table to play. She took out the pieces of cloth she bought in the morning and prepared to make the sofa cover first.

When she was in high school, she had a good friend who loved knitting and making clothes, and she even dragged her to several sewing classes organized by the community.

Although she didn't learn it very well, she had no problem sewing a sofa cover.

"Is anyone home?" someone asked at the gate.

Meng Yufei put down the cloth in her hand, went out and saw that the person standing at the gate was Mrs. Zhang, the family member of Captain Ma next door, and hurried forward to open the gate.

"Mrs. Zhang, you're here. Please come in."

Looking down, I saw a little girl next to Mrs. Zhang, about five or six years old. She poked her head out from behind Mrs. Zhang and looked at Meng Yufei curiously.

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "Is this your daughter? She's so cute."

Mrs. Zhang said, "It's the youngest in our family. This girl doesn't like to talk." She pulled her daughter out and said, "Hurry up and say hello to Auntie."

The little girl was so embarrassed that she twisted and hid behind Mrs. Zhang. Meng Yufei bent down and whispered, "Hello, I'm Aunt Meng. What's your name?"

"Ma...Weifang." The little girl said in a low voice.

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "Fangfang, there is a little sister at my aunt's house. Would you like to come and play with her?"

"Yeah, okay." Fangfang nodded.

Meng Yufei led them into the house and pointed at a chair and said, "Sister-in-law, please sit down."

Xia Qinqin, who was drawing on the table, raised her head and said politely, "Hello, Auntie."

Her sight fell on Ma Weifang who was approaching, her eyes full of curiosity.

Meng Yufei: "Qinqin, this is Sister Fangfang, she's here to play with you, why don't you draw together?"

"Okay." Xia Qinqin nodded, slid down the chair, trotted over to Ma Weifang and said, "Sister Fangfang, let's draw together."

Seeing Fangfang nod, Xia Qinqin smiled and took her hand to the table, handed her a colored pen, pointed at the flowers drawn on the paper and said, "Let's color these flowers."

"Yeah." Fangfang nodded, and the two little girls lay side by side on the table drawing.