Chapter 33 Chapter 33 Qinqin is obsessed with looks (first update)...

At noon, Xiao Zhang took Zhou Wenqian to the cafeteria to eat.

Meng Yufei took Xia Qinqin to the cafeteria to get food, and the four of them went to the cafeteria together.

Xia Qinqin, who was walking in front, looked back from time to time. Meng Yufei couldn't help but remind her: "Qinqin, watch your feet when you walk, be careful not to fall."

"oh."

After dinner, Xiao Zhang and Zhou Wenqian stayed in the cafeteria to eat. Xia Qinqin reluctantly held her mother's hand and said goodbye to the beautiful aunt.

As the mother and daughter were walking on the way home, Xia Qinqin looked up and asked, "Mom, that Aunt Wen Qian is so pretty. Will she come over this afternoon?"

Meng Yufei smiled and asked, "Do you like that auntie very much?"

"Yeah." Xia Qinqin nodded repeatedly, "Auntie looks like the doll in Sister Lili's house, so beautiful."

Zhou Wenqian has delicate facial features, fair skin, big eyes and long eyelashes. She really looks like a doll.

Meng Yufei said, "She is Auntie Zhang's friend. She came here today to register as a kindergarten teacher. She probably won't come this afternoon."

"Ah..." Xia Qinqin sighed with regret, and asked again: "Then Mom, can we go to Aunt Wen Qian's house to play with her?"

Meng Yufei looked at her daughter who was obsessed with looks with some amusement. Xia Qinqin had liked playing with beautiful people since she was a child, especially good-looking sisters and aunts.

"Aunt Wenqian and Aunt Xiaozhang are good friends. Next time we can ask Aunt Xiaozhang to take us to play with her."

"oh……"

In the cafeteria, Xiao Zhang was busy picking up food for Zhou Wenqian, "Look how thin you are now, eat more."

Zhou Wenqian smiled and said, "Don't give me any more. I have a small appetite now and can't eat that much."

Xiao Zhang sighed and said, "Well, you'd better eat well from now on. If you continue like this, your body will not be able to bear it. Your body is the capital of the revolution!"

Zhou Wenqian nodded and said, "Yes, you shouldn't do anything against your body. I was confused some time ago. I came out for a walk today and I seem to be more sober now."

Hearing her say this, Xiao Zhang smiled happily, "I'm glad you think so. No matter what, the most important thing for you now is to take care of your health. There's no need to rush into other things."

Zhou Wenqian's fingertips holding the chopsticks turned slightly white, she lowered her eyes and said calmly, "Yes, no rush."

After returning home, Meng Yufei poured the food in the lunch box into the plate and set the table.

Xia Junshan got home from get off work and asked as soon as he entered the door: "Is Qinqin's hand feeling better today?"

Xia Qinqin trotted over and raised her hand, saying, "Dad, look, Mom said it's scabbed over and will heal soon."

Xia Junshan squatted down and picked up his daughter's hand to check. There was a thin layer of scab on the wound from yesterday, and the dark purple spot was particularly conspicuous on the white palm.

"Does it still hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt anymore."

Meng Yufei said, "Hurry up and wash your hands and eat."

Xia Junshan nodded and said, "Okay, I'll come right over."

Xia Qinqin's hands couldn't touch water, so Meng Yufei took a wet cloth and wiped her hands, carefully avoiding the scabs. She said, "Once the scabs fall off, it will be completely healed. Be careful not to touch it when you play these few days, and don't scratch it yourself."

"Yeah, it hurts!" Xia Qinqin nodded.

After wiping her hands, Meng Yufei led Xia Qinqin to the dining table. Xia Junshan came over and carried his daughter to the chair, "Dad will feed you today."

I made a dish of steamed egg with minced meat for lunch today. Xia Junshan picked up Xia Qinqin's special small bowl, scooped a few spoonfuls of steamed egg and covered the rice with it, then stirred it with a spoon to allow the egg and rice to fully blend.

"Come on, open your mouth, ah..."

Xia Qinqin lowered her head and ate the meal in one gulp. Xia Junshan smiled and asked, "Is it delicious?"

"Yeah, great! Qinqin likes to eat rice with eggs the most."

"It's delicious. Eat more." Xia Junshan smiled and fed his daughter one spoonful at a time.

Meng Yufei occasionally passed her a handful of vegetables with her chopsticks. Xia Qinqin knew that she couldn't go against her mother's wishes, so she lowered her head and ate them all.

After dinner, Xia Qinqin slipped down from the dining table and went to the small room to look through her paintings. She wanted to find the one she liked best to give to the beautiful aunt.

After feeding their daughter, the couple started to eat.

Xia Junshan asked, "How is your recruitment going today?"

Meng Yufei said: "There are more people who signed up than I thought."

Xia Junshan scooped a few spoonfuls of steamed eggs and put them in Meng Yufei's bowl. He said, "There are few job opportunities on the island. Now that there are new jobs, naturally many people will sign up."

Meng Yufei whispered, "Qi Huiying also came to register today, and I was the one who registered her."

Xia Junshan paused while holding the chopsticks and asked, "Did you find anything unusual?"

Meng Yufei said: "It is certain that she really does not like me. Not only me, but her attitude towards most people is full of contempt and disdain."

Xia Junshan said: "She is a person who thinks she is superior to others. I heard that her family used to be a capitalist. I guess it is the bad habits of capitalists. You said that this is a new society, and it is the time for our workers, peasants and soldiers to be in charge. She is a person with a bad family background. If she doesn't restrain herself, she will get into trouble sooner or later."

Meng Yufei said: "Today I noticed that she doesn't walk with her feet turned outward."

Xia Junshan understood what she meant and said, "That only means that the footprints by the pond were not left by her. As for whether she had been to the pond, it cannot be completely ruled out."

Meng Yufei said: "Through these two encounters, I think given her personality, if she really wanted to harm Qinqin, she would have just done it directly and would not bother to catch the snake."

"..." Xia Junshan said: "There are no other clues in this matter yet, let's investigate slowly."

Meng Yufei said: "I hope we are overthinking it. That day might really have been an accident."

Xia Junshan said: "I hope so. But for Qinqin, we as parents should think more about it."

Meng Yufei nodded in agreement.

…

Mrs. Zhang announced a piece of news at the dining table.

"I went to apply for a kindergarten teacher position this morning."

After hearing this, Captain Ma was stunned for a few seconds before reacting and asked, "Why don't you just apply to be a childcare worker? Your family doesn't need the salary, so you can just stay at home and do housework."

The eldest son Ma Weidong nodded while eating and said, "Yes, Mom, you are already old and you still have to go out to work. It's so hard! I will join the army soon and I will get a monthly allowance. I will send it to you when the time comes."

Mrs. Zhang was holding her rice bowl. When she heard her son's words, she said without even raising her eyelids, "It's good enough that you can use the little money you have. I don't expect to spend your money."

Ma Weimei chuckled, "It's because you, the annoying guy, left that Mom has time to go to work. You don't know how annoying you are at home, I have to cook for you and wash your clothes."

Ma Weidong frowned and said unhappily, "Mom didn't cook for me alone, why didn't you eat?"

Ma Weimei said: "You are the eldest, the oldest, and you eat the most!"

Ma Weidong: “…”

Mrs. Zhang said, "Okay, you two should eat quickly! I just signed up, but I don't know if I can be selected."

Ma Weimei smiled and said, "It doesn't matter if I don't get selected this time. I can try again next time when there is a new job opportunity."

Captain Ma frowned and said, "What are you doing? You are old, and if you go to work, who will take care of the vegetable garden, wash the clothes, and cook the meals?"

Mrs. Zhang said, "I heard from the family next door that the kindergarten doesn't start until 8 a.m. From now on, I can get up early to wash the clothes and send Fangfang to the kindergarten at the same time."

Ma Weimei agreed: "We should send Fangfang to school. We originally thought that the kindergarten in town was too far away and inconvenient to go to. Now there is a family home. It would be good for her to make some friends of the same age there. This girl stays at home every day and doesn't like to talk. Don't let her become a little mute."

Mrs. Zhang patted her second daughter on the shoulder and said, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Fangfang, who had been eating quietly, whispered, "I'm not a dumb little girl."

Ma Weimei stuck out her tongue and said, "I was wrong, okay."

Captain Ma asked again: "How will we solve the problem of eating at home?"

Ma Weimei turned around and said, "Eat in the canteen. The canteen in the family compound is open for people to eat. Dad, the Chairman has said that women can hold up half the sky and encourages women comrades to go out of the house and participate in building a new society. Mom is responding to the call of the times. What? Do you object?"

Captain Ma was choked by his daughter's words. He was stunned by the set of words, as if he was listening to the ideological work class of Political Commissar Yu. He said, "Girl, you are so young but you have so many great principles."

Ma Weimei smiled and said, "You also think what I said makes sense. It seems that you agree with Mom's job search! Captain Ma, you are the highest-ranking cadre in our family. Your ideological awareness is higher than some people!"

Captain Ma: “…”

Some people Ma Weidong: "..."

—————

In the afternoon, Xia Qinqin saw Xiao Zhang as soon as she entered the office and asked, "Aunt Xiao Zhang, will Aunt Wen Qian come this afternoon?"

Xiao Zhang said: "She went home."

Xia Qinqin asked again: "Then next time you go to her house to play with her, can you ask me and mom to go with you?"

Xiao Zhang nodded and said, "Okay." She bent down and stared at Xia Qinqin's big round eyes, and asked her with a smile, "Qinqin, why do you like Aunt Wenqian so much?"

Xia Qinqin said seriously: "Because Aunt Wen Qian is pretty!"

Xiao Zhang pinched her soft face and said with a smile: "You little girl, you know who is good-looking at such a young age."

Aesthetic appreciation is innate. In fact, children can distinguish between beauty and ugliness even when they are still in their cradles.

People of this generation are used to doing things in the morning, and they believe that it is better to be early than late. Therefore, there were not many people who came to register in the afternoon, and Meng Yufei returned to the Finance Department.

Although the beautiful aunt was not at home in the afternoon, my mother was in the office. Xia Qinqin was in a good mood, lying on the table, humming nursery rhymes and looking at the illustrations in the book.

The wound on her hand had not healed yet, so her mother wouldn't let her paint.

In the afternoon, Meng Yufei drafted the financial expense budget for the next quarter, added the expenses of several employees in the kindergarten, and left out the specific amounts.

The classification and calculation of wages is the responsibility of the Personnel Department, while the Finance Department is only responsible for payment.

By the way, Meng Yufei's salary has not been decided yet. When she was in Hai City, she was a level 19 cadre. According to Hai City's salary standards, she received 72 yuan per month.

The salary standards here are definitely not as high as those in Shanghai, and I have changed jobs and systems, so I don't know how the personnel department will grade me.

"Xiao Meng, are you busy?"

Meng Yufei looked up, saw the person coming and said with a smile: "Director Wang, why are you here? Come and sit down."

Wang Cuilan waved her hands and said, "I won't sit down. I came to get Dr. Huang's ticket from you."

"Okay, I'll give it to you." Meng Yufei opened the drawer, took out a stack of tickets and handed them to Wang Cuilan, saying, "Doctor Huang is back."

Wang Cuilan nodded and said, "Yes, I just came back from the hospital this morning. I happened to run into her at the door on my way home from get off work this morning, and I told her that I would deliver her ticket to her house in the afternoon."

Meng Yufei asked: "Do you want me to go with you?"

Wang Cuilan said, "No need. You just stay busy here. I just happened to go find her for something." After that, Wang Cuilan took the ticket and left the Finance Department.

Before leaving get off work, Section Chief Chen came to inform Meng Yufei to go to the conference room at nine o'clock tomorrow morning to participate in the selection of kindergarten teachers and staff.

Half past five, get off work on time.

Xiao Zhang took the army bag and slung it over his shoulder, saying with a smile, "It's time to get off work. Another day has ended."

Xia Qinqin stuffed her book into her mother's bag and smiled, "Get off work, go home."

When they arrived at the cafeteria, they happened to meet Zhou Wenqian who was getting her meal. Xiao Zhang hurried over and said, "Wenqian, you're the one getting your meal for dinner."

Zhou Wenqian nodded and said, "Well, I have nothing to do at home, so it's a good opportunity to go out for a walk."

Xiao Zhang smiled and said, "I smelled the aroma of scallion chicken upstairs this afternoon. What a coincidence. I remember you like chicken."

Xia Qinqin also came over and said, "Qinqin also likes to eat chicken."

Zhou Wenqian looked down at the smiling little girl, reached out and touched her hair, and said with a smile: "Really? Then we have the same taste."

"Hehe~" Xia Qinqin smiled happily. The beautiful aunt touched her hair. She was so happy~

Xiao Zhang said with a smile: "Qinqin, you like to eat too many things."

Meng Yufei pointed at her daughter and said, "She is just a little glutton."

Xia Qinqin hugged Meng Yufei's thighs and said coquettishly, "I am my mother's little baby, not a little cat."

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "Okay, okay, you are mommy's little baby."

Zhou Wenqian looked at the intimate mother and daughter in front of her, with a hint of envy in her eyes. She said softly: "Being able to eat is a blessing. Children need to eat well so that they can grow taller."

Xia Qinqin nodded and said, "Mom and Dad said so too. Qinqin eats well every day - a lot." She opened her hands and gestured as she spoke, looking very cute. Several adults looked at her with smiles on their faces.

Meng Yufei took out her lunch box and ordered Xia Qinqin's favorite scallion chicken, a portion of stir-fried pea sprouts, a bowl of kelp soup, and the staple food was half a pound of rice as usual.

Xia Junshan worked overtime again in the evening. After waiting for a while and seeing him not coming back, Meng Yufei put a portion of food on a plate and left it alone for Xia Junshan. She and Xia Qinqin ate first.

After eating, Meng Yufei went to boil the bath water. Now she was already skilled in lighting the fire.

After giving Xia Qinqin a bath, Meng Yufei also took a bath herself.

In the living room, mother and daughter sat on the sofa, Meng Yufei reading to her daughter. It was the same book from yesterday that included Mr. Lu Xun's works. Today's book was "A Chang and the Classic of Mountains and Seas".

Xia Qinqin lay comfortably on Meng Yufei's legs, listening to her mother's soft and gentle voice.

The child sleeps a lot, and after a while, Xia Qinqin's little head began to move a little. When Meng Yufei saw this, she quickly put down the book and took her into the room to sleep.

When Xia Junshan came back, Xia Qinqin was already fast asleep. Meng Yufei heard the sound of the living room door opening in the bedroom, so she got up and left the room.

"You're back. Why are you so late today?"

Xia Junshan took off his hat and hung it behind the door, saying, "The recent mission is a bit tricky. Is Qinqin asleep?"

"Yeah, just went to bed."

Meng Yufei knew that much of his work was confidential, so she didn't ask any more questions. Instead, she asked him, "Have you eaten? I left some food for you. It's still hot on the coal stove."

Xia Junshan touched his stomach and smiled: "I ate a little at dinner, and now I'm really a little hungry."

Meng Yufei walked towards the kitchen, "Then I'll bring out the meal."

Xia Junshan stopped her and said, "Let me take it." Then he went into the kitchen, took the plate out of the pot and placed it on the living room dining table.

Meng Yufei followed and said, "This dish has been kept hot in the pot. Why don't you use a rag to hold it? Won't it get hot if you just touch it directly?"

Xia Junshan smiled and said nonchalantly, "I have a thick skin, so this little burn is nothing."

Meng Yufei took his hand and didn't see any burn marks on the palm. She touched the cord on it and said, "You still have to be more careful in the future."

Her hand touched his palm, and Xia Junshan felt a slight tingling sensation. He held Meng Yufei's hand and wrapped it around his palm, smiling, "Okay, I'll remember that."

Meng Yufei pushed him and said, "Eat quickly, you are hungry."

Xia Junshan asked, "Would you like to eat something together?"

Meng Yufei shook her head and said, "I'm not hungry. I'll sit with you for a while."

Xia Junshan smiled and said, "Yeah."

Under the warm light, the couple sat at the dining table, eating and chatting in low voices.

—————

Zhao Zhengliu returned home after working overtime at night. When he arrived at the door, he found that the lights in the house were on. He was dazed for a second, wondering how long it had been since he saw the lights of the house waiting for him.

He opened the door and saw Zhou Wenqian sitting on the sofa in the living room reading a book. The warm yellow light shone on her head, making her look warm and beautiful. It reminded him of the first time he saw her dancing on the stage against the light, and he was immediately attracted to her.

The person reading on the sofa raised his head, saw him, put down the book and said, "You're back. Let's have dinner. I took a taxi from the cafeteria."

Zhao Zhengliu said blankly: "Oh, okay!"

Qianqian took the initiative to talk to me today!

Sitting at the dining table, Zhao Zhengliu said with a smile: "I was originally planning to have lunch with you, but who knew that Xiao Zhang got there first."

Zhou Wenqian held the bowl and said, "I haven't eaten with her for a long time."

Zhao Zhengliu said, "It's good to go out and see more friends. I'm a little tired of the food in the cafeteria after eating it for a long time. How about we go out on the island together on the weekend?"

Zhou Wenqian paused while holding the chopsticks, and said calmly, "Let's talk about it next time."

Zhao Zhengliu was a little disappointed, but he still put on a smile and said, "Okay, let's talk about it when you want to go."

The two of them ate in silence for a while, and Zhou Wenqian took the initiative to speak: "I went to register today."

Zhao Zhengliu was stunned for two seconds, then he reacted and quickly replied, "I know, don't worry, you are so outstanding, you will definitely be selected."

Zhou Wenqian said: "It doesn't matter if I don't get elected, just think of it as going out to relax."

Zhao Zhengliu nodded and said, "Yes, just relax. When I'm done with my work, we can go for a walk on the beach in the evening. The scenery along the coast is particularly beautiful. By the way, every Saturday afternoon, people in the family compound can go to the beach. If you are interested, we can go and have a look. I heard that there are a lot of seafood on the beach at that time..."

He became more and more excited as he spoke, and began to think about their bright future. For the first time, he felt that coming to this island was not bad. They could live in their own world without being disturbed by others.

It seems that Xiao Zhang did a good thing by letting Wen Qian go out to find a job this time!

Zhao Zhengliu picked up the bowl and took a mouthful of rice with a smile, thinking that he should temporarily forgive Xiao Zhang for eating with his wife at noon.

As a man, you should be more generous.

…

At Captain Xue's house, on the dining table, Old Lady Xue was picking at the only dish of pickled vegetables, cabbage and pork slices, with her chopsticks.

She picked up a few large pieces of fat meat and put them into her own bowl, then found the remaining pieces of meat and put them into Captain Xue's bowl.

Captain Xue's daughter-in-law Yin Guixiang had long been accustomed to her mother-in-law's behavior. She held a bowl of rice porridge expressionlessly and fed it to her little daughter, who was less than one year old in her arms.

The two little girls sitting next to Yin Guixiang, one five years old and the other three years old, were staring at the meat on their grandmother's chopsticks.

Captain Xue frowned, picked up the meat in the bowl with chopsticks and shared it with his two daughters, saying, "This month's meat coupons have just been issued, so buy more."

Yin Guixiang said coldly: "The tickets are all kept by my mother."

Old Mrs. Xue was dissatisfied with her son and said, "You can eat it yourself. Why should two little girls eat meat? They have rice to eat because they did good deeds in their previous lives and were reborn into a good family like ours."

Yin Guixiang took a deep breath and wanted to refute her, but Captain Xue spoke first, "The two children are still growing, so what's wrong with them eating some meat?"

Old Mrs. Xue raised her eyebrows and said in a loud voice: "What? You dislike me, an old woman, eating meat? Oh my..." She put down her chopsticks with a snap, clapped her hands exaggeratedly and wailed: "Oh my God, I raised you with my own efforts, and now that you are an official, you start to dislike me, your mother..."

Captain Xue's forehead was throbbing with veins when he heard this. He suppressed his temper and said, "Just eat your meal, what are you making a fuss about? Do you still want the Women's Committee to come to your house?"

Grandma Xue wiped away the nonexistent tears in the corners of her eyes and said, "I just want to let people know how a military officer like you can be so unfilial to me that you can't even give me a bite of meat!"

Captain Xue said angrily, "Aren't all the tickets at home with you? What else do you want?"

Grandma Xue curled her lips and said righteously: "I am your mother, and I should be the one making the decisions at home. You can go to the village and see which family's food is not controlled by the mother-in-law. As long as I am alive, I will be the head of the family!" As she said that, she picked up the chopsticks and stuffed the fat into her mouth, chewing it with big mouthfuls, her mouth full of oil.

Yin Guixiang watched the quarrel between mother and son coldly.

Last year, after Yin Guixiang gave birth to her third daughter, it was her mother who came to take care of her during the confinement period. Who would have thought that during the Chinese New Year, Captain Xue, who had not been home for several years, came back to visit his relatives. When he came back, Mrs. Xue came with him.

As soon as the mother-in-law arrived, she drove away Yin Guixiang's mother, saying that she would take care of her granddaughter herself and would be more attentive than other people's granddaughters. The matter was even reported to the Women's Committee at the time.

In the past few months, Mrs. Xue has done nothing at home, but still wants to eat and drink well every day. If she is not satisfied, she will start to roll around on the ground, and she really rolls around on the ground!

They have also been to the Women's Committee several times. Their family has caused a lot of jokes in the family compound during this period of time. It's so embarrassing!

At night, in the bedroom, Captain Xue said to his wife, "How about asking your mother to come over?"

Yin Guixiang retorted: "Your mother said such harsh words at that time, I was too embarrassed to go back."

Captain Xue said awkwardly, "I wasn't at home at that time."

Yin Guixiang rolled her eyes and said, "Why, you can't stand it anymore? Who asked you to bring your mother over?"

Captain Xue felt a little embarrassed when he said this. Actually, he had his own little thoughts when he took his mother over.

He was the second child in the family and had been neglected by his parents since childhood. Life in the countryside was poor, and although he was the least favored child in the family, he was the tallest child in the family and also ate the most.

Because of this, he was often rejected by his parents when he was young. When he was 16 or 17 years old, in order to have enough food, he joined the army. After so many years, he worked hard and became a battalion commander, which was considered an honor for his family in his hometown.

This time when he went back to visit his relatives, when Aunt Xue said she wanted to come with him to see the world, Captain Xue had a secret desire to show off, so he agreed to bring his mother with him. In fact, deep down, he also wanted to tell her that the child you disliked the most since childhood is now the most successful one, and you did something wrong in the past.

Captain Xue sighed and said, "How could I know that our mother would be such a person now? I originally thought that she would come over to help you take care of the children, so that you can have an easier time."

In fact, people have not changed. Maybe time has beautified their memories.

Yin Guixiang laughed angrily when she heard what he said, "Do you think your mother will help me take care of the children at home? I will be less worried if she leaves."

Captain Xue choked and said, "Mom used this as an excuse not to go back. She said she wanted to take care of her granddaughter. How can I let her go back? Otherwise, people will say we are disrespectful to our elders, and we will lose face."

"Hmph..." Yin Guixiang said, "How can we still have the dignity to stay in our family compound? Go out and ask around, who doesn't know about the mess in our family?"

"If you really want our family to retain some face in the future, find a way to send your mother away as soon as possible."

What Yin Guixiang didn't say was that she had already applied for a job as a childcare worker. If she was hired, even if the old woman didn't leave, she would be in the kindergarten with her three children during the day, and she wouldn't have to suffer at home...