Chapter 43 Chapter 43 Monday morning. Although...

Monday morning.

Even though that big thing happened yesterday, I still have to go to work today.

After Xia Qinqin had a good sleep, she felt much better. Meng Yufei helped her change her clothes, braided her hair into two small braids, and put on a shiny hairpin.

After getting up, Xia Qinqin looked around the room and asked, "Mom, where's Dad?"

Meng Yufei said: "Dad has to go to work, and Mom also has to go to work today. Does Qinqin want to accompany Mom?"

"want."

Picking up her shoulder bag, Meng Yufei held Xia Qinqin's hand and walked towards the cafeteria facing the morning sun.

Today's breakfast includes sugar-coated buns. Meng Yufei ordered one, a vegetable bun, and a bowl of porridge.

Breaking open the sugar-coated bun, steaming syrup flowed out from inside. Xia Qinqin held the bun in both hands and ate the dough soaked in syrup in small bites.

After finishing the syrup in the middle, Xia Qinqin stopped eating and threw away the remaining dough and said, "Mom, I'm full."

Meng Yufei looked at her daughter chewing the remaining dough, her eyebrows twitched. She urged: "Why don't you eat the rest together?"

Xia Qinqin shook her head, "No, it's not delicious."

Well... Meng Yufei took the leftover dough from her daughter and ate it herself. White flour was very expensive these days, and if people saw them throwing away the white flour, they would be scolded to death.

Worried that her daughter would be hungry in the morning, Meng Yufei went to buy a boiled egg, peeled it and handed it to her. Xia Qinqin took it and ate only the egg white, while Meng Yufei took care of the yolk.

After breakfast, the mother and daughter went out and went upstairs.

Xiao Zhang had already arrived and was sweeping the floor. When he saw Meng Yufei and Xia Qinqin, he smiled and said, "Good morning, Sister Meng, Qinqin."

Xia Qinqin waved and said, "Good morning, Auntie Xiao Zhang."

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "Good morning, Xiao Zhang, how was your weekend?"

Xiao Zhang shrugged and said, "I've been lying in the dormitory all day. I only have one day off a week and I don't want to go anywhere. It would be great if I could have two days off someday. I could go out and play one day and rest at home the other day."

Meng Yufei said, "I also hope to have two days off." Then she put her bag on the chair, went to get some water, wet the rag and started to wipe the table.

Xia Qinqin came up to Xiao Zhang and said, "Auntie Xiao Zhang, yesterday my parents and I took a boat to eat shrimp dumplings."

Xiao Zhang asked, "Oh? Is it delicious?"

Xia Qinqin nodded vigorously, and the two little braids also nodded, "Mm mmm, delicious! We also had double skin milk, smooth and soft..."

Xiao Zhang bent down and smiled, "Wow, Qinqin ate so many delicious foods, so you must have had a very happy weekend."

"Yeah, happy~" Xia Qinqin said with a smile.

After a while, strangers were heard talking in the corridor outside. Xiao Zhang ran out curiously to take a look and came back and said, "Sister Meng, the kindergarten teachers and staff came to report today. I just saw Yin Guixiang, she came with three children."

Meng Yufei said: "Really? It seems that Yin Guixiang is really taking care of the child alone this time."

Xiao Zhang said, "Let's see how her mother-in-law can stay here."

Meng Yufei shook her head. "Do you think her mother-in-law will be embarrassed? Captain Xue should get rid of his mother himself. But at least now everyone knows that Mrs. Xue is not only not helping to take care of the children, but also beating her daughter-in-law. Let Mrs. Xue go back later, and no one can gossip."

Xiao Zhang sighed and said, "It's unlucky for Yin Guixiang to have such a mother-in-law." Thinking of her good sister Wen Qian's mother-in-law, Xiao Zhang shook her head and said, "I don't even dare to get married!"

Meng Yufei said: "Not all people are like Mrs. Xue."

Xiao Zhang asked curiously, "Sister Meng, what is your mother-in-law like?"

Meng Yufei said: "My parents-in-law died early, and I have never met them."

Xiao Zhang said: "Then I will do the same as you and marry someone who doesn't have a mother-in-law. This way there will be fewer conflicts between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law."

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "Marriage matters mainly depend on fate."

Boom boom!

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation, and standing at the door was Mrs. Zhang.

Meng Yufei smiled and stood up and walked over to him, "Mrs. Zhang, are you here to report? Come in and have a drink of water."

Mrs. Zhang waved her hands and said, "No, I just came to say hello to you. I'll go to the next door to take care of some formalities."

Xia Qinqin saw Aunt Zhang and trotted over to greet her, "Good morning, Aunt Zhang." She looked behind Aunt Zhang and asked, "Isn't Sister Fangfang here today?"

Mrs. Zhang said, "I came here today to take care of some formalities. I thought that we would be assigned some work later, and bringing Xiaoya here would cause trouble, so I sent her to Aunt Liu's house and asked her to help look after her."

Meng Yufei said, "If I had known earlier, you should have brought her here so she can play with Qinqin."

Mrs. Zhang smiled and said, "The kindergarten will probably start in the next two days. Then they can have a good time playing together."

Xiao Zhang nodded and said, "We put up the fence last week. Today I asked you to clean up the two classrooms. The kindergarten should be able to open soon."

Meng Yufei thought about the kindergarten toys that were still in the army. She didn't know when they would be delivered. After all, Wang Zhiyi was in charge of purchasing them, so they would definitely have to be checked carefully.

Mrs. Zhang said, "You guys are busy here, I'll go over first."

Meng Yufei nodded and said, "Sister-in-law, take care."

In the morning, after two childcare workers and three teachers finished the formalities at the Personnel Department, Section Chief Chen took them to the meeting room of the Logistics Department, and then Director Fu came in with the head teacher Tian Ruizhi.

Director Fu cleared his throat and said, "Good morning, comrades. First of all, welcome to join the big family of the Logistics Department. We will be colleagues in the future. I hope that you will perform your duties in your respective positions and better serve the comrades in the Family Courtyard!"

After he finished speaking, there was applause from the crowd.

Director Fu pointed to Tian Ruizhi next to him and introduced her: "The one next to me is the principal of the kindergarten, Comrade Tian Ruizhi. She will be in charge of the related work of our kindergarten in the future. Everyone welcomes her."

There was another round of applause, and Tian Ruizhi said, "Hello everyone, my name is Tian Ruizhi. People in the family home are used to calling me Sister Tian. I have been engaged in the education industry for most of my life, and now I have been appointed by the organization to serve as the principal of the kindergarten. I thank the organization and comrades for their trust in me."

"Many people may underestimate the education in kindergartens, thinking that it is just about taking children to play. But I want to say that a person's enlightenment education is very important. Doing a good job of enlightenment for children will have a crucial impact on their future path of study. I hope everyone can take their work seriously, work together, and build a good kindergarten together, and live up to the expectations of the organization and parents!"

After hearing this, several people nodded respectfully and responded in unison: "Okay."

Tian Ruizhi said: "Today we will go and clean those two classrooms and try to get the children back to school as soon as possible, so as to reduce the burden on the families."

She turned to Director Fu and said, "Director, please use the loudspeaker to notify the families who are willing to send their children here to register at the house west of the Women's Committee tomorrow, and they can send their children here the day after tomorrow."

Director Fu was a little surprised and asked, "Is it so urgent? How about giving you two more days to prepare?"

Tian Ruizhi said, "There's nothing to prepare. The kindergarten in town has been open for a long time. The classrooms and teachers are all there. I happen to have the textbooks used for the literacy campaign. Let's get the children over first."

Director Fu nodded and said, "Okay, you are the principal of the kindergarten, and everything about this kindergarten is up to you."

Tian Ruizhi took several faculty members downstairs and came to the front row of rooms.

She instructed, "The three of you teachers will be responsible for cleaning the left side of the house, and I and two childcare workers will be responsible for cleaning the right side. I put the cleaning tools in the house early this morning, so go in and see if you need anything and tell me."

Tang Jiayi, Wei Shufang, and Zhou Wenqian nodded and walked towards the classroom on the left.

Tian Ruizhi then said to the remaining two people, "Comrade Yin Guixiang, please leave the child in the Women's Committee next door. I will talk to Director Wang and ask them to help you look after the child. Comrade Zhang Laifeng, please go to the room on the left first."

Mrs. Zhang nodded and said, "Okay."

Yin Guixiang said embarrassedly: "I'm sorry to trouble you."

Tian Ruizhi said: "What's the problem? The original intention of building a kindergarten is to help families like you who have trouble taking care of children. Besides, isn't their Women's Committee also there to help us women solve problems?"

As she spoke, Tian Ruizhi led Daya and Erya, one in each hand, towards the Women's Committee, and Yin Guixiang followed behind with the children in her arms.

After a while, the announcer's voice sounded again from the loudspeaker of the logistics department: "Dear families, please pay attention. The registration for the kindergarten in the family courtyard has begun. Families with children of appropriate age are requested to go to the kindergarten on the west side of the Women's Committee tomorrow to register. The kindergarten will open the day after tomorrow."

Xiao Zhang turned around and said, "Qinqin, did you hear what was said on the loudspeaker? You will go to kindergarten the day after tomorrow. I have good news for you. Aunt Wenqian is your teacher."

Xia Qinqin was lying on the table reading a book. When she heard what Auntie Xiao Zhang said, she raised her head and said happily, "Really? Then can I see Auntie Wen Qian every day?"

Xiao Zhang was surprised and said, "Yes, don't you like her very much? She will teach you to sing and dance and play games with you in the future. Are you happy?"

Xia Qinqin nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm happy~" She turned around and asked Meng Yufei, "Mom, will Sister Fangfang go to kindergarten with me?"

Meng Yufei nodded and said, "Yes, she will go with you."

Xia Qinqin smiled and said, "Wow, that's great, I can play house with Sister Fangfang."

At the kindergarten, several teachers and staff were cleaning.

The two rooms were originally going to be connected, and everything inside was emptied. The day before yesterday, Tian Ruizhi and Director Wang went to the warehouse and brought in a few long benches that were used in the blind elimination class before, and they were just right for the children to use.

The table was not needed because it was too high for the children. The legs of the bench were sawed shorter to make it easier for the children to sit.

Kindergarten does not have any academic requirements for children. The teacher only needs to teach them some words and addition and subtraction on the blackboard, and the children just need to sit down and learn. There is no need to assign homework, and naturally there is no need for desks.

Anyway, just survive for now, and wait until the kindergarten is on track, then slowly buy things later. First solve the problem of whether there are enough, then solve the problem of whether it is good or not.

The two rooms were cleaned quite quickly. Several people divided the work among themselves. Some cleaned the windows, some mopped the floor. There were no arguments or conflicts, and everyone worked seriously.

After all, when selecting people, one thing they examined was how they behaved in their daily lives. Even Wei Shufang was kind when interacting with others in public.

In just one morning, both classrooms were cleaned.

Tian Ruizhi nodded with satisfaction and said to them, "Not bad, our kindergarten has completed its first mission very well. It's a good start. I believe everything will go smoothly in the future."

The others just smiled and said nothing, only Wei Shufang smiled and flattered: "This is all because of your good leadership, Director."

Among these people, some are quiet, some are incapable of speaking, and some are too lazy to speak. In short, they are all quiet and taciturn, except for Wei Shufang.

Tian Ruizhi did not respond to Wei Shufang's flattery, and continued: "Let's divide the classes first. Two classrooms, two classes. The logistics department suggested that one class should accept children under three years old, and one class should accept children over three years old. I think this suggestion is very good, what do you think?"

Several people nodded, and Tang Jiayi said, "Children under three years old have poor self-care ability and need to be watched and cared for all the time. Children over three years old have the ability to take care of themselves, so they can be taught some knowledge and are easier to take care of."

Tian Ruizhi said, "That's what I thought. I plan to assign both of the caregivers to the small class so that they can better take care of these younger children. Just one teacher will be assigned there. The other two teachers will go to the large class. If they are too busy, I will be added."

After that, she looked at the three teachers and asked, "Does anyone among you want to go to the small class?"

Wei Shufang spoke first, "Principal Tian, ​​Teacher Tang just said that older children are easier to take care of, but I don't agree. Children over three years old, who can run and jump and don't like to listen to adults, are not easy to take care of. I have a five-year-old boy at home, and I know children of this age too well. I really can't relax for even a moment."

Tian Ruizhi asked: "So, Teacher Wei, what do you mean?"

Wei Shufang smiled and said, "I'll be frank. I want to teach in a large class. My kid is here too. He's a naughty boy and most people can't control him."

Zhou Wenqian suddenly said, "Since your child is so naughty, if you become his teacher, won't he be more arrogant because his mother is a teacher? He might even bully his classmates in private."

Wei Shufang's face froze. She glanced at Zhou Wenqian, who had been silent and quiet, and she didn't expect that she would be mocked as soon as she spoke.

"Haha, how is that possible? My child is just a little naughty and will never bully others." Wei Shufang said immediately.

Tian Ruizhi said: "It is normal for children of this age to be naughty and mischievous. The most important thing is the education and guidance of our teachers."

When Wei Shufang heard this, she immediately laughed and said, "Yes, Principal Tian is right. How could such a young child be as bad as Teacher Zhou said?"

Zhou Wenqian said calmly: "Is that so? Then just think of it as me overthinking it."

Wei Shufang was annoyed by her neither salty nor indifferent attitude.

Tian Ruizhi said, "However, what Teacher Zhou just said makes sense. Children are immature and will inevitably be influenced by the people around them. If you become the teacher of your child's class, other children may subconsciously be afraid to please your child. How about this, Teacher Wei will go to the small class, and Teacher Tang and Teacher Zhou will go to the large class."

Her words were final, and Tang Jiayi and Zhou Wenqian nodded and said, "Okay."

Wei Shufang: “…” Since everyone agreed, she had no choice but to nod.

At noon, when Meng Yufei brought Xia Qinqin back home, Xia Junshan had already arrived home. There was a snakeskin bag in the living room, which was the one that they were taken back by the troops yesterday.

Xia Junshan poked his head out of the kitchen and said with a smile, "You guys are back."

Xia Qinqin smiled and jumped over. Xia Junshan bent down to catch his daughter. Xia Qinqin said with a smile, "Dad, you came back earlier than us today."

Xia Junshan kissed his daughter on the cheek and asked her with a smile: "Yes, Daddy came home early today, so I made you some steamed eggs. Are you happy?"

Xia Qinqin nodded and said, "Happy~"

Meng Yufei said, "Why did you come back so early today?" She pointed to the snakeskin bag in the living room, "We've also sent back our stuff."

Xia Junshan said: "This morning's work went smoothly. We have retrieved the items from the sea. We have also checked the items on the ship. Those without problems will be sent to the owners first. I will take back our things."

Meng Yufei walked into the living room and saw that the snacks and candies on the dining table had been taken back. Xia Qinqin acted coquettishly to Xia Junshan: "Dad, I'm hungry and want to eat candy." She pointed her little hand towards the dining table.

Xia Junshan glanced at Meng Yufei, and sure enough, Meng Yufei refused, "No, we have to eat later. Mom will give it to you in the afternoon."

Xia Qinqin turned her head away angrily, and Xia Junshan smiled and comforted her: "Qinqin, save some space for Daddy's steamed eggs, and try Daddy's cooking skills to see if they are as delicious as Mommy's."

Xia Qinqin pouted and said, "Okay, I'll save some space for eggs and have candy in the afternoon. I want two!" Then she stretched out two fingers and held them in front of her.

Meng Yufei said with a smile: "Okay, Mom will give you another piece of pineapple cake."

Xia Qinqin smiled, trotted over and hugged Meng Yufei's waist, and said sweetly: "Thank you, Mom~ I can have two candies and a snack in the afternoon. Qinqin is the happiest child~"

Xia Junshan watched the mother and daughter get along so well with a smile. He walked over to take the bag from Meng Yufei, took out the lunch box and put it on the table, and then went to the kitchen to get a plate to put the food in.

Meng Yufei took Xia Qinqin to wash their hands. When they came back, they sat at the dining table. Xia Junshan served them steamed eggs.

"Okay, let's eat." Xia Junshan said as he sat down.

Glancing at the steamed eggs, Meng Yufei smiled and said, "Your skill in steaming eggs is very high. The surface of the eggs is smooth and delicate, and you can tell at a glance that they are very tender."

Xia Junshan scooped two spoonfuls of eggs for Meng Yufei and Xia Qinqin respectively, and then helped Xia Qinqin mix the eggs and rice in the bowl, and said with a smile: "How do you guys taste it?"

Meng Yufei took a bite, nodded and praised: "It's delicious, the temperature is just right, the taste is fresh and smooth, much better than the last time I steamed it too long."

Xia Qinqin also raised her thumb and praised, "It's delicious. The eggs made by dad and mom are as delicious! Qinqin loves the steamed eggs made by dad and mom the most." After saying that, she buried her head and took a spoon to eat the rice with eggs in big mouthfuls.

Xia Junshan said happily: "As long as you like it, I will cook for you often in the future." He was thinking that when he had time, he would ask the chef in the cafeteria for advice on how to cook two home-cooked dishes, and then come back to show off his skills to the mother and daughter.

Meng Yufei scooped two spoonfuls of steamed eggs for Xia Junshan, "Try it too, you made it yourself."

Xia Junshan said, "By the way, the toys for the kindergarten have also been inspected. No problems were found. They were sent to the supply and marketing cooperative this morning. Let the kindergarten staff pick them up this afternoon."

Meng Yufei was a little surprised: "So fast? Wasn't this batch of goods prepared by Wang Zhiyi? I thought they would be kept in the army for a while longer."

Xia Junshan said: "The commander said that we cannot delay the opening of the kindergarten, so he specially asked someone to check it out first."

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "The teacher really cares about the children's education."

Xia Junshan said: "Children are the flowers of the motherland, so we must pay more attention to them."

After dinner, Xia Junshan cleaned up the dishes and took them to the kitchen to wash. Meng Yufei opened the snakeskin bag in the living room and took out the things inside to clean up.

On the top were two mosquito nets, which Meng Yufei took out and placed on the sofa. Below that were three people's new shoes, which Meng Yufei took to the shoe cabinet at the door and placed. Xia Qinqin followed behind Meng Yufei and helped her get the shoes.

Next were the clothes, which were taken out one by one and placed on the sofa.

Xia Junshan came out and saw that the sofa was full of clothes. He asked, "Do you want to take the clothes back to the closet?"

Meng Yufei shook her head and said, "I plan to wash it first."

Xia Junshan rolled up his sleeves and said, "I'll wash it. You should wash the mosquito net as well. You take Qinqin back to the room for a nap first."

Meng Yufei said: "Don't worry, you can wash it in a few days."

Xia Junshan picked up the clothes and said, "Let's just wash them today. The sun is shining brightly today. If we wash them at noon, we can dry them in the afternoon."

—————

After get off work in the morning, Yin Guixiang took her daughters directly to the cafeteria in the back to eat. The cafeteria had braised pork today, and the delicious smell made people drool.

Seeing the two children, Daya and Erya, looking at the braised pork eagerly, Yin Guixiang took out the meat coupons that her family had saved, went to the window and ordered a portion of braised pork, stir-fried vegetables and three taels of rice.

Putting a large piece of braised pork in the bowls of Daya and Erya respectively, Yin Guixiang said, "Eat it. The meat is very fragrant. The meat cooked by the chef in the cafeteria is much better than mine."

Daya saw that only her mother and daughter were at the table, so she asked quietly, "Aren't Dad and the others coming to eat?"

Yin Guixiang said: "From now on, we will eat together and not with them."

After hearing this, Daya happily picked up her chopsticks and ate the meat, "Mom, this meat smells so good."

Erya, who was eating beside her, had her mouth full of oil and nodded repeatedly, "It smells good and tastes good!"

Yin Guixiang smiled and said, "If it tastes good, eat more. This bowl of meat is all yours today. We'll continue eating meat tomorrow!" As she said that, she put a few more pieces of meat into their bowls.

Daya picked up a piece of meat and put it into Yin Guixiang's bowl, "Mom, you eat meat too."

Yin Guixiang touched her daughter's head and said, "Okay, we will all eat meat from now on."

…

After get off work, Captain Xue went to the army cafeteria to eat, and then brought a meal back to Mrs. Xue.

Mrs. Xue opened the lunch box and saw the rice and fried potato shreds inside. She said in disgust, "Why can't I see any fishy smell at all?"

Captain Xue said, "The food in the army cafeteria is just like this. It's good to be able to eat white rice in the past two years. Before, it was mixed with coarse grains."

Mrs. Xue asked, "Why don't you go to the canteen in the family compound to get a bowl of wine?"

Captain Xue said, "It's too far. I'm too lazy to go around it. Besides, I don't have any tickets. You can only use my tickets this month. Be frugal."

Mrs. Xue said angrily, "You are her husband and I am her mother-in-law. Why don't you give us the tickets for her and her children?"

Captain Xue said nonchalantly, "Then go to the logistics department and make trouble. The leader has talked to me today. If I can't handle the family affairs well, I will leave the army. Then I will go back to my hometown to farm. Oh, by the way, I can have a room in the house at home."

"Where is your house?" Mrs. Xue asked anxiously, "There are not enough houses at home now, where is there an empty house?"

Captain Xue sneered, "No house? A few years ago you sent me a letter saying you wanted to build a new house, and I sent you 300 yuan. How can I have a share of this house?"

Mrs. Xue said, "The new house is for Goudan to marry a wife when he grows up. Don't fight with him for it!"

After hearing this, Captain Xue was too lazy to argue with her anymore and just turned around and went into the house.

Mrs. Xue curled her lips and muttered, "The richer you are, the more you want. Even though you're an official, you're still thinking about your nephew's house."

…

After dinner, Yin Guixiang took the children home to rest. When she entered the living room, she saw an empty lunch box on the dining table with a pair of chopsticks next to it.

At first glance at the cleanliness of the lunch box, I thought it was a washed lunch box. But when I saw the chopsticks placed next to it, I realized that it was not washed after eating.

Yin Guixiang naturally would not go to wash. The door of the small room was half open, and the snoring of Mrs. Xue could be heard. Yin Guixiang frowned in disgust and took her daughters into the master bedroom.

Captain Xue was lying in bed, not sleeping at all. When he saw Yin Guixiang and her daughters coming back, he asked, "Have you eaten?"

Yin Guixiang ignored him, went around to the bed, put her little daughter on the rocking bed in front of the window, and coaxed her to sleep.

Daya replied: "Mom took us to the cafeteria to eat."

Erya added: "After eating the meat, it smells so good."

Daya immediately snorted at Erya, and then glanced at Captain Xue, as if she was afraid that her father would be angry with them for eating meat.

Seeing his daughter's defensive attitude towards him, Captain Xue felt a pang of pain in his heart. He forced a smile and said softly, "Dad will buy you some meat next time."

Yin Guixiang then asked him, "I saw a pair of unwashed chopsticks on the table outside. What? Didn't you eat?"

Captain Xue said, "I ate in the army cafeteria."

Yin Guixiang nodded and said, "I was just saying, who would only wash one pair of chopsticks?"

Captain Xue sighed, stood up and said, "I'll go wash it."

Yin Guixiang looked at her husband's figure and sneered in her heart: He deserves it!