Chapter 82 Chapter 82 Cousin

The children needed to concentrate when writing, so Meng Yufei and Xia Junshan didn't want to stay here and disturb them, so they went back first and would come back to pick up the two children later.

After leaving the house, Meng Yufei said, "Let's go to the supply and marketing cooperative to see what dishes are available today. We can't always eat in the cafeteria."

Xia Junshan naturally nodded in agreement: "Okay, I'll be the chef for lunch today."

It was now past nine in the morning, so the pork had naturally been sold out long ago. However, there was still some stock at the seafood stall, so the two of them walked over to take a look, and finally bought a pound of shrimp and two ounces of oysters.

Both of these are ticket-free.

"I was having dinner outside with my commander some time ago, and there was a delicious dish called steamed oyster egg. I'll make it for you to try at noon today." Xia Junshan said while holding up the seafood in a bamboo basket.

"Yeah, this dish sounds like Qinqin's favorite." Meng Yufei nodded with a smile.

This season is the time when cucumbers are on the market. The emerald green cucumbers look very tempting. Meng Yufei walked over and bought two for only five cents.

Xia Junshan took the cucumber and said, "Then I will make you a dish of smacked cucumber at noon. My smacked cucumber is really good."

Meng Yufei nodded: "Okay, that's three dishes."

Xia Junshan said: "Let's go to the cafeteria and get some soup then."

Sister Zheng Sanmei, who was working at the fruit stand next door, called out enthusiastically, "Sister Meng, we have fresh lychees on the market today. Do you want to try some?"

Meng Yufei walked over with a smile and asked her, "How much is a pound of lychees?"

"At 40 cents per pound, the lychees this year are good, big, and sweet." Zheng Sanmei recommended enthusiastically, "They are guaranteed to be delicious, and they are all picked early in the morning."

Meng Yufei looked down and saw that there were not many lychees left. It was probably because Zheng Sanmei didn't pick many and was afraid that they would go bad if they couldn't be sold.

"Then I'll take all of these. Weigh them to see how heavy they are." Meng Yufei said.

"Okay." Zheng Sanmei said happily, and hurriedly took the scale to start weighing.

"One pound and two ounces. I'll keep the remainder and calculate it as one pound." As she spoke, she handed the scale over to Meng Yufei to see.

Meng Yufei nodded and smiled: "Okay, thank you then."

Zheng Sanmei said, "I should be the one to thank you for taking care of my business. Go back and try these lychees and see how they taste. If they taste good, come back next time."

After buying the fruits, Xia Junshan took them in one hand and in the other hand was the vegetables he had just bought.

Meng Yufei suddenly remembered that the toothpaste at home was almost used up, so the two of them went into the supply and marketing cooperative again.

Standing behind the department store counter is Yang Panjun.

Seeing Meng Yufei coming in, she smiled and said, "Sister Meng, welcome. What do you want to buy?"

Meng Yufei said: "There is no more toothpaste at home."

"Okay, I'll get it for you." Yang Panjun said, turned around, skillfully found the place for toothpaste on the cabinet that took up the entire wall behind him, took out two tubes of toothpaste and placed them on the counter.

Yang Panjun pointed at the toothpastes and introduced them one by one: "This is Blue Sky toothpaste, 40 cents a tube. This is the newly arrived White Jade toothpaste, which has a fruity scent and is a bit more expensive, 47 cents a tube."

"By the way, Sister Meng, did you bring your old toothpaste tubes? One tube is worth five cents."

Most toothpaste tubes of this era are made of metals such as aluminum and lead. At present, the country's mining and refining costs of aluminum are still relatively high. Recycling toothpaste tubes can be regarded as a rational use of resources.

Moreover, these days, every household uses aluminum pots and aluminum basins. When they are broken, they can be replaced with toothpaste tubes, so many families have the habit of hoarding toothpaste tubes.

In an era of scarce resources, a small toothpaste tube can be put to good use.

Meng Yufei said, "I haven't used up the toothpaste at home yet, I'll bring it over next time. I just want Blue Sky toothpaste, the fruit-flavored one. I have a child at home and I'm afraid she'll swallow it."

Then he opened his bag and took out money to pay the bill.

Yang Panjun nodded: "Okay. Sister Meng is right. I was originally planning to buy a tube of fruit toothpaste for the kids to use, but I didn't think too much about it."

Meng Yufei said: "The main reason is that my Qinqin has done this before, but the child won't do it when he grows up."

"By the way, Panjun, I saw you found the toothpaste right away. It seems you have gotten used to the work here very quickly in the past few days."

Yang Panjun said: "The placement of things here is similar to my previous unit, except that the supply and marketing cooperative here is much larger than the one in our brigade, but it's okay once you get familiar with it. Also, the colleagues here are very enthusiastic."

At this point, her eyes lit up and she couldn't help but smile: "Everyone is very enthusiastic and patient in teaching me how to take over the job. My colleagues are also very easy to get along with, and Director Zhao also cares about me."

The few days she had been at work were the happiest days of her life. There was no gossip, and no one gave her the cold shoulder. Although there were more colleagues than before, everyone got along well.

People who came to buy things only knew that she was a member of Captain Jin's family, not the descendant of a landlord, and were polite to her.

This kind of class is simply too easy!

Now what she looks forward to most every day is going to work, which makes her happy.

Meng Yufei saw the smile on her face and it seemed that she really liked her current job. Her expression at this moment reminded people that she was just a girl in her early twenties.

"It's good enough if you can get familiar with the work. Director Zhao is a very nice person with a straightforward personality and strong working ability. You should learn more from her."

"Yeah, I know."

The couple came out of the supply and marketing cooperative and walked slowly towards their family compound. When they arrived at the gate, they saw a strange man standing there, talking to the young soldier on guard.

"Comrade, is there a regiment leader named Chen among you?"

"Why do you ask this?"

"Oh, I'm the cousin of Captain Chen's wife."

"Do you have a work permit? Which unit do you work for?"

"I'm a reporter from a newspaper in the neighboring city - Lincheng. This is my work ID." The man said as he took out his work ID from his jacket pocket.

Xia Junshan stopped and looked over. Meng Yufei also stopped and followed his line of sight. She saw the camera on the man's chest. He really looked like a reporter.

The young soldier looked at the work ID and said, "Then you wait here for a moment. I will help you notify someone to take you in." Then he returned the work ID to him.

The man took it and said with a smile, "Thank you for your help."

Xia Junshan walked over and asked, "What's wrong?"

When the young soldier saw Xia Junshan, he saluted and said, "Report, this comrade claims to be the cousin of Deputy Commander Chen's wife."

Xia Junshan nodded and looked sideways at the man next to him. He was about 25 years old, about 1.78 meters tall and thin.

She has fair skin, wears glasses, and has no hairpins on her hands. She probably doesn't do any physical labor on a regular basis.

The man met Xia Junshan's eyes and smiled, "Hello."

Xia Junshan pointed at the camera on the man's chest and asked, "Are you a reporter?"

"Yes, this is my work ID." The man nodded and handed the ID over.

Xia Junshan took it and glanced at the name column: Gu Jingwei.

"Are you from Lincheng Daily?"

"right."

"Are you visiting relatives on the island this time?"

"No, I'm working, and I came to see my cousin."

“Why did the people from the next city come back to our place?”

"It's the season for lychees to be in season now, and our newspaper is planning to write an article about them. I heard that the lychees on this island are the best, so my company sent me to do a field survey and take some photos."

"Oh, I see." Xia Junshan nodded and returned the worker to him.

Ever since the last supply and marketing cooperative incident, the troops would investigate strangers before letting them onto the island. If he came to visit relatives at the family compound, they would definitely call the specific person and pick him up at the dock after verification.

The person who came to the family compound alone like this must not have come to the island on the pretext of visiting relatives. Xia Junshan's words just now also had a tentative meaning.

Gu Jingwei's answer just now is very normal and there are no loopholes.

Xia Junshan turned to the young warrior and said, "Captain Chen lives next door to me. I'll take him there."

The little warrior nodded: "Okay, got it."

Xia Junshan pointed at Gu Jingwei's camera and said, "Comrade Gu, you can't bring your camera in. Leave it with Xiaosun first, and come back to get it when you leave."

Gu Jingwei looked a little hesitant, "Comrade, I promise not to take photos, okay? This is the newspaper's stuff, it's public property."

Xia Junshan shook his head.

Gu Jingwei glanced at the camera with a knot in his eyes, gritted his teeth, handed it to his grandson, and said, "Please keep it for me."

The young grandson took the camera and said, "Comrade, don't worry, no one will touch it if it is left here."

So, Xia Junshan and Meng Yufei led Gu Jingwei into the family compound and walked towards the small courtyard.

Meng Yufei glanced at the man out of the corner of her eye. He was well-mannered, gentle and polite, quite different from his cousin Qi Huiying.

As they walked along the road, Gu Jingwei asked, "May I know your names?"

Xia Junshan said: "My last name is Xia, and my wife's last name is Meng."

Gu Jingwei said: "Comrade Xia and Captain Chen are neighbors. I don't know what kind of personality Captain Chen has. I don't know if he will welcome an uninvited relative like me. I'm afraid that if he doesn't welcome me, it will make things difficult for me, your cousin."

Meng Yufei found this a little strange and asked him, "Haven't you met Deputy Head Chen?"

Gu Jingwei explained: "When my cousin got married, I was sick at home and could not meet guests, so I did not go to the head of the group."

Xia Junshan said: "Don't worry, Captain Chen is a real man. You are still his uncle and he is your cousin's husband. He respects you very much, so how can he show you disrespect?"

Gu Jingwei smiled and said, "I am just a cousin after all."

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "My cousin is still my brother. Captain Chen is an honest man. Don't think too much about it."

While we were talking, several people had already arrived.

Xia Junshan pointed to the middle yard in front and said, "This is your cousin's husband's house."

Today is Sunday, and Deputy Head Chen is weeding the land in the yard. Half of the yard is planted with vegetables, and the other half is planted with flowers at Qi Huiying's request.

Xia Junshan rushed into the yard and shouted, "Old Chen, your relatives are here."

When Deputy Head Chen heard this, he wondered in his heart: Why didn’t the person from my hometown tell me?

He straightened up and turned to look at the strange man next to Xia Junshan. He really couldn't remember what kind of relative like this he had in his family.

Suppressing the doubts in his heart, he walked to the gate of the courtyard with a smile and said, "Captain Xia, Director Meng, you are here, please come in and sit down. Who is this?"

Xia Junshan smiled and said, "This is your uncle. He is your cousin. He came to the island to work and came to see you. We happened to meet him at the gate of your family's courtyard, so we brought him in."

After hearing this explanation, Deputy Head Chen suddenly realized what was going on. He quickly wiped his hands on his clothes, reached out and said, "Hello, hello, I have never seen this cousin before."

Gu Jingwei looked at the hand that was stretched out to him. There were still traces of dirt on the fingertips. He stretched out his hand with a smile and shook it, saying, "Hello, I am Huiying's cousin, my name is Gu Jingwei."

"Oh, cousin Gu, please come in. Captain Xia, Director Meng, please come in and sit down." Deputy Captain Chen greeted them warmly.

Xia Junshan and Meng Yufei shook their heads. "We won't go in. We still have work to do at home. We won't delay your family reminiscing. We'll go back first."

After saying that, he waved his hand and walked home. Deputy Head Chen said, "Then come to our house to play next time."

"Okay." The couple nodded and went home.

Deputy Head Chen led this cousin Gu into the house and shouted into the house, "Huiying, your cousin is here, come out and meet him."

Qi Huiying was half lying on the sofa in the living room reading a book. On the tea table in front of her was a plate of lychees, most of which had been eaten, with the lychee shells scattered on the table.

Hearing the voice of Deputy Head Chen, she wondered what cousin she had, and whether he was some poor relative asking for money.

Then I thought, since I am now the descendant of a capitalist, my cousin should also be the child of a wealthy family.

Just as I was thinking about it, Deputy Captain Chen had already led the people into the house.

When Qi Huiying saw the man coming in, her eyes were full of confusion. She quickly searched her memory, who was this man?

Deputy Head Chen saw that she was still lying on the sofa and reminded her, "Huiying, come over and say hello to Cousin Gu."

"Oh." Qi Huiying came back to her senses, spit out the cherry pit in her mouth, put down the book in her hand, stood up from the sofa, walked in front of the two people and said, "Hello, cousin."

Gu Jingwei stared at Qi Huiying from the moment he entered the room. His eyes behind the lens were filled with surprise, astonishment, and doubt...

At this moment, he looked at the person in front of him, who seemed to really not recognize him. He smiled slightly and stretched out his hand and said, "Hello, long time no see, Huiying."

Qi Huiying stretched out her hand and shook it, nodding in agreement, "Yes, it's been a long time."

After a brief physical contact, a figure suddenly flashed through Qi Huiying's mind. A man emerged from the dusty memory of this body. He turned out to be...

After Meng Yufei and Xia Junshan returned home, they started cleaning and changed the sheets and quilt covers in the two rooms. Xia Junshan took the removed sheets to the yard to wash.

Their bed sheets are changed once a week, so they are not very dirty. You just need to put some soap on them and rub them with your hands. Xia Junshan has a strong hand and can wash the sheets quite quickly.

Meng Yufei swept the floor once, and Xia Junshan shouted to the inside, "Fei Fei, just sweep the floor once, I'll mop it later, don't move if your waist is not in good condition."

Meng Yufei said: "Yes, I understand."

She was indeed still a little sour, but she didn't force herself. After sweeping the floor, she took out the shrimps and oysters she had bought and walked to the faucet to process them.

Two people, one washing clothes and the other washing shrimps, sat side by side in front of the faucet.

Meng Yufei said: "That ancient historian doesn't look like Qi Huiying. He is a very polite person."

Xia Junshan laughed and said, "People say that a dragon gives birth to nine sons, and each one is different. Even siblings are very different, let alone cousins."

Meng Yufei nodded: "Yes."

Xia Junshan washed the sheets skillfully, spread them out on the clothesline, then fetched some water and a mop to mop the floor in the house.

By the time Meng Yufei had washed the shrimps and oysters, Xia Jun had already mopped the mountain.

After finishing their work, the couple sat on the sofa to relax.

Xia Junshan took the radio and fiddled with it. He had hardly used it since he bought it, except to listen to the news occasionally in the morning and evening.

He tuned to a channel playing songs, and Xia Junshan put it on the coffee table.

The couple sat on the sofa, listening to songs and talking, enjoying this rare time together.

On the other side, little girl Xia Qinqin was holding the brush tightly in her hand and writing with great concentration. The tip of her pretty nose was sweating slightly, and it was obvious that she was very serious.

"Qinqin, don't hold the pen so hard, relax a little." Aunt Liu appeared behind Xia Qinqin and reminded her softly, then reached out and held Xia Qinqin's hand to help her adjust her posture.

Yueyue and Lele have been learning calligraphy for more than two years, and now they just need some guidance. Lu Yannan also learned calligraphy for a while before, so he has a foundation and does not need to be taught from scratch.

Only Xia Qinqin was a true beginner, so today the main focus was on teaching her how to hold a pen. Aunt Liu patiently taught her step by step, and Xia Qinqin was also a smart child, so she followed along carefully.

After writing for a while, Aunt Liu asked the children to stop writing. The children were still young and their hand bones were not fully developed. Holding a pen and writing for a long time was not good for their health.

Aunt Liu took the children out to see the flowers she planted and introduced the varieties of flowers to them in detail. Xia Qinqin loved flowers the most. Her eyes lit up and she was ready to run over as soon as her legs took a step.

Lu Yannan held her hand and reminded her, "These are flowers specially planted by Grandma Liu for viewing. Don't pick them."

He had seen Xia Qinqin pluck a handful of flowers whenever she saw them on the roadside several times.

Xia Qinqin said, "I won't do that! Mom said that you can't pick flowers from other people's homes, you can only pick wild flowers."

Aunt Liu heard their conversation, walked forward with a smile, picked two of the most beautiful flowers, and gave one to Xia Qinqin and one to Yueyue.

"I plant flowers because I feel good just looking at them, but I think these two flowers look better on your heads than on branches, and they make me happier."

Xia Qinqin took the flower and said in surprise: "Wow, thank you Grandma Liu, this flower is so beautiful."