After brushing her teeth and washing her face, Su Qingci changed into an orange long-sleeved dress, braided her messy hair into two braids, and slicked back the frizz on her forehead with water before opening the door and heading towards Song Jingzhou's room.
Just as Song Jingzhou finished wiping the mat, stool, and small table on the bed with a handkerchief, Su Qingci came to knock on the door.
"Come on, sit here and eat quickly, it'll get cold soon."
Su Qingci didn't stand on ceremony. She took the sweet soy milk, drank a big mouthful, and then ate one soup dumpling after another.
"Have you eaten? Where did this bowl come from?"
Song Jingzhou picked up a soup dumpling and lovingly fed it to her before saying softly, "I've already eaten. This is for you. The bowl is from the shop across the street. We can take it to him when we go out later."
"Is it tasty?"
"Okay!"
Song Jingzhou looked at her chubby little mouth with a smile in his eyes, "This is the last basket. I managed to snag it after a lot of trouble. I knew you would like it."
Su Qingci took a bite of the fried dough stick and grinned at him, "It's a great honor for the family, I like everything you buy."
"Hmm, really handsome. Here, have a bite too."
Song Jingzhou took a bite of the fried dough stick handed to him, tilted his head back slightly, and gently stroked his buzz cut with his large hand.
"No wonder we get along so well and can be a couple. Look, we have all the same interests and hobbies. Hehe, I also think I'm pretty handsome."
Su Qingci burst into laughter at his silly antics.
After eating and drinking their fill, seeing that it was still early, the two went to the black market again, bought a lot of things, and brought them back to Liuhuai Lane.
Si Gui and his two siblings have already gone to school. Liao Fengmei is brewing medicine, while Li Yueniang and Grandma Guo are sitting under a tree in the yard sewing shoe soles.
Upon seeing Su Qingci and Song Jingzhou return, they quickly stepped forward to take the things.
"Oh dear, you're back now, why did you buy things again?"
"Grandma, Grandma Guo, Auntie~"
Hearing the commotion outside, Su Changzhi, who was inside the house, stood up and looked towards the door.
"Xiao Song and Qing Ci are back?"
"Hey, Uncle~"
Song Jingzhou politely greeted everyone in the courtyard before saying, "We just happened to be passing by in the northern suburbs and saw that they were selling these things. It was just something we did on the side. If you go, it will be troublesome for you, and you might not even come across these items."
What did you buy?
Su Qingci pulled out the pieces one by one, "A piece of meat, and some lard. Didn't you say you wanted to press oil last time?"
"I also bought a cured chicken and fifty eggs. You can cook two for Sigui and the others every day. You can cook them in the morning and let them take them to school. Sigui is at a crucial stage of growth. If he doesn't get enough nutrition, he'll be stunted in a couple of years and won't be able to grow any taller."
Li Yueniang swallowed back the nagging that was on the tip of her tongue. Indeed, Si Gui was already sixteen years old, but his height was still about the same as Su Qingci's, less than 1.6 meters. When Su Jindong was sixteen, he was at least half a head taller than him.
"Okay, okay, we should buy the eggs."
Song Jingzhou placed the large sack of rice on the table. "This is rice, bought by Qingci."
"Didn't Grandma like to drink porridge? Qingci also likes to eat rice. She said that her uncle and his family probably like it too. They just happened to come across some, so they carried 60 jin (30 kg) back with them."
"Let's eat at home first, and then we'll buy more when we run out."
When Li Yueniang heard that Qingci and her brother-in-law both liked it, she nodded repeatedly, "Good, good, this is fine grain, it's not easy to buy. As soon as it arrives at the grain station, it's snatched up. I was just planning to take your aunt to the black market in the next couple of days."
"Come on, Song boy, carry this to the grain jar inside for Grandma."
Liao Fengmei quickly poured two bowls of tea, saying, "They're both cold."
"Okay, thank you, Auntie."
Su Changzhi asked Su Qingci with a pained expression, "Qingci, this must have cost a lot of money, right?"
As an elder, he should have been the one buying things for Qingci, but his niece has been the one subsidizing the family all along.
They haven't returned the clothes they rented last time, and they keep buying this and that. I bet all of my niece's meager salary is going towards supporting their family.
Su Changzhi always felt that his family's return had been a burden to the Su family, and he was filled with guilt.
Su Qingci knew perfectly well what her uncle was thinking.
"Uncle, we're all family, don't overthink it. My brother and I are the same as Si Gui and the others. When we were younger, we also had two eggs every day."
"Money is meant to be spent, not saved up to rot. The most important thing is that the whole family is healthy, happy, and joyful."
Li Yueniang came out just in time to hear Su Qingci and Su Changzhi's conversation, and nodded repeatedly.
"Yes, Qingci is right. You don't need to worry about money. By the way, I have some good news to tell you."
"Didn't I say before that I would help Fengmei find a job?"
Liao Fengmei looked up with a look of surprise and delight, "Mother, but, but is there any progress on the job thing?"
Li Yueniang nodded. "Yes, a formal female worker at the textile factory. If you get the job, you can start working at the end of the month. You'll have a fixed amount of money and coupons every month. Changzhi's health is gradually improving. Once he's better, we can find him a job, and then the whole family will gradually get better."
Liao Fengmei was very excited and held Su Changzhi's hand tightly.
During this period, she had to eat and drink as soon as she opened her eyes. All three children were growing, and the food in the jar was being consumed rapidly. Changzhi's medicine was also expensive. As an outsider and a mother of three, her worries were no less than Su Changzhi's.
Su Changzhi felt a surge of excitement upon hearing Li Yueniang's words. It was wonderful! With Fengmei's job, their family could finally establish themselves in the capital. Although they might not be able to save much money, at least they wouldn't be a burden on their mother anymore.
Once he recovers, he can find a job to help support the family. Even if it's not a formal job, manual labor will do. He will definitely take good care of his mother then.
Su Qingci's eyes flashed with understanding. Grandma must have already contacted Grandpa, otherwise, how easy would it be to find a permanent job in Kyoto?
Not to mention the female workers in the textile factory, which is a big factory.
Even if someone happens to be selling their job, it wouldn't be a family like the Su's, since there are plenty of wealthy people in Kyoto.
However, each job position is filled by a specific person.
"Old woman, give me a hand. Come eat lunch here. You're too lazy to cook for yourself."
Just as Guo Xiaomao was about to refuse, Li Yueniang said, "Didn't you buy a big bunch of garlic sprouts before? Bring them over and stir-fry them with cured chicken."
Guo Xiaomao, hearing that Li Yueniang was not being polite to him, also stopped being polite to her.
"Okay, I'll go get it right now. Do you still want the pickled cabbage?"
"Bring me a bowl too. Oh, and bring me your cleaver. My lamb leg cleaver is all curled up and it's tiring to use."
"Okay, I got it."
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