When the car arrived at the station, Gu Changqing reluctantly said to Bai Ruozhen, "Go home early after the New Year."
"Well, be careful on your way." Bai Ruozhen was also reluctant to leave. "I'll be back soon."
Gu Changsong stood at the door of the carriage and called out to him, "Gu Changqing, why don't you stay here for the New Year?"
Upon hearing this, Bai Ruozhen's eyes were filled with anticipation.
Gu Changqing sighed, "I..."
Before he could finish his words, Li Qiulan urged, "Xiao Gu, hurry up and get in the car. It's only ten days, and you'll have plenty of time to spend together."
"Yeah." Gu Changqing thought so too. After the girl married him, she would have fewer opportunities to go home. This was also the last New Year that his daughter Zhenzhen would spend at her parents' home, so he couldn't let her ruin it.
Gu Changqing got into the car, and the car started after a while. Bai Ruozhen's eyes were red, and he didn't want to look away until the car disappeared.
"Let's go back." Li Qiulan said.
Bai Ruozhen responded, "Mom, why don't we go buy New Year's goods? Today is the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, and the New Year is just two days away."
Li Qiulan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Just now I was reluctant to leave Xiao Gu, and now I'm thinking about buying New Year's goods?"
Bai Ruozhen chuckled, "It's the New Year, so we have to be festive."
"Okay, I happen to be free so the department store will probably be crowded. Xiao Gu brought a lot of things this time and you guys have bought a lot these past two days. It's okay if you don't buy anything." In fact, Li Qiulan wanted to spend less and save more, and then give her daughter some money when she leaves so that she can buy some dowry. As parents, they should buy a dowry for their daughter, but unfortunately she is marrying far away and her family is not well off, so they can only do what they can.
Bai Ruozhen said, "That won't work. It's Chinese New Year. Apart from anything else, Ruoyun and Lishan are still waiting to wear new clothes."
"Didn't you bring the cloth when you came back? I made it in the past two days," said Li Qiulan.
"Let's buy some new cotton. The old ones are too hard after being taken apart." Bai Ruozhen said and did not allow Li Qiulan to refuse and pulled her to the department store.
The department store was packed with people. Many companies had already had their holidays and were now out making big purchases. The mother and daughter squeezed for a long time but couldn't get into the crowd of people selling cotton. When there were fewer people around, the salesperson said the cotton was sold out and asked them to come back tomorrow morning.
Li Qiulan said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "Come on, no need to buy it."
Bai Ruozhen refused, "Let Liqiang line up early tomorrow morning."
"Okay, I still have some credit left on my food allowance and I need to spend it all."
Since he was here, he naturally had to buy something to take back. Compared to the counter selling cotton and cloth, there were relatively fewer people at the candy counter. Bai Ruozhen went there to buy some and then went to the wine counter to buy two bottles of wine.
On the way back, Li Qiulan kept nagging, "Forget about buying candy, why buy wine? We still have two bottles at home, enough for your dad to drink for several months."
Bai Ruozhen didn't care, "Let Dad keep it and drink it slowly."
"You kid," Li Qiulan muttered, feeling incredibly relieved. But then she thought about her eldest daughter, and a headache hit her. Yesterday, she received another letter from Bai Ruoxin, still asking for money. She was so upset that she burned the letter without telling her family. While her eldest daughter only wanted to ask for some money from her family, her second daughter was thinking about her parents' struggles. Even though they were both daughters, the difference was too great.
The next day, Bai Jiansheng and Bai Liqiang were both on holiday. Before they could even sleep in, Li Qiulan whisked them out of the house to queue up at the department store. Bai Ruozhen and Li Qiulan woke up and rushed over, only to be surprised to find the father and son were only in the front row, with others already there. Fortunately, their spot wasn't bad, and once the store opened, they were able to buy cotton without any problems. Bai Ruozhen also took the opportunity to buy more fabric, intending to have Li Qiulan and her husband make Bai Liqiang some nice clothes. He was old enough to find a partner.
While Bai Ruozhen was buying cotton, Li Qiulan was over there with Bai Liqiang buying all the food allowances on her grocery list, including sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, and even two pounds of peanut oil. Gu Changqing brought some flour, but she still bought all the remaining allowances, replacing it with cornmeal. She also received a lot of other miscellaneous items. Li Qiulan looked at the pile of things with a smile on her face. She had bought so much this year and she would do the same for the New Year in the future.
Bai Liqiang felt overwhelmed when he heard this.
The family happily returned home after buying everything. Bai Ruoyun and Bai Lishan were the happiest to see the candies. Li Qiulan gave each of them a piece of candy and sealed the package. "One piece each. Don't think I don't know that your second sister and your second brother-in-law have given you a lot these days. If you don't behave, I will take them all back."
The two little guys immediately clutched their pockets and said, "No more." Then they ran away together. The candy their mother bought was not as delicious as the candy given by their second sister and second brother-in-law. They were not stupid.
After dinner, Li Qiulan started kneading the dough. Bai Ruozhen squatted beside her and said, "Mom, let's steam it with all white flour. It's New Year's Day so that everyone can enjoy the meal."
Normally, steamed buns at home are made with a mixture of cornmeal and white flour. After hearing what Bai Ruozhen said, Li Qiulan calculated that it was enough and put the cornmeal in. "That's fine, but I'll steam some cornmeal cakes, and whoever wants to eat them can have them when the time comes."
Bai Ruozhen smiled, thinking that her mother would definitely not want to eat white flour. She must have eaten cornmeal herself and let them eat white flour. However, she didn't know what to say, so she just agreed, "I'll be the chef for tomorrow's New Year's Eve dinner."
Li Qiulan looked up and said, "Okay." What she didn't expect was that her daughter's cooking skills had improved so much after a year in the countryside. The food was even better than when she came back in the summer.
After the steamed buns were done, Li Qiulan simmered the pork, refining the fat and reserving the lean meat for cooking on the 30th night. Then, she hardened her resolve and fried the lotus root, carefully transferring the remaining oil to a bowl for cooking. Seeing Li Qiulan's cautious demeanor, Bai Ruozhen wondered how wonderful it would be if she had a lot of money, so that everyone in her family could enjoy a feast.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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