◎First update◎
Zhou Yun looked at the cloth that Baozhen bought and praised it for its beauty. She stayed at home and prepared to make clothes at any time. A few years ago, Xu Shengjie went to join the army and could only come home once in a while. The family had not celebrated the Spring Festival together for several years. This year, not only did Xu Shengjie come back, but he also had a wife, so everyone must have a new piece of clothing.
After buying the cloth, they also needed a bicycle. Zhou Yun asked the two to have a meal and wait until the sun was over before going out. "Xiao Jie, let Bao Zhen choose one that she can ride comfortably. You are tall and strong, and it is different from Bao Zhen to ride comfortably."
"I know. I'll listen to her then."
It was after the sun's highest point at noon that Xu Shengjie and Liang Baozhen went out together.
The North City Department Store is the place in the city that sells the most bicycle brands, with more than ten brands neatly displayed in two rows.
The two of them arrived by bus. They couldn't take their eyes off the brand new 28-bar bicycles, which were neatly arranged and glowed with a metallic silvery white light.
There are quite a few people in the building who come to see the bicycles. They don’t buy them, but just look at them. Bicycle tickets are really hard to come by, and it’s good to enjoy the sight.
The salesperson ignored him, apparently used to this kind of scene.
"Don't touch them. These 28-bars are new. Don't leave fingerprints. Only buyers can touch them."
Liang Baozhen said something to the salesperson, and many people withdrew their hands. Then she looked at the wall and saw a banner with several large characters warning the salesperson - not to hit or scold customers.
"Comrade, we are here to buy bicycles." Xu Shengjie and Liang Baozhen walked over and stated their purpose first. After all, they wanted to choose something and they had to touch it.
"Do you have bicycle tickets?" the salesperson replied lazily without even blinking.
"Yes." Liang Baozhen took out a handkerchief from her bag, opened the four corners, and showed the valuable bicycle ticket to the salesperson.
After looking at the bicycle tickets, the salesperson finally became interested and took the two of them to see the bikes.
"What brand do you want to buy? We have the most brands in the city, and the quality is also good, Phoenix, Feiduo, Yongjiu, Xing'an..."
"We don't want the one from Xing'an." Liang Baozhen remembered Cheng Caili's repeated instructions and rejected it immediately.
The salesperson glanced at Liang Baozhen and said to Xu Shengjie, "Xing'an is the cheapest. You can buy one for 110 yuan. The most expensive one from Fenghuang is 180 yuan."
The monthly salary of workers in the city is 30 to 40 yuan, and a bicycle can be equivalent to half a year's salary. In order to save money, many people buy Xing'an directly. After all, the difference is 70 yuan, which is two months' salary.
Sometimes it’s no wonder that she states the price directly. There are always people who buy Phoenix brand and then think it’s too expensive. After a lot of trouble, they want to change it to Xing’an brand. Later, she simply stated the price clearly in advance.
The people who came to buy the bicycles were obviously a couple, especially the man, who was wearing the work clothes of the National Cotton Factory. She guessed that he was the one with the final say in the family, so she simply ignored Liang Baozhen and only asked Xu Shengjie for his opinion.
Xu Shengjie knew from the salesperson's eyes that she had misunderstood, and said directly, "Comrade, listen to my wife. She is the one who makes the decisions in our family."
Oh, you still listen to your wife.
"Okay, I'll talk to your wife." This time, she finally watched Liang Baozhen introduce several brands. "Try it yourself. If you want to ride a lesbian, the Phoenix and the Flying Pigeon are both good. They are easy to ride."
Liang Baozhen touched the bicycle. The cool metal texture was really different. She stepped on it to test the height and it looked quite realistic.
But how could she make the decision on her own? After all, the money and tickets were given by Xu Shengjie.
"Phoenix or Dove, which one do you want?"
"Which one do you like?" Xu Shengjie had no opinion. After thinking for a while, he added, "It's just ten dollars. Don't worry about the price. They are all about the same."
Since it's going to cost more than a hundred dollars, there's no need to worry about the difference of ten dollars. After all, it's a piece of furniture that you can use for many years, so it's best to pick one that you like and is comfortable.
"Then let's go with the Phoenix one." Liang Baozhen took a look and still liked it.
"Okay." Xu Shengjie listened to the whole process and finally paid 180 yuan and a bicycle ticket. However, the bicycle ticket also cost 300 yuan, and the bicycle finally cost 480 yuan.
The two came empty-handed and returned on bicycles.
This was the second time Liang Baozhen rode Xu Shengjie’s bicycle. The first time was on their wedding day. However, that bicycle was borrowed from Hong Saner, while today’s bicycle was from her own home!
Sitting also seems more comfortable.
Xu Shengjie felt weight on the back seat, and then a pair of white hands embraced his waist, almost hugging him. Looking at those hands, he smiled unconsciously.
"Let's go."
"Is the new bike easy to ride?" Liang Baozhen, who bought a bicycle, was obviously excited and kept asking questions along the way.
"It's OK. It was a bit strenuous at first, and I'm not riding smoothly yet." Xu Shengjie's voice drifted back intermittently, "When we get to the entrance of the alley, do you want to try it? I remember you learned it before."
"Great! When I was learning to ride a bicycle, my second brother praised me for being so good and I could ride away in no time." Liang Baozhen was eager to try and wanted to change positions immediately.
When they reached the entrance of the alley, Xu Shengjie braked. A group of children in the yard gathered around him, staring at the bicycle intently.
"Brother Xu, did your family buy a bicycle?"
"Dad, Mom, you bought a bicycle too!"
"Brother, sister-in-law, this car is so beautiful."
Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengwei didn't know how to ride a bicycle yet, so they could only try it out and wait for their eldest brother to teach them, but their sister-in-law spoke first.
"I'll ride for a while, then let your big brother teach you."
"good!"
"Sister-in-law, you are amazing. You can even ride a bicycle."
Liang Baozhen took the handlebars from Xu Shengjie and sat on it neatly. She rode the commune's bicycle for a short distance back then. Now she recalled the key points she had mastered back then. She stepped on the pedals and the wheels started to whirr...
"Wow~Oh~" A group of little kids cheered nearby. They were excited to see the bicycle moving and kept cheering Liang Baozhen on.
Liang Baozhen found the feeling while riding, and pedaled harder and harder, and her speed increased. She saw Xu Shengjie on the side of the road watching her. Several times, he saw her losing balance and staggering, and he made a gesture to come over to pick her up.
"No, no, I can do it!" Liang Baozhen smiled and her two braids swayed. When the wind blew, her short-sleeved jacket danced in the wind, outlining her slender waist.
The sun was shining brightly at this moment, but it was not as bright as Liang Baozhen's smile as she rode her bicycle.
"How was it?" Liang Baozhen rode two laps and became more and more proficient. Finally, she braked to Xu Shengjie's side and asked him with her chin raised, "I rode well, didn't I?"
"Very good, you can ride very steadily after just two laps." Xu Shengjie did not hesitate to say a word this time, his brows relaxed, and his words were full of smiles, "It's like a veteran who has been riding for many years."
"I'll ride one more lap, and then you can go teach Xiaowei and Xiaoya." Liang Baozhen is addicted to cycling, and she is in high spirits. Looking at her younger brothers and sisters who are eager to try, she waved her hand and said, "Xiaowei and Xiaoya, you wait a little longer."
"Okay!" The two of them jumped up and down in response, excitedly waiting for their sister-in-law to finish riding so that they could start learning to ride a bike.
On the last lap, Liang Baozhen rode from the entrance of the alley to the gate of the National Cotton Mill, and then rode back in a hurry. It must be said that the feeling of walking and riding a bike on the same road is completely different, as if the wind here is more comfortable.
Riding back to the entrance of the alley, she had a bad idea and went straight to Xu Shengjie, wanting to see how panicked this man was. But when she was about to bump into him, he didn't move at all, and Liang Baozhen was so scared that she braked quickly.
In a panic, one of the brakes was not stable, and both the man and the car were about to fall down.
"My car!"
"Zhenzhen!"
Xu Shengjie reacted instantly, leaned over and grabbed the man, holding him in his arms. The next second, the newly bought bicycle fell to the ground.
The sound of "dong" can make people feel heartbroken.
"My bicycle!" Liang Baozhen was still in Xu Shengjie's arms, her eyes already looking at the ground, her face full of heartache.
“Huh!”
"Brother Xu, Sister Baozhen, shame on you!"
"Don't look, don't look! Don't look at my brother and sister-in-law!" Xu Shengwei called out to the other children. As soon as they saw Sister Baozhen fall into Brother Xu's arms, a group of children began to cover their eyes. Only Biaozi opened his fingers and looked at his godfather and godmother, smiling like a fool.
“They hugged each other!”
Song Xinmiao, the daughter of widow Chen in the courtyard, spoke, causing Liang Baozhen to blush. She struggled out of Xu Shengjie's arms with her hands and feet, and then hurriedly picked up the bicycle, checking it from beginning to end, wiping the handlebars to the seat.
Trying to calm down, Liang Baozhen looked at the group of children and said, "Xiao Wei and Xiao Ya, go ride a bicycle with your brother."
"good."
"I'm going back to my room now. You guys can study slowly."
"Goodbye, sister-in-law."
Liang Baozhen walked past the group of children and went home alone. After she had walked about seven or eight meters, her expressionless face wrinkled up. She covered her palm-sized face with her hands, most of which was covered, and uttered a few chaotic sounds of "hmm" and "ah".
“How embarrassing!”
When she walked into the yard, she patted her red cheeks, put on a smile, took a deep breath, and acted as if nothing had happened.
There was a woman washing clothes in the sink in the yard. She was wearing a red skirt with a well-proportioned waist. She was very beautiful just looking at her back.
Hearing the noise, Liu Nianhua turned around and asked, "Baozhen, have you bought the bicycle?"
"Sister Hua!" Liang Baozhen never thought that this was Liu Nianhua. After a closer look, she saw that she had taken off her patched coarse cloth clothes, was wearing a waist-hugging skirt, and had taken good care of her hair. She looked completely different, energetic and beautiful.
"You look so beautiful in this dress!"
Liu Nianhua was almost shy after Liang Baozhen praised her so frankly. She lowered her head slightly and pulled her skirt with both hands. "I bought this when I got married. I haven't worn it for many years. I was worried that I couldn't wear it now that I'm older."
"No, it's very pretty! Wear it if you like, it's really, very beautiful!"
Liu Nianhua was somewhat satisfied with what Liang Baozhen said. She had gained a lot of weight in recent years compared to before marriage and had always been afraid to wear skirts, but now she was becoming more and more comfortable with it.
"You have a really good eye. You bought such a beautiful skirt more than ten years ago, and you kept it well. It looks like new."
Liang Baozhen was not the only one who was surprised to see Liu Nianhua suddenly wearing a skirt. Zhou Guoping, who had just returned from outside, almost didn't recognize her when he walked to his door.
"Brother Zhou is back? Look at Sister Hua, she is dressed so beautifully."
Liu Nianhua looked at Zhou Guoping with affection and sharp eyes.
Zhou Guoping glanced at his wife and said to Liang Baozhen, "Yes, Xiao Liang, I heard that your family bought a bicycle?"
"Yes, I just bought it today."
"This ticket is hard to come by. Where did you find it? Can you get another one?"
Liang Baozhen paused when she heard this. Her family's bicycle ticket was obtained by Xu Shengjie on the black market, so she naturally couldn't tell anyone. "It was a reward from Shengjie's workshop. We were lucky to get it. We have only been able to get a bicycle ticket once in several years."
"Oh, that's really rare."
"Sister Hua, Brother Zhou, I'm going back to cook. I'm leaving first."
"Hey, walk slowly."
Liu Nianhua watched Liang Baozhen leave, then smiled at her man, gently pinching her skirt with her left hand, "Guoping, today I..."
"Why did you turn out your wedding dress?" Zhou Guoping said impatiently, "How can you be better than when you were younger? It doesn't look good in it, and it won't be easy to cook or wash clothes. Change it quickly."
Having said that, he went straight into the house without stopping.
Only the smile on Liu Nianhua's face gradually disappeared, and her hands grasped her skirt, causing wrinkles.
Brothers Zhou Long and Zhou Hu came back from the alley and saw their mother standing at the door in a daze. They hurried over to share their joy of getting a bicycle today, "Mom, Brother Xu's family bought a bicycle, and Xu Shengwei can ride it now!"
"When can we buy one?"
"mother?"
Zhou Long noticed that his mother was in a daze, as if she didn't hear what he and his brother were saying. He pulled her hand and shook it, "Mom, what's wrong with you?"
Liu Nianhua looked at his son's innocent face, touched his sweaty hair, and forced a smile, "It's okay."
Zhou Long rarely saw his mother like this. Even at dinner time, he could clearly feel that his mother was absent-minded. However, when he asked her, she said nothing and just let him and his brother go out to play.
In the courtyard, everyone was enjoying the cool air, fanning themselves with a palm-leaf fan and chatting among themselves.
Liu Nianhua looked at the people in the yard, talking and laughing, but he felt that there was noise everywhere. In the front left were Cheng Caili and Lu Yuan. Lu Yuan had just returned from a business trip and cooked for his wife. Lu Yuan was the main cook in their family, and everyone laughed at him for being afraid of his wife. Every time they talked about this, Lu Yuan didn't care and continued to do what he had to do.
On the right are Liang Baozhen and Xu Shengjie. They bought a bicycle today, and Aunt Zhang wanted to see it, so they simply pushed the bicycle to the middle of the yard. Liang Baozhen smiled and sat on it, pedaling slowly around. Everyone praised her for her good riding.
Looking around himself, Liu Nianhua looked left and right, wondering where Zhou Guoping had gone. He was always busy and always going outside.
The author has something to say:
Thanks to the cutie who irrigated the nutrient solution: Zhai A Zhai 1 bottle;
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