◎First update◎
For several days afterwards, the aroma of fish wafted through the courtyard from time to time. I even wanted to raise the fish to eat during the Chinese New Year, but in the end I couldn't stay that long.
Before the Chinese New Year, there was another long queue in front of the city's Spring Festival special grocery store. This time Liang Baozhen did not go because her belly was already quite big and she could not stand the cold wind in the middle of the night.
The two brothers Xu Shengjie and Xu Shengwei went there and bought a few pounds of meat. Xu Shengwei took two ponytails and went out with his eldest brother. Before leaving, Xu Shengya checked to see if his two brothers were dressed warmly before running back to sleep.
Liang Baozhen vaguely knew that the man had gotten up. She half-closed her eyes and called to the living room, "Xu Shengjie, Xu Shengjie."
"What's wrong?" Xu Shengjie strode in, and seeing his wife struggling to get up, he hurried over to her, "Are you feeling unwell?"
"No." Liang Baozhen looked at him and saw that he had just come back from the night shift yesterday. His beard was unshaven and he hadn't shaved it clean yet. She reached out and touched the short stubble, which was hard. "Be careful not to catch a cold when you go out. Remember to wear a cashmere hat and woolen gloves with Xiaowei."
"I know. I've brought them all. Don't worry." Xu Shengjie felt warmed up listening to his wife's words, like a stream of warmth in winter. He put her down and tucked in the quilt for her. Seeing that there was no ventilation anywhere, he prepared to leave.
He leaned over and kissed his dazed wife on her red lips, "I'm leaving now, you go to sleep."
Liang Baozhen only felt a dark shadow approaching her, and her lips felt cold. More importantly, there was a stubble on her face. She smiled and slapped the man, "Come back and shave off your stubble."
"OK."
Xu Shengjie and Xu Shengwei set out, stepping into the night and heading out into the snow. Zhou Yun slipped out of bed in his cotton shoes, sent his two grandchildren away, and then closed the door. Seeing Xiaowei almost reaching his brother's shoulders, he was really shocked again.
The Spring Festival is getting closer and closer. Liang Baozhen has been asked to rest at home. When she goes to work, Xu Shengjie has to support her the whole time, for fear that something might happen to her.
There were five strips of bacon hanging on hooks on the wall at home, yellowed by smoke. In order to celebrate the New Year, the Xu Shengjie and his brother queued up and bought three pounds of pork belly that day. Winter is a natural storage season, so if they were left there, they would remain frozen hard and would not go bad.
Liang Baozhen wanted to go out to buy New Year's goods, but Xu Shengjie stopped her and said, "Write down what you want to buy on a piece of paper and I'll go buy it."
"No, you can't buy them all. There are different kinds of melon seeds and peanuts. And I want to buy something for my parents. I have to come and see what they are like."
"There's a lot of ice outside and the road is very slippery. What if you slip?" Xu Shengjie didn't even dare to ride a bicycle with her. If the wheels didn't obey him, it would be a disaster.
"Baozhen, your belly is getting bigger, you'd better be careful." Zhou Yun advised, "Xiaojie knows what's going on."
"Okay." Liang Baozhen bent over her desk and wrote quickly, making a long list. From melon seeds, peanuts, candies to cigarettes, alcohol, and cloth, she wrote down clearly how much and how big the items should be. If there were different brands, she also wrote down which one to buy.
After passing the note over, she reminded him again, "Don't buy the wrong item. Check with the salesperson at the supply and marketing cooperative to confirm."
"OK."
"Sister-in-law, don't worry, I will supervise my brother." The weather was too cold, and Xu Shengwei could not play table tennis for a long time. He had to take a break after playing outside for a while, and his little face was red from the cold.
"I'll supervise too!" Liang Baozhen had wrapped most of Xu Shengya's face in a beige scarf, with a cashmere hat on top, leaving only a pair of beautiful almond eyes exposed. Her voice floated out from the gap in the scarf, with a hint of excitement.
Today’s New Year shopping team consists of the three siblings from the Xu family.
"Be careful of the slippery road."
Zhou Yun couldn't help but mutter that every winter someone would fall on his butt while walking on the road. Fortunately, everyone was wearing warm clothes, otherwise their butts would really suffer.
As soon as the people left and the door was closed, the room instantly became warm again. Zhou Yun and Liang Baozhen sat by the fire in the living room and gradually warmed up.
"It will be inconvenient for you to go back this year because you are pregnant. Let Xiaojie send a New Year gift to your family when the time comes."
"Grandma, my second brother sent someone to tell me the day before yesterday that he will come to the city in the next few days. You can just let him take it back then."
"That's fine." Zhou Yun nodded. Now she does housework and makes clothes for her unborn great-grandson at home.
Because she didn't know whether it was a boy or a girl, she used white and beige plaid material to make small clothes that can be worn by both men and women. They are small and cute.
"Conditions are better now. When Xiaojie was born, he wore clothes that were modified from old clothes at home. The child has rarely worn new clothes since he was little." Zhou Yun recalled the past when Xu Shengjie, such a little boy, had to become a father.
"Grandma, was Sheng Jie naughty when he was a kid?"
"He was naughty when he was a few years old, but he became calmer when he was eight or nine, like a little old man. He was more experienced than the kids of the same age. He was the leader among the kids since he was young, and it wasn't just because of words, everyone obeyed him." Zhou Yun seemed to recall his grandson's childhood in the family home of the National Cotton Mill.
"His parents were still in the factory at that time." Zhou Yun sighed as he could not help thinking of his relatives during every Chinese New Year.
"Then you have to show the child pictures of grandpa and grandma so he can recognize them," Liang Baozhen said, comforting Zhou Yun while touching her belly. When Xu Mingyuan and Wu Huacui died unexpectedly, Zhou Yun was only 50 years old. It was truly a case of the old sending off the young.
Zhou Yun smiled and nodded. She had three children in total. One married far away, one died young, and the other lived like an enemy. Whenever she thought about such days, she felt uncomfortable.
"Grandma will take care of the children for you then. Xiaojie, Xiaowei and Xiaoya were all raised by me." However, with the birth of a new life, there is hope. Zhou Yun buried her head in sewing clothes. Children grow fast, so she plans to make four sets of clothes first, and then slowly add more clothes as they grow up.
Xu Shengjie and his two siblings came back from buying New Year's goods, carrying a big bag full of things. They prepared gifts for everyone they would go to, and they also had to place melon seeds and cakes at home. Xu Shengjie was really busy that day. He carried the New Year's gifts to visit Hong Saner's family. The Hong family had always been very good to him, but unfortunately this year Liang Baozhen was not able to move around, so he had to go alone.
"No wonder people say that Chinese New Year is a time to spend money. We save money and coupons throughout the year, but we've spent a lot of it recently."
"Of course not. No matter how hard or tiring it is during normal times, you have to spend the New Year well. Only then will this year's hard work not be in vain."
"Godfather, godfather!" Biaozi hurried to the door of Xu's house, looking around for someone.
"Biaozi, what's the matter? Your godfather went out to pay New Year's greetings."
"Mom, Xiaolong and Xiaohu's dad is here, and he wants to take them away, saying he's going to celebrate the New Year!" Biaozi was panting as he spoke, exhaling a cloud of white air. He ran in a hurry, trying to make things clear. "Xiaolong didn't agree, so he carried Xiaohu and wanted to run away. Now Aunt Zhang is holding him back."
"Ah? Let's go take a look." Liang Baozhen and Zhou Yun stood up and prepared to go to the west room. At the same time, they told Biaozi to go out and find Xu Shengjie. "Your godfather is in Shanheli Hutong. Do you know the way?"
“Yes.”
"Go find your fucking dad."
"Xiao Wei, go to the bus company and ask the bus driver if he can contact your Aunt Nianhua. Tell her that Zhou Guoping wants to take the child away and ask her to come back as soon as possible."
"I got it, sister-in-law. I'll be there right away." Xu Shengwei was in a hurry to go out.
"Xiao Ya, go find someone at the street office and tell them that something happened in our courtyard and someone wants to snatch the child." Liang Baozhen said to Xu Shengya.
"good!"
"Slow down, the road is slippery."
"knew!"
Today is the last rest day before the New Year. Every household has gone out to buy New Year's goods. There are only a few people in the big courtyard. Zhou Guoping guessed that they came here just in time.
Liang Baozhen and Zhou Yun walked out, but they didn't see many adults. Most of the children were in the house. Zhang Rong didn't go out to buy New Year's goods because she had a sore waist since she got up today, so she let Yao Guangrong go out alone.
At the door of the west wing, Zhou Guoping was arguing with Zhang Rong. Zhou Guoping was dressed better this time than last time, at least he looked like a decent person, and he even combed his hair.
"Auntie Zhang, this is my son. Is it wrong for me to take him to celebrate the New Year? You have to come out and meddle in other people's business, right?"
"Nianhua is not at home, where do you want to take the child?"
——
Liu Nianhua's hard work this year was not in vain. On the 26th day of the Lunar New Year, she was at work and had two days off afterwards. As the year was coming to an end, there were more and more people on the bus, and people were going out everywhere to buy New Year's goods.
The carriage was already crowded, everyone was carrying large and small bags, and everyone was wearing warm clothes, so now there was not much space for many people.
As soon as the door opened, everyone rushed in, fearing that they would not be able to get on the bus. Some people had already been waiting for nearly half an hour, waiting in the cold wind until their hands and feet were frozen.
A group of people filled the carriage in an instant. Liu Nianhua held the tickets in his hand and walked inside shouting, while he moved among the people and started collecting money and tearing up the tickets.
"Where?"
Liu Nianhua walked to the back row, looked up and saw Zhou Qingdang smiling at him, and said in a low voice, "Crescent Moon Hutong."
Skilled in collecting money, Liu Nianhua tore off a ticket and gave it to Zhou Qingdang. He was naturally a little warm to the acquaintances in the courtyard, not to mention that their family helped him a lot.
"Just got off work?"
"Yes, just in time to catch your train." Zhou Qingdang looked at Liu Nianhua and nodded and smiled, then squeezed next to another passenger, busy like a hardworking bee. She is now quite skilled in her job, and she works in an orderly manner, and will no longer be bullied by arrogant passengers.
When they arrived at the bus stop near Yueya Hutong, Zhou Qingdang walked to the door and turned around to say goodbye to her, but Liu Nianhua was already collecting tickets with her back to him.
Zhou Qingdang talked a lot, but he didn't say anything.
"Those who have just gotten on the bus, please move inside. There is still space. Don't crowd at the door." Liu Nianhua thought of Zhou Qingdang who was going to get off at Yueya Hutong. He turned around and saw that he had already got off the bus and was walking towards the entrance of the alley.
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