Chapter 185
Zhou Jiani first returned to the dormitory of the Second Spinning Factory. She hadn't been back for a long time, not even during the Chinese New Year. When the neighbors saw her for the first time, they were very friendly and greeted her with smiles. Some even asked about her promotion.
Zhou Jiani smiled and called people one by one, responding calmly and modestly, making it impossible to find fault with her.
As she walked over with her suitcase in her hand, the neighbors sighed. A few years ago, she was still a little girl who was spoiled by her family and had never had to do housework. It is said that now she is fifteen or sixteen years old, and when she wants to eat an apple, Jiang Xinfeng has to peel it, cut it into pieces and put them in a bowl. She will only eat it when the apple is placed next to her, and she almost puts it into her mouth directly.
Which girl could be spoiled like this?
A neighbor laughed and said, "Apples are nothing. Haven't you seen Aunt Jiang feeding her granddaughter with a bowl in one hand and a spoon in the other? Oh my God, a teenager still needs to be fed. If it were my daughter, her father would have beaten her to death with a belt."
"The Zhou Wanli family dotes on this daughter."
"Yeah. When they heard Zhou Jiani was going to the countryside, Dazhi's grandmother was complaining, 'What can you do if you keep going like this? You can't even tell the difference between a hoe and a shovel, and if you don't wash dishes properly, you'll have to complain about your hands being worn out. But look at him now. He's had his urban household registration restored in less than three years, and he's even become a cadre in the local county..."
"It's amazing! Who would have thought they were so smart? Now the best-selling baskets in the department store are made in Xihe Commune."
"Yeah, no wonder Yu Huifang walks around with such a swagger, constantly talking about her daughter..."
Zhou Jiani went upstairs briskly, taking two steps at a time. Jiang Xinfeng had just woken up from a nap and had just eaten a watermelon. She was sitting on a recliner in the room, fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan when the door was pushed open and her eldest granddaughter walked in, sweating profusely.
Jiang Xinfeng was stunned for a moment before she said happily, "Oh, Nini is back... Why didn't you tell your dad to pick you up at the station earlier?"
He quickly put down his palm-leaf fan, turned on the electric fan in the room, and went to cut a small piece of the remaining watermelon, saying, "Hurry up and eat a piece of watermelon and take a rest."
Zhou Jiani washed her face with water before sitting down to talk to her grandmother.
"Where's Jiaping and Jiaan?"
"I went to a classmate's house to do homework."
"Oh!" Zhou Jiani said, "I've taken a ten-day leave. I plan to stay at home for two days and then stay in the capital for a few more days."
Jiang Xinfeng agreed, but she was also thinking about her grandson-in-law and asked, "Can Zeming visit his family this year?"
Zhou Jiani paused while eating watermelon.
She had never told her parents about Qiu Zeming's mission to the border, and she didn't know when the mission would be over. This trip to the capital was also to find out more about it.
Zhou Jiani remained calm and said, "According to the regulations, I should be able to apply for home leave this year, but who can say for sure about things in the military?"
She put down the watermelon rind in her hand, walked to the side and washed her hands, opened her suitcase, took out a few military cloth coupons and handed them to her grandmother, diverting her grandmother's attention. She smiled and said, "Grandma, this is from Ze Ming. Later, go to the department store with my mother and buy some cloth to make some clothes."
He chuckled again and said, "I've never seen military cloth coupons before. I also have two military vest coupons. I want to buy a vest for my dad..."
Jiang Xinfeng's attention was drawn. This was the first time she had seen military cloth coupons. She was pleased with her grandson-in-law's thoughtfulness, but she also said angrily, "Just let Zeming keep them for himself in the future. Don't send them back."
But he didn't take the ticket, saying he didn't want it and asked her to keep it for herself.
Not long after, Jiaping and Jiaan came back sweating profusely: "Sister——"
"Hey!" Zhou Jiani responded, and Jiang Xinfeng took a few coins from the drawer, "Go buy three popsicles, one for each of you, and one for your sister."
The two boys put down their backpacks containing their homework books and turned around and ran out.
In the evening, Zhou Wanli and his wife came back, and they were pleasantly surprised. When Yu Huifang heard her daughter say she was going to the capital, she hurried into the house and took out the tickets she had saved up for a while. She said, "I've been waiting for your plan. Tomorrow I'll swap shifts with someone else, and we'll go to the department store and buy some things for Ze Ming's family."
Since Zhou Jiani stopped working in the black market, she didn't use the tickets as freely as before, but she still had enough to buy gifts. She said hurriedly, "Mom, you don't have to switch shifts with others..."
After changing shifts, I have to work around the clock, which is very tiring.
"I'll go out for a walk tomorrow. Since I'm back this time, I have to go see some old friends."
Yu Huifang thought about it and quickly stuffed the tickets she had saved over to him: "Here, they've been very kind to us. It's a rare trip to the capital, so buy some more things."
He added, "Don't go empty-handed when visiting old acquaintances. Bring a pound of snacks or two cans of food. That's the point."
Zhou Jiani didn't want her parents to pay, so she smiled and said, "Mom, I have tickets. Qiu Zeming also sent some from the army, but I haven't used them all. Some of the tickets will expire if I don't use them anymore. You can buy whatever you need from the ones we have saved at home. I'm earning a salary now, and the company also gives me some tickets every month. I've saved them all, so they're enough."
"As for those old connections... I'm a cadre now, so I can't just give them gifts casually. If I'm not careful, both sides will be affected. I'll just go to their homes to say hello and a few words of greeting."
Yu Huifang thought about it and felt a little disappointed.
I can’t describe how I feel, but I just feel that my daughter is too independent and doesn’t need mom and dad anymore, so I feel a little lost.
Is being sensible good? Of course it’s good, but when a child is too sensible, parents’ love is lost and they feel a sense of emptiness that is hard to explain.
Zhou Jiani was thinking about Qi Yang's big family. Her mother saved money by the whole family by living frugally. Now she was a hidden rich person, but she still had to eat and take things from the family. She felt bad about it and thought she was thinking about her parents, but she didn't know how disappointed her mother felt.
Because she loves Zhou Jiani just as much, Jiang Xinfeng can especially understand the psychological gap of her daughter-in-law. Seeing her precious granddaughter still eating and drinking carefree, she doesn't want to be a loving grandmother anymore.
So, after Yu Huifang took her things and went to wash up, Grandma Jiang's small class began. She sat next to her precious granddaughter, enjoying the fan together, and said, "Nini, you shouldn't have rejected your mother's kindness just now."
Zhou Jiani was surprised: "Why, Grandma? I have enough tickets."
Jiang Xinfeng glared at her. "You don't want this, you don't want that. Are you even going to give up on your parents?" Before Zhou Jiani could speak, she added earnestly, "Even if you start earning a salary, even if you make a thousand or ten thousand a month, you're still a child. As a child, you should enjoy your parents' care. Your parents love you and are willing to invest in you. They're happy to do so, but you just refuse right away."
"Don't you know that your mom takes out the tickets she saved for you every few days and counts them, humming a song as she does so? Okay, and you were in the middle of a good time when you slapped her back, silly child."
Zhou Jiani was stunned. She really didn't expect this.
But now after hearing her grandma say this, she was stunned for a while and then she understood. Just like when she found something from the group that she could share with her family in this era, she was also happy.
Some happiness should be two-way, and parents sometimes need a certain degree of dependence from their children.
Zhou Jiani rubbed the sweat on her forehead on her grandmother's shoulder and hummed, "Grandma, I know."
Zhou Jiani didn't talk to her mother directly. Instead, she waited until Yu Huifang came back from taking a shower. Then she yelled, "Mom, can you help me think about the gifts I've prepared for the Qiu family?"
She counted them one by one: "I'm going to give two boxes of Da Hong Pao to Grandpa Ze Ming. It's hard to buy, so I used some connections to buy four boxes. I'll keep two boxes at home for you to drink, and I'll take two boxes away."
"I bought a pair of leather shoes for Zeming's father. I didn't buy this for my dad because I didn't have enough tickets at the time..."
She wanted to emphasize the fact that she didn't have enough tickets, but she had to act like she was talking nonsense. She quickly pretended to make up for it, saying, "I only have enough tickets to buy these shoes. I have enough for everything else."
Yu Huifang was feeling down because her daughter was too independent. Even after taking a shower, she hadn't recovered much. But when she heard her daughter didn't have enough tickets, she perked up again and said, "Look, I told you, I've prepared everything for you, but you refuse..."
She jumped up and went back to the house to get the tickets she had saved up during this period, and said angrily: "You should take it first. If you can't find a suitable gift here, you can buy one in the capital."
Zhou Jiani hesitated for a moment, then smiled sheepishly, "Okay, Mom, I'll take it then." She looked up and smiled again, "If you can still use your connections, would you like to buy these leather shoes for my dad next time?"
Zhou Wanli was listening intently in the living room. Yu Huifang picked up the shoes and took a look. They were exquisitely made, the leather was good, and the style was particularly beautiful. After thinking for a moment, she reluctantly replied, "If you have enough tickets, I'll buy them. If not, you can use them first."
Zhou Wanli strolled in: "What shoes are you wearing? Let me see them."
Yu Huifang handed him the new shoes and continued to ask her daughter, "Have you bought a gift for your Aunt Du?"
Zhou Jiani said, "Not yet. I'm thinking of going to an old friend's place tomorrow to see if I can buy anything rare."
In fact, she had already prepared it. She asked Meng Yan to help her buy two silk skirts from Zhejiang Province, one of which belonged to Comrade Yu Huifang, but she couldn't take them out today.
I also bought a silk shirt for my grandma. It is very cool to wear in this season. I will wait until I finish making the pattern tomorrow and take it out together.
Yu Huifang felt even more fortunate that she had saved up the tickets, and kept telling her that since it was a rare opportunity to choose a gift, she should choose generously and not be stingy, making others think she was petty...
Zhou Jiani agreed, feeling relieved, and quickly took her things to wash up.
However, Zhou Jiani still did not agree with her mother's request to change shifts. Whether it was a replacement or her mother would pay it back in the future, they would have to work consecutive shifts, which would easily make them tired and cause accidents over time.
The next day, Zhou Jiani actually visited her old contacts here, the leaders of the two department stores, the director of the Friendship Store, and also went to the export company.
Section Chief Wang and his colleagues felt quite friendly when they saw Zhou Jiani. This little girl had grown up step by step under their witness.
Knowing that Zhou Jiani had become a cadre of the county craft group, she felt a sense of pride, so after going around, Zhou Jiani not only consolidated her relationship but also bought some rare things without much effort.
For example, the Minguang bed sheets produced in Shanghai. She knew that Comrade Yu Huifang had started saving up a dowry for her since she got engaged, and had always wanted to buy a pair of Minguang bed sheets, but had never been able to find any. Today, Zhou Jiani asked Section Chief Wang for help and bought two.
The money and tickets were all received, but the share obtained from the department store was not much. These bed sheets are extremely popular now, but they are out of stock. I finally managed to get some back, but I kept them in my hands and was reluctant to sell them. I would sell a few of them from time to time as a gimmick.
I also bought two pairs of women's leather shoes, one for Comrade Yu Huifang and one for Du Yunxin.
Zhou Jiani bought two cotton skirts of nice styles and patterns from the Second Department Store.
The remaining gift prepared for the Qiu family was a set of wicker storage stools that she had ordered from the Qianjin Weaving Factory. She had already contacted the transport team, and the transport team would pass by the capital about the day after she arrived. At that time, she would just have to ask Uncle Qiu to arrange a car to pick up the goods.
In the morning, he visited some of his connections, and in the afternoon, wearing a straw hat with a wide brim, he rode his bike around the streets and alleys, collected some tickets, and bought some expensive grain and eggs from the black market. In the evening, he returned home excitedly with his backpack in his hands and a smile on his face as if he was seeking credit.
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