Chapter 127 Two Fools (1)
On the 16th day of the twelfth lunar month, the 20,000 knitted skirts ordered by Japan were all completed.
Zhang Lingzhi and Wang Bingyuan came to Taotao's house as guests and brought a few skirts with them.
The two of them talked about the overtime work at the First Textile Factory.
"...Later, the daily output was at least 1,800 pieces! The most we made in one day was over 2,000 pieces! Taotao, you don't know, but later on, everyone was so anxious that they used machines to do what they could! If machines couldn't do it, they would just turn the wheels manually..."
"All the first, first, second and third generation machines made by the technicians were put into use! All the employees in the factory lined up to manually turn the wheel, and everyone frantically turned it for an hour or two..."
"I've only seen such a lively scene during the autumn harvest in my hometown! Everyone is really of one mind!"
"As a result, the total order was 20,000 pieces, and we made more than 30,000 pieces! And we submitted a delivery date of one day!"
Hearing this, Tao Tao asked, "Then the cost is too high, isn't it?"
Zhang Lingzhi smiled and said, "It's okay! After packing and shipping the qualified products, the remaining more than 10,000 pieces, the good ones have been sent to the Kyoto Supply and Marketing Cooperative and several provincial capital supply and marketing cooperatives. I guess they have already been sold!"
Wang Bingyuan also said: "The rest are processed products with some defects. Some of them have holes because the thread ends were rolled up but not connected in time. Some of them have the wrong stitch size...so the factory set up a stall at the door and sold them at cost price."
"We thought that you don't need this, but Mrs. Bai and the others can take it back to their hometown to give it away! This is very decent! Minor flaws don't matter, we can find a way to sew it and mend it..."
Taotao smiled, "Thank you very much!"
When Tan Fenghui heard this, she took the skirts handed to her by Zhang Lingzhi and Wang Bingyuan and looked at them. She was pleasantly surprised and said, "Wow, these skirts are so beautiful, aren't they?"
Wang Bingyuan smiled and said, "It was Taotao who came up with it! In the beginning of autumn, we made a batch using traditional methods... and sold them. Later, we were able to sell them to Japan!"
Zhang Lingzhi is a little older and has a more far-sighted vision. "It's not a big deal that this skirt can be sold to Japan. What's more important is... after this incident, our country will have machines that specialize in knitting sweaters and trousers! Let me ask you, would you rather spend a month's spare time doing nothing to knit a sweater, or would you rather buy a ready-made sweater for an additional three or five yuan on top of the wool?"
Wang Bingyuan, "Do you even need to ask? I will definitely buy one! How many other things can I do in my spare time in a month?"
Tao Tao repeated Howard's words, "But now our country's arable land needs to be used to grow food! Cotton must be improved!"
But when it comes to farmland and crops, the sisters won't be sleepy anymore.
Zhang Lingzhi asked Taotao, "You will graduate after the New Year. Have you made up your mind? Will you stay or go?"
Tao Tao answered truthfully: "I have applied to stay in school and take the postgraduate entrance examination at the same time. My advisor is Professor Fu Qingyan."
Zhang Lingzhi was a little surprised. "You and Professor Fu? Promoting high-quality crops in saline-alkali land?"
Taotao nodded.
Zhang Lingzhi, "Have you really thought it through?"
Wang Bingyuan also advised: "Taotao, why don't you follow Professor Yuan? Isn't the hybrid rice project going quite well?"
Tao Tao smiled and said, "It's because that project is pretty good and there are a lot of talented people involved that I'm not going."
Tang Liren, who was sitting nearby, felt something was wrong and asked, "What does the term salt-alkali land mean?"
Wang Bingyuan explained: "Aunt Bai, it's like this. A lot of land in our country is saline and alkaline, which is not suitable for growing crops. So we have a discipline that specializes in studying how to improve crops and allow those plants to survive in saline and alkaline land..."
Tang Liren asked again, "So if you guys are researching this, do you still have to go to the salt-alkali land?"
Wang Bingyuan and Zhang Lingzhi nodded in unison.
"Where is the salt-alkali land?" Tang Liren asked again.
Tao Tao rushed to say: "We have it in our hometown!"
Wang Bingyuan and Zhang Lingzhi looked at each other and knew that they could not continue to ask about this topic in front of Tang Liren.
Zhang Lingzhi smiled and said, "Salt and alkali are everywhere! Oh, by the way, Sister Bai, do you want to try this knitted skirt with Xingxing?"
Tan Fenghui quickly said, "Isn't this a maternity skirt?"
Tao Tao, "No one says that only pregnant women can wear them! Although, when I first designed these skirts, it was indeed for my third sister... Sister-in-law, why don't you try it!"
Tan Fenghui felt itchy and dragged Xing Xing to try it together.
Tang Liren wanted to ask a few more questions about the "salt-alkali land"...
Tao Tao said to her sisters, "The black leggings we sold before... When the Japanese delegation came this time, I learned that the women there also wear skirts in winter. Their legs are bare. Later, I asked Sister Yang and learned that what the Japanese women wear are called glass socks!"
"The workmanship, the texture... I feel like it's not something we can produce using traditional methods. But how great would it be if in the cold winter we could wear socks that are both light, breathable and warm, and then wear a skirt if we want to, or wear pants if we want to!" Taotao sighed.
Wang Bingyuan is a native of Kyoto. Compared to Taotao and Lingzhi who have always stayed in the countryside, she is more experienced.
"As for glass socks, I saw adults wearing them in summer when I was a child, but I've never seen anyone wearing them in winter. Later on, no one wore them and there were no linings for sale... Now everyone seems to wear cotton socks." Wang Bingyuan said.
Zhang Lingzhi smiled and said softly, "Forget about the glass socks. Let's not bother with that, lest someone say we are practicing capitalism!"
Taotao thought about it and realized that was right, so she stopped talking about it.
The sisters chatted for a while and ate some snacks made by Tang Liren. Wang Bingyuan told Taotao -
"Taotao, do you know? Someone from the Disabled Persons' Federation came to look for my brother. They took my brother to the hospital for an assessment and issued a disability certificate. They also registered my brother... and then gave him a small notebook, saying that he should go to the Disabled Persons' Federation every month to receive the minimum living allowance, which is five yuan a month! In addition, the Disabled Persons' Federation will introduce him to a job in the future... Taotao, thank you so much!"
Taotao: "What does this have to do with me?"
Wang Bingyuan, "The people from the Disabled Persons' Federation said that it was your third sister who asked him to do this!"
"Xuepeng is indeed a disabled person! He is indeed under the jurisdiction of the Disabled Persons' Federation! My third sister is now a cadre of the Disabled Persons' Federation, so she should be in charge of this matter!" Taotao said with a smile.
Wang Bingyuan smiled and said, "I don't care. Anyway, my brother has been disabled for so many years. He only joined the Disabled Persons' Federation after he met you. I have chosen you and your third sister! Thank you!"
Zhang Lingzhi also smiled and said, "Taotao, our Chen Quansheng has also found a job! It's the No. 1 Textile Factory that's rushing to deliver goods this time! The factory director probably saw that he was honest and hardworking, so he hired him as a temporary worker!"
Taotao was very happy, "Then he must work hard!"
There will be a chance to become a regular employee in the future.
"I thought so too!" Zhang Lingzhi's eyes turned red and she smiled, "Ah, I spent more than 20 years in a daze, until I met you, I finally felt like I found my true self and knew what I should do..."
Taotao smiled and said, "Should I be credited for this achievement?"
Zhang Lingzhi smiled embarrassedly.
As they were talking, Tan Fenghui and Xing Xing changed into knitted skirts and came out, which made everyone's eyes light up!
The main reason is that people's clothes are usually too simple. Now Tan Fenghui is wearing an apricot vest skirt and black leggings. Because it's cold, she wears a black short cotton coat on the outside... Her temperament changes in an instant! Unexpectedly beautiful!
Xing Xing wore a pink short skirt with her yellow corduroy jacket on top, which made her look particularly cute and pink!
Everyone was full of praise.
Tang Liren narrowed her eyes and smiled, "Looks good! You all look good in it..."
Taotao wanted to go upstairs to get the money for the skirt for Wang Bingyuan and Zhang Lingzhi, but they quickly waved their hands and said no, stood up and said they wanted to leave, and finally ran away in a hurry.
Tang Liren only had time to pick up two handfuls of roasted melon seeds on the table and stuffed one into Wang Bingyuan's pocket and the other into Zhang Lingzhi's hand...
Finally, Tang Liren looked at Zhang and Wang running away and sighed, "Taotao, your friends are too generous... They are not well off, are they? There are seven or eight skirts here! They must have cost at least a hundred yuan, right?"
Taotao smiled and said, "It's okay. We will play together during the Chinese New Year, and I will pay them back. Even if I can't find the opportunity, I can always catch them when school starts."
Tang Liren nodded and asked Taotao, "By the way, what's the matter with the saline-alkali land? Tell me... Well, I know that crops can't be grown in saline-alkali land, and you researchers are already trying to find a solution. But you have to tell me, where is the saline-alkali land?"
"They're everywhere across the country!" Taotao said with a smile.
Tang Liren, "So... there are salt-alkali lands all over the country, so you have to travel all over the country in the future?"
Taotao: "I guess so!"
Tang Liren began to worry, "Although we are farmers, you have been spoiled since you were a child! Look at the soles of your feet, they are probably more tender than the flesh on my arms... You are a delicate little girl, and you are traveling around the country? You don't work, just walking will make you tired!"
Tao Tao, "I'm not afraid of walking!"
Tang Liren, "What about your baby?"
Tao Tao was a little surprised, "Of course I took it with me!"
"Can that baby go out with you and sleep in the open air?" asked Tang Liren.
Taotao: ...
Tan Fenghui came over to persuade her, "Mom! The baby is still in Taotao's belly, you are thinking too far ahead!"
Tang Liren stared at Taotao and said, "Bai Taozi, I'm telling you this... First, even if you go to the countryside to do agricultural research, you can't go too far! It's best to do it near home... Second, and most importantly, don't take the baby with you! You must go to the countryside, and let Song Zhi accompany you! Let the baby follow us..."
"Your father and I are still young, we will help you raise the baby and take good care of it! I mean, a few little kids in our family are pretty good, right? Just go and do your own things, and when you are free, come back and take care of the baby!"
Taotao disagrees with her mother's point of view, but there is no need to discuss this with her mother now.
She turned to her sister-in-law and asked how the New Year's preparations were going at home.
Tan Fenghui counted on her fingers and told her: When we first came, you were busy in the factory. We saw the note you left and the words you told Xingxing, and then we started to add things on our own...
He said a lot of things in general.
That's what women do.
Tang Liren's attention was also drawn, and she joined the discussion. The main point was: Taotao and Lili are both pregnant this year, so they need to prepare more things...
At night, when Song Zhi came home from get off work, Taotao told him that her mother had said in the afternoon that she would help her take care of the child.
Then he asked, "Song Zhi, do we have to leave the child in our hometown to be raised by mom and dad?"
Song Zhi pondered and said, "What Mom said makes sense. Especially since your goal is the Northwest... The conditions there are very difficult. Even adults may not be able to bear it, let alone children."
Tao Tao, "But I don't want to be separated from my child. I was a fool when I was little. Could it be that the family's financial situation was better then? But my parents didn't abandon me!"
"I will be the same when my baby is born. No matter what the economic conditions are like, I will stay with my child. If the economic conditions are not good, then... start from scratch and slowly create conditions to make our lives better and better!" Taotao said seriously.
Song Zhi smiled.
"Taotao, you and mom have different focuses. Mom loves her children and is afraid that they will suffer, so she pays more attention to material conditions. You want to keep your children by your side, so you pay more attention to their education and family companionship." Song Zhi said softly.
Tao Tao forced him to take sides, "Tell me quickly, which side are you on!"
Song Zhi smiled, "Do you still need to ask? I'm sure I'm on your side!"
——He lost his mother when he was young, but his father...
never mind.
Tao Tao said: "I will study for a master's degree with Professor Fu, and it will take at least two to three years before I can go to the grassroots. By then, the child will be at least two and a half years old... I remember that when Green Bean Potato was two or three years old, he was very talkative, and he could run and jump!"
"Song Zhi, I want to take my children with me to the grassroots level in the future! Will you go with me?" Taotao asked Song Zhi.
Song Zhi smiled.
——How could I not accompany him? Professor Dong from the Southwest Satellite Center had urged him countless times to hurry over. But Song Zhi was worried about Taotao. Especially, recently something like what happened to Fang Shenghao happened right under his nose...which made him even more worried.
You can say he is not broad-minded enough, but he is just...
I must be with Taotao.
In two years, when Taotao has finished her studies, he will take her and the child to the Northwest as a family!
Tao Tao climbed onto Song Zhi's lap, sat down, and put her head against his chin, poking it hard, and threatened him fiercely, "Tell me! Are you going with me or not?!"
——Song Zhi is good at doing housework! With him around, she can be lazy as much as she wants.
Song Zhi liked her coquettishness and closeness, and said with a low smile: "Okay! I will accompany you... to the ends of the earth, wherever you want to go, I will accompany you, okay?"
"That's better!" Taotao was happy.
The day before New Year's Eve, Fang Shenghao brought his wife Li Rui and children to visit Taotao and Song Zhi.
Li Rui was still as thin as ever, with two hats on her head, a brown woolen hat inside and a military cap with floppy ears outside. She was wearing at least two cotton-padded clothes, which made her look particularly bloated, but her face was particularly small...
Tang Liren warmly invited Li Rui to sit on the firebox.
Li Rui is from Kyoto and used to live in a government compound. Her home did have a heater, but it wasn't this warm.
Now seeing the firebox, she felt like she had discovered a new world. She touched it and looked at it curiously...
Taotao asked Xingxing to make some black sesame, red dates and walnut paste for her to eat.
Li Rui listened and smiled: "Taotao is still so careful."
For example, Sheng Hao is much more careful.
Even Fang Shenghao didn't realize that most of her teeth had fallen out, and although the remaining teeth had not fallen out, they were already crumbling.
Tao Tao said: "You should also cook something for yourself at home to nourish your body."
If she wasn't pregnant, she could transfer some spiritual power to Li Rui, which would more or less alleviate Li Rui's pain; but now, she had to think about the child in her belly and didn't dare to transfer spiritual power easily.
Taotao and Li Rui's conversation made Fang Shenghao realize something. He couldn't help but look at Li Rui with confusion in his eyes.
Li Rui sat in the warm firebox, took off her outer military coat, revealing a half-worn grey cotton jacket, pointed at a timid boy and said, "Taotao, you still know him, right? He's the child Sheng Hao and I adopted. Zili, hurry up and call for help!"
The little boy, about seven or eight years old, lowered his head and timidly began to call people around the room.
Fang Shenghao did not avoid the child and explained to Song Zhi: "Li Rui's body... the doctor did not recommend that we have children, so we reported to the organization and wanted to adopt a child."
"Zili's parents were comrades in the same system as us, and have already died... The child has lived in the welfare home for two years. By the way, the child was named by his biological parents. Now he has my last name, Fang Zili."
Fang Shenghao smiled and said to the child, "Be independent. When you grow up, if you still want to take your biological father's surname, I have no objection."
Xiao Zili lowered his head and said nothing.
However, the Bai family has soybeans, mung beans and potatoes.
Huangdou is about the same age as Xiao Zili and has been staying at Fourth Aunt’s house for a week. When he came last year, he had already met many children in the family compound of the retirement home. Now he has reestablished friendships with the children in the compound with his brothers...
Huang Dou secretly observed Xiao Zili, and when Xiao Zili greeted the adults with a voice as small as a mosquito—
Huang Dou quietly went over and held Xiao Zili's hand. "Your name is Zili? I'm Huang Dou, and they are my brothers. This is Mung Bean, and this is Potato... There is a playground in our yard. There are horizontal bars and parallel bars. It's fun. Do you want to play with us?"
Xiao Zili looked at Fang Shenghao and Li Rui timidly again.
Li Rui smiled and said, "Do you want to go play with your friends?"
Xiao Zili didn't dare to look at her. He grabbed the corner of his clothes with both hands, lowered his head and nodded.
"Then go ahead! Don't fall or hurt yourself, okay?" Li Rui said gently.
Xiao Zili raised his head and looked at Li Rui, his eyes like black grapes, watery. He smiled shyly and nodded quickly.
Huang Dou took Xiao Zili and ran away with his younger brothers.
Then, Fang Shenghao told Song Zhi about his job transfer.
"We have established diplomatic relations with Japan, and in a few months, both sides will send ambassadors to each other. I am not qualified to be an ambassador, but I should be on the list. But if I leave... Li Rui is weak and still young, and my mother... I can only ask Uncle Guan for help. But Uncle Guan is also busy with his work... Song Zhi, I want to trouble you. If Li Rui has any urgent matters when I am not here, I may have to trouble you..."
Although Song Zhi hated Fang Shenghao, he felt obliged to take care of Fang Shenghao's wife and children.
"Please give Li Rui my workplace's phone number. If there's any emergency, just call directly... It doesn't matter if I'm not at home. Just leave a message on the switchboard. The switchboard knows my attendance. If I'm not at work, I'm either at the University of Technology or the Agricultural University. The workplace switchboard will convey the message." Song Zhi said.
Fang Shenghao looked at Song Zhi with a smile and said "OK" in a low voice.
——He knew that Song Zhi would still take their brothers into consideration.
Peach? No, he and Taotao are not destined to be together in this life. Therefore, he cherishes his brotherly relationship with Song Zhi even more.
Xingxing brought over some black sesame, red dates and walnut paste.
Li Rui took a bite and praised it highly, "…This is really delicious. Is it hand-ground? It's so fine, and not too dry or too watery, just right…Hey, is it brown sugar? It's so fragrant and mellow!"
Taotao asked her, "Can you work at home?"
Li Rui: "It's no problem to clean up the house, but carrying buckets of water and rice bags is a bit difficult. However, there is running water at home, so that's no problem. My brother and sister-in-law will help with buying rice and oil."
Tao Tao said, "There is a craftsman who can make millstones in the market near us. The millstone in my house is made by him. It is very small and not heavy... I will order one for you later. You can grind some sesame paste or peanut paste at home to eat. It will be good for you and Xiao Zili's health."
Li Rui smiled and said, "Well, then...thank you Taotao first!"
Hearing this, Fang Shenghao looked at Li Rui again and finally understood - Li Rui must have bad teeth, so Taotao said that she wanted to order a grinding wheel and send it to her.
Fang Shenghao felt a little guilty.
From the wedding banquet until now, he and she had lived in the same room and slept in the same bed, but he had never noticed this. Li Rui herself never said anything. Every time he went to the cafeteria to get ordinary meals, he would even take the initiative to buy some braised pork and the like for her to eat, under the pretext of "replenishing her body".
But he never considered that her teeth were bad and she couldn't bite at all.
And she never revealed it.
She ate all the food he bought without leaving any. I guess she swallowed all the dishes that she couldn't chew.
After chatting for a while, Fang Shenghao stood up and said goodbye.
Tang Liren warmly invited him to dinner, but Fang Shenghao declined and said with a smile, "This year is the first time that our family of three will celebrate the New Year by ourselves, so we can enjoy something new, but we still have to prepare. I have to send them home first, and then I will go buy some New Year's goods."
Tang Liren treated Song Zhi as her son, and Fang Shenghao was Song Zhi's brother, so Tang Liren was not at all shy. She said angrily, "It's just that you are young and have no experience at all! I will make a list of New Year's goods for you in the future. You can look at the list and add or subtract some according to your own preferences and habits. When the time comes, you can purchase according to the list. I guarantee that you will have all the New Year's goods in two or three times..."
"But it doesn't matter if we don't have everything prepared this time. If you need anything, just come to our place and get it! We have prepared all the New Year's goods half a month in advance..." Tang Liren said chatteringly.
Fang Shenghao smiled and said okay, then went back with his wife and children.
Taotao and Song Zhi sent the family of three out of their yard.
Fang Shenghao came on a bicycle: there was a rattan chair tied to the back seat of the bicycle. He first carried Li Rui, who was wearing two cotton-padded clothes, to the back seat and tied her up with a rope...
There is a bar in front of the 28-meter load-bearing bicycle, and Fang Shenghao also installed a small cushion on the front bar.
Fang Shenghao also brought little Zili into the car.
After playing with Huang Dou for a while, Xiao Zili, with a flushed face, lay on the hood of his new father's car and waved to Xiao Huang Dou, "Can we still play together during the Chinese New Year?"
Little yellow bean, "Of course! I won't go back to my hometown until after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month! I'll wait for you to come and play!"
Fang Shenghao waited until the children had finished saying hello before he got on the bike, pedaled, and rode away slowly.
After returning home, Fang Shenghao asked Li Rui, "Do you have bad teeth?"
Li Rui was startled, then smiled, "It's okay."
After a pause, she added, "Didn't Taotao say that she would help me order a small millstone?"
Fang Shenghao whispered, "I'm sorry, I...didn't notice. Wei...Li Rui, can we be frank with each other in the future? I don't want...us to be suspicious of each other."
Li Rui nodded with a smile, "Okay."
Fang Shenghao squatted down in front of her, "Don't be afraid of causing trouble for me, okay?"
Li Rui remained silent.
Fang Shenghao, "Ruirui, you were so happy when you agreed to my proposal... It wasn't because you loved me, but because you felt that you helped me. Ruirui, I am very grateful to you. So now, I also hope that you won't be so distant, because I also want to experience the feeling of being needed by others."
His eyes gradually became absent-minded, and he whispered, "All these years, I have been...living alone."
Li Rui's eyes turned red.
She nodded seriously and spoke louder, "New Year's Day is coming tomorrow! But we have nothing at home today. Sheng Hao, I'm leaving everything to you! Go buy rice, vegetables and oil while the market is still open! After today, the market will be closed until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month! By then, I'm afraid the three of us will be left with nothing!"
Fang Shenghao nodded, "Then I'll go buy it right away! I'll buy you two some food later!"
"No need," Li Rui said, "... Zili and I will cook lunch at home and also yours... I guess there are too many things to buy, and you can't move them all in one trip, so why don't you just go there first, and you can have dinner when you come back!"
Fang Shenghao, "Let me cook!"
"Sheng Hao, it was you who said just now that we should be open and honest with each other, but you didn't listen to me!" Li Rui was a little depressed.
Fang Shenghao, "But your body..."
Li Rui said, "I have Zili to help me! I can't do it alone, and with Zili... we are united as mother and son, and we can break iron with strength!"
——In fact, she and Fang Shenghao had adopted little Zili not long ago, and she felt a little embarrassed to say such corny words. But she and Fang Shenghao are both silent, and Xiao Zili doesn't seem to be very lively either. It's impossible for the whole family to be so cold all the time, right? Let’s break the ice!
No matter how embarrassing...
Let her start it!
Sure enough, after hearing this, the timid little Zili raised his head and looked at her with hope in his eyes.
Fang Shenghao was still a little hesitant, "But..."
"Don't say but!" Li Rui said with a smile, "You should leave quickly! Zili and I are also going to get busy... Zili, how about we have noodle soup for lunch? A big bowl of noodles for each of us! And then an egg for each of us! And a little sesame oil... Ah, let's use lard to stir-fry some pickled vegetables... It must be delicious!"
Xiao Zili's eyes suddenly became bright and he licked his lips unconsciously.
Fang Shenghao also smiled, "Now that you mention it, I know what to buy! In addition to rice, flour and oil, I also need to buy a large piece of fatty pork and take it home to make lard! I also need to buy more eggs...Okay, I'll leave now and come back to eat the noodles you two make!"
After Fang Shenghao left, Li Rui took little Zili and started to get busy at home.
——You need to light the stove first to cook noodles. Open the vents of the coal stove so that the fire can burn brightly. Then she put the oil pan on the stove... However, the iron pan was quite heavy. Li Rui held it with both hands and wanted to put it in the sink to rinse it. But she was too weak to lift the iron pan?
Little Zili was very well-behaved and quickly came over to grab the handle of the other side of the iron pot.
So Li Rui and Xiao Zili rinsed the pot together and then lifted it onto the stove together.
Next, Li Rui personally demonstrated to Xiao Zili how to use lard to stir-fry pickled vegetables. Don't wash the pan after frying vegetables. Add cold water directly to boil and use it to cook noodles to avoid wasting oil.
As soon as the water boils, add the noodles.
Li Rui took three eggs, cracked one and put it into the pot, and taught Xiao Zili to crack one as well...
Little Zili's movements were a bit clumsy, and he accidentally fell in with the eggshell.
The child was terrified, but Li Rui laughed out loud.
She hadn't laughed so happily in a long, long time...
It took a long time for Xiao Zili to be sure that his new mother was not angry with him.
He felt relieved and his lips curled up slightly.
Li Rui scooped the eggshells from the soup pot with chopsticks and asked Xiao Zili to crack the last egg into the bowl. Then she taught him to crush the eggshells into pieces and pile them in the flowerpot made of a broken enamel basin by the window.
There are about ten chives planted in the flowerpot, which were given to Li Rui and Fang Shenghao by a friend when they got married.
She called out to Xiao Zili and asked him to pull out some fresh green onions. She then quickly washed three large bowls, and then washed the green onions and cut them into small pieces for later use.
When the noodles were cooked soft and plump, Li Rui quickly instructed Xiao Zili to bring a clean bowl and put the noodles in the pot into the bowl... but without adding soup.
Li Rui explained to the child, "Si Li, noodles will clump if soaked for too long and won't taste good. So we only serve noodles without adding soup. Let's just leave this pot of noodle soup alone. When your dad comes back, we'll pour hot soup into the bowls and it will be hot noodle soup again!"
Xiao Zili nodded seriously.
Li Rui picked up another handful of pickled vegetables fried with lard and fed them to the child. She asked softly, "Is it delicious?"
Little Zili nodded desperately, "Delicious! Delicious!"
"Then when Dad comes back, we can eat delicious noodle soup!" said Li Rui.
Xiao Zili immediately rushed to the sofa, knelt on it, leaned on the back of the sofa, and stared at the door.
Li Rui laughed and started to clean up the mess in the kitchen.
After a while, little Zili shouted excitedly, "Mom! Mom! Dad is back... Oh, time to eat noodles!"
Then Li Rui heard the sound of the door lock turning, and then heard Fang Shenghao's laughter, "Zili, what are you yelling about?"
Little Zili jumped for joy, "Dad, Dad! Mom and I cooked noodles together! The noodles we cooked... are delicious!" It was the first time that the little guy called mom and dad so fluently, and it was also the first time that he was so enthusiastic and generous.
Fang Shenghao smiled and reached out to touch Xiao Zili's head.
Li Rui, who was hiding in the kitchen, couldn't help but laugh.
——It turns out that three people who need a family and who also desire to be needed and recognized by others... after putting together a family of three, can still be full of laughter and the atmosphere can be so harmonious.
Just as she was thinking about this, Li Rui heard Fang Shenghao say, "Rui Rui, I bought a firebox from someone. Let me tell you, we are the only ones who are stupid. The radiator is not warm enough and we can only wear more cotton clothes to endure it! In fact, there are carpenters selling fireboxes in the market outside. When I asked him if he had any, he immediately said that he had them ready!"
Then he continued to nag, "I bought 100 kilograms of rice, 20 kilograms of noodles, a bag of 50 kilograms of flour... I also bought 500 coal balls and 100 kilograms of charcoal, including the firebox... Oh, I also bought 100 eggs! Someone will deliver them to your door soon. Zili, did you hear what I just said? If someone comes to deliver them, please open the door..."
Zili said loudly, "Got it! Dad, I promise...I will complete the task!"
Fang Shenghao was laughing in the living room outside, and Li Rui was laughing in the kitchen.
She poured hot soup into the half-warm noodles and urged, "Come on, come on, eat noodles!"
…
But at this moment Taotao and Song Zhi were also discussing the matter of Fang Shenghao and Li Rui.
"Song Zhi, why do Fang Shenghao and Li Rui want to adopt a child? Fang Shenghao will be going abroad in a while! When he leaves, Li Rui will be in poor health, and little Zili is still a child... He is causing trouble for Li Rui!" Tao Tao said.
Song Zhi could understand Fang Shenghao's thoughts.
He smiled and said, "Think about it, Fang Shenghao and Li Rui got married, but he left in less than half a year... Then what is the point of his marriage to Li Rui? Besides, Zili is an orphan, so pitiful... The three of them should form a family, manage it well when they are together, and care about each other when they are not together, so that they can become a real family."
Taotao was about to say something...
"Ouch!" she exclaimed suddenly.
Song Zhi was stunned, "Taotao? Taotao, what's wrong with you?!"
He was so frightened that his whole body was stiff and he dared not move.
Taotao also stayed for a long time...
"Taotao? Taotao you...Hey, I, I'll go call mom up!" Saying that, Song Zhi stood up and wanted to rush downstairs.
"Wait! Come back!" Taotao called him.
Song Zhi turned around in surprise and looked at Taotao.
Her hand unconsciously touched her lower abdomen, and she carefully recalled the feeling just now, and said doubtfully: "Song Zhi... just now, just now... it seems that the baby kicked me?!"
Song Zhi was stunned.
"The baby...kicked you?" He found it very unbelievable and asked softly.
Taotao was a little unsure, "I think so... I remember reading in a book that fetal movement occurs around 18 weeks of pregnancy, and I'm only 17 weeks pregnant... And I don't know what it feels like when the baby kicks me, anyway... it hurts a little bit..."
As she said this, she simply took off her cotton coat and prepared to lift up her clothes to take a look.
Song Zhi immediately closed the door and walked back to the bed.
Taotao sat on the bed, unbuttoned her cotton coat, and lifted up her sweater, revealing her smooth, slightly bulging belly.
"Song Zhi, quickly get a ruler and let's estimate how big the four-month-old baby is!" Taotao said.
Song Zhi quickly took out a ruler from the desk drawer and measured it, "…the four-month-old baby is this big!"
Taotao took a look and said, "It's only as big as a fist!"
"It's amazing," Tao Tao exclaimed, "Such a tiny baby... at first it looked like a fish, then slowly grew into a human-like shape... now it's already four months old, and it's only this small, but it has everything after it was born!"
She hadn't finished her sentence yet -
"Ouch!"
Taotao exclaimed again.
Song Zhi kept staring at her round belly...plus, she was not fat at all and her belly was only thin, so he could clearly see a small bulge quickly appear on her belly and then disappear quickly!
Song Zhi's face was full of shock!
Tao Tao, "Song Zhi! Song Zhi Song Zhi... the baby kicked me again!"
Song Zhi said excitedly:
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