Cen Huaian definitely couldn't eat popsicles now, they were too cold, and he was still taking medicine.

But soda could give him a taste of freshness.

"Buy the unrefrigerated ones."

The vendor was very happy to see the business, and greeted enthusiastically: "The soda has orange juice flavor, lychee flavor, and white pear flavor. What flavor do you want?"

The colorful sodas were placed in a wooden box, and Cen Huaian wanted all of them.

"I want orange juice flavor."

"Okay! 15 cents a bottle!"

The vendor quickly opened the bottle cap and handed it to Cen Huaian: "Take the bottle and take 50 cents. Drink it here and return it for free."

Cen Huaian was stunned. 15 cents, he didn't have enough money. If he had known earlier, he would have bought popsicles. The cheapest white sugar popsicles can be bought for two cents.

He had only seen other people drinking soda, and he didn't know soda was so expensive.

When he was wondering whether to accept it or not, Chu Xia handed the money over, took the soda and stuffed it into his hand and said, "Drink it, finish it here."

She was happy that a huge sum of money was just coming over. It's just a soda worth 1.5 cents, drink as much as you want!

This soda was made by an unknown small factory, and there was not even a brand. Chu Xia didn't like this stuff.

She didn't drink carbonated drinks since she was a child, and her grandfather didn't allow her to drink it, saying it was unhealthy.

But she also understood people who liked to drink fat otaku happy water. People who like this kind of drink will feel very refreshed when drinking it.

The child has never tried it, so it's okay to drink a little.

Cen Huaian took the first sip and felt that the soda tasted weird, a little stimulating but also sweet like orange juice.

The more he drank, the better it tasted, better than sugar water, and soon he drank half of a bottle of soda. A gust of air came out of his stomach, causing him to burp for a long time.

Cen Huaian blushed all of a sudden, and he looked at Chu Xia. She had a smile on her face, but it was not a mockery. Cen Huaian's nervousness disappeared all of a sudden.

"Mom, do you want to drink? It's delicious."

Chu Xia touched his hair, which was a little long and covered his eyes.

"I don't like it, drink it yourself."

After finishing a bottle, Cen Huaian was reluctant to return the soda bottle, wanting to drink another bottle.

"Okay." Chu Xia ignored his desire. Drinking a bottle is a taste, but drinking too much will hurt your stomach.

"Soda is delicious, don't drink too much, otherwise your stomach will hurt."

Since they were out, Chu Xia didn't want to go back so early, so she took Cen Huaian to the department store

again. It was really inconvenient to have no time at home. She was going to buy a watch, and some towels, soaps and other household items. There are

so many brands of watches, Seagull, Shanghai, Plum, Longines...

all of them are brands with a sense of age.

Cen Huaian followed Chuxia here and looked at those watches with her, with a different brilliance in his eyes.

In the eyes of children, watches are out of reach.

Many workers are reluctant to buy one, after all, it takes several months' salary.

Chuxia asked about the price, ranging from a few dozen to a few hundred yuan. The first-class domestic watches are Shanghai and Seagull, and the foreign ones are Plum and Rolex.

The domestic ones are cheaper, and the imported ones are more expensive. The most expensive Rolex, one is the price of four or five Shanghai watches, 450.

And the most expensive Shanghai watch is more than 100.

Chuxia did not consider imported watches, although they looked good, but they were too expensive. She finally chose a Seagull women's watch, which was relatively small, with a leather strap and a steel dial. The price was 90, and no ticket was required.

Chuxia waved the watch in front of Cen Huaian: "Does it look good?"

Cen Huaian heard the price of 90 and thought it was too expensive. He only made a few cents by picking up broken things all day. He felt that he could never afford this watch.

But the watch is really good-looking.

He nodded, with a yearning tone: "It looks good."

Cen Huaian looked at the watches on the counter, and something seemed to break out of the ground in his heart.

As soon as Chuxia went to work on Monday, she saw a group of people crowded in the factory's publicity column, and Chuxia also went over.

She patted an employee outside and asked, "Sister, what was announced in the factory? Why are there so many people?"

"It's an internal recruitment notice."

Chu Xia's eyes lit up, and she really wanted to see the content of the notice. But there were too many people in front of the notice, and she couldn't squeeze in with her small body.

She gave up going in to take a look, turned around, and went to the union office.

Chu Xia knocked on the door and went in. Chairman Zheng started laughing when he saw it was her.

"Xiao Luo, you look good today."

Chu Xia smiled at her embarrassedly: "Chairman, my face is still pale, but I put on some lipstick, and it looks better."

Chairman Zheng looked at her lips carefully. It was indeed a little red, but unlike the lips of those children who were painted like cannibals, it was lighter.

"Your color is really pretty."

Chu Xia took out a lipstick from her backpack, opened it and said, "Chairman, my method of applying lipstick is different from others. I'll teach you."

Women, including Chairman Zheng, all love beauty.

She became interested: "How do you apply it?"

Chu Xia walked over and tried it directly on her lips.

"When applying lipstick, you can't apply it directly to the lips. You should first apply some in the middle of the lips, and then slowly blend it with your fingers."

Chairman Zheng has a mirror in his drawer, which he uses to check whether his hair is messy or his clothes are neat during meetings.

She took out the mirror and looked at it. It was indeed different. She couldn't tell where the difference was, but it was better than others.

"Oh, Xiao Luo, you are really good at this. I have never seen such a skill before."

Chu Xia smiled and gave the lipstick to Chairman Zheng: "Chairman, try it yourself?"

Chu Xia taught him twice, and Chairman Zheng learned it. He looked at himself in the mirror and kept fiddling with his hair.

"Oh, it looks really good. Xiao Luo, here is your lipstick."

Chu Xia did not take it: "Chairman, you take it. My husband sent me two lipsticks. I can't use them all. It's a waste if they go bad. In this factory, you treat me like a sister and help me solve such a big problem. Even if I give you a hundred lipsticks, it won't express my gratitude. To be honest, you treat me better than my parents."

Chu Xia's eyes were filled with tears of emotion.

Of course, Chu Xia bought the lipsticks. She used Cen Zhengnian as an excuse to prevent Chairman Zheng from refusing.

Chairman Zheng felt warm inside when he heard this: "Xiao Luo, you can call me sister from now on! Have you read the internal recruitment notice posted on the bulletin board today?"

"No." Chu Xia shook her head: "I came to see you as soon as I entered the factory."

"It just so happens that I see a position that suits you. Let me talk to you..."

Chairman Zheng was talking about the work in the factory's publicity department. Of course, if Chu Xia could get in, she could only be a clerk.

Chu Xia felt that it was quite suitable for her. Usually, she would organize some activity materials and attend meetings.

"The internal transfer test mainly tests the knowledge of our textile factory. You should go back and study hard."

Chu Xia didn't know that after she left, Chairman Zheng straightened his clothes in front of the mirror and went to the factory.

"Director. I have finished talking to Xiao Luo."

The director stood up and poured a cup of tea for Chairman Zheng: "Thank you for your hard work."

Chairman Zheng was not polite either. He took the tea and sat on the mahogany chair in the director's office. He blew on the tea, took a sip and said: "Director, what kind of background does Xiao Luo have? For her, our factory even changed the transfer rules. Her parents are both workers in Textile Factory 1, so it can only be her husband's side."

"Silence!"

Director Zhang took a look and said seriously: "Xiao Zheng, you have to keep your mouth shut. Don't ask questions, just do what you are told. Don't forget to give the information to Xiao Luo."

Chairman Zheng nodded readily: "I'll do it, are you still worried? By the way, Xiao Luo also gave me a lipstick, I like her very much, why don't you let her join the union."

The director waved his hand nonchalantly: "Just take it. The union won't work, Xiao Luo is shy and not suitable."

Chairman Zheng shook his head regretfully and left.

The director sat in the chair and hesitated for a while, looked at the phone, picked it up and put it down again.

Forget it, let's call after the matter is settled.

A few days later, Chuxia received the test information given to her by Chairman Zheng.

She thought it was her lipstick that worked, so she concentrated on reviewing at home every night.

Even Cen Huaian knew to study with her every night.

But he still wanted to move after writing for a while, and couldn't sit still, just like he had ADHD.

Chu Xia didn't scold him or hit him, but just said: "Your original homework is to write three pages of characters. If you move, I will add one. If you can't finish it today, continue tomorrow."

"Mom, if I finish it, can I have an extra candy?"

"No, I can reward you with an extra bowl of maltose."

Cen Huaian smacked his lips. That's fine, he also likes maltose. But he wanted to drink soda more, but it was too expensive, and his mother would definitely not be willing to buy more.

He began to write obediently. Three sheets were too many. It took him a long time to write one stroke at a time. If it was not up to standard, his mother would erase it and ask him to rewrite it. He didn't want to add one more sheet.

Tiangong Base in Ganzhou, Northwest China.

"Engineer Cen, there is a letter for you."

Cen Zhengnian was thinking about several test data in the project. He heard the voice of the guard, took the letter, thanked him, and continued to walk to the dormitory.

Entering the dormitory, he put the letter on the table, took out paper and pen to continue calculating, until he calculated the number he wanted, then he remembered the letter from the guard.

It was already very late at night, but working all night was common for Cen Zhengnian. He took the letter and saw a familiar address.

It was sent from Liangzhou City. It was a letter from his wife.

He opened the letter and saw two densely written pages. He was stunned for a moment, then opened the envelope and took a look, confirming that it was from his wife.

In the past, when his wife wrote to him, she would just say that she was safe, just like him. This time, she wrote so much. Did his wife encounter any difficulties?

Cen Zhengnian frowned and started reading from the first line.

Slowly, his brows relaxed and a smile appeared on his handsome face.

Cen Zhengnian seemed to have a scene of his wife teaching his son to read. He saw that his son learned too fast and his wife was happy but a little depressed.

After reading the latter part, Cen Zhengnian felt guilty. The money he sent was still not enough to ensure that his wife and children had enough food and clothing.

Are the beef, mutton and fruits in the northwest delicious? He usually focused on research and didn't pay attention to it.

But his good friend who works with him likes to eat, so he must know more about it. He will ask him tomorrow.

Friends should know where to buy these things. I will buy some and send them home for Chuxia and Anan to try.

Anan can read now. Cen Zhengnian cherishes the piece of paper that Cen Huaian wrote on, and he can't help missing her.