"Meili, Fang Yu is at your house. I'm going to pick her up when I get back. Is there anything you need me to bring?"
“Okay,” Fang Meili glanced at the shipping container and picked up a toothbrush.
"This is a small toothbrush that I just brought over. Give one to Dongqiang. He's about to start losing his baby teeth, so he can brush his teeth to prevent them from getting cavities and hurting later."
Is this a toothbrush specifically for children?
"No, it's just that they're made a little smaller, making them easier to hold. There are also toothbrushes specifically for children, which are more expensive than adult ones."
“My Fang Yu is about to lose her baby teeth, so I’ll buy her one too. She’s never used a toothbrush before. Mei Li, you’re so good to Dong Qiang. Even mothers can’t be as thoughtful as you.”
Fang Meili smiled and said, "Dongqiang has never used it before, so I'll bring him a tube of toothpaste too."
As Fang Sandi rode his bicycle closer to the village, he asked, "Should we go pick up Fang Yu first or go home first?"
"Let's go home first. There's too much stuff for Fang Yu to sit down."
If you don't go to Fang Meixiang's house, you can go straight home by passing Xianlan's house.
Yu Jihong suddenly wondered if it was her spreading rumors, since it seemed that she was the one who had asked her where she came from.
"Third brother, who told you they couldn't get the goods? I can get them!"
Fang Sandi was also afraid that Yu Jihong would cause trouble for others, "They didn't say anything, just that they wanted to get the goods but couldn't."
Yu Jihong jumped off her bicycle. "You go home first, I'll come over later."
"Hey, where are you going?"
Yu Jihong ignored Fang Sandi and walked straight towards Xianlan's house. "Xianlan!" she called out at the door.
Xianlan came over with a slightly flustered expression. "Oh, Jihong, what's wrong?"
“Today, my third brother and I went to pick up the materials. The foreman at the factory said that if we wanted to get the materials, we had to ask the boss’s wife. It’s up to her to decide. Last year, Meili and I went together. She happened to know the boss’s wife, so she made the materials for me. I made the materials carefully and well, so the boss’s wife let me keep taking them home to work on.”
"Heh, I'm busy at home too, so it doesn't matter whether I do it or not."
“I just happened to be passing by, so I thought I’d mention it. I remember you asked me about it last time. Who else asked me? I can’t quite remember right now,” Yu Jihong pretended to frown and think for a moment. “If you remember, tell her to go find the landlady, Xianlan, do you know her?”
What followed was what Yu Jihong wanted to tell her. Yu Jihong leaned closer to Xianlan, sitting next to her, "Some people who can't get the goods are jealous of me and spread rumors that I'm the only one who can get the goods, that I'm colluding with people in the factory. Good heavens! The boss's wife agreed to give me the goods, would I still collude with the boss's wife? If she says anything again, and I find out, I'll tear her mouth off." Yu Jihong said through gritted teeth.
Xianlan knew she was in the wrong, so she didn't say much. Besides, she didn't dare to argue with Yu Jihong either, not even in front of everyone. Yu Jihong dared to say and do anything in front of everyone, but she didn't dare.
After saying what she wanted to say, Yu Jihong felt as if a burden had been lifted and walked out. Fang Sandi was still waiting for her in the same spot. He only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her come out.
Yu Jihong took the things Fang Meili had asked her to bring, saying, "You go home first, I'll go pick up Fang Yu."
Yu Jihong hummed a tune as she went to Fang Meixiang's house.
Xianlan's face flushed red and then turned pale with anger at home.
"Meixiang, I'll take care of Fang Yu. Thank you for your help."
Fang Meixiang smiled at her quietly.
"Dongqiang, where is your grandmother?"
"My grandmother?" Fang Dongqiang looked up, but no one was in the room, so he ran out to look for her.
"Jihong, you're back?" Fang Meixiang's mother brushed the straw off her clothes. "I just went to get some firewood for the kitchen."
"Meili asked me to bring something over." Yu Jihong handed the package to Fang Meixiang's mother.
"Oh, I need you to bring me something again."
"There's a toothbrush inside for Dongqiang, so he can brush his teeth."
"A toothbrush?" Fang Meixiang's mother unwrapped the kraft paper; inside, besides toothpaste and a toothbrush, were several packets of salt and biscuits. She picked up the toothbrush. "Kids don't need to be so fussy. Brushing teeth?"
“They’re about to lose their baby teeth, so brushing them is good to prevent cavities. I bought one for Fang Yu too.”
"Dongqiang, your second aunt brought you a toothbrush. Remember to brush your teeth," Fang Meixiang's mother called out.
Fang Dongqiang dropped his toys and ran over, saying, "Let me see, let me see." He grabbed a toothbrush and put it in his mouth.
"Don't brush now, Dongqiang. Squeeze some toothpaste here in the morning and brush before you go to bed at night." Yu Jihong squatted down and patiently said to Dongqiang, "Dongqiang, remember not to swallow the water when you brush your teeth."
"Oh, there's no water." Fang Dongqiang opened his mouth, revealing his newly emerging permanent teeth, which made people laugh.
"Hehehe, you need to use water when you brush your teeth with toothpaste so that you can clean them and get rid of the worms inside."
"Mom, I want to brush my teeth too." Fang Yu came over and tugged at Yu Jihong's clothes.
"Yes, Mom bought you one too."
Fang Meixiang's mother took out some cookies and gave them to Fang Yu. Fang Yu glanced at Yu Jihong first.
"Grandma, here you can have this," Yu Jihong said, and Fang Yu took the biscuits.
"Look at this girl, how sensible she is!" Fang Meixiang's mother gave another piece to Fang Dongqiang.
"Fang Yu, let's sit here and eat." Fang Dongqiang pulled Fang Yu to the side.
"Dongqiang, Fang Yu is going home. Can you come to my house and play?"
Fang Dongqiang looked at Fang Meixiang's mother and grinned, "Grandma, Fang Yu's mother invited me to her house to play."
"We're not going today."
"Then let's go tomorrow?" Fang Dongqiang pressed.
"So playful." Fang Meixiang's mother pouted. "Fang Yu has things to do at home, we'll go another time."
"It's alright, let him go play too." Yu Jihong saw that Fang Dongqiang also wanted to go.
"No, no, Jihong, you go ahead with your work, you can go play when you have time later."
"Okay, then we're leaving. If you ever need anything in the future, Meixiang and Dongqiang can come to my house. I'll keep an eye on things."
"Oh, okay, okay, Ji Hong, you're such a kind person."
"Meixiang, if your mother has things to do in the future, you and Dongqiang can come to my house," Yu Jihong said softly to Fang Meixiang.
Fang Meixiang smiled at her and nodded.
"Meixiang is happy to see you. She doesn't smile like that with anyone else." Seeing Fang Meixiang smiling so broadly made Fang Meixiang's mother happy too.
Yu Jihong took Fang Yu home, where Fang San Di had already poured out the ingredients and started cooking. "I'll make a few skewers and then go to the fields."
“Alright, Third Brother, since everyone wants to do some work at home, I think it’s the right idea for us to bring some from the factory and distribute them to everyone.” Yu Jihong sat down to help organize the wires.
"Hmm, oh, the fields are about to get busy, let's talk about it when they're busy."
"Why are you making excuses? Is there something you're worried about?" Yu Jihong sensed something was wrong with him.
"No, no. When the fields get busy, everyone will definitely do the field work first, and then do other things when they have free time."
Fang Sandi lowered his head and continued working. He didn't know what reason he could give not to go after the busy farming season.
However, he would rather work in the fields a little longer than deliver the goods to the villagers and have to deal with them so much.
Hua Mei's belly is getting bigger every day, and her due date is fast approaching.
"Mom, Hua Mei is going to the hospital to give birth this time." It was just Fang Shugen and his mother.
"Going to the hospital?" Fang Shugen's mother quickly recalled the circumstances of Hua Mei's two previous pregnancies. "Hua Hua's birth was quick, but that one..." Fang Shugen's mother closed her eyes, recalling the scene on the mountain, "That one took a while. Hmm, it'll be more reassuring to go to the hospital."
Fang Shugen's eyes drooped, and he sighed, "Mother, do you know where the people who took her are from?"
“I don’t know. They won’t let me know. I’m afraid that if we raise her up, we’ll go back to her. But they said their family is well-off, so I gave her to them. Even though she’s a girl, she’s still our child. I can’t let her suffer. The couple who came to pick her up that day were from a well-off family.”
"I don't know if I'll ever see her again in this lifetime, or if she'll hate us." Fang Shugen lowered his head.
“Shugen,” Fang Shugen’s mother patted his shoulder, “as long as she’s doing well, that’s all that matters. There’s nothing we can do; the one-child policy is strictly enforced. If it were like before, you could have as many children as you wanted, and we wouldn’t have sent her away. That’s her fate. If she’s eating and living well in someone else’s home, then she’s lucky.”
"I hope so. I hope she's doing well so we'll feel less guilty." Fang Shugen suddenly seemed to remember something, "How old is she now? She's a year younger than Huahua, so she's four years old."
"Yes, born in 1983, four years old."
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