Chapter 39.1

Su Xiaoxiao hugged Xiao Doubao in her arms.

The cast on Xiao Doubao’s hands has been removed, and now he can move his hands-free as long as he doesn’t bump them into any hard objects.

Su Xiaoxiao was worried about the bumpy roads or sudden braking of the car in an emergency, and baby car seats haven’t been popularized in this era. For the sake of safety, it was safer to hold the baby in her arms.

The cub bathes and washes his hair every day. He is soft, fragrant, and very comfortable to hug.

“If Xiao Doubao is sleepy, go to sleep for a while.” Xiao Doubao usually wakes up at about seven o’clock, but today, he woke up an hour earlier than usual.

Xiao Doubao raised his head to look at his mother. He shook his head and then reached out to point at the trees and houses on both sides of the national road that were moving back rapidly, as well as the old cattle grazing on the ridge.

A tractor, full of people passed by. Xiao Doubao excitedly grabbed Su Xiaoxiao’s arm: “Mama, look~”

Xiao Doubao seldom rode a car. When he was picked up in a car last time, he was still confused about the situation. Now that he was outside again, as their car passed by the scenery, everything looked new yet strange to him.

Su Xiaoxiao looked out and thought that Comrade Han Cheng was driving so slowly that even the tractor could overtake them. This calm personality of his is good, and there are two cubs with them, so naturally, safety is their number one priority.

Han Cheng looked at the rearview mirror and said, “Xiao Doubao, call Dad.”

The other day, Fantuan said Doubao called him Brother. Why wouldn’t he call him Dad?

Xiao Doubao looked at Han Cheng from the rearview mirror, turned his head, and ignored his father.

Fantuan also coaxed him to call him brother and tickled Doubao’s armpit, but he didn’t call him as if he were deliberately ignoring his big brother and refused to call him big brother.

But as long as Su Xiaoxiao asked him something, he would talk cutely and answer every question, word for word, which made Fantuan annoyed.

The family arrived in the city at seven o’clock, but the Civil Affairs Bureau didn’t work until eight or nine o’clock, so, they went to buy the more sought-after materials first.

The meat factory and the non-staple food factory in the city are close to each other, just not far from the Civil Affairs Bureau, and it is only a few minutes walk.

In the planned economy era, when people bought things by ticket, there was a shortage of materials, and the number of people queuing to buy things was huge every day. The market in the city was several times larger than that in the town, but the same number of people was also several times more. Su Xiaoxiao and Han Cheng joined the queue with Doubao and Fantuan.

Han Cheng wore the latest military uniform; he looked tall and handsome. The two cubs looked good and wore new clothes. Only the petite and sweet Su Xiaoxiao wore a patched dress that was neither old nor new.

The warm-hearted aunt in the line nearby could not help touching Su Xiaoxiao’s arm and kindly admonished her: “Young lady, we, female comrades, are more than capable of carrying half the sky. Don’t always cling to men and children. You should treat yourself better.”

Su Xiaoxiao blinked and said, “Auntie, I treat myself very well.”

‘She doesn’t seem to have treated herself badly, does she? How could this aunt have such an illusion?’

The aunt hated the iron for not becoming steel. ^[1]to feel resentful towards sb for failing to meet expectations and impatient to see improvement. She raised her chin and pointed at the two cubs and Han Cheng: “Your family is very beautiful, but you are the only one dressed in rags. I just saw you come down from the car. The conditions at home should not be bad. Don’t blame the aunt for not reminding you that men don’t know how to love their wives. You should learn to love yourself.”

The aunt straightened her back and pulled at the corner of her clothes: “Look at this dress I am wearing. It was bought at the state-owned shopping mall over there. The salesperson said it was the latest style. You are a young, delicate female comrade, and yet, you are not as well dressed as this auntie. How can that be possible?”

Su Xiaoxiao: “……??” You are an ignorant aunt. Although the cotton clothes on my body are not good looking and have also been patched, compared with the non-breathable, non-absorbent, and soon-to-be-phased-out dress, hers is much more comfortable, okay?

But Su Xiaoxiao also knows that this year, people all admire the soft, thin, and durable Dacron, so, there is no use in explaining.

Fantuan leaned into his father’s ear and whispered, “Dad, it seems that Mom is the only one in our family without new clothes. Let’s buy her new clothes!”

Fantuan remembered that his mother used to wear green military uniforms like his father, but his mother seemed to wear only a few patches of clothes. Only he and his brother had new clothes.

Han Cheng pulled Su Xiaoxiao’s hand out of the queue without saying a word.

Su Xiaoxiao blinked: “Why?”

“Let’s go buy your clothes first,” Han Cheng said.

Su Xiaoxiao’s original plan was to buy meat first, since it’s more important, so she queued for it first. Then, after buying meat, she will go to the clothing stores and buy new clothes. It didn’t matter if they got their marriage certificate in the afternoon.

At first, Han Cheng was okay with this arrangement, but now he thinks buying clothes for Su Xiaoxiao is more important than buying meat. Otherwise, if the chat continues, the aunt will think that he is abusing his wife.

Su Xiaoxiao really couldn’t laugh or cry: “It’s not too late; we finally got here.”

The aunt at the back said, “Yes, yes, buy clothes first; remember to buy Dacron!”

Su Xiaoxiao: “…” Auntie, I reasonably suspect that you deliberately removed me from the queue to reduce the number of people in the queue.

Fantuan hugged his father’s neck and turned his head: “Grandma, my mother’s clothes are not as beautiful as yours, but she still looks beautiful. My family loves my mother the most. We are going to buy dacron now!” Humph!

All the people in line looked at them. Su Xiaoxiao could only say to her aunt, “I’m sorry for my son’s rudeness.”

Su Xiaoxiao pushed Fantuan’s small head back and said, “Well, do you know what dacron is? No rudeness allowed.”

Han Cheng smiled and patted his son’s head. The little guy’s mouth can talk.

Fantuan groaned proudly until they reached the ready-made clothing counter in the state-run shopping mall, and he still didn’t stop insisting on buying Dacron.

However, Su Xiaoxiao insisted on buying only a white dress and a pair of shoes to wear for the wedding photo. She used all the remaining cloth tickets to buy cotton cloth and cotton and didn’t want to buy anything else.

Even Han Cheng couldn’t help asking her, “Why didn’t you buy the dacron?”

The cotton had only one color, but Dacron has many fancy styles.

Su Xiaoxiao said: “Dacron is a chemical fiber cloth that is non-breathable and does not absorb sweat. It will also generate static electricity in the winter. It is light and durable. But cotton cloth is a natural cloth, which is soft and comfortable. I think comfort is more important.”

Han Cheng nodded. He would also choose cotton cloth.

The logistics department also gave Han Cheng the tickets needed for marriage, but if you buy a dragon and phoenix quilt, you need to stamp the marriage certificate as well as some special items for marriage, so you have to come back after they receive their marriage certificate.

It’s impossible to buy this kind of good meat. Su Xiaoxiao simply changed her plan. She changed into a white dress first and went to take photos to get the certificate.

Su Xiaoxiao came out after changing into a white dress, and Fantuan’s eyes widened: “Wow, mom, you are so beautiful!”

Fantuan has always felt that his mother is a fairy, and his mother in white clothes is more in line with his image of a fairy!

After putting on the white dress, the female comrade with sparkling eyes, bright teeth, and picturesque eyes became gentler. It was not the first time that he saw her wear twin braids with a red ribbon, she saw her wear this hairstyle in the Sujia Village. Her dark, bright, and smooth hair was scattered at random. She reached out and pinned the hair on her cheeks behind her ears. When she looked back, she smiled without saying a word. She looked fresh and clean, like a reborn person, not because of her clothes, but because of her temperament. Han Cheng didn’t know how to describe it. In short, she’s beautiful in every way.

“You look beautiful,” Han Cheng said heartily.

In recent years, everyone has liked to tie twin braids. Su Xiaoxiao has to work at home and doesn’t know how to braid her hair, so she always ties her hair up casually.

Su Xiaoxiao bent down and picked up Xiao Doubao.

Xiao Doubao touched his mother’s hair, patted her two small hands against her, and said to his father, “Ma~look~~”

Su Xiaoxiao kissed him and said, “Thank you for your praise. Let’s go.”
Han Cheng held the cloth in one hand and Fantuan in the other. They put the things in the trunk of the car first. Han Cheng took Xiao Doubao from Su Xiaoxiao’s hand. Su Xiaoxiao led Fantuan. The family walked happily to the photo studio.