Chapter 25: Preparing New Year’s Goods

Mi Xia: “Help me collect some high-end cigarettes and liquor, and as many ‘A Whole Nation Is Red’ stamps as you can find. I’ll leave the price to you. My husband loves this stamp.”

The ‘A Whole Nation Is Red’ stamp must be collected; after all, it will be worth millions in the future.

Zhang Xiaoyu smirked, clearly pleased. “Okay, I’ll have them delivered to you.”

Mi Xia: “No need. I’ll pick them up next time I come.”

After a while, Zhang Xiaoyu’s subordinate whispered something in his ear.

Zhang Xiaoyu handed a stack of money to Mi Xia. She didn’t count it, pretending to put it in her pocket, but the money was already in her space.

Then, she rode her bicycle home. She had prepared the ingredients for lunch while gathering supplies.

One fish, a pound of meat, a pound of apples, and some beef jerky for the children’s snacks.

Mi Xia: “Sister-in-law, I’m back!”

Zhang Hongxia: “I was just about to go buy groceries. You’re back.”

“Hey, why are you riding a bike? Did you borrow one?”

Mi Xia: “Sister-in-law, I bought a new one! A used one, no ticket needed, and it was cheap—only 100 yuan. I was afraid I’d miss out!”

Zhang Hongxia looked at Mi Xia awkwardly. “Little sister, I’ll tell your brother tonight to walk to work tomorrow. It’s not far; he just needs to get up a little earlier.”

“You’re using the bike you bought every day. It’s inconvenient for you to do anything. Return the bike; it’s a waste of money.”

Mi Xia deliberately frowned. “Sister-in-law, what are you saying? That bike was for my brother. Aren’t we family? Why are you always saying these things?”

Mi Xia understood why Zhang Hongxia was like this, but she still felt uncomfortable.

Seeing Mi Xia unhappy, Zhang Hongxia became anxious. “You’re right, little sister. I won’t say it again.”

Mi Xia finally cracked a smile. The sisters-in-law cooked lunch together. Zhang Hongxia steamed rice, and Mi Xia cooked the dishes. Soon, two dishes and a soup were on the table.

After the meal, “Sister-in-law, you can use the bike to buy groceries. I don’t have anything to do, and I can wait for you to come back if you need me.”

“Call me when you go to buy groceries. I’ll watch the kids. By the way, I’ll take you to that alley tomorrow at noon. The grocery stores here don’t have everything you want, so you can check there.”

Zhang Hongxia nodded, indicating she understood. They cleaned up the table, chairs, bowls, and chopsticks. The school wasn’t far from home, so the children could go to school by themselves.

In the yard, Zhang Hongxia had already planted seasonal vegetables. The small green vegetables they were eating were homegrown.

Mi Xia: “Sister-in-law, I brought back some yarn. Do you know how to knit sweaters?”

Zhang Hongxia felt that her little sister was truly capable; she even got yarn.

“Yes, little sister. Since I married into your family, I haven’t knitted a sweater. I knitted one for my younger brother when I was at my parents’ home,” Zhang Hongxia recalled.

“Who are you going to knit a sweater for? Should I teach you, or should I help you knit it?”

Mi Xia blushed. “For Mo Haoyue. I need your help and your teaching.”

“Sister-in-law, there isn’t enough yarn this time. I’ll buy more next time. This is all I have.” Mi Xia said, showing Zhang Hongxia the bag.

Zhang Hongxia: “This is enough to knit two sets for your brother-in-law. The light-colored ones can be used to knit a sweater for you.”

Mi Xia: “Sister-in-law, one set for Mo Haoyue is enough. You can knit one for whoever you want with the rest. If there isn’t enough, I’ll bring more yarn next time.”

Zhang Hongxia didn’t know how to express her gratitude to Mi Xia. Since she returned from her parents’ home, their family’s life had improved dramatically. She wouldn’t have dared to dream of such a life before.

Oh well, her little sister didn’t like to hear these things, so she just smiled at Mi Xia.

Zhang Hongxia patiently taught Mi Xia, and Mi Xia learned diligently. However, it took two months to finish the sweater.

She took some more durable food from her space and sent it to Mo Haoyue.

During those two months, Mi Xia knitted until she wanted to vomit. She regretted countless times why she hadn’t brought Mo Haoyue a couple of thermal underwear sets when he left.

She didn’t dare to mail them; she didn’t know if thermal underwear even existed yet.

“Captain, your package and letter have arrived. I’ve brought them to you.”

Despite his efforts to control himself, the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but turn upward. It must be from his wife. He quickly stepped forward. “Give them to me.”

Mo Haoyue’s soldiers joked, “Seeing the Captain so anxious, it must be a package from his wife.”

Mo Haoyue treated them like brothers, so his soldiers dared to joke with him.

Mo Haoyue’s eyes were full of smiles. “You little rascal, you just want to eat the beef sauce my wife made.”

After saying this, he opened the package, took out two bottles and handed them to them, then eagerly turned and walked towards his room.

He missed his wife. Even if he couldn’t see her, it was good to read her letter.

Time flew by, and before they knew it, the New Year was approaching. It was already the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, and it was time to eat Laba porridge.

Zhang Hongxia got up before dawn to cook, fearing that the children would be late for school.

Mo Haoyue wouldn’t be home for the New Year; he was on a mission. Although they couldn’t be together this year, she was still happy. This was her first New Year here.

During this time, Mi Xia was very busy. She was busy meeting Zhang Xiaoyu, busy studying, busy knitting sweaters, and also found time to visit Grandma Song.

She sent supplies to Grandma Song, who no longer accepted anything from them. Perhaps it was because she wanted the ring before, but later, they simply developed a genuine friendship.

In the few days before the New Year, Mi Xia pretended to go out to buy groceries every morning, but she actually took food from her space home, a little each day. By the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, the house was already full.

Fortunately, it was cold; otherwise, all this food would have gone bad.

Zhang Hongxia took her family back to her parents’ home early in the morning, and Xia Xia went with them. This time, she brought 20 kilograms of rice and flour, 20 kilograms of pork, and 10 kilograms of noodles.

The villagers all said that Zhang Hongxia had found a good family; otherwise, even if their family was well-off, they wouldn’t let her bring so many things back home.

Because Zhang Hongxia brought so many things back, her mother was overjoyed and praised Mi Qiu profusely.

Now that only Mi Xia was home, it was convenient for her to deal with Zhang Xiaoyu. The New Year was only two days away, and supplies were especially scarce during this time. No matter how much Mi Xia brought out, she could sell it.

So these days, Mi Xia would send supplies every few days. She now had over 10,000 yuan. Even if she went to Kyoto now, she wouldn’t be worried.

“Knock knock knock.”

Mi Xia only knocked twice before the door opened from the inside.

“I guessed you’d be coming. Come in quickly.” Zhang Xiaoyu smiled like a flower.

Mi Xia was also very happy.

“I’ve collected a lot of cigarettes and liquor these days, but I’ve only collected three ‘A Whole Nation Is Red’ stamps. Why are these stamps so hard to find?” Zhang Xiaoyu said dejectedly.

At first, his subordinate said that these stamps were hard to find, and that they had only collected one in two months. He didn’t believe it, thinking his subordinate was fooling him. Later, he went to do it himself, and only collected two more, so he had to believe it.