Chapter 13

A sense of evil arose in Qiao Baozhu’s heart, and she raised her head and looked directly into Shen Xiao’s eyes.

Shen Xiao’s eyes were so deep that it was hard to tell what was in them. His expression was indifferent, and there was no emotion in his tone.

“Do you have enough money?”

There was a flash of astonishment in Qiao Baozhu’s eyes. Shen Xiao did not blame her for making the goddess angry and run away. Instead, he asked her if the money was enough.

Is this a plan to settle the score later? Qiao Baozhu was suspicious.

Seeing Qiao Baozhu was stunned and didn’t respond, Shen Xiao was silent for a moment. He took out a stack of money from his pocket and counted it.

He suddenly thought of something and took out a big unity banknote from the stack of money, and stuffed all the remaining money into Qiao Baozhu.

“Since it’s a dowry, it’s better to pick something clean. Your adoptive parents have had a hard life, so leave these fabrics for them to wear, and you can buy some new ones.”

Before Qiao Baozhu could react, a young soldier ran in from outside and saluted Shen Xiao: “Report!”

Shen Xiao turned his head and looked at the young soldier.

“Report to the battalion commander, this is the cloth coupons that everyone has collected.”

Shen Xiao took the cloth coupon from the young soldier and lowered his head to explain to Qiao Baozhu.

“Sister-in-law Wei is the widow of my comrade-in-arms. Her husband died to save me. Even if sister-in-law remarries in the future, I will have to take care of these three children until they grow up.”

“Comrade Qiao, I owe them this, and I have to pay it back. If you are very bothered by this, you have the right to regret it before you get the marriage certificate.”

After getting married, Shen Xiao will continue to raise his comrade’s children. Raising children costs money, and this money will become the couple’s property in the future.

Qiao Baozhu was surprised that Shen Xiao asked for her opinion in advance, but she also felt that Shen Xiao was a very open-minded person.

He smiled and shook his head. “Since they are the children of your savior, it is your responsibility to take care of them and raise them. Comrade Shen, I have no objection.”

Shen Xiao didn’t know why, but he felt relieved when he heard Qiao Baozhu tell him in person that she didn’t mind.

The expression on his face softened a lot, and his eyes fell on Bao Huihua, who was huddled behind Qiao Baozhu with her head down.

“This is, auntie, right?”

The wedding is coming tomorrow, and the new son-in-law has to say hello to his mother-in-law when he meets her.

“Well, this is my mother.”

When talking about her adoptive mother, Qiao Baozhu’s face was full of smiles. She turned around and walked to Bao Huihua, put her arm around her, and introduced her to Shen Xiao with pride.

“Mom, this is Shen Xiao, Captain Shen.”

Qiao Baozhu paused, and leaned her lips against her adoptive mother’s ear, “My future husband.”

Bao Huihua is a mute, but she is not deaf or stupid. From her daughter’s conversation with the other party, she vaguely guessed Shen Xiao’s identity.

She didn’t dare to go up and talk to him, for fear that he would despise her for being mute and look down on Qiao Baozhu.

At this moment, Qiao Baozhu generously pulled Bao Huihua in front of Shen Xiao. Bao Huihua looked nervous and was so scared that she didn’t even dare to raise her head.

“Hello, Auntie. I’m Shen Xiao.”

“I’m really sorry that this is our first meeting under these circumstances.”

Shen Xiao was frank and natural, and this attitude made Qiao Baozhu wonder whether he knew about the rumors about him and Bai Hongmei.

On second thought, Shen Xiao wanted to get married quickly because he heard those rumors. It seems that Shen Xiao does not have the feelings for Bai Hongmei that Qiao Xifeng said.

Bao Huihua had no idea what her daughter was thinking, and she felt extremely ashamed and embarrassed at the moment.

The future son-in-law greeted her, but as a mother-in-law, she couldn’t say 123. Bao Huihua pulled Qiao Baozhu’s sleeve with an embarrassed look on her face, her eyes full of signals for help.

“Captain Shen, my mother had a fever when she was a child and injured her vocal cords. She can’t speak, but she is very happy to see you today.”

Shen Xiao nodded without saying anything, and the atmosphere became awkward again.

The soldier who just delivered the cloth coupons to Shen Xiao ran in again and stood at attention in front of Shen Xiao: “Report to the battalion commander, we have already picked up Sister Wei.”

Shen Xiao immediately looked at Bao Huihua: “Auntie, I have something else to do, I’ll leave first.”

He nodded at Qiao Baozhu again, turned around and left neatly.

As the sound of car engines outside the supply and marketing cooperative gradually disappeared, Bao Huihua breathed a long sigh of relief.

She turned around and saw her daughter holding a handful of cloth coupons and actually choosing cloth, so she rushed over to stop Qiao Baozhu.

‘I bought too much. I’ll save these for later.’

Seeing that her adoptive mother was determined, Qiao Baozhu did not argue with her. She obediently took the cloth and followed Bao Huihua home.

Qiao’s home was not far from the supply and marketing cooperative, and after arriving home, Bao Huihua quickly washed the dirty cloth. While it was still early, Qiao Baozhu went out with her handbag.

In late autumn, there are not many fresh fruits available. Apart from the local crab apples, there are only apples and pears.

Qiao Baozhu took a look at the Guoguang apples. The first grade was 39 cents, and the second and third grade were 4 cents apart respectively.

She directly bought ten first-class ones, weighing 5.6 jin.

In the winter in the Great Northern Wilderness, there are few vegetables and many people lack vitamins. In my previous life, my adoptive parents suffered from night blindness because of a lack of vitamins.

Qiao Baozhu knew that these apples were not enough, so she went to a nearby pharmacy. This kind of medicine can only be prescribed at the health center on the farm, and it is not available without a doctor’s note.

But in the city’s pharmacy, vitamins are considered nutritional supplements, and no prescription is required, but they are expensive. Qiao Baozhu bought all the vitamins ABC in one go, and then listened to the salesperson introduce Shuangbaosu and cod liver oil.

She remembered Shuangbaosu, a high-end nutritional supplement given as a gift by relatives and friends during the 1970s and 1980s. It should be one of the first oral liquids in China, and the price was relatively expensive, costing 4.5 yuan per box.

Qiao Baozhu bought two boxes of Shuangbaosu and a bottle of cod liver oil, spending 11 yuan.

After arriving home, Qiao Baozhu discovered that her adoptive mother had already cut and washed the dirty cloth.

Seeing her daughter coming home, Bao Huihua gestured with a smile and told Qiao Baozhu that she would keep the soiled cloth for herself and leave the remaining clean ones to Qiao Baozhu.

Qiao Baozhu knew that if she insisted on leaving the cloth for her adoptive mother and father to make clothes, they would definitely not accept it. When she had time, she could take the cloth to the tailor shop and cut out two sets of clothes for them, which would be the same.

“Mom, you and dad have been taking care of me for so many years and have damaged your health. I bought some supplements for you two, you must remember to take them.”

When Bao Huihua saw that the thing her daughter brought back was actually for her, she quickly refused and refused to take it.

“This thing is too expensive. Your father and I are in good health. No, no. Take it back and take care of yourself.”

Bao Huihua pushed her daughter anxiously. She couldn’t read and didn’t know what those things were. But her daughter said they were supplements, so they must be expensive.

Seeing that her adoptive mother refused to take him in, Qiao Baozhu put on a stern face and pretended to be angry. She threw the vitamins, cod liver oil, and Shuangbaosu on the table.

“Oh, how expensive can this be? If you two eat this to replenish your bodies, wouldn’t it be better to live two more years?”

“Why doesn’t this make sense to you?”