Chapter 24

After Qiao Anle and Li Fengbei came out of the alley.

Just follow the original route, walk back to the alley, and then continue to make three turns and then two turns to go out.

When finally leaving the corner of the black market.

Qiao Anle passed by an older middle-aged woman.

A moment.

She heard a series of chirping sounds, noisy and continuous.

The voice came from a middle-aged woman.

Qiao Anle’s ears moved and he stopped suddenly.

Her eyes turned to the bamboo basket in the middle-aged woman’s hand.

Seeing this, the middle-aged woman smiled on her dark face and greeted Qiao Anle.

“My dear wife, come and have a look. We raise them ourselves, and the price is cheap.”

As the towel covering the bamboo basket was lifted, the chirping sound instantly became louder.

What was in the bamboo basket was a group of furry little chicks.

The chick was about four or five days old, and its fur was still sparse and a light yellow.

But they have strong vitality, squeezing around in the bamboo basket and turning around continuously.

The chicks were crowded together, and at a glance there were about a dozen of them.

The middle-aged woman said, “They were all hatched by the old hens at home. It would be a waste of food to keep them at home, so I wanted to sell them. They’re really not expensive, why don’t you pick a few and take them back?”

Qiao Anle was moved.

Because an idea suddenly occurred to her.

If you raise chickens at home, they will lay eggs when they grow up.

The eggs she kept in the Lingbao space could then be placed in the small kitchen at home with impunity.

No need to feed it to the three kids secretly.

You can also make fragrant and smooth egg custard for Li Fengbei.

Qiao Anle said, “I want all these chicks, and I’ll buy your bamboo basket too. Auntie, how much do you want? Just tell me the price.”

The middle-aged woman ate a pound of it. Obviously, she didn’t expect Qiao Anle to be so generous and actually took it all in one breath.

She was overjoyed and said in a panic.

“Can you give me some food coupons? My old man has bad teeth and can’t eat steamed bread. I came out to exchange some food coupons so that I can buy rice and cook porridge for him. Just… two kilograms of food coupons will be enough. The bamboo basket is free, it’s a gift from me.”

After hearing this, Qiao Anle turned around and took two kilograms of food coupons from Li Fengbei and handed them to the middle-aged woman.

The middle-aged woman took the food coupons with her dry hands, kept saying thank you to Qiao Anle, and carefully put the coupons into her arms, holding them like treasures.

Qiao Anle reached out and touched the little chicks, which felt furry.

She said to Li Fengbei, “When these little guys grow up, we can eat egg custard at home.”

Li Fengbei nodded, “Okay, I’ll eat it every day from now on.”

The two looked at each other and smiled.

Then I went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy a bicycle.

There is always a big tree at the entrance of every small mountain village.

There are always groups of people sitting under the trees, chatting and talking.

From morning to evening, the chattering women turned into men resting and drinking tea.

Just an ordinary day.

But an ordinary thing happened.

Gurgle, gurgle.

It sounded like something rolling on a gravel road.

It attracted attention at first.

But after a while, it caused the people around to open their eyes wide.

“Old man Sun, did you see that? What was that thing just now? Why did it just go by, spinning around in circles?”

“It’s a bicycle! It must be a bicycle! Look at those two big wheels. I’ve seen bicycles like this in the county town.”

“So this is the bicycle you were talking about? I’ve lived for most of my life, and this is the first time I’ve seen one! It doesn’t look very big, how can people sit on it? It looks like… there are two people sitting on it?”

“That was Captain Li who just passed by! Captain Li is really amazing. He is the first person in our village to own a bicycle!”

“That bicycle you’re talking about must be very expensive, right? How much does that thing cost?”

“How much? Even if I sell your old bones and your daughter, I’m afraid it won’t be enough to buy a bicycle.”

“Oh my god, they look like just a few wheels, why are they so expensive?!…”

The men’s discussions became more and more lively, one after another.

I think the new gadgets in front of me are really interesting.

So many pairs of eyes stared at Li Fengbei riding a bicycle with Qiao Anle on it, his figure getting farther and farther away until it completely disappeared.

I couldn’t bear to blink.

Some people even ran after it just to take a few more glances.

The crowd was talking in a noisy voice, and many people clamored to go to Captain Li’s house tomorrow to take a good look at the bicycle.

One of them murmured something.

“Captain Li’s wife is so lucky to marry such a great man. I wonder if my daughter will be so lucky.”

How much envy is mixed in it.

On the other hand.

After a long ride along the mountain road, Li Fengbei and Qiao Anle finally returned to their little home.

Go out for a while.

Only after coming back did I realize that no place like home is worse than my own.

The two of them acted separately in tacit understanding.

Li Fengbei carried the things he bought into the house, then went straight into the small kitchen and started preparing dinner.

Qiao Anle changed into a more casual outfit and went out.

She went to pick up the three little ones.

By this time, it was already an hour later than her usual time to pick up her child.

Qiao Anle quickened his pace and walked very fast.

When she arrived at Aunt Li’s house.

There were no other children in the huge yard except for their three kids, who were holding onto the fence, standing on tiptoe, and looking around.

Even the wooden horse, which was usually hard to get, was abandoned alone in the middle of the yard.

Qiao Anle saw this scene from afar and couldn’t help feeling sad.

She smiled and waved high.

“Big one, second one, third one, mother is here to pick you up.”

When the three kids heard Qiao Anle’s voice, they were so happy that they almost jumped up from their places.

“Mom is here!”

“We can go home now!”

“Mom is here to pick us up—”

One after another, they ran to the gate like the wind and ran out with a clatter.

When Qiao Anle got closer, he squatted down and opened his arms.

Just like a hen spreading her wings, she hugged all three cubs together.

“My children have been waiting for you for a long time. We are going home now. There is food waiting for you at home!”

Qiao Anle touched their little heads, kissed their foreheads, and gently comforted the three little cubs.

Aunt Li also came out when she heard the noise.

When she saw Qiao Anle, she smiled with relief.

“You’re finally here. They’ve been waiting for you for a long time. I saw it was getting late, so I asked them to come in and have dinner at my house. But the little ones refused to agree, saying that you promised to pick them up.”

“Aunt Li, I’m sorry to bother you again today.”

“It’s not a big deal. This is what I deserve. Captain Li arranged such a good job for me. I can’t thank him enough.”

Having said that.

But Qiao Anle still prepared some things.

She said, “Li Fengbei and I went to the county town today. Here is a pound of flour and some fruit candies. Take them and have some.”

“How can I take your things? No, no, I can’t take them.”

Aunt Li refused again and again.

Qiao Anle still stuffed it into her hand and said, “Just take it. It’s from your neighbors. You’re not the only one who has it. I’ve also prepared some for other families.”

After hearing what Qiao Anle said, Aunt Li accepted it hesitantly.

She said gratefully, “Then I would like to thank you and Captain Li.”

“Mom, what’s delicious at home?”

“Mom, where’s Dad? Is Dad back too?”

“Mom, you guys went to the county town today, so…did you eat a lot of braised pork belly?!”

Along the way.

The three cubs were just like the group of chicks that Qiao Anle had just bought, chirping non-stop.

Qiao Anle simply couldn’t answer so many questions.

All she could say was, “You’ll know when you get home.”

When the three kids walked into their yard, they forgot about the previous questions. All their attention was attracted by the shiny bicycle that seemed to glow.

The third child shouted excitedly: “Car! What a big car!”

The second child rushed forward and retorted, “Stupid! This is called a bicycle! Dad told me that this is a bicycle.”

The eldest boy’s eyes were shining as he looked at the bicycle that was taller than him without blinking.

Qiao Anle touched Erzai’s head and praised him, “Erzai is really smart. You are right. This is a bicycle. And it is our family’s bicycle.”

“Our…home?!”

“Cheche, I want to make a big Cheche!”

“So tall, even taller than my little one.”

The three little guys were spinning around a bicycle.

They were still a little scared and didn’t dare to reach out and touch it directly, as if they were afraid of accidentally breaking it.

Qiao Anle said, “When mom and dad are free, I can take you for a bike ride.”

The three cubs burst into excited screams.

Before one wave subsides, another wave rises.

The excited screams had just ended when another, louder one rang out.

“Brother! Brother! It’s chicks! Look, we have chicks at home!”

The third cub moved around and was the first to discover the chicks in the yard. He was so happy that he almost made a suona sound.

Qiao Anle didn’t expect Li Fengbei to be so fast.

In such a short time, he built a low fence around the open space next to the kitchenette, laid straw in the corner, and scattered vegetable leaves on the ground.

A dozen chicks came out of the crowded bamboo basket and were getting familiar with their new home.

The second child also shouted happily.

“They are really chicks! So small, so many of them, all chicks!”

The eldest chick looked at the little chick, then at Qiao Anle.

He looked up and asked, “Mom, are these chicks ours too?”

“Yes, they are ours. Dad and Mom went out to buy them today. When the chicks grow up, we will have more eggs to eat.”

The eldest boy thought about it and smiled, revealing his little teeth.

He also walked over and looked at the furry little chicks through the low fence.

The eldest child: “These chicks are so small.”

Qiao Anle: “It’s a small one, just like the big one, the second one, and the third one. As long as they eat well, they will grow up soon.”

Second cub: “Little chicks, you must eat well! When you grow up, you must work hard to lay eggs.”

The third child: “Eggs! Lay eggs! Lay two eggs a day.”

The eldest child: “Two are not enough, one, two, three… five! Dad, mom, and us, one for each of us.”

Second Cub: “Yeah, I want five. Listen to big brother, I want five!”

The conversation between the three kids is full of childish innocence.

While the family was looking at the chicks, Li Fengbei had already prepared dinner.

The tall man walked out of the small kitchen, and the first thing that was placed on the table was the fragrant and shiny braised pork belly.