Chapter 54

Qiao Wei took the bus back to town, first returning to her own home to leave the several white shirts she had bought for herself. Then, carrying her net bag with books and the clothes she bought for Lin Xixi, along with the peach pastries, she went to Captain Zhao’s house.

“Sister-in-law~” she called out from the courtyard gate.

Yan Xiang ran over joyfully, “Mommy!”

“Oh, can’t carry, can’t carry, Mommy has so many things!” Qiao Wei rubbed Yan Xiang’s head.

Lin Xixi stood up and greeted, “Aunt.”

Then she fell silent. Compared to before, it was obvious she lacked spirit.

Sister Yang came over, wiping her hands with her apron and smiling, “Back already? Was the bus crowded? Did you get a seat?”

“I did, I had a seat both ways.”

Qiao Wei and Sister Yang went inside to talk.

“Wow, so many books,” Sister Yang said with awe as soon as she saw the books.

In their home, apart from the important red-covered books, the only other books were the children’s textbooks. Because once the older ones finished, the younger ones used them. The covers were almost worn out.

Qiao Wei took out the children’s picture books from her net bag and said, “These are for Yan Xiang.”

She took out the clothes and pants she bought for Lin Xixi and said, “Take a look and see if they fit. She wears the same size as me.”

Sister Yang picked them up and examined them, “Looks good, I don’t see any problem. These are great.”

She stood up, took out money and coupons, and gave them to Qiao Wei.

Qiao Wei accepted the money and coupons for the clothes she bought and then took out one of the two packs of peach pastries and said, “Bought some peach pastries for the kids to eat.”

Sister Yang wanted to give her money, but Qiao Wei insisted, “I’m your sister-in-law. You don’t need to be polite with me.”

They argued back and forth a few times, but Sister Yang finally accepted with a smile.

Qiao Wei took Yan Xiang home.

Sister Yang called Lin Xixi inside and gave her the new clothes, “Change into these.”

Lin Xixi held the new clothes and rubbed them.

To be honest, it was the first time someone had bought her clothes voluntarily. In the past, she had to ask for them herself, and even then, she might not get them.

When she was younger, she had to beg her parents for clothes, but she might still end up getting beaten.

Later, with her man, when she was young and pretty, she could still get what she wanted by asking, but later it became difficult.

Life was lived with scrimping and saving.

Sister Yang handed her three dollars and said, “From now on, you’ll get three dollars a month as pocket money.”

At this age, when kids asked their parents for money, it was usually given in small amounts. Giving one or two cents was already generous.

Because a small popsicle was only three cents, a cream popsicle was only five cents, and an ice cream was only a cent.

On Saturday night, when Qiao Wei and Yan Lei were having dinner, Qiao Wei suggested finding a job for Lin Xixi so she could earn some money. Sister Yang, of course, was not happy to lose a helping hand, but she gained another master to serve.

However, Qiao Wei’s words reminded her.

She herself was also a person who did household chores all day. Suddenly feeling so relaxed was certainly because Lin Xixi was taking on a lot.

Although she managed food and lodging, she couldn’t let the child work for nothing. She wouldn’t dare to ask for money like her own children did.

Since she couldn’t wait for the child to speak up herself, Sister Yang decided to give her some pocket money every month.

To buy snacks and such.

As for things like clothes, Sister Yang would buy them for her, so she wouldn’t have to worry about them herself.

Lin Xixi didn’t come to her uncle’s house to be a maid.

But during the half-month she stayed here, her life was actually not much different from before—she still washed clothes, cooked, and did household chores.

But here, she had Sister Yang to help her. Occasionally, if something went wrong, she wouldn’t scold her, and certainly wouldn’t enjoy leisure while watching her work like her mother-in-law did.

Washing clothes was still done by hand, but that was because of the conditions of the times. Unlike before, in the late 1980s, the family bought a washing machine, but her mother-in-law didn’t allow her to use it and made her wash by hand instead.

The washing machine was just for show.

So even though the work was similar, the experience and feelings were completely different.

Lin Xixi was currently in a state of life confusion. Holding the new clothes and pants her aunt bought for her, along with the pocket money, she couldn’t help but feel that since women had to work their whole lives anyway, it might as well be at her uncle and aunt’s house for the rest of her life.

But she knew that wasn’t possible.

In the end, she still had to find a man to marry and have children to support her in old age.

But she was afraid of choosing the wrong person and not being able to endure for ten years. She was also afraid of enduring for ten years only to be crushed by the pains of the times.

She was afraid both at the beginning and the end.

She couldn’t break free. Deep down, she always felt that being reborn didn’t make much sense.

She lived each day in a daze, her ambitions and sense of superiority from her rebirth fading away. Every day, she just followed her body’s instincts, living like she used to.

In Sister Yang’s eyes, her niece was strong, looking down on the man her uncle had picked for her. But the good thing was, she didn’t cry or make trouble, she just worked and worked and worked, tirelessly, with a special liveliness in her eyes.

She was truly a good girl.

Yingzi should really learn something from her.

If Qiao Wei could have more contact with her and understand her more deeply, she might realize that Lin Xixi’s current symptoms were similar to depression, a common condition in later generations.

But depression didn’t exist in this era. It simply didn’t exist.

When Yan Lei came back, he asked, “What books did you buy?”

Before Qiao Wei could answer, Yan Xiang, sitting on the cool bed, raised the little picture book in her hand and said, “It’s a little people book!”

Qiao Wei pursed her lips and said, “They’re all right there.”

The pile of little people books was beside Yan Xiang’s short legs on the cool bed.

Yan Lei didn’t pay attention to the pile of little people books, he first looked at the books with words. When he saw two red plastic-covered books of quotations from great people, he was very happy, “Learn more. This is the red sun guiding us, and this is the lighthouse sailing in the vast ocean.”

That’s how education was at this time, with these kinds of phrases, set after set, like Yan Lei, who listened to them every day. Despite not having much education or culture, he could spout these phrases effortlessly.

But Qiao Wei didn’t think it was excessive or cheesy.

Years later, many middle-aged people woke up to their misunderstandings after many years, feeling ashamed and sweating coldly.

More young people from the new generation were still dazzled by the brilliance of his ideas.

He was a true lone hero, accompanied only by time, immortalized forever.

“Of course, you should study hard,” Qiao Wei said.

Yan Lei’s heart immediately relaxed by half.

The radiant thoughts of the great figures would surely cleanse the decayed remnants of petit bourgeois ideology from her.

He picked up the little people’s books and flipped through them with his hand. With a chuckle, he rubbed Yan Xiang’s head, “You’ve read these already. Mom went all the way to the county town to buy them for you.”

Yan Xiang sweetly said, “Thank you, Mom.”

Little people’s books were considered children’s literature, relatively safe.

Even if some of them were stories from ancient times, it wasn’t a big problem.

Most importantly, those literary books were all piled up and used as fuel for cooking in the kitchen.

Yan Lei looked at the remaining books again and said, “Huh?”

He felt surprised, “There are books specifically about farming and pig raising?”

“Of course, we’re an agricultural country. As long as people are alive and breathing, they all want to eat meat. Agriculture and animal husbandry, just like long spears and cannons, are the foundation of the country. Naturally, the country will attach importance to them.”

These books were bought for Yan Xiang.

Before Yan Lei came back, Qiao Wei had already shown these books to Yanxiang.

When Yan Xiang read these kinds of books, her bright eyes would become deep and dark.

Qiao Wei didn’t need to “teach” her at all. After supplementing her vocabulary through “The Adventures of Little Botou,” she could already absorb knowledge from books on her own.

At times like this, the buff was clearly manifested.

But Qiao Wei estimated that Yan Lei would be back soon, so she collected the technical books and handed him a picture book with drawings.

The darkness in his eyes disappeared, replaced once again by brightness and clarity. The buff became latent, turning him into an ordinary happy child.

Qiao Wei had already realized that Yanxiang’s buff needed knowledge to be fed.

It could also be switched on or off.

This way, he could hide his innate abilities and behave like an ordinary child.

“Is this… a dictionary?” Yan Lei asked.

He picked up the brand-new Xinhua Dictionary and flipped through it. Just as the thought “I need this” surfaced in his mind, Qiao Wei said, “That’s for you.”

Yan Lei turned his head in confusion.

Qiao Wei explained, “The literacy class has limited vocabulary. Although you’re smart and can guess the meaning from context, you still need to read the correct pronunciation. Otherwise, you might mispronounce words, and others will laugh at you.”

Such incidents had indeed occurred before.

Yan Lei chuckled.

Holding the small dictionary and caressing it with his big hand, Yan Lei looked at Qiao Wei’s smiling eyes, feeling indescribably happy.

She remembered to buy something for him when she went to the county town.

However, Qiao Wei was thinking about having Yanxiang go through the Xinhua Dictionary first. Once she finished, her vocabulary would be complete, making it easier for her to absorb knowledge automatically in the future.

It was a pity that there wasn’t a “Modern Chinese Dictionary,” which had the most extensive vocabulary. Even the bookstore staff had never heard of it; it probably hadn’t been published yet.

But theoretically speaking, it shouldn’t be too many years away from publication. When the time came, she would buy it for the father and son.

“Dad,” Yan Xiang covered half of her face with the little people’s book, revealing a pair of bright and shiny eyes, and said enticingly, “Mom bought peach pastries, do you want some?”

“Dad doesn’t eat sweets!” Qiao Wei scolded him with a glare. “Dad is a good boy. Finish your dinner first and eat properly. When you have room in your stomach, then you can have dessert.”

The cunning child was caught, so he put down the little people’s book, sighed heavily, and pouted.

Yan Lei burst into laughter.

During dinner, Qiao Wei asked Yan Lei, “Where can you buy the fabric for military uniforms?”

“Why do you want to buy that?”

“I saw people wearing them in the county town. I think it’s quite nice, I also want to wear them.”

“Military casual wear?”

“Yeah?”

“You don’t need to buy fabric for that,” Yan Lei chuckled. “As a military family member, while we may lack other things, there’s nothing the army has that we don’t. Just tell me what you need.”

Qiao Wei thought for a moment, “I want to start with two pairs of pants—green ones, not blue.”

Because she had bought a bunch of white shirts.

Qiao Wei, as an unmarried woman transported to this world, had become a married woman and then seamlessly transitioned into a mother, but her mentality seemed to be getting younger and younger.

White shirts and green military pants, the epitome of innocence in this era, were too pure!

“He wants a green military satchel.”

Actually, there weren’t many ordinary people wearing green military uniforms in the county town yet. But Qiao Wei knew that green military uniforms would become the mainstream fashion soon.

Military items were becoming fashionable items.

“I want a water bottle too.”

“Don’t we have one at home?”

“Isn’t that for Yan Xiang? We can’t share, in case someone gets an infectious disease. One for each person.”

Qiao Wei had learned her lesson today without bringing a water bottle.

The habits from the future were too strong. If it weren’t for the strong demand for tickets and documents in this era, she might not have remembered to bring her wallet.

But she genuinely hadn’t thought of the water bottle, even though it was clearly placed in the room next to the alarm clock. But the strong imprint of the daily routine “bring a water bottle when going out” was heavily overshadowed by the ubiquitous vending machines and convenience stores in the future.

Qiao Wei had been thirsty all morning in the county town today and had to gulp down several cups of plain water when she finally reached the restaurant.

Yan Lei said, “Alright.”

The two most time-consuming tasks of the courtyard renovation—vegetable plots and small roads—were now completed.

Next, Qiao Wei decided to paint the walls white inside the house.

Their bedroom was fine, but Yan Xiang’s room was too dirty. To cover up the dirty walls, the calendars stuck on them looked unsightly.

Moreover, the calendar paper was only pasted around the kang, while the walls in other parts of the room were also dirty.

Qiao Wei wiped it with a cloth, but it didn’t work; the white layer just peeled off directly. She had no choice but to repaint it.

Yan Lei wasn’t afraid of spending money, especially when it came to their own home. However, he didn’t have much time; he only had one day off per week. So his suggestion was to hire someone to do the wall painting.

But Qiao Wei said, “I’ll do it.”

Yan Lei looked at her with disbelief. “What do you mean?” Qiao Wei asked, displeased.

“You’ll get tired,” Yan Lei said. “You haven’t done this before, so you think it’s easy. But in reality, it’s very tiring. It’s all physical work.”

“You said I lack exercise, didn’t you?” Qiao Wei scoffed. “Consider it exercise then.”

“I’ll try first. If I really can’t do it, we can still hire someone.”

“At worst, you’ll just laugh at me.”

“Why would I laugh?” Yan Lei said with a serious face. “Taking the initiative to participate in construction work is an attitude we should encourage. The result doesn’t matter, doesn’t matter.”

Qiao Wei reached out and pulled his cheeks on both sides. “Then why do you keep grinning?”

Yan Lei couldn’t hold back his laughter anymore and burst into laughter.

Qiao Wei had thin arms and legs and couldn’t handle heavy work. She even had to build a wooden frame just to wash clothes. He didn’t really believe she could repaint the walls by herself.

But… he welcomed her proactive attitude.

No need for further ado, let’s get to work.

If she couldn’t do it, he would take over.