Chapter 19: The Family Moves to the County Town

On the way back to the small villa, Mo Haoyue looked at Mi Xia with a guilty expression: “By the way, after I brought my mother home yesterday, I told her that if she makes trouble again, don’t blame me for not giving her any money.”

“She promised me she wouldn’t make trouble anymore, but I can’t be sure if she will come again. It’s a good thing we’re moving to the county town; she won’t be able to find us even if she wants to make trouble. If she looks for you, write and let me know.”

“You and Xia Xia have suffered. Wife, I’m sorry.” Mo Haoyue felt uncomfortable too. Why couldn’t his mother get along peacefully with his wife for his sake? Sigh.

“It’s alright, I won’t take it to heart. Anyway, I won’t see her again. Your mother’s matters don’t concern me. As long as you treat us mother and daughter well in the future, it’s fine.”

Mi Xia comforted him. After all, she was his mother. The fact that he chose to support her was already very good. She was going to spend her life with him, not his mother.

Back at the small villa, Mi Xia took out a pound of shrimp, a two-pound fish, and some apples from her space, preparing to take them back home later.

“Are we moving home tonight? Or tomorrow? If we had a truck, it would be more convenient. We could move everything in one go, saving us the trouble of going back and forth.” Mi Xia muttered.

“Let’s move tomorrow. I’ll go find my comrade-in-arms and see if he can find a truck.”

Mi Xia: “Wow, that’s great! When we move tomorrow, let’s treat your comrade-in-arms to a meal. We got the sewing machine and bicycle tickets from him before, too.”

“Okay, I’ll listen to my wife. Let’s go to my comrade-in-arms’ place first, ask him, and then go home.”

Mi Xia smiled, pursing her lips: “Okay, then let’s give him these things regardless of whether your comrade-in-arms can help us or not.”

Mi Xia hung the food on the handlebars of the bicycle and held Mo Zhixia in the back seat as usual.

Mo Haoyue’s comrade-in-arms worked in the county town’s canteen. He was a manager, a job arranged by the army after his discharge.

“Brother Zhong, this is my wife, and this is my daughter. Wife, this is my comrade-in-arms. We’re brothers in arms.” Mo Haoyue introduced.

“Hello, Brother Zhong.”

“Hello, sister-in-law. Hello, sister-in-law. You lucky dog, your wife is so beautiful, and your daughter is so grown up already!” Zhong Xingfu teased Mo Haoyue.

Mo Haoyue smiled helplessly at Zhong Xingfu, “Don’t make fun of me. I came to you for something. My wife bought a house in the county town, and she wants to move tomorrow.”

“Can you help me find a truck? It would be easier to move tomorrow.”

“Sure, why not? My nephew drives a truck. Just tell me what time you’ll be there tomorrow, and I’ll have my nephew come and help.” Zhong Xingfu patted his chest.

“Thanks, Brother Zhong. Let’s say 8 o’clock tomorrow morning. I’ll come and guide him. Come to our house for lunch tomorrow, and let you taste my wife’s cooking.”

Mo Haoyue added: “Take this home for the kids. My wife asked me to buy it for you.”

“I knew it! You still remember to bring me something? Sister-in-law is thoughtful.” Zhong Xingfu nodded to Mi Xia.

“Okay, that’s it. I’ll go in now. I’ll have Xiao Zhong come here to wait for you tomorrow.” Zhong Xingfu waved his hand, picked up the things, and went back.

“Okay, wife, it’s done.” Mo Haoyue looked at Mi Xia with a proud look.

“My man is the best.” Mi Xia said with a smile.

“Hee hee hee, let’s go home.”

Mi Xia: “Haoyue, I want to buy some books. The college entrance examination will resume in a couple of years, and I want to go to university in Kyoto.”

“Sure, that’s great! My wife will definitely pass the exam. After we move tomorrow, I’ll accompany you to the scrap yard. There should be some materials there.”

“Yeah, thank you. I’ll definitely pass the exam. Then see if you can get transferred to work in Kyoto. We can settle down there as a family. What do you think?”

Mo Haoyue: “Okay, so are you going to the black market again?”

Mi Xia: “Yes, let’s go together then. You’ll feel relieved after seeing it. It’s okay, the person I trade with is trustworthy.”

Mo Haoyue was still a little worried because he hadn’t met the person yet.

After arriving home, Mi Xia knocked on the door.

“Knock knock knock”

“Sister-in-law, open the door quickly, we’re back!”

“Coming, coming,” came the voice of the sister-in-law from inside.

“Aunt, Xia Xia’s tummy is hungry.” Mo Zhixia said in a childish voice.

“So late, I thought you ate in the county town. Come in quickly, Aunt will serve Xia Xia’s rice.”

Mi Xia: “Okay, thank you, sister-in-law.”

“Thank you, Aunt. Xia Xia likes Aunt the most.”

“Our Xia Xia is so sensible. Aunt likes Xia Xia the most too. And you, don’t say ‘thank you’ to each other as a family. Don’t say it again in the future.” Zhang Hongxia pretended to be angry.

Mi Xia: “Okay, I won’t say it again. We are a family.”

“Come and sit down, what are you doing standing at the door?” Mi Qiu beckoned them over.

Not long after they sat down, Zhang Hongxia brought over three bowls of porridge, holding a few meat buns in her hand.

“Here, eat quickly. I thought that if you came home for dinner, you could eat something ready-made.”

After dinner, Mi Xia kept her elder brother and sister-in-law.

“Brother, sister-in-law, we have something to tell you.”

Zhang Hongxia asked nervously, “Did your brother’s job have a problem?”

Seeing Zhang Hongxia’s misunderstanding, Mi Xia quickly explained: “No, we bought a house in the county town this afternoon and plan to move tomorrow morning. Mo Haoyue has already found a truck, and it will come to pick up our luggage tomorrow morning.”

“Brother went to work in the county town, and sister-in-law and the children can’t be separated for long. I thought you could move with us. We can register our household registration there, which is also good for the children’s schooling.”

Zhang Hongxia: “But how can that be? You two bought the house, how can our whole family live there?”

Mi Xia: “Sister-in-law just said we are a family, why aren’t we a family now?”

Zhang Hongxia waved her hands anxiously: “Little sister, I didn’t mean that, this… this…”

“Okay, I’m not teasing you. I understand sister-in-law’s meaning. Mo Haoyue will only have a half-month vacation before returning to the army. Xia Xia is still young, and I plan to take her to the army in a couple of years.”

Mi Xia: “If you don’t live in the county town’s house, Xia Xia and I will be living alone. Can you rest assured?”

Zhang Hongxia didn’t expect her younger sister to do this. She was already grateful that she had found a stable job for her husband, and now she was asking them to move to the county town.

She knew what moving to the county town meant. Not only would the children have a better learning environment, but the whole family wouldn’t have to be separated. If they moved their household registration there, the whole family could eat rations.

Zhang Hongxia and Mi Qiu looked at their younger sister and then at Mo Haoyue. Mo Haoyue nodded at them.

Zhang Hongxia looked at Mi Xia and her husband and silently shed tears.

“Sister-in-law, why are you crying? Isn’t this a happy thing? Don’t cry.” Mi Xia wiped away Zhang Hongxia’s tears.

“Little sister, sister-in-law is happy. I didn’t expect our family to be able to move to the city and eat rations.”

“Little sister, brother doesn’t know how to speak nicely, but for this matter, I want to thank you and your brother-in-law.” Mi Qiu said choked up.

“Okay, brother and sister-in-law, what are you doing? This is good news. Since we’ve agreed, let’s start packing. Move everything into the yard, and the truck will come tomorrow morning to load it directly.”

“Okay, okay, your brother and I will start moving things now.” After saying that, Zhang Hongxia pulled Mi Qiu away.