Chapter 30: Wailing Xi Bao’er

It was mealtime, so there weren’t many people around. Inside, a pretty sales clerk was dozing off.

On the greyish-white cement wall, several large characters were painted in red: “Honest Service, Customer First.”

Below was a row of glass display cases filled with all kinds of goods.

Xie Zhao glanced at the price list on the wall.

In this day and age, rice and flour were considered refined grains. Rice was seventeen cents a jin, and flour was nineteen cents. Buying them with food coupons would make them even cheaper.

Xie Zhao asked for ten jin of each.

After a moment’s thought, he bought three jin of brown sugar, and finally picked up miscellaneous items like cups, washbasins, and enamel mugs.

The family had just gone through a household division yesterday, and at a glance, their place was cluttered with a bunch of dilapidated junk.

He bought another bucket, packed it to the brim, and carried it to the counter.

“That will be twenty yuan and sixty cents in total!”

The sales clerk’s eyes lit up as she looked at Xie Zhao.

He was spending so much money in one go and was quite handsome, so a smile naturally appeared on her face.

Xie Zhao pulled out the money, paid the bill, and was about to turn and leave when his gaze suddenly froze.

Inside the counter, a pair of beautiful shoes lay quietly.

They were buckle-strap shoes with slight wedge heels. A dragonfly resting on a lotus leaf was embroidered onto the orange velvet upper, making them look incredibly beautiful.

“How much are these shoes?”

Xie Zhao asked.

The female clerk smiled and said, “These were shipped all the way from Yangcheng^[1]. They’re the most fashionable style right now! They’re a bit expensive, though. Ten yuan a pair. Comrade, would you like them?”

Ten yuan a pair.

For this era, that price was definitely considered expensive.

But…

He thought of Xie Tian.

As a girl in the family, this stubborn but soft-hearted younger sister of his had always endured far more hardships and exhaustion than the boys.

“Wrap them up for me, please.”

Xie Zhao said softly.

He thought.

This was only the beginning.

Life would only get better and better from now on.

…

Three in the afternoon.

Xie Zhao carried a shoulder pole with a wooden bucket hanging from each end.

The journey took him a full two and a half hours. It wasn’t because he was lazy, but because he had never carried heavy loads since childhood. Carrying these two wooden buckets was fine for a short distance, but over a long period, the pain made him grimace.

“Why did you buy so many things?”

Xie Youzhen was carrying a hoe on his shoulder, returning from the fields, when he ran straight into Xie Zhao.

His eyelids twitched when he saw the two large wooden buckets packed to the brim!

This brat!

What a spendthrift!

Wasting money the moment he got some!

He hurried over and snatched the pole from Xie Zhao’s shoulders. “How could you handle this? Put it down quickly. Do you want to ruin your shoulders?”

Xie Zhao grinned through the pain, not forgetting to flatter him. “My dad is still the best!”

Xie Youzhen spat.

Slick-tongued!

The two entered the courtyard, where Xie Tian and Tian Xiufen were washing vegetables to prepare dinner.

In a large wooden tub lay Chinese cabbage freshly picked from the fields, and beside it stood a small bucket of sweet potatoes. These were their main staples for the day.

Tian Xiufen was currently worrying.

It didn’t matter if they ate poorly, but her daughter-in-law was still recovering from childbirth!

Her sister-in-law had hidden all the eggs, and the two babies were crying for milk!

“Second Brother is back!”

Xie Tian called out.

Tian Xiufen turned her head and saw Xie Zhao pulling out woven bags containing ten jin of flour and ten jin of rice from the bucket.

He grinned, looking delighted.

“Mom, are we eating soon? Let’s stir-fry a dish. I bought oil and meat.”

Tian Xiufen scrambled to her feet.

She was aching with worry, absolutely distressed!

“Why did you buy meat again? We’ve been eating fish and meat every single meal lately, to the point of putting on fat! Take a break for a couple of days!”

She wiped her hands on her clothes and added, “I’ll cook some noodles later and put a bit of meat in them. It’ll be enough for you and Muyu!”

Xie Zhao: “…”

He rubbed his temples helplessly. “Mom, if word gets out, how would that look? The family only feeds my wife meat and refined grains while the rest of you eat sweet potatoes. Are you trying to get people to point fingers and curse me behind my back?”

Tian Xiufen was startled.

“I didn’t mean it like that!”

“Mom, look at my little sister. She’s fourteen but as thin as a twig. She needs to eat some good food to nourish herself. Not to mention Big Brother, Dad, and you. Working in the mines, working in the fields, doing chores at home, which of these isn’t hard physical labor?”

“A healthy body is the capital for revolution^[2]. If you earn money but only save it without spending, it’s just dead money. Only by using it to keep ourselves healthy can we earn even more money, right?”

Xie Zhao guided her patiently.

Having gone to school, he might not have had other skills, but he was certainly persuasive when it came to convincing people.

Tian Xiufen felt it all made sense. By the time she snapped out of it, she was already standing by the stove.

Xie Tian was happily tending the fire. She looked up, her eyes shining as she stared at her mother. “Mom? Are we making noodles? Can you put more meat in it? I’m hungry!”

Tian Xiufen: “…”

Sigh.

How could she refuse now?

…

Inside the room.

Lin Muyu was currently breastfeeding.

Hearing Xie Zhao’s footsteps as he entered, she turned her body almost reflexively, slightly shielding her chest.

“Wah, wah!”

Xibao, who was still hungry on the bed, sensed the movement and immediately began to wail.

As soon as Xie Zhao walked in, he heard the baby’s cries. Startled, he quickly rushed over.

“What’s wrong? Is she hungry? Or does she want to sleep?”

He hurriedly wiped his hands on his clothes, bent down, and scooped Xi Bao’er up.

The little girl puckered her lips, sucking at the air, tears falling like tiny pearls from her closed eyes.

“Waaah!”

Failing to get any milk after a while, her cries grew even louder.

Flustered, Xie Zhao quickly turned to look at Lin Muyu. “Wife? What’s going on? Is Xibao hungry?”

Lin Muyu blushed.

She nodded and pointed to the old-fashioned tin thermos on the floor.

“Make some formula for Xibao. She’s hungry. I’ll feed Lebao myself this time.”

Xie Zhao quickly nodded in agreement.

He racked his brain, trying to recall the parenting knowledge he had read about in his past life.

Was it one scoop of formula for every thirty milliliters of water?

And then he had to test the water temperature on the back of his hand to make sure it wasn’t too hot?

Theory was one thing, but putting it into practice was proving to be quite difficult.

He was a bit clumsy, spilling quite a bit of water and adding too much formula in the process.

But in the end, he successfully got the bottle into Xi Bao’er’s mouth.

The little baby stopped crying instantly.

Her mouth latched onto the nipple like a suction cup, and she began to drink with eager, smacking sounds.

The room fell silent in an instant.

By the time Xie Zhao sat down, his entire body was stiff and he was drenched in sweat.

Phew.

Taking care of a baby was truly no easy task.

He held Xi Bao’er a little tighter and instinctively looked up at Lin Muyu. When he did, he froze slightly.

Lin Muyu was smiling.

She was looking at him, or more accurately, at Xi Bao’er in his arms.

A sliver of orange sunlight filtered in through the window. She wore a light blue knit sweater that was a bit worn, but she still looked soft and gentle.