After breakfast that day, Auntie Fen and Auntie Fen took little Xiangqing to the street cafeteria. Aunt Fen gets paid because she cooks there, so my aunt helps out purely on a voluntary basis.
Ever since the big canteen was opened, every household went there to eat, and there were only a few people cooking. Those like my aunts and the others, who are older and have no jobs, take it upon themselves to pick vegetables, wash dishes and the like.
School was about to start, and Wei Jiajia was going to take some of her children to the department store.
When the children heard that their sister was taking them out, they all danced for joy. Knowing that their sister could make money by writing, they began to think about what they wanted.
Wei Jiajia looked at the small requests made by her younger brothers and sisters and readily agreed.
The weather was getting warmer now, and she was afraid that the two little ones wouldn't be able to walk for long, so she took them out and got on the bus.
Yangyang and Nuannuan were still young, and they didn't take them out much before. The kindergarten they went to school was not far from home, and this was the first time they took a bus in their memory.
The two people who got in the car were very excited. They leaned against the car window and whispered something. If they saw something they had never seen before, they would go back and ask their brothers and sisters.
Fortunately, there were not many people in the car, and the two little ones were very sensible and did not disturb others. Xiangdongxiangxi patiently answered their questions in a low voice.
Soon the car arrived at the stop in front of the department store and stopped! Wei Jiajia took them out of the car and walked in!
When they came inside the building, they saw the dazzling array of products and the crowds of people in front of each counter. It was hard for them to see clearly, and the two of them stepped back in fear!
"You two, hold them tight and don't get separated!" Wei Jiajia turned to Xiangdong and Xiangxi and said. She didn't expect that there would be so many people buying things today.
She first took her four children to the stationery counter, bought some school supplies for a few people, and then turned around and asked.
"What do you want? Don't worry that my sister has no money. I have made a lot of money this year, but each person can only ask for one thing. Think about it first."
Several children looked at each other and began to lower their heads and think. After a few minutes, a few people who had thought about it came to Wei Jiajia.
"Sister, I want a pair of white pull-back shoes." Xiang Xi originally only wanted a pair of Ji-Alai shoes, but when he saw white pull-back shoes on the shoe counter, he changed his mind!
"Xiangdong, what about you? What do you want?"
Xiangdong couldn't hold back the desire in his heart, and said a little embarrassedly: "I want a pair of sneakers." After saying this, his face turned red.
Wei Jiajia felt a little distressed when she saw him like this. Since his parents passed away, he had been forced to grow up and pushed himself too hard. He never thought that he was also a child who needed to be taken care of.
Wei Jiajia brushed his hair angrily: "Didn't you just tell me what you wanted? I'm a sister. It's normal to buy things for you. Don't be embarrassed. Remember to be nice to your sister when you grow up."
When Xiangdong heard what Wei Jiajia said, a smile appeared on his face, he scratched his head in embarrassment, and made up his mind that he must be twice as kind to his eldest sister in the future.
Wei Jiajia turned her head and looked at the two younger ones, squatted down and asked, "What do you two want? Tell my sister, and she will buy it for me."
Nuan Nuan hugged Wei Jiajia's neck, pointed to a little girl over there with her little finger and said, "Nuan Nuan wants that butterfly."
Wei Jiajia turned around and looked. Not far away, there was a little girl with a butterfly-shaped hairpin on her head. No wonder Nuannuan wanted that. Little girls love beauty. This kind of pink butterfly hairpin is very popular in this era. Not common either.
"Okay, sister will buy it for you. Where is Yangyang? What do you want?"
"I want a ball."
After hearing everyone's needs, Wei Jiajia took a few children up to the second floor and walked to the shoe counter.
When I came to the counter, I told the salesperson the shoe sizes of my two younger brothers. I took out the shoes and looked at them. If there were no problems, I asked the salesperson to place the order.
Not far from the shoe sales is the fabric counter, where Su Pan is buying fabrics with her mother and another aunt.
When he was looking around boredly, he saw Wei Jiajia and others standing in front of the shoe cabinet.
"Mom, I saw my classmate. Go over and take care of me. You and Aunt Li take your time." After saying that, they walked towards Wei Jiajia without waiting for their answer.
"Hey... this child..." Su's mother didn't even finish her words. Seeing that Su Pan had left, she shook her head speechlessly at a middle-aged woman next to her.
The middle-aged woman looked in the direction Su Pan was going, and what caught her eye were the Wei Jiajia siblings. She asked Su's mother curiously: "Is that very pretty girl Panpan's classmate?"
Mother Su looked over when she heard the sound and saw her daughter holding the girl's arm and talking. She smiled and replied to the middle-aged woman: "Yes, she is my college classmate Panpan. The two of us live together. In the dormitory, the two older boys next to her are her twin brothers, and they met once when school started."
Aunt Li saw Wei Jiajia spending money to buy two pairs of new shoes, and curiously asked Su's mother: "It seems that this family has an extraordinary temperament. They still have money to give each of their two younger brothers a pair of new shoes. I heard that those shoes are very valuable. Her family What do parents do?"
"I don't know about that. I only know that my home is over in Laozha District." Su's mother shook her head. We had just met her. How could she know so clearly.
Aunt Li looked thoughtfully in the direction of Wei Jiajia and the others several times. She didn't look away until the salesperson took out the cloth she wanted.
And here, Wei Jiajia was also very happy when she saw Su Pan appearing in front of her. They had agreed to go shopping together during the holiday, but it was delayed because she was engaged first and then opened a large canteen.
Su Pan saw two cute and cute children beside Wei Jiajia, and his attention was immediately attracted.
"Jiajia, are these your twin siblings? Why do they look so cute?" As he spoke, he bent down and pinched their little faces.
The twins were frightened by the sister's enthusiasm. They quickly hid behind their brother, stretched out their little heads, and peeked curiously.
Su Pan was instantly made cute by the two of them, especially when those eyes that looked exactly like Wei Jiajia were staring at you, making you completely helpless.
Wei Jiajia is stunning, and even a woman who looks at her eyes feels like her soul has been taken away. But these two little ones have nothing but innocence in their eyes, which makes people want to secretly take them home and raise them.
She quickly took out all the candies in her pocket and gave them to the two little guys. After Yangyang and Nuannuan saw their sister nodding, they reached out to take them and said softly, "Thank you." He no longer hides behind his brother.
Su Pan teased the twins for a while, then heard his mother shouting over there, and ran back after agreeing to meet Wei Jiajia when school started.
Wei Jiajia bought the twins' shoes and took several children to the counter selling hairpins and small leather balls.
I saw the twins looking at the basketball and football on the counter several times. Both of them were very sensible and didn't speak. Wei Jiajia pretended not to see it, and she had agreed that each person could only buy one thing today. Although she had money, she still had to develop good habits for her children.
She has a lot of these sporting goods in the supermarket in her space. When the twins celebrate their birthdays in a while, they can take them out as birthday gifts for them.
Wei Jiajia bought gifts for everyone in the family, and the children each held their own things, and their joy was palpable. Nuan Nuan even asked Wei Jiajia to put a hairpin on her head. The pretty little girl was so happy that she jumped up and down while walking in front, and from time to time she would reach out her little hands to touch her head.
After buying the things, she was ready to go back with her children. They had to go to the street canteen for lunch, and there would be nothing to eat after the meal time...
*
Wei Jiajia had lunch that day and packed her things to go to school. School will start tomorrow, and they, local senior students, have to go to school in advance to prepare for the orientation activities.
She walked into the school, and there were already people coming and going on campus. When she entered the dormitory building, she saw that the door of their dormitory was unlocked, and thought that Su Pan came quite early.
He opened the door and walked in. He saw that Zhao Zhaodi and Yang Yang had already arrived and were cleaning the dormitory inside.
Wei Jiajia was a little surprised when she saw it was the two of them, so she quickly put down what she was holding and went to help.
"No, no, Zhaodi came early and has already packed it up. I'm just helping to wipe off the dust. You don't need to do the rest." After Yang Yang finished speaking, he pushed away Wei Jiajia's helping hand.
"Just pack your own things. You really don't need to do anything. We're done." Zhao Zhaodi also helped.
Wei Jiajia took a look and found that she was indeed no longer needed, so she stopped being polite and turned around to pack the luggage she had brought.
"Why are you two here so early?" she asked curiously.
"A relative of mine was going to Shanghai on a business trip. My mother thought that it would take several days to take the train. The two of us could just take care of each other. Anyway, it was only a few days before school started, so I left early." Yang Yang responded to this Very satisfied too.
It's really inconvenient for a girl to take a train for several days. No one even checks her luggage when she goes to the restroom. People can change with each other, and she doesn't have to worry about her seat being occupied. If she encounters someone who is unreasonable, she will provoke her. All trouble.
Wei Jiajia expressed her understanding that if a single girl travels far away, her family will definitely be worried.
She looked at Zhao Di and was a little surprised at her change: "Zhao Di, what did you eat during the holiday? You look a little fatter."
When Yang Yang heard what Wei Jiajia said, he turned around and looked over, circling around Zhao Di and said, "It looks like she has gained at least five or six pounds, and there is some fat on her face."
When Zhao Zhaodi heard what the two said, she touched her face curiously and asked, "Is it obvious?"
The two nodded in agreement. The main reason was that Zhao Zhaodi was too thin before and was reluctant to eat. She also had to save up the school subsidies and send them home.
Her roommates all know that her family is in trouble, and she never hides it herself. She studies and lives full of energy every day.
The conditions of the other classmates in their dormitory are much better than others, and everyone will help her quietly. She actually feels it herself, but she will never feel inferior because of it, but will repay everyone in her own way to the best of her ability.
Therefore, the relationship between the girls in their dormitory is very good, and everyone gets along very happily.
"Food has been collected from every household in our village, and the brigade has opened a large canteen. From now on, everyone will eat from a big pot, and they can eat with open stomachs."
"I haven't been hungry in this month at home. Although unlike other brigades, we can have white flour buns and meat, our village chief also tries his best to keep everyone fed."
Wei Jiajia was silent for a moment when she heard what she said. In those villages where eating is so liberal, a year's worth of grain can be eaten in one month. When the weather is bad, there will be no harvest, and the farmers have no grain reserves. Do you know how many people will starve to death?
"Then have you asked, how is the grain harvest in your village this year? Is it really as high as the newspaper said?" Wei Jiajia asked.
Speaking of this, Zhao Zhaodi's face looked a little heavy. She shook her head: "My dad said that the harvest in our village was not good this time. The village next door actually reported a yield of more than 3,000 kilograms per mu. He said it was because the captain wanted to get the upper hand."
"It seems that what was reported in the newspaper is not true. Fortunately, you reminded me. I asked my dad to go to other communes to buy food and hide it secretly. And because of the large canteen this time, I don't think I have any food rations to handle. My dad divided my family up."
After saying this, she laughed from the bottom of her heart, feeling that the mountain that was pressing on her had finally been lifted. She was obviously very happy to be able to escape the exploitation of her grandmother.
"My two sisters can finally have enough to eat this month. No one can let them go to the river to wash the family's clothes at a young age, and no one will beat them at all times. They can also go to school. Study and go to college in the future, instead of waiting until you are old enough to find someone and marry off to a few cousins in exchange for bride price!"
Seeing Zhao Zhaodi with tears in her eyes, but her face exuding the light of hope, Wei Jiajia and Wei Jiajia were also sincerely happy for her. They had been together day and night for a year, and they knew how hard she worked to keep her parents and sister fed and clothed. effort.