January 4th, the first weekend after the New Year.
Early in the morning, Xu Dong went to the grain store to buy January's rations. Because the Spring Festival was at the end of the month, this month's rations were suddenly a lot higher than those in the previous months.
About a quarter more.
For most people, they finally no longer have to go hungry this month, which is gratifying.
However, the Spring Festival benefits are completely gone, let alone pork, and even cooking oil is not distributed, which makes many people disappointed.
Looking at the rations she received, Xu's mother nodded with satisfaction. Although her family was not short of food, no one would object to having too much food.
"Mom, is there anything else at home? If nothing happens, I want to go out."
Xu Dong planned to go shopping in Panjiayuan. The Chinese New Year would be coming soon, and he wanted to buy more New Year's goods.
Xu Ma waved her hand: "Go ahead, I don't need your help at home."
"Okay, I'll definitely be back before twelve o'clock."
After saying that, he took out the car keys from his pocket.
"By the way, where are you going?"
"Panjiayuan."
"That's just right. If you meet someone selling shiitake mushrooms, remember to buy more. There aren't many shiitake mushrooms left at home," Xu's mother explained.
The mushrooms at home were bought the year before last. At that time, I bought a total of more than 100 kilograms of dried mushrooms. I can survive until now, thanks to Xu Dong's supplements from time to time.
"I made a note of it. If there is, it must be rounded."
"You have to figure it out yourself!"
After Xu Ma finished feeding the chickens, she carried the empty bucket into the kitchen.
There are thirty-two chickens at home, and a bucket full of chicken food is consumed every day.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law have already discussed it and plan to take advantage of the free time before the Chinese New Year to take the initiative to clean up a group of old hens that are not diligent in laying eggs.
The triplets were playing in the yard. When they saw their father was about to go out, they immediately followed him.
"Dad, where are you going?" Dabao asked.
"Dad has to go out for something, so you can continue to drive your excavator!"
Erbao hugged his father's thigh and said, "Dad, I want to go out and play with you."
"No, dad has to go to work and doesn't have time to play around with you three."
Panjiayuan was very lively before the Chinese New Year. Xu Dong did not dare to take his children there. If he got lost, his mother and wife would kill him.
Finally, Xu Dong released Mark and finally appeased the three brothers.
"Mom, I let Mark out. Please help me keep an eye on him and don't let him slip out of the door."
"I know, I'm at home. You should leave quickly and come back as soon as possible."
…
Just after eleven o'clock in the morning, there was a sudden knock on the door.
"Woof woof woof..." Mark kept shouting.
Dabao touched Mark's dog's head and ran into the kitchen on his short legs.
"Grandma, grandma, there's someone knocking on the door outside."
Xu's mother wiped the water stains on her hands with her apron and followed her eldest grandson to the yard with a puzzled look on her face.
Dongzi had only been out for more than an hour, and it was impossible to come back so soon. Moreover, the third child drove out, so even if he came back, he would come in through the garage.
If other people come to visit, they will basically call in advance, and it is almost lunch time. Who would choose to come at this time?
Xu's mother didn't open the door immediately, but tied Mark up. It would be bad if a stranger came and bit him.
"Dong dong dong..." The knocking on the door continued.
"Here we come." Xu Ma shouted towards the gate.
There was a "squeak" sound.
The door was opened, and standing outside the door was a grandma in her sixties, accompanied by a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl.
Xu Ma felt that the other person was very familiar, but she couldn't remember who it was for a while.
"Who are you?"
"Xiudi, I am your sister Xiuyan..."
Zhang Xiuyan said with excitement.
"Sister? Why did you come to Yanjing?"
Xu's mother was shocked. The person in front of her was her biological sister. The two had not seen each other for seven or eight years.
The main reason is that Zhang Xiuyan married in Chuzhou. Although Wanzhou and Chuzhou are close neighbors, there is still some distance between them.
In the early years, there were contacts between the sisters every year.
Later, as the two of them got older, they started to visit every two or three years. In the past few years, there was a drought, and the delay lasted for more than seven years.
We haven't seen each other for more than seven years, and Zhang Xiuyan has shaved her head, making her look much older. It's no wonder that Xu's mother didn't recognize her.
"We sisters haven't seen each other for many years. I want to come over and see you. You have also seen my body. Maybe I will leave at some time." Zhang Xiuyan said with emotion.
"Bah, bah, bah, what are you saying to be dejected? Come in quickly, is this Da Jie? I didn't expect that she would become a big girl in the blink of an eye."
Zhang Xiuyan and her deceased husband had a son and two daughters in total. Da Jie is the eldest granddaughter of the family, and she has a younger sister who is in junior high school.
"Auntie, do you still remember me?"
"Remember, why don't you remember, when I went to your house, you were not as high as my chest, but now you are taller than my aunt's breasts."
Zhang Xiuyan looked at Dabao aside:
"Little sister, is this the great treasure of the Dongzi family?"
Last year, Xu's mother sent a family photo to Chuzhou. Dabao was the fattest of the three brothers and could be easily recognized.
"Yes, Dabao, this is your aunt and cousin, call them quickly."
"Auntie, cousin, hello!"
Dabao obediently shouted, "The little guy is not afraid of life at all."
"Good boy, so polite!"
Zhang Xiuyan bent down and reached out to touch Dabao's head. They only had two granddaughters in their family, so they were particularly interested in the little one.
As a group of people walked into the yard, Mark screamed louder and pulled the dog's leash loudly.
Zhang Xiuyan looked at the wolf dog and said with surprise:
"Little sister, does your family really have a dog? I thought I heard it wrong just now!"
Although she had known that her brother-in-law's family was prosperous, she never expected that when food rations were so tight, they could actually raise a dog, and the dog was quite fat.
"It was raised by Dongzi."
Xu Ma walked over and kicked Mark. The dog was very proud of his old owner and stopped barking immediately.
After a while, Yang Lina came out of the vegetable garden with Erbao and Xiaobao, and Xu's mother quickly waved.
"Nana, come here quickly, Dongzi's aunt is here."
Yang Lina walked over quickly.
"Auntie!"
"Is this Dongzi's wife? The older she gets, the more beautiful she becomes." Zhang Xiuyan complimented.
"How can you be beautiful? You are already old."
Yang Lina looked at the grandfather and grandson in front of her. Both of them had bald heads, no hats, and were fairly neatly dressed.
Xu's mother pulled Erbao and Xiaobao to her: "This is your aunt and cousin, call them quickly."
"My aunt is great, my cousin is great, and I am the second child."
"My aunt is great, my cousin is great, I am Xiaobao."
The two little guys chatted loudly.
Zhang Xiuyan was even more curious now, "Look at these white and tender ones, they are so beautiful."
After some pleasantries, Yang Lina called her husband to tell him that a relative was visiting and asked him to come back early.
Then, she turned on the TV.
Let the three Dabao brothers watch TV with their cousin. Coco and Lele went to a classmate's house to play and won't come back until lunch time.
Xu's mother took her eldest sister into the kitchen, and while they were cooking, they chatted about household chores.
"Sister, why didn't you call in advance before you came over? I could ask Dongzi to pick you up at the station."
"Well, the train is often delayed. We are not sure when we will arrive, so we don't want to trouble you. Besides, Da Jie is here and she took me here by subway, which is very convenient."
"We are all one family, no need to worry about anything."
"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. Little sister, where are your Lao Xu and Dongzi? Why do you still have to work on weekends?"
"Dongzi has a day off today and went out to buy things early in the morning. Nana just called and will be back soon.
As for Lao Xu, alas, he basically works all year round now, and only takes one or two days off during the Chinese New Year, so he is even busier than before he retired."
Xu Ma said helplessly.
"My sister-in-law is now the big boss. This is all our own business, so we must be more careful."
"He just can't take any time off. He's already quite old. He insists on doing things and doesn't look at his body."