Chronicle of the 70s
Chapter 165 - 161 An Family monthly ticket 750 additional release

Chapter 165: 161 An Family monthly ticket 750 additional release

Seeing old friends was, of course, incredibly exciting. For their generation to survive to this age was nothing short of luck. Blaming society or the state was unrealistic; could your grievances bring back those children who had passed away? Once a person dies, what more can be done?

An Xuexin came to the capital this time to deal with the redress. The materials had been submitted and approved, and what followed was regarding the compensation, as well as employment and housing issues for his son and daughter-in-law that needed to be addressed.

So, Mr. Li waved his hand magnanimously, insisting they all stay; there was plenty of room in the house.

In the afternoon, Li Xianglu prepared a table full of dishes: braised pork, clear-broth ribs with white radish, sweet and sour fish. Qin Zhen even bought a dozen freshly harvested ears of corn, which Li Xianglu stir-fried with shrimp and eggs for the children, delighting them to no end as they ate non-stop. Meanwhile, Qin Zhen pouted resentfully off to the side — with the arrival of the two kids, his brother and Chou Xiang seemed to have forgotten about him.

After dinner, the two elders sat down under the wall to drink tea, while An Chenggang helped Qin Xi tidy up the things in the yard. The yard had just been repaired and was still a bit messy. It had been manageable with just their family, but with two little ones around, more caution was needed. It would be better to move things and tidy up properly.

Xu Hui helped Li Xianglu clean up the dishes and put the leftover food neatly into lunch boxes and into the fridge. Seeing a fridge for the first time, Xu Hui couldn’t hide her curiosity, finding the contraption exceptionally convenient.

Li Xianglu, seeing the pure curiosity and envy in her eyes, chuckled and opened all the drawers for her to see — the bottom was for freezing, turning fresh meat into frozen blocks; the top was for keeping things fresh, keeping leftover food and fruits from spoiling.

Xu Hui smacked her lips in amazement, "This thing is fantastic, how can people be so smart?"

Li Xianglu laughed heartily as she listened, "Right, humans are indeed smart." As she spoke, she pulled out a watermelon from the cupboard below, larger than a basketball, and started to wipe it clean for cutting.

Xu Hui, who was accustomed to housework, quickly found a large tray, saying somewhat apologetically, "It’s embarrassing to stay at your place and eat your food, even such precious fruits as watermelons are being shared with us."

Li Xianglu cheerfully replied, "We didn’t buy this; we grew it. Planted in April, we had over forty grow — grandfather took good care, and they ripened early. We’ve been eating them all summer long."

Xu Hui’s eyes widened, "That’s wonderful." Then, looking at the red watermelon flesh, she couldn’t help saying, "It’d be great if our house had a yard like this. I’d plant some melons too. Qianqian and Linlin are still young, and when they see others eating watermelon, they can hardly keep walking."

Li Xianglu generously responded, "Sure, even if you live in an apartment building, you can make a small soil box on the balcony. Planting seven or eight plants should be no problem. I’ll provide you with seeds when the time comes; the ones I grow are particularly good."

Xu Hui, delighted by the offer, agreed. They cut the whole watermelon into two trays full and wiped the table clean before carrying them out.

Qianqian and Linlin, who had been chasing after Qin Zhen, had their eyes glued to the watermelon, bolting over like cannonballs.

Qianqian especially couldn’t believe her eyes, "Mom, is that watermelon?"

Xu Hui’s eyes reddened. The children had never tasted watermelon before, only watched others enjoy it, asking her how it tasted. She lied, saying it was sour; the children, being sensible, replied that they didn’t want sour things because they weren’t tasty.

An Xuexin looked at his two grandsons with a complex expression in his eyes, then looked at his son and sighed. They’ve suffered.

Seeing this, Li Xianglu hurriedly sliced some watermelon for the children and picked the sweetest slices from the center for the two elders and handed them over.

Qin Xi and An Chenggang also washed their hands and came over, unable to stop eating once they started. The watermelon was too sweet, especially to the An Family members who heard it was grown in their own backyard; they were even more amazed, not to mention the kids. Even the An couple, who had never seen watermelons planted in the ground before, were curious and went over to take a look.

The backyard garden, spanning over twenty square meters, was planted with watermelons and Xiangxiang melons, their vines sprawling over the trellises. Qianqian was astonished to see a watermelon larger than herself hanging so high, exclaiming, "Mom, won’t it fall?"

Xu Hui wasn’t sure if it would fall or not, and looked genuinely concerned. Meanwhile, Li Xianglu assured, "It’s fine. It won’t fall by itself until it’s ripe. If we have time tomorrow, we’ll build a support underneath it."

There were also plenty of Xiangxiang melons, at least forty or fifty. Many have been eaten or given away already. The children, fixated on the melons, were told by Xu Hui, helpless, that they would eat some tomorrow, as they had already had watermelon for the day.

At night, it was time to assign sleeping rooms. The An Family stayed in the row of rooms that Qin Xi and Qin Zhen used to occupy. Although there was still a lingering smell, it was habitable. Beds had been moved in, and Li Xianglu brought out quilts, mattresses, and even new spring mattresses. These had all been passed through customs, though they were actually stored in the Storage Ring and mixed in with the goods Su Yan had helped transport. No one at Mr. Li’s house noticed since it was always bustling.

Xu Hui was overjoyed to see the new military green blankets. Their own blankets back home were a decade old, rough, and not warm at all. Once Li Xianglu helped make the beds, she went back to her own place.

Xu Hui, after making sure her father-in-law was settled in, returned to their room. Looking at the soft quilts and brand-new sheets, she couldn’t help feeling guilty and said to her husband, "Chenggang, do you think this is okay?"

An Chenggang laughed. His wife was cautious and timid. Suddenly having access to so many good things in one day, as well as fruit, and staying in a new house with such nice amenities was not something she was used to. Holding her shoulder, he reassured, "Relax. Uncle Li and Xiangxiang are good people. Once our circumstances improve, we’ll treat them even better. Don’t worry, I’m not an ingrate."

Xu Hui playfully slapped her husband’s shoulder and said, "When did I say you were ungrateful? I just feel embarrassed always taking advantage of their kindness."

An Chenggang gently touched his wife’s graying temples and smiled warmly, "Then just help out with the cooking and tidying up in the coming days. That will surely make Xiao Xiang happy."

Xu Hui’s eyes brightened upon hearing this: "Sure, I’ll help. You’ve tasted it today too, Xiangxiang’s cooking is really good. Everyone ate until they were stuffed."

An Chenggang grinned, "Actually, if you just use a bit more oil and meat, your cooking would taste even better than hers."

Upon hearing this, Xu Hui’s mouth curved in a smile, though she playfully chided her husband. Nevertheless, she was pleased; she knew she was also good at cooking, but alas, a good chef is wasted without ingredients to work with.

In the next few days, Xu Hui stayed at home with the children while Mr. An and his son went out to expedite the work related to their rehabilitation and compensation.

PS: I’ve seen some of you mention that my updates have been less frequent. Where have you seen this? When I started posting, I had over 80,000 characters, and now it’s over 340,000, meaning I’ve updated 260,000 characters over 23 days, averaging over 10,000 a day. I haven’t cooked at home for half a month. Even having lunch with Lanzhou cuisine requires consideration due to distance. I’m someone who would cross mountains and seas for food. For a bowl of rice noodles costing six yuan, I often travel halfway across the city to eat. So, to those who say my updates are infrequent, please understand, I’m doing my best.