Chronicle of the 70s
Chapter 176 - 172 Lazy and gluttonous, an additional - for 870 monthly tickets

Chapter 176: 172 Lazy and gluttonous, an additional Chapter for 870 monthly tickets

Li Jianqing didn’t say how long he would stay, just that it would be for a very long time. Li Xianglu was very happy, cleaned up Qin Zhen’s room for him, set up a bed, and let him move in.

Li Jianqing was a diligent person. The next day, he began to smooth out the uneven parts of the ground in the courtyard.

Regarding coal, he built a small coal shed in the corner of the wall and broke all the coal into the size of bricks, packed them in enzyme bags, and neatly arranged them inside. Someone who didn’t know better might think they were grain.

Li Xianglu thought this was too much trouble, but Li Jianqing explained that they were usually not around and Mr. Li was getting old. Those large chunks of coal needed to be smashed before they could be used, which was really inconvenient. Hearing this made Li Xianglu feel ashamed. How had she not noticed?

When Qin Xi saw his wife’s guilty look, he immediately explained that he would prepare a week’s worth of coal every time he came back, so she shouldn’t feel guilty. This instantly lifted Li Xianglu’s spirits.

Li Jianqing watched the intimate interaction between the two with mixed feelings.

Finally, that evening, Li Xianglu called Li Jianqing to her room and dug out several new pieces of clothing: two white shirts, one blue pullover cashmere sweater, two pairs of black pants, a new pair of leather shoes, and long johns as well. In the end, Li Xianglu brought out a large bundle, starting with a quilt, made of nine pounds of military-grade cotton. Pointing at it, she said, "Take this back with you this time; give this quilt to Grandma. She’s getting old and should use something new."

Then, pointing at some clothes, she said, "There are also some clothes. You can decide who to give them to. They were bought in Hong Kong—brand new with tags still on. Just one thing, don’t give any to Ge Sanmei and Li Jianwen!"

Li Jianqing touched his sister’s hair, which had grown much darker, and said, "Sure, I’ll do as you say."

Li Xianglu was satisfied and nodded her head, asking, "Is training tough, Third Brother?"

Li Jianqing smiled and replied, "Not tough, it’s quite good. There’s food to eat, and so many comrades-in-arms, it’s really nice." As he said this, he unbuttoned his shirt and took out a stack of money and some tickets from inside and handed them over, "Here, this is for you. We’ve been changing guards and I didn’t have time to go to the Post Office."

Li Xianglu counted the money and raised an eyebrow: "200 yuan? That’s a lot. Third Brother, don’t you spend any of your allowance usually?"

Li Jianqing liked seeing his sister like this, smiled, and tugged at her braid saying, "Be good. Take it and buy some food, buy some nice fabric to make clothes. It’s good for girls to have a little extra on hand!"

Li Xianglu generously accepted the money, thinking about how she’d need to make arrangements when her brother got married or bought a house in the future, so she decided to save it for him.

Li Jianqing was happy to see his sister accepting the money, but his expression changed slightly as he asked, "What’s going on with you and Qin Xi?"

Qin Xi? Li Xianglu was surprised and blurted out, "Ah, Brother, you don’t approve?"

Li Jianqing laughed and said, "What’s the use of not approving? You’ve already registered for marriage. Besides, he’s a good man, though a bit deep and hard to read."

Li Xianglu grinned and said, "Yeah, we’ve registered. Grandpa Li thinks Qin Xi is a promising man, so he told me to take hold of him, and if I don’t like him later, I’ll just kick him to the curb!"

Li Jianqing was torn between laughter and tears: "How can one behave like this? Marriage is a serious matter. You can’t be so frivolous. Plus, Qin Xi is genuinely a good catch. Look at you, lazy and greedy, and such a bully, yet he still indulges you. You can’t mistreat him!"

Li Xianglu was just trying to be funny, but who would have thought her brother would actually say such things about her, calling her lazy and gluttonous, waaaah.

As soon as Li Jianqing saw that his sister looked upset, he knew he had said something wrong and quickly added, "You’re not really lazy, just a bit gluttonous."

It’s over, why does his sister’s face seem to be getting darker and darker? Did he say something wrong again?

In the following days, Li Xianglu switched up the menu to prepare meals for the whole family.

Their Foreign Exchange Voucher had expired last month. Before that, Qin Xi had sold 15,000 yuan worth, and the remainder was partially used by the family and some given away. Before the end the year, everyone made sure to go shopping before the 30th, especially stocking up on food by splitting the purchase among multiple people.

Mr. Li decided to give the An Family two thousand yuan in Foreign Exchange Vouchers because they were lacking so many things. They had received enough money to cover a lot of needs, but vouchers had to be claimed monthly, and they didn’t even have a blanket at home.

After Old Sir An got his back pay and some compensation, he had over seventy thousand yuan in cash, as compensation for his family’s seized possessions.

Mr. An brought over ten thousand yuan, claiming it was to repay Li Huai Ren. Mr. Li refused to accept, insisting they only borrowed five thousand yuan, asking why they would need to return ten thousand.

Mr. An then mentioned the incident when someone mailed a large package immediately after their departure. Those items couldn’t be bought with just money. However, Mr. Li wouldn’t admit to doing it, as he certainly wasn’t going to acknowledge it.

Seeing his old friend’s persistence, Mr. An was puzzled, doubting it was Li Huai Ren’s doing, and he couldn’t think of any other close friend still alive who could give away that much.

Xu Hui brought out the receipt, the handwritten mailing slip attached to the package.

Then she cheerfully told everyone it was written in the same handwriting as Li Xianglu’s. If Mr. Li wouldn’t admit to it, then it must have been Li Xianglu who did it out of pity for the two kids.

Everyone was grateful, but somewhat puzzled as to why Li Xianglu would go behind her own grandfather’s back, considering Li Huai Ren treated her even closer than her own grandfather.

But the initial intention was good, so no one delved into the reason behind it; the sentiment was only gratitude.

January 27th, Chinese New Year’s Eve, everyone in the family was happy. Now nobody cared whether the New Year couplets were posted correctly or not, and those living near them had all posted theirs. Mr. Li, with a flourish of his brush, wrote out some for the family too. They pasted the couplets and gathered to make dumplings and prepare food, just like they had back in Li Family Village.

This was their first year celebrating the New Year in the Capital, and the place wasn’t gloomy. Starting from the second day of the New Year, guests came to the house in succession, even those four peculiar men made a visit. This time they didn’t drive nor wear military uniforms, but came in casual wear, bringing gifts.

Li Xianglu enthusiastically welcomed them, even cooking the family’s dumplings. They all ate joyfully, while Mr. Li on the side frowned, disliking how much the guests ate, making Li Xianglu embarrassed as she kept giving him eye signals. When did Grandpa become like Qin Zhen, why is he being so protective of the food?

On the sixth day of the New Year, Li Jianqing announced his departure, still having ten days left of his holiday, but needing to include the travel time back, so he had to go. Li Xianglu was very sad, sulking the whole afternoon.

ps: Hehe, you know, I was in a bad mood, went out for some skewers, and now I’m fully recharged! I will definitely update well!