Chronicle of the 70s
Chapter 95 - 093 Kids add more for 210 monthly tickets

Chapter 95: 093 Kids add more for 210 monthly tickets

After both had calmed down and seated themselves for over ten minutes, Li Xianglu consoled, "Grandpa, don’t be sad anymore. Aren’t we together now?"

With that, she handed over a handkerchief, which Mr. Li accepted with a smile, wiping away his tears before addressing those around him, "This is my granddaughter, Li Xianglu, Xiangxiang. This young man here is An Chenggang, the younger son of grandpa’s comrade-in-arms. You can call him Uncle. And that’s your uncle’s wife, call her little aunt."

Li Xianglu politely greeted, "Uncle, little aunt."

Both of them responded with a delighted exclamation, and Xu Hui, feeling embarrassed, rubbed her hands together and said, "I got so flustered earlier that I forgot to pour water for everyone."

With that, she headed towards the corridor and soon returned with an old kettle, pouring a bowl of hot water for each of them. Then she apologized, "Uncle Li, we don’t have any tea at home."

Mr. Li chuckled while holding his bowl, "No matter, hot water is just fine."

Li Xianglu smoothly picked up her bowl and took a sip of the hot water. She noticed both adults had something to say but seemed hesitant to speak.

The boy, who had been cautious with the pastries, caught his father’s glance and hurriedly grabbed a small stool to go outside, taking his sister with him.

Li Xianglu smiled and carried a stool out as well. Shanghai weather wasn’t as cold as Guanzhong’s but it was quite damp. The cotton-padded jackets the children were wearing felt stiff to the touch. Li Xianglu felt their clothes, sighed softly, and asked in a low voice, "Are you cold?"

The little girl, who had been licking the crisp corners of her mouth, smiled and shook her head nonchalantly, seemingly unaware of any hardships.

Li Xianglu magically pulled out two woolen hats from her military backpack, one black and one red. She put one on each child. These were knitted by her mother in a previous life. She was not afraid of the cold and barely wore them; they were still quite new. There were matching scarves too, but Li Xianglu, wary of giving herself away, decided to just take out the two hats.

Both children looked at each other with surprised delight. The boy poked his sister’s cheek, saying, "Sister, you’re so pretty!"

The girl also giggled, touching her hat tentatively, "Is this for us?"

Li Xianglu smiled and replied, "Yes, it’s for you. I bought them especially for you. Although they are not new, I got them from Huai Country’s second-hand market."

Upon hearing Huai Country, the boy’s eyes lit up, nodding vigorously, "I know, I’ve been there. They have so much stuff!"

The little girl chimed in, "Boots!"

Li Xianglu praised, "Oh, how clever! You even know they sell boots at Huai Country. Yeah, they have lots of stuff there, and it’s cheap too! This hat only cost 30 cents, such a bargain. Too bad my head is too big for it."

The girl was still young and didn’t understand the value of 30 cents, but the boy’s eyes sparkled at the thought. Touching the hat on his head, he considered, "If it’s really that cheap, mom and dad might accept it."

Just then, heavy footsteps sounded on the stairs. Li Xianglu leaned out to see Qin Zhen returning, sweat-soaked with a greased paper package in his hands. Upon seeing Li Xianglu, he quickly passed it to her, "Here, steamed buns, bought two jin."

Li Xianglu took it and said, "Come inside and have some water. Why did you run so fast?"

Qin Zhen entered and, seeing that guests had arrived, quickly greeted them. Li Xianglu, thinking it was about time, also went inside.

At this moment, the three of them had red-rimmed eyes, clearly having just cried. Li Xianglu blinked and smiled, carrying the steamed buns to the balcony compartment.

When she came back, she heard Mr. Li introducing Qin Zhen, who smiled simply and called out "Uncle" before sitting down.

There weren’t many stools in the An family’s home, and as soon as a few of them sat down, Xu Hui and the children had to stand. Li Xianglu hesitated to stand up, but then heard Xu Hui say, "No, Xiangxiang, please sit, I need to go cook."

While speaking, she suddenly saw that each child had a woolen hat on their head and asked with surprise, "Where did these come from?"

Before the girl could speak, the boy crisply said, "Sister Xiangxiang gave them to us. Bought from the old market in Huai Country, 30 cents. Mum, it’s so cheap, let’s also go to the old market in Huai Country."

Xu Hui did not expect the child to know even the price, and turned her head away, somewhat embarrassed. Li Xianglu said with an embarrassed face, "I went to the old Huai Country market yesterday, saw these hats for sale, very cheap, so I bought three. Just enough for a brother and a sister, but they are second-hand, don’t disdain them."

Upon hearing they were second-hand, Xu Hui reached out and touched her son’s head - this was woolen yarn. Even second-hand, they wouldn’t be 30 cents, at least one yuan. But she did not expose the truth and said to the two children, "Well, aren’t you going to thank Sister Xiangxiang?"

The two children vied to thank Li Xianglu, making her feel somewhat bashful.

Mr. Li deeply approved of his granddaughter’s actions, continually nodding his head.

An Chenggang, sitting to one side, looked tenderly upon his jubilant children, his heart aching. It had been so long since the children wore new clothes, even the clothes from the old market of Huai Country they could not afford.

For lunch, Xu Hui cooked a second batch of rice, stir-fried Chinese cabbage, and even cooked a salted fish. The two children were thrilled, eagerly crowding around the table.

Li Xianglu felt pity, as such simple meals made the two children so excited, it was clear how poor their usual food must be.

Mr. Li also felt a deep sorrow. His comrade-in-arms’ two sons had both died brutally, and his comrade-in-arms was still in the cowshed, not able to care for his young son in the city. If it wasn’t for his comrade-in-arms’ decisive move to sever ties with his young son at that time, they might not have been able to save even this one.

During the meal, only the two children and Qin Zhen, who was preoccupied with his concerns, ate with gusto; the other four people had no appetite. Before leaving, Li Xianglu took out a sugar paper-wrapped candy from her bag and secretly tucked it on the second tier of the little table, but the little girl saw it. So Li Xianglu winked and shushed her; the little girl quickly shushed too, in a manner suggesting that nobody else would hear about it.

After the meal, Li Xianglu and Qin Xi went downstairs first. Mr. Li stayed behind to talk for a while before going downstairs.

Li Xianglu, standing at the stairway entrance and supporting Mr. Li, then heard a woman with narrowed eyes on the first floor shouting, "Hey, little sister, did you get some money?"

Li Xianglu snorted coldly, and said loudly, "This family is dirt poor, how could they have money to give?"

The woman with the narrow eyes rolled her eyes and laughed, "Exactly, a family so poor they could eat soil, your effort is wasted!"

Upon getting in the car, Mr. Li was especially morose and remained silent. Li Xianglu did not dare to be negligent, supporting him carefully all the time, afraid that Mr. Li might have an accidental fall.

After arriving at the guest house, Qin Zhen went back to sleep in his room, while Li Xianglu, feeling worried, stayed in Mr. Li’s room. Because two people were in the room, Li Xianglu left the door open. In this age, it is the custom, even if a group of people is talking, to leave doors open, especially between men and women, to avoid being subjected to criticism.

PS: Have you all gone mad? This is the story update for tomorrow morning!

There will be another update later.

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