Chapter 234

"If your grandma knows you said this, she would definitely be very happy," said Zhou Nan. Since Xiao Xia had this thought, she was naturally also very happy. "Since you also want to go, why don't you stay here for two more days? You can go there with your second brother on Sunday. If you want to bring the kids, take the dragon and phoenix twins, and leave the three little ones at home for mom to watch. You don't need to buy anything, mom has prepared everything for you."

"Does second brother have some business to attend to there?" Xiao Xia asked because from her words, it seemed that An Zhiren had originally planned to go.

Only then did Zhou Nan softly tell her, "Your dad's younger sister has a niece on her maternal side. She also went to school and graduated from middle school. It's said she's quite good, so I was thinking of having your second brother go take a look. Your second brother isn't young anymore either. No matter if she's good or bad, being able to marry a wife and settle down would get a load off his mind."

Zhou Nan really trusted her old mother. She would never do anything improper. If the girl was really inadequate, she wouldn't have brought up this matter. Since she did bring it up, it showed the other party did have some advantage.

Speaking of this, Zhou Nan felt annoyed. Although she had gotten rid of that Wang Caixiang woman, her good son had become a two-time groom. Those who had previously proposed marriage matches at least weighed the girl’s character and appearance, but now, they dared to introduce any kind of girl. Thinking of the one she met a few days ago, Zhou Nan shivered with disgust.

Her son was tall and handsome after all, with good work.

On the other hand, not only was the other party ugly, she immediately asked for 50,000 yuan dowry, saying that was how much the former wife had gotten, so there was no reason she should get less. She also demanded arrangements for a job for her and a watch, plus money to buy clothes.

An Zhiren didn’t say anything, just politely exchanged a few words before leaving.

Marrying such a woman back home, she probably wouldn’t be a simple woman either, and he was really afraid.

His only requirement now for his future wife was being honest and able take care of the family.

His mother was also older, his elder brother was rarely home, and his sister-in-law had it hard as a military wife without her in-laws’ support. He had caused enough worry for the family in previous years. Now he just wanted less trouble and could at least take care of himself instead of letting his parents worry again.

After hearing everything, Xiao Xia actually felt it sounded quite good.

Since they were relatives, they knew the ins and outs. Although she hadn't seen the girl, it was said she looked good, plus she was the oldest at home so must be skilled at housework.

The day before leaving for Zhou Village, Zhou Nan called out in the yard, "Xiao Xia, I'm going to the supply and marketing cooperative for a bit. Is there anything you want to eat?"

Xiao Xia knew she was going to buy gifts to bring to Zhou Village, but it wasn’t right for her to also make Zhou Nan pay for her share. So she said, "Mom, why don't I go buy them? Just tell me what you need to buy, and I’ll handle it. I also haven't gone out for a walk in a long time, feels like I'm about to grow mold staying cooped up in the room all day."

"I was just thinking of going out for a walk too, so let's just skip the supply and marketing cooperative and go straight to the mall," said Liu Ling, who had the day off work today. She came out and grabbed Zhou Nan's arm coquettishly. "Mom, let Xiao Xia and me go. You'll just have to trouble yourself watching the kids at home."

Zhou Nan grinned at her cajoling. "Alright, your young uncle is going to meet a match, so you as the sister-in-law should help out too."

"I've already had clothes made for your grandma, she likes peach cakes so buy her a pack, plus two packs of cigarettes and two catties of candy..." She took the money out of her pocket and handed it to Liu Ling. "You hold onto this. If there's any left over, buy some snacks for the kids too."

"Got it mom, sorry to trouble you watching the kids," said Xiao Xia.

It was no wonder Zhou Nan always helped support Liu Ling. She really did have a sweet mouth.

The two rode their bikes, chatting and laughing merrily along the way.

When they arrived at the mall entrance, they parked their bikes then entered the mall.

It was the busiest time at noon with streams of people coming and going, crowded together.

Liu Ling took one look inside then handed the money and ration tickets to Xiao Xia. "Little sis, you go buy the candy. I’ll go get the peach cakes and cigarettes. Let’s buy these things first then go upstairs to browse."

"Alright big sister-in-law, I’ll go first then."

In 1974, people had just reached the point of being able to eat their fill, yet various goods were still scarce. So supply cooperatives and malls often had scenes like this—buying things was like going to battle, seas of people squeezing each other, and if you were a bit slow, you could have money and tickets but still buy nothing.

Xiao Xia squeezed among the crowd for a long time but still couldn’t make her way through the rows of older women and sisters-in-law, and was almost pushed over. She decided not to squeeze in anymore, and took out two catties of brown sugar cubes and sorghum candy along with White Rabbit candy from her space, placing them in the basket slung over her arm without anyone noticing.

Liu Ling didn’t have it as easy as her. By the time she finally bought everything and squeezed out from the crowd, her bangs were all messed up.

Seeing Xiao Xia’s unhurried appearance, she asked, “There sure are a lot of people today. Did you manage to buy the candy?”

“I bought some,” Xiao Xia lifted the towel covering her basket to show Liu Ling the candy inside.

They weren’t the original fruit candies she was supposed to buy, but these were a bit more expensive.

Liu Ling didn’t say anything, just asked her, “The money I gave you earlier wasn’t enough to buy all this candy right? How much more did you need? I’ll pay you back.”

“No need, big sister-in-law, it wasn’t much more money.”

Xiao Xia took these things out after not being able squeeze in, so the excess naturally had to be paid by herself.

But Liu Ling insisted on stuffing the money into her hand, smiling. “Don’t stand on ceremony. Mom provided the money today, not me. And the extra money mom gave, I don't plan on giving back to her anyway.”

Even without Xiao Xia saying it, the prices were clearly marked. She could guess even without being told.

Xiao Xia also smiled, openly putting the money into her pocket. “Alright, I’ll listen to big sister-in-law and spend all the money before going back.”

The two looked at each other and laughed, like sneaky little cats.

After buying everything Zhou Nan asked for, the two women went upstairs to the second floor.

It turned out women shopping together could really get carried away, even just looking around was very exciting, especially with company.

Leaving the mall, they went to a state-owned restaurant to eat a bowl of dumplings before finally heading home.

At the front gate, as they got off their bikes and prepared to push them through the gate, they saw Zhou Nan sitting on a bench in the yard holding Wanqing in her lap. The two were clearly chatting—the little girl was gesturing wildly, her expression very exaggerated. "Grandma, when I grow up I'm going to fly planes, then...then take you up into the sky to look around, even to the moon to see Chang'e and Jade Rabbit..."

"Oh my, then grandma will have to live a bit longer, waiting for my little darling to succeed when she grows up." Zhou Nan was laughing merrily, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes deeper than before.