sjar Chapter 121 Taking a Family Photo
Chapter 121 Taking a Family Photo
The next day, Nuonuo was so excited about taking a family photo that she almost jumped for joy.
After finishing her meal, she changed into the new clothes her mother had bought for her, and then pulled Li Wanqing to braid her hair into pretty little braids.
Cheng Baichuan was also wearing a brand-new military uniform, which made him look even more energetic.
Of course, the most eye-catching was Li Wanqing, who wore a pale yellow dress.
Cheng Baichuan's eyes widened in astonishment when he saw it.
"How was it? Not bad, right?" Even the usually carefree Li Wanqing became a little embarrassed.
She bought this dress a while ago, but back then she hadn't gotten her white hair yet, so it had been sitting in the closet unworn.
Fortunately, she had a good foundation, and after taking care of herself for a period of time, she looks completely different from when she first arrived at the military region.
Now, wearing this dress suits me quite well.
Nono let go of her father's hand and ran to her mother's side, looking at her with a smile in her eyes.
"Mommy~ So pretty~ So pretty~"
Li Wanqing chuckled, squatted down, and rubbed her daughter's head.
"Silly girl, that's called beautiful!"
Nono nodded. "Beautiful!"
Cheng Baichuan picked up his daughter and pulled Li Wanqing along, "Come on, let's take a picture."
The family of three had only gone a short distance when they ran into Jiang Fang and her daughter.
"Wanqing, are you going out?" Jiang Fang called out with a smile.
Li Wanqing glanced at her indifferently, then pulled the man and child away.
Once the people were out of sight, Jiang Fang cursed, "That bitch who's gotten too big for her britches. If this were in Hunan Province, she'd be skinned alive."
Jiang Fang complained for a while, but didn't hear her daughter's voice. She turned her head and saw Li Wanhua staring blankly at the backs of the three people.
"Let's go! Everyone's already far away." Jiang Fang patted her on the back and said irritably.
Li Wanhua then came to her senses and followed Jiang Fang.
Cheng Baichuan took Li Wanqing and her daughter to the military region's photo studio, which was a photo studio that served soldiers.
The photographer inside was a disabled veteran who had difficulty walking, but his photography skills were excellent.
The only charge for taking photos is for the film and photo paper. It costs only 5 cents per photo, and 3 cents per photo if you want to get it printed.
Cheng Baichuan and Li Wanqing had no other relatives, so they did not add any more.
Besides the family photo, Li Wanqing and Cheng Baichuan took a group photo, Li Wanqing and Nuonuo took a group photo, and Nuonuo took a solo photo.
The family photo needed to be enlarged and printed, which cost 2.8 yuan including the frame. With the other three photos, the total cost was 4.3 yuan.
“This is the receipt,” the veteran handed over a receipt, reminding him, “Come back in 7 days with the receipt to pick up the photos.”
The family of three left the photo studio. Cheng Baichuan looked around and said, "Come on, I'll take you two for a walk."
Li Wanqing's eyes lit up. She had been in the military region for more than a month, and apart from the service station, she hadn't really been anywhere else.
"Could you take me to visit some of the nearby villages?" Li Wanqing asked.
She had heard from other women in the village that she could go there to exchange for eggs, meat, and the like, but she never had the chance to go.
The grocery store had everything, but everything was rationed. By the time she got there, there was hardly any meat left.
Fortunately, their vegetable garden at home is quite good, so at least they don't lack fresh vegetables.
Cheng Baichuan thought for a moment and said, "It's possible, but our clothes don't suit us."
"Let's go home and change our clothes then," Li Wanqing said with a smile, bouncing her daughter around in her arms.
The closest village to the military region is Fengyang Village at the foot of the mountain, which is about a 15-minute bike ride away.
However, if you walk, taking a shortcut will take less than half an hour.
Li Wanqing decisively chose to walk, as she could enjoy the scenery along the way, and with luck, she might even gain something else.
"The weather is so sunny today, the scenery is so beautiful everywhere..." Li Wanqing hummed a song as she walked, clearly in a great mood.
"What song are you humming?" Cheng Baichuan asked with a smile. "It sounds really nice."
Li Wanqing grinned and said, "I don't know either, I just hummed it off the cuff."
Cheng Baichuan didn't pay attention, but Li Wanqing turned her head and stuck out her tongue.
It seems I should be more careful in the future.
"Aren't there quite a few like that old soldier at the photo studio?" Li Wanqing changed the subject.
Cheng Baichuan nodded. "The military organizes training in various skills to facilitate the livelihood of retired or disabled soldiers."
"However, there are still too few of these positions because there are too many people."
Li Wanqing could understand; the military region had probably reached its limit by now.
Fengyang Village has seventy or eighty households, but they live very far apart.
This makes exchanging things easier; the distance makes the villagers bolder.
Li Wanqing traded a lot of eggs and two chickens.
Eggs are free, one cent each.
The farmer asked for 5 yuan and two cloth coupons for the other two chickens. After all, winter was approaching, and every household needed to buy some new clothes.
Li Wanqing also exchanged a sweet potato and a radish, which were things she didn't grow in her yard.
Cheng Baichuan only took half a day off, so the family of three changed their things and went home.
On the way home, I only picked some mushrooms and didn't encounter any other wild animals.
"I thought there would at least be some pheasant or rabbit," Li Wanqing said, somewhat disappointed.
Cheng Baichuan chuckled and said, "These are all paths that people frequently use; wild animals won't come here."
"If you want to eat wild game, wait until I'm on vacation next time, and I'll go up the mountain and hunt some."
Li Wanqing looked at him intently, "Is it really okay?"
Cheng Baichuan nodded. "Of course, the military region also sends people into the mountains to hunt wild animals every year to improve the soldiers' meals."
Hearing this, Li Wanqing felt relieved.
After returning home, Cheng Baichuan rushed to the military camp, and Li Wanqing also got busy.
Both chickens were laying hens, and Li Wanqing planned to raise them first, so she built a simple chicken coop in the yard.
Nono was very interested in the hens and spent the whole afternoon squatting by the henhouse.
The three Shao brothers also came over. They originally wanted to take Nuonuo to play, but they were all attracted by the hen.
"Auntie, does having a chicken mean we can have chicken soup?" Shao Xing'an asked, drooling.
Before Li Wanqing could speak, Nuonuo and Shao Xingguo glared at him.
"All you do is eat. These chickens are meant to be raised," Shao Xingguo said with exasperation.
Shao Xingbang nodded, "If Mom finds out, she won't let you come over to play anymore."
Shao Xing'an shrank his neck, looking aggrieved. All he wanted was to eat chicken.
Li Wanqing said with a smile, "These chickens can't be eaten yet, but if you can raise them well, I'll treat you to meat in a while."
Upon hearing this, the three Shao brothers' eyes lit up.
"Don't worry, Auntie, leave it to us. We'll definitely fatten the chickens up." The three brothers patted their chests and assured her, then pulled Nuonuo to catch insects.
After the children left, Li Wanqing began cleaning the mushrooms.
Li Wanqing picked quite a lot of mushrooms. She kept some to stir-fry for dinner, and planned to dry the rest.
Just as I was busy, Jiang Fang appeared again.