mtl008 Chapter 251 Entering the City
Chapter 251 Entering the City
Early the next morning, Li Xiangyang packed up the river delicacies he was going to take into the city.
Li Xiaoyun carefully folded the new clothes she made for her mother and sister and put them into the basket.
"See if there's anything else we need?" Li Xiangyang asked while sorting through the fish.
"Everything's ready." Li Xiaoyun carefully checked everything. "Oh, right, bring the vegetables from over there. Things are expensive in the city, and I'm afraid Mom won't be able to afford them."
Li Xiangyang felt a warmth in his heart. Since getting married, Li Xiaoyun had been even more attentive to her mother and Xiaohua than to him, her own son.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but put his arm around his wife's shoulder.
"Alright, stop being so lovey-dovey," Wang Ergou's voice came from outside the courtyard. "Hurry up, or we'll miss the early bus."
Li Xiangyang and Li Xiaoyun exchanged a smile, picked up their things, and left the yard.
A number of people were already standing at the village entrance. Soon after, Li Daqiang arrived and greeted everyone with a smile.
The car arrived quickly, and the group found seats and sat down.
We chatted and laughed all the way, and before we knew it, we had arrived in the county town.
Upon arriving in the city, the group first went to a state-run restaurant.
Director Zhang was checking the ingredients in the kitchen when he saw them arrive and quickly came out to greet them.
"Oh, isn't this Brother Li? It's been a while!" Director Zhang said with a smile. "Let me see what good things you've brought today."
Li Xiangyang placed the net on the cutting board, opened it, and saw that the river delicacies inside were still alive and kicking.
Director Zhang's eyes lit up; from prawns to carp, every single one was top-quality.
"Great, great!" Director Zhang nodded repeatedly. "These shrimp are big, just in time for several tables of leaders to be having dinner today."
After weighing the items, Director Zhang gave everyone a price that satisfied them.
After dividing the money, Li Daqiang hurriedly rushed to the supply and marketing cooperative, and Wang Ergou and Ma Hongxia also left.
Li Xiangyang put away the money with satisfaction and led Li Xiaoyun home.
After turning a few corners, I arrived home quickly.
The aroma of food wafted through the courtyard. Li's mother was busy at the stove, while Xiao Hua sat on the threshold, playing with a kitten.
“Mother, Xiaohua!” Li Xiaoyun called out.
"Oh, you've come!" Mrs. Li wiped her hands and greeted them with a smile. "We were just cooking rice, you've come at the perfect time."
As soon as Xiaohua saw that it was her brother and sister-in-law, she immediately jumped up and ran over.
Li Xiangyang handed over the two fish he had specially saved, intending to give his mother some money to help with household expenses, but his mother refused, saying, "Keep the money for yourself. My salary is enough for me now."
Li Xiaoyun took out the newly made clothes from the wicker basket, and Li's mother and Xiaohua were delighted with them.
After dinner, Li's mother urged them to go shopping.
"Young people should travel around; Xiaohua and I can manage at home."
Before leaving, Xiaohua held Li Xiangyang's hand and whispered, "Brother, I got first place in school."
Li Xiangyang patted his younger sister's head: "Great job! When you're on vacation, I'll take you to the mountains."
After leaving home, Li Xiangyang and Li Xiaoyun headed towards the department store.
A long queue had already formed in front of the department store. Just as Li Xiangyang and Li Xiaoyun were about to join the queue, they heard someone calling their names.
"Brother Xiangyang!" Wang Ergou and Ma Hongxia waved to them, "Over here, over here!"
The two squeezed through and saw that Wang Ergou was carrying a paper bag, while Ma Hongxia was holding a box, indicating that they had already bought their things.
"What nice things did you buy?" Li Xiaoyun asked.
Ma Hongxia smiled as she opened the box, inside was a pair of brand-new leather shoes: "Ergou bought these for me."
"Hey, Er Gou's really generous these days," Li Xiangyang joked.
Wang Ergou scratched his head sheepishly: "It's all thanks to following you around, Brother Xiangyang. We've even had a successful hunt."
"By the way," Ma Hongxia looked around, "this department store has received a lot of good stuff recently, shall we go in and take a look?"
The department store was bustling with people, and the counters were packed with customers. It was summer, and the newly arrived floral fabrics and summer clothes were the most popular. Li Xiangyang and Li Xiaoyun strolled around the fabric section, and Li Xiaoyun selected several sturdy pieces of fabric.
"How about this?" She picked up a piece of dark blue polyester fabric and held it up against Li Xiangyang. "I'll make you two shirts; they'll be sturdy enough to wear in the mountains."
"You can decide for yourself," Li Xiangyang said with a smile. "But don't buy too much; we still have plenty of stock at home."
“We still need to be prepared,” Li Xiaoyun said. “Your clothes wear out easily when you go hunting.”
Wang Ergou joked from the side, "Sister-in-law is so thoughtful. Brother Xiangyang is so lucky."
Ma Hongxia smiled and chimed in, "That's right, Xiaoyun's clothes are both beautiful and sturdy."
Just then, a commotion arose from the counter. It turned out that a new batch of enamel basins had arrived at a reasonable price, and everyone wanted to buy them.
"I'll go take a look." Ma Hongxia pulled Wang Ergou and squeezed over there.
Li Xiangyang and Li Xiaoyun continued selecting fabrics in the fabric section. A little while later, Wang Ergou came running back excitedly, carrying a blue-rimmed enamel basin.
"I bought it for my mother," he said with a smile. "She always says we don't have enough basins at home."
"Ergou is so sensible now," Li Xiaoyun praised.
After buying the fabric, Li Xiangyang passed by the candy counter and bought some candy for his younger sister.
"Hey, Xiangyang, wait a minute. I'm going to buy Xiaohua a gift. Come to think of it, I haven't been to your house in the city yet..."
Seeing this, Wang Ergou finished speaking and pulled Ma Hongxia to pick out gifts.
"You're too kind, there's no need for that." Li Xiangyang waved his hand.
Wang Ergou completely ignored him and turned to Ma Hongxia, saying, "Hongxia, what do you think we should buy?"
"How about... I buy a pencil case? I saw some colorful ones on that counter over there, they looked pretty."
The two of them headed toward the stationery counter as they talked.
Li Xiangyang and Li Xiaoyun waited where they were, and after a while, they came back with a pencil case with a butterfly pattern.
After buying their things, the group went to Li Xiangyang's house.
Li's mother had already tidied up the house, and when she saw them arrive, she busied herself making tea and pouring water.
"Ergou, Hongxia, come and have some tea," Li's mother greeted them warmly.
Xiaohua was doing her homework at the table when she saw everyone coming. She quickly put down her pen and stood up.
Her eyes lit up when she saw the candy her brother had brought.
When Wang Ergou handed over the pencil case, he was overjoyed.
"Thank you, Uncle Ergou, Aunt Hongxia, you're both so kind."
"Hey, don't be so polite with your aunt and uncle," Wang Ergou said with a smile. "If you like, I'll bring you some more next time."
The atmosphere inside was warm and harmonious. Li's mother invited them to stay for dinner, but they declined, thinking that they still had to catch the bus back to the village.
"Then be careful on your journey," Li's mother said as she saw them out. "Come visit often when you have time."
"Brother, I'll be on holiday starting July 16th. Don't forget to pick me up then."
"I can't forget it, let's go back."
……
As dusk fell, the group headed towards the station and ran into Li Daqiang, who was coming out of the supply and marketing cooperative.
The group chatted and laughed as they waited for the bus back to the village.
There were quite a few people on the bus, mostly from nearby villages.
The car bumped along the country road.
Li Xiangyang looked at Li Xiaoyun, who was leaning on his shoulder, and gently tucked the corner of her clothes into her sleeve.
Wang Ergou, sitting in the front row, had his arm around Ma Hongxia, and the two were talking quietly.
Li Daqiang leaned back in his seat, dozing off as the car bounced along.