CHAPTER 20
The house is spacious and the business is booming. As the economy becomes more open and the weather warms up, a street vendor appears. The couple sells clothing, imported second-hand goods that they simply process and then sell. The good quality and low price make them popular.
When Li Xia went to buy flour, she was dragged by the clerk to look at clothes. The current batch of clothes on this stall are all summer clothes. Skirts, short sleeves, pants, etc., some new and some second-hand. They are good quality and low price. Li Xia picked a few for her family.
After returning home, the shop assistant Sister Li saw her boiling water to iron clothes and curiously asked what she was doing. “Why do you need to boil water to iron new clothes?”
”A lot of new clothes have to be recycled, so who knows if there are any germs on them? Just boil them in hot water to be safe.”
”Oh. Then, I’ll go home and get it permed, too.”
”After perming, put it in the sun to sterilize with ultraviolet rays.”
”What is ultraviolet light?”
”It’s the sun. The sun has ultraviolet rays.”
”Oh, good, i will sterilize.” The woman saw her ironing the clothes and muttered to herself, “How come buying a new piece of clothing is like buying a bag of bacteria?”
In the 1960s and 1970s, although people were short of supplies, the raw materials were absolutely hygienic. Pure natural cotton, without any additives, was made into fabric. You could buy it and make it at home, and wear it as soon as it was finished.
But things were different starting from the 1980s. Various chemical products and second-hand and third-hand items imported from overseas entered the market. The items were cheap but no one knew where they came from.
Many things may not look like anything on the surface, but in reality, you don’t know what germs they contain. In her previous life, she had heard of people getting sick from this, and since then, many people have gradually developed the habit of washing or ironing new clothes when they get home. Li Xia also had this habit in her previous life.
As soon as Shen Haiyang got off work, he saw the clothes hanging on the rope and went into the kitchen where Li Xia was cooking. “Did you buy new clothes today?”
”Yes. You can wear it after it dries. I bought you a white short-sleeved shirt and black pants. I see you wear these most of the time to work.”
”As a man, clothes are like that.”
Yi Yi was picked up by him. He washed his hands and looked at new clothes in the yard. Then he ran in and asked, “Mom, which one is mine? Is it the black overalls?”
”Yes. Black overalls and white short sleeves.”
”Oh, yeah, mine is just like dad’s.”
The little guy looked at Shen Haiyang with full of admiration, and anyone who didn’t know would think they were father and son. After a while, the two of them came back, and Shen Hui looked at his own, and the three of them were of the same color.
”Mom, are you afraid that others don’t know that we are a family?”
Li Xia smiled and said, “This is called parent-child outfit. You two will look like your dad, and I will look like a huihua. When the weather is hot enough to wear short sleeves, our family will go out to the zoo and people will know at a glance that we are a family.”
Huihua looked around but didn’t find hers. There were only two identical printed dresses, which were obviously her mother’s. “Mom, which one is mine?”
”Then you can have one of the two identical ones.”
”It’s so big, how can I wear it?”
”Just change it.”
She altered the long skirt to the right size for her daughter, and each of them got a white T-shirt that was just becoming popular. On the afternoon of the Dragon Boat Festival, the family took a break and rode their bikes to the zoo.
There was a box selling ice cream at the entrance, and the three children looked at their mother with burning eyes. Without saying a word, Li Xia bought five ice creams, one for each of them.
There were a lot of people on the weekend, and Li Xia kept telling her child to slow down. “Huihui, keep an eye on your little brother, don’t let him get lost.”
Shen Hui turned around: “I know, I am holding his hand the whole time.”
When they arrived at the elephant park, the fence was a bit high and Yiyi couldn’t see it. The two big ones were clinging to the railings. Yiyi wanted to get on, but he was too small and couldn’t get up with his small arms and legs. Shen Haiyang smiled and pulled him up and put him on his neck. Well, this time he was taller than his brothers and sisters, and the little guy clapped his hands happily.
”Look, I’m taller than you.”
”Childish.” Shen Hui turned around and rolled his eyes at him, looking disgusted and angry. “I also rode on my father’s neck when I was a kid, which only shows that you are a brat.”
”I am just a little brat.”
The two brothers were bickering loudly, attracting the attention of the people around them.
Fang Zhongcheng, who came with his wife on the weekend, turned around and saw his son clinging to Shen Haiyang’s neck, calling him “Dad”. He immediately felt uncomfortable. He walked through the crowd and reached out to hug the child.
”Yiyi, come here, daddy will hold you.”
The little guy was just happy, but when he turned around and saw that his ex dad’s face was dark, he waved his hand and ignored him. “No need,I am on my dad’s shoulder, I can see everything.”
My dad? Who is your dad? Fang Zhongcheng was a little annoyed and turned around to glare at Li Xia. Li Xia rolled her eyes at him in amusement and was too lazy to say anything to him.
”Li Xia, is there anyone who teaches children like you?”
”What’s wrong with me?”
”You, I am the child’s father, okay? Look at Yiyi and Huihua, they look like Shen Haiyang’s biological children.”
”That’s perfect. He’s the one raising the child, so it’s only natural for them to be close to him.”
”you……”
When did this woman change? Her words can choke people to death. Fang Zhongcheng’s arms trembled with anger. He felt that he could no longer see the shadow of the past in her. When she looked at him in the past, her eyes were like little stars, but now in the hot summer, he felt cold.
The woman who used to be so rustic now looks beautiful, like a mountain hollyhock that has become a red rose in the garden. She wore a printed long skirt with a white T-shirt and a pair of white canvas shoes. Her hair is simply braided and tied behind her head, looking neat and generous. Her once gray eyes are now clear and bright, shining with the light of hope.
”How about I take care of Yi Yi from now on?”
”Do you think he’s a kitten or a puppy? You can take it if you want it and give it back if you don’t want it?”
Fang Zhongcheng wanted to say something else, but the woman next to him held out her hand to stop him. “Forget it. It’s only been a few days and he is already trying to please others. It’s useless to raise such an ungrateful little wolf.”
Fang Zhongcheng looked at her speechlessly and was dragged away by her. But because of Yi Yi’s attitude, Fang Zhongcheng felt very uncomfortable. After all, he was his biological son. Thinking about it, he still felt that the scene he saw before was too dazzling. How could his son love Shen Haiyang so much, as if he was Shen Haiyang’s biological son?
” Let’s bring Yi Yi to us to raise. He is still young now, we need to take good care of him, and he will be close to us when he grows up.”
”Oh, close to you. Your son, even if you don’t raise him, he is still your son. We agreed to have one child in the future, and you want him back, what should I do then ?”
”My son has already called someone else dad. If this continues, will he still be my son?”
”So, what do you want to do?”
”We can bring him back home. He can be our flower boy at our wedding like Westerners do. At worst, we can find a family in the countryside to help take care of him. It won’t cost much…”
”Let’s break up.”
“Wanwan, don’t…”
At the park, Huihua reached out to pull her mother, looked up at her mother and then at Shen Haiyang, then smiled easily. Shen Haiyang reached out and touched Shen Hui’s head. The little guy was sensitive and felt a little lost just now, so he took the opportunity to get into his father’s arms.
Shen Haiyang couldn’t take care of both of them at the same time, so he had to put Yiyi on the ground. Yiyi stood on the ground, staring blankly at his brother acting like a spoiled child with his father. Then he turned around to look at his sister and mother, and then walked towards his sister.
Yiyi also heard what the woman said, but he was not affected like Shen Hui. Instead, he held his sister’s hand, looked at each other and made a face. Huihua was amused by her brother, and the two siblings giggled and played with each other.
Shen Haiyang patted his son and told him to go play with his younger siblings. The little guy was a little embarrassed for a moment. He had been a little nervous since Yiyi came to live at home. Just now, he felt lost when he saw his father holding Yiyi, so he took the opportunity to push Yiyi away from him. This was his father, who originally belonged to him alone.
”dad,”
His father was his, the house was theirs, and his mother had been trying to force Li Xia out to live with the two of them, and a group of people were whispering in his ears to sow discord. The Li siblings were different, they knew their father didn’t want them anymore, and they were able to stay in the city and live a good life because of their new father.
So the two children have different attitudes towards reunification. They both try their best to help their mother live a good life. Shen Hui already has something, and now he is afraid that his things will be taken away. Yi Yi is too good at pleasing others, so he sensed some crisis.
”dad,”
Shen Haiyang touched his son’s head and realized that this boy’s possessiveness was at work. When his son was very young, he was not allowed to hug other children. He would grab them whenever he saw them. The old lady said that this is called occupying the embrace, and it will be fine when you grow up. But this boy is eight years old this year, and he is still jealous of his younger brother.
”Go and play.”
”Um.”
Dad spoke, as if all his thoughts were seen through. He blushed, but was happy inside. He touched his head shyly and went to pull his brother. The little ones continued to play happily. They were a little disappointed that they didn’t find the giant panda. They heard that there was one in the Beijing Zoo, and they chattered and said they wanted to go to Beijing.
”Dad, can you take us there during the summer vacation?”
Four pairs of eyes, one big and three small, looked at him, and Shen Haiyang burst into laughter. Contact his father, go look at the house, and take the children out to play. Since the reason was so good, it seemed unreasonable not to agree.
”Okay.”
”yayy.”
This time they were happy, because summer vacation would come soon after Children’s Day. The two older ones took the younger ones everywhere, and the couple followed behind with their bags, fearing that one of them would be lost. The three little ones stopped in the deer park, and Li Xia sat down on a stool beside them. She turned her head to look at Shen Haiyang, and he was also sweating profusely.
“Is it more tiring than working?”
The man sat down next to her: “I wish I could tie a rope around the three of them so I don’t have to keep an eye on them all the time.”
”I think I can consider it when I go to the capital.”
”Haha… do you want some ice cream? You look so sweaty.”
”Yes.” Li Xia nodded and leaned close to him and whispered, “Let’s have one each, and make the three of them hungry to death.”
”Mom, ice cream, buy ice cream.”
Just as they were talking, a man with a cart came over. All the children were clamoring for ice cream, and the three of them also came over to ask for help from the adults.
”I’ll just eat a popsicle.”
”I want popsicles too. They quench your thirst better than ice cream.”
The two older ones lowered their demands, perhaps to save money. A popsicle was only two cents, half the price of ice cream. Yi Yi looked at his older brother and sister and felt a little embarrassed because he wanted to eat a red bean popsicle, which cost five cents like ice cream.
Shen Haiyang had already paid, and Shen Hui took out three cents to buy it. Yi Yi quickly caught up with his brother, holding his hand and smiling ingratiatingly. When he came back, everyone had a two-cent popsicle, but he was the only one holding a five-cent red bean popsicle.
This kid is really a little naughty, licking the red bean ice cream with a smile on his face. When he looked up and saw his mother looking at him, the little guy immediately turned his head to look at his brother.
”My brother bought it for me.”
Shen Hui explained: “The money Dad gave me is enough to buy him red bean ice cream. Mom, if you want to eat it too, I’ll buy it for you next time.”
Li Xia smiled and waved her hand: “No, I’ll just eat a popsicle.”
This child, before, was reluctant to spend a penny, like a miser. Now that Shen Haiyang has woken up, he is willing to buy a five-cent ice cream for his brother. Her son is also a troublemaker. No matter whether Shen Hui is smiling or sullen, he will stick to him happily.
”Since you woke up, the child has been much more docile.”
”docile?” Shen Haiyang was very curious about this word. Can a person be described as docile?
”Yeah. Before, he was like a twisted dough stick, worrying about this and that. Now that you’ve woken up, you can soothe him into submission whenever he gets upset. He is as obedient and sensible as a kitten.”
The man turned his eyes to his son and felt deeply sorry for him. Because he, as a father, lay down, the child had to bear many things that he shouldn’t have to bear. He was competing for favor with Yi Yi just now, so he still didn’t feel safe enough, right? This kid was actually still awkward. It was not easy to get along with a reconstituted family, and Murong Danling’s family was still there to sabotage it, which had a very bad impact on Shen Hui.
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Thank you for the update and for continuing the story!
welcome !! and dont worry i won’t drop it. it’s a interesting story 🙂