Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Wanming, Yueyue, stop bothering your mom, come over for dinner." Wang Qinghe said, prying the two children away from his wife's embrace.

For some reason, he felt that his wife's gaze had become less friendly.

Bai Xiuxiu stared at Wang Qinghe for a moment, looking at this face that met her aesthetic standards, and considering his feelings for her, she barely managed to hold back!

This wretched man! Can't he be a little kinder to their children?

What? His wife is his, but the children aren't?

What's going on in his head!

Wang Qinghe was unaware of what she was thinking. In the room, there were only his beloved wife and the two children she bore him, making him feel incredibly happy.

"Go get the food. Didn't Mom say anything else?" Bai Xiuxiu took the bowls.

It was 1966, and although they had passed the time of starvation, conditions hadn't improved much.

Every household didn't have enough to eat, and the Wang family, with many mouths to feed, had even more people eating.

Plus, the two elders in the family were biased, saving money to support their beloved youngest son and second son, making the food situation even worse!

Even with Old Fifth Wang Qingqi's wedding dishes, the quality of the meals wasn't much better.

A bowl of buckwheat porridge, paired with a scorched pancake, was one person's portion.

As for the dish, it was made by cooking leftover meat from the wedding with cabbage leaves picked from their own plot and prepared for drying.

Aside from being a bit fatty, it had almost no resemblance to good food!

Bai Xiuxiu had been a Wandering Spirit for decades, witnessing the prosperity of later times. Although she couldn't taste good food, she could see it! Looking at the current meal, she desperately wanted something decent!

Wang Qinghe sat across from his wife, feeding the children while watching her.

He saw her staring at the stewed dish with a sharp gaze, utterly puzzled. "Wife, what's wrong with this dish?"

"I want to eat something good," Bai Xiuxiu blurted out her thoughts!

"Mingming wants it too!"

"Yueyue wants it too!"

Looking at his wife and the two children, Wang Qinghe felt the pressure mounting. "Now the village is busy harvesting. We'll have to wait until winter to go hunting. How about... after lunch, I go to the commune and buy you some sponge cake?

Do we have enough food coupons?"

Bai Xiuxiu hadn't tasted good food for decades. Hearing "sponge cake," her eyes lit up, and she hurriedly opened the box to check their savings.

She was all about enjoying life!

She wouldn't let anyone, especially herself, suffer. Over the years, the good things her older sister and mother sent her had mostly been consumed, and as for money, she'd spent quite a bit.

Including the dowry money her mother brought, they had a total of three hundred twenty-seven yuan and twenty fen left.

They still had two hundred catties worth of food coupons, but if used, they would run out quickly.

There weren't many other coupons available for use either.

This was only possible because every winter, Wang Qinghe could hunt in the mountains and secretly stash some game under the Wang family's noses or occasionally sell medicinal herbs found in the mountains for money.

Being a Wandering Spirit didn't require eating, and Wang Qinghe later became successful, so he never lacked money! She hadn't felt the lack of money for a long time!

Seeing her lost in thought, Wang Qinghe assumed she was worried about running out of supplies and hurriedly comforted her. "Wife, we have enough food coupons. After the autumn harvest, I'll find a way to get you some meat coupons. I'll go buy you some sponge cake tomorrow!"

Wang Qinghe never carried more than one yuan in pocket money!

Bai Xiuxiu remembered this clearly, so she took out a ten-yuan note from the box and gave it to him. "Don't waste it, make it last till the end of the year!"

Then she handed him ten catties worth of food coupons.

After Wang Qinghe tucked them away, the family of four quickly finished the remaining food.

At this point, anything with meat was considered good, so regardless of whether they liked it or not, they ate everything!

The Wang family had the habit of taking a nap after lunch, but Wang Qinghe didn't!

With the money in his pocket, he headed out.

"What are you doing?" Zhao Guifen had been waiting at the door, hoping to talk to her eldest son first and give the room to Old Fifth.

Seeing him come out, she quickly tried to stop him.

But it was too late!

Wang Qinghe didn't hear a word and ran off quickly.

"Stop right there! Why are you running!" Zhao Guifen chased after him, cursing, but failed to catch up, turning back into the courtyard in frustration.

Seeing this, Zhou Jiaojiao, the fifth daughter-in-law, who had been observing from inside the house, also became anxious and fiercely pinched her husband.

Old Fifth, Wang Qingqi, winced in pain and came out of the house. "Mom, why don't we talk to Eldest Sister-in-Law first? This matter, sooner or later, needs Eldest Sister-in-Law's approval. Besides, if Eldest Sister-in-Law doesn't agree, Eldest Brother..."

Zhao Guifen was speechless upon hearing this.

Her eldest son, aside from having a handsome face, was completely useless!

He was terrified of his wife!

Zhao Guifen, after a moment's thought, knocked on the west room's door.

Inside, Bai Xiuxiu was sorting through the family’s fabrics, planning to make clothes for herself, her two children, and... her unfortunate husband.

This fabric must not go to waste!

Hearing the knock, Bai Xiuxiu put everything back into her large chest and undid the door latch.

She was met with her mother-in-law's aged face right away.

Her good mood vanished instantly.

As Zhao Guifen entered the room, she saw the whitewashed walls, the fine mat on the bed, and the blue-brick floor, and her anger surged.

Living in the same house, ever since that jinx of a Bai had moved in, she only improved her own room.

Compared to this room, the others looked like dog kennels.

Didn’t she realize how unworthy she was, being so lazy and gluttonous, to have such a nice room?

"Guifen, how's your health? I saw your husband rush out earlier, what was that about?" Zhao Guifen forced a smile as she squeezed into the room.

Following behind, Zhou Jiaojiao hurried in as well.

Bai Xiuxiu, seeing their eager eyes, knew they wanted to swap rooms just like in her previous life.

What a pipe dream!

Thinking about her husband's speculations from his last days in the previous life, Bai Xiuxiu decided to test the waters.

This room-swap wasn't just between the two of them.

In her past life, the second family had been Zhou Jiaojiao's lackeys. What if Bai Xiuxiu had offended them from the start?

With that thought, Bai Xiuxiu smiled. "Thank you for your concern, Mother. My head still hurts quite a bit. I sent my husband to the commune to buy some things. Since Jiaojiao has just married in, I thought I'd get her a couple of pictures to decorate her room."

Such kindness from her?

Zhao Guifen was stunned, while Zhou Jiaojiao felt smug inside.

Indeed, no matter where she went, nobody could dislike her! This was the blessing bestowed upon her by heaven!

It seemed the room situation might work out!

"Speaking of rooms, Xiuxiu, there's something I want to discuss with you," Zhao Guifen seized the opportunity.

"Mother, I also have something to say," Bai Xiuxiu quickly interjected, not letting her continue: "Mother, I think it's inconvenient for Fifth Brother and his wife to live in the partition next to yours.

They're newlyweds, why don't we move them to the east room?"