Chapter 174: Chapter 79: Top Star of the 1960s Cultural Troupe (18)

The children were young, and after such a long day, they were already starting to rub their eyes.

But they forced themselves to stay awake, unwilling to close their eyes and sleep.

Xia Zhaoyun chuckled softly, lying on her side on the bed as she covered them with a thin blanket. "Don’t worry, Mommy will watch over you until you wake up. Tonight, I’ll make you hand-pulled noodles."

As she hummed a soft tune, the children couldn’t fight off their drowsiness any longer and drifted into a deep sleep. One of them clutched the corner of her shirt, while the other held onto her finger, as if afraid she would leave.

The mother and her two children snuggled together for a nap. After they woke up, she took them on her bicycle, first to the kindergarten to register them. She arranged with the teacher to start bringing them the next day.

To help the children adapt quickly, Xia Zhaoyun stayed and played with them at the kindergarten for an hour.

Then, the three of them went to the office building, found He Qingran, and explained everything that had happened.

He Qingran, delighted to see them, stuffed milk candies into the two kids’ hands. She threw an arm around each of them, showering them with praise for being so well-behaved, cute, and good-looking. She teased the two little ones until their eyes sparkled and their faces turned bright red.

"Ranran, you shouldn’t stay in the dorm anymore. Why don’t you come live with the three of us?" Xia Zhaoyun said, propping her chin on her hand as she watched her friend play with the children. "This way, we can cook for ourselves, and we can even have your brother over from time to time for a good meal."

"The house is big, with so many rooms. The three of us are new here and don’t know anyone. We’ll be scared..."

He Qingran shot her a look. "I can keep you company for now, but what happens when I find a boyfriend? Who’s going to stay with you then?"

"We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it," Xia Zhaoyun said with a grin, knowing her best friend had agreed. She started counting on her fingers. "When I was out earlier, I met some friendly aunties. They said there’s a market tomorrow in the village behind the factory, selling all homegrown stuff."

"They were all planning to buy a few chicks to raise in their yards or vegetable plots. Once they grow up, they can have the eggs for themselves or sell them for a little extra cash. We should buy a few too. And we can get some bamboo cages, lay them on their side, and cover them with a tarp and some straw to make a chicken coop."

"Our yard has its own well. If we buy a cut of meat, it can last us three or four days..."

"We can buy some fish to make soup and help the kids get stronger..."

He Qingran’s mouth was watering just listening to her. "Yunyun, stop! If you keep talking, I’m going to starve to death right here!"

The food in the cafeteria was good, but eating it every day, even with the chef’s rich flavors, still left one feeling a certain indescribable blandness.

When quitting time finally came, He Qingran packed up her things, said a word to the dorm manager, and headed home with Xia Zhaoyun, each of them carrying one of the children.

After they got inside and parked the bicycle, He Qingran took a tour of the entire house, inside and out. Finally, she managed to choke out a single phrase: "You hit the jackpot!"

Xia Zhaoyun nodded with a very serious expression. "Exactly. That’s why I have to work hard and bring honor to the factory. Tomorrow, we’ll go to the market to buy supplies. The day after tomorrow, I’ll take the children to visit their parents’ and Hero Huo’s graves. And the day after that, we’ll pay our respects to Hero Huo’s grandparents..."

He Qingran looked at her earnest best friend and sighed. "I just hope you don’t regret this decision."

Starting at the age of twelve, Xia Zhaoyun had taken over all the housework for the Song Family—cleaning, laundry, mending, cooking, tending to a tiny vegetable patch, and more. As a result, she was methodical and composed now, not at all flustered.

The vegetable patch was a decent size—not small at all. It could probably feed four or five adults.

May was the season for melons and gourds. The vegetable patch had uniform trellises set up, supporting vibrant green cucumbers, loofahs, bottle-shaped snake gourds, and huge winter melons. There were also eggplants and green beans that would ripen in another two months, as well as some fine varieties of muskmelon, honeydew melon, and watermelon.

However, the honeydew melons and watermelons weren’t ripe yet.

Of course, essential herbs and spices like scallions, chili peppers, cilantro, and onions were also there, along with common vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, and potatoes.

Each vegetable plot even had a row of sunflowers...

And in their own little yard, Tong Yuxiang had asked someone to find several good varieties of fruit trees—a pomegranate tree, a peach tree, an apple tree, a grapevine, and a jujube tree. What’s more, they were all transplanted trees that would bear fruit this year!

Now, it had all fallen into their laps. One could only imagine the teeth-grinding resentment Tong Yuxiang and her family must feel toward Xia Zhaoyun.

Xia Zhaoyun handed He Qingran a basin and asked her to pick some cucumbers, carrots, scallions, chili peppers, and cilantro. ’The carrots should be ready to be pulled up,’ she thought. ’The potatoes can be harvested next month, and then I can plant green radishes. I’ll harvest those in August, then dry and pickle all of them.’

She really liked this kind of simple, peaceful life—having land, a house, her children by her side, a dream to pursue, and a plan for the future.

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