Xibao is a hit with the entire division! He manages to charm everyone wherever he goes, making mothers green with envy at his special treatment.
It all started when Lu Jiang returned home one night, in each of his hands he carried large nets filled to the brim with all sorts of scarce commodities. Without exception, they were all food items, a dazzling array.
Malt essence, canned food, lunch meat, biscuits, candies...everything was there.
"You give one, I give you one, before I knew it, I had a huge pile, all specifically addressed to Xibao. They said we, as parents, have no right to refuse on Xibao’s behalf unless Xibao himself does." said Lu Jiang helplessly. Yesterday was New Year’s Day, and those comrades-in-arms who had money and allowance and no financial burdens were the first to buy things for Xibao.
Feng Qingxue was taken aback, "Xibao is so popular, I’m downright jealous."
Many kids in the Wanglou Brigade hadn’t even seen two or three of these items before, even hard candies were considered a luxury to them.
Xibao is so lucky, surrounded by a myriad of good things to eat.
Thinking of this, Feng Qingxue turned to look at Xibao. Under the candle light, Little Fatty had his round butt in the air as he lay sleeping on the bed with his blanket kicked aside.
Feng Qingxue efficiently adjusted her son’s sleeping position and covered him with the blanket. Taking the nets from Lu Jiang, she started to sort through them, saying: "Make sure you remember who gave what. If you can’t remember, write it down in a notebook so we can return the favor later. Did you find out Xiaowang’s shoe size? I made knee and elbow pads for Han Ping this afternoon, you can pass it to him tomorrow. It’s difficult to make cotton clothes for Sang Hong, we didn’t bring enough cotton with us. It would be too conspicuous to make a new cotton suit for him all of a sudden, so I decided to take apart the cashmere clothes you wore out before and re-knit them for him. Since they aren’t new, he won’t have any reason to refuse."
"Xiaowang’s foot is one size smaller than mine," said Lu Jiang, hanging the net of canned food, malt essence, and other sealed food items on the wall as Feng Qingxue sorted them out. "The medicated oil you gave me before was really effective. It’s not the one Doctor Wu taught you to mix, but the one you said could treat joint pain by activating blood circulation and removing stasis. I’ll give some to Han Ping to try."
Feng Qingxue knew exactly which one he meant. It was one of the medicated oils she had specifically stored, a traditional family secret and a local renowned medicine, especially effective in treating ailments like neck and joint pain.
"Alright, I’ll put some in a can later." She clearly didn’t want anyone, including Lu Jiang, to see the original packaging bottle.
She took the fragile biscuits and egg cakes out of the net and put them in the cabinet under the writing desk.
The only piece of furniture they had in the room was this severely worn-out writing desk, which had been sent over by the Commander himself. It features small cabinets on either side, each with one drawer on top. Typically, Feng Qingxue would carefully lock the drawers and cabinets because Xibao knew there were treats inside and would open them himself.
After tidying everything up, Lu Jiang finished the meal Feng Qingxue had prepared for him. It wasn’t long after they had finished cleaning and preparing for bed that the couple unconsciously rolled onto the kang bed, squishing Xibao into the corner.
After they had made love, the couple lay in each other’s arms, with Feng Qingxue bringing up the events of the day.
"What kind of punishment will those performing artists who were taken away receive? What were the results of the inspection in the division?" She couldn’t help but ask. She was truly worried. After all, exchanging love letters wasn’t a capital crime.