Chapter 22

Zhou Nan was unwilling to forbid him from going, but her own waist had been aching these past few days, making it hard for her to hold him. She said to An ZhiXia, "Don't spoil him too much. The child is heavy. If you can't carry him later, have your fourth brother piggyback him. But be sure not to force yourself."

She was getting back pain from carrying the child, more tiring than doing chores. She hadn't dared to casually hold him these past few days.

An ZhiXia could only agree.

They weren't walking there, but riding bikes.

Zhou Nan rode alone, with An ZhiXia behind her holding An WenQing in her lap. It wasn't tiring at all.

The only one left at home was An MeiYun. As the culprit in the previous life who had deliberately kidnapped the child, An ZhiXia certainly wouldn't let her watch An WenQing.

Even if she didn't currently have a plan to kidnap the child, An MeiYun hadn't done few things to secretly bully children in her previous life.

An ZhiXia suspected that An WenQing's somewhat timid personality was possibly due to An MeiYun secretly frightening him.

The shopping center wasn't very close. They rode for about 40 minutes before arriving.

On the road, An ZhiAng told An ZhiXia about the fate of the Gao family, learning they would be sent for re-education after undergoing struggle sessions. She felt at ease. Although the Gao's two children hadn't been implicated, with parents like that, she believed their lives in the future wouldn't be good either.

In the 1970s, in addition to collective struggle sessions, there were also self-criticism meetings. As the children of bad elements, they would become frequent targets of criticism meetings in the future, especially ideological education-oriented criticism and self-reflection, enough to break them down.

An ZhiAng spent one mao to park the bike at the entrance, then passed An WenQing over to ride on his shoulders. Judging by how smooth it looked, he must have done this frequently before.

An WenQing hurriedly hugged his head with both hands. An ZhiAng held his arms up to grab An WenQing's arms, and together they entered the department store along with the women.

They had gotten up late, plus the time wasted on the road. It was now noon, so there weren't many people in the department store.

Zhou Nan directly led her to the second floor where clothes and shoes were sold. "ZhiXia, pick out a couple changes of clothes you like for yourself, some extra outfits to change into. Mom is going to the fabric section first to buy some fine cotton to make you some small clothes when we get back."

The “small clothes” Zhou Nan referred to were underwear. An ZhiXia responded, and Zhou Nan went over.

The fabric area was at the edge of the 2nd floor. Next to it was piled a lot of yarn. It wasn't far from here, they could hear each other's shouts.

An ZhiXia earnestly looked at the clothes in the department store. There were quite a few styles, including some fresh and pretty dresses, as well as plain shirts and pants.

As a girl, An ZhiXia naturally liked dresses, but she also had self-awareness. Her current body simply wouldn't look good in a dress, so she turned her sights to shirts and pants instead.

An ZhiXia quickly picked two pairs of black pants and a workman's blue shirt, a color more resistant to dirt.

Then she also took a blue and white striped shirt, matching two outfits, plus a pair of cloth shoes.

Zhou Nan bought several lengths of fabric, bundling them together under her arm. Coming back to see An ZhiXia had picked out clothes, she looked them over and said, "ZhiXia has good taste. These two outfits look really nice, but they'll probably be a bit big on you. Mom will tailor them for you when we get back before you wear them."

In fact, the clothes An ZhiXia picked were quite ordinary. She knew that her current body wouldn’t look good in anything, so she didn't choose exceptional ones.

Clothes in the 1970s didn't have standardized sizing like the later generations. Being too big or small was common. If you really liked something but it didn't fit right, you could only buy it and alter it yourself. After all, hardly any women of this era didn't know how to sew.

"Right, go pick a dress too. Girls should look better in dresses. My ZhiXia should dress herself up beautifully. Mom brought all the ration coupons from home today, no need to save." An JingZhi was currently a high school principal. The private school originally established by the An family in the Republican era had now become a public school, and had expanded several times over.

Because it wasn't run for profit from the start, and was even praised after the founding of the country for this reason, An JingZhi had retained the position of principal all the way until now. His salary and benefits were not low.

The An family's eldest son was now achieving modest success in the army, and his daughter-in-law was a student taught by An JingZhi. She currently also taught at an elementary school.

The second son worked at the same school as An JingZhi. If nothing unexpected happened, he would likely inherit An JingZhi's position in the future. Although the third son was still an intern doctor, neither of these two sons were married, and their salary and benefits were extremely good. The ration coupons distributed by their work unit each month were basically unused, all handed over to Zhou Nan.

So the An family's circumstances were definitely excellent, at least not having to worry about food and clothing.

However, An ZhiXia refused. "Mom, I wouldn't look good in a dress in this body either. Let me nurture my health first. For now, just buying two outfits to change into will do. When I've gained some weight after a while, we can come back to buy."

Zhou Nan also understood An ZhiXia's words made sense, especially hearing that “Mom.” It instantly made her eyes turn moist.

"Alright, alright, we'll do as you say. I'll save the rest of the money and coupons for you. When we get back, Mom will make delicious food every day to help you gain weight. Once your health is better after some time, Mom will bring you back here." Zhou Nan felt very gratified. Even though she grew up in the countryside, her daughter didn't have a petty bourgeois attitude or shallowness.

As for looks, there were no ugly people in their family. Her daughter's features were also well-defined. She just needed to gain some weight and improve her skin. With some care, it would just be a matter of time to nurse her back to health.

An ZhiAng came over from the other side still carrying An WenQing, who was holding a tambourine in one hand, occasionally making muffled drumbeats. "Did you pick? I'll pay today, and Mom can use the ration coupons."

Zhou Nan still didn't know about An ZhiAng asking his two older brothers for money. She glared at him and said, "You're still asking me for pocket money. Where do you have money to pay?"

An ZhiAng matter-of-factly said, "Second and Third Bro gave it to me. I'm going out with my little sister, it wouldn't look right if they didn't contribute a little money, busy as they are."

"You and your justifications." Zhou Nan laughed. But she didn't feel the second and third brothers would have given him much money. "The money your second and third brother gave, you can give to your little sister as pocket money later. She just got back and doesn't have accumulated pocket money like you kids. She doesn't have many things at home either. It'll be more convenient if she has some money on hand when she needs to spend it. I'll pay for the clothes today. Your dad still has his salary. Our family has money to spend."

"That works too." An ZhiAng's eyes turned. Wasn't that saving him some money?

Although it wasn't for him, but for his little sister, he was still very happy.