Chapter 49: What a wide gap to bridge

Chapter 49: Such a Loose Grip on Money

After seeing Wang Jin'e off, Cheng Yufen returned to her office. She stared at Shen Meng, who remained seated calmly, without saying a word for a long time.

"Don't take it to heart, Dr. Cheng, and don't let it weigh on you. I simply couldn't stand seeing it," Shen Meng said with a light chuckle, offering her some comfort.

"Comrade Shen, I am a doctor myself, so I understand your husband's position as a soldier. He probably wouldn't want you using his name to help people. Even though you mean well, I still have to say something to you."

Shen Meng: "..."

*Is your brain even functioning normally right now?*

"Dr. Cheng, I assume your relationship with your spouse and children isn't very good?"

Cheng Yufen's expression froze.

"It seems I was right. Dr. Cheng, please don't trouble yourself with judging my character or my husband's. In the future, when your biological family stops sucking you dry like leeches, you should use that time to think about how to mend your relationships with your husband and children instead!"

After saying this, Shen Meng walked out the door.

She was in no rush. Saying anything now would only make her look anxious. Even if Cheng Yufen's connection became useless, her husband and children wouldn't forget her kindness. After all, who wouldn't want to shake off a blood-sucking burden?

Outside, the children sitting in the ox cart were getting impatient. If their mother hadn't instructed them to wait, they would have gone to the hospital to find her.

"Brother, brother! Mom's coming out! Hehe, what is Mom carrying in her hands?"

"Mom, are we still going to the photo studio?"

Shen Meng gave the bag in her hand a little shake and said, "We are. We'll go to the supply and marketing cooperative first, then eat, and head to the photo studio in the afternoon. Sorry for the trouble, Uncle Guai."

"It's nothing, it's nothing, haha!"

Uncle Guai chuckled as he untied the rope from the ox. He wondered to himself where he should go to wait while they ate lunch; he couldn't possibly join them for a meal—that would be too shameless.

As Shen Meng climbed onto the ox cart, Lu Mingkai naturally sat in her lap and asked, "Mom, what did you get?"

Shen Meng pinched his little cheek and opened the bag for the children to see.

"Inside this are medicines I got for you all. They are for calcium supplements to make your bodies stronger. They taste like oranges. Everyone gets one bottle, and it will last for several months. Xiaogang has one too, and Jinghao, this one is for you. Hide it away and give one to Xiaogang every morning."

"How can we accept this..."

Shen Meng pressed the calcium tablets into her hand and gave her a sidelong glance.

"Why the hesitation? Don't forget, you still have money kept with me. Besides, this is for the good of the children. Don't be so polite."

Hearing they were orange-flavored, Lu Mingkai hurriedly held them up to Shen Meng's face.

"Mom, open it! Xiao Kai wants to eat!"

Shen Meng clicked her tongue and poked his little nose, making him giggle uncontrollably.

After opening the lid, she placed one tablet into his small mouth.

"Is it good?"

"It's delicious! Give one to Mom, too! Mom should eat some to strengthen her body!"

Shen Meng leaned down, taking the tablet from Lu Mingkai's small hand and popping it into her mouth, smacking her lips.

"Mmm, the calcium tablets Xiao Kai gave me are so sweet!"

Lu Mingkai's small mouth was full of the tablet, and saliva trickled from the corner of his lips, but he didn't care, happily echoing Shen Meng's words.

"So sweet, hehehe..."

Seeing his older brother eating so happily, Xiaogang turned to look at his mother. Xie Jinghao sighed, took the bottle from his hand, unscrewed it, and put one in his mouth as well.

"Eat slowly, be good!"

The little guy's eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously.

Lu Mingyang couldn't bear to eat it and gripped it tightly in his hand. Lu Mingfang put hers in her clothes pocket, patting it carefully. Only Lu Mingliang excitedly opened his bottle, stuffing two or three into his mouth at once. He sucked hard, his mouth filled with the sweet orange flavor; it was incredibly delicious.

"Oh dear, these are calcium supplements, son. You can't eat them like that. Just one a morning is enough. I'll weigh out some fruit-flavored candies for you later."

"Okay, Mom!" Lu Mingliang agreed readily, his sucking force on the tablet increasing slightly.

When they arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative, Shen Meng was afraid of the children getting jostled, so she took Lu Mingyang with her. He was older and could help her carry things.

The cooperative was as crowded as ever, and the mother and son had to struggle hard to push to the front.

Looking at the counter, Shen Meng pointed to some boxes and said, "Mingyang, look and see if we should buy a shirt for your father. What size does he wear?"

Lu Mingyang: "..." *Mom?*

Seeing the bewildered child, she knew she had asked the wrong person.

"Forget it, no shirt. Comrade, I'll take five pairs of socks, two pounds of fruit candy, three pounds of sponge cake, two pounds of corn cake, three boxes of these shortbread cookies, and... oh, and two pairs of these Liberation shoes, size forty-three."

Lu Mingyang listened with a numb expression. He tried to call out to his mother several times, but she didn't notice. *Fine, whatever Mom wants!*

After buying those items, Shen Meng went to the meat stall to buy ribs, pig trotters, pig tails, and five pounds of pork belly. She went to buy more... in total, she spent nearly thirty yuan.

The mother arrived at the ox cart with hands full of goods, piling everything at the back. Uncle Guai's eyes widened. In the countryside, people might go half a month without a single meal of meat, but Zhenping's wife was something else—she bought enough in one go to last someone a year. Her hands were truly "loose" when it came to spending!

"Jinghao, I bought some pig trotters. Later, I'll get some soybeans and stew them for you. You need to nourish yourself right now."

"Oh, thank you, Sister-in-law!"

Uncle Guai thought to himself, *Oh, so it's for Jiasheng's wife.* It wasn't mindless spending after all; he had heard the children whispering through the door crack earlier—Jiasheng's wife's pregnancy didn't look very stable, so she did need nourishment.

After leaving the cooperative, they went to the state-run restaurant. Shen Meng tried to pull Uncle Guai in to eat, but the old man was so startled he clung to the ox cart, refusing to go.

Shen Meng didn't insist. She led Xie Jinghao and the children inside. The state-run restaurant was quite large, and the children and Xie Jinghao were incredibly self-conscious, following Shen Meng step-for-step, not daring to leave her side for a moment.

Although Xie Jinghao was an adult, the furthest place she had ever traveled to was the commune's primary school. Eating at a state-run restaurant with Shen Meng today was a massive eye-opener.

Shen Meng ordered a plate of braised fish, a plate of sour and spicy shredded potatoes, ten steamed buns, and five bowls of noodles.

In this era, the portions were huge. Just finishing the noodles was enough to make the children struggle. They didn't touch the meat buns, and more than half the plate of shredded potatoes remained.

Shen Meng ordered ten white flour steamed buns and a portion of braised pork to take away; she didn't have the energy to cook tonight.

Upon exiting, she gave Uncle Guai two meat buns, asking Xie Jinghao to hand them to him. He didn't dare take them directly, as she was pregnant and he didn't want her to bump into anything.

Uncle Guai was starving. He wolfed down the meat buns in no time, finding them incredibly delicious, his tongue sweeping over his gums several times.

In the afternoon, they hurried to the photo studio. Everyone had one black-and-white portrait taken, along with one family photo, before finally riding the ox cart back home!