I was married off to a disabled hero in lieu of marriage; my in-laws doted on me and I aspired to gr

After lunch, Qiaoqiao brought over a bowl of tomatoes mixed with white sugar.

Yang, the politician, was so angry that he made Zhou Wenhui eat it. Zhou Wenhui ate it every day and was about to throw up. It was so rare for someone to come and help him eat, but he refused to eat it.

With great difficulty, Yang Zheng ate everything, even drinking all the sugar water.

Zhou Wenhui hurriedly instructed Qiaoqiao, "Quickly, quickly mix another bowl for Yang Zheng to eat this afternoon."

Ideally, we should eat all the tomatoes in the garden.

"Tomato and egg stir-fry is also delicious; I had it at a colleague's house."

"Tomatoes are so delicious, and eggs are so delicious, it's a waste to stir-fry them together," Qiaoqiao objected.

"With so many tomatoes, eating them cold every day, even if they're delicious, gets boring. I don't think Zhou Wenhui likes them that much," Yang Zheng said with a smile.

Qiaoqiao glanced at Zhou Wenhui casually and said, "He really likes to eat it; he eats two bowls every day."

"Can I not eat it? You said it's good for your health and prevents prickly heat, but there's no other way."

Zhou Wenhui muttered, he dared not speak loudly anymore, he had offended Qiaoqiao last time, and their relationship was very strained.

"Then, I'll make scrambled eggs with tomatoes for dinner."

Yang Zheng smiled, he truly felt the change between Zhou Wenhui and Qiaoqiao.

The two didn't talk much. When Zhou Wenhui stood up, Qiaoqiao's eyes reddened. She was happy for Zhou Wenhui.

Zhou Wenhui doesn't like tomatoes, but he doesn't dare to say it openly; he's trying to please Qiaoqiao.

Especially Qiaoqiao, who went from being timid and hesitant to being quite adept, which shows that she has adapted to life in the Zhou family.

"Brother, have you written home? I wrote a letter a month ago and haven't received a reply yet. I hope something's wrong at home?" Qiaoqiao asked anxiously.

"I also wrote a letter, but I didn't get a reply. It's wheat harvest season now; they must be busy."

"That's right, I haven't received a reply from home, and Fenglin hasn't replied either. I really want to go home and see him."

As she spoke, she realized something was amiss and stole a glance at Zhou Wenhui.

"If you want to go home, I can send a car from the propaganda department to take you back," Zhou Wenhui said calmly.

"Really? Could it be that the company vehicle is being used for private purposes?"

"I am the director of the publicity department. If I need to use the car, it's for official business."

Qiaoqiao looked at Yang Zheng with delight, seeking his opinion.

"The Mid-Autumn Festival is just over a month away, and we'll have a three-day holiday. How about we go back home for the festival?"

"Oh no, it's Mid-Autumn Festival, a time for family reunions. I'm worried about leaving Zhou Wenhui alone at home."

"Let's go together," Yang Zheng said, looking at Zhou Wenhui.

"We'll talk about it later," Zhou Wenhui said awkwardly. "You guys chat, I'm going to take a nap."

As he spoke, he pushed his wheelchair into the inner room.

Yang Zheng followed behind the wheelchair and was surprised to find that his sister was sleeping in the same bed as Zhou Wenhui.

No wonder, no wonder they're different.

After settling Zhou Wenhui down for his afternoon nap, Qiaoqiao and Yang Zheng were talking in the living room.

"Brother, are you getting enough to eat at work?"

"Of course you can. The cafeteria has so many dishes, you can eat whatever you want."

Do you have enough meal tickets?

"That's enough. I even managed to save ten yuan a month. With the sixty yuan you gave me, I bought a steel plate, and I still have thirty yuan left. Qiaoqiao, don't worry about your brother, I'm doing great."

"So you only spent a little over twenty yuan on food a month?"

Qiaoqiao also understands the prices in the cafeteria. How much does her brother eat for a few cents a day? What good food can he eat?

Qiaoqiao stood up, opened the drawer, took out a stack of meal tickets, and stuffed them into Yang Zheng's hands: "Brother, we have free meal tickets. Zhou Wenhui and I can't finish them all, so you can take them and use them to eat."

Yang Zheng waved his hand: "No way, Qiaomei, I got into the factory by relying on Uncle Zhou, and I still have to take food and drink from Uncle Zhou's family. How can I have any face left?"

"But what can you buy with just over twenty yuan?"

Qiaoqiao was so anxious that tears were about to come out.

"I eat cornbread, cabbage, and steamed buns. Qiaoqiao, we used to go hungry even with cornbread in Dashui Village. Now we not only have enough to eat, but we also have vegetables. Aren't we very happy?"

There's an old saying: "Help in an emergency, but don't support a life of poverty." Others may pave the way, but how you walk it is up to you. Qiaoqiao, don't put all your heart into your brother; live your own life well.

"We have dried vegetables and pickled vegetables at home, can I bring you some?" Qiaoqiao said, wiping away her tears.

"Sure, bring more. I'll give them to my master. He treats me like his own child. Wenhui's prosthetic leg was designed and welded by him. I was just worried about not having anything to give him," Yang Zheng said happily.

"Okay, dried green beans can last until winter. Take some pickled cucumbers to Master and some to eat in the workshop. Also, eggplant peels, white peppers, and oh yes, some dried fish tails, take those to Master too."

"Okay, thank you, Qiaomei."

Zhou Wenhui wasn't sleeping at all; he was listening intently to the siblings' conversation.

The Yang family has backbone. Their parents made the right choice. They are an educated family and can distinguish right from wrong.

If Yang Zheng accepted those meal tickets, Zhou Wenhui would look down on him somewhat.

The siblings chatted for a while, and then Yang Zheng went to rest. Qiaoqiao took advantage of the break to go to the vegetable shop.

When Sister Liu saw Qiaoqiao while she was on duty, she smiled and said, "Qiaoqiao, you haven't come to buy groceries for several days."

"Yes, we have plenty of side dishes at home, so buying some meat is enough. There are only two of us, so we don't need to eat that much."

What should I buy today?

"Do you have any fish?"

"No, I bought them all this morning. There are still two pounds of shrimp left, do you want some?"

"Shrimp? How much per pound?"

"One yuan and fifty cents a pound, you need a meat coupon for one pound."

"Then, let's buy one pound."

Qiaoqiao had never eaten such expensive vegetables before. When her brother came, she gritted her teeth and bought a pound.

"Are there guests at home?" Sister Liu asked while scooping shrimp.

"Yes, my brother came to see me." Qiaoqiao smiled sweetly.

"No wonder! Do you want another pig's trotter? Stew it with some soybeans, it'll smell delicious."

"Yes, I'll buy one."

Two pounds and three ounces of pig's feet, requiring one pound of meat coupons.

There's no more tofu. Sister Liu said she'll save some for her tomorrow, and she can come pick it up in the afternoon.

My brother is going back tomorrow afternoon, so Qiaoqiao has decided to come and pick it up in the morning.

"Sister Liu, I have extra meal tickets. Could you exchange them for some eggs for me?"

"Meal tickets? Sure, workers buy meal tickets at their workplaces. If you lower the price, a lot of people will want them."

What kind of discount do you offer?

"A meal ticket costs 10 cents less, so it's 90 cents. If you want egg tickets, you can get 50 cents off a pound of eggs."

To get a pound of eggs, you needed both egg coupons and cash, meaning you had to pay one yuan for a pound of eggs and even lose one mao (0.1 yuan).

"Okay, give me ten catties of egg coupons. I'll come to pick them up tomorrow morning, is that alright?"

"Is it in such a hurry?"

"I... I want to bring some for my brother to give to his master."

"Okay, I'll go home tonight and ask the neighbors."

Qiaoqiao was overjoyed and counted out eleven meal tickets for Sister Liu.

Qiaoqiao still has many meal tickets, but it's extremely difficult to exchange them for meat tickets, egg tickets, or tofu tickets. Every household only has so much food, and everyone wants to keep it for themselves.

Of course, some bachelors are willing to exchange meal tickets for food instead of cooking.

After buying the groceries, Qiaoqiao went home satisfied. At noon, she hurriedly made only one dish: stir-fried pork with chili peppers, shredded potatoes, fried fish, and cabbage.

Tonight I'm going to make braised pig's feet with soybeans and braised shrimp for my brother.