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

There were a lot of people buying groceries today, and Sister Liu was too busy to keep up. She called out loudly, "Qiaoqiao, wait a moment, I'll be done here soon."

Qiaoqiao smiled and replied, "Sister Liu, you're busy. I'll pick out some side dishes."

There are cabbages and radishes in the vegetable garden, but we can't eat them every day; we need to change to some fresh vegetables.

"Mom, buy some bean sprouts."

"Bean sprouts are good, they're good for children."

"Mom, buy some chives to make dumplings."

"Okay, okay, chive and egg dumplings, Qiaoqiao's favorite."

Zhou Wenhui is from the South and likes to eat rice, while Qiaoqiao rarely makes dumplings.

"Qiaoqiao, it's been so long since I've seen you. Your police officer said you're pregnant. Congratulations!" Sister Liu said with a smile after finishing her work.

"Thank you, Sister Liu. This is my mother. She came especially to take care of me."

"Oh, hello Auntie! Your Qiaoqiao is such a capable girl," Sister Liu greeted Qiaoqiao's mother.

"Sister Liu, please take care of my mother when she comes to buy groceries in the future."

"Of course we'll take care of you."

Qiaoqiao was praised for being capable, which made her mother very proud. In the countryside, a good daughter-in-law is praised for being diligent and capable.

"There's a lot of tofu today, do you want to buy some?" Sister Liu asked.

"Mom brought tofu from home, so we won't buy any more. We need to buy more pork belly today; there are only ten days left until the New Year, and we haven't prepared any vegetables at home."

"Okay, how many pounds do you want to buy?"

"Let's buy ten pounds."

"Ten...ten catties? What a coincidence, your family needs ten catties of meat for the New Year?"

Sister Liu looked at Qiaoqiao in disbelief. She usually bought things one pound at a time, which was already enviable, but today she bought ten pounds at once.

"My parents gave me all their meat ration coupons, but I kept two jin to give to you."

"Really? Qiaoqiao, you're like my own sister! My family got an extra half jin of meat for the New Year, and I wanted to give some to my mom too, but we didn't have enough meat coupons. With two jin of meat coupons, we'll have plenty to eat when we go back to my parents' house on the second day of the New Year."

Sister Liu was overjoyed. Both she and her husband were state workers. They didn't have much money, but it was enough for them to eat and drink. However, meat was different; they couldn't buy meat without meat coupons.

Working at a vegetable shop has its advantages; you can buy bones, scraps, and offal, but you need meat coupons.

Sister Liu bought ten catties of the best pork belly for Qiaoqiao, saying, "You have to store it properly when you get home, lest someone steal it. These days, people don't steal money or other things, they just steal meat."

"No, thieves can't get into our military compound."

"Auntie, your Qiaoqiao is so lucky! She's buying ten pounds of meat at a time, she's the first one ever!" Sister Liu said enviously to Qiaoqiao's mother.

Qiaoqiao's mother was overjoyed. She had been so worried about Qiaoqiao's marriage that she was losing clumps of hair. Now it seemed that her grandfather had been decisive and made the right bet.

Qiaoqiao's mother bought a pound of glutinous rice, half a pound of red dates, half a pound of peanuts, and two ounces of sesame seeds. She was going to make eight-treasure rice.

Before the communal meals were eaten, Qiaoqiao's mother would make eight-treasure rice every year, symbolizing sweetness and family reunion.

Later, food and drink were allocated by the team, and the family was too poor to afford glutinous rice and red dates, so they stopped making them.

My daughter has some money today, so I have to make a plate of eight-treasure rice to make it feel like the New Year.

After buying everything, Sister Liu pulled Qiaoqiao aside and said, "The girl from your ward last time, what was her name again? She's pregnant too."

"Sister Han?"

"Yes, yes, that's her. She's probably having a girl; she doesn't show any signs of pregnancy. You're having a boy, though. Look at you, you've lost a lot of weight."

"Is Sister Han pregnant?" Qiaoqiao asked in surprise.

How could Han Dan be pregnant? Didn't she say Lin Jie was no good?

"Yes, I rarely saw her buy meat before, but now she's buying more. Having a child changes everything; she's all smiles. I think she's about four months along, and her belly is a little smaller than yours."

"That's great! I haven't seen her in so long, and neither has Sister Han. This is amazing news, and you didn't tell me!"

"Perhaps it's because of your father-in-law's matter that it's inconvenient for you to visit?"

"Sister Liu, you also know about my father-in-law's injury?"

"I asked your sister Han, and that's what she told me. By the way, is your father-in-law alright?"

"My father-in-law went to the Soviet Union for treatment, and we haven't received any news yet. My father-in-law is a very good person, and he will definitely recover."

Thinking of her father-in-law, Qiaoqiao felt inexplicably sad.

"Don't think too much. You need to take good care of yourself. When your father-in-law comes home and sees his eldest grandson, he'll be much better."

"Thank you, Sister Liu. Please don't tell anyone else about my father-in-law's matter. The more it's spread, the more bizarre it becomes. It wouldn't be good if Wenhui heard about it."

"Okay, I know. You have so much stuff, you can't carry it all, can you? I'll ask a young lady to help you."

"No need, no need, I can carry it."

Qiaoqiao's mother hurriedly said that in the countryside, she could carry a hundred catties of grain, so this little bit of vegetables was nothing.

"Sister Liu, Mom and I are heading back now."

"Okay, please bring me anything else."

On the way home, Qiaoqiao's mother asked, "Who is Sister Han? Is she from your courtyard? Invite her over for dumplings."

"She's the one who tills the soil and plants vegetables in most of my vegetable garden. It seems like she hasn't come to harvest the vegetables in a long time. Maybe she's pregnant and doesn't want to move around anymore," Qiaoqiao said with a forced smile.

Qiaoqiao had some doubts, but she was also happy that her friend was pregnant. At the same time, she was a little sad. Only the commander and a few comrades in the logistics department knew about her father-in-law's situation. How did Han Dan know?

Why is she still talking about it everywhere?

A complex emotion welled up inside me; I couldn't quite put my finger on what was wrong, yet it also seemed right.

Back home, Qiaoqiao's mother got busy, making half chive dumplings and half cabbage and pork dumplings. Qiaoqiao followed behind her mother, and her unhappiness disappeared.

"Brother Yu Fu, we're having lunch at home. Auntie made dumplings, they were delicious."

Yu Fu helped Zhou Wenhui take a bath and was wiping his sweat.

"Alright, I won't stand on ceremony."

Since taking care of Zhou Wenhui, Yu Fu has basically been eating at the Zhou family's house and has come to regard the Zhou family's house as his own.

Zhou Wenhui ate the four steaming plates of dumplings, which were so hot they burned his mouth.

"My family rarely eats dumplings, and my mom doesn't even know how to make them. I never knew dumplings were so delicious!" Zhou Wenhui slurped, popping one after another.

"If you like it, then Mom will make it for you."

Qiaoqiao's mother was overjoyed. She had been worried that Wenhui would be picky and difficult to please, but it seemed that he also liked her cooking.

Yu Fu finished a large plate of food and drank a bowl of dumpling soup. Qiaoqiao's mother wanted to give him some more, but Yu Fu quickly waved his hand and said, "That's enough, that's enough. I can't eat anymore. I don't need to eat dinner."

Yu Fu could still eat, but he pretended to be very full.

With meat and eggs available, he couldn't just eat as much as he wanted; resources were so scarce, he had to be sensible.

"Next time, Auntie will make more, so you can come and eat some more."

"Auntie, you're just like my mother." Yu Fu was homesick.

"Do you get a holiday for the Spring Festival? You can go back and see your parents," Zhou Wenhui asked.

"No, the busier it is during holidays, the busier our logistics department is. We're new recruits, we can't just go home whenever we want. But I sent my mother twenty yuan."

"Good children, it's not easy for you to be out there, so young. Yu Fu, come home for New Year's Eve dinner. Your aunt will make dumplings and eight-treasure rice."

"Alright, then I won't be polite."

The gloomy home was filled with warmth and joy after Qiaoqiao's mother arrived.