"Let’s go. We’re off to watch a movie," Bai Jiu said, her mood lifted by the children’s infectious joy.
They were in luck today; there was actually an animated film showing.
"Ma, can we watch this one?" Xiuxiu asked excitedly, pointing at the only animated movie on the poster.
Bai Jiu took a look. ’Little Tadpoles Look for Their Mother.’ Forty minutes long. That worked. "Let’s go buy our tickets," she said.
After getting the tickets, Bai Jiu bought some snacks and drinks for the two children. These treats were only sold inside the movie theater; you couldn’t find them anywhere else outside. It was Bai Jiu’s first time having these snacks too, and she was just as curious as the children.
The movie soon began.
Bai Jiu hadn’t expected the animation to feature a traditional ink-wash style. She found it quite interesting. She sat with the children and watched the entire forty-minute film. When it finally ended, the two kids were extremely reluctant to leave.
"So even if we don’t look alike, we can still be family. Ma, do I not look like you either?" Xiuxiu asked, posing a profound question.
She really didn’t resemble the original host of this body; instead, she looked much more like Gao Zhijun. Her facial features were quite defined, making her look fair and unexpectedly dashing. She didn’t exactly have masculine features, but she certainly had more of a heroic charm than the average girl.
Zhengyang, on the other hand, took mostly after Bai Jiu, though he didn’t look overly feminine. He had the visual appeal of a refined young scholar, undeniably handsome from every angle. Of course, since he was still young and chubby like a little steamed bun, he was incredibly cute and squishy.
Even though the two children were twins, they truly didn’t look alike at all.
"Of course. Everyone is their own individual. How could someone look exactly like someone else? Take you and your brother, for example. You were born at the same time, but the two of you don’t look alike at all, do you?" Bai Jiu felt this was a perfectly reasonable explanation.
"But my brother isn’t you, Ma," Xiuxiu pointed out, now a bit confused.
Zhengyang, however, didn’t care to dwell on the issue. Whether they looked alike or not, he was his mother’s son.
"Ma. The little tadpoles called their Ma ’Mom.’ Can I call you ’Mom’ too?" Zhengyang felt that the word ’Mom’ sounded much nicer than ’Ma’.
Bai Jiu had wanted the two children to change how they addressed her for a long time. Being called ’Ma’ felt incredibly awkward to her modern sensibilities.
"Of course you can. From now on, both of you can call me ’Mom’." She was more than happy with the idea.
"Mom," Zhengyang called out once. As soon as the word left his mouth, he felt a little shy. But it didn’t take long for him to get used to it, and it rolled off his tongue naturally.
"Mom. Mom. Mom..."
Xiuxiu also thought it sounded wonderful when her brother said it, completely forgetting her earlier confusion about people’s appearances. "Mom! I want to call you Mom, too!"
This scene wasn’t unique to their little family of three. It was safe to say that most of the children who had just finished watching the movie changed how they addressed their mothers right then and there.
"Yes, yes, yes!" Bai Jiu responded happily to every call.
By the time the movie ended, it was already noon. Bai Jiu planned to take the two children to the state-run restaurant for a feast.
"Shall we go get something to eat?" Outside, a light snow had begun to fall. Snowflakes drifted down from the sky, rushing pedestrians off the streets. It didn’t look like the snow would stop anytime soon, prompting Bai Jiu to suggest heading to the state-run restaurant.
The children naturally had no objections. They were still busy discussing the movie’s plot—children truly had a very unique perspective on things.
"Okay!"
The state-run restaurant was quite crowded, but there were still some empty seats. It was a large establishment, easily twice the size of the one back in town.
After finding a window seat toward the back, Bai Jiu pointed at the chalkboard menu and began introducing the dishes to the children. There were quite a few options today; perhaps because the New Year was approaching, the selection was especially plentiful.
"I want to eat mutton, Mom. I want mutton!" Xiuxiu was the first to order after listening to Bai Jiu’s descriptions.
Bai Jiu made a mental note. "Alright, we’ll order a portion of braised mutton."
She continued reading down the menu, and Zhengyang ordered steamed eggs. Knowing that the three of them couldn’t eat that much, she added a plate of greens and went to find a waiter. She gave him their order, stated the number of people, and requested three bowls of white rice.
The meal was so satisfying that all three of them walked away with round, stuffed bellies.
Outside, the snow was falling heavier by the minute, driving more and more people into the restaurant to seek shelter. Seeing the growing crowd, the waiters started shouting, urging those who had finished eating to leave immediately.
Left with no choice, Bai Jiu had to take the two children and leave the restaurant. Fortunately, there was a state-run department store not too far away, so she led the children straight inside.
The items sold here were significantly more expensive than those at the supply and marketing cooperative. They even carried rare imported snacks, like chocolate. Perhaps due to the high prices, there weren’t many people browsing.
Bai Jiu actually liked the place a lot. The building had three floors, stocked with a wide and dazzling variety of goods. The first floor sold food and kitchenware. The second floor housed the fabric section and ready-to-wear clothing. The third floor featured high-value items, such as bicycles, sewing machines, and transistor radios.
She decided to take the two children up to the third floor first.
After walking around for a bit, a women’s bicycle caught her eye. It was a beautiful bike. It was slightly shorter than the standard heavy-duty 28-inch bicycles and didn’t have that high crossbar in the front; instead, both frame tubes slanted downwards. There was a basket attached to the front for carrying items, and a sturdy iron rack installed over the back wheel for a passenger to sit on.
Truth be told, she wanted to buy it the moment she laid eyes on it. But she had two children with her today; it would be far too difficult to ride it back home.
"What are you looking at, country bumpkin? If you can’t afford it, don’t come up here to browse," a seemingly refined young woman said as she walked over. She looked the mother and her two children up and down before making the snide remark.
Bai Jiu was never one to swallow her grievances. "How do you know I can’t afford it? If people aren’t allowed to look, then why put it on display here?"
The woman clearly hadn’t expected this country bumpkin to talk back.
"You speak as if you could actually buy it. Take a look in the mirror! Even ignoring the required ration ticket, this bike costs two hundred and twenty yuan," the saleswoman said with a look of pure arrogance, acting as if the bicycle belonged to her.
To be fair, the price was indeed steep. An average 28-inch bicycle only cost between one hundred and fifty to one hundred and eighty yuan, but this particular model broke the two hundred mark. And that wasn’t even factoring in the incredibly rare bicycle ration ticket required for the purchase.
"Hmph, stop pretending to be a big shot. If you’re so capable, then buy it," the saleswoman scoffed dismissively.
"With an attitude like yours, you call yourself ’serving the people’? I really want to ask exactly why this item isn’t allowed to be looked at!" Bai Jiu raised her voice.
Although there wasn’t a huge crowd, there were still a few shoppers on the third floor. Hearing the commotion, several people turned to look. Startled by the noise, the two children pressed themselves tightly against their mother.
"Is anyone here? Is there a person in charge?" Bai Jiu refused to indulge such behavior and shouted openly. "Is there a manager around here?"
"What is wrong with you? Is this a place for you to scream and shout?" The saleswoman wasn’t exactly afraid, but she didn’t want Bai Jiu making a scene. After all, most of the customers who came up to this floor were well-off.
Bai Jiu ignored her and continued shouting.
Before long, a middle-aged man walked over.
"Hello. May I ask what the matter is?" The man was quite polite, offering Bai Jiu a courteous smile right off the bat.
Bai Jiu didn’t mince words. "Are customers not allowed to look at your bicycles?" she asked, pointing squarely at the women’s bike.