Zhou Xiaoyun had been sitting there motionless for two hours already.
In front of me is a plain mirror, and in the mirror is reflected a face that can be called delicate.
This face has some spots and freckles, with a few crow's feet at the corners of her eyes. She thought back to when she was a young girl, not particularly beautiful but still lovely and fair-skinned. Now, her youthful vitality is gone, leaving only the ravages of life that have worn her down. She gazed at herself in the mirror and let out a deep sigh.
Twenty-eight! Twenty-eight already! Twenty-eight already!......
These words kept swirling in her mind, lingering on and on, until later, buzzing with noise. She felt her head starting to hurt again, stretching out her hand to rub her temples.
But she didn't think that when people are annoyed, their heads would hurt even more. In a fit of anger, her hand waved in the air, but she didn't notice the sound "crash", and shattered the teacup on the edge of the table. The teacup fell to pieces on the wooden floor, some hot tea splashed onto the floor, but most of it spilled onto her legs. It was a sweltering summer day, she wore a floral sundress, and her leg was instantly scalded red. She cried out in pain, limping to the water pool edge, using a towel to wring out some cold water, and applying it to her leg.
After resting for a while, I felt a bit better. Then I went to get the broom and dustpan to sweep up the fragments on the floor, and then used a mop to dry the water on the floor. After finishing, I finally let out a sigh of relief. Looking at my phone again, it was already five o'clock. Silently cursing, I had to go pick up the kids.
She rushed out of the house, got on her electric bike and hurriedly went to pick up her daughter from kindergarten.
Thinking of his daughter, Zhou Xiaoyun finally shook off the bad mood that had been plaguing him all day and began to calm down.
Her nickname is Niu Niu, her full name is Li Xintian. She is lively and lovely, six years old this year and already in a big class. Now she is studying at a private kindergarten in the county town, and will go to elementary school in the second half of the year.
Zhou Xiaoyun had to send the child to kindergarten at 7:30 every morning and pick him up at 4:30 in the afternoon. Today was already late, and she didn't know how many more times she would have to see the teacher's face. Thinking of this, Zhou Xiaoyun started to feel anxious again.
In fact, regular kindergartens are better, not only full-time care but also good food. My daughter is growing up and needs nutritious food at noon in kindergarten to meet her physical development needs.
When Niu Niu was just three years old, Zhou Xiaoyun had been inquiring about the kindergarten facilities, teacher qualifications and food quality of various families. Although there were several good ones in the city, the tuition fees were too expensive, with a monthly fee of 500 yuan. She herself worked hard at the factory for a month, including overtime, but only earned around 1,200 to 1,300 yuan. Her husband Li Tianyu was self-employed and did some small business, earning an irregular income each month, and loved to spend money on food, drink and entertainment outside, bringing back home only a meager amount, making it impossible for them to rely on him.
Every month, 300 yuan for rent, 200 yuan for utilities and coal gas, and then there's the cost of food and social expenses. How can I afford to send my daughter to a good kindergarten?
Later, she had to find a private kindergarten nearby, and the monthly fee for lunch and two snacks was only around 200. However, Zhou Xiaoyun couldn't help but feel sad whenever she thought about not being able to afford a better kindergarten for her daughter.
Xiao Yun arrived at the classroom and saw that it was already 5:10. There were only a few scattered children left in the class who hadn't been picked up yet. Niu Niu stood pitifully at the door waiting for her. In her heart, she couldn't help but scold herself - what kind of life had she led to end up like this? At 28 years old, was she still acting like a teenage girl? If she hadn't been stuck at home feeling sad and depressed, she wouldn't have been late picking up the kid.
Zhou Xiaoyun accompanied by a smile and carefully picked up Niu Niu, pretending not to see the teacher's impatience, reminding herself in her heart that she must not be late next time.
Niang Niang was very happy to see her mother, chirping like a little bird: "Mom, I'm hungry, I want to eat the fish you cooked."
Zhou Xiaoyun's tired heart suddenly lifted, and she smiled in response. She took her daughter to the market, bought fish that Niu Niu loved to eat, and also bought meat to make braised pork belly that Li Tianyu loved to eat.
After everything was done and the dishes were on the table, it was already seven o'clock.
The rented living room, although small, was neatly arranged by Zhou Xiaoyun's clever hands.
There's nothing valuable at home, just a 25-inch Panda color TV bought during the wedding, and an old-fashioned twin-tub washing machine. They didn't even buy air conditioners or refrigerators, as Zhou Xiaoyun was determined to save money to buy a house in the city, so all expenses were cut back as much as possible.
Adhering to the principle of not wasting a single penny, there are only a few large items in the house. There is hardly any furniture, just a big bed, a small bed for the child, a four-door wardrobe, a dining table, and several stools. The shoe rack was also bought at a cheap price from a wholesale market.
Zhou Xiaoyun spends her days working and taking care of her children, as well as doing household chores.
This small rented house has poured countless heart and soul into it. Zhou Xiaoyun made the curtains, tablecloths, TV covers with cheap flower cloth by herself, and even covered the washing machine with blue-bottomed flower cloth. The floor was wiped clean and shiny. On the table, there were also small cloth dolls made by her clever hands, which she had secretly brought back from the toy factory.
The table is set with braised pork and sweet and sour fish, a plate of cucumber salad, three bowls of rice, and a large bowl of seaweed egg soup.
Just wait for her husband Li Tianyu to come back.
