503 Packing Up
“Then are Ma San’s brothers called Ma Yi, Ma Er and Ma Si!” Qiao Mei asked curiously.
Xia He laughed out loudly at the side. Qiao Mei’s way of thinking was quite novel. She had never found it strange before.
“Of course not. When Ma San was born, a fortune teller said that he was an inauspicious person, so the Ma family did not like him. In addition, he is ignorant, incompetent and likes to party, gamble and solicit prostitutes, so he is naturally not valued in the family,” Xia Zhe explained.
It was no wonder that after Ma San made such a big fuss when he married the daughter of the Shen family. In the past, everyone looked down on him. Therefore, when he became the son-in-law of the Shen family and was on good terms with the He family, he wanted to flaunt the fact that no one else had such luck.
“Then later? What happened after that?” Qiao Mei asked.
Xia Zhe also did not know much about what happened after that. Xia Wen was the one who told him all these things. Right now, he was only focused on how to take better care of Qiao Mei and did not want to care about anything else.
“You can ask elder brother about the matters regarding the He family later. What do you want to buy for grandfather?” Xia Zhe asked with a smile.
Her grandfather did not really lack anything and had everything he needed at home. She thought that she should buy something for her younger siblings. There was nothing much in that nearby county city and even books were really hard to come by.
Children must be brought up with education, she did not want them to grow up and live in that mountain village for the rest of their lives.
“I think I want to buy some books for my younger siblings so that they can learn more. I also want to buy some books myself,” Qiao Mei said.
“It’s good to bring books. I’ll ask elder brother about that later. That’s his area of expertise.” Xia Zhe also wanted to buy some toys for the younger siblings, but he did not know what type they liked. He decided to buy whatever was the newest on the market when he went to the mall later.
“If you continue to shop like this, you should rent a car. I don’t think the two of you can bring everything back yourselves,” Xia He said helplessly.
Books alone were already very heavy. Coupled with the rest of the stuff that they wanted to buy and the things that Xu Lan would ask them to bring, Xia Zhe would not be able to carry so many things no matter how fit he was.
“That’s true. Go buy a small wagon used for transporting goods tomorrow. Get a lighter one so that we can bring it onboard the train,” Qiao Mei said.
Xia Zhe never expected there would come such a day when he had to use a small wagon to carry things when he went visiting. It was rare for him to be back, so buying more things would make it easier for Qiao Mei. Otherwise, she would have to go out on her own.
“Alright. I’ll come and pick you up when I’m done tomorrow,” Xia Zhe said.
Actually, Xia Fang had already told Xia Zhe that Qiao Mei could be discharged from the hospital today. However, once she returned home, she would definitely have to face Xu Lan’s care and Second Aunt-in-law’s fussing. Staying in the hospital would allow her to have some peace and quiet.
The next day, Xu Lan went to prepare the ingredients early in the morning and bought a lot of things for Qiao Mei to bring with her. She even went to check with Xia Fang earnestly about how Qiao Mei should nurse her health, and even asked an elder who knew how to make medicinal cuisine to give her a few prescriptions.
Xu Lan busied herself and only managed to get everything done at night. By then, Xia Zhe had also returned home with Qiao Mei.
As soon as Qiao Mei entered, she saw packages stacked up into a small mountain-like pile, a heap of sealed medicinal herbs and some rare ingredients on the dining table.
“Mother… what are all these?” Qiao Mei asked.
Xu Lan walked over and introduced everything to Qiao Mei one by one. Every package was indispensable!
“Mei Mei, look at the blue package here. It contains toys that I ask someone to get for me. I have also prepared some stuff for your grandfather. When he has nothing to do, he can take a look at them. I asked Uncle Zhou for recommendations.”
“This box is filled with the books that you asked your elder brother to get. These were all used by him when he was young. When he told me that you can use them, I went to dig them out for you.”
“By the way, this pink package contains all the food I brought for you, like biscuits, bread and other things. I went to ask my friends and they told me that the train ride will be tiring and that it will take you two days to get there. I’m worried that you won’t be used to the food on the train, so these snacks will come in handy if you get hungry.”
“Xia Zhe was the one who went to buy that black bag. I don’t know what’s inside either. Also, I haven’t packed the things on the table for you yet. Today, I made a trip to look for the chefs who know how to make medicinal cuisine and they gave me a few prescriptions. You can just make the dishes yourself according to the instructions.”
As Xu Lan packed up, she talked non-stop about the use and classification of these things. Qiao Mei and Xia He were both stunned. They had expected there to be many things, but they did not expect her to have prepared so much.
