At night, all the pups fell asleep.

Si Chen hugged Yan Lixia, lying on his side on the kang by the window, looking at the bright night sky outside the window.

Summer nights in the countryside are full of stars, which is much more pleasant than the neon lights in the city.

Outside the window, the faint sound of crickets could be heard.

There is a small river outside the yard, and the chirping of frogs can be heard occasionally.

Si Chen suddenly remembered the future that Yan Lixia longed for during the day.

"Li Xia, tell me about your childhood!" Si Chen whispered in her ear.

Catch fish, pick fruits, and catch fireflies.

Si Chen always felt that the future she helped the children long for was also what she wanted.

"When I was a kid, I didn't have much to say."

Yan Lixia didn't want to mention those memories of being hungry and cold.

After realizing it, Si Chen vaguely felt that her mood was a little low.

In an instant, he reacted.

The future she helped her children long for might be exactly what she was missing!

"Wait a minute!" Si Chen stood up and went out.

Yan Lixia was confused, what was this person doing again?

It's so good, why do you suddenly ask her when she was a child?

In the 1970s when supplies were scarce, the welfare home was particularly difficult!

How can anyone adopt a child who is only picked up again and again?

In Yan Lixia's memory, she was always hungry.

A piece of clothing may be worn by several children in succession, with the older child taking the smaller one and the children underneath continuing to wear it.

Patches upon patches, washed until you can’t tell what color they were originally.

The fabric of some clothes is worn through, so they need to be mended and worn again.

Winter is especially hard!

It would be great if the children in the orphanage can be raised well, so why would they send you to study?

There are very few children as talented and intelligent as Yan Lixia.

She didn't go to school at first, so she secretly went to attend classes. She knew how to read and had a very good memory.

It was the teacher who discovered her and didn't want her to be buried, so she finally convinced the principal and the director of the orphanage to let her go to school for free.

Yan Lixia entered the third grade directly and studied with him.

But even when she was in school, she still spent most of her time taking care of her younger siblings in the orphanage.

The door was pushed open and Si Chen hurried in.

Yan Lixia put away her memory, got up, and said in surprise:

"Huh? Firefly!"

In the darkness, several small glowing light bulbs were flying in front of Si Chen.

The strange thing was that those fireflies were only flying in a small area in front of him, as if they were trapped and unable to fly out.

After thinking for a moment, Yan Lixia understood, and he put the fireflies in a can.

Si Chen climbed onto the kang, gave Yan Lixia the can and bottle in his hand, and asked cheerfully:

"I caught it for you, do you like it?"

Yan Lixia's heart suddenly suffocated!

Violent and complex emotions surged in, shaking her heart and unable to calm down for a long time.

The emotions in my heart are really too complicated!

Si Chen waited for a long time and received no reply from her, so he gently took the bottle from her hand and placed it on the inner window sill.

He pinched his wife's tender face and said solemnly:

"It's getting late, go to sleep!"

After saying that, he took her and lay down.

Yan Lixia turned her head and looked at the bottle on the inner window sill——

Dots of white light linger in the small space, flying or stopping.

Feeling the thick embrace of the people around her, her eyes filled with tears, and she held them back bit by bit.

Yan Lixia crawled to the window, stood up, and got the can and bottle.

Opening the window, she unscrewed the lid and let the fireflies go.

"Hiss! You little heartless one! I worked so hard to catch you, why did you let him go?"

Si Chen was a little confused.

Yan Lixia didn't answer him immediately. She waited until the fireflies flew away before she turned around.

Lying gently in his arms, Yan Lixia's voice was very soft:

"What I want has never been fireflies, but the person who catches fireflies for me."

…

The next day.

Si Chen got up early and prepared to purchase goods.

Yesterday, none of the five distributors came to restock, which proves that travel shoes are not easy to sell in Guaguo Township.

Si Chen knew for sure that travel shoes might not be that easy to sell at counters in the county, let alone in ordinary towns.

This is the reason why he didn’t bring brand leather shoes or travel shoes with him when he went to Jinsui Township last time.

Only places with high per capita income like Heijin Town would consume expensive shoes.

Even people who work in workplaces in the county are not necessarily richer than those who made their fortune from coal in Heijin Town.

This is exactly why Si Chen wants to open a small department store in Heijin Town.

Yan Lixia took out the remaining money at home, plus the money from selling goods at the counter these days, which amounted to more than 5,000.

Si Chen brought back 36,000 yuan the day before yesterday, adding up to 41,000 yuan.

This time he went to purchase goods and received 40,000 yuan from his wife.

"Si Chen, you have brought in so much cloth, when will you go to the counter to load the goods?" Yan Lixia was actually a little worried.

I bought cloth twice, and the goods at home amounted to 15,000 yuan, but not a single foot was sold, not even on the counter.

She really didn't know what kind of medicine was sold in Sichen's gourd.

"Wait until the ten-section counter on the second floor is freed up." Si Chen put money into his pocket.

Yan Lixia thought she didn't understand, so she deliberately repeated:

"Are you going to use the Shijie counter on the second floor to put up cloth shelves?"

"Um."

"So, where are those shoes?" Yan Lixia was confused!

"Sun Sancai is going to withdraw from the cabinet, and I plan to take over." Si Chen said bluntly.

Yan Lixia suddenly understood.

Even though she was confinement at home, her two younger sisters would talk about whatever happened in the department store when she came back.

"Yeah, that's pretty good. The locations of those counters are relatively better." Yan Lixia nodded in agreement.

In an instant, she remembered something again and warned:

"Si Chen, you come back early today."

Si Chen, who was about to go out, turned around after hearing this, gave her a reassuring smile, and said:

"The goods shipped today are relatively simple, I will definitely come back early."

"Yeah!" Yan Lixia felt relieved now.

What happened that night, he and his grandma could easily overcome that hurdle in their hearts, and even Lotte would not leave any psychological shadow.

This is their family, strong bones.

But Yan Lixia obviously isn't mentally strong enough yet.

Just because she didn't say it didn't mean she wasn't afraid.
To be continued...