Chapter 1457: It's Just Because Everyone's Hands Are Not Well-Off

That woman, though unwilling to accept it, dared not cause further trouble.

Perhaps because she herself was about to become a mother, Liu Chuxue looked at the child being held in her grandfather's arms, who would never wake again, and felt her heart ache terribly.

Fu Yan Cheng, fearing this would affect her mood, said, "Wife, let's go. I'll take you home first."

Liu Chuxue did not refuse, nodding lightly and saying, "Good."

Commander Ye, seeing the matter was now clear, said to the parents of the children who had fallen into the water, "Hurry and take your children home to change clothes; it is best to brew some ginger and brown sugar water for them to drink."

The wife of Deputy Regiment Commander Qi, having now recovered, said, "Qi Zixuan, didn't I tell you not to go near the water? Did you take my words as wind in your ears?"

Qi Zixuan's small expression was very resolute: "I heard everything. The Physician at the Health Station said my second sister is weak and needs to eat well to recover, but in our family, let alone meat, even those few eggs were taken by you to exchange for salt and matches."

Upon hearing these words, the wife of Deputy Regiment Commander Qi completely broke down, and everyone who had returned together felt deeply uncomfortable.

Although Deputy Regiment Commander Qi's salary was not low, he could not withstand having so many younger brothers and sisters at home, and he was like an old ox; whenever his hometown had trouble and asked for his help, no matter how difficult, he did not know how to refuse.

His wife could only manage the household with careful calculation; in the family, let alone eating meat once a month, it was likely that even over a whole year, they could only have a meal of meat during festivals.

Last time the snack workshop recruited workers, the wife of Deputy Regiment Commander Qi had originally signed up, but she was too thin; even though she repeatedly stated she had strength, she still was not selected.

Because of this matter, she blamed herself and cried for a while.

Mu Xiaofang, walking back with them, was extremely furious; looking at the son in her arms, she said, "And you? They went to treat themselves to a meal; as for you, what were you doing by the river?"

Zheng Jiangtao, who had been spoiled by his own mother in daily life, became unhappy upon hearing his mother's tone: "I wanted to eat fish, you wouldn't buy it for me, I..."

Was there anything left to understand? He wanted to be self-reliant, but he didn't see any fish; instead, he was quite loyal, jumped into the water to try to pull someone out, and nearly drowned himself.

Mu Xiaofang had originally intended to scold her own son a few times, but with so many people watching, and since he had done a good deed, even if she was unwilling, she could not show it: "You are still young; next time you encounter such a situation, you must first call for an adult to save the person. Do you remember?"

Her son, Zheng Jiangtao, however, lost his temper: "I want to eat fish."

Mu Xiaofang, perhaps feeling she had lost face, slapped her son: "Eat, eat, eat. Without a fish ticket, where would I go to buy fish for you to eat?"

Fish tickets were different from meat tickets; meat tickets were six liang per person per month, but fish tickets were not issued on a fixed monthly basis; they were seasonal, temporary supplementary food tickets, issued according to household population only during spring and autumn fishing seasons, such as spring carp, autumn and winter hairtail, or during holidays.

Mu Xiaofang was not deceiving the child.

After hitting the child, she felt somewhat regretful: "Be obedient; when the family gets a fish ticket, Mom will go buy it for you immediately."

Actually, villagers in nearby villages also set nets to catch fish and exchanged them with people in the family compound for various tickets; it was just that Mu Xiaofang felt fish meat had too many bones and was not worth the exchange, so she rarely exchanged for it to eat.

As for Feng Cunguang, last time his older brother took him out and they grilled a fish; since then, he had been thinking constantly about eating it again. Today, he had brought a fish basket he had found someone to weave, wanting to show off his skills, but upon seeing someone thrashing in the water, he couldn't even care about the fish basket and went straight to try to save the person.

If the soldiers on duty had not arrived quickly enough, today he might well have lost his life.

Liu Chuxue, listening to everyone's discussion all the way, could not help but sigh again in her heart; it was simply because everyone's hands were not well-off.