Chapter 194: Guan Xiaoguan

The mistress had already become immune to these words from Zhang Ping'an; every time he said he wouldn't bring anything, and every time he brought quite a lot.

The reason Ping'an brought rice, flour, grain, and oil over was, firstly, because Wang Xiaoling often ate here, and secondly, to relieve some pressure on his master. After all, both senior fellow apprentices lived across the way, and there were quite a few children in their families; naturally, the mistress wouldn't watch them go hungry.

"Ping'an, come in with me."

"Alright, Master."

The two walked into the study. Lao Wang examined Zhang Ping'an as usual and handed his own medical case notes to Zhang Ping'an; this was a process that happened almost every year.

This was also one of the reasons why, although Zhang Ping'an was not in the Pharmacy, he could still have an understanding of various medical conditions.

Lao Wang looked at this young disciple with gratification. Even though he had not followed the path of medicine, his theoretical experience was no worse than anyone else's, and perhaps even not inferior to his own.

Lao Wang was actually semi-retired now; unless there was a tricky medical case, he generally didn't need to take action. After all, he was seventy-five years old, even if it didn't show much on the outside.

Returning home, Zhang Ping'an packed twenty jin each of wheat and corn from the Ear Room, divided them into ten portions, prepared some cigarettes, alcohol, and tea, and after packing them up, went to the Clothing Shop.

"Brother Daniu, Sister-in-law, these are things for my Second Uncle and Third Uncle. Please help me take them back."

Zhang Ping'an knew that if he said they were for them, they definitely wouldn't accept them, but they had no reason to refuse gifts for their elders.

"This..." Zhang Daniu saw at a glance that the bag contained grain; this was even more than what they had saved by scrimping and saving to take home.

"I've already agreed with Second Uncle and Third Uncle; you just take them back."

"Alright."

Zhang Daniu felt that he was quite a failure as the eldest son of the family, providing minimal help to the family at critical moments, but fortunately, he had his cousin.

Zhang Ping'an subsequently handed several cloth bags to Li Cheng, Li Ze, and the others, and also gave some to his own nieces.

However, Zhang Ping'an did not know that Xiaomei and Xiaoqing had split the grain Zhang Ping'an gave them in two, only keeping a small portion for themselves. After all, their parents-in-law had rations, and taking some wheat to make white flour was also to let the children eat a little better.

In the evening, Zhang Ping'an filled the tricycle with New Year's goods and covered it before returning home, leaving a portion in the kitchen and putting the rest in the basement.

"Ping'an, Xiao He is looking for you."

"Coming."

"What's wrong, Brother He?" Zhang Ping'an asked, looking at the anxious-faced He Daqing.

"Ping'an, do you still have any Milk Powder or malted milk extract at home? I need it urgently."

"I do, I'll get you two cans."

"Thank you, thank you. I'll tell you the details when I get back."

"Done."

Zhang Ping'an thought about it but couldn't figure out which of He Daqing's relatives had given birth; the most likely one was his sister-in-law Xu Huizhen, but unfortunately, Zhang Ping'an guessed wrong.

At this moment, He Daqing was riding his Bicycle rapidly toward Zhengyangmen, to Guan Daye's house.

"Uncle, it's me. I've found the Milk Powder."

"Quick, quick, quick, come in."

After closing the door, the two men hurriedly mixed the Milk Powder and fed it to the baby girl, who looked to be less than a year old. Watching the infant drink the milk and fall into a deep sleep, both of them let out a long sigh of relief.

It turned out that Guan Daye's eldest son, Guan Cunxiao, and his wife had given birth to a baby girl at the beginning of 1959. After raising her for half a year, they finally laid their cards on the table with Guan Daye.

"Dad, I have fulfilled your requirements. Shouldn't you support me and your daughter-in-law in going abroad?"

"Fine, but you have to wait until Xiaoguan is one year old."

"At most by the end of the year, and your daughter-in-law's health is not good; she needs nourishment." As he spoke, Guan Cunxiao rubbed his fingers together.

"Fine."

Guan Daye had completely given up on this son who bargained with him, threw five Small Yellow Fish at him, and told him to get lost.

"Thank you, Dad." Guan Cunxiao didn't care; his heart was set on going to the capitalist country they longed for with his wife.

Just like that, when December arrived, Guan Cunxiao dumped his daughter Guan Xiaoguan on Guan Daye, obtained twenty Big Yellow Fish and a few antiques he had secretly hidden, and ran off with his wife.

For these two months, Guan Daye had been taking care of his granddaughter, often going to the Small Tavern, and Xu Huizhen would also help take care of her. But it was just rice soup every day with no nutrition, and the little girl would always wail.

Finally, after spending a high price at the Black Market to find a can of Milk Powder, it was finished in less than a month. That was why he had hurriedly found He Daqing, and He Daqing had found Zhang Ping'an.

"Whew~ Uncle, why don't you move to my place? It's still hard for us big men to take care of an infant."

"No, Cai Quanwu's wife is here, and it's close, just two steps away, which is convenient for taking care of her. By the way, this Milk Powder?"

"It's from my neighbor's, also a little brother of mine, named Zhang Ping'an. It's thanks to him that I reunited with Cai Quanwu."

"Heh heh, then he really is a lucky star for our whole family. Take this to him, and if there's Milk Powder in the future, ask him to keep an eye out for it." Guan Daye took out a Big Yellow Fish and handed it to He Daqing.

"Alright, Uncle, then I'll head back first. I'll come over again when I have time."

He Daqing also knew that these two cans of Milk Powder were not worth a Big Yellow Fish, but for the baby girl's future rations, this was equivalent to a deposit.

"Mm, go ahead. Daqing, thank you."

"What are you saying, Uncle? We are all one family. My father is gone, and you are my only elder."

"Mm." Guan Daye patted He Daqing on the shoulder and sighed softly. Compared to He Daqing, his own son was simply a beast.

When He Daqing returned to the Siheyuan, he went straight to Zhang Ping'an's house.

"Ping'an, the situation is like this..." He Daqing didn't hide anything, briefly explained the ins and outs of the matter, and finally handed over a Big Yellow Fish.

"This is my uncle thanking you, hoping you can keep an eye out for more Milk Powder in the future."

"Alright, no problem. I just didn't expect that cousin of yours to be really..."

Zhang Ping'an didn't stand on ceremony. He hadn't expected Guan Xiaoguan to be so miserable when she was young, but he remembered that this girl seemed quite pretty when she grew up, and capable too. He would let his own son go and woo her when the time came; maybe she would be family in the future.

"Sigh, what can you do? Uncle only has that one son." Putting himself in his shoes, He Daqing didn't think he would have done any better than Guan Daye.

"Enough said, Ping'an, keep an eye out for Milk Powder."

"Done." Not to mention anything else, just the fact that he might be her future father-in-law, he couldn't treat his daughter-in-law poorly, could he?

Zhang Ping'an looked at his two sons giggling in the stroller and thought, your father has paved the way for you, you must make me proud.

If Guan Daye knew that Zhang Ping'an had such thoughts, he would rather die than have any further contact with Zhang Ping'an.

On New Year's Eve, the atmosphere this year was much colder than in previous years. Yan Bugui was still setting up his stall to write Spring Festival couplets, and every household in the courtyard was filled with joy.

Except for Yi Zhonghai's household, since the Deaf Old Lady just died this year and was nominally Yi Zhonghai's foster mother, his family cannot put up spring couplets for at least three years.

"Teacher Yan, your calligraphy is becoming increasingly seasoned and skillful."

"Hahaha, Ping'an, your eye for things is as sharp as ever."

Yan Bugui felt it was worth it; this compliment was more refreshing than eating a popsicle during the dog days of summer, even more satisfying than that one shudder of pleasure.

"..." This old codger is truly shameless, even though the calligraphy is indeed written quite well.

After finishing the spring couplets, the New Year's Eve dinner was just about ready; Zhang Ping'an set off a string of firecrackers, and subsequently, there were some sparse responses, much fewer than in previous years.