Back to the 70s: My Childhood Sweetheart Spoils Me Rotten-Chapter 33 - 32: New Clothes, Taking Photos

Gong Ruwen groggily woke up to find that his dad had returned, and he was thrilled.

He pounced on the still-sleeping Gong Tao, "Dad, you’re back."

Although the village was quite lively, with playmates, opportunities to climb the hills, and pick tasty fruits, Gong Ruwen enjoyed playing, but sometimes he missed the hustle and bustle of their old home, feeling quite lonely in the village.

The most important thing was that he couldn’t visit the malls in the village, even though there was no money or coupons to buy anything; just looking was fine. During the New Year, his mom would buy some delicious candies to bring home.

Gong Ruwen wasn’t sure if his dad, who went to the county yesterday, had bought him any treats, and he was really looking forward to it.

Gong Tao had talked a lot with his wife last night, plus after a busy day, he really didn’t want to get up; hearing his son’s loud voice, his first reaction was to pretend not to hear, hoping it would make his youngest son stop causing trouble.

He didn’t expect his silly son to take action, and the now well-fed son weighed heavily on Gong Tao, "Ah, Ruwen, have you gained weight?"

"Hahaha, yes, Brother Xu Ran said this is healthy for me." Hmm, although it’s not as fun as the old home, at least here he can eat his fill and his sister won’t go hungry, so Gong Ruwen reluctantly admitted to liking it here.

"Yes, that’s good, as long as you like it here." Seeing his son’s happy smile, Gong Tao felt all his exhaustion melt away.

"By the way, how about we go to the county in a few days to buy cloth and make new clothes for you, Ruwen?" Before going to bed, Gong Tao discussed with his wife and decided to make some underclothes for the family and outerwear for the two kids.

New clothes? Gong Ruwen’s eyes lit up, but he quickly shook his head, "Make them for my sister, she doesn’t have any new clothes."

The cousins at uncle’s house and their sisters all had new clothes; his sister would be beautiful if she had new clothes. He was going to show her off later and see how they boasted.

His son’s answer stunned Gong Tao; he remembered how his son used to nag him for new clothes. Why wasn’t he taking the chance now?

"The new clothes should be for my sister; she’s pretty." It’s not true he didn’t want new clothes, but he’s her big brother and needs to take care of her.

Besides, as a boy, why bother wearing something so fancy? "My sister hasn’t had new clothes. They all have new clothes."

As for why his sister didn’t have new clothes, Gong Ruwen alleged it was because their dad gave the fabric coupons to others, otherwise, his sister would have had new clothes.

"Your sister will have new clothes." Even the son knew something he had been ignoring; Gong Tao really felt like kicking himself for always doing such silly things.

"Oh." Hearing his dad say that, Gong Ruwen didn’t insist; what he was concerned about now was, "Dad, did you buy any treats for me?"

Facing his son’s sparkling eyes, Gong Tao couldn’t help but pat Gong Ruwen a few times, "You little dummy, your dad went out to sell pork. Do you think I had time to buy you treats?"

"Dad went in the evening; the stores were already closed." These days, the stores and co-ops were revered establishments, with no sense of service. It was all about how you should listen to them.

Gong Ruini was filled with resignation; compared to herself, an outsider, Gong Ruwen, a local, should understand better. How could he ask such a silly question?

"Sister, you’re awake." Gong Ruwen didn’t care if his sister’s words contained any disdain; he was too excited to share the good news with Gong Ruini.

"Ni Zi, did you know? We’re going to have new clothes soon." Gong Ruwen was all smiles.

This news, she already knew; she also knew dad had worked all day and got twenty yuan, not as much as a month’s salary before, but here where food and drink are free, it’s pure profit.

However, seeing Gong Ruwen excitedly share the good news with her, Gong Ruini really couldn’t bring herself to dampen his spirits. freeweɓnovel-cøm

"I think you’ll look great in new clothes, and then we can take pictures." Gong Ruwen’s face was full of dreams, thinking how they must take photos now, so that when his sister grows up, she can look back at them.

"It’s been so long since our family took pictures." Gong Ruwen couldn’t even remember the last time they had photos taken; he thought for a long time but couldn’t recall.

Photos, Gong Tao drifted into memory, "It was when Ni Zi turned one; our family of four took a family portrait."

For that photo, the house was in an uproar because, in the parents’ minds, it wasn’t worth spending money to photograph a girl.

Because of this, Cai Meina was upset for a long time and lost the desire to take pictures again, "From now on, our family should take a photo every year."

No matter what the parents say, spending the money they earn as they wish shouldn’t be dictated, especially when it’s not harming anyone.

Kids grow up so fast; Gong Tao could barely remember what the kids looked like the year before or the one before that. If he had photos at hand, it’d be easy to reminisce.

The photo taken at one year old, Gong Ruini really couldn’t imagine they hadn’t taken pictures for so long. Nowadays, very few people took their kids to get a photo every year.

In those days, taking a photo meant going to a studio; the cost was high, and in the eyes of ordinary folks, cameras were high-tech equipment.

But thankfully, Gong Tao was a good dad, promising they’d take a family portrait every year. With these photos, they could see the changes in their family over time.

"Yes, yes, we can take a photo." Gong Ruwen was thrilled. Later, when they go back, he’d make sure to show those photos to the relatives, proving that his family could take photos too.

Cai Meina was busy in the kitchen, preparing some dishes for tomorrow’s guests. Even though Zhan Jing said villagers would come to help tomorrow, she believed in finishing what could be done today.

Listening to the conversation between the father and sons from the room, Cai Meina felt that times were good.

Only here could their family do as they wished without worrying that any plan, once known to both sides of the family, would result in them being summoned back and criticized for wasting money.

Cai Meina was not someone to waste money, but she felt the children grew up fast, and they would also grow old. Looking back on these old photos with their grandchildren was happiness.

But to the parents on both sides, this idea seemed like a waste of money. They’d rather have that money spent on them, and as for the younger brother’s family taking photos, it went unnoticed and uncriticized, regarded as the couple simply not knowing better.

Cai Meina was really fed up with such preferential treatment, grateful to those who secretly reported them, including the younger brother’s family, these so-called relatives, wondering how they were doing now, guessing it must be quite well.

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