Back to the 60s: The Struggle Career of a Charmed Wife
Chapter 1786: Returning Fully Loaded 7

Chapter 1786: Chapter 1786: Returning Fully Loaded 7

Xibao greeted Xiaomiao, helped Cheng Baoguo and his wife into the car, and then guided the younger siblings onto it, too busy to pay attention to Erxiong’s complaints.

Lu Erxiong took off his shoes and started bouncing around in the truck bed, "Big brother, didn’t you hear my question?"

Lu Tianzhi, with a good temper, said, "We’re lucky to have a hand tractor thanks to your big brother, no need to ask for too much. Without this tractor, we would have had to use a mule cart to pick you up."

Lu Erxiong lay on the edge of the truck bed, "I’ve never ridden a mule cart!"

Lu Tianzhi smiled warmly, "When we get home, I’ll let you ride a mule cart, and also an ox cart and a horse cart, as much as you like."

Xibao noticed that Zhuangzhuang slipped under the covers and lay silently. Knowing his littlest brother was often not in the best of health, he asked concernedly, "Zhuangzhuang, are you feeling very unwell? Do you need to go to the hospital to see a doctor? Doctor Wu is at the mine hospital."

Wang Cuilan quickly said, "Zhuangzhuang is just tired, and the air on the train wasn’t good. He’ll be fine after resting for a couple of days!"

"Zhuangzhuang, if you’re not feeling well, don’t keep it to yourself," Xibao said seriously.

Zhuangzhuang murmured, "Thanks, brother. I’m fine, you don’t need to worry."

Xibao instructed Ye Yan, Fubao, and Dundun to take off their shoes and get under the covers, noticing the youngest brother shifted to rest his head on Fubao’s leg, "Let’s go to the state-run restaurant, a hot meal will make us feel better."

"Yes, yes, food, food, I’m starving!" Lu Erxiong clutched his stomach, "The train food wasn’t good."

Oily, low on salt, bland and tasteless.

Upon hearing his cousin’s urging, Lu Tianzhi drove the tractor to the largest state-run restaurant in the city. They arrived quite early and, after confirming today’s menu, Lu Tianzhi ordered a few hearty dishes: radish stewed with lamb, cabbage and pork stewed with sweet potato noodles, potato chunks braised with chicken, then a vinegary cabbage strip and garlic chive and egg soup, and finally twenty large white flour steamed buns.

After asking for everyone’s opinions, Xibao ordered a separate bowl of clear noodle soup for Zhuangzhuang, with scallions and cabbage leaves sautéed in oil, noodles topped with two soft poached eggs, to share with Fubao.

Everyone loved eating meat, faced with a tableful of delicious dishes, each person dropped all pretense and dug in with speedy chopsticks, no one standing on ceremony.

Zhao Anbang, enjoying a rare day off, wearing an old military coat, swinging an empty sleeve, entered the state-run restaurant for a meal. As soon as he entered, he saw their table, attracted immediately by the good-looking children.

"Oh my, my godson, why didn’t you all tell me you were coming to the city?"

Upon hearing his voice, Xibao turned to glance at him, quickly stood up to offer his seat, and swallowed his food, "Godfather, quickly join us to eat. Fubao, Dundun, Erxiong, Zhuangzhuang, this is your godfather!"

The children stood up one by one, politely greeting, "Godfather!"

Hearing their crisp, unified voices, Zhao Anbang laughed heartily, repeatedly calling them, "Good kids!"

Although his real godson was only Xibao, weren’t all of Xibao’s siblings his children all the same? Having exchanged greetings with Cheng Baoguo and his wife, and said hello to Xiaomiao, he sat down grandly next to Cheng Baoguo and his wife, positioned higher than the others, beckoning the server over, "Add a couple more dishes for my uncle and aunt and my children!"

The servers tailored their service to the guests. If ordinary or country people came into the restaurant, they would stand behind the counter just charging money, without doing anything extra, forcing guests to pick up their own food from the kitchen window. But Zhao Anbang wasn’t just anybody. He was the second-in-command in Huaibei City, often dining with government officials, occasionally coming alone, well-known to the staff who approached with warm smiles, "Comrade Zhao, what dishes would you like? The restaurant’s well-stocked today, still plenty of good food, with chicken, duck, fish, and meat all available."