Transmigrated & Triumphant: Defying Destiny's Chosen One-Chapter 484 - 38: Is Raising Children Difficult or Not?_2
The bamboo mats were woven by a few comrades, and one of them even secretly slipped three yuan in, making the person feel quite embarrassed, so they worked on them even more carefully and also gave two small dustpans for free.
As she spoke, Shi Suifeng opened the roll on her back, revealing the soft and shiny bamboo mats, which unfurled with a rustle. Counting them, there were exactly five, just enough for each child to have one.
Chu River was still murmuring, "Make sure you tell the carpenter that the beds at home aren’t enough, so let’s get two more made."
These beds weren’t the current plank beds but the new bunks. Shi Suifeng had actually already prepared them while tidying up the house. After all, the nephew and niece were coming, and with a large courtyard, space wasn’t an issue, so he placed one bed in each of the two rooms on the west side of the house, sleeping on the top and storing things below.
The problem wasn’t a lack of space, but cabinets were quite expensive back then. Shi Suifeng didn’t have money after buying grain, so he simply decided to copy the train style.
This wasn’t much more expensive than regular beds, and it allowed them to store many more things.
But plans couldn’t keep up with changes, and unexpectedly, three children came first, leaving the west side rooms unprepared, with only Chu River and Yun Baoni left at home.
In these past two days, for the sake of convenience, the two of them had been sharing a bed.
...
Shi Suifeng silently calculated—the space in the west side rooms was large enough, and with the earlier lack of space, two rooms had been specially tidied up. Now, the two rooms had four bunk beds, still quite spacious.
So, in that case, why not have boys in one room and girls in another, each with a bunk bed, placing quilts and clothes on the top bunk? And then get two long tables, as the children would need to go to school in the future, so for doing homework, make more benches...
As a result, with three bunk beds, two table beds, five benches, and a few wooden shelves, they could still store things...
He had it all figured out in his mind.
Right, they also needed to buy a bicycle... Bicycle tickets were scarce everywhere, so they might as well skip the black market and ask Chu River to find Chen Changhai.
He had checked it out, and this person had a good reputation for his opportunistic dealings, and most importantly, he had great connections. From all over the place, as long as there was enough time, he could get anything.
Thinking about this, the pressure was great!
A few days ago, he had confidently finished the calculations, thinking that supporting the family wouldn’t be an issue. But now...
Seeing Yun Baoni washing clothes piece by piece by the water pump, he knew that a month’s allowance would almost be used up after buying all the household fabrics.
Tearing up.
When can a man support a family?
And Chu River also sighed, "Money!"
1,600 yuan, with 115 spent on Gu An’s leg treatment. Getting tin, metal, paint, various materials... the deposit alone was 300 yuan.
Then the sewing machine was 340 yuan at a friendly price without a ticket.
Thread, fabric, towels, toothbrushes, soap, enamel basins, bowls, chopsticks, bamboo mats...
All these cost 120 yuan!
And then, listening to Shi Suifeng talk about a bicycle—the primary school was in the town, and it took an hour on foot each way, so since the children were to attend school, a bicycle was essential.
Moreover, there were five children!
Even cutting corners, they could only carry one more, which meant at least two bicycles. Without tickets, they would have to find Chen Changhai, and two bicycles would cost at least 600 yuan.
Then, they needed to make a few more beds, pay for tuition...
Completely out of money.
Chu River sat there numbly, once again feeling the sting of poverty.
Her gaze turned toward the vast mountains behind the military district, deciding to return to her old profession. Before anything else, it was crucial to prepare the funds that Chen Changhai might need.
——Raising children was really tough!
Fortunately, grains and oils didn’t need to be bought for the time being.
...
But while raising children was tough, industrious children were truly a blessing!
Daya didn’t light the oil lamp until it was dark, only then did she leave the room.
Yun Baoni had already been following her closely, following her instructions to the letter.
There was no choice—Daya was simply too capable!
Although Yun Baoni was a year older, Daya’s productivity today was astonishing; she had sewn five bed sheets and five pillowcases in one go and even made two vests for each child in the family. For now, each child only had one pair of shorts, but they would certainly be done by tomorrow morning.
Because the remaining scraps were too plain in color, Daya decided to make undershorts for each child at home...
How could Yun Baoni not be impressed?
She took advantage of the five o’clock sun to wash the small vests, the sun still blazing, sure to dry before dark.
Although the colors were a uniform drab, she had never worn new clothes at home. She began imagining how comfortable it would be to wear new clothes after a clean bath tonight.
That night, although it was already dark when the family had dinner, Chu River was no longer begrudging the money.
