By Herself - He his-self is busy with the tail end of harvest so I thought to leave him a little surprise......
We have been home a week now and the turn of the month brought the bank statement. While in China I utilized the ATM machine network. Whenever the purse was empty I simply filled it with another 1000 RMB. As He his-self has explained I did shop good style. Nine pairs of shoes and the kiddie clothes just for starters. I soon figured out that I could buy nice things for No2 [daughter] but they were not available in the size for No4 [daughter]. However the tailor down the road could copy anything in 24 hours and we soon developed a lovely, close relationship. No need to worry, I did not neglect our sons either.
I also have a bad habit of buying pictures, usually large ones. His-self quite expected me to come home with a large silk print but he had a small fit when I got eight 
original pictures about harvest and animals in Guangdong countryside. It was quite a funny situation as a large, ginger tom was sleeping on the shop doorstep and we could spot three more inside. His-self is seriously allergic to cats so he took part to the proceedings outside the shop window while I went inside. I just could not decide. I wanted the ones with the cows and the sheep [OK maybe the water buffaloes and the goats] and the harvest scenes, not to mention the traditional wedding...The shop keeper assured me that eight was a lucky number while his-self turned purple behind the glass making more and more desperate gestures.
Anyway, the transactions are all through and my total spending??? Slightly under £300.
Baby presents keep arriving with kind people popping in for a short second. The fun part of being a farmer's wife is the contact with other farmers. There is an element of surprise in every event. I imagined I had seen it all but today our No5 was gifted a trailer brake coupling. His-self was very pleased, apparently it was a gift worth £40. No5 is none the wiser but she has obviously been accepted into the community as a farm kid like every other. That is the way we like it.