Chapter 336 Good Friends

Nan Zhiyi bent down, caught her son who rushed into her arms, and patted his little head: "Say goodbye to the teacher, we're going home."

Xiaoman waved her little hand in the direction of the teachers and said in a clear voice, "Goodbye, teachers!" Then she ran to the schoolbag cabinet by the wall, took out her little schoolbag, put it on, and then took her mother's hand and followed her outside.

The mother and son walked through the corridor, and Nan Zhiyi asked softly, "Xiaoman, did you have a good time at kindergarten today?"

Xiaoman tilted her head, thought about it seriously for a moment, and then slowly said, "Are you happy?"

Nan Zhiyi was a little puzzled. She slowed her pace and asked, "Why 'happy'? Did something unpleasant happen?"

Xiaoman opened her mouth, but before she could answer, a small figure in a red dress came running up from behind and grabbed Xiaoman's free little hand.

Nan Zhiyi looked and saw that it was the little girl named Honghong, whom she had seen a few times before, with her mother following behind her with a helpless smile.

Honghong, panting, asked anxiously, "Gu Zhao! You still haven't said whether you want to just be my good friend or not!"

Xiaoman stopped when she was pulled back. Remembering what the teacher had said that afternoon, she answered earnestly, "Honghong, we are good friends."

Honghong beamed and shook Xiaoman's hand: "It's a deal then, I'll bring you chocolate tomorrow! The biggest one!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Ya Ya broke free from her grandmother's hand and ran over, grabbing Xiao Man's arm. "Gu Zhao, didn't you also say you'd be my best friend?"

Nan Zhiyi couldn't help but chuckle, and immediately understood where her son's little struggle had come from.

Xiaoman was caught in a pincer movement, her brows furrowing slightly, looking troubled.

He tried to repeat the teacher's words: "The teacher said that we are all good friends."

This answer clearly did not satisfy the two girls. They wanted to say something more, but their parents caught up with them, apologizing with smiles and pulling their children away.

"Okay, okay, we'll talk about it at kindergarten tomorrow."

"Say goodbye to Auntie and Gu Zhao."

Honghong and Yaya, led by their parents, didn't forget to turn back and shout to Xiaoman:

"See you tomorrow, Gu Zhao!"

"I brought you something delicious!"

Watching the two little girls being led out of the kindergarten gate, Xiaoman breathed a sigh of relief, took her mother's hand again, and continued walking forward.

"Mom, Honghong and Yaya both said they'd bring me snacks tomorrow. Tomorrow... I'll bring some snacks to share with my friends, okay?"

Nan Zhiyi had just heard the little girls' promise and nodded with a smile: "Great idea! Mom will prepare some animal crackers and fruit candies for you and put them in your schoolbag. But you can only take them out and share them after school."

Xiaoman hummed in agreement, her spirits lifted, and she hopped forward, swaying back and forth, holding her mother's hand.

The distance from kindergarten to home is only a short one, but the mother and son strolled around for quite a while.

Looking at her son's carefree profile, Nan Zhiyi recalled how she had secretly wiped away tears on his first day of kindergarten, worried that he wouldn't be able to adapt.

Unexpectedly, the little one was much stronger than she had imagined. Not only did she adapt to group life quickly, but she even became a very popular child.

This was certainly what she hoped to see, but deep down she still felt a sense of loss, as if her child no longer needed her.

She couldn't help but hold her son's little hand even tighter.

When they got home, Nan Zhiyi first took Xiaoman to the bathroom to wash his little hands and face, then patted his little bottom and said, "Go play."

The little guy responded and ran happily to his toy corner.

Nan Zhiyi turned and went into the kitchen, where she found a tin box of cookies and a small bag of fruit candies in the cupboard.

She carefully selected some cute animal-shaped cookies and fruit candies, divided them into several portions using clean parchment paper, and stuffed them into Xiaoman's schoolbag.

She instructed Sister Zhang: "Sister Zhang, when you drop Xiaoman off tomorrow morning, remember to remind him that he can only take out his snacks to share with his friends after school, and he can't eat them secretly during class."

Sister Zhang replied, "I understand, don't worry, sister-in-law, I will definitely remind him."

She continued picking vegetables with her hands, and said, "The grapes on that vine in our yard are bearing a really good harvest this year. But it's almost the autumnal equinox, and if we don't eat them soon, they'll be overripe and rot on the vine, which would be a shame."

Nan Zhiyi looked in the direction she pointed, and in the twilight she could still see the abundant fruits gleaming with a purplish light.

The vineyard that had been growing Muscat grapes for three or four years had a bumper harvest this year. The family couldn't finish them all, so Sister Zhang had already taken several bunches home, and Xiaoman was getting a little tired of them.

Nan Zhiyi thought for a moment and said, "I'll pick some for Yueyue and my classmates from Peking University to try. Sister Zhang, could you please send some over to Hu Zi's house next door? Xiaoxuan, I need to ask her. And... Anping, I'll make a call right now."

She had another idea: "If we still have a lot left, how about we try making some wine ourselves? I've seen how in a book."

Sister Zhang hesitated for a moment: "Brewing it myself? That sounds good, but it's my first time, I don't know if it will work..."

"It's alright, even if it doesn't work, it's just a waste of grapes, consider it gaining experience."

Nan Zhiyi glanced at her son, who was engrossed in looking at a picture book, walked to the telephone in the corner of the living room, and dialed Li Xiaoxuan's number.

"Xiaoxuan, the grapes in my yard are ripe! Shall I bring you some to try? But I'll have to wait until the weekend to deliver them..."

"Oh, no need for you to make the trip!" Li Xiaoxuan said readily. "I'll come straight to your house after get off work tomorrow to pick some, and I can even mooch dinner for you. You won't object, will you?"

Nan Zhiyi laughed out loud: "I couldn't be happier. Is your partner coming?"

"Who cares!"

Li Xiaoxuan snorted, "Others are busy fishing to cultivate their minds and bodies, unlike me who is so idle."

Nan Zhiyi sensed something was off in her words and asked softly, "What's wrong? You sound quite resentful."

Li Xiaoxuan didn't want to say much on the phone, so she lowered her voice: "I'll bring him along tomorrow, he'll be my free driver. I'll tell you what we need to say tomorrow. It's settled for now!"

After hanging up the phone, Nan Zhiyi's finger lingered on the receiver for a moment before slowly dialing Zhou Anping's number.

When the call connected and Sister Zhao's voice came through, Nan Zhiyi inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sister Zhao, is Anping still at get off work?"

"You're back, you're back! I'm watching Lele play!" Sister Zhao replied cheerfully.

Just as Nan Zhiyi was about to speak, Zhou Anping answered the phone.

"Zhiyi? It's been a long time since I heard from you."

"Knowing you're busy with work and taking care of Lele, I didn't want to bother you too much. It's nothing serious, just that the grapes in the yard are doing exceptionally well this year. I remember you said they tasted pretty good last year? Should I send you some?"

Zhou Anping readily agreed, "Sure! Thank you for thinking of me. No need to make a special trip, Sister Zhao can just bring it over when she goes to work tomorrow."

Sister Zhao's family lives in the Army Compound.

Nan Zhiyi paused for a moment, then replied, "That's true, it's convenient for Sister Zhao to come over. That's perfect."

She joked as usual, "Without you, I can hardly finish distributing these grapes."

On the other end of the phone, Zhou Anping chuckled, "When I have some free time, I'll have to get together with you properly."

Yes, definitely.

The two exchanged a few brief pleasantries about the children, and then the call ended.

Nan Zhiyi gently put down the receiver, stood by the phone, and gazed at the heavy grape trellis outside the window, remaining motionless for a long time.