Before she knew it, it was time for the holiday again. Xia Qingqing was woken up early in the morning by her roommate.
"Qingqing, get up! We promised to go out and play together today. If you don't get up, we won't wait for you!"
"Right away, right away, give me 5 minutes," Xia Qingqing quickly sat up, yawning as she dressed.
Then I quickly brushed my teeth and washed my face at the sink, and tied my hair into a simple ponytail.
"I'm all ready, I can go now."
Seeing Xia Qingqing's speed, her three roommates collectively gave her a thumbs up: "Qingqing, you're amazing."
"Let's skip the school cafeteria today and go to a state-run restaurant instead?" Liu Huimin suggested. She was tired of eating at the school cafeteria every day, and since they were finally going out to play, she wanted to try something different.
"agree".
"agree".
"agree".
Xia Qingqing and the other two said in unison, and then they all laughed in tacit agreement.
After having breakfast at a state-run restaurant, Chen Xiu led the way to a famous park in Beijing.
The weather was neither too hot nor too cold today, and it happened to be a holiday, so there were quite a few people in the park. There were couples on dates, couples with their children, and groups like Xia Qingqing's dorm team building activities.
Liu Huimin, with her sharp eyes, spotted familiar faces not far away: "Hey, look over there, aren't those Duan Hao and Qi Hui from our class?"
Xia Qingqing and the others looked in the direction of the sound and sure enough, they saw Duan Hao, Qi Hui, Lü Kai, and three girls walking together.
Xiang Qiu nodded affirmatively: "It's those few. They must have gone out with their partners."
"Things are developing pretty fast," Liu Huimin muttered under her breath. She hadn't expected that Duan Hao would start another relationship so soon, only a week after his failed confession to Xia Qingqing. It wasn't that she thought it was wrong, but she felt that men's hearts change a little too quickly.
Xia Qingqing didn't hear what she said clearly and asked in confusion, "Sister Huimin, what are you talking about?"
"It's nothing, let's go the other way," Liu Huimin said, pulling the group in the opposite direction from Duan Hao and his group.
Qi Hui happened to see Xia Qingqing and the others leaving, and patted Duan Hao on the shoulder: "I think I saw Xia and the others."
"Where?" Duan Hao subconsciously turned around to look in Qi Hui's direction, but did not see the familiar figure, and felt a little disappointed.
What is he thinking? Does Xia Qingqing have some kind of relationship with him again?
Duan Hao soon ran out of time to be down. One of Lü Kai's former roommates kept pestering him with all sorts of questions, and Duan Hao, out of consideration for Lü Kai's feelings, could only patiently answer them.
At noon, Xia Qingqing and the other three chipped in to eat at a famous Peking duck restaurant.
At that time, Peking duck was very famous, having been selected for state banquets many times, and many foreigners would come and have a meal there.
Of course, fame means price. A roast duck costs eight yuan, while a worker's salary at that time was only thirty-something yuan. A roast duck cost a quarter of that.
Looking at the neatly sliced roast duck meat in front of her, Liu Huimin exclaimed, "I've heard so much about the famous Peking duck, and today I'm finally getting to eat it."
"I haven't eaten this for many years. Thinking back, the last time I had it was more than ten years ago," Xiang Qiu sighed. Time really flies.
"Eat quickly, then you can reflect on it," Xia Qingqing said nimbly, taking out a lotus leaf pancake, placing a slice of juicy roasted duck on it, wrapping it with scallions and sauce, and stuffing it into her mouth.
Seeing Xia Qingqing's actions, Liu Huimin and the others stopped talking and started eating!
The four of them ordered a roast duck and a large bowl of duck bone soup. By the end, only the soup base was left, and not even a single scallion was left.
Xia Qingqing patted her full stomach contentedly and looked at the others: "Sister Huimin, Sister Qiu, Xiuxiu, are you full? If not, order something else."
"I'm so full, I'm going to throw up if I eat any more," Liu Huimin said with a burp.
The meal cost a little over 2 yuan per person for the four of us, which was within our budget, but it was still a bit extravagant compared to the school's delicious and inexpensive meals.
It's okay to treat yourself occasionally, but you definitely can't afford to eat like that regularly.
Xia Qingqing took the initiative to pay the bill, and told the others to give her the money when they returned to the dormitory.
The four of them went to the department store in the afternoon.
How can a group of girls go out without shopping, the source of joy? It's the same in any era.
The four of them weren't in a hurry, so they slowly strolled up from the first floor, stopping to look at any counters that interested them.
——
Shihe Brigade, Hongqi Commune.
The Xia family of three has been back for some time now, and during the day when everyone is at work, they still like to gather around Xia Heping and Zhang Hongyan, asking them to tell them about their experiences in Beijing.
Zhang Hongyan was a lively person, and she never repeated herself. She not only talked about the scenic spots she had seen, but also about all the places that Song Ze had only mentioned.
The team members were thrilled to hear this and discussed it amongst themselves.
An uncle who envied Xia Heping sighed, "If I could go to Beijing, it would be worth dying for."
The person he was chatting with quickly waved his hand: "No, no, it's not that bad. It's just a few dozen yuan for a train ticket and a few days of travel. Even if it drains your savings, you can still afford to go."
The man paused for a second: "Asking me to empty my family's pockets to ride on a train is like asking me to just die."
......
Gou Dan was also very popular at school; he was the only student in the school who had ever been to Beijing.
While adults might keep their envy to themselves, children's envy is much more direct.
Gou Dan experienced what it's like to be a campus star. Wherever he went, people would say, "Look, that's Xia Jiale who went to Beijing."
As Gou Dan's best friend, Da Niu always felt honored to be a part of this, especially since Gou Dan shared the pastries and fruit candies he brought back from Beijing with him, a privilege that no one else received.
Not long after, Gou Dan's mood visibly began to decline.
Even the usually carefree Da Niu noticed something was wrong with him and was puzzled: "Goudan, what's wrong with you?"
He couldn't understand why Gou Dan was unhappy. Gou Dan was the best student in the class and the kind of child that Da Niu's mother envied.
The key point is that Gou Dan gets to eat a piece of candy every day. How could he not be happy with such a good life?
Gou Dan pouted, his tone tinged with sadness: "I miss my sister. I wonder if she's doing well all alone in Beijing, or if she's being bullied."
Da Niu didn't know how to comfort him, so he could only stay silently by Gou Dan's side.
With Gou Dan's constant nagging, Xia Qingqing's first letter home finally arrived.
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