Soon it was time for the holiday to begin, and Xia Qingqing had arranged with her roommates to have lunch at her house that day.
Xia Heping and Zhang Hongyan took the matter very seriously when their daughter's roommates were coming over for dinner. Xia Heping went to the grocery store to queue up for groceries before dawn.
Because Xia Heping arrived early, he not only bought a large piece of pork belly but also an old hen.
When Zhang Hongyan saw the old hen she had bought, she immediately decided to make chicken soup for lunch today, and then cook a dish of pork belly, stir-fried pork with green peppers, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and two kinds of vegetables.
After deciding on the menu for lunch, Zhang Hongyan asked her daughter for her opinion: "Qingqing, do you think these dishes are enough? Do you want to add one more?"
After listening, Xia Qingqing said, "That's enough. Six dishes for seven people is about right."
The family cooked a lot of food, and the three girls who came didn't eat much, so they might not be able to finish all the dishes.
"Mom, let me help you."
"Okay, pick these vegetables first, then wash them clean."
Gou Dan, who was doing his homework inside, heard the noise and quickly ran out: "Mom, I can help you with the chores too."
Zhang Hongyan saw through his little scheme and rolled her eyes at him: "Go away, go do your homework, we don't need you here."
The dog pouted, somewhat disappointed, and said, "Okay."
Gou Dan sighed as he returned to his room. After coming to the city to study, he realized that the teachers in the city were not only stricter than the teachers in the countryside, but also assigned much more homework.
It's impossible to finish, there's simply no way to finish it.
Back in the dormitory, Liu Huimin checked the time and urged the other two, "It's already past nine o'clock. Let's hurry up and leave. We still need to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy things later."
"Alright, it'll be ready soon," Chen Xiu said, burying her head in her notebook as she wrote notes.
Liu Huimin had no choice but to compromise, saying, "Hurry up, I'll give you ten more minutes."
"Sister Huimin, have you finished all your homework?" Chen Xiu asked, taking a moment to look up at her.
Liu Huimin waved her hand helplessly: "How could I possibly finish writing it? I haven't even started writing it yet. I'll write it when I get back."
Hearing this, Xiang Qiu couldn't help but suppress a laugh. Although Huimin was usually impatient, she wasn't when it came to studying.
On the contrary, Xiuxiu is usually slow and deliberate in her work, but she is always very anxious when it comes to studying. She is always the first in her dormitory to finish her homework.
These two people really form a stark contrast.
Ten minutes later, Chen Xiu put down her pen at the perfect moment: "I'm ready, let's go."
"Grab your bag, let's go to the supply and marketing cooperative first."
The three of them went to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought two packs of pastries and several cans of food. Remembering that Xia Qingqing had a younger brother, they also bought a pound of candy.
The money for buying things was pooled together by the three of them. The advantage of buying together is that no one's gift is heavier than someone else's.
When the three arrived at the Xia family's house, they saw that the courtyard gate was not closed. Liu Huimin stood at the gate and called out, "Qingqing, are you home?"
Upon hearing the commotion, Gou Dan immediately rushed out, smiling as he greeted Liu Huimin and the other two: "Hello, sisters! My sister and my mom are in the kitchen. I'll take you to the main room first."
"This must be Lele. It's been so long since I've seen you. You've grown so tall!" Liu Huimin said with a smile.
Gou Dan scratched his head sheepishly: "Hehe, I'm 10 years old this year."
As they were talking, Xia Qingqing came out of the kitchen: "Sister Qiu, Sister Huimin, Xiuxiu, you're here! Come in and sit down with me."
Xiang Qiu handed the things in her hand to Xia Qingqing: "This is a small token of our appreciation from the three of us."
"I told you not to buy anything, you're being too formal with me," Xia Qingqing said, giving the three of them a playful glare.
Zhang Hongyan had just brought in three bowls of sweet soup. Seeing what her daughter was carrying, she knew that the three girls must have bought them.
She said in a reproachful tone, "You kids are too polite. I won't dare invite you to dinner again next time."
Liu Huimin was quite adept at handling this situation, and said with a smile:
"This isn't our first time visiting Auntie and Uncle. This little gift is just a token of our appreciation. Hehe, next time we'll definitely not bring anything, we'll just come over for a meal."
"You can come anytime you want, as long as you don't mind my cooking."
Zhang Hongyan chatted with Liu Huimin for a few more minutes, then asked Xia Qingqing to stay in the main room to entertain the guests, while she went to the kitchen to cook.
Before leaving, he glanced at Gou Dan, who was clinging to Xia Qingqing, his lips twitched, but in the end he didn't say anything more.
In front of guests, you always have to give your son some face.
Gou Dan was secretly delighted. He knew his mother wouldn't scold him in front of outsiders. In fact, he had almost finished his homework, and there was still so much time in the afternoon, so there was no rush.
Gou Dan originally just wanted to get some fresh air, but the older women ended up talking about studying.
Who can understand this kind of pain? Gou Dan couldn't bear to listen to it and could only obediently return to his room.
"Qingqing, your little brother is quite interesting," Liu Huimin said, watching Gou Dan leave with a worried look on his face.
Xia Qingqing smiled and said, "He was already tired from studying and wanted to come out and play for a while, but you guys kept talking about studying. How could he listen to that?"
All three were amused by this remark. Liu Huimin sighed, "I wonder if my son will like studying in the future. What if he's like his father?"
Qi Yongkang never liked studying from a young age. After entering junior high school, he didn't want to continue studying. It was his parents who forced him to take the high school entrance exam, otherwise they would cut off all his pocket money and kick him out of the house.
Forced by circumstances, Qi Yongkang could only grit his teeth and continue to high school for three more years. It was during high school that he met Liu Huimin. Qi Yongkang was especially grateful to his parents for this, otherwise the two of them might have missed each other.
After the news of the resumption of the college entrance examination came out, Liu Huimin tried to persuade her husband to study for the exam with her, but Qi Yongkang refused to continue studying no matter what. It was impossible to ask him to jump back into the sea of suffering after finally escaping it.
It was only then that Liu Huimin learned that her husband had been forced to attend high school by his parents.
Xiang Qiu said with a grin, "Don't worry too much. There's still a 50% chance that he'll be like you, and that Fatty will also get into our Jingbei University and become our junior."
Liu Huimin doesn't have such high expectations for her son; she just wants him to get into any university, no matter where it is.
Zhang Hongyan's voice came from the kitchen: "Qingqing, the food is ready, come and set the table and eat."
After the food was placed on the table, before they even started eating, Liu Huimin showered Zhang Hongyan with compliments, making Zhang Hongyan extremely happy. She kept piling food onto the three of them's plates.
"Auntie, that's enough, that's enough, we can't finish any more."
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