Summer vacation starts tomorrow, and Xia Qingqing's roommates are all busy packing their luggage.
Xiang Qiu stuffed the last piece of clothing into her bag and said somewhat dejectedly, "I really don't want to go home. If I go home, my parents will definitely start talking about marriage again."
Because her home is far from school and there are too many people in her family to live there, Xiang Qiu usually only goes home about once a month. Each time she goes home, she only stays for one day. Even if her parents want to nag her, she just has to put up with it.
But summer vacation is different. Staying at home every day, she gets nagged to death by her parents and relatives and friends, which makes her more and more annoyed.
Liu Huimin and Chen Xiu exchanged a glance and helplessly shrugged, unable to think of any good way to help Xiang Qiu.
After thinking for a moment, Xia Qingqing suggested, "Sister Qiu, I think it's better to take the initiative than to passively accept it."
"What do you mean?" Xiang Qiu suddenly became interested and looked at Xia Qingqing with curiosity, waiting for her to answer her question.
"First, lay out your own criteria for choosing a partner, and have your parents and relatives introduce potential partners to you based on those criteria. This will filter out most of the unsuitable ones, and you can try to get to know the ones who meet your requirements."
Xia Qingqing didn't have much experience either, but Xiang Qiu was already 26 years old. Unless she planned to stay single for life, she should indeed start looking for a partner now.
Since you're looking for a partner anyway, why not take the initiative yourself? It's always better than having someone else introduce you to a bunch of random people.
Liu Huimin said with delight, "Sister Qiu, I think Qingqing's words make a lot of sense. You set your own standards for what kind of person you like, and you'll always find someone who suits you."
Xiang Qiu stroked her chin and thought for a while: "That makes sense, but I don't know what kind of person I like."
“Education, height, age, personality, family background, job, income, etc. can all be used as reference conditions,” Xia Qingqing said, counting them off on her fingers.
Xiang Qiuzhen started thinking along with Xia Qingqing's words: "I'm a college student, so the minimum education level I should have for my partner is high school, and they should be at least 1.75 meters tall. Otherwise, it won't look good if they're shorter than me. I can accept an age difference of about 3 years..."
She didn't realize it until she thought about it, and even Xiang Qiu herself was shocked. Did she really have so many demands?
She always felt that the men her family introduced to her were not suitable, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why. It turned out that they were so different from her standards for a partner.
"I know what to do, Qingqing, thank you!" Xiang Qiu said to Xia Qingqing happily.
The next day, the four roommates left one after another. Liu Huimin was eager to go home. She bought a train ticket early in the morning because she wanted to go back to see her beloved son as soon as possible.
Xia Qingqing was the last to leave the dormitory. After carefully locking the door, she picked up her luggage and went to find Wang Sisi.
"Sisi, are you ready?"
"Here I am, here I am," Wang Sisi said as she came out of the dormitory carrying large and small bags.
Xia Qingqing saw that she was carrying several bags and took one of them, saying, "Let me help you carry one."
"Hehe, thank you Qingqing," Wang Sisi said without being polite. Having known Xia Qingqing for so long, she knew that Xia Qingqing was exceptionally strong.
The two of them headed straight to the train station with their luggage. Song Ze and the others had a few days off, and they still had one last exam to take today, so they couldn't come to see Xia Qingqing off.
The weather has gotten hot, and there's no way to shower on the train, so Xia Qingqing and Wang Sisi could only manage a quick wipe in the toilet. After enduring this for two days, the train finally arrived in Pingxi County.
After saying goodbye to Wang Sisi, Xia Qingqing carried her luggage and headed towards the exit. The train station was crowded and smelled strongly of people.
Xia Qingqing held her breath and only breathed a sigh of relief after rushing out of the train station. She was finally out, and all she wanted to do now was go home and take a shower.
She glanced around outside and soon spotted Xia Heping, who was pushing a bicycle and wearing a straw hat in the sun. She happily waved in his direction and called out, "Dad~".
Hearing his daughter's voice, Xia Heping quickly pushed his bicycle over: "Qingqing, quickly give all the luggage to Dad, you must be exhausted."
"I'm not tired, Dad. Aren't you hot? Why didn't you wait for me in the shade?" Xia Qingqing could tell from Xia Heping's soaked shirt that he must have been waiting for quite a while.
Xia Heping smiled nonchalantly. He was afraid his daughter wouldn't be able to find him, so he deliberately stood in a conspicuous spot.
Then he handed the new straw hat hanging on the handlebars to Xia Qingqing: "Wear it, the sun is too strong."
......
It was an hour later when the two arrived home.
Gou Dan, who was playing happily with Da Niu in the yard, heard the car bell and ran out in a flash: "Sister, you're finally back! I missed you so much!"
"Slow down, don't fall," Xia Qingqing said, gently patting Gou Dan's head as he clung tightly to her.
"Where's Mom? I haven't seen her."
Gou Dan pointed outside the door: "Mom went to the fields, she should be back soon."
Xia Qingqing glanced at the sun outside, frowned, and didn't say anything more.
Xia Heping pushed the bicycle into the yard: "Gou Dan, go and take the watermelon out of the bucket and cut it up for your sister to eat."
"Yes, I'll be right there," Gou Dan said, running into the kitchen and carrying a large watermelon out of a bucket.
Zhang Hongyan bought this watermelon specially after knowing that Xia Qingqing was going home, and even soaked it in well water beforehand to cool it down.
Gou Dan placed the watermelon on the stove, picked up the cleaver to start cutting it, but suddenly remembered that it was for his sister, so he quickly put the cleaver down.
His sister is very particular; if she knew the cleaver hadn't been washed, she might not even want to eat the watermelon he cut.
Gou Dan carefully washed the cleaver in a bucket of water before cutting the watermelon into pieces, placing them in a bamboo basket, and carrying them into the main room.
Xia Qingqing sat resting in the main room, fanning herself with an old palm-leaf fan. When she saw Gou Dan bringing over a watermelon, she immediately smiled and praised him, "Our Gou Dan is really capable."
Gou Dan was a little embarrassed. He was almost 10 years old, so why did his sister still treat him like a little kid?
He turned around and called out to his friend Da Niu in the yard, "Da Niu, come and eat some watermelon!"
"Here you are!" Da Niu ran into the main room excitedly, but the presence of Xia Qingqing made him a little reserved and less relaxed than usual.
Xia Qingqing looked at Xia Heping, who was still wiping the bicycle in the yard, and a hint of helplessness flashed in her eyes: "Dad, stop wiping the bicycle and come in to eat watermelon."
"Hey, I'll be right there," Xia Heping said. He carefully wiped the bicycle clean, then went to the kitchen to wash his hands before entering the main room.
Xia Qingqing handed him a large slice of watermelon, then went to the kitchen to wash her hands.
Seeing that his sister had only eaten one piece, Gou Dan urged, "Sis, have another piece. Mom bought this especially for you."
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