The family was having dinner in the main room when Xia Qingqing suddenly looked at Zhang Hongyan and asked:
"Mom, are we going back to our hometown for Chinese New Year this year? If we are, we need to buy train tickets in advance."
Zhang Hongyan paused in her chopsticks, looking at Xia Heping: "What do you think, are we going back or not?"
Xia Heping was also stumped by the question: "Wife, you make all the important decisions in our family. If you say we're coming back, we'll come back; if you say we're not coming back, we won't come back."
Zhang Hongyan was also conflicted. The round-trip fare for the four of them would be quite a lot. With that money, they could buy so many nice things.
Besides, they don't have any close relatives in their hometown, just some neighbors and friends with whom they have a good relationship, so there's no need for them to make a special trip back to their hometown just to see their friends.
Her gaze swept over the man and child, and she tentatively asked, "How about we spend the Chinese New Year in Beijing this year?"
"Wife, I'll do whatever you say."
"I'm fine with anything."
"I'm fine with it too."
After everyone agreed, Zhang Hongyan slammed her hand on the table and solemnly announced, "That's the decision. We won't go back to our hometown this year; we'll spend the New Year here."
Taking the opportunity, Xia Qingqing suggested, "Mom, shall I go buy some New Year's goods tomorrow?"
There must have been a reason why she brought it up. Zhang Hongyan and Xia Heping both guessed that she wasn't talking about going to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy New Year's goods.
Zhang Hongyan didn't ask any further questions, but nodded and said, "I'll give you 100 yuan after we finish eating. Buy whatever you like to eat."
"Oh my, has Ms. Zhang Hongyan struck it rich? Now she's buying New Year's goods starting at three figures," Xia Qingqing teased with a grin.
When her daughter made fun of her, Zhang Hongyan immediately pretended to be angry and scolded, "You naughty girl, now you're making fun of your mother, aren't you?"
But she has to admit that she has a lot of feelings about it. Her family's life has been getting better and better in recent years. A few years ago, who would have thought that she would be willing to spend 100 yuan to buy New Year's goods?
Back when I lived in the countryside, 10 yuan was enough for my family to have a good New Year.
When Gou Dan heard that Xia Qingqing was going to buy New Year's goods, he immediately looked at her expectantly and pleaded, "Sister, can you take me with you when you go to buy New Year's goods tomorrow? I can help you carry things."
"Well, it's too cold. Why don't you stay home and warm yourself by the fire? I'll buy you some delicious food tomorrow," Xia Qingqing tried to persuade Gou Dan with the promise of treats.
She volunteered to go buy New Year's goods because she wanted to smuggle some things out of the system's warehouse; taking Gou Dan there would have exposed her.
Gou Dan had no idea why his sister was refusing him. He tugged at Xia Qingqing's sleeve and started to whine, "Sister, I'm not afraid of the cold, please take me with you, okay?"
Before Xia Qingqing could rack her brains for an excuse, Zhang Hongyan spoke up to help her out: "Goudan, stop fooling around. Your sister is going to do serious business, not play around. You stay home and study tomorrow, and I'll make you a new cotton-padded coat for the New Year."
Upon hearing that he could wear a new cotton-padded coat, Gou Dan immediately stopped fussing and promised his mother with a grin, "I will definitely study hard at home tomorrow."
"Sister, remember to buy more of the New Year's treats I like."
Zhang Hongyan nodded in satisfaction: "That's right. Although you did well on this exam, Mom thinks there's still room for improvement. Take advantage of this winter break to work hard and surpass the students who ranked ahead of you when school starts next time."
"Yes, yes, I will definitely work hard and try to be in the top three in the class next time," Gou Dan clenched his fist to cheer himself up.
He ranked sixth in his class in the final exam, but he was not satisfied with the result. He did not perform well during the exam and lost points in two areas where he should not have lost, which made him feel annoyed for a long time.
But this result was completely unexpected for Zhang Hongyan. She originally thought that since her son had suddenly transferred to a school in the city, it would be good enough if he could get into the middle of the class and improve little by little in the future.
Unexpectedly, Gou Dan was so promising, which raised Zhang Hongyan's expectations for him. He had just transferred to the school and was already ranked seventh in the class. Could he aim for the top three next semester? And the year after that, could he aim for first place?
With this mindset, Zhang Hongyan kept Gou Dan studying at home from the start of winter vacation. Anyway, there was nothing fun to do outside in this cold weather, so studying at home was great. When he got tired of studying, he could eat some snacks and read comic books. Many children dream of such a comfortable life.
Xia Qingqing also kept her promise to Gou Dan. On the day the results came out, she specially took Gou Dan to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy five comic books, which made Gou Dan so happy that he almost lost his mind.
As soon as he got home, he took the comic book to Tian Hongjun's house, wanting to share his joy with Tian Hongjun.
Tian Hongjun ranked third in his class this time. Tian's mother was quite satisfied with her son's result. Third place is considered a top student in the class. If he works harder next time, he might be able to get first place.
When she saw Gou Dan carrying a stack of comic books, Tian's mother remembered her promise to her son and immediately gave Tian Hongjun a yuan to spend as he pleased, whether he wanted to buy food or comic books.
Tian Hongjun almost burst out laughing three times on the spot. When did his mother become so generous? This must be due to Gou Dan's influence, or rather, the influence of Gou Dan's sister.
To be honest, Tian Hongjun understands his mother's thoughts quite well; that's exactly what his mother thinks.
Dog Egg got sixth place in the class, while my son got third. It's impossible for my son's reward to be worse than Dog Egg's, so I could only grit my teeth and give my son a huge sum of one yuan.
However, as long as the child is obedient and sensible, she is still willing to spend this amount of money.
After receiving the money, Tian Hongjun went to the supply and marketing cooperative with Gou Dan and bought three comic books. He saved the remaining 40 cents.
This made Gou Dan extremely envious, and he secretly decided that next time he wouldn't ask his sister to buy him comic books anymore, but would just ask his sister to give him money directly.
......
The next day, Xia Qingqing went out for a walk and came back carrying large and small bags.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Hongyan immediately came over. Looking at her daughter's hands, which were red from being strangled, she felt a pang of heartache: "You must be exhausted. Why didn't you carry it back in two trips, or you could have asked your dad to carry it when you got back?"
"It's alright, I can lift it," Xia Qingqing said nonchalantly, shaking her hand. This weight was nothing to her. The fact that her palms turned red was beyond her control; she could only blame it on her delicate skin.
"What did you buy? You even bought rice... Oh... and two rabbits... so much meat!" Zhang Hongyan exclaimed in surprise from the main room, which even woke up Gou Dan, who was studying diligently in his room.
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