"Dog Egg, you're so kind, you even brought us gifts."
"Yeah, Yaowa and the others said that you went to the big city and have long forgotten about your good friends. Hmph, I'm going to take the comic books over there and blind their eyes."
"Fatty, are you stupid? How could you believe what Yaowa and the others said?"
Fatty retorted anxiously, "I didn't believe them at all, Shunzi, don't talk nonsense."
Da Niu quickly stepped in to take charge: "Alright, you two can't fight over this. Yao Wa and the others don't get along with us to begin with. If they knew that a few words would cause you two to fight, they would laugh at us to death."
"Don't listen to what others are saying. No matter where I go, you will always be my best friends. I will never forget you," Gou Dan said righteously.
"That's right, we'll be best friends for life."
No matter what happens in the future, at least at this moment, the friendship between these friends is the purest, without any ulterior motives.
Xiao Hu asked curiously, "Dog Egg, tell us what Beijing is like. Is it fun there?"
Gou Dan pouted and thought for a while before speaking, "Actually, there's nothing fun about it. I can't swim in the river, and I can't pick wild fruits on the mountain. My parents also won't let me go too far away by myself, because they're afraid that kidnappers will abduct me."
"Ah, that sounds boring. Dog Egg, have you made any new friends over there? Is there no one to play with?" Fatty asked with concern.
Since the topic had come up, Gou Dan didn't try to hide it anymore: "After I transferred schools, I met my deskmate, and we became good friends. I usually play with him, and the other classmates in the class are also nice people."
"That's good, then we can rest assured."
Fatty and the others laughed. They were genuinely happy for Gou Dan. Although they were worried that Gou Dan wouldn't remember them after making new friends, they were even more worried that Gou Dan wouldn't make any friends in the new place, which would make him too lonely.
Da Niu remembered that Gou Dan had just said that he couldn't go to the mountains to play because he was in Beijing, so he suggested, "Shall we go to the mountains to pick wild fruits? Gou Dan, your favorite goat's milk fruit should be ripe by now, let's go and pick a lot to bring back."
Thinking of the sweet and sour goat milk, Gou Dan subconsciously swallowed: "Okay, let's hurry up and set off. We can come back for lunch after we finish picking them."
Da Niu grabbed Gou Dan's clothes and looked at the group, saying, "This place is close to my home. I'll go back and get a basket to fill with fruit. You guys wait here for me."
"Wait a minute, Da Niu, I left this comic book at your house. I'm afraid I'll lose it later."
"Yes, yes, Tiger, you're so smart. Da Niu, you can help me put it down too."
"And I want mine too."
Da Niu reluctantly accepted the comic books from the group: "Wait for me, I'll be right back."
After saying that, he quickly ran towards home. When he got home, no one was there. His parents were working in the fields, and his younger brother had gone to play with his friends.
Da Niu put the comic book in his room drawer, then went to the kitchen to grab a small basket he often used and immediately ran back.
The group of teenagers knew exactly where to find wild fruits on the mountain, which saved them a lot of time because of their clear goal.
Around noon, the group descended the mountain with a bountiful harvest. Da Niu's small basket was filled with wild fruits, weighing about twenty pounds.
Everyone was very grateful for the gift from Gou Dan and unanimously decided to give most of the fruit to Gou Dan, while they could take some for themselves to taste. Da Niu simply lent his basket to Gou Dan to carry the fruit.
Looking at the half-full basket of wild fruits, Gou Dan said somewhat embarrassedly, "Let's divide them equally. I can't eat this much by myself."
Tiger said with a grin, "Dog Egg, don't be so polite with us. You just gave us comic books. If you don't want these fruits, then we don't want your comic books either."
“Yeah, Gou Dan, you’ve really grown distant from us. You won’t even take some of our wild fruit,” Shunzi chimed in.
After they said that, Gou Dan couldn't refuse anymore: "Okay, then I'll accept it."
After the group finished sharing the fruit, they all went home. It was already lunchtime, and if they didn't go back soon, they wouldn't even have time for lunch. Their parents wouldn't be kind enough to leave them any food.
When Gou Dan got home, it was just time for dinner. Zhang Hongyan frowned when she saw his dirty clothes: "Where have you been gallivanting off to again? Go wash your hands and eat."
"Da Niu and I went to the mountain. Mom, Dad, and Sister, look, this basket is full of wild fruits we picked," Gou Dan proudly showed them the basket next to the dining table.
"Wow, that's impressive! You picked so many. I'll try them after dinner to see if they're good," Xia Qingqing casually complimented.
Dog Egg nodded with a smile: "It's delicious, sweet and sour, and very juicy. Should I wash a few for you now?"
Zhang Hongyan glared at him with a stern face: "We'll talk about the fruit later. Go wash your dirty hands first."
"Okay, I'll be right there," Gou Dan put the basket on the ground and hurried to the kitchen.
After the meal, Gou Dan went to the kitchen and washed a basin of wild fruits, including wild goat's milk fruit, wild apricots, wild berries, and so on.
Seeing this, Zhang Hongyan laughed and scolded, "Your mouth just won't stop. You just put down your chopsticks and you're already eating wild fruit again."
Gou Dan swallowed the wild fruit and smiled ingratiatingly at Zhang Hongyan: "I saw that you really wanted to try these fruits, so I washed some for you."
"So you've decided to blame me now, huh? When did I ever say I was going to eat wild fruits right after dinner?" Xia Qingqing pretended to be angry and tapped Gou Dan's forehead.
Dog Egg smiled and admitted his mistake: "No, I just wanted to eat it myself."
Xia Qingqing took a goat's milk fruit and put it in her mouth, her brows furrowing slightly. The wild fruit tasted rather sour; she preferred sweeter fruits.
He said to Gou Dan, who was enjoying his meal, "I'll go to the county tomorrow and see if they have any watermelons. I'll buy a few."
Upon hearing about watermelon, Gou Dan immediately put down the wild fruit he was holding: "Sister, can you take me with you?"
"Next time, I need to return the borrowed bicycle tomorrow," Xia Qingqing said.
"Okay," Gou Dan said, pouting in disappointment.
Xia Qingqing noticed that he was a little unhappy, and said with a smile, "You want to learn to ride a bike? I'll teach you when the sun is a little lower in the evening."
Dog Egg looked pleasantly surprised and cheered happily, "Sister, you're so good to me. You're the best sister in the world."
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