Zhang Hongyan and Xia Qingqing, mother and daughter, were reunited after a long separation and were about to have a heart-to-heart talk when the aunt who had informed Zhang Hongyan came in.
After the man came in, he greeted Xia Qingqing with a smile: "Oh, Qingqing is back! It's true that the feng shui of Beijing is good for nurturing people. Look how rosy Qingqing's face is."
"Aunt Hua is here! Please sit down, I'll pour you some water," Xia Qingqing smiled at her and invited her to sit down.
Aunt Hua waved her hand: "No need, no need to be so polite. I just knew you were back and came to see you."
Zhang Hongyan knew why Aunt Hua had come along. She was someone who liked to take advantage of others, but she wasn't a bad person.
Remembering that the other party had just come over to inform him, he gave Xia Qingqing a wink.
Xia Qingqing immediately understood and took a small handful of fruit candies from her pocket, about five or six pieces, and stuffed them into Aunt Hua's hand: "Auntie, have some candy to sweeten your mouth."
"Oh, this is candy from Beijing, it looks special," Aunt Hua said, her face lighting up with a wide smile as she saw the candy in front of her.
After receiving the candy, she didn't eat it but put it directly into her pocket, intending to take it back for her grandson.
After chatting for a few more minutes, Aunt Hua left.
Zhang Hongyan curled her lip: "They've been like this for years, always eager to take advantage of any benefit they can get."
"It's nothing, just some candy. Mom, come and see the gift I brought for you," Xia Qingqing patted the package on the table, gesturing for Zhang Hongyan to come and see.
Hearing that her daughter had brought her a gift, Zhang Hongyan's lips unconsciously curled up, but she couldn't help but complain, "What did you buy this time? Your dad and I have everything, don't waste that money."
Her daughter is good in every way, except she's too generous and doesn't value money.
"Sis, you're finally back!!!" Gou Dan was overjoyed to see Xia Qingqing return.
He was playing outside with Da Niu when he heard his friends say that his older sister was back, so he ran back like a whirlwind.
After not seeing him for several months, Gou Dan had grown taller and pounced on Xia Qingqing, who almost couldn't hold him back.
"You're back just in time! Your sister was just about to bring out the gift," Zhang Hongyan said with a smile.
Dog Egg's eyes lit up when he heard the word "gift," and he looked at Xia Qingqing expectantly: "Sister, what did you buy for me? Let me see!"
Xia Qingqing took out the items from the package one by one, and handed a bag of White Rabbit candy and a pair of sneakers to Gou Dan: "These are for you."
"These, these are shoes I bought?" Gou Dan was so excited looking at the sneakers in his hand that he could barely speak, and he didn't care about the White Rabbit candy anymore.
When Gou Dan went to Beijing with his sister last time, he saw that all the city kids were wearing these kinds of shoes. He was extremely envious at the time. All the shoes he had worn since he was a child were made by Zhang Hongyan herself. He never thought that he would be able to wear these kinds of city shoes.
Seeing his ecstatic expression, Xia Qingqing patted his head and said, "Of course it's for you. Go try it on and see if it suits you."
After saying that, Xia Qingqing took out two boxes of face cream, a red silk scarf, a piece of cloth, and a pair of black leather shoes from the package and handed them to Zhang Hongyan: "Mom, these are for you. Try them on to see if they fit."
Originally, she wanted to buy Zhang Hongyan a new outfit, but then she found that clothes made outside might not be as nice as those made by Zhang Hongyan herself, so she simply bought the fabric and let her create her own.
Zhang Hongyan looked at the items in front of her and felt a pang of heartache: "Why did you buy so many things? You could have just bought a box of face cream. These things must have cost a fortune!"
"It's not expensive. It's not easy for me to come back, so of course I want to bring you some gifts." Xia Qingqing felt a pang of sadness as she watched Zhang Hongyan carefully touching the silk scarf and leather shoes.
Zhang Hongyan couldn't stand seeing her daughter spending money so extravagantly, and she advised her daughter in the same old way: "You can save your money, you don't have to spend it all. You really have to change this habit in the future, otherwise how will you manage after you get married and have children?"
"If I can live well when I'm alone, but I'm worse off after getting married, why would I get married? Am I going to support my husband's family?" Xia Qingqing said in a nonchalant tone, scoffing at the idea that marriage and childbirth should lower one's standard of living.
Zhang Hongyan was stumped by her question and fell silent for a moment.
She felt that her daughter's words made sense, but people always have to get married, and after marriage they have to have children. How can they still be as extravagant as before after having children?
Seeing Zhang Hongyan's silence, Xia Qingqing smiled and put her arm around her shoulder.
"Mom, you can rest assured. How bad can my life be as a college student from Beijing be? Just wait and enjoy your life."
Gou Dan, having put on his new sneakers, nodded in agreement upon hearing his sister's words: "That's right, that's right. My sister is the golden phoenix of our village. She'll definitely have a good life in the future."
"What golden phoenix? That sounds so corny," Xia Qingqing was a bit shocked by the name and curled her lips in disdain.
Dog Egg ran a couple of steps in place, found the new sneakers to be particularly comfortable, and said with a grin, "Sis, these shoes fit perfectly, I really like them."
Zhang Hongyan squatted down and pressed the toes of his shoes: "They're a little bit too big, but they'll still fit next year."
Children aged eight or nine are in the prime of their growth, and their shoe size really does change every year.
"You'd better take better care of your shoes from now on, or you won't have any to wear," Zhang Hongyan said, tapping Gou Dan's forehead with her finger.
Dog Egg nodded seriously. Of course he would take good care of such good shoes. He would be heartbroken if they broke in a year.
Xia Qingqing urged Zhang Hongyan to try on the pair of black leather shoes. Zhang Hongyan, with a silk scarf around her neck and wearing the new shoes, twirled around, looking quite pleased with herself.
"How is it? Does it have the feel of city people?"
Dog Egg was very supportive: "Mom, you're just like a city person, so fashionable."
“That’s right, it looks amazing, and it would look even better with a new outfit,” Xia Qingqing said, picking up the piece of fabric and holding it up against Zhang Hongyan. “It just means Mom will have to make the clothes herself.”
Zhang Hongyan rarely praised her daughter, saying, "Luckily, you still remember that your mother can make clothes herself, instead of just buying ready-made clothes from outside."
Amidst the laughter and chatter of the mother and her two sons, Xia Heping finally returned.
Seeing the three of them interacting intimately, Xia Heping felt excluded: "Why didn't you tell me that Qingqing is back?"
Xia Qingqing is now a prominent figure in Shihe Brigade. The news of her return spread like wildfire throughout the brigade, and of course, it soon reached Xia Heping's ears as well.
Zhang Hongyan glared at her husband: "You're really something, you didn't even know your own daughter was back, you were waiting for someone else to call you?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com