Zhou Qiqi immediately understood. She turned her head, gave the old master a slightly apologetic smile, and spoke in a gentle yet firm tone:
"Thank you for your kind words, sir. But as you can see, my husband is a soldier,"
She pointed at Shen Huaichuan.
“There are rules in the military that make it inconvenient to publicly display personal photos, especially candid shots like these, in the display window. How about this? If you like the photos of me and my child, you can print out more and display them. But his… that’s not really appropriate.”
The experienced craftsman's face showed an expression of understanding mixed with regret, and he nodded repeatedly:
"Oh, oh, oh! I understand, I understand! Soldiers are supposed to be careful! It's only right, it's only right! Oh dear, I didn't think it through!"
He quickly recovered, his enthusiasm undiminished.
"Okay! Let's put up pictures of you and your child! Your daughter's glowing little mushroom and the one of you holding her are both really charming! They'll definitely attract attention! It's settled then! Express delivery fee waived, framed photos included!"
The experienced craftsman readily agreed, as if he could already see the effect of the photo being displayed in the shop window. He quickly reissued the invoice, even noting the size of the enlarged photo to be displayed in the shop window.
Upon hearing Zhou Qiqi's words, Shen Huaichuan's tense lips finally relaxed, and even a hint of warmth flickered across his face.
He stood silently to the side, watching Zhou Qiqi finalize the details with the master craftsman.
After paying a thick wad of money and tickets, I walked out of the Hongxing Photo Studio clutching the photo collection slip, the warm afternoon sun shining on me.
Looking at his smiling wife and the bouncy Zhouzhou beside him, and then at the photo slip in his hand that read "Family Photo (Mascot Costume)," Shen Huaichuan shook his head helplessly, but a barely perceptible smile involuntarily appeared on the corner of his mouth.
He reached out and patted Zhouzhou's little head, earning a sweet smile from the child.
"You,"
Shen Huaichuan said to Zhou Qiqi in a low voice, his tone filled with a kind of indulgent helplessness, "You always have so many ideas."
"Walk,"
Zhou Qiqi turned to Shen Huaichuan and said, "We should go to the department store."
Last week at the Zhuo family home, they promised Grandpa Zhai that they would visit him in the hospital.
But then I learned that the old man was going to have a minor surgery, so it wasn't appropriate to go then. Now that he should have recovered a bit, it's time to go see him.
The family turned into the department store diagonally opposite.
With a clear goal in mind, Zhou Qiqi began selecting items with practiced ease.
Two cans of canned yellow peaches in syrup with red labels, a box of malted milk powder with a wheat ear pattern, a net bag of bright red apples, calcium milk biscuits, peach shortbread...
She bought the items in front, while Qin Lei carried them from behind; they bought a huge pile.
Upon arriving at the hospital, she picked out a few items for Qin Lei to carry, and then went to the nurses' station in the inpatient department to ask for directions to Grandpa Zhai's ward.
Grandpa Zhai's ward was at the far end of the third floor; it was a private room, and it was quieter.
Pushing open the door, I saw the old man leaning against the bed, wearing reading glasses and reading a newspaper, with a simple-looking caregiver sitting next to him.
Upon seeing the family of three enter, the old man immediately took off his glasses, his face beaming with delight, and greeted them repeatedly:
"Oh! It's you! Come in, come in!"
"Mr. Zhai, how are you feeling?"
Zhou Qiqi placed the things she was carrying on the small table against the wall.
"Much better! It was just a minor surgery!"
The old man was in good spirits. His gaze swept over the things on the table, his smile faded, and he exuded the authority of an elder.
"Xiao Zhou, you've gone to so much trouble. I have plenty of food and drink, take it all back! I won't accept it!"
"Take them all back?"
Zhou Qiqi smiled and pushed Zhouzhou forward a little.
"Mr. Zhai, you don't want the things we brought, and you don't even want the little gift that Zhouzhou personally prepared for you?"
Zhouzhou looked up at Grandpa Zhai with her big, bright eyes, her lips moving silently as her little hands rummaged through the small cloth bag slung across her shoulder.
The moment the old man saw Zhouzhou, his heart melted. He couldn't care less about anything else; his eyes were filled with loving kindness.
"Oh my little Zhouzhou! What little gift did you bring for Grandpa?"
Zhouzhou walked to the bedside and carefully pulled out a neatly folded sheet of drawing paper from the cloth bag.
She tiptoed and gently spread the drawing paper on the old man's quilt.
One of them was drawn with crayons, the colors were bold but also a bit childish.
In the center of the picture is a smiling old man with a wide grin, wearing a striped hospital gown, taking medicine and getting an injection while striding out of the hospital gate. In the background are several smiling trees and a cheerful sun.
Next to it, two words were written crookedly in pencil: "Health".
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