"Table number four! Table number four, get your food!" The waiter's loud voice announcing the dishes broke the pink bubble around the two.

Xu Haizhou stood up and said in a slightly faster tone: "I'll get it."

After saying this, he disappeared. He was very fast and brought all five dishes to the table in just three steps.

Finally, I went to get the dishes and chopsticks, but when I came back and sat down, I realized something was wrong, so I went back and asked the waiter for a small wooden spoon.

What a thoughtful person! This was the second time Qiao Lu thought to herself.

Xu Haizhou handed the small spoon to Qiao An. Qiao Lu noticed his hands. His flesh and bones were well-proportioned, his fingers were long like bamboo, and he had just the right sense of grace. He was a rare beautiful hand.

Hand control party welfare?

Over there, the boy was hesitant to move, and after a while Qiao Lu took over for him.

"An An, uncle is holding a spoon for you, why are you standing there without moving? What should you say to uncle?"

After Qiao Lu crossed over, she had been cultivating her child's basic manners and manners. No one had taught him this in the countryside before. Although Qiao An was taciturn and shy, he was actually very smart. He basically remembered everything Qiao Lu taught him after one or two times.

After thinking about it for a long time, her face was twisted into a knot. After a long while, she finally heard a faint mosquito-like sentence:

"Thank you."

However, these words were spoken right into Qiao Lu's ear.

Qiao Lu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She turned his head towards Xu Haizhou and said, "What did you say to your mother about the spoon your uncle gave you?"

The boy's face turned red as an apple at a speed visible to the naked eye. He pursed his lips shyly and looked at Xu Haizhou. He quickly said "thank you" and buried his head in Qiao Lu's arms like a turtle.

"This child." Qiao Lu stroked his head and sighed helplessly.

"He looks a little shy." Xu Haizhou looked at Qiao An and said to Qiao Lu.

Qiao Lu smiled, her eyebrows and eyes were very charming: "Yes, I have been shy since I was a child, but now I am much better. In the past, when I saw people in the countryside, they would hide behind me."

"That's progress, great." Xu Haizhou said with a smile.

Qiao Lu also smiled and poked the little one in her arms: "An An, uncle praised you so much."

The young man remained silent and turned his head to Xu Haizhou. However, Qiao Lu was quick to notice that the boy was lying in her arms with an embarrassed smile on his face.

She scooped a spoonful of egg soup for her son to soak in the rice. Qiao An would vomit when he ate spicy vegetables such as onions, ginger and garlic, so Qiao Lu carefully picked them out for him.

"Thank you, Mom."

The thanks were forthright and undisguised.

The atmosphere during the meal was much more pleasant than Qiao Lu had imagined. As they ate and chatted, Xu Haizhou kept filling her in on his own situation, detailing every detail, and even told her the approximate profit of his stall each month.

Qiao Lu was a little surprised, and she joked with him, "You told me all this, what if we don't end up together?"

Xu Haizhou replied very seriously: "It's not like I'm telling you the password to my bank account. It won't cause any trouble."

Qiao Lu couldn't help but burst out laughing: "You are so humorous."

The corners of Xu Haizhou's lips slightly raised, and there was a flash of joy in his eyes.

…

After dinner, the three of them walked around the hotel. This place is considered the city center. In addition to various state-owned stores, there are also department stores.

Xu Haizhou invited Qiao Lu to visit the building, but Qiao Lu declined.

It was obvious that Xu Haizhou had a good impression of her. During the short time they spent together, Qiao Lu found that he was a very honest person. She was afraid that he would spend money after entering, so she thought about it and simply refused.

Xu Haizhou did not force it. He passed by a grocery store and went in to buy a bag of cream biscuits, a portion of crab shell biscuits, three bottles of Arctic Ocean soda, and a can of yellow peaches that was so expensive that he only bought it when visiting patients.

A bottle of Arctic Ocean costs 1.5 cents, and they have to pay a 20-cent deposit, which they have to return after finishing the drink, so they didn't walk far and just walked around a nearby park to digest the food.

In fact, Qiao Lu and her previous blind date didn't have any other activities except eating together, but now she and Xu Haizhou even went to the park. This development is indeed "progress".

…

The sky in 1982 was very blue, and the white clouds looked like sugar cubes, which seemed to melt under the warm sunlight. If there is sunshine outside in winter, it is still quite comfortable to walk around.

"I don't know what Qiaoan likes to eat, so I bought a few random dishes. Let's try them out. Which one do you like?"

Xu Haizhou passed the snacks over to her, and the moment he got close to her, he suddenly smelled the faint scent of soap on Qiao Lu, mixed with her unique sweet fragrance, floating in the air and crawling into his nasal cavity.

In a trance, Xu Haizhou felt as if he was passing by a garden. Even if he had no intention of picking flowers, the smell made him reluctant to leave.

Qiao Lu didn't know what Xu Haizhou was thinking, so she casually took a cookie and said thank you with a smile: "Thank you, my An An is not picky about food, he is just a little foodie."

"Isn't that right, little foodie?"

As he spoke, he nudged his neck. The little guy was very afraid of being tickled, so he giggled when his hair was rubbed against his neck. He usually had a stern face and looked like an old cadre, but this smile finally showed some childishness, which melted his mother's heart.

She smiled, and suddenly turned her head to look at Xu Haizhou. Her almond-shaped eyes were bright and clear, and the warm light cast a clear shadow under her eyelashes, covering her eyes, making her look even quieter and gentler.

Xu Haizhou's heart began to beat wildly, and he felt an inexplicable joy.

There are few people visiting the park during the day on weekdays, and walking on the tree-lined paths is very quiet. Although it is winter, the weeds on both sides are lush, and the cold-resistant willow-leaf chrysanthemums are also stubbornly stretching their bodies, adding a gorgeous color to the cold winter.

After eating the biscuits, Qiao Lu handed the soda to his son. It was the first time for little Qiao An to drink this stuff. He gulped it down. His throat was stimulated and his facial expression suddenly became wonderful.

Qiao Lu was about to laugh, but the little guy started crying because of the smoke.

The old mother was so frightened that she quickly took it away, but the kid in her arms just shed a few tears, then looked at him curiously and said:

"Mom, I want more."

It’s over, the child is drunk.

Qiao Lu didn't know whether to laugh or cry so she put him on the ground, stuffed the soda into his hand, and started to gulp down the bottle. After a few gulps, half the bottle was gone.

I burped after drinking it, and an indescribable stimulating feeling rose in my throat that I had never experienced before.

Little Qiao An was successfully scared to tears.

This time Qiao Lu really couldn't hold it back anymore. Even though he was her son, she laughed out loud without giving him any face. Her laughter could be heard across the forest.

"Oh, son, it's okay, it's okay, it's normal, it's okay, haha." She hurriedly wiped his tears and laughed so hard that she couldn't breathe.

Xu Haizhou, who was standing beside him, very considerately took out a hand from his pocket and handed it to Qiao Lu, trying not to laugh.

Qiao Lu took it, thanked him, and wiped her son's face clean which was covered with biscuit crumbs.

The young boy cried with a sad face: "Mom, am I going to die..."

Phew——Who can resist laughing?

"Oh, son, you won't die. How could you die? This is soda. That's what soda is like. After you drink it, bubbles will appear in your stomach." She moved her palm to his belly and slowly raised it up: "Then the bubbles will rise from your stomach and into An An's mouth, and you will burp. It's okay, don't be afraid."

But the feeling was too strange, and his teeth were chattering. He was really scared just now.

With Qiao Lu's comfort, the boy gradually calmed down, and then he burped a few times intermittently, as if he was really fine. He stopped sobbing, but he didn't dare to drink the remaining half bottle of soda.

"Eat a bite of biscuit to relieve the shock."

Xu Haizhou handed over a crab shell cake and tried to touch his head, but the boy dodged him.

Qiao An looked at him warily, held Qiao Lu's hand and took a half step back.

"Uncle is giving you a cookie, take it quickly."

He hesitated for a long time, looked up at Xu Haizhou, then lowered his head to confirm that it was just an ordinary biscuit before putting it in his mouth.

At this moment, there were still a few tears hanging from the corners of his eyes, which swayed as he crunched the biscuits, so adorable.

Crab shell cakes, shaped like crab shells, are also called small crispy cakes. Most of them are stuffed with pork, dried vegetables or honey and baked over charcoal. Although the one Xu Haizhou bought is a state-owned small shop, its predecessor was also a century-old brand that was well-known in Li'an before the founding of the People's Republic of China. The crispy cakes with pork filling are the most authentic, crispy on the outside and fragrant on the inside. The filling is oily but not greasy, and the fragrance lingers on your lips and teeth.

"Is it delicious?" Qiao Lu asked her son.

"Good~" His eyes lit up, how could he say it was not good.

"Who gave this cake?" Qiao Lu asked again.

The little guy paused in his grunting movements, with a black piece of dried vegetable grain on the corner of his mouth, like a mole. Combined with his nose tip that had turned pink from crying, he looked both silly and cute.

Qiao An raised her eyes to meet Xu Haizhou's. It was a rare occasion for the two of them to look at each other so seriously. However, Qiao An didn't last for more than a few seconds before shyly leaning towards Qiao's exposed legs and whispered, "Uncle..."

Qiao Lu rubbed his head helplessly and coaxed him, "What should you tell your uncle?"

After a long time, Comrade Qiao An finally spoke.

"Thank you..." These words were spoken close to Qiao Lu's thigh, in a voice as soft as a mosquito.

"What? Mom didn't hear it, and uncle didn't hear it either."

The young man closed his eyes and shouted loudly, "Thank you!"

After shouting, little Qiaoan opened his eyes and suddenly realized that being brave was not that difficult after all.

"Great." Qiao Lu rewarded her son with a thumbs up.

Xu Haizhou also gave her face: "Qiao An is a very polite child."

The little boy finally smiled his first joyful smile of the day, and his walking posture changed from the timid steps at the beginning to a brisk rhythm with a slight upward lift.

Later, Qiao Lu never expected that little Qiao An, who she thought would be a stumbling block, would actually become an opportunity for communication between the two adults.

The topic started with Qiaoan, and the two had a heated conversation about how to raise children. The conversation became more and more in-depth, gradually branching out and extending to deeper topics.

Qiao Lu found it strange that the two people's values ​​were inexplicably compatible.

At that time, the clouds parted layer by layer, and the sunlight peeked out playfully as if by agreement, coating the two people with a layer of gold.

On the tree-lined path, the little boy ran ahead of the two adults, chasing butterflies. The wind rustled the leaves, and the chirping of birds served as background music.

Xu Haizhou suddenly lowered his head, and Qiao Lu suddenly raised her eyes. He saw that her clear eyes only reflected his face.

A little blurry.

But the more you look at it, the clearer it becomes.

It was clearly their first time together, but both parties felt that their souls were halfway compatible with each other.

Gudong——

Qiao An kicked a small stone into the lake, causing ripples.

Qiao Lu's breathing became slightly choked, and when she realized something, her heart skipped a beat.

"Jolu."

"Um?"

In the silent environment, he suddenly called her name, and then stopped talking. There was silence, so silent that the sky and the earth seemed to be silent as well. Only the hot heart in his chest roared like beating a gong or a drum.

After a long while, he finally managed to utter a few words.

"What do you think...what do you think of me?"

After he finished speaking, Qiao Lu was stunned at first, her mind went blank for a second, and then she smiled faintly.

"Good."

Xu Haizhou nodded and replied seriously: "I think you are great too."

Qiao Lu suppressed her laughter: "Yeah."

The man glanced at her, and the moment their eyes met, he quickly turned his head away, avoiding her gaze.

There was a subtle hint of trepidation in his voice: "Are you free tomorrow?"

Qiao Lu blinked: "Yes."

"I have a stall in Qingteng Lane, across from No. 1 Middle School. If you..."

Before she finished speaking, Qiao Lu replied, "I'll come to see you tomorrow."

"Well, okay." For some reason, every time when he looked into Qiao Lu's eyes, Xu Haizhou always felt that she could see through all his thoughts.

He put his fist into his mouth and coughed twice, then said, "Then we..."

Before she finished speaking, Qiao Lu blurted out: "Let's be together!"

“Ahem…”

Hard to guard against. These six short words were absolutely shocking to Xu Haizhou's ears. His heart was boiling like oil and his face turned red from coughing.

Qiao Lu tilted her head to look at him and touched the back of her neck: "Was I too abrupt?"

But she felt that given Xu Haizhou's nagging personality, if she didn't take the initiative to speak, this man might go around in circles for three days and three nights without getting to the point.

"No." The two words came out of his mouth, and Xu Haizhou's face tightened instantly, his expression was as hard as facing a powerful enemy: "Comrade Qiao Lu, have you thought about it? Do you want to be with me?"

He was so frightened that his name changed from "Qiaolu" to "Comrade Qiaolu."

"Uh..." Looking at his serious face, Qiao Lu rolled her eyes and stammered, "Actually..."

For a full two minutes, Qiao Lu looked very conflicted. Xu Haizhou's heart, which he had suppressed with great difficulty, began beating even more violently. It seemed as if there was a ball of fire burning him in his heart, and it seemed as if it was drowning him, and finally turned into a stone pressing on his chest.

Just when Xu Haizhou was getting anxious and thought Qiao Lu regretted it, a bomb exploded.

"Actually, I think it would be easier to just get married."

Xu Haizhou: “!!”

The author has something to say:

Qiao Lu: Am I a little impatient?

Xu Haizhou: Well - I think we can be more urgent, for example, go and get the certificate now.