Chapter 30: The unilateral gift and acceptance of bloodsucking is not benign...
The lyrics are full of the unique charm of this era. Seeing that Xu Heye liked it, Kong Xiaoyue said, "Xu Heye, I'll give you this tape!"
Xu Heye quickly waved her hands: "I don't want it." An authentic album costs more than 30 yuan, which is equivalent to three days' salary for an ordinary person. It is not a small amount of money.
Kong Xiaoyue was very surprised and a little unhappy: "Why not? Don't you like this music album very much?" Her previous friends would never refuse the gifts she gave them.
Xu Heye didn't accept her gift. Did she not consider her her friend? That's right, with her grades being so poor now, how could anyone really want to be her friend? Kong Xiaoyue thought about it, feeling frustrated.
Xu Heye looked at Kong Xiaoyue. She hadn't noticed that her deskmate actually had the tendency to give away money. She was actually unhappy when others didn't accept her gifts.
Seeing Kong Xiaoyue becoming increasingly depressed, her thoughts wandering off into a corner, Xu Heye quickly said, "It's not that I can't accept your gift, but I can't accept a gift that's too expensive."
Kong Xiaoyue was puzzled: "But I don't think it's expensive."
Her parents gave her a thousand yuan in pocket money every month, and occasionally gave her extra money if she wanted to buy something expensive. She really didn't think thirty yuan was much. A simple trip to KFC and some fries and a hamburger would cost more than thirty yuan.
Xu Heye was somewhat helpless and explained, "Kong Xiaoyue, thirty yuan for an album is really not cheap. An ordinary office worker, like my father, a high school math teacher, only makes less than three hundred yuan a month, and with bonuses and subsidies, it's just over four hundred yuan. Your thirty yuan is two or three days' salary for him!"
Two or three days' wages is not a small amount of money for an ordinary working-class family. Anyone with sense would know not to accept such an expensive gift."
Kong Xiaoyue hesitated to speak, and Xu Heye continued, "And if you give me a gift, should I give you something in return? But I can't afford to spend thirty or forty yuan to buy a gift." This money, if she spent it frugally, would be her living expenses for a week.
Kong Xiaoyue hurriedly said: "You don't have to send me off!"
Xu Heye shook her head again: "No. A good friendship requires reciprocity. One-sided giving and receiving is not a healthy relationship. If I only want to take advantage of you without giving anything in return, then I am not your friend, but a parasite that clings to you and sucks your blood."
Kong Xiaoyue was stunned. "Is that so?"
Her friends from her hometown never gave her gifts.
Instead, they would always ask her for money and gifts for various reasons. Everyone said that if they didn't want to be friends with her, they wouldn't care about her money or gifts.
Kong Xiaoyue wasn't short of money, so naturally, she wouldn't care about such things. On the contrary, having someone to accompany her often made her very happy. Because her parents were away doing business all year round, traveling around everywhere, Kong Xiaoyue, a child left behind by a wealthy family, felt extremely empty and lacked love.
She looked at Xu Heye, who nodded affirmatively: "Yes."
Kong Xiaoyue seemed to be lost in thought.
Xu Heye looked at the four-story building opposite the shopping mall and said to Kong Xiaoyue, "Xiaoyue, the Xinhua Bookstore is across the street. Let's go to the bookstore and have a look. Maybe we can find some English tapes." If not, it would be good to buy some English books to expand reading comprehension.
Xinhua Bookstore is worthy of being the largest and most comprehensive bookstore in China. Even in 1989, the books and materials here were the most complete.
The two of them were successful, no, it should be said that Kong Xiaoyue bought the listening tapes of the entire English textbook for the three years of junior high school.
A tape costs nine dollars, which is much cheaper than a music album, but the entire three-year series, two tapes per semester, a total of twelve tapes, still costs one hundred and eight dollars.
Xu Heye bought a repeater, but her pockets were low. So she only bought two tapes for the second semester of her eighth year of junior high. She listened to them primarily to develop a sense of language.
Unlike Kong Xiaoyue, who had no basic knowledge, she really needed to learn the 26 letters from the beginning of junior high school. Using tapes and listening exercises helped her master the correct pronunciation.
After buying a Walkman and English tapes, the trip for the two of them ended successfully.
When I came out of the bookstore, I saw someone selling sesame balls at a stall next to me. The round glutinous rice balls covered with white sesame seeds were tossing up and down in the oil pan, spinning left and right, emitting an irresistible aroma.
Xu Heye swallowed subconsciously, and saw Kong Xiaoyue also staring blankly at the sesame balls in the wok.
My stomach growled.
After a morning of strolling, the noodles I had eaten in the morning were already digested. As a middle school student, you can't stand being hungry at all when you're still growing.
The two looked at each other and said in unison: "How about going to buy some sesame balls?"
"OK!"
"How many do you want to eat?"
"Just one will do!"
Both of them laughed. What a tacit understanding they had.
Kong Xiaoyue walked to the stall and said to the boss, "Boss, give me two sesame balls."
Then he asked, "How much?"
"Fifty cents each." The boss replied to Kong Xiaoyue while turning the sesame balls with a colander.
"Here's the money, exactly one dollar. Please help us pack it separately." Kong Xiaoyue took out a dollar from her trouser pocket and gave it to the boss.
"Okay." The boss quickly took out two fried glutinous rice balls, put them into oil paper bags, and handed them to Kong Xiaoyue.
Kong Xiaoyue handed Xu Heye's portion to her, took a bite of her own sesame ball, and instantly grimaced in the heat. She could only open her mouth and breathe out continuously, but she was still reluctant to spit out the sesame ball in her mouth.
When they go back, Xu Heye wants to give her money.
Kong Xiaoyue was a little unhappy: "Xu Heye, you said the tape was too valuable and couldn't be accepted. Are you going to charge me so much for a fifty-cent sesame ball? Besides, I ate the noodles you cooked at your house this morning and you didn't charge me. There were vegetables and eggs in it too, so it wasn't cheap!"
Xu Heye laughed. She never thought that there would be money that could not be given away.
Seeing Kong Xiaoyue's aggrieved look, Xu Heye took back the money: "Okay, thank you for treating me to the sesame balls."
"That's right!" Kong Xiaoyue said, holding Xu Heye's arm, "I'll treat you to something else delicious later."
The two sisters got on the bus and sat there for more than half an hour. Kong Xiaoyue then followed Xu Heye back to her home.
It was still early, and she didn't want to go back to her uncle's house. If she went back, she would have to face her aunt's face, or listen to her aunt's sarcastic demands for money. It would be better to stay with Xu Heye.
It was almost noon, and there were not many vegetables at home. Xu Heye took Kong Xiaoyue to the nearby vegetable market to buy some vegetables.
In May, broad beans are on the market.
Seeing farmers from the suburbs carrying fresh broad beans to sell at the vegetable market, Xu Heye bought half a pound of peeled broad bean rice.
The lettuce is good and can be stored for a long time, so you can buy two.
Cabbage is also good. It is crispy and sweet in this season. Let’s have one.
Water spinach is also good, it is green and delicious whether stir-fried or made into soup. Buy two bunches.
Finally, they went to the butcher stall and bought half a pound of lean meat, and then they went home.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
