Even though Lin Wei complained, she still carefully prepared a birthday present for Zong Shao.
As for the birthday party, it was not as lively as for the children. When asked who they wanted to invite, they could still say Xiao Shitou's name. Zong Shao was even more unique and could not say a single name.
Well, actually he is not that miserable. It is mainly because he is old and doesn’t like the hustle and bustle as much as kids. It is not a new year celebration, so he is too lazy to make a big fuss and just wants to have a meal with his family.
He is an adult, so Lin Wei naturally lets him do whatever he wants on his birthday, and thus focuses on the gifts.
Zong Shao was much more picky than the other two children when it came to gifts. Lin Wei asked the children what they wanted, and they thought about it seriously. Later, she took them to the supply and marketing cooperative to choose gifts. They didn't act pretentiously and chose the gifts generously. Except that the gifts they chose were obviously too expensive, Lin Wei didn't worry at all.
Zong Shao was much more annoying. When he gave Mingming and Ruirui gifts, he said that it would be best to give them gifts they liked and suggested that they choose for themselves. When it was his turn to prepare a gift, he changed his tone and said that the gift should be mysterious so that it would be a surprise.
After hearing this, Lin Wei said, "What if you don't like the gift I prepared?"
Zong Shao said generously: "No matter what kind of gift it is, as long as you prepare it carefully, I like it."
Lin Wei: “…” You’ve said all the positive and negative things.
It is better to share your worries with others than to worry alone. Lin Wei decided to drag the two children into the trouble. She called them over and said, "Dad's birthday is on the 13th of next month. Have you thought about what gift to give him?"
Mingming was shocked: "Do we still need to give Dad a gift?"
Lin Wei was even more shocked: "Dad and Mom have prepared such a wonderful gift for you. On Dad's birthday, won't you show your appreciation? Not only on Dad's birthday, but also on Mom's birthday, I'm looking forward to receiving your gifts." Coincidentally, all their family's birthdays are in these two months.
"But, but we have no money." Mingming said pitifully.
Lin Wei said: "It doesn't matter. The gift is not about how expensive it is, but about your thoughts. As long as you prepare it carefully, mom and dad will be happy even if it doesn't cost money."
Mingming was convinced, and said with a wrinkled face: "Well, okay then."
Ruirui thought more and asked, "Do mom and dad celebrate their birthdays together, too?"
Lin Wei stretched out her finger, shook it and said, "Dad's birthday is in mid-May, and Mom's birthday is in early June, so we don't celebrate together."
"Then can my brother and I prepare gifts for mom and dad together?" Ruirui asked again.
Lin Wei looked at the two children in front of her with great sorrow: "Mom and Dad worked so hard to raise you, but we only wanted to get gifts from each of you for your birthday, but you don't want to? Do you want to be lazy?"
Although Ruirui is obviously more mature than his peers, he is still young after all and can be easily fooled occasionally.
Just like now, the two of them looked guilty when asked by Lin Wei. Mingming patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, mom. I will definitely prepare gifts for you and dad very, very carefully!"
His brother expressed his opinion, and Ruirui quickly followed suit: "Me too."
Lin Wei smiled slightly: "Then mom and dad will be waiting for the gifts you prepare!"
The two children nodded in unison, but when they turned around, they started scratching their heads, wondering what to give to their parents.
…
Because Dad’s birthday was earlier, the two children first worried about giving Dad a birthday gift.
The two children thought hard for several days but still couldn't think of what to give, so they made the same choice as Lin Wei and ran to ask Zong Shao.
Lin Wei originally thought that Zong Shao would not say anything, but he actually treated her differently, saying, "As long as you prepare it carefully, even if it's just a flower or a song, Dad will be happy."
Although the sentence structure has not changed, the meaning is very different.
Lin Wei went to Zong Shao to reason with him, but he said helplessly, "Why are you competing with the kids?"
Lin Wei: “…”
Seeing Lin Wei speechless, Zong Shao asked with concern: "My birthday is not long away, have you prepared the gift?"
"Almost."
"What is it?"
Lin Wei glanced at Zong Shao: "Didn't you say you wanted a surprise? Wait!"
…
Zong Shao’s birthday was a working day, so he still had to go to the military camp as usual and would not be back until the evening.
Lin Wei didn't have any classes in the afternoon, so she bought lunch at a state-owned restaurant. After taking a nap and finishing her classes, she started preparing dinner.
The dishes she prepared today were not as rich as those for her two children's birthdays. It wasn't that she treated them differently, but she had classes for the whole morning and didn't have time to buy groceries.
I had time in the afternoon, but the seafood supply station was closed and the meat in the market was almost sold out. There were only two ribs, some lean meat, and some pig intestines left.
Lin Wei didn't dare buy pig intestines. Although her reaction was not as strong as it was two months ago, pig intestines had a strong smell and she was afraid that she would vomit when washing them. As for the rest, she just bought them all.
In the end, there were only two meat dishes on the table, sweet and sour pork ribs and stir-fried pork with green peppers. Oh, Lin Wei also made an egg pancake and put dried shrimps in the soup. The rest were all vegetarian dishes.
But Zong Shao was not picky. He sat down and waited expectantly for his wife and children to sing birthday song for him.
There’s nothing wrong with singing the birthday song. Last time, Lin Wei sang it in front of so many children, and she wasn’t afraid at all.
It’s just that for some things, if people don’t take them seriously, she feels at ease, but if people are looking forward to it, she will easily feel embarrassed. Just like now, Zong Shao was looking at her with great interest, and she was a little speechless, saying: "It's not an important birthday, so why don't we sing the birthday song?"
Zong Shao said dissatisfiedly: "You have been singing when they were four years old, and I am twenty-five this year." Every fifth day can be considered a birthday.
Lin Wei reminded: "My birthday hasn't come yet."
"I'll sing for you all night on your birthday." Zong Shao boasted.
OK.
In order to sing birthday songs all night long, Lin Wei tried her best and sang with her two children. She was a little embarrassed at first, but as she sang, she felt comfortable and started clapping her hands and swaying her body left to right along with the two children.
Zong Shao looked at them with a smile and was finally satisfied.
After singing the birthday song, Mingming rushed to give his father a gift. Zong Shao waited expectantly, and then he got a... fairly new marble.
Zong Shao's expression froze: "What is this?"
"This is my most favorite marble. Dad, you have to keep it well." In order to emphasize the importance of the marbles, Mingming said three good words in a row.
Zong Shao: “…Okay.”
Compared with his brother, Ruirui's gift was much more reliable. He gave Zong Shao a new notebook. This was the advantage of having savings. He could buy gifts right away without having to dig through toys.
However, what Zong Shao was most looking forward to was the gift from Lin Wei. After receiving the gifts from the two children, he looked up at Lin Wei.
Lin Wei took out her gift, handed it to Zong Shao and said, "Don't laugh at me."
It would have been fine if she hadn't said this. Once she said this, Zong Shao looked forward to her gift even more. He said with a smile, "Don't worry, I definitely won't laugh at you."
Of the three gifts, the most formal one was from Lin Wei. It was not only wrapped in floral paper but also tied with a blue ribbon.
Zong Shao took the gift, untied the ribbon, smiled faintly and asked, "What's inside?"
"See for yourself."
Zong Shao looked at the box in his hand. The box was not big, about as long as his palm, between two and three fingers wide, and about two fingers thick.
Zong Shao asked as he tore apart the flowered paper: "Could it be a pen?"
Lin Wei's expression froze.
"Is it really a pen?" Zong Shao raised his eyebrows, looking a little dissatisfied, "Is it just a pen?"
Lin Wei repeated: "Look for yourself!" He was annoyed by the gift.
Seeing her like this, Zong Shao had the answer in his mind: "Oh, there is something else."
After removing the floral paper, I found that there was indeed a box for pens inside. The brand was not very high-end, but it was not ordinary either, at least the price was not ordinary.
Of course, what is even more unusual is the engraving on the top of the pen barrel.
Z & L
The font was a bit sloppy, but the effect of the engraving was very good. He could guess what the Z and L meant, but he didn't quite understand the old shígG独伽& in the middle. He picked up the pen and handed it to Lin Wei and asked, "What does this symbol mean?"
Zong Shao was very satisfied with the words carved by Lin Wei, but she herself felt that they were too ugly to look at.
Although she didn't want to look, Lin Wei still glanced at it and said, "It means peace."
Zong Shao looked left and right, but he didn't think that & had any similarities with the word "和". However, he knew that Lin Wei always had many strange ideas, so he didn't delve into it and said thoughtfully: "So together, it means Zong Shao and Lin Wei."
In fact, she originally wanted to carve a literary sentence like "I wish you peace and joy", but after trying it, she found that carving was really too difficult.
Moreover, she asked her former colleague to buy the fountain pen in Shicheng. The county supply and marketing cooperative did not sell it, so there was only this one. If it was damaged, there was no replacement. She had to be cautious, so she got Z&L.
But she would not tell Zong Shao about this, so she just nodded and said, "Yes."
Zong Shao lowered his head and stroked the words engraved on the pen. Because it was hand-engraved, the surface of the engraved area was not smooth enough, but it was that roughness that moved him.
He smiled and said, "I like your gift very much."
He liked it very much, but he was obviously not very satisfied, and complained: "Why are there only Dad and Mom, and my brother and I not on it?"
"Today is my birthday." Zong Shao reminded and emphasized, "This is the birthday present your mother gave me."
In other words, why are there two of you?
Mingming was very dissatisfied: "But this is not on my and my brother's birthday presents."
"Shall I carve it for you?" Zong Shao asked.
Mingming glanced at his father, pouted and said, "I want my mother to carve it."
Lin Wei had a headache. The two father and son were comparing themselves endlessly. So she took the pen from Zong Shao and said, "This is Z, the first letter of the word Zong. What's your name?"
Mingming said: "Mingming."
"Daimyo."
Mingming started to think, and Lin Wei was dizzy: "You even forgot your own name?"
Mingming said aggrievedly, "But you and dad both call me Mingming. Uncle Zhou, Aunt Deng, Aunt Eighth Sister..." He counted a long string of names on his fingers, "They all call me that."
Lin Wei: “…” So you don’t even remember your own name, and I still have to praise you?
Fortunately, Ruirui is not as stupid as Mingming. He can not only say his own name, but also his brother's name. When asked, he said: "My name is Zong Zerui, and my brother's name is Zong Zeming."
"That's right, did you remember?" Mingming asked the second half of the question.
"Remember, my name is Zong Zeming." Mingming said, and then muttered, "But I still think Mingming sounds better."
Lin Wei had no taboos in this regard and said, "When you grow up, you can change your name to Zong Mingming."
Mingming: “Oh.”
After talking about the name, Lin Wei continued, "Z includes Zong Shao, Zong Zeming, and Zong Zerui, so these two letters represent our family, do you understand?"
"Got it." Mingming tilted his head to look at the words on the pen. The more he looked, the more satisfied he felt. He took the pen and handed it to Zong Shao solemnly, saying, "Dad, our family's names are written on it. You have to keep it well."
Zong Shao: “…” After all that talk, in the end I became one third?
…
Although it became one-third, Zong Shao cherished the gift from Lin Wei very much. When he went to the military camp the next day, he put the pen in his pocket.
It is actually very popular these days to put a pen on your pocket, and some people think one pen is not enough and want to put two or three, as if this can make them look more cultured.
Even in the army, there are many such vain people.
But Zong Shao was not such a person. He never put pens on his clothes, so as soon as he arrived at the camp, several people noticed the difference in him.
Don’t think that men are all rough and unable to notice subtle changes in their friends and colleagues. This is the military, and soldiers have good observation skills.
People are like this. When they notice changes in others, they can't help but ask more questions.
So sooner or later these people asked similar questions: "Why don't you use a fountain pen today? Why, have you thought it through and decided to use a fountain pen to show that you are cultured?"
When asked by others, Zong Shao did not hide anything and said calmly, "No, it's just that this pen is a birthday gift carefully prepared by my wife for me. I don't use it often, and she would definitely be disappointed if she knew."
Some people immediately shut up after being fed a mouthful of dog food, but some people insisted on asking jokingly: "Is your wife so strict with you?"
Zong Shao looked puzzled. "What does this have to do with how strict she is with me? Did your wife give you a gift just so you can put it aside and collect dust after receiving it? Then my wife and your wife have different ideas. I am happy to receive the gift, and I also want her to be happy, so I want to use this pen more."
This time, it was not about stuffing dog food into his mouth, but rather, he was pinched by the throat and forced to drink the dog food while also stabbing himself in the heart.
Yes, he has never received a birthday present from his wife in all these years of marriage, but so what? Is he proud? No!
The person making the joke covered his chest and changed the subject by asking, "We had a meeting this morning. Do you remember this?"
"Remember."
As it turned out, Zong Shao not only remembered it, but also listed one, two, three, and four feasible systems based on the theme of the meeting. Each of them spoke to the battalion commander's heart, and the look in his eyes when he looked at him was extremely gentle.
Of course, if Zong Shao just spoke, kept his hands still and didn't mess with the pen, the battalion commander would definitely look at him with more joy.
It’s not like it is now, where I think Zong Shao is a capable man, but at the same time I think, okay, okay, I know you received a gift from your wife on your birthday, that’s enough!
Of course it was not enough. Zong Shao held the pen and wrote from the beginning of the meeting to the end.
The other people attending the meeting were fine, but the two people sitting next to him really couldn't stand it. The main reason was that when they lowered their heads, they saw Zong Shao's waving hand and the words engraved on it from the corner of their eyes. They were not only envious that he had a birthday present while they didn't, but they were also very curious about what the words engraved on it meant.
Sitting on Zong Shao's left was Zhou Jianhai, who knew very well that Zong Shao wanted to show off secretly. Even though his heart felt like it was being scratched by a cat's claws and was very itchy, he was determined not to ask Zong Shao any more questions.
But the captain of the second company, who was sitting to Zong Shao's right, didn't have the patience. After the meeting, he couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Deputy Battalion Commander, I saw something engraved on your pen, but I just looked at it for a long time and didn't understand it. What does it mean?"
The captain of the second company lowered his voice deliberately, but Zong Shao didn't. He picked up the pen in his hand and said calmly: "Oh, this, my wife said that Z and L are the initials of my name and hers, and the middle character means "and", so if we practice it, it means me and her."
He would never tell anyone that he was just one of the three!
Upon hearing this, the other officers who had not yet left the meeting room looked at the captain of the second company and questioned with their eyes: Isn't it enough that you are asking for trouble yourself, but you have to drag us into this?
Second Company Commander: “…”
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Second update
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