Half a day passed, and the two finally left the school. The gatekeeper watched their retreating figures, one big and one small, and felt envious.
Duoduo came from Beijing to study here temporarily. I heard that he has excellent grades and that his father is a college graduate and the manager of a furniture factory.
Everyone wanted to see what Duo Duo's dad looked like, and today I finally saw him. Turns out, Duo Duo's dad is so handsome!
When school starts, the old man will have something to talk about. He glanced at the candy and peach shortbread again, and finally peeled off a piece of candy and put it in his mouth. Mmm, so sweet.
"Dad, I'm hungry," Duoduo said.
"What would you like to eat, rice or noodles?" Southwest asked, pointing to a state-run restaurant in front of them.
Duoduo tilted her head and thought for a moment: "I want to eat rice."
My maternal grandparents love noodles, and I eat noodles almost every week when I go home. I'm tired of eating noodles now.
Now that state-run restaurants no longer require ration coupons for meals and noodles, Southwest ordered a bowl of plain noodles for himself, a bowl of rice for Duoduo, and a braised fish.
The little guy has loved eating fish since he was little, and a serving of braised fish chunks is enough to satisfy Duoduo's appetite.
Not long after the two sat down, a woman called from inside, "The noodles are ready, come and get them."
Upon hearing this voice, Southwest felt a jolt in her heart. How could it sound so much like Tang Xiaoling's voice?
Southwest turned his head and glanced at a woman's profile.
Sigh, what bad luck! It really is Tang Xiaoling. Duo Duo's face darkened. She was so happy today that she forgot about this woman working here.
"Who is it? Why aren't you coming to get the noodles? Hurry up!" Tang Xiaoling called out again, and when she looked up and saw Southwest, she was also taken aback.
Southwest, without any expression, picked up the bowl of plain noodles and walked back to his seat.
Tang Xiaoling turned her head and saw Duoduo sitting there. Her brow furrowed. Could it be that Xinan was brought by Duoduo?
Tang Xiaoling is living a very comfortable life now. She bought a large house for more than 10,000 yuan, and rented out the rest except for a small room for herself.
Houses that cost over 10,000 yuan have now risen to over 80,000 yuan, and rents have also increased accordingly.
The original rent of a few yuan has now risen to sixty yuan a month, especially the rent for the storefronts in front, which has risen to one hundred yuan a month.
Tang Xiaoling, who is not short of money at all, has grown tired of the vicious cycle of shopping and buying clothes recklessly, and is now more focused on how to make money.
I'm still young, and I don't necessarily have to rely on rent to make a living. It just so happens that the state-run restaurant has been contracted out to a private company, and the kitchen is short of a helper.
Seeing the job posting—two meals a day and a monthly salary of fifty yuan—Tang Xiaoling hurriedly applied.
The kitchen owner saw that Tang Xiaoling was fairly clean and pretty, worked quickly and efficiently, and most importantly, this woman had no family burdens.
Such a person is the best to help in the kitchen, so the boss chose Tang Xiaoling from among many applicants. From then on, Tang Xiaoling could basically save on living expenses.
During this period, many people introduced potential partners to Tang Xiaoling; her aunts and uncles all wanted to introduce their relatives to her.
In this town, Tang Xiaoling's conditions are truly outstanding. She has such a big house, receives so much rent, and still works outside.
Most importantly, this woman doesn't need to support her parents in old age, nor does she have any children to raise. What a perfect catch! Many people's minds started to wander.
But Tang Xiaoling has very high standards. Not to mention Zhou Bin, the Hong Kong businessman she met in Beijing, who is not only good-looking but also rich.
Even in the Southwest, there are far better men than these men who think they have great qualities.
Southwest is not only a college student, but also the manager of a furniture factory, not to mention his sister Yan Xiaonan.
She could even abandon the Southwest, so Tang Xiaoling wouldn't even give these men who were jumping around in front of her a second glance.
The restaurant owner found it strange and would ask her questions whenever he had free time. When he learned what Tang Xiaoling had done, he sighed and shook his head.
"You woman, you really don't know how lucky you are. If you have the chance, you should go and win him back," the boss concluded.
Tang Xiaoling's heart wavered a little. She just didn't like Duoduo. She still missed Wujinban and Xinan.
Just as she was getting into her thoughts, Tang Jianjun brought Duoduo to the restaurant for dinner. Tang Xiaoling didn't recognize Duoduo at first, since they hadn't seen each other for so many years.
But she recognized Tang Jianjun; no matter how old her father had become, she could still recognize him at a glance.
"Dad, why are you back? Were you kicked out of the Southwest?" Tang Xiaoling asked hurriedly.
Tang Jianjun ordered several dishes and said coldly, "Don't worry, I won't rely on you to support me in my old age. Southwest will take care of me."
Hearing her father say that, Tang Xiaoling felt relieved. Thank goodness.
"Duoduo, why don't you call out to your mother when you see her?" Tang Jianjun asked.
Duo Duo glanced at Tang Xiaoling, pretending not to hear. It was only then that Tang Xiaoling realized that the boy in front of her was her youngest son, Duo Duo.
He snorted coldly, turned around and went into the kitchen. He had originally planned to pay for his father's meal himself, but now it seemed unnecessary.
Without Tang Xiaoling's interference, Tang Jianjun and Duoduo enjoyed their meal quite a bit.
Tang Xiaoling took half a day off and secretly followed Tang Jianjun. She saw Duoduo enter a school, which Tang Xiaoling found very strange.
"Dad, isn't Duoduo studying in the capital? Why is she here? Did you transfer her household registration back?"
"No, I want to go back to my hometown to retire. Duoduo just wants to come and keep me company. Let me tell you, don't cause trouble for Duoduo, or I won't let you off the hook."
Tang Jianjun knew from the beginning that Tang Xiaoling was following behind, but for Duoduo's sake, he still kept quiet.
Now that Tang Xiaoling has run away, she inevitably received a warning: as long as Duoduo is doing well, nothing else matters.
Tang Xiaoling's biggest fear now is that people of all ages will ask her for money. Since she doesn't need to worry about them, she's happy to leave them alone.
But now that Dad and Duoduo are back, Southwest will definitely come back to see them too, though I don't know when.
After that, Tang Xiaoling frequently went to the school, mainly to find out if Southwest would come to visit Duoduo.
Duoduo knew, of course, that Tang Xiaoling often came to her school, and she wondered to herself, "Is she going to come and claim her son?"
To avoid being recognized by Tang Xiaoling, Duoduo never leaves the school gate on weekdays, and only leaves the school gate on weekends when Tang Jianjun comes to pick her up.
The two went several months without communicating. Tang Jianjun was unsure what his daughter was thinking, but he hoped that the mother and son could reconcile.
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