"Oh, this is so expensive! I didn't want it, but they insisted on keeping it for me."
Su Xueli said, "Second Aunt, no matter how expensive it is, you deserve it. Tutoring is priceless."
Imagine what future generations will think: those teachers deliberately running tutoring classes during holidays to make money, charging exorbitant fees.
But my second aunt not only tutors students for free, but also provides them with meals. They are even embarrassed to accept fruit offered to them.
This is the difference.
In those days, winter fruits were indeed very expensive, and they were still a rarity for people in rural areas.
Su Xueli took an orange, peeled it, and the aroma immediately filled the entire room. She took several deep breaths, savoring the fragrance. "It smells so good!"
Auntie chuckled and said, "Silly girl, you've never eaten oranges before. There are plenty, eat as much as you want. Hurry up and eat, or my nephews and nieces will snatch them all up when they come."
Thinking of how cold-hearted her niece and nephew would be to her in the future, Su Xueli said, "Second Aunt, when there are good things, don't always think about others, eat them yourself."
My second aunt said, "There's no one else involved. It's our own child. How can an adult argue with a child?"
"Second Aunt, what you're saying isn't right. What do you mean by arguing with the child? You're eating your own food, and the child is eating it, that's arguing with you."
"Oh dear, let the kids eat it. I only feel happy when I see them eating. As for me, I'm single, and I'll have to rely on them when I get old."
Su Xueli smiled bitterly, "My silly second aunt, you've got it all wrong. You've spoiled so many ungrateful wretches."
But even if she told her the truth about what happened in the future, she wouldn't listen.
Su Xueli had no choice but to try another approach: "Second Aunt, you are still young. You may not be single forever. Maybe you will meet a perfect husband and have both a son and a daughter again."
"Oh dear, you little rascal, you're getting naughtier and naughtier! I'll teach you a lesson!" Second Aunt said, blushing as she pretended to hit Su Xueli.
Su Xueli laughed and rolled into her second aunt's arms, and the two laughed together.
Perhaps it was because the oranges of this era were too sweet, or perhaps it was out of a desire for revenge against her second aunt's nephews, Su Xueli finished one orange, took another, peeled it, gave one to her second aunt, and then went to peel another.
She casually steered the conversation back to their chance encounter at the department store, asking, "Second Aunt, I never knew you and Manager Gao were classmates."
My aunt exclaimed, "I never expected to run into an old classmate while just going out. Haha, it's been over twenty years since we last saw each other, and we still recognize each other."
Su Xueli asked, "Second Aunt, if Manager Gao doesn't recognize you, would you recognize him?"
My second aunt looked confused, popped a segment of orange into her mouth, shook her head and said, "I don't recognize it."
Su Xueli looked at her and said, "But Manager Gao recognized you at a glance."
My second aunt put another segment of orange into her mouth and said, "Maybe it's because I haven't gotten married or had children that I haven't changed much."
Su Xueli offered her interpretation, "That's part of the reason, but I think there's another reason that's more important."
My second aunt asked, "What's the reason?"
Su Xueli said, "You've made a deep impression on Manager Gao."
The second aunt was a little embarrassed and said, "Didn't he say that I like skipping rope? That's why he remembered."
Su Xueli asked, "Were you the only one jumping rope back then?"
Second Aunt shook her head and smiled, saying, "No, that's not it. Oh, child, even though we were full of dark flour buns, thin porridge and vegetable soup back then, we all loved to jump, sing, and play. We were so happy. Thinking about it now, it's like a dream."
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