Lin Jianguo smiled and said, "Yes, yes, let me find it for you."
After rummaging through the basket for a while, he finally pulled out two skewers of candied hawthorns. Looking awkwardly at all the people in the yard, he said embarrassedly, "Hehehe, I only bought two skewers. I originally meant to give one skewer each to my wife and Er Ya."
"Alright, alright, I know your daughter and wife are close."
Just then, a person popped out from behind Lin Jianguo, shouting loudly, "Me too! I brought you something too!"
Er Ya exclaimed in surprise, "Brother Lu? What brings you here? Isn't the shop busy?"
Qian Lu rolled her eyes dramatically: "What are you talking about? We're always so busy at the store, but it's my major shareholder's birthday, so no matter how busy I am, I have to come and celebrate with you. Here, these are all things I bought for you."
It turned out that when he was shopping at the market today, he happened to run into Lin Jianguo, who was also shopping. Seeing the large and small bags Lin Jianguo was carrying, he asked him out of curiosity why he was buying so many things.
Luckily, he asked around and found out that it was Er Ya's birthday today. So, he quickly sent someone back to tell them that he wouldn't be there at noon and asked Xiao Wang to keep an eye on things. He bought some things and hurried over with Lin Jianguo. Fortunately, he made it in time.
Er Ya looked at the things Qian Lu had brought, including food, supplies, chicken cakes, malted milk powder, canned goods, and milk powder—everything imaginable. She glanced at Qian Lu speechlessly. Did he think she was still a baby? He even bought milk powder. Oh well, she knew he was always a bit slow on the uptake. She'd save the milk powder for her unborn brother.
Qian Lu smiled mysteriously: "Ta-da! Look, I also brought something Jingyu mailed back to you. He didn't know it was your birthday. It was mailed a few days ago. I was saying I'd give it to you when you came over. Open it and let us all see what it is?"
Er Ya slowly opened the tightly sealed bag and took out what was inside. Wow! It turned out to be a princess dress, adorned with round beads.
"What a beautiful dress! Er Ya, you should try it on."
When Er Ya came out after changing into her dress, everyone saw that the little girl in front of them was wearing a white smoky dress with delicate gold butterflies embroidered on the sleeves, a few lace trims on the front of the dress, and a thin layer of silk gauze that looked like a light mist. A black belt was tied around her waist, making her look noble and slender.
The orchids embroidered on the cuffs accentuated her slender, delicate fingers, and her pink lips, glistening with a crystalline color, curved into a beautiful arc.
Li Taohua circled around Er Ya and looked her over: "Er Ya, you are so beautiful! I never really noticed you when you were around every day, but today you are like a completely different person, like a fairy."
Lin Xiao was stunned when he saw Er Ya like this, and it took him a long time to recover. Fortunately, he wasn't the only one who was like this, so he didn't lose his composure.
Er Ya excitedly spun around in place: "Right? I think it's very pretty too. Brother Jingyu has great taste. It's exactly the kind of girl I like."
Looking at the completely different Er Ya, Qian Lu thought to himself: This little girl has really changed a lot. When I first met her, I could tell at a glance that she was a country bumpkin, her face was so thin that she could hardly hold her head up. In such a short time, she has changed so much. If she hadn't been hanging around me from time to time, I would have thought that someone had switched that country bumpkin.
No wonder Jingyu calls every now and then to give her some advice. That kid has good taste; if she grows up, she'll definitely be the village beauty.
If Er Ya knew that Qian Lu had compared her to a village beauty when she grew up, she would definitely beat him up. "Village beauty" is not a compliment.
Jiang's mother chuckled and tapped Er Ya's head: "Alright, stop being so smug. The food is almost ready. It's time to eat. There are a lot of us today, so let's eat in the yard, set up two tables, and have a good, lively meal."
Once everyone was seated, the dishes were served one after another. They included everything from birds and animals to fish and meat, including chicken, duck, and fish. Lin Jianguo even bought a piece of beef, which was in high demand and he had to fight for a while to get one. Jiang's mother made it into a beef soup, and everyone was served a bowl. It was so delicious that they couldn't believe their ears.
The table was laden with more than a dozen dishes, each one generously portioned. Once all the dishes were served and everyone was seated, Er Ya held up the juice she had specially made for her and said:
"Thank you all for coming to my birthday party. Everyone should eat, drink, and have fun today. Dad, you and Grandpa can drink to your hearts' content. I'll take care of Mom."
Following Er Ya's example, everyone raised their bowls of juice, clinked glasses with her, and drank it down in one gulp.
No wonder Er Ya loves this homemade juice. Ever since she found this fruit on the mountain, she dragged Lin Xiao and Gou Dan to pick a whole basketful and squeezed out the juice little by little. She drinks a cup every day. Lin Xiao spoils her and brings some back every time he goes down the mountain because he sees she likes it.
Jiang's mother looked at her with annoyance: "Alright, with you backing him up, your father can finally drink to his heart's content. Mother, sister-in-law, Taohua, let's start eating. Today we're all family, so don't be shy. Eat whatever you want. The food will get cold soon."
Over there, Lin Jianguo and Jiang Heping were already shouting "Five Kings, Six Six Six!"
Er Ya picked up a piece of her favorite food with her chopsticks, then picked up another piece, and it was still her favorite food. She couldn't help but exclaim, "Birthdays are so great! I wish every day could be my birthday!"
"Alright, you have no idea how much this meal cost today. If you celebrated your birthday every day, we'd be starving in no time."
Er Ya fawned over Jiang's mother and put a piece of roe deer meat on her plate, saying in a coquettish tone, "Mom, I was just saying."
Qian Lu and the others didn't have time to talk. With such delicious food in front of them, it would be disrespectful not to finish it all.
When they had almost finished eating, Wang Meili nudged Chen Xiuhua and whispered something to her.
Chen Xiuhua put down her chopsticks, took out a pair of silver bracelets from her pocket, put them inside Er Ya's gloves, and Er Ya shook her hand curiously, the bells on them making a crisp sound.
Jiang's mother could tell at a glance that it would cost a lot of money. She pulled Er Ya to take it down and complained, "Mother, why did you buy her such nice things? It's a waste for a child."
Chen Xiuhua grabbed her hand and said, "Give this to her. This is a token of our appreciation. It was your sister-in-law who reminded me that the family business depends entirely on Er Ya. If it weren't for her, we wouldn't be counting money every day."
To be continued!
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