"Xiangdong, could you take Lan Hua to Yanjing to relax?"
Liu Yuliang made a request to Li Xiangdong, a little embarrassed.
Ning Ruoruo is about to take the college entrance examination, and Li Xiangdong had already arranged to go to Yanjing to accompany her during the next few days.
Back then, Ning Ruoruo's family lived in the cowshed in Lijiapo and received a lot of care from the cowherd Liu Yuliang.
Later, after Ning Ruoruo's parents passed away, Liu Yuliang and his wife often took care of her.
Ning Ruoruo and Liu Lanhua also have a good relationship.
Li Xiangdong agreed without even thinking.
Leaving behind the place of longing and going to a big city to broaden one's horizons might alleviate Liu Lanhua's sorrow.
When Liu Yuliang went back and told his beloved daughter, Liu Lanhua didn't object, and packed her clothes and luggage that very night.
In the middle of the night, Liu Lanhua's mother secretly came to her daughter's room and stuffed two hundred yuan into her hand. "Daughter, this is my own secret stash of money. Your father doesn't know. Take it and spend it! When we get to the big city, we shouldn't be stingy. Spend what you need. Oh, and buy some food and clothes for Ruoruo too. That child has had a hard life!"
Her mother had left, and Liu Lanhua had just drifted off to sleep on the kang (a heated brick bed) when she heard the door creak open again.
"Mother, you..."
"I'm your father—keep your voice down!"
Liu Lanhua sat up and saw Liu Yuliang tiptoe in and slip her a roll of money.
"Daughter, this is my secret stash of money. Your mother doesn't know. Go ahead and spend it!"
Liu Lanhua: ...
How come this couple even says the same thing!
Liu Yuliang continued his rambling instructions for a long time, "My dear daughter, there are plenty of fish in the sea. Go to Yanjing and broaden your horizons; you'll definitely find a young man even better than Guo Daming... Oh, and my dear daughter, I heard that Ruoruo's grandfather is bedridden and needs Ruoruo to take care of him. When you go to Yanjing this time, bring Ruoruo lots of good food; that child has such bad luck!"
After Liu Yuliang left, Liu Lanhua could no longer sleep.
The moon outside the window was bright and its soft, clear light shone through the curtains into the room, illuminating the entire night.
Li Xiangjie and Zhao Xiaopei strolled hand in hand along the Baiyang River, chatting amidst the chirping of cicadas and the swaying of green willows.
In the three rivers, Zhou Hongsong dived in and swam a few laps before surfacing to shake the water off his hair and let the water droplets slide off his strong chest.
Sitting on the shore, Qiao Xiaohuan smiled sweetly, gazing intently at Zhou Hongsong.
Guo Yuxi, Li Xiangdong, Li Guoqing, and Li Jiabao are playing Red Five.
Everyone had several long strips of white paper pasted on their faces.
Guo Yuxi and Li Jiabao had the most stickers on them, so many that they were almost completely obscured from view.
"call--"
Blowing on the white paper strip blocking his view, Guo Yuxi drew out two cards.
"Right! Is anyone in charge? Hey, Second Brother, where will Brother Zhou live if he gets married?!"
Li Jiabao drew two cards and played them.
"Gunfight! We can't let Qiao Xiaohuan go to the mountains with Brother Zhou, can we?"
"No, I can't control that!"
Li Jiabao is fourteen years old this year and is going through puberty. Before the Lunar New Year, he had a soft and sweet child's voice, but now his voice is rough and sounds a bit like a duck talking.
“But the village’s residential land is not allocated to people from other villages! Brother Zhou can’t build a house in our village.”
Li Xiangdong pulled out a pair of red five-tube pipes and said, "If we can't build houses in the village, we can buy houses in the county town!"
"Damn, you're on your own again!"
Li Jiabao jumped up and said to Guo Yuxi and Li Guoqing, "Is there a pair of kings? Hurry up and get them!"
Li Guoqing simply covered the sign up, saying, "No, I can't interfere."
"Haha! I'm leaving now that nobody's watching me!"
Li Xiangdong threw away the last two pairs of ten cards in his hand.
"No more parking tickets! You all better do push-ups!"
————
Besides Li Xiangdong and Liu Lanhua, Li Ping, Li Guoqing, and Guo Yuxi are also going to Yanjing this time.
Zhou Hongsong and Li Xiangjie were held back by their wives; neither of them wanted to leave Lijiapo.
With the Santana, the group no longer needed to rush to catch the train; they could set off whenever they wanted.
The food and drinks I brought didn't need to be carried by myself; they were all put in the trunk.
They settled comfortably into the car and arrived in Yanjing City in just a few hours.
Upon arriving at Tianshui Hutong, Ning Ruoruo was the only person in the entire courtyard.
Jin Deji and Wu Jianjun went out to collect antiques. Zhou Hongmei's noodle shop is now thriving.
Ning Ruoruo was doing her homework by the window. The bright sunlight shone on her profile, highlighting her fair and smooth face. A strand of black hair playfully fell down, and Ning Ruoruo tucked it behind her ear with her fingers, but it fell down again a moment later.
Li Xiangdong was stunned for a moment.
As if sensing something, Ning Ruoruo, who was inside the room, raised her head and looked out the window.
Their eyes met, but neither of them spoke.
"Hey, second brother, what are you doing standing in the middle of the yard? Aren't you hot in this blazing sun?"
Li Ping asked Li Xiangdong curiously.
The group of them went to the nearby convenience store to buy ice cream and soda as soon as they got out of the car, while Li Xiangdong went into the yard first.
When Ning Ruoruo saw Li Ping and the others come in, she quickly put down her pen and went out to greet them.
"Xiaoping, Jiabao, you're both here! Oh, Sister Lanhua! What brings you here too?"
Ning Ruoruo was overjoyed to see Liu Lanhua and quickly went to greet her.
Liu Lanhua handed Ning Ruoruo a bottle of ice-cold soda, then reached out and hugged her. "Ruoruo, you're too thin!"
Ning Ruoruo smiled and reached out to touch her cheek, "I get so tired of summer heat at this time of year."
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