At her son's urging, Zhang Shuzhen ate half a pastry, and then broke the remaining half and fed it to her grandson.
As the mother and daughter talked, Sheng Xiping rummaged through the package.
The items bought for other people's families have already been sent back. As for his own family's items, Sheng Xiping didn't send them back; he carried them back himself.
Shanghai, as an international metropolis, has a wide variety of fashionable goods.
It's perfectly normal to bring back clothes, shoes, watches, and other items when you make a rare trip.
The mother and daughter sorted and put everything away, and it was getting late. So Zhang Shuzhen asked Sheng Xiping to watch the two children while she went to cook.
At this time of year, the forest farm is busy with afforestation and forest fire prevention, and Sheng Liancheng is also busy, so he went up the mountain with them.
Apart from the lower grades and students taking the college entrance examination this year, all the other students from Qianchuan Elementary and Middle Schools went to the mountains to plant trees.
So at noon, only Zhang Shuzhen, Sheng Xiping, and Sheng Xikang ate at home, and they just made something simple.
After lunch, Sheng Xiping didn't rest. He went to the homes of those who had asked him to help carry things.
The items had already been sent back ahead of time, and Sheng Xiping needed to go over and reconcile the accounts with the other party. Every single item of the remaining money, or the money he had advanced, was recorded in the ledger.
Regardless of whose family it is or how well they get along on a daily basis, feelings are feelings, and accounts are accounts; these two should not be confused.
Most of the people who could ask Sheng Xiping to buy things were those with whom they had a very good relationship.
Zhang Shuzhen would never take on these tasks for her son if they weren't on good terms, to avoid causing trouble.
Sheng Xiping bought things for them from afar and even sent them back. They were very grateful and said they didn't want the remaining money.
Sheng Xiping wasn't about to take advantage of such a situation. After settling the accounts and giving the remaining money to the other party without missing a penny, he took his leave.
As evening fell, everyone who had gone up the mountain to work returned. As soon as Sheng Liancheng entered the house, he was overjoyed to see his eldest son and hurriedly pulled him aside to inquire about things back in their hometown.
“Dad, everything is fine back home. My grandparents are in good health. They miss you and said they want you to go back and visit when you have time.”
The two sides have been in constant communication and know about important matters, so Sheng Xiping only said a few words.
"Oh, it's easy for you to say. How are we going to get this whole family back? It costs a lot of money to go back, and we can't bear to spend that much."
Upon hearing this, Sheng Liancheng sighed. He wanted to, but the objective conditions didn't allow it.
While Sheng Xiping was chatting with his father, Sheng Xitai and the others noticed the watch on Sheng Xikang's wrist and knew that it was a gift from the eldest brother to the third brother.
The children all stared at their eldest brother, eager to know what he had brought them.
Upon seeing this, Sheng Xiping couldn't help but laugh. He then told Zhang Shuzhen and took the things out of the cabinet. "Here, these are for you."
The Sheng sisters, Sheng Yunfang and Sheng Yunfei, wore two pairs of sandals, one pink and one light yellow dress.
The two girls are both sixteen, the age when they love to look good, and their eyes light up when they see pretty dresses.
"The two dresses are different colors and styles, so you two can take turns wearing them, and each of you can wear your own shoes."
Sheng Xiping specially bought two different dresses. The two girls were the same height and build, so they could switch them over, which was like having an extra piece of clothing.
"Thank you, brother."
The two girls were overjoyed. Sheng Yunfei chose a pale yellow dress, and Sheng Yunfang chose a pink one. The two girls carried the dresses and shoes to the north kang (heated brick bed), absolutely delighted.
"Sixth Brother, here's your new pair of sneakers." Sheng Xiping placed a pair of white sneakers with red and blue stripes in front of Sheng Xitai.
"Wow, these shoes are great! Bro, you know me so well. I've always wanted shoes like these."
For boys, a pair of nice sneakers is something they dream of. Sheng Xitai hugged the shoes, jumping for joy.
"It's only because your older brother spoils you that he bought you white sneakers. But with how you wear shoes, even the best shoes won't last long on you."
Let me tell you, pay attention to your shoes. Don't be so careless. If your sneakers get dirty, clean them yourself; I'm not responsible.
Zhang Shuzhen happened to bring the food into the room and, seeing her youngest son's joyful expression, couldn't help but tease him.
Sheng Xitai was enjoying himself and didn't care what his mother said. "Okay, Mom," Sheng Xitai replied, then grabbed his sneakers and went off to admire himself.
"Dad, I bought you two pieces of clothing and brought back a pack of Phoenix cigarettes."
They said those cigarettes were the best in Shanghai. I don't really know much about them, but I bought a few cartons anyway.
After Sheng Xiping finished distributing the items to his younger siblings, he turned to his father and said...
"Sigh, why buy it for me? I work all day, so what difference does it make if I wear it?"
"As for those cigarettes, just leave me a pack to try and see what they taste like. You can keep the rest for favors or something." Sheng Liancheng waved his hand and said with a smile.
His son cares about him and brings him things every time he goes out. How could Sheng Liancheng not be happy?
But when it comes to living a frugal life, one has to be thrifty. It's easy to spend money extravagantly, but it's hard to earn it, so Sheng Liancheng still had to give his son a few words of advice.
"Dad, I bought several packs, this one is for you to smoke. It's okay, we can earn more money later."
What is money anyway? In Sheng Xiping's eyes, money is just a piece of trash; once it's spent, you can earn more.
He saved up so much money in his past life, but before he could even enjoy it properly, he just passed away.
In this life, if you have money, spend it if you should; there's really no need to be so frugal.
"Alright, alright, are you guys done chatting? If you're done, hurry up and eat."
The radio announcers will be back soon, and I reckon the Weiguo Construction team will be coming too. Let's hurry up and eat."
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