"Ta-da!"
Just then, Zhang De's wife made a video call.
He fixed his hair and then answered the video call.
"Hey honey, I'm playing on the mountain with Gangzi and Daxiong right now!"
After saying that, he turned his phone camera around and showed his wife the surrounding environment.
"The environment is quite beautiful, but please be careful not to get heatstroke while you're out there," Zhang De's wife instructed.
"Don't worry about it at all. I can work in 40-degree heat and be soaked in sweat without getting heatstroke. How could I get heatstroke climbing a mountain?"
He asked with a grin, "What are Nan Nan and Jian Jian doing? I miss them a little."
"Nannan is teaching Jianjian how to do his summer homework in the living room! Both kids are quite well-behaved."
As she said this, Zhang De's wife's eyes shone with pride.
"It's good that they love learning!" Zhang De felt a surge of satisfaction. "If the two little ones can get into university, that would truly bring honor to the family!"
"It's easy to say, but it's not that simple. You know how much difference there is between the educational resources in our rural areas and the city."
"Oh dear, these are all external factors. The most important thing is whether the child has worked hard."
The two argued for a few minutes, and the conversation ended with Zhang De giving in.
His wife gave the phone to Nan Nan so that he and his younger brother could chat with their father.
Nan Nan and Jian Jian's faces lit up with smiles when they saw their father.
She kept asking when her father would come back.
Looking at the two mischievous and adorable children in the picture, Zhang De instantly felt that all his efforts were worthwhile.
Like most parents, he doesn't know how to say nice things.
They just keep telling their children to study hard and listen to their teachers...
Hearing these words, Nan Nan nodded helplessly, while Jian Jian stared blankly at the screen.
They had heard these kinds of words countless times.
I was already quite impatient.
After chatting for about five minutes, Zhang De's wife took the phone away.
"Hey, where's your good buddy?" Zhang De's wife asked. "What birthday presents did they bring you this time?"
Zhang De scratched his head and smiled awkwardly: "I haven't received the gift yet."
"What?"
Zhang De's wife immediately flew into a rage. "You kept saying they were your best buddies, and what happened? They didn't even send you a gift for your birthday!"
The previous times Zhang De was caught drinking, it was always with Li Gang and Xiong Zhi.
She had long harbored resentment towards these two cronies.
They just never said it to my face, but they would say a few sarcastic or veiled things.
"Wife, what are you saying?"
Zhang De spoke up for his two brothers, saying, "I kept it a secret from them all along; they had no idea it was my birthday today."
"You have no sense at all!" Zhang De's wife rolled her eyes.
Just then.
Zhang De vaguely heard someone calling his name.
He turned his head and saw Li Gang and Xiong Zhi walking towards him with smiles on their faces.
They were also holding a large cake, the old-fashioned kind.
There were no fruits, chocolates, or other decorations, only a few large red flowers drawn with cream.
It looks very festive.
This kind of cake is served when an elderly person in the village celebrates their 80th birthday.
Upon seeing this, Zhang De's mouth was so big it could swallow an egg.
He stared blankly at the two people walking towards him.
He only slowly uttered a sentence when Li Gang and Xiong Zhi walked up to him.
"Where did you get this cake from?"
Zhang De neither expected nor anticipated that his two good buddies would give him gifts.
He just wanted to have a meal with his brother and have a good time.
However, receiving a gift unexpectedly was still a pleasant surprise for him.
Li Gang spoke first:
"Today is your birthday, so Big Bear and I definitely have to give you a gift. This is a cake we found at a bakery on the mountain that we rushed to make."
Xiong Zhi wiped the sweat from his brow and continued:
"Gangzi and I went through a lot of trouble to buy this cake!"
"Which aspect specifically?" Zhang De asked with a smile.
"For example, being chased by a dog, a cake shop closing down... well, it's a long story, too complicated to explain in a few words," Xiong Zhi said.
"It's alright, I appreciate your kind intentions!"
The three of them chatted and laughed as they discussed the matter.
On the other end of the phone, Zhang De's wife could vaguely hear whispers of something.
"Honey, did those two of your cronies bring you a cake?"
She regretted it as soon as she said it.
She meant to say your two friends, but she blurted out "bastard friends" instead.
In a short time.
Li Gang, Zhang De, and Xiong Zhi were all stunned.
Everyone looked at each other, standing there blankly, without saying a word.
The situation became awkward for a moment.
"What to do... what to do!"
Zhang De's wife slapped her own mouth and muttered under her breath, "How could you be so careless with your words!"
After thinking for a moment, she spoke again: "Thank you to the two gay men for celebrating my husband's birthday. I'm honored!"
"A gay man?!"
Hearing this, Zhang De was stunned for a moment.
Isn't that what it means?
Zhang De slowly turned his head and looked at Li Gang and Xiong Zhi.
At this moment, Li Gang and Xiong Zhi looked at each other and smiled.
Seeing this scene, Zhang De recalled his strange behavior over the past few days.
"It can't be that much of a coincidence..."
After only a few words of casual conversation, Zhang De changed the subject.
Soon, a heartwarming scene unfolded at the mountaintop.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
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