"I've left a bowl of stewed pork ribs in the pot. Go give it to your Uncle Xu tomorrow morning."
Ever since Zhao Rongsheng and his family left, the Song family and Xu Zhijin had been interacting more frequently. Firstly, Zhao Rongsheng had previously entrusted them with this matter, and secondly, the two families really got along well. The last time they built the kang, Song Aiguo and the other four brothers had gotten along very well with Xu Zhijin. Finally, there was the incident where Xu Zhijin had saved Yuanbao and Baoya.
Therefore, taking these points into consideration, the Song family has taken better care of Xu Zhijin in recent days.
Sometimes she would ask Song Jianye to send some rice and flour over, and sometimes she would ask Song Aiguo to send some over when she cooked something delicious at home. So today she made a pot of pork ribs stew, and Feng Guizhi was thinking about the cowshed, so she asked Song Jianshe to send it over tomorrow morning.
"Okay." Song Jianshe agreed without thinking too much.
Feng Guizhi opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but in the end she didn't say anything. She waved her hand and said, "Go back to sleep."
Song Jianshe responded and turned back to the east room to rest. Since he was at home, Yuanbao didn't sleep in the west room anymore, but Tiantian still slept with Feng Guizhi.
Feng Guizhi also went back to the room and lay on the bed. She turned sideways and pulled the corner of the quilt for the sleeping Tiantian, and began to think about moving to the city.
The year was almost over. Previously, Shen Yibei had helped me find matsutake mushrooms and some other medicinal herbs, and we sold them for quite a bit of money. Perhaps a few dozen each time, but saving up over the year would have made a considerable sum.
Adding the money they had saved and Li Qingyan's salary to support the family, Feng Guizhi roughly calculated that it would be enough for them to move to the city. By the time they bought their jobs, they wouldn't be rich, but they would definitely have enough to eat.
However, thinking that there was only Xu Zhijin left in the cowshed, Feng Guizhi decided to wait a little longer.
She was currently planning to start her studies before the start of next year's school term, during the summer vacation with the other children. After all, by then, tuition would have been paid. If she moved to the county town, the children would be forced to attend school mid-semester, not knowing their classmates, which would be detrimental to their studies. Therefore, Feng Guizhi was only thinking about the end of the semester.
There are still two months before school starts after the Chinese New Year, so it’s still early.
Feng Guizhi only hoped that Xu Zhijin could be rehabilitated and taken back before they moved away. Otherwise,
They would also feel uneasy about him being alone.
After thinking for a while, Feng Guizhi put her thoughts aside and lay down in the quilt. The kang, which was heated by the fire, was warm and comfortable. It didn't take long for her to fall into a deep sleep.
Have a good night.
......
Before the winter solstice arrived, Baoya and Tianen's birthdays arrived first. Li Qingyan remembered the date and returned from school early. Song Jianye did not go to Deng Carpenter that day, but stayed at home to make birthday gifts for Baoya and Tianen with wood.
He had been learning carpentry for so long that he could now work independently. Sometimes when people asked Deng to make a wardrobe, Deng would give it to Song Jianye. So, making a few small toys for the two children was not difficult for him, it just took some time.
Today, when Baoya woke up in the morning, Yang Yulan helped her put on new clothes. She was still wearing a cotton jacket inside, and a maroon jacket outside that Feng Guizhi had just made for her.
There are small yellow flowers on the jacket, dotted on the pockets, which looks particularly good on Baoya.
Yang Yulan combed Baoya's hair again, braided it into two sides, and pinned a maroon hairpin on it, making her look white and bright.
"Our Baoya is such a pretty little girl." After Yang Yulan dressed up Baoya, she took her in her arms and looked her over carefully from head to toe, and said with a smile.
Baoya pursed her lips and smiled shyly at Yang Yulan, her big eyes curved into crescents.
Tian'en, like Baoya, wore new clothes today, also made by Feng Guizhi, but his was a blue jacket. After breakfast, as he followed Bowen and Boyu to school, his back was straighter than usual, and his face was full of energy and joy all the way.
"Today is Brother Five and Sister Xiaobao's birthday. We need to get home quickly after school this afternoon."
"Yeah!" The younger ones nodded vigorously.
After a while, Yuanbao saw Tianen walking beside his elder brother. He lowered his voice and asked Wenjie and Wenzhi beside him:
"By the way, Third Brother and Fourth Brother, do you think we should prepare birthday gifts for Fifth Brother and Little Sister Xiaobao?"
"Gift? What gifts should we prepare?" Yun Duo asked in a low voice.
Yuanbao was stumped by the question. He didn't know what gift to prepare. They had no money, and even if they had money,
They couldn't buy anything. Also, they had never prepared any gifts and didn't know what gifts were available.
The children were unable to answer, and the discussion ended there. They then walked all the way to school in silence.
After saying goodbye to his brothers, Yuanbao walked into the first grade classroom alone. There was still some time before class started, and the classmates were noisy and chasing each other.
Yuanbao did not join in. He lay on his table, frowning and thinking about the gift issue.
Zhou Xianli, who was sitting at the back table, saw Yuanbao lying there, so he reached out and patted his shoulder, asking with concern, "Yuanbao, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?"
When registering for seat selection, Zhou Xianli sat in front of Yuanbao. However, after school started, the teacher rearranged the seats. Due to Yuanbao's height... Zhou Xianli sat behind him.
Zhang Xiangrong was Zhou Xianli's deskmate. He was originally playing with the classmate on his right. When he heard Zhou Xianli's voice, he turned his head to look at Yuanbao and asked, "What's wrong with you, Yuanbao?"
Yuanbao stood up and turned to the back row, frowning as he spoke out his worries: "I'm not sick, it's just that today is my sister and fifth brother's birthday, and I want to give them birthday presents, but I don't know what to get them."
"Last year, my mother gave my younger sister Xiaobao a hairpin and a hairband. She loved them very much and wished I had them, but I don't have anything."
Zhou Xianli and Zhang Xiangrong exchanged glances after hearing this, then frowned. They had never given a gift before.
Their family wasn't very wealthy, so there weren't any gifts for birthdays. They'd just have a bowl of noodles and an egg, and that was it. If they were lucky, they'd get a few White Rabbit candies.
They had never received gifts before. However, seeing that Yuanbao seemed distressed, the two friends tried their best to help him think of something.
Then Zhang Xiangrong said, "Yuanbao, why don't you draw a picture for them and give it to them as a gift."
"Drawing?" Yuanbao's face wrinkled when he heard it. "I'm not good at drawing. This can't be a gift, right?"
"It doesn't have to be a very good painting. I believe that as long as it's drawn by you, your sister and brother will like it." Zhang Xiangrong said with certainty.
Yuanbao hesitated and thought about the possibility, and felt that it was really possible. His sister Xiaobao was the best and kindest, and his five
Brother, so they definitely won’t dislike his paintings.
At this time, Zhou Xianli thought of something and started talking to Yuanbao.
The class day passed quickly. After school, Yuanbao hurriedly said goodbye to Zhou Xianli and Zhang Xiangrong, and ran away without staying any longer.
Before long, the kids gathered at the school gate and ran home together.
In the kitchen, Feng Guizhi and Yang Yulan were already busy preparing dinner. Baoya took Tiantian to the door to wait for her brothers. When they saw them come back, they happily went to greet them.
"Little sister, sweet."
Yuanbao didn't even bother putting his backpacks away inside; he and Baoya and Tiantian started playing outside the gate. It was winter, and still quite cold, so cold that even the words were steamy. However, the little ones were playing so hard that they were practically sweating.
It was getting dark quickly, so the little ones finally went into the house.
When the meal was served, both tables were full, with the whole family present, not a single one missing.
Today is Baoya and Tianen's birthday. Feng Guizhi and Yang Yulan prepared a good meal for them, including fried vegetable pancakes, stewed crispy pork soup, some delicious stir-fried dishes and two bowls of longevity noodles that are only available to the birthday celebrants.
"Eat quickly, or the food will get cold soon." It was so cold that the hot food would lose its heat after a while, so Feng Guizhi urged.
Baoya and Tianen looked at the noodles in front of them and happily started eating. Longevity noodles require a perfect consistency. Feng Guizhi didn't make too many, just a few mouthfuls, garnished with two small green vegetables and a beautiful poached egg, which made her very appetizing.
Baoya and Tianen didn't bite off the noodles when they ate. They picked up a piece of noodles and slurped it into their mouths until they finished it. Then they started to eat the remaining vegetables and poached eggs in the bowl.
"After eating the longevity noodles, you will live a long life." Seeing that they had all finished eating, Feng Guizhi said with a smile.
Baoya and Tianen looked at each other and smiled with their eyes curved.
"The longevity noodles made with milk are so delicious. I can eat them again on my birthday next year." Yuanbao couldn't help but reminisce when he saw how delicious the two of them were eating.
"Okay, can I make more for you on your birthday?"
"Hmm~!" Yuanbao nodded his little head vigorously.
When the meal was almost over, everyone started giving gifts. This has become a tradition in the Song family. They are not expensive anyway.
Just take it as a pleasure.
Soon the adults finished sending the gifts, and Yuanbao ran out impatiently: "Wait, I'll be back soon."
After saying that, he ran away. In the blink of an eye, he came back with something in his hand. It was two sheets of paper from a homework book.
"Look, Xiaobao sister and Fifth Brother, this is the birthday present I prepared for you. It has a picture I drew and some words from my classmates. They all wish you a happy birthday!"
Yuanbao was holding a piece of paper with nine little people drawn on it. There was a small river in front, a big tree next to it, and a big house behind it. On the back of the paper were many words written crookedly, all different sizes, but the content was very consistent: "Happy Birthday."
"Wow!" Although the painting was not really good-looking, the creativity and thoughtfulness surprised Wenjie, Wenzhi and the others.
"Yuanbao, you are so amazing. You can come up with such a great gift."
"Did your classmates write all of this? How did you do it? That's amazing."
Baoya and Tianen were also surprised when they saw it. Baoya took her piece of paper and read it carefully with her big eyes. Then she looked up at Yuanbao and smiled, saying softly, "Thank you, Brother Qi~"
Baoya liked the gift very much, as could be seen from the way she carefully put it away. Tianen was the same, because he felt Yuanbao's care.
"I have one too. I've prepared gifts for you too." Yun Duo said as she took out a red braided rope from her pocket.
"This red rope was given to me by our teacher. She also taught me how to braid it. I braided these two myself. However, it's not very good. I hope you like it." Yun Duo said with an embarrassed smile, then handed the two braided ropes to Baoya and Tianen.
"Thank you, Yun Duo. It looks great. You made it so well."
"I like it, thank you Sister Yunduo~"
Afterwards, Bowen Boyu and the others also took out their gifts. Baoya and Tianen liked every one of them because they were all carefully prepared for them.
At this time, Li Qingyan suddenly remembered something she almost forgot, and hurried back to the east room to get it.
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