Chapter 27
Uncle Xie was probably in his early thirties, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. He looked very gentle and cultured, a handsome man, unlike Lin Youqing who was unkempt. Aunt Huang was a very beautiful woman, with short hair just reaching her shoulders tied up with a green hairband, and wearing a blue-grey uniform coat. Her outfit looked decent, elegant, simple and generous.
The layout of the Xie family's courtyard was very similar to theirs, with four cave dwellings and the kitchen on the west side of the courtyard. When they arrived, there was a young woman wearing glasses and a yellow smock in the living room of the Xie family.
Aunt Huang welcomed them in warmly, "This is Jiang Jiang, right? What a pretty girl."
"Jinyan, come here quickly."
Following Huang Shuhua's voice, a child about six or seven years old came out of the house. He had clear features, an evenly skinned neck, a fair face, and deep, dark eyes.
"This is your uncle Lin and aunt He's daughter Jiang Jiang. She's one year younger than you. You should call her sister."
"Sister Jiang Jiang."
Jiang Jiang just heard Aunt Huang calling him, so he nodded and called out, "Brother Jinyan."
At the advice of their elders, the two shook hands in an adult way, but they only shook hands for a moment before quickly letting go.
"Let me introduce you. This is Teacher Tian from the county primary school, my junior high school classmate."
Teacher Natian looked up and smiled slightly, greeted them, and then continued to read the book in his hand.
"This is the fresh milk biscuit I bought in the provincial capital some time ago. You can try it."
Jiang Jiang then tried a piece of fresh milk biscuit. It was a big round biscuit with a strong milk flavor and pure wheat flavor. It was very crispy. However, Jiang Jiang stopped eating after finishing one piece. Although it was not obvious on the surface, she was a little nervous inside.
"There are also canned oranges. This can tastes especially sweet. Auntie will get you a spoon." Huang Shuhua handed her the canned oranges with the cap unscrewed and the spoon.
"Thank you, Auntie."
After Jiang Jiang thanked Huang Shuhua, she took the can of oranges handed to her by both hands. Looking at the food in front of her called canned oranges, she felt a little curious. She scooped up a slice of orange and put it in her mouth. It was really as Huang Shuhua said, very sweet and refreshing.
"Jiang Jiang, come to your aunt's house often when you have time. You see, it's not far, they are in the same compound and you can get there in a few steps." Huang Shuhua has always wanted to have another daughter, but was unable to do so for many reasons. Jiang Jiang is a beautiful, polite child who speaks softly. She likes her daughter just by looking at her.
Huang Shuhua's kind and gentle attitude made Jiang Jiang relax a lot.
"What does Jinyan usually do at home?"
"He's either reading or writing, or he's out playing with other kids his age, or helping his grandmother with housework."
"Where's Jiang Jiang?"
"Almost the same. I just started teaching her to read these past two days."
"Speaking of which, Jinyan has some unused calligraphy pieces. Maybe Jiang Jiang could use them?"
"It's useful. I was planning to buy some new calligraphy for Jiang Jiang some time. This will save me a lot of trouble."
The adults were talking, and Jiang Jiang was quietly eating the can of oranges in his hand, occasionally his eyes would fall on the boy in the corner.
He didn't know what he was fighting for. The sunlight from the window fell on his body, making him look very quiet and gentle.
Perhaps noticing Jiang Jiang's gaze, Xie Jinyan looked up and smiled at the sister he had just met.
Jiang Jiang was stunned for a moment, then reacted after a moment and smiled at him.
After leaving Xie's house, He Guijuan took Jiang Jiang to the county department store.
There is only one department store in Qingjian County, which is the most prosperous central area of the county. A little in front of the department store is the grain store, where the monthly supply of 30 kilograms of commercial grain is purchased.
Jiang Jiang grabbed He Guijuan's hand and stepped into a place that seemed like a new world to her. The county department store was much larger than the commune supply and marketing cooperative that Lin Youqing and He Guijuan had taken her to last time. It had a more complete range of goods. The shelves behind the counter were filled with merchandise, which looked dazzling and even divided into areas, including stationery area, daily necessities area, fabric area, and so on.
He Guijuan first took Jiang Jiang to the fabric counter.
The main reason she came this time was to buy cloth to make two more new sets of clothes for her daughter.
Before going to the city, He Guijuan left all of Jiang Jiang's old rags in Dongxi Village, and only took the maroon cotton-padded jacket and beige cotton-padded shirt that she later made for Jiang Jiang, as well as a few old clothes given by Zhang Yueju.
In spring, the weather gradually became warmer, and it was no longer appropriate to wear winter clothes. Moreover, after the spring semester began in March, Jiang Jiang would also go to elementary school. He Guijuan thought about buying some cloth and making two sets of light spring clothes for her daughter.
"Jiang Jiang, do you like this?"
He Guijuan took a piece of cloth with a white background and pink flowers and gestured in front of the child.
"Yeah, I like it." Jiang Jiang nodded.
She likes such fresh and bright colors.
"What about this?" He Guijuan picked up another piece of white material.
"like."
He Guijuan handed two pieces of fabric to the salesperson, "Comrade, please help me get one piece of this pink floral fabric, and one piece of this white one."
She and her husband hadn't made many new clothes in the past few years. They saved the cloth coupons issued by the unit and given by others. Apart from those they took back home, there were still a lot left, enough to make several new sets of clothes for Jiang Jiang.
The saleswoman was a round-faced girl in her twenties. "We just got two red sweaters from the provincial capital. They're suitable for kids her age. Would you like to take a look?"
"This sweater is an open cardigan and can be worn as a coat. When the weather gets hot, wearing a cotton jacket will make you look bulky. Wearing this sweater over a spring shirt will make you look energetic and stylish."
"Then show it to me."
The salesperson took out two sweaters from the shelf under the counter and handed them to He Guijuan.
This is a hand-knitted woolen sweater. The material is soft and feels good. He Guijuan held the sweater and showed it to the child. The size is just right and Jiang Jiang should look beautiful in it.
"It is indeed beautiful. How much is this one?"
"This is a bit more expensive, six dollars a piece."
When Jiang Jiang heard the price, she hurriedly tugged at the corner of He Guijuan's clothes and said, "Mom, I don't want the sweater anymore."
"It's okay." He Guijuan touched the child's head. She and her husband only had this one child, so naturally they wanted to give her the best of everything.
"Comrade, help me get one."
"Okay, I'll dress you up then. You want one of this cloth and one of that white one, right?"
"right."
After leaving the fabric area with the newly bought sweater and fabric, He Guijuan took Jiang Jiang to the stationery area and bought new pencils, erasers, and notebooks. Jiang Jiang had been learning to write these days using the half-used pencils of Lin Youqing, so she bought two new ones for her to use as a backup when the remaining half was used up.
Finally, He Guijuan went to the daily necessities area to buy bottled soy sauce and salt for her home. She also bought a pack of peach biscuits. These biscuits have a mellow taste, sweet with a hint of saltiness, and a very unique flavor.
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