for example,
"Sister, Tiger gave me something delicious, can I give him something delicious too?"
Although it was a question, the little girl's reluctant look as she gazed at the shelf made Jian Dan chuckle, and she wanted to tease her even more.
"But it was Tiger's grandma and mom who made the clothes, not Tiger himself!"
"Huh?" The little girl scratched her head, trying hard to recall what her father had given as a thank you gift, but she was too young and her memory was hazy.
With a furrowed brow, she tried hard to think.
"Sister, I don't know what Tiger's family needs?"
Scratching head,
"Sister, what should we do?"
"You silly goose!"
Let me tell you, while it's true that it's best to thank someone when they need it, that's not always the case.
Since the other party helped, it certainly wasn't because we gave them anything, but because of their kindness and willingness to help. Think about it, when Third Aunt and Auntie offered to help, did they ask us to give them something in return?
No, right?
Therefore, whatever we give represents our gratitude and shows that we are not ungrateful people.
The little girl only half understood what she was hearing, and then started scratching her head again.
"Then, sister, what should we give as a gift?"
A simple and decisive wave of the hand.
"You decide, I'll listen to you."
Everything in the simple room that could be exposed to light was neatly arranged on the shelves, and usually, with a curtain covering it, no one would know what was inside.
After looking around, Xiao Jianxin became increasingly melancholy.
"Sister, should I still send you something delicious?"
"OK,"
He nodded simply, tapping his little nose.
"I already said, it's up to you. As long as you're willing to spend the money, it's fine."
Indeed, Jian Xin cared more about these foods than anything else.
I looked at it several times before reluctantly taking a bag of glutinous rice strips and a bag of biscuits, then turned back to ask Jian Dan.
"Sister, are these two okay?"
I readily agreed, not expecting the child to do me a favor anyway. But the choice was alright; both of these are snacks that are not commonly seen around here, and few families are willing to buy them for their children. Especially the glutinous rice strips, which are deep-fried and considered very precious by rural people.
Besides, we've had a long-standing relationship with the Liu family; it's not just about this one deal.
After dressing Xiaoxin in her coat and carrying a small basket, we headed outside.
Right there in the village, several dogs were eager to try, so Jianxin didn't hold back. As soon as the gate opened, Jixiang rushed out first, followed closely by the other three, and then Jianxin screamed excitedly.
A simple, speechless lock on the door. How can we be this excited when we're together every day?
In late autumn, the air is dry and cold. As soon as you open your mouth, the cold air rushes into your lungs, making you feel refreshed from the inside out.
The village is busy too; the men are busy tidying up the yards and gardens, gathering firewood, checking the fences, and inspecting the roofs.
The women were busy tidying up the house and preparing winter vegetables.
Passing by the former educated youth compound, I saw freshly washed bed sheets drying in the courtyard.
After running around wildly for a while, the initial excitement of being let out for a walk wore off, and they followed Jian Xin happily. Just after passing the educated youth compound, they saw a group of children running wildly ahead, with Tiger leading the way.
"Brother Tiger!"
Upon seeing her friend, Jian Xin excitedly ran over to greet her, followed by her bouncy little puppy, looking like two armies meeting.
However, being able to play with other children and have her own friends makes Jian Dan happy.
Tiger ran over, his little white teeth flashing, his face chapped.
"Xinxin, Sister Jian, you're here!"
A string of children behind them stared wide-eyed. Everyone in the village knew Jian Dan, but there were still some unfamiliar people and many curious glances at Jian Xin.
Simple didn't participate in the children's witty remarks; she just watched from the sidelines.
However, Tiger was clearly not done playing yet. He looked at them hesitantly, obviously wanting to follow, but then looked back at his friends. He hadn't had enough fun yet, and it was hard to decide.
Seeing this, he simply and directly said,
"You go play first, we'll go to your house, is your grandma home?"
"I'm home, I'm home! My grandma, my grandpa, my dad, and my mom are all home!"
"Okay, I got it. We'll go by ourselves. You guys go have fun!"
Tiger hesitated for a moment, then, after leading Jian Xin several steps away, he finally made up his mind.
"Okay, you guys go ahead, I'll be back in a bit."
Simple didn't turn around, just waved her hand noncommittally, as if to say, "Do you expect me to come home and entertain you, or what?"
Little Jianxin, on the other hand, turned around and waved goodbye in a very proper manner.
"Brother Tiger, I'm going to go play with Sister Little Flower."
Even after walking a short distance, you can still hear the children chattering behind you.
"Tiger, that puppy is so funny! Look, look, it's jumping so high!"
"This one has a tuft of white hair,"
"This one too, this one too,"
"Don't even think about it. These puppies are raised by Sister Jian, and they're really capable."
Have fun, but don't mess with them. If you do something bad, they really will bite you, I'm telling you. Don't cry and scream then.
"Let's go, let's see if they've caught any sparrows over there."
Hearing this, their attention was immediately diverted, and the children instantly slurped their saliva.
The adults in the Liu family were indeed all home. The yard was a mess of wood, probably just brought back. Liu Guangming was using tools to deal with it, while the old man was helping to pull branches apart.
Sun Xiang and Liu Guangming carried the neatly arranged branches inside. Upon seeing Jian Dan, they immediately smiled.
"Jian Zhiqing is here! Come in quickly, my mother is inside."
Jian Dan led Jian Xin to greet each person in turn, as this was the most basic courtesy when visiting someone's home, before speaking with a smile.
"Is this timber just brought back?"
"Yes, let's take advantage of this less busy time to get it back and organize it slowly, so we won't be caught off guard when we need it."
I didn't understand this simple thing, so I just nodded after listening.
"Then you two go ahead with your work, Auntie. I'll go find Third Aunt and see Xiaohua."
"Let's go inside quickly, it's all dusty outside."
When cleaning up wood, dust and sawdust are unavoidable, so simple that we didn't pay much attention to them.
Hearing the sound, the old lady sat up straight and waited. Seeing them enter, she greeted them.
"Come and sit down for a while. We packed a lot of firewood into this kang this morning, so it's still warm."
Without any hesitation, Jian Dan sat down right on the edge of the kang (heated brick bed), and Xiao Hua, who was inside the kang, immediately came over to join her friend.
"Come up on the kang (heated brick bed) and play. My dad made these toys for me. Let's play together."
The old lady looked at the baskets they had placed beside the kang (a heated brick bed) and joked.
"What's wrong? You're here, why did you bring anything?"
The little girl had already climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed), but upon hearing this, she immediately slid down, walked over, grabbed the basket, pushed it towards the old woman, and stared intently at her.
"Thank you for making my clothes."
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