Chapter 70 Chapter 70 Happy New Year

No. 15, Guanghua Street, Anhuai City.

After the beginning of spring, the weather gradually warms up. The cool breeze blows across my face, but I don’t feel cold.

"Be careful on the road, and remember to call Meng Cheng's house when you arrive."

Before the car from the design institute arrived, Wang Nian helped Shi Xiangming straighten the collar that was stuck in his sweater, and gave him some reluctant instructions.

We had originally agreed that the whole family would go to Beijing together, but the children asked for a ten-day leave from school and returned as a family on March 10th.

But... plans can never keep up with changes.

After I told the children the good news, I learned that Shi Shuwen would participate in the city-wide junior high school mathematics competition on the 23rd, would go to the Youth Palace on the 25th to attend the national essay competition award ceremony, and would also receive a school commendation on the 27th when he returned to school.

You don’t know until you ask, and you’ll be surprised when you do.

Shi Shuwen's talent and skills in learning were simply maxed out. Wang Nian never worried about her child's studies, and it was Shi Xiangming who usually attended parent-teacher meetings.

She really didn't expect that her eldest son was so outstanding.

"When I come back, we can get a landline so we don't have to run to Meng Cheng's house every day."

"Not only the phone, I also want to renovate our house."

Ever since he got the property certificate, Wang Nian has been thinking about making changes to the house.

In particular, the two storage rooms that have been idle for a long time are very suitable for conversion into shops for rent. How can such a favorable geographical location of Guanghua Street be wasted?

"It's up to you." Shi Xiangming smiled softly, and stroked the curls on the back of Wang Nian's head. "Then I'll leave."

"Don't forget to bring gifts for the children when you come back."

"Be careful when you're home alone."

Before getting into the car, Shi Xiangming gave his final instructions.

The car drove away, Wang Nian turned around, closed the door of his house, and yawned loudly into the quiet yard.

Shi Guizhi's family moved away, the children were still asleep, and the yard was so quiet that the only sound was the rustling of the fruit trees on the roof.

Knock knock knock——

In the silence, the light knock on the door became quite obvious.

I looked through the glass door of the living room and saw that the clock on the wall showed it was just after seven in the morning. Who would knock on the door so early?

"Who is it?" Wang Nian replied, casually gathered her hair with her hands and walked over to open the door.

Wang Nian: “…”

"Hello, Auntie."

Outside the door, two boys who were at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of both build and appearance bowed neatly to Wang Nian.

"Who are you looking for?"

"Auntie, we are Shi Shuwen's classmates, and we are here to celebrate his birthday today."

The boy who was speaking was at least 1.7 meters tall, with a chubby face that squeezed his eyes into slits, and his smile was particularly endearing.

The other boy was short, thin, dark-skinned, and had a flat head. He must be in the voice changing period, and the word "Auntie" sounded like a duck calling someone.

"Come in, come in." Wang Nian hurriedly led the person into the yard.

This was the first time that Shi Shuwen's classmates came home, so Wang Nian couldn't neglect them. He asked the two to sit down in the living room and then made grapefruit tea and gave them snacks.

"You guys eat first, I'll go get Shuwen." After taking two steps, he suddenly thought of another question: "Are you saying that Shuwen's birthday is today?"

Shi Shuwen’s birthday is October 3rd. His family just celebrated his birthday before the New Year. No matter whether it is the new or old calendar, it is impossible for it to be related to February!

"Yes!" The fat boy nodded and confirmed with a smile: "The school registration book said it was today. We checked it twice."

The thin boy nodded vigorously again.

Wang Nian: “…”

"Mom, has Dad left yet?"

Speak of the devil, and he appears. Shi Shuwen appears at the stairwell yawning. Perhaps he is busy going downstairs to see his father off. There are even trousers hanging from his sweater, which are swinging.

In terms of IQ, Shi Shuwen inherited Shi Xiangming's genes perfectly, but he is still a little lacking in neatness and cleanliness.

"Mom...why are you here?"

Shi Shuwen was no less surprised than Wang Nian when he saw his two companions appear in his living room early in the morning.

"happy birthday."

"Happy birthday, monitor!"

Especially when the two of them took out two notebooks from their bags with great anticipation as birthday gifts, Shi Shuwen's face was full of question marks.

“…”

"I just wrote it casually..."

After learning the answer, Shi Shuwen was so helpless that he frowned.

The registration book is the one used for roll call during morning reading. Apart from the names, everyone just fills in the other information randomly. Shi Shuwen asked his classmates to help him fill in his birthday at random.

There are more than 30 students in the class, and I guess only these two take it seriously.

They were both very embarrassed. They didn't know whether to put the notebook away or not, but it also seemed wrong to continue delivering it. They just stood there for a moment.

"Just think of it as you guys celebrating Shuwen's birthday today." Wang Nian took the notebook with a smile and said, "Auntie, go buy some good food today. Let's welcome Shi Shuwen's friends to come to our house for the first time."

"Thank you, Auntie." The fat boy puffed up his cheeks and exhaled vigorously, his eyes curved into crescents again, and then he introduced himself: "My name is Ding Hongyun, and I am Shi Shuwen's deskmate."

"My name is Xia Wei." The thin and dark boy immediately followed suit and patted his chest.

"Then you guys go play, Auntie's going to go buy groceries." Wang Nian smiled and handed the notebook given by the two to Shi Shuwen: "Take your friends upstairs to play for a while."

As soon as Wang Nian left, Xia Wei's words suddenly became more frequent.

First, she touched the handrail of the stairs and sighed: "Shuwen, your house is so big!" Then she was curious about the awards on the wall: "You are amazing. You have won so many awards in just one year."

After scanning the award certificate, my eyes moved to the various trophies in the glass cabinet under the wall.

"What are these trophies?"

"These are the awards my dad won, most of them are mechanical design awards, and there are also a few medals from competitions... Look at that golden one, it's an award from the National Academy of Engineering."

The living room is said to be a place for family members to gather together, but in their home it is more like a showroom for mutual improvement and learning.

Shi Shuwen looks at his father's trophies as motivation to keep moving forward, and one day he wants to fill his cabinet with honors.

"Awarded to the most beautiful lady in the world, Ms. Wang Nian... What is this award?"

Ding Hongyun suddenly caught a glimpse of a very special trophy among the many trophies. The trophy was a peach heart with a long line of words written on the base.

Shi Shuwen giggled twice and shook his head a little embarrassedly: "That was a trophy made by my father himself and presented to my mother."

As for why it is in the shape of a heart, I believe everyone can see it even if he doesn't say it.

"I'm so jealous of your family."

This living room is filled with the atmosphere of a happy family.

There are photos in frames of all sizes on the walls, including family photos and individual photos. It can be seen that some of them were taken many years ago.

Whether in black and white or color, everyone in the photo has a smiling face.

"Your dad hasn't come back yet?" Shi Shuwen casually put his arm around Ding Hongyun's shoulders and turned back to signal Xia Wei: "I'll go upstairs to wash up and change clothes first."

"He said he would be back in April." When talking about home, Ding Hongyun became listless, completely lacking his previous vigor and vitality. "And I heard from my grandma that my dad is going to marry that woman."

Ding Hongyun's family is in the ocean shipping business. It is a company that has been passed down from ancestors for hundreds of years. After the reform and opening up, the business has expanded to all parts of the world, and they have in-depth cooperation with the government and the military.

The Ding family lived in a formal mansion. Shi Shuwen had only viewed the house from a distance when he passed by. There was even an electric grid on the wall.

But to Ding Hongyun, the big house was cold and he disliked everyone except his grandpa and grandma.

"Your grandfather actually agreed to their marriage?" Xia Wei asked.

"My grandfather doesn't agree, but the woman is already pregnant. My father said that if she is not given a legitimate status, the child will become a bastard..." Ding Hongyun wrinkled his round face and said distressedly: "I think my grandfather will agree in the end."

“Tsk——”

Passing by his younger brother and sister's room, Shi Shuwen raised his index finger and signaled them to speak in a low voice.

If they woke Shi Feiying up, the three of them would never have peace of mind again.

Crunch——

As soon as the door was closed, Xia Wei quickly lay down on the sofa by the window and was equally envious: "Your room is almost as big as our living room."

Among the three, Xia Wei's family background is the most ordinary. Both his parents are workers, and the family of five is squeezed into a two-bedroom, one-living room apartment.

"Then Hongyun's living room should be more spacious than the first floor of our house." Shi Shuwen smiled.

Ding Hongyun's family is very rich, but he never shows off and is very tactful in what he does, so he gave the same notebook as Xia Wei as a birthday present.

Xia Wei is optimistic, loyal, and carefree. He does not feel inferior at all because of the difference in family background.

Therefore, the three of them were not affected by their social status or family background, and were able to become good friends who could talk about anything.

"Auntie, you look so young." Xia Wei thought of Wang Nian's appearance again and was very surprised: "She looks about the same age as my sister."

"My mother is much prettier than your sister." Shi Shuwen replied rather impolitely.

Xia Wei wanted to defend his elder sister, but he couldn't defend himself, so he could only wave his fist at Shi Shuwen and threaten her: "Be careful or my elder sister will beat you to death."

Shi Shuwen smiled, put the books on the desk away, and patted Ding Hongyun.

"Are you still worried?"

"Yeah." Ding Hongyun was still frowning. He sat down on the stool and sighed: "I don't want to live with my stepmother."

"Your situation is different from mine, so don't copy me."

"What do you mean?"

Shi Shuwen's nonsensical words left the two of them confused, and Ding Hongyun hurriedly asked further questions.

"Actually, my mother is not my biological mother either." Shi Shuwen smiled and pointed to a family photo on the desk: "I was less than seven years old when my father got married for the second time."

Shi Shuwen has a very deep memory of that photo.

It was the first family photo taken by the four of them in a photo studio in the provincial capital when their father went to take an exam.

In the photo, he is sitting on his father's lap and his sister is sitting on his mother's lap. They took the photo as a family.

"Auntie is not your biological mother?" Xia Wei was shocked.

"Your father hooked up with that woman before your mother died. How can she be a good person?" Shi Shuwen nodded and patted Ding Hongyun on the shoulder: "So I said your situation is different from mine."

Since the circumstances are different, the way of treating the stepmother must be different.

"Then what do you think I should do?" Ding Hongyun asked hurriedly.

Shi Shuwen blinked and waved at the two of them.

The three heads put together, Shi Shuwen said to the two of them, and they kept mumbling for a long time.

Xia Wei was completely confused and could only pretend to understand and nod his head.

Ding Hongyun immediately understood what Shi Shuwen meant, his eyes sparkling as he said "hmm" repeatedly. He already had a specific way to deal with that bad woman in his mind.

“You’re really amazing.”

Finally, he gave Shi Shuwen a thumbs up from the bottom of his heart.

If Wang Nian could hear every word Shi Shuwen said at this moment, he would definitely be moved.

Apart from not learning a minor form of cleanliness, he even mastered the intellectuals' methods of dealing with people.

It is true that like father, like son...