Chapter 142 Chapter 142 Party

Before attending Zhang Jiahuan's birthday party, Xia Qinqin went to a department store to pick out a birthday present.

Riding a bicycle is still quite hot on a hot day, but Xia Qinqin felt it was more comfortable than taking a bus, so she put on her straw hat and went out early in the morning before the sun was too strong.

Lu Yannan was already standing at the door pushing his bicycle. Xia Qinqin asked with a smile, "Brother Yannan, have you had breakfast? Let's go eat hotpot together."

"Okay." Lu Yannan nodded and rode his bike beside Xia Qinqin.

The two rode all the way to Lvliuchun in the city center, a time-honored breakfast shop whose beef hotpot is delicious.

"Oh, it's so hot!" Xia Qinqin hurriedly fanned her mouth with her hands.

Lu Yannan took out a water bottle from his bag, which was filled with warm water that he brought from home early in the morning. He poured a cup and handed it to Xia Qinqin.

"Drink some water and be careful when eating. This is the same as a soup dumpling. The soup inside is very hot." Lu Yannan reminded.

Xia Qinqin picked up the cup and drank it all, "I'm hungry. I didn't eat anything this morning and rode for such a long time."

Lu Yannan used chopsticks to pick up the hot pot stickers and said, "It will cool down faster this way."

Xia Qinqin picked up half of the pot sticker, put it to her mouth, and blew hard, "It's faster this way. The weather is too hot, and it's difficult to eat."

Lu Yannan smiled and said, "It's not urgent, just eat slowly."

Xia Qinqin raised her eyebrows: "Hey, aren't you going back to play ball today?"

Lu Yannan said: "Let's fight in the evening. They can chat at home during the day."

Xia Qinqin nodded: "I was wondering, it's too hot to play basketball this day, don't get heatstroke in the scorching sun."

Lu Yannan laughed and said, "You underestimate them. They have been in the army for so many years, so basking in the sun is nothing."

Xia Qinqin said: "It's also very hot. We finally have a day off. I really don't understand why you guys still want to play basketball."

Lu Yannan said: "The weather is hot, sweating makes me feel better."

Xia Qinqin shook her head to show that she couldn't understand.

After breakfast, the two rode their bikes to the department store. By this time, the sun had risen and the temperature had also risen. When they entered the spacious lobby, they were greeted by several large electric fans blowing air.

"Phew, it's still cool here. Electric fans are really great appliances in summer." Xia Qinqin sighed as she enjoyed the cool breeze.

Lu Yannan reached out and helped Xia Qinqin turn on the electric fan: "You just came in from outside, so don't stand in front of the fan and blow it directly. The wind is too strong."

Xia Qinqin nodded: "Oh, let's go upstairs first. I don't know what gift to buy yet."

Lu Yannan said: "Just buy a pen."

Giving a fountain pen is a very common gift in this era. It is convenient and easy to carry, and comes in different price levels to meet different gift-giving needs.

Xia Qinqin stroked her chin and said, "Jia Huan doesn't like studying normally, so if I give her a pen, she probably won't like it that much."

Lu Yannan said: "People have to write, and pens are the most practical."

"Then put it in the list. I'll see if there are any other suitable gifts."

Xia Qinqin walked around the department store for several rounds but couldn't find a suitable gift. After thinking about it, she followed Lu Yannan's initial suggestion and went to the pen counter.

When the salesperson saw the two half-grown children coming over, he did not recommend any expensive products, but instead showed them a few cheap pens.

"If you want to write yourself, you can just buy this silver-gold pen. The Hero brand one is two yuan, and the Sansheng Changshen one is only one yuan and eighty cents." The salesperson sincerely recommended.

Xia Qinqin picked it up, looked at it, and said with a smile: "Sister, I want to give it to my classmate. Is there anything slightly better?"

The salesperson took out two more pens and said, "So you're giving them as gifts. You want to give them a higher grade. You can give them these gold pens. One is 7.5 yuan, and the other is 8 yuan."

Xia Qinqin picked up the pen and tried it, then nodded: "It is indeed much easier to use."

The salesperson smiled and said, "Of course, the prices vary so much. We have more expensive ones, but I don't think it's necessary to buy something so expensive. A pen worth seven or eight dollars is already very expensive as a gift for you kids. You can buy more expensive ones when you grow up and get a salary."

She recommended them to buy pens worth seven or eight yuan because she saw that the two children were wearing brand new clothes and carrying military backpacks, and it was obvious that their family was well-off. Otherwise, she would have directly suggested buying pens worth two yuan.

Xia Qinqin nodded: "Please help me pack this eight-yuan pen."

"Okay, I'll get you a box." The salesperson nodded and smiled.

After buying the things, Xia Qinqin asked: "Brother Yannan, what time is it?"

Lu Yannan looked at the watch on his wrist and said, "Ten forty-five."

Xia Qinqin doesn't have a watch yet. Among the people of her age, only Lu Yannan has a watch.

Nowadays, what family would buy a watch for a thirteen-year-old child? The cheapest one costs more than ten dollars.

"Then we can go to Zhang Jiahuan's house. Brother Yannan, are you really not going?" Xia Qinqin asked finally.

Lu Yannan shook his head: "I won't go, I'll take you there first."

"Okay." Xia Qinqin shrugged.

The place where the Zhang family had agreed to meet was in a state-owned restaurant, about three or four blocks away from the department store. The two of them rode all the way there under the scorching sun. Fortunately, they had straw hats, otherwise they would have been sunburned.

"Brother Yannan, I'll go in first. You should go home soon. It's so hot outside." Xia Qinqin waved and ran towards the store door.

Lu Yannan watched her enter the store before turning around and riding away.

As soon as Xia Qinqin entered the store, she heard someone calling her, "Xia Qinqin, come quickly, we are here."

At the table by the window on the left, Zhang Jiahuan stood up and waved to her. Several classmates had already come over, and Xia Qinqin walked over with a smile.

"Xia Qinqin, I see Lu Yannan is also outside the door, why don't you ask him to come in."

Xia Qinqin walked over and was about to take the gift out of her bag when she heard Zhang Jiahuan pointing at the glass and saying, "Now that we're here, let's ask Yannan to come over for dinner."

Xia Qinqin smiled and said, "I just asked him, he has something to go home for."

As she spoke, she took out the box of pens and said, "Happy birthday, Jia Huan."

Zhang Jiahuan took the box and saw the words "pen" engraved on it. A hint of disappointment flashed across his eyes, but he still smiled and said, "Thank you. It's enough for you to come. Why bring a gift?"

Xia Qinqin smiled and said, "I must give you a gift on your birthday."

Zhang Jiahuan glanced out the window. Lu Yannan was ready to ride away. She said anxiously, "Xia Qinqin, come with me and call him in. It's so hot. It won't be too late for him to come in and have a drink of water."

Xia Qinqin blinked and looked at Zhang Jiahuan strangely, not understanding why she kept asking Lu Yannan to come in today.

"Really, that's not necessary. Brother Yannan really has something to do. He won't come in." Xia Qinqin said again.

Seeing that Lu Yannan had already ridden away, Zhang Jiahuan had no choice but to give up: "Okay, forget it."

Sun Wenli, who was sitting next to him, said, "Well, if he doesn't want to come, then he doesn't have to come. Can't we just celebrate your birthday together?"

"That's right, we don't need one more." Feng Xiaoyan nodded.

Zhang Jiahuan said with a smile: "Today is my birthday, I just feel that since people are here, I can't stop them from coming in to eat, after all, they are classmates."

Sun Wenli said, "We have all graduated, and we won't be classmates anymore."

Feng Xiaoyan leaned over to look at Xia Qinqin and said, "By the way, Xia Qinqin, you and Lu Yannan both got into high school, right?"

Xia Qinqin nodded: "Yes."

Feng Xiaoyan said: "Wow, that's amazing. I heard that only four people from our class were admitted to high school, you, Lu Yannan, Pang Youhua, and Peng Haoyu."

What this means is that the other people present did not make it to high school.

Xia Qinqin said: "It means you can study for two more years in high school. If you start working earlier, you can have two more years of working experience."

Sun Wenli nodded: "Yes, my mother has found a job for me. I will be an apprentice in a military factory first, and I can become a regular employee after a year."

Her parents were both employees of a military factory. There were two quotas for their children to work directly in the factory. Her brother used one and the other was given to her.

Feng Xiaoyan sighed and said, "I really envy you. The treatment in the military factory is very good. My father is the only one in my family who works in the military factory. There is only one quota to enter the factory, and it is for my brother."

Xia Qinqin asked curiously, "Has your brother graduated too?" It seemed that she had never heard that her brother was in school.

Feng Xiaoyan said: "My brother is still in the third grade of elementary school."

Xia Qinqin said, "It will be several years before you graduate and start working. Why don't you give this position to you first and then think of a solution later."

Feng Xiaoyan sighed: "How is that possible? My parents will never agree. My mother has already contacted me for an apprenticeship position in her textile factory."

Sun Wenli comforted him, "The spinning mill is not bad. At least you have a job. Otherwise, you would have to go to the countryside."

Feng Xiaoyan nodded: "Yes, it's better than going to the countryside." But she still sighed: "Ah, but it's still not comparable to your military factory. Not only is the salary in the textile factory low, the welfare is also far behind. The work is hard and you have to work in three shifts..."

Xia Qinqin looked at Feng Xiaoyan who was sighing and couldn't help but said, "Since you don't want to go to the yarn factory, you can go home and negotiate with your parents. You can go to the military factory and let your brother go to the yarn factory in the future."

"How can we do that?" Feng Xiaoyan's eyebrows jumped, and she immediately said, "My brother has to get married in the future. It's not as easy to find a partner in a yarn factory as in a military factory."

Xia Qinqin: “…”

Sun Wenli turned her head to look at Zhang Jiahuan who had been silent the whole time and asked her, "By the way, Jiahuan, have you found a job yet?"

Zhang Jiahuan nodded: "It's settled. My uncle asked me to work in the machinery factory."

Feng Xiaoyan said enviously, "Wow, the machinery factory is a big one, and the benefits are no worse than those of the military factory. Jiahuan, you are so lucky."

Zhang Jiahuan smiled and said, "My uncle found the connection for me. He is the factory director's secretary."

Sun Wenli was surprised and said, "The machinery factory is a large factory with 10,000 people. Your uncle can be the secretary of the factory director, so I think the salary must be high."

Zhang Jiahuan said: "Then I don't know, anyway, he helps us deal with many things in my family."

Feng Xiaoyan sighed: "I wish I had such a great uncle."

Zhang Jiahuan turned around and asked, "Xia Qinqin, what are you going to do after you graduate from high school?"

Xia Qinqin shook her head: "I haven't thought about it yet."

Zhang Jiahuan held her hand and said, "Nowadays, work is getting more and more stressful every year. Many people have been eyeing good positions for years in advance. You have to make plans early."

Xia Qinqin smiled and said, "Okay, I'll go back and think about it."

Zhang Jiahuan pretended to ask casually: "By the way, what does Lu Yannan plan to do after graduating from high school?"

Xia Qinqin still shook her head: "I don't know."

Although Lu Luyan had told her before that he was going to join the army, there were still two years before he graduated from high school. Who knew if he would change by then?

Even if he hasn't changed, it doesn't seem right for me to speak for him, Xia Qinqin thought secretly.

Zhang Jiahuan asked again: "Have you heard from his parents?"

Xia Qinqin said: "No, I haven't even met his parents."

Zhang Jiahuan was surprised and asked, "You've never met his parents?"

"Yes." Xia Qinqin nodded, thinking, is this strange?

Zhang Jiahuan said, "Aren't you relatives? How come you haven't even met his parents? Could it be that his parents...are gone?!"

Xia Qinqin immediately said, "How is that possible! His parents work somewhere else! Wait, who said we are relatives?"

Zhang Jiahuan's eyes widened as he asked, "Aren't you relatives? Then why do you keep calling him brother, and why does he keep eating at your house?"

Xia Qinqin said: "Because we are very familiar with each other. He ate at my house when he was a child. My father and his uncle are friends and comrades-in-arms. They have a very good relationship."

Feng Xiaoyan interrupted, "Oh, so your two families are old friends. Xia Qinqin, your father is the commander, and Uncle Lu Yannan seems to be the deputy commander. You two are a perfect match."

Sun Wenli laughed and said, "What you said is no wonder you couldn't get into high school. They are evenly matched, just like the two of them. They are childhood sweethearts."

Feng Xiaoyan nodded: "Yes, yes, we are childhood sweethearts."

Zhang Jiahuan looked a little strange when he heard this, and his eyes turned much colder when he looked at Xia Qinqin.