Chapter 145 Chapter 145 New Friends

Xia Qinqin watched them play for a while. Although Lu Yannan was shorter than the adults, he was able to fight back and forth with them thanks to his flexible positioning.

As the day got hotter, the guys played ball more and more vigorously. Xia Qinqin stopped watching and rode home.

Meng Yufei couldn't help but feel a little worried when she saw her daughter coming back so late, "Qinqin, why are you back so late? Have you had dinner?"

Xia Qinqin parked her bike in the yard and shook her head with a smile: "No, I just watched my dad and the others play basketball at the basketball court."

Meng Yufei said hurriedly, "You haven't eaten yet, so I'll make you some noodles. I just happen to have some brine beef at home, so I was planning to make you beef noodles tomorrow morning."

"There's brine beef." Xia Qinqin was delighted when she heard this. "That's rare. Is it sold in the cafeteria?"

Meng Yufei nodded: "Yes, I heard that a cow in a production team in the suburbs broke its leg. After the soldiers in the army training found it, they immediately notified the logistics department and specially ordered a truck to buy it back."

These days, cattle are still an important productive force in rural areas and a precious asset of the production team. Cows will not be killed unless they die for special reasons.

It's a rare opportunity to come across good beef, and the logistics department acted very quickly, otherwise it would have been snatched away by other units.

Meng Yufei's cooking skills have improved a bit in recent years. At least her skill in making noodles is quite good. She finished making the noodles in a short time and added a fried egg.

I opened the refrigerator and took out the brine beef. Since I had a refrigerator at home, I could order more delicious dishes cooked in the cafeteria in the summer without worrying about them going bad if I couldn't finish them.

"Wow, they smell so good. Mom, the eggs you fried are so beautiful and delicious." Xia Qinqin sat at the dining table and started praising them before she even started eating.

Meng Yufei smiled and placed the brine beef in front of her, urging her, "Eat quickly, this brine beef is delicious."

"Yeah." Xia Qinqin nodded, picked up the chopsticks and started eating.

"By the way, Brother Yanan hasn't eaten yet." Halfway through the meal, Xia Qinqin remembered that Lu Yanan had not eaten dinner just like her.

"Where are he? Why didn't he come back with you?" Meng Yufei asked.

Xia Qinqin said, "He's playing basketball over there on the basketball court. He'll probably have dinner with Dad, Uncle Lu and the others later."

Meng Yufei said: "Your father said that he has reserved a table at a small restaurant, and several of his comrades will eat there tonight."

After hearing that Lu Yannan had arranged dinner, Xia Qinqin lowered her head and concentrated on eating her meal.

Meng Yufei sat beside her, watching her daughter eat with a smile. Seeing that Qinqin had almost finished eating, she stood up and poured her a glass of warm water.

"Are there many people at the class reunion today?" Meng Yufei asked.

When Qinqin was young, she would tell her parents what happened at school every time she came home. As she grew older, she took the initiative to tell them less and less.

Meng Yufei also went through this when she was young. She understands that children will have less desire to share with their parents as they grow up, so she sometimes takes the initiative to ask, wanting to know more about their children's lives.

"Yeah, there weren't many people. They were mainly there to celebrate Zhang Jiahuan's birthday, so she invited a table of classmates."

Meng Yufei raised her eyebrows and noticed that Qinqin's tone of voice was rather flat, and she even changed the name Jiahuan she addressed before leaving the house in the morning to Zhang Jiahuan.

"What's wrong? Did you have a quarrel with your classmates?" Meng Yufei asked tentatively.

Xia Qinqin finished the noodles in the bowl, put down her chopsticks, picked up the cup and drank a sip of warm water, and said with a smile: "Mom, you are too smart, how come I can't hide anything from you."

She recounted what happened at dinner today.

Meng Yufei was silent for a moment after hearing this. Qinqin had been attending military-affiliated schools since she was a child. Even during the half year in Hai City, she was still in her alma mater. The classmates around her knew each other well, and the environment she was in was relatively simple.

But as she grows older, she will gradually come into contact with the outside world, a more complex world with more entangled interests.

As a parent, she certainly hopes that her daughter can live a simple life. However, sometimes she has to tell her daughter some not-so-beautiful truths about the world.

"People with different ideals cannot work together. Qinqin, you still have a long life ahead of you, and you will meet many people in the future. Get along with those you like, and don't get along with those you don't like. There is no need to compromise yourself to please people you don't like." Meng Yufei patted her daughter's hand, her tone gentle but firm.

Xia Qinqin nodded: "Yes, I know, I have a lot of friends, so one or two won't make a difference."

Meng Yufei smiled softly and stroked her daughter's hair gently. "If someone bullies you, remember to tell mom and dad. We won't let you suffer any injustice."

Xia Qinqin smiled and said, "Mom, don't worry, I won't let anyone bully me."

She knew from a young age that her parents would always protect and support her, so she was always confident when facing outsiders.

…

Pang Youhua kept his word and came to Xia Qinqin's house the next morning, and happened to meet Lu Yannan at the door.

"What a coincidence, Lu Yannan, you're here to play with Xia Qinqin too." Pang Youhua greeted with a smile.

Lu Yannan nodded lightly: "Yeah." Then he walked straight into the house.

Pang Youhua curled his lips and said, "Hmph, so rude." She followed him into the house.

"Hey, is no one home?" Pang Youhua asked curiously after entering the house and looking at the empty living room.

Lu Yannan ignored the people behind him, put his bag on the sofa with familiarity, walked to the window and opened it for ventilation.

"Xia Qinqin, Xia Qinqin, are you at home? I'm here to play with you!" Pang Youhua shouted loudly.

Soon there was movement from the second floor. Xia Qinqin opened the door and answered, "I'm home. Wait a minute. I'll be downstairs soon."

After a while, Xia Qinqin, wearing slippers and with her hair undone, hurried down the stairs. Her smooth and silky long hair fluttered slowly as she ran, as smooth as silk.

"Pang Youhua, why are you here? Is there something you want to talk to me about?" Xia Qinqin asked with a smile.

It was the first time that Pang Youhua saw Xia Qinqin with her hair down. The sunlight coming through the window shone on her delicate and fair face, as if giving her a layer of soft light.

Facing Xia Qinqin's beautiful smile, Pang Youhua was in a trance for a moment. After she came to her senses, she hurriedly said, "Didn't I tell you yesterday that I would come to play with you? You didn't forget, did you?"

We agreed to be friends!

Xia Qinqin smiled and said, "I haven't forgotten. You are my new friend. Are you here to eat so early?"

Pang Youhua nodded: "I have eaten. My family eats breakfast very early. Have you not eaten yet?"

Xia Qinqin touched her hair on her chest a little embarrassedly and said with a smile: "I read a little late last night and got up a little late this morning."

Pang Youhua was surprised and asked, "What about your parents? Didn't they call you?"

Xia Qinqin said: "They went to work. I don't have to go to school during the summer vacation. Why are they calling me?"

Pang Youhua heard this and said enviously, "I wish my parents thought the same way. I am also on summer vacation, but they still wake me up early every morning."

While the two were talking here, Lu Yannan had already started cooking noodles. He came out of the kitchen and said to Xia Qinqin, "Go wash up first. Breakfast will be served soon."

"Oh, OK." Xia Qinqin nodded and said to Pang Youhua, "You sit on the sofa for a while. I'll go clean up."

"Okay, go ahead."

Pang Youhua turned around and looked at the living room. The interior layout and furniture were the same as her own home. She turned her head to look at the kitchen and walked over curiously.

"Hey, Lu Yannan, you didn't have breakfast either, why did you go to Xia Qinqin's house for dinner? Doesn't your uncle give you food? That's right, your uncle is a single man and he definitely can't make breakfast. Then why don't you go to the cafeteria to eat..."

Pang Youhua asked a series of questions to himself.

The veins on Lu Yannan's forehead jumped. He turned to look at Pang Youhua with a hint of coldness in his eyes. He said impatiently, "What does it have to do with you?"

When Xia Qinqin packed up and came to the living room again, she saw Pang Youhua sitting on the sofa with a stern face, while Lu Yannan had already sat down at the dining table not far away, with two bowls of noodles on the table.

The air seems a little cold, which is strange, as it is summer now.

Xia Qinqin said, "Youhua, do you want to eat something with us? I have halved beef in the refrigerator." Then she walked to the refrigerator, opened the door and took out a small plate of halved beef.

Pang Youhua shook his head: "No, you guys eat it."

Xia Qinqin asked, "Then you want some soda? There's some iced soda in the refrigerator. What flavor do you want?"

Pang Youhua stood up and walked to the refrigerator. Looking at the full bottle of soda inside, he said with emotion: "It's convenient to have a refrigerator. I can drink iced soda every day."

Xia Qinqin pointed to the frozen layer above and said, "There are still popsicles. Let's wait until the weather warms up before eating them."

"Yeah, okay." Pang Youhua picked up a bottle of orange soda and touched the cool bottle. She asked curiously, "Xia Qinqin, how much does your refrigerator cost? I also want my parents to buy one."

Xia Qinqin walked towards the dining table with the plate in hand, thought for a moment and said, "It seems to be around two thousand yuan."

"Tsk, tsk, it's really expensive." Pang Youhua sat on the sofa with a soda in his hand. After opening the bottle cap and taking a sip, he squinted his eyes and said, "But it's worth it. I'm going to go back home today and ask my mom to find a way to set up a table."

Xia Qinqin asked while eating noodles: "Youhua, do you have any plans for today?"

Pang Youhua shook his head: "No, I just came to your house to play with you. Are you going out?"

Xia Qinqin said, "Brother Yannan and I are going to the library to return books this morning. Do you want to come with us?"

"Okay, I have nothing to do anyway. We can go to Sijichun to eat steamed buns at noon, and then go to the movies in the afternoon." Pang Youhua suggested.

"Yeah, I heard on the radio yesterday that an animated film called "The Trumpeter" was just released recently. I want to go see it." Xia Qinqin said happily.

"Okay, I like watching cartoons too." Pang Youhua nodded.

Xia Qinqin looked at Lu Yannan who had been eating silently, "Brother Yannan, what do you think?"

Lu Yannan had finished the noodles in the bowl, put down his chopsticks and nodded: "Yeah."

Xia Qinqin smiled: "Okay, it's decided. We'll go to the library in the morning, eat steamed buns at noon, and watch a movie in the afternoon!" What a happy day.

After dinner, Lu Yannan took the two people's bowls to the kitchen to wash them. Xia Qinqin ran back to the room to pack her bag, and Pang Youhua followed her.

After entering the room, Pang Youhua walked up to Xia Qinqin and asked in a low voice: "Xia Qinqin, is there something wrong with Lu Yannan?"

"Ah?" Xia Qinqin was confused.

Pang Youhua said: "I feel that he has a strange personality and doesn't like to talk. Is he mentally ill?"

Xia Qinqin was surprised and said, "How is that possible? Brother Yannan is really smart. I can't even beat him at chess."

Pang Youhua: "…I'm not saying that this aspect doesn't work, it's…Is there a problem with getting along with people?"