Zhang Hongmei wiped the sweat from her face with the towel hanging around her neck and looked at the two of them with a smile.
"Okay, you can stay at my place, but there are a lot of restrictions, and it might not be as comfortable as the dorm. But we're from the same school, so I won't refuse you on such a small matter."
"It means the two of you will have to share one room. Aunt Wang said yesterday that this is the only room left in the house."
"Hehe, thank you so much, Hongmei. It's good that we're together."
"Yes, Hongmei, thank you so much. We have no ambition, we just want to learn something and go back safely. It's safe here with you, and we also have the opportunity to learn," Zhao Yuetong said, thanking Zhang Hongmei as well.
"Hehe, you two senior sisters really don't need to be so polite."
Just then, Zeng Zhongkang returned from his run. He glanced at the three of them, nodded, and went inside. Now there were two more people here; at least there were some sensible ones.
Breakfast consisted of milk, eggs, and steamed buns. Zhang Hongmei didn't like bread, and Shen Yunfang's steamed buns were particularly chewy. So, breakfast was a combination of these three items.
Today is Saturday, and Zhao Haozheng will definitely not get up early for breakfast; it's just the six of them together.
At the dinner table, Zhao Yuetong said, "Hongmei, we plan to move our luggage back on Monday night."
"Senior Zhao, you don't actually need to bring your luggage. Just bring your change of clothes. If the weather is bad, you can still rest in the school dormitory."
“Okay, we won’t go back to school for the next couple of days.”
"Hehe, Senior Zhao, you don't need to be so paranoid. Unless you want to, they won't do anything out of line at school. But you must be careful outside of school, and you can't go out alone."
They both nodded and continued eating.
At this moment, Wang Xinyi and Zhao Tiancheng came over to eat together.
“Mr. Zhao, I’ll give you two thousand yuan in a bit. I won’t take care of our students’ expenses, but I’ll cover all my family’s expenses myself.”
Seeing Zhang Hongmei's resolute attitude, Zhao Tiancheng smiled and said, "Alright, in that case, we'll take responsibility for our family's expenses ourselves."
Zhang Hongmei frowned, feeling that this was not a good idea, but she didn't know how to say it.
“Mr. Zhao, I feel like something’s not right. Doesn’t this lack human touch?” Zhang Hongmei asked Zhao Tiancheng with a puzzled look.
Zhao Tiancheng and his wife both laughed; he's still just a child.
“Hongmei, there’s really no need to be so clear about it. If you really can’t get over it, then let’s each contribute two hundred yuan a month. If there’s any left over, we can save it up and split it later,” Zhao Tiancheng suggested with a smile.
"Okay, I think your idea is pretty good, let's do it this way."
Zhang Hongmei chose to say this during a meal not to ask them for money, or to make them grateful and repay her, but to let them know that everything they enjoy now is not something they are entitled to.
After lunch, the group started studying. Zhao Tiancheng accompanied Wang Xinyi to buy groceries; they were having hot pot for lunch.
The two girls became increasingly convinced that their decision was correct. They found the atmosphere and learning environment here particularly appealing and interesting.
Because Zhao Haozheng hadn't gotten up yet, they were studying computer science.
Two hours later, both girls felt that they had lost all feeling in their hands, and Zhang Hongmei finally stopped them.
"The typewriter and keyboard are in the same order. Your touch typing skills aren't good enough yet, but this isn't your major, so don't be too discouraged."
But I think computers will be used in all walks of life in the future, so you still need to know how to use them, provided that it doesn't interfere with your major.
Both nodded, knowing that it was for their own good and understanding the principle that having more skills is never a burden. So they were both grateful to Zhang Hongmei, who hadn't been holding back and whose starting point was for everyone's benefit. Such a person was worth befriending.
Zhao Hao came out and saw everyone sitting in the living room. He checked the time and realized that he had missed the computer lesson again.
“You’ll have to wake me up from now on. I used to have a habit of sleeping in on weekends, so I haven’t changed it yet.”
"Zhao Haozheng, you should go wash up. We're waiting for your foreign language lesson."
The group resumed their foreign language learning. This time, Zhang Hongmei didn't participate; instead, she went back to her room.
The main thing was that I sensed Zhang Shouyi's letter. Is this guy still awake?
When I came out, I found that all the photos had been developed and I put them all in the album to show her.
The most beautiful photo album was the wedding photos that Liu Jingzhang took for them. Zhang Hongmei flipped through them one by one, and they were really pleasing to the eye. The main thing was that the camera's resolution was really good, unlike the blurry photos of her mother when she was young.
I'll go check on the submitted papers when I have time. It would be great if I could bring some back for Liu Jingzhang; I feel a little embarrassed that I used all the submitted papers from his family. I'll have to ask Zhao Tiancheng about this; maybe he has some connections.
Zhang Shouyi even wrote his thoughts and comments on the photo album. I never expected him to be so sentimental.
As she flipped through the second book, Zhang Hongmei covered her eyes with her hands. This guy was really taking it so seriously; he had all the photos he thought were good reprinted, and they were all ten inches.
The third book contains photos of the two of them with the elderly, as well as photos of the three of them together. They really do look like a family.
The fourth book is from Liujiatun. All the photos show the two of them, as well as Zhang Hongmei with Liu Maocai's family and the old lady's family.
For nearly two months, Zhang Hongmei had been avoiding thinking about her relatives. But now, seeing their photos, a wave of longing washed over her.
Looking at their smiling faces, tears flowed down her cheeks without her realizing it, until they dripped onto the photo album. Only then did Zhang Hongmei realize she was crying, and that her longing was so intense.
Putting the photo album aside, she picked up Zhang Shouyi's letter, which began by comforting herself not to cry. She was told she could go back and see them, and that he had already developed all the village photos according to the number of people, and had even asked Huang Zhong to take the negatives back with him.
It sounds simple, but it's actually a huge amount of work, considering the sheer number of people involved.
Finally, he also told himself that he had photos of the dishes served at the banquet in Liujiatun, but he didn't put them in the album for fear that Zhang Hongmei would be tempted.
That last sentence was purely to amuse himself; he knew he would miss his family, so it was probably just a way to relieve his stress. A man who treats himself like this should be content.
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