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I gulped down several mouthfuls and felt completely refreshed; all my fatigue had vanished.
“Hongmei, you’re going to have to suffer. My time is too tight, so…”
Zhang Hongmei didn't wait for Zhang Shouyi to finish explaining before saying, "It's alright. I can handle it."
Zhang Shouyi rubbed Zhang Hongmei's head, but she slapped it away, rolled her eyes at him, and said, "Are you raising a pet?"
Xiao Li drove directly to the Armed Forces Department to refuel. During this break, Zhang Hongmei and Wang Ying went to the restroom, found a tap, and quickly washed their hands and faces.
Then Wang Ying took over driving. Don't let her young age fool you; she drove even faster than Xiao Li.
She had no idea that she was pulling a leader along, and no one in the car reminded her.
Xiao Li drank a pot of water, ate two sesame cakes, and then leaned back and closed his eyes to sleep.
After all, he still had to drive that night. Zhang Hongmei had slept enough, but there was really nothing to do in the car. Zhang Shouyi was originally reading documents, but the road was too bumpy, so he couldn't concentrate and put them aside, intending to chat with Zhang Hongmei instead.
"Hongmei, who are you planning to meet?"
"I need to inform my high school teachers and principal before I go abroad. I also need to visit my junior high school principal and teachers. I didn't go to school before the start of the semester because of the snow, and I was in a rush last time, so I must visit them this time."
And Li Juying, the head of the women's federation in the township, is also a great help to me in being able to go to school, and even in a more relaxed way.
There's also Huang Ying, who works at the city post office, and Xiao Jiang, who works at the county supply and marketing cooperative.
I'm just wondering if I should go and see Liu Changhai?
The rest are all villagers. Brother Zhang, I still don't want everyone to know about our matter. I don't mean anything by it; it's just a personal matter, and I don't want others to discuss it.
The villagers can know, but as for outsiders, well, that's another story.
"Alright, whatever you say." Zhang Shouyi said indulgently.
Zhang Hongmei thought to herself, "If I said that no one was told and no one knew, would you agree with me?"
However, he didn't say this, because saying it would only lead to more arguments, which would be too troublesome.
“Hongmei, I asked my friend to prepare 1,000 jin of rice, two fat pigs, twenty chickens, twenty fish, and a bag of soybeans. I didn’t prepare any other vegetables.”
"Are the soybeans going to be used to make tofu?" Zhang Hongmei wondered to herself. How could someone so busy with work know to prepare these things?
"Yes, I really didn't know that. My friend reminded me to prepare soybeans, which can be used to make tofu or bean curd sheets. That way, I'll have two more dishes."
"So that's why you knew all this. Actually, we're still missing quite a few things. I prepared some sugar, but not much. I didn't bring any tea, and we don't have any alcohol either."
"That's easy, you can buy it at the building in the city."
Hongmei, think about what else is missing?
"I can't think of anything else right now, except for cigarettes, alcohol, tea, and candy, which is why I'm lacking cigarettes."
"These are all easy to arrange, no problem at all, you can buy them in the building. It's just that we need to think about what kind of gift to give your mentor."
I bought milk powder and malted milk powder, one bag of each for each family. It would be even better if I also got some good tea.
"Wait a minute, maybe it really will."
Zhang Hongmei leaned closer to Zhang Shouyi and whispered, "It should be in the ring. I'll go home and check."
Zhang Shouyi also whispered, "No need to go home. Let's stop for a while tonight, you see?"
"No need, let's stop in the city first, that way we can see everything. Or let's just go straight home."
When Zhang Shouyi heard Zhang Hongmei say she was going home, he was immediately overjoyed. In fact, Zhang Shouyi knew that this was because he was insecure and afraid of being abandoned.
"Brother Zhang, apart from those in the village, I estimate it will take half a day to get the rest of my acquaintances."
"Don't worry, there's enough time."
"You have enough, why are you rushing like this?" But Zhang Hongmei didn't say it aloud, there was no need to take it so seriously.
Actually, there are quite a few seafood items inside the ring, but it's inconvenient to take them out. They're all fresh. Firstly, there's no way to explain them, and secondly, in this hot weather, they might smell bad, which would ruin the ring's appearance.
There should be plenty of fresh vegetables in the village this season, as well as fish, meat, chicken, tofu, and bean curd sheets. It should be enough to prepare a very good meal.
"Hongmei, why do I feel a little nervous?"
"What's there to be nervous about? Grandpa said, just let nature take its course."
"I understand the logic, but I just can't help feeling nervous."
Zhang Hongmei didn't know how to comfort him, so she simply ignored him, closed her eyes, and her consciousness entered the space.
I actually found the tea, but the packaging is really not suitable for taking out. If necessary, I'll just wrap it in parchment paper and let whoever wants it find their own tea canister.
That's all settled. But it still feels a bit small. Then I thought, the ring should contain dried shrimp, and if I give each person two jin (1 kg) of that, the gift will be quite substantial.
In high school, the principal, Chen Sheng, was given a gift; in junior high, the principal was also given a gift, but there were two homeroom teachers.
That makes five people. Add Li Juying and Huang Ying, and we'll prepare a total of seven portions.
As for Xiao Jiang, I'll just give her a box of chocolates; she'll definitely love them.
Zhang Hongmei, being watched by Zhang Shouyi, couldn't ignore it. She opened her eyes and said, "Brother Zhang, do you think I should go see Liu Changhai? He's my great-grandmother's youngest son. Although they had a falling out, it doesn't really concern me."
Although Liu Changhai and I don't have much interaction, I feel it's a bit unfair to leave him out.
“Hongmei, I don’t want you to have anything to do with him. Liu Changhai has not inherited the old lady’s uprightness.”
Zhang Hongmei frowned and thought for a while, then suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. Could it be that the falling out between mother and son was because of her? Yes, it started after that grain delivery, right? After that, Liu Aimin borrowed a cart and hauled the grain back himself.
"I understand. I will stay far away from him from now on."
“Hongmei, don’t be afraid. He doesn’t have any ability to do anything. He just doesn’t want you to act on your emotions and end up disappointed and regretful.”
"Hmm." She felt a little awkward, though, because she truly treated Liu Changhai as her elder.
"Silly girl, there are all kinds of people in the world, just ignore them."
Zhang Hongmei nodded. She understood this principle. Perhaps the old lady had seen through Liu Changhai's character, which was why she gave up on him.
Zhang Hongmei was conflicted. If a child is not taught properly, it is the father's fault. Does the old lady bear no responsibility at all?
Forget it. I don't want to think about it anymore; it has nothing to do with me. Zhang Shouyi is right; I should just ignore it. Even the same rice can feed a hundred different kinds of people, let alone people who are all over fifty. A nodding acquaintance is enough.
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