After finishing their meal, just as Xia Liang was about to say goodbye, Ning Mei suddenly said, "Comrade Xia Liang, can I be your friend? I really feel so lonely. I have so few friends. If all my friends go to work, then I'll have to go shopping all by myself." As she spoke, she pouted, looking incredibly cute.
Looking at Ning Mei, who exuded a youthful charm, Xia Liang couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. Although he himself didn't look old, no one would mistake him for a young girl. However, Ning Mei was completely different. If one didn't know beforehand that she had an eleven or twelve-year-old son, one would probably really mistake her for a young woman in her early twenties.
Xia Liang smiled and said, "Of course, but I might not have much time to go shopping with you." Ning Mei said, "That's alright, I can come to your shop to have tea and chat." Xia Liang smiled but didn't want to talk. Gu Yuanzhi, who had been waiting impatiently beside her, said, "Mom, aren't we going to buy a piano for my sister? Let's go quickly." Hearing that Xia Liang's family wanted to buy a piano, Ning Mei immediately said enthusiastically, "My friend sells pianos, and she happens to be working today. I'll take you there and ask her to give you a discount." Seeing her enthusiasm, Xia Liang felt embarrassed to refuse and nodded, "Okay."
Upon arriving at the department store, Ning Mei led the way. The piano was on the third floor, and Gu Yunxi's eyes were glued to it from the moment they went up. Ning Mei led Xia Liang forward to greet her friend, "Yuanyuan, this is my new friend I met today, her name is Xia Liang." Then, she introduced the young woman in the dress to Xia Liang, saying, "Xia Liang, this is Liu Yuanyuan, the friend I told you about." Xia Liang politely extended her hand, "Hello." Liu Yuanyuan reluctantly extended her right hand to shake Xia Liang's hand, her eyes filled with undisguised disdain and hostility. Xia Liang was baffled; was this her first time meeting this person?
Ning Mei said enthusiastically, "Yuanyuan, why don't you introduce the piano to Xia Liang? She wants to buy one for her daughter." Liu Yuanyuan rolled her eyes behind Ning Mei's back, "This piano is very expensive; not everyone can afford it." Xia Liang sneered. Sure enough, salespeople everywhere have this incorrigible habit. Ning Mei didn't expect Liu Yuanyuan to say that and looked at her in surprise, saying, "Don't worry, Xia Liang can afford it; she's self-employed." She didn't mention that Xia Liang could also afford a car. Upon hearing that Xia Liang was self-employed, Liu Yuanyuan's contempt only intensified, and she clearly didn't want to serve her.
Xia Liang, not wanting to be met with a cold shoulder, called over a sales clerk who was diligently wiping a piano and said, "Excuse me, sir, do you have a moment to show us around the piano?" The young clerk first pointed to himself, then asked Xia Liang uncertainly, "Are you talking to me?" Xia Liang was amused by her innocent naiveté: "Yes, do you have time?" The young sales clerk put down his rag and began to earnestly introduce the piano to Xia Liang and the two children. Ning Mei, meanwhile, glanced at her friend with a puzzled look, only to hear her friend say, "It's a waste of breath. No matter how much you explain, if she can't afford it, it's all for nothing."
Xia Liang knew absolutely nothing about the piano, having only heard it a few times when picking her daughter up from the Children's Palace. Currently, it was mainly Gu Yunxi who was listening. Only after the young saleswoman finished introducing the last piano did Gu Yunxi smile and say to Xia Liang, "Mom, I want that one." She pointed to a piano made in Beijing, priced at 1700 yuan. Xia Liang nodded and gestured to the saleswoman, "I want that one. Please write up the receipt." The saleswoman was incredibly excited. She was from out of town and usually did all the dirty and hard work, but if any important person came, Liu Yuanyuan would send her away and serve them herself.
Xia Liang paid the bill, left her home address, and asked them to return the piano. Xia Liang then decided to go home. She looked at Ning Mei and asked, "Are you going to continue shopping, or are you going home?" Ning Mei glanced at Liu Yuanyuan, whose face looked unpleasant, and said, "Yuanyuan, I won't bother you while you're at work. I'll go home now and come find you another day." With that, she took her son's hand and left with Xia Liang.
Xia Liang asked for her home address and took the mother and daughters home before returning with her own two daughters. Having seen Ning Mei's house, Xia Liang knew her family was no ordinary household; after all, in this day and age, those who could afford a detached courtyard house were no ordinary people.
Back home, Xia Liang asked Liu Ma to prepare a room to use as a practice room for her daughter. Soon after, the department store deliverymen arrived, and Xia Liang led them to move the piano into the newly prepared room. After setting it up, they left. Gu Yunxi was overjoyed to see her own piano, carefully stroking the keys, her delight impossible to hide. But she didn't forget that her mother had bought it for her. She hugged Xia Liang's waist, burying her face in Xia Liang's chest: "Mom, thank you, you're so good to me." Xia Liang hugged her eldest daughter back, saying, "Mom earns money for you and your sister, no need to thank me. If you want anything in the future, don't hesitate to ask." Xia Liang knew her daughter wasn't greedy, so she dared to speak to her like this. She took great care of her things, even items that were years old, they looked almost new. Like the camera she bought before, although she took pictures frequently, it showed almost no wear and tear.
Since getting the piano, the little one does his homework first after school every day, and after finishing his homework and eating dinner, he goes to the music room to practice for an hour. The younger daughter is different. When her older sister wants to teach her to play the piano, she has no patience at all and just wants to run to the yard. She only has a little patience and can stick to it when she practices martial arts in the morning.
That day, Xia Liang returned home to find her two daughters playing with a small dog in the yard. The dog was black and chubby, probably just over a month old. Xia Liang asked her eldest daughter, "Where did this puppy come from?" Gu Yunxi patted the dog's head and replied to her mother, "We found it at the school gate after school today. The other students said that the puppy's mother had passed away, and there were only a few puppies left without a mother, which was very pitiful. So my sister and I brought this smallest one home to raise. Is that okay, Mom?" She only remembered to ask Xia Liang's permission now. Seeing how much the two children liked it, and knowing that as long as they were given some food, Xia Liang didn't refuse: "Of course! You can raise it if you want!"
After saying that, she remembered what her daughter had just said about there being a few more, and asked, "Are the remaining ones being kept by someone?" Gu Yunxi shook her head: "We don't know. There were many classmates there at the time, so some of them should have taken them home!"
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