Yu Tingting's previous friends were all from families with less favorable financial conditions than hers.
When she interacts with people, she has to be very careful, afraid that she will say the wrong thing and her friends will think she is showing off.
Her two older brothers felt that she lacked judgment and that the friends she made were just fair-weather friends.
Her parents didn't really care about the friends she made, but they told her to keep her distance from her friends and not to tell them about her family situation.
Now she has made a new friend who is also her savior. Her parents and brothers are very pleased with her choice after hearing her description of Song Ziqing.
Although some members of the Song family were sent to the countryside, as a collateral branch of the Song family, one of the four major families during the Republic of China era, the places where they were sent to were directly the ancestral home of the Song family. Perhaps the Song family's development will be even better in the future.
Of course, the Yu family parents' idea was only discussed between the couple in bed and they never told their children.
They simply felt that the young couple, Song Ziqing and Lin Chengyu, were worth getting to know well, especially since their daughter would be less likely to be negatively influenced by her other friends if she had a clear-headed friend like Song Ziqing.
Hearing Song Ziqing's words, Yu Tingting also looked helpless: "Sister Ziqing, why is it so difficult for me to run errands for you?! By the way, my dad's company often has ships going to Hainan. If I have the chance, I'll take my dad's ship to Hainan to visit you! I've been to many places in Hainan before."
What she likes most is that Hainan has a lot of tropical fruits, which taste so good that she wants to eat them again after trying them once.
Just like the coconut chicken that Aunt Yu made at noon, the coconut used was a fruit that the shipping company brought back from Hainan. Using it to stew the chicken made the chicken soup very sweet and delicious, and Song Ziqing drank bowl after bowl.
Seeing Song Ziqing's support, Aunt Yu was overjoyed and kept using serving chopsticks to pick up food for her. "Come on, Ziqing, don't just drink the soup. Try my poached chicken and this chicken and shrimp dish. It's Tingting's favorite dish."
"I feel like I, as a Shanghainese, actually prefer Guangzhou cuisine! It seems that I'll adapt pretty well to staying in Hainan for the next few years."
Song Ziqing didn't stand on ceremony with Yu Ma and tasted all the dishes she introduced. She felt that the biggest difference between Guangzhou cuisine and Shanghai cuisine was that Guangzhou cuisine emphasizes freshness, while Shanghai cuisine emphasizes sweetness. Compared to Shanghai cuisine, she preferred Guangzhou cuisine.
"Your ancestral home isn't actually Shanghai; Hainan is the ancestral home of your Song family!"
Lin Chengyu guessed that Song Ziqing, who had traveled from another time, was not from Shanghai at all, which was why she was so indifferent to Shanghai cuisine.
He was worried that Song Ziqing's time-traveling identity would be discovered, so he would subconsciously try to cover it up for her from time to time.
Generally speaking, the local environment shapes the people who live there.
It's rare for a native Shanghainese to dislike Shanghainese cuisine.
“Ziqing, your Song family is from Hainan. Hainan and Guangzhou are separated by a river, and our eating habits are similar. It’s normal that you prefer Guangzhou cuisine.”
At first, Yu Ma was also puzzled, but after listening to Lin Chengyu's words, she realized that Song Ziqing was probably influenced by his parents who were from Hainan, which was why he liked Guangzhou cuisine more.
Song Ziqing laughed and said directly, "I'm not picky about cuisine. As long as it's delicious, I can accept it. Even Sichuan cuisine is fine for me!"
She was originally from Sichuan, and eating spicy food was an innate preference of hers. However, influenced by her predecessor, she can now also accept milder cuisine.
Hearing Song Ziqing's words, Aunt Yu laughed heartily. "Your Uncle Yu is from Sichuan. He's been in Guangzhou for decades and doesn't eat spicy food much anymore. However, during holidays, he still misses the numbing and spicy flavor of Sichuan cuisine."
Song Ziqing ate a very good lunch. After the meal, he also ate two pieces of water chestnut cake, which were very chewy and had a refreshing coolness.
After lunch, Song Ziqing and Lin Chengyu said goodbye to the Yu family. The Yu family had prepared many gifts for the two of them, which Song Ziqing and Lin Chengyu could not refuse and had to accept.
Back at the hotel, Song Ziqing opened the cloth bag that the Yu family had given to the two of them and found a piece of embroidery embroidered with gold and silver thread inside. Such embroidery is very valuable to collectors.
There was also a wooden box. When Song Ziqing opened it, he found a pair of ivory boat carvings, which looked intricate, lively, gorgeous, and layered.
This ivory boat carving is also a miniature carving; Song Ziqing can completely hold a pair of carvings in one hand.
"The Yu family is really very perceptive. They could tell your preferences from just a few words. This gift is exactly what you wanted to hear."
Lin Chengyu discovered that the Yu family was giving gifts to Song Ziqing, and Lin Chengyu was just a bystander.
"These hauls from the last two days aren't very valuable in China, but they'd be worth a fortune in Hong Kong! However, things are strictly controlled in both places now, so going to Hong Kong isn't easy."
Song Ziqing genuinely felt that in this era, an individual's power was far too insignificant, and there was no freedom. To move from one place to another, one needed a letter of introduction; otherwise, it was impossible to move an inch.
Hong Kong is more suitable for someone with her personality. Although there are still many dangers, as long as you have money, you can buy freedom.
For Song Ziqing, neither material possessions nor money could compare to freedom.
Just like Song Ziqing and Lin Chengyu became educated youth sent to the countryside, they faced the daily commute to and from work. To go to the town or county, they had to get a letter of introduction from the village head or party secretary. Otherwise, their personal freedom would be restricted to a certain place.
In reality, they're not much different from criminals.
Song Ziqing found this situation completely unacceptable.
But she was afraid to swim to Hong Kong; she was afraid of dying!
In addition, her swimming skills were poor, so once she went into the sea, there was no way out.
She has the ring's potential; if she finds the right approach, she could live a better life than many others.
Unless her life is in danger, she can't bring herself to gamble.
Lin Chengyu looked at Song Ziqing, whose eyes were darting around, and whispered, "Ziqing, do you want to go to Hong Kong?"
“I can’t do it yet! My parents’ condition is still unknown. If I really flee to Hong Kong, my parents will be in danger.”
Song Ziqing could not bring himself to abandon his parents for the sake of freedom.
She plans to settle her parents first before considering going to Hong Kong.
After all, it was extremely difficult for families like the Song family, with their foreign backgrounds, to make a name for themselves in the 1960s and 70s.
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