Chapter 82
In February, with the mornings and evenings still bitterly chilly, the cherry blossoms on Yuantong Mountain were in bloom. Lan Yingde took his family to see them. On the mountain, shrouded in a pink mist, many young people, carrying picnic boxes, gathered under the trees. They sat around a blanket spread across the grass, chatting and laughing over soda and croissants. A gentle breeze blew pink petals from the branches, showering them like a torrential rain.
Looking at the watercolor-like scene, Yueming said with some regret, "We should have brought some food for the picnic."
As soon as Yueming finished speaking, Aunt Liu started to lecture her about her attire: "What kind of picnic are you having? Look how short your pants are today. If you sit on the ground, the bugs in the grass will bite you all over your thighs."
Yueming raised her calf unconvinced and pointed at her knee-length cotton socks and said, "I'm wearing socks."
Seeing she was still stubborn, Aunt Liu got angry. She stared at the leg that was exposed between her shorts and knee-high socks and snorted, "It's only February, and you're being so rude and not dressing properly. It's so cold in the morning, and you're still showing that much leg. Aren't you afraid of getting cold legs when you're my age?"
Yueming laughed wickedly: "It will be some time before I reach your age. We'll talk about it then!"
Ye Hu, who was supporting Liu Ma, turned his head and smiled secretly.
Lan Yingde was afraid that the two would start arguing endlessly, so he said to Liu Ma, "Why do you care about her? She's very hot-tempered at her age, and she loves to play coquettishly. At worst, if she gets cold, you can just not let her take pills. You can boil some Chinese medicine for her. She'll know how bitter the medicine is, so she won't dare to take it next time."
Madam Liu dared to raise her voice to the young lady, but the master dissuaded her, knowing the hierarchy and not being too reckless. She glared at Yueming's white legs with dissatisfaction and asked Ai Ye to help her go to a crabapple tree in full bloom.
Accommodating Liu Ma's bound feet, the family enjoyed the flowers at a leisurely pace. Under a tree, they met Zhao Qing's family, who also came to enjoy the flowers.
The two adults bowed to each other, and Zhaoqing pulled her to sit in front of a simple wooden table and gave her a ripe persimmon.
Yueming hated this stuff the most. It was so soft and fluffy. He shook his head repeatedly and refused, "I don't like eating this stuff. The tongues inside are so disgusting when I put them in my mouth."
Zhao Qing chuckled and whispered to her, "Isn't that the same as a French kiss? I don't believe you and your boyfriend haven't tried it. Wouldn't it be disgusting if you eat his tongue?"
Yueming hadn't expected her to be so unrestrained. Raising an eyebrow, he whispered, "I underestimated you! You know all the tools needed for a deep French kiss. Has anyone shown you how to practice it recently, Mr. Luo?"
Zhaoqing was so impressed that she gave her a shy push. She almost pushed her off the canvas chair, unable to control her strength.
Yueming held onto his painter's hat and sat down, angrily saying, "Do you want to ruin my beauty?"
Zhaoqing glanced at him with disdain. He was wearing a dark blue sweater set, three-quarter shorts, wool knee-high socks, a beret on his head and an Oxford bag slung over his shoulder. He was dressed like a junior high school student who had just entered school.
"If you change your hat, you can play with those Boy Scouts. What are they wearing?"
Seeing her attacking her clothes, Yueming curled his lips and said unconvincedly, "Even my dad praised my cute outfit."
Zhaoqing scoffed, "Even if you were eighty and wore this, your father would still think you were cute."
Yueming turned hostile and was about to leave angrily, but Zhaoqing dragged her back by the arm. She apologized to her, "Okay, okay, you're the cutest Miss Lan in all of Kunming, okay? I said something wrong, so I'll treat you to some pig's feet at a German restaurant, okay?"
Yueming looked at her own calves covered in socks and asked doubtfully, "Are you mocking me?"
Zhao Qing rolled her eyes at her and said, "Their German sausages and pork knuckles are their signature dishes. A whole meal costs five silver dollars! I'm using five silver dollars to mock you?"
When Yueming heard the price of the food, he immediately jumped in front of Lan Yingde and told him that he wanted to have lunch with Zhaoqing.
Lan Yingde originally wanted to take her to Yuantong Temple for a vegetarian meal after admiring the flowers, and wanted to ask her not to go, but the two girls looked at him pleadingly, so he had to agree.
He warned: "Don't go home too late."
Zhao Qing was pushing the issue and said, "We also want to go to the movies. Today's new movie is Gone with the Wind starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable."
Before Lan Yingde could say anything, Zhaoqing's father took out his wallet and said, "Go ahead, go ahead. I'll give you money to buy movie tickets."
Lan Yingde lost his temper and took out a few silver coins and handed them to Yueming: "If your classmate invites you to the movies, you should also buy him a bottle of soda."
The two girls took the money and ran down the mountain hand in hand. Zhaoqing's father was still shouting behind them, "Do you want your brother to drive you?"
Zhaoqing turned around and waved: "No, no, we'll take a rickshaw."
When they arrived at the German restaurant, Zhaoqing asked Yueming to order first while she called to order movie tickets so that she wouldn't be unable to buy tickets after dinner.
A white waiter with blond hair, deep eye sockets and typical Anglo appearance handed the menu to Yueming.
Although the menu was marked in English, Yueming was still confused by the unfamiliar words and asked the waiter in English for any recommendations.
When Zhaoqing came back, Yueming had already ordered sour beef, Nuremberg sausages and mashed potatoes, and chose Black Forest cake for dessert.
The waiter winked at them both and asked if they would like some of Germany's famous Munich beer.
The two girls looked at each other and nodded vigorously.
The waiter wrote the menu and asked them to wait for a moment. Zhaoqing asked Yueming, "You speak English quite well! Did your fiancé teach you?"
Yueming picked up the shiny silver spoon on the table and combed his bangs outside his hat in the light of his own shadow. Without looking up, he said, "Who told you that? Second Young Master Luo? I'm telling you, my fiancé's childhood friends are no good. Stay away from them."
Zhao Qing was speechless: "What makes you so calm and composed to say such a thing? Isn't it said that birds of a feather flock together? Why can your fiancé deny it?"
Yueming glanced at her and continued to adjust his bangs. He said to her in a very sure tone, "If he hadn't met me, he would have become a bad guy like them."
Zhaoqing......
The dishes were all served. Yueming saw the sausages and thought of the hard work of Lan Yingde and Yunkai in running goods. He said to Zhaoqing, "You will accompany me to buy a few boxes of Dehe canned food later. My dad...why is he here?" Yueming found a military vehicle parked outside the window. A person who looked a little familiar but not very familiar got out of the car and smiled brightly at the person in the window.
Seeing Zhaoqing was too guilty to dare to look up, what else did she not understand? She taunted him, "Does the sausage made by betraying your friend taste good? Our friendship is only worth five silver dollars, right? Eat more. I won't forgive you until you finish all the sausages and pig's feet in this restaurant."
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