Wang Chunhua got up early in the morning to wake up Dong Lei, who had squeezed in between her and Dong Shan, because they had to go and come back the same day, and they also needed to leave time to shop for gifts.
Dong Lei groggily opened his eyes, looking like he had just woken up. Last night, he had stayed up late doing all his homework by lamplight so that he could go to the county town.
"Aren't we going to the county town? Get up already."
County town!
Hearing the words "county town", Dong Lei's eyes lit up immediately. He got out of bed without any hesitation, not even taking the time to put on his shoes, and stood on the floor barefoot.
Wang Chunhua was stunned. She hurriedly picked him up, dusted off the soles of his feet, and put his shoes on for him.
She gave Dong Lei's little bottom a smack: "Go wake your auntie up."
"Okay."
Her son sped off, and Dong Shan also got up lazily, stretching. Wang Chunhua went to cook, and he went to pack up his gear. With a child and a frail woman, they definitely couldn't do without the little cart, and they still had to buy so many things.
Wang Chunhua simply boiled them a few tea eggs. After eating, they set off, with Dong Shan pushing the cart to the door. Dong Lei was utterly shameless, plopping himself down on it immediately. Li Mingwei didn't want to trouble him, and said she'd rather walk for a while first.
Then, she bravely walked until the gate of the county town. She reached out and nudged the long since fast asleep Dong Lei on the cart, lest he miss the hustle and bustle of the county town.
Looking up at the gate of the county town, Dong Lei was incredibly excited, jumping off the cart and running inside. Dong Shan hurriedly chased after him.
He grabbed the back of Dong Lei's collar and lifted him up, scolding him, "Don't run. There are so many people in the county town. What if you get lost? You have to stay with me."
Dong Lei nodded and swung his little feet. "Dad, I know, I won't run anymore. Put me down."
So many people were watching. How embarrassing!
Dong Shan dumped him on the ground. He immediately went to Li Mingwei's side and took her hand, sticking his tongue out at his dad, "I'll go with Auntie, not you."
It was all the same to Dong Shan, so he didn't bother with him, pushing the cart along behind them.
Li Mingwei didn't know what to buy yet, so she just strolled down the street. Gifts for boys and girls ought to be a little different. She wanted to distinguish between the hardworking and not so hardworking students too.
In addition to the shops, there were many small stands along the sides of the street, covered in trinkets. Dong Lei was immediately enchanted, but Li Mingwei had said if he came to the county town then there would be no gifts, adamant about not buying anything for him.
Dong Lei was heartbroken.
Dong Shan ridiculed him, "Serves you right. If you hadn't come, wouldn't you have gotten gifts?"
Ignoring his dad's mockery, he hugged Li Mingwei's hand and acted cute. "Auntie."
Li Mingwei looked at him expressionlessly. "A promise is a promise. I gave you a chance."
No longer paying him any mind, Li Mingwei continued chatting with the peddler, who took down some hair ribbons to show her. "All kinds of colors available. See what you like?"
"What colors do little girls like?"
"Oh, lots. The bright ones like these, little girls all like them, and they suit them more too."
Li Mingwei thought for a bit before buying the same color for all of them. Buying different ones, what if two girls liked the same color? She really hated arbitrating between children nowadays.
The peddler wrapped up the goods and handed them to her. When Li Mingwei turned around, she realized Dong Lei and Dong Shan were gone. She anxiously looked around everywhere.
Dong Shan was across the street. Seeing she had finished her purchase, he waved to her, "Sis! I'm over here!"
Li Mingwei breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly ran over to them.
Liu Yizhu heard the familiar voice and didn't hesitate for a moment, getting up and going to the window to look outside. He just happened to catch a glimpse of a faint green figure flashing by. He leaned out to look for her, but didn't see anything else.
Tang Jue saw him leaning halfway out and quickly put an arm around his waist. "Master Liu, what are you doing? Are you trying to jump?"
Liu Yizhu took one last look, still no one, somewhat disappointed as he drew back in and sat down again.
"What were you looking at just now? See someone you know?"
Liu Yizhu shook his head.
Li Mingwei ran to Dong Shan's side. Dong Lei was happily nibbling on a candied haw, and when he saw her come over, he even stubbornly turned his head away. "Not giving any to Auntie."
"I didn't ask for any either." Li Mingwei was helpless, watching him crunch through the outer sugar coating of the hawthorns. She hesitated. "Are you hungry? It's not early anymore. Why don't we eat first?"
Dong Shan looked at the sun for a while, smelling the fragrant aroma floating out from the nearby restaurant, and patted his stomach. "I am a little hungry. Let's eat first."
He was about to take them to buy steamed buns when he saw Dong Lei staring longingly at the dishes on the tables inside the restaurant, sniffing.
"Smells so good!" He pointed at the dishes other people had ordered, eyes shining as he looked at his dad. "Dad, can we eat that?"
Dong Shan decisively refused. "No, too expensive."
With one look at the sign, it was clear this restaurant was not cheap. He couldn't bear to take him to eat such nice dishes.
Dong Lei's little mouth drooped, a bit wronged, but hearing his dad say it was expensive, he didn't ask for anything either, only leaving reluctantly, eyes nearly popping out.
Li Mingwei sighed. She stopped walking. "Forget it, let's just eat here. I brought enough money."
"Sis." Dong Shan stopped her. "This place is too expensive. If you don't want steamed buns, we can find a smaller restaurant too."
Dong Lei also nodded understandingly. "Yeah, steamed buns are tasty too."
The more he was like this, the more Li Mingwei wanted to take him. She directly took his hand and strode into the restaurant decisively. Dong Shan hurried to follow.
The waiter looked them up and down, seeing Li Mingwei and Dong Lei's clothes were decent enough, and didn't say anything, only leading Dong Shan to put the cart in the backyard through a side alley.
He took the three of them directly from the backyard to the front. Looking around, he saw there were no seats downstairs, and bowed slightly. "No seats left downstairs. Is upstairs okay?"
"What's the difference?"
The waiter shook his head, suddenly feeling he'd said something foolish, and led them upstairs. There were a lot of people upstairs too, and not many seats left.
Just as they were going up, some customers finished eating and were leaving. The waiter quickly led them over to sit down and swiftly cleared the leftovers from the table. "Please wait a moment, esteemed guests. I will bring your dishes shortly."
Another waiter saw and hurried over to help. He took the white towel off his shoulder and wiped the table clean for them, then draped the now somewhat oily towel back over his shoulder. Li Mingwei distastefully turned her head away.
This was really too unhygienic. It was already dirty, why couldn't he just hold it in his hand instead of soiling his clothes too?
Dong Shan saw his son laughing and waving his candied haw while turning to look over there. He also smiled broadly when he saw who it was and greeted, "Scholar Liu! Didn't expect to run into you here too. Is the academy not having class today either?"
Scholar Liu? That Scholar Liu?
Li Mingwei pondered for a moment but couldn't come up with a second answer, because there was only one Scholar Liu in Qingshi Town.
She closed her eyes and resigned herself to looking over. Oh no, this was retribution. Of all the restaurants and eateries and steamed bun shops in the county town, why did she have to choose this one?
Jade Emperor, please, don't mess with me anymore.
