Su Yan arrived.
In early March, Su Yan ca to the mainland from Hong Kong, without telling anyone, and this ti Xu Xi did not co, saying he was staying in the United States to handle so matters.
And this ti, Su Yan was here to stay for a while.
Li Xianglu was very happy, as this ant her grandfather would have company and she wouldn’t have to worry about him being alone at ho all the ti.
The weather in March was getting warr, and it was ti to renovate the newly-bought quadrangle, and the skilled workers Qin Xi had found were arriving one after another.
Su Yan was very satisfied with the new quadrangle; its corridors, pavilions, terraces, and towers were very retro, with gates at both the north and south ends. The north gate was the main entrance, and a large garage that could accommodate three cars was built on the south end, without detracting from the overall aesthetic of the courtyard.
Su Yan praised the children’s ability in handling things, which made Li Xianglu quite proud.
When Su Yan ca back this ti, she brought two suitcases, and Li Xianglu was wondering why she had changed her usual habit of bringing a trolley of clothes; it turned out that when she returned the next week, two won were at the house organizing her clothing. The family had to buy two large wardrobes to store her belongings; she had brought over fifty pairs of shoes alone and still said it was just making do.
Li Xianglu was speechless.
The 1980s was a symbolic decade when the country put great effort into developing the economy and supported individual entrepreneurship.
The ordinary people who used to sneak into the market with a few eggs to exchange for so pocket money were now unrestrained; a large number of them carried vegetables and fruits to the market for sale, although only a small part engaged in such trade.
Li Xianglu had been miserable recently, not knowing what was wrong with Su Yan, but she had thoroughly criticized Li Xianglu’s education and so cultivation issues, especially so thoughtless behaviors, letting others take advantage of her repeatedly. In Su Yan’s view, this was either due to poor luck or a lack of intelligence.
Therefore, she wanted to cultivate Li Xianglu in all aspects.
The first was to understand human nature, to analyze the reasons behind a person’s behavior, and then to examine the whole situation to discover its flaws.
Next ca the skills of dressing and make-up. Of course, all this was still bearable, but what she couldn’t stand the most was the etiquette of dining. In Su Yan’s view, a woman should first control her own gluttony in order to beco more rational.
This was practically killing Li Xianglu because, although the food provided at school could fill her up, it was hardly delicious and was very bland. Upon returning ho, the food was better and more exquisite, but what good was it if it did not fill her up?
On Friday evening, Qin Xi brought in a big bowl of food and handed it to Li Xianglu, who was eagerly waiting.
Li Xianglu took it and saw it was braised pork made in the afternoon, sweet and sour fish, shiitake mushrooms, and bok choy. She quickly ate a piece of at and then a few spoonfuls of rice, sighing with satisfaction.
Qin Xi, a bit helpless, picked up a bowl of chicken soup from the side and passed it over; Li Xianglu took a sip with her little mouth and then started to eat her rice eagerly.
Half an hour later, Li Xianglu sat contentedly on the couch and asked, "Is there really leftover rice in the kitchen?"
Qin Xi, who was organizing docunts, smiled and said, "The at and vegetables were even picked out and placed on a plate. I saw it and just served so rice over it and brought it here."
Li Xianglu’s eyes widened, "What does she an? On one hand, she doesn’t let eat, and yet when I sneak so food, she still prepares things for ."
Qin Xi finished packing her materials into her backpack and then said, "I feel that this al wasn’t left behind by Grandma Su, but rather Grandpa asked Sister Xing to secretly save it for you."
Li Xianglu pouted, "I knew she wasn’t that kindhearted. It’s still Grandpa who loves , knowing that I wouldn’t be full."
Qin Xi laughed and walked over to hug her, "Alright, in a few days, once you have learned proper dining etiquette, she will stop bothering about it."
Li Xianglu discontentedly said, "It’s easy for you to say. You have no idea what it feels like to see a table full of delicious food and still not be able to get full. Wuu wuu wuu, I’ve even lost weight recently."
Qin Xi reached out to pinch Li Xianglu’s tummy and nodded, "Yeah, indeed, the little belly is gone!"
Li Xianglu, frustrated, started scratching at Qin Xi, and the two rolled around on the couch becoming a tangled ss. Qin Xi then held her in his arms, allowing her to straddle his waist, his hands gripping her buttocks, his tongue teasing her ear, "Baobao, let’s change positions."
When everything was over, an hour had passed. Li Xianglu hurriedly scrambled off Qin Xi and rushed behind the screen to tidy up.
Qin Xi chuckled to himself and quickly got up to join her behind the screen, only to hear Li Xianglu complaining, "It would have been nice if the room had a bathroom."
Qin Xi lifted her onto the stool to sit down and began to help her tidy up, saying, "Grandpa ans to move to the courtyard house at the end of the year. Our room there will have a bathroom, and then we can even bathe together."
Li Xianglu, kicking her pale legs and seeing that she was clean, felt no shyness; she flung herself onto Qin Xi for him to carry her to bed.
Qin Xi laughed and picked her up, and the two lay down naked once again.
The next morning, Li Xianglu was still in a daze, sleeping, when she heard soone calling her from outside the window. She got up, looked out, and saw it was Su Yan dressed in casual clothes. She lazily took a glance, then went back to bed to find casual clothes and shoes to put on before going out.
Su Yan frowned slightly at the lazy person in front of her, "I’ve been thinking, restricting your diet is too painful for you, so I’ve decided to try a different approach."
Li Xianglu’s eyes lit up, excitedly asking, "What approach will we use instead?"
Su Yan calmly suggested, "Running. Since you can’t control your eating, stretch your legs and run instead. It’s good for your health and burns fat."
Li Xianglu watched as the other started jogging away slowly, she pinched her own waist – it was only nineteen inches, how could that be considered fat? But wanting to eat, she decided to go for a run anyway.
It must be said that Su Yan had great stamina, accompanying Li Xianglu around half the neighborhood block and then coming back with only a thin layer of sweat, unlike Li Xianglu who looked utterly exhausted.
For breakfast, unusually, nobody was monitoring her, and Li Xianglu fiercely ate two fried eggs and four at buns before putting down her chopsticks.
Su Yan looked disparagingly at Li Xianglu, shook her head, and went to the yard with Li Huai Ren to digest their al.
Qin Xi, sowhat resigned, took out two Hawthorn Pills from a drawer for her to eat.
On Sunday, when returning ho, Lu Anna mysteriously pulled Li Xianglu down to the basent level, it turned out to be the verdict for Qin Miao.
ps: Sorry, I hit a writer’s block. Couldn’t write anything since 4 in the afternoon, so I went for a stroll, ate so of Ding Family’s crispy pork, Jia San’s soup dumplings, still couldn’t shake off the block. Later I had a bowl of Liu family’s pao mo which made feel a bit better. When I got ho, I realized I had been approaching it wrong; I should have been organizing the outline.
I’ve got sothing to do tomorrow morning, but I’ll be back at eleven to continue writing. See you tomorrow.
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