While the Li family was happily having dinner, Xi Junjie next door was on pins and needles. As soon as he got home, Xi Changbo stared at Xi Junjie with interest, and saw a white face as a black face. After dinner, Xi Junjie helped to clean up the dishes, and then he couldn't wait to escape back to his own courtyard, but even so, he still couldn't shake off the tail behind him.
"Dad!" Looking at Xi Changbo who followed him into the house, Xi Junjie shouted angrily, "What on earth do you want to do?"
Xi Changbo held a purple clay teapot and looked at Xi Junjie happily: "I just wanted to see why my son has changed his personality. He smiled so brightly at a stranger. This is the first time in history."
"What do you mean by change of personality? I've always been like this." Xi Junjie sat at the table, took out the magazines he subscribed to from his schoolbag with an expressionless face, turned on the desk lamp, and looked like he was studying seriously.
Xi Changbo was lying on the desk, he lifted up the teapot and took a sip of tea, sneering at Xi Junjie: "Are you acting in front of me? You really underestimate your father."
Stretching lazily, Xi Changbo walked to the tea table next to him with the teapot in hand and sat down. He rinsed the kettle, filled a pot of spring water sent from Xishan from the bucket next to him, plugged in the power, and fiddled with the tea set on the tea tray.
The hot water boiled, and Xi Changbo quickly washed the tea. He used the first and second brews of tea to rinse the small teapot. For the third brew of tea, Xi Changbo slowly poured out a cup.
After taking a sip of tea, Xi Changbo suddenly felt bored when he saw Xi Junjie, who seemed to be studying hard at the table. "Can't you take a break at home after a week of studying? Come over and talk to me."
Xi Junjie paused, closed the magazine helplessly, stood up and sat opposite Xi Changbo, washed a teacup for himself and poured a cup of tea: "What do you want to talk about?"
Xi Changbo was immediately amused, and winked at his son gossipingly: "Why are you so enthusiastic about your uncle Li next door?"
"Really?" Xi Junjie smiled faintly: "I'm not always like this to your friends."
"It feels different." Xi Changbo thought about it and said firmly, "You are just polite to other people, with your mouth corners bent at most 30 degrees, showing obvious alienation. But you are so enthusiastic to your uncle Li, the corners of your mouth are almost curled behind your ears. Tell me the truth, are you interested in the little girl from the Li family next door?"
Xi Junjie lowered his eyes and took a sip of tea: "What little girl?"
"Huh? You really don't know her?" Xi Changbo looked at him in surprise. "She's the tall, thin, fair-skinned girl with a pair of big eyes that always smiles. She's very pretty."
Hearing Xi Changbo praising Zhenzhen for her good looks, Xi Junjie's expressionless face suddenly broke, and he couldn't hide his smile. He quickly lowered his head to drink tea to cover it up. After drinking three cups of tea, Xi Junjie was finally able to control his facial expression. He looked up at Xi Changbo with a blank look on his face: "Ah?"
Xi Changbo looked at him speechlessly: "You are really good at pretending."
Suddenly, a series of footsteps were heard, and Xi Junjie quickly stood up. Xi Junjie's mother Ling Xiulan came in from outside the door. Looking at the appearance of her husband and son, Ling Xiulan knew that her husband was free and was playing with his son again on time.
Xi Junjie has a cold personality, and Xi Changbo likes to tease others. Every time Xi Junjie comes home, Xi Changbo can make him look very unhappy. In other words, Xi Junjie has a good temper. No matter what, he will never lose his temper with Xi Changbo. At most, he will look at his father expressionlessly until he gets bored with him.
"What are you two talking about?" Ling Xiulan was sitting next to Xi Changbo. Xi Junjie immediately looked up and spoke before Xi Changbo could say anything: "We were talking about the final exam last semester. I ranked first in our French major and received a first-class scholarship."
"Very good." Ling Xiu Lan looked at him with a smile. Although Xi Junjie often got excellent grades when he studied in France, it was still something to be proud of for him to return to China, get the first place in one of the best universities and receive a first-class scholarship.
Xi Changbo smiled with pride after hearing about Xi Junjie's results, but when he thought about his son not chatting with him properly, he became more harsh: "He has been in France for so many years. It would be a shame if he couldn't get first place again."
Ling Xiulan glared at him and said, "How can you say that about a child? The French major is not just about French. You don't know how to praise the child more."
Xi Changbo just sneered when Xi Junjie raised his head calmly and added calmly, "I got second place in the international relations major."
Xi Changbo then smiled contentedly: "I told you, my son will definitely be good. But how come you only got the first-class scholarship when you did well in both majors? I remember your school has a special scholarship, right?"
Xi Junjie paused, and then said, "There are only three special scholarships available. There is a girl who ranked top in all three majors. Overall, her grades are better than mine, so she got the special scholarship. Another one is a student majoring in law. Not only is she the top student in her major, she is also the founder of our school's Student Union Standing Committee and the president of the Student Union. She also got the special scholarship. The last one to get the special scholarship is a student who founded the largest club on campus on top of his excellent academic performance."
Xi Changbo nodded in agreement after hearing this: "When you go to university, students are evaluated not only on their grades, but also on team building and student union work. This is an important starting point for you to expand your future network of contacts, and an important platform for improving your work ability. Your future career is not academic research, so don't just study hard, you should participate in more activities."
"That's right, your dad is right." Ling Xiulan sat beside him and peeled an apple, then cut it into pieces and put them on a small plate. "Besides, there are many girls in the student union and clubs. You will know their character only after you meet them more at work. You should have a romantic relationship in college."
Ling Xiulan had spent a few years in France, a country known for its romance, and was greatly influenced by the open-mindedness there. She always felt that Xi Junjie was too strict with her. However, looking at her son's handsome face, Ling Xiulan was also a little worried about what kind of beauty could open her son's stubborn heart.
Thinking that her son was almost 20 years old and had never liked a girl, Ling Xiulan immediately began to sigh: "Junjie, tell me, do you have a girl you like?"
Xi Junjie poured her a cup of tea and refused to say a word.
"Can you tell mom your little secret?" Ling Xiu Lan looked at him pitifully.
Xi Junjie looked at his mother, who was sighing on the surface, but with a gossipy look in her eyes, and immediately shook his head firmly: "Don't worry about my affairs."
Because Xi Junjie was so handsome since he was young, classmates and elders liked to touch his face when they saw him. As time went by, Xi Junjie developed the habit of looking stern when meeting everyone. But the more this happened, the more Xi Changbo and Ling Xiulan liked to tease him. How boring it would be for such a young man to always behave like this.
Seeing her son's complete unwillingness to cooperate, Ling Xiulan finally let him go. While eating an apple, she curiously looked around Xi Junjie's room. Suddenly, Ling Xiulan was attracted by a row of elegant orchids in front of the window. Each pot of orchids was very elegant and it was obvious that they had been raised with great effort. She was immediately surprised: "When did you bring these orchids home? They are in great shape! Hey, what species are these? I have never seen them before."
Xi Junjie has had a strong sense of territory since he was a child. When he is not at home, Xi Changbo and Ling Xiulan never come to his room. Usually, Xi Junjie is the one who sweeps, mops and tidies the room.
In the Xi family, raising flowers and birds is what Ling Xiulan likes to do. In the past, Xi Junjie's room was filled with tea and books, and flowers and plants were never brought into the room. Ling Xiulan thought that she had only been away for two or three months, so how could her son have another hobby
Looking at the pots of orchids in different postures, Ling Xiulan looked at Xi Junjie with a little pride: "Has your taste improved under your mother's daily influence?"
Thinking of the flock of wild ducks in the garden pond, Xi Junjie said nothing. He tasted the tea and found it a little bland, so he boiled another pot of water to make tea again.
Xi Junjie replaced the tea for Xi Changbo and Ling Xiulan: "This orchid was given to me by a friend, so I can't give it to you no matter how much you like it." Seeing Ling Xiulan's frustrated look, Xi Junjie kindly offered a suggestion: "Mom, you should raise a few more ducks, or enrich the species. I think pigeons and pheasants are good."
Ling Xiulan smiled immediately, "We wanted to go together. The day before yesterday, I bought a batch of pigeons and planned to raise them in the back garden. But your grandfather saw the pigeons I bought and said that I bought the wrong ones. I bought meat pigeons. I thought that I didn't really need pigeons to deliver messages, and it didn't matter if they were meat pigeons or carrier pigeons. I just put them in the garden as a wild interest."
"Meat pigeon?" Xi Junjie raised his eyebrows: "Is it fat?"
***
At five in the morning, Xi Junjie turned off the alarm, boiled a pot of hot water, and began to get dressed. After October, the morning in the capital was already a little cold. Xi Junjie got dressed, brushed his teeth and washed his face with hot water, and did not forget to apply some men's moisturizer in front of the mirror. This was bought by Xi Junjie from the Overseas Chinese Shopping Mall with the Overseas Chinese coupons.
He glanced at his watch, it was just 5:12, Xi Junjie opened the door, saw that the sky was getting white, and walked towards the garden. At 5:29, when Xi Junjie ran from the backyard to the gate, he already had a huge cage in his hand. Looking at the closed gate, Xi Junjie put down the cage, opened the bolt of the gate, pushed open the door and found that Li Mingzhen was already waiting outside.
Xi Junjie smiled brightly and handed over the cage in his hand: "I bought a lot of pigeons at home and can't finish them. You can take them and try them."
I have to give something back to Xi Junjie after I got something from him. I remembered that I had already given Xi Junjie many orchids, and it would feel a bit repetitive to give him one more. Zhen Zhen was silent for a moment, and suddenly her eyes lit up: "I built a baking oven myself during the summer vacation, and I'm going to try it today. If it's done, please have a taste."
When Xi Junjie heard that he could eat the dishes cooked by Li Mingzhen, he was pleasantly surprised and a little embarrassed at the same time: "Are you going to cook for me?"
Seeing Xi Junjie's expectant look, Zhen Zhen smiled and said, "My oven is not big, and I can only roast three ducks in one oven. I'll give you one when we get there to try and see if it tastes like Quanjude's."
Although he didn't even see the duck feathers, Xi Junjie was still very confident in Zhenzhen: "It must be better than Quanjude's."
After placing a cage of pigeons in the gatehouse, Zhenzhen and Xi Junjie followed their summer vacation habit and ran around Beiyang again. Seeing that the sky was already bright, Zhenzhen stopped and smiled at Xi Junjie with a little apology: "I'm going to the market today to see if there are any fresh poultry, so I may not be able to practice French with you."
"It's okay. I've lived here for so long, but I still don't know where to buy groceries." Xi Junjie's original intention was to spend some time alone with Zhenzhen. As for what to do, it didn't matter: "If you don't mind, can I go with you? And take me to see the place, and I can also help you carry some things."
"Of course, but I didn't expect you to be interested in the vegetable market." Zhen Zhen looked at Xi Junjie's neat appearance and smiled: "It doesn't seem to match you at all."
"What's wrong with that?" Xi Junjie blushed. "When I get married in the future, I will go to these places often."
Zhenzhen did not notice Xi Junjie's implicit expression. While she was walking with Xi Junjie towards the market, she had already used her consciousness to look around at several vegetable stalls nearby. She could see clearly where the fat chickens, ducks and geese were.
Zhenzhen originally built a stove in the garden because the two wild ducks that Xi Junjie gave her at the beginning suddenly gave her the idea of making roast duck at home. However, the weather was hot at that time, and she was learning to make medicinal food with Mr. Zhang, so the two ducks were eventually made into soup, so the stove was left idle.
When they arrived at the market, Zhen Zhen did not stay at the stalls outside for long, but took Xi Junjie straight to the place where poultry was sold. A middle-aged man was selling a cage of white ducks here, with three poultry tied next to him.
Although it was a handsome young couple who came to pick up poultry, the middle-aged man was still very honest and did not ask for a high price. Zhenzhen bought three white ducks and two roosters, and did not let them be slaughtered. Instead, they tied their legs and stuffed them into a wicker basket provided by the stall owner. Xi Junjie looked at the two handles on the left and right of the wicker basket, and immediately reached out to hold one, and said impatiently: "I'll carry it back with you."
After breakfast, the Beiyang Lake became lively again. Li Muwu came out carrying a fishing rod and a bucket. He did not rush to put down his fishing rod when he reached his usual seat by the river. Instead, he looked around among the people fishing nearby to see if there was any sign of Xi Changbo.
Xi Changbo came out a little late today because Ling Xiulan went to see the pigeons she bought excitedly in the morning, but after counting them, she found that ten were missing. She had bought fifteen in total. This time, too many were lost.
When Ling Xiulan was holding a feather duster and looking for the weasel, Xi Junjie drank the last sip of milk in the cup, wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, and said calmly: "I took the pigeon."
Ling Xiulan was relieved when she heard that there was no weasel in the house. She put the feather duster in the vase and sat opposite Xi Junjie, looking at him curiously: "What are you doing with the pigeon?"
Xi Junjie put down his handkerchief and stood up, looking at Ling Xiulan calmly: "Give it away."
"Who did you send off so early in the morning?" Ling Xiu Lan looked at Xi Junjie curiously, but when she saw that he was cleaning the table with a wooden face and was not willing to answer her questions, she did not ask any more questions. After all, he was her adopted son, and Ling Xiu Lan knew Xi Junjie's temper very well. If he didn't want to say it, he would ignore her even if she pressed him again.
"Just give it away." Ling Xiulan said nonchalantly, "I just want to buy a few carrier pigeons to save your grandfather from making fun of me."
Ling Xiu Lan didn't care about this matter, but Xi Changbo always felt that there was something behind it. He chased Xi Junjie and asked him for a long time, but Xi Junjie didn't tell him a word. Xi Changbo could only carry the fishing rod and go out in boredom.
Seeing Xi Changbo from afar, Li Muwu waved at him excitedly. Xi Changbo placed the stool next to Li Muwu and looked at him curiously while sorting out the fish food: "Why are you so happy today?"
Li Muwu felt that it was too bland to directly mention Zhenzhen's grades, so he had to lay some groundwork. He shook his head pretending to be serious, and then said slowly: "I heard my daughter studying French in the yard this morning, and I couldn't help but feel happy when I saw how much she loved to study."
"French?" Xi Changbo looked at him in surprise. "If I remember correctly, you mentioned that your daughter should be a journalism major."
Seeing that Xi Changbo was indeed interested in this topic, Li Muwu couldn't wait to say, "My daughter is quite capable. She has studied three majors in total. In addition to journalism, she also studies French and economics... economics..." Li Muwu spent the whole night memorizing the name of Zhenzhen's major, but when he was about to show off, he got stuck.
Li Muwu frowned and kept thinking back. When it came to showing off his daughter, Li Muwu was always very careful.
"Department of Economics?" Xi Changbo asked tentatively.
"Yes, the Economics Department." Li Muwu smiled and patted his head: "Look at my memory, I can't even say the words when they come to my lips."
"I don't know about the other majors, but if it's French..." Xi Changbo smiled proudly: "My son got first place in the French major."
The guy fishing nearby heard this and immediately turned around and said with a smile, "Getting first place in the Imperial Capital University entrance exam is incredible. Lao Xi, you must celebrate with your son when you get home."
"You don't know this kid's temper. He doesn't want to get involved in those messy activities." Xi Changbo replied proudly.
Seeing Xi Changbo already chatting with others, and his daughter had no time to show off, Li Muwu suddenly became anxious: "Well, my daughter also got the first place in the journalism major." Seeing the surprised eyes of everyone looking at him, Li Muwu didn't care about keeping it a secret, he said everything in his heart in one breath: "She also won a special scholarship."
"So the winner of the special scholarship that Junjie mentioned is your daughter." Xi Changbo laughed immediately: "Last night, my Junjie mentioned this..." Halfway through his words, Xi Changbo realized that Xi Junjie didn't know the girl from the Li family yesterday. How could he not know her when they are in the same major and he knew she won a scholarship? This brat must be fooling me again.
At this time, Xi Changbo didn't even have the heart to fish. He put the fishing rod aside and moved the bench closer to Li Muwu. "I say, Old Li, your daughter's achievement is really amazing. Most people can't compare to her. This is such an honorable thing, don't you think you should celebrate for her?"
Seeing that Li Muwu was somewhat interested, Xi Changbo quickly added: "I will take my wife and son to help your daughter celebrate. Speaking of which, our two families are next door, and I haven't visited your house yet."
It was common for neighbors in Beicha to visit each other for meals, so Li Muwu agreed immediately: "Come to my house for lunch today, bring your wife and children, and have some fun together!"
"Okay!" Xi Changbo stood up and said, "I'll go home and tell my wife and ask her to prepare some gifts for the old man."
"Don't bother, it's just a meal." Looking at Xi Changbo's hurried footsteps, Li Muwu scratched his head in discomfort: "Why are you being so polite?"
Xi Changbo hurried into the house, put the fishing rod and bucket aside, and went straight to the backyard. He pulled Ling Xiulan, who was watering the flowers, and said, "Pack up. We'll go to the Li family next door for lunch."
Although she knew that her husband often went fishing with the people next door, Ling Xiulan was still a little surprised when he suddenly said he wanted to go to their house for dinner: "What's the reason? What gift should I prepare?"
Xi Changbo hesitated before saying, "It's a bit more generous. The girl next door is also from Imperial Capital University, the one who got the special prize."
When she heard that there was a girl next door, Ling Xiulan immediately perked up. She stopped watering the flowers and feeding the ducks and hurried back to the main room. She spent more than half an hour dressing up and preparing a generous gift.
While Ling Xiulan was drawing her eyebrows and putting on makeup, Xi Changbo went to Xi Junjie's house to inform him that he was going to attend a private family dinner. Because he often went to such events with Xi Changbo, Xi Junjie changed into a set of casual clothes and looked free and easy.
After the mother and son had packed up, Xi Changbo took them out. When Xi Junjie was wondering why he didn't drive out, he saw Xi Changbo knocking on the door of the next door a few times: "Old Li, we're here!"
Xi Junjie: “…”
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The old woman who worked like a cow and a horse threw a mine
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