For Jiang Shen, going to the city twice a week is a big deal. Tan Lingling still got up early in the morning, and found out the good clothes for the New Year for him to wear. She also picked out a high-quality cashmere coat, and carefully painted her eyebrows in the vanity mirror.
"Go and comb your hair well and soak it in some water." Tan Lingling instructed Jiang Shen while applying lipstick, "Clean it up."
Jiang Shen looked in the mirror and dealt with his sleepy hairs, and it took him a long time before he fell down.
Tan Lingling came in to get the scarf: "Put on those new sneakers."
Jiang Shen said "Oh", and sat on a small stool to tie his shoelaces.
Tan Lingling squatted down. Her cashmere coat was too long and had to be rolled up to her knees: "Your feet grow so fast." Mother sighed, "I don't even have enough shoes and clothes."
Jiang Shen thought naively: "Just make it bigger."
Tan Lingling didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Nowadays there is no one who changes old clothes. Our family's conditions are average, but we can't afford to lose face."
Jiang Shen obviously can't connect the words "replace old clothes" and "disgrace". He is naive and ignorant at his age, and he doesn't think too much and it's not bad.
The pheasant in the yard also woke up. Tan Lingling didn't close the fence, so the pheasant came out for a walk and defecated on its own.
"Tony." Gou Mao followed the fashion and wanted to give a chicken a foreign name, so Jiang Shen obediently called out, "We're going out."
Tony shook his neck. Tan Lingling had already called him outside the yard, and Jiang Shen hurried out.
"Aren't you stupid?" Tan Lingling smiled, "You're still talking to a chicken."
Tan Lingling took too many buses to the city, and the driver knew everyone. I was quite surprised to see her today: "Do you still deliver food?"
Tan Lingling: "Go and buy something." She pushed her son, "Sit back and go."
The driver closed the door: "It's too early, sleep on the road, and I'll call you when we arrive."
Tan Lingling agreed happily, and sat down beside Jiang Shen, letting her son lean on her: "Are you sleepy?"
Jiang Shen was a little excited: "Not sleepy, what are we going to do?"
Tan Lingling patted his head: "I will start school in September, I will take you to see the new school."
Jiang Shen: "Are Gou Mao and I together?"
"Here." Tan Lingling took his hand, "But Chen Maoxiu and the others are in the junior high school, you and Chen Qingling are in the same class."
Jiang Shen was very happy: "Then I can go to and from school with Qing Lingzi."
Tan Lingling nodded his forehead: "You have to call people by their names outside, and the same goes for dog hair. How ugly it is to call people at school."
What mother said, Jiang Shen was very obedient. He leaned on Tan Lingling's shoulder for a while to be quiet, and then couldn't help but look out of the car window. Tan Lingling took a nap for a while and passed by for more than an hour. Calling them, the two of them got out of the car in a hurry.
Tan Lingling went to the shopping mall first, and when she came out, she had two extra cigarettes in her hand. Her mother carefully wrapped the cigarette case and stuffed it into the shopping bag, with a relaxed expression on her face.
The school that Jiang Shen wants to study in the city is not particularly good, but the elementary school, junior high school and high school are all together, which is especially convenient for students who want to study consecutively. The Jiang family also liked this, and the tuition was not expensive, so they entrusted the mayor to help a transfer student.
But even if she was accepted by the school after being helpful, Tan Lingling still felt that she had to go to the school to say hello. She has always been a woman with ideas. Although she is reluctant to give up money sometimes, she will not treat her family and relationships badly.
"I'm going to the principal's office." Tan Lingling bent down and straightened the collar of Jiang Shen's coat, "Are you playing by yourself?"
The campus is relatively safe, and Jiang Shen is not afraid to walk around, but he is thinking about other things: "Aren't you going to buy candy today?"
Tan Lingling made a "disgusted" expression: "Didn't you eat it yesterday, as I said before, you can only eat it once a week."
Jiang Shen said "Oh" wearily.
Tan Lingling was not soft-hearted, and after a few more words of advice, she took a cigarette and went to the office building.
Although they are all on the same campus, they have different names. The primary school is called City Experiment, while the junior and senior high schools are called City Sixth Middle School.
There is no class on weekends, and the janitor and teacher on duty don’t care about him. Jiang Shen randomly found a few classrooms and looked at them like a puppy patrolling the site. He sat down in the front row and lay down in the back row. He felt very happy in his heart. .
Tan Lingling finished delivering the things in a short time. She searched for her son in the huge campus for a long time, and finally used the school's loudspeaker temporarily to call out Jiang Shen.
"No one can play at school." Tan Lingling really laughed angrily, "So happy?"
Jiang Shen grinned: "Happy."
Tan Lingling poured cold water on him: "I see you are happy to go to school."
It wasn't too late for the mother and son to come out of school. Tan Lingling took Jiang Shen straight to the Cultural Palace. Teacher Lin had already arrived at the dance room, and while taking off his down jacket, he said in surprise, "Are you here?"
Tan Lingling was more polite to Teacher Lin: "Come here, Teacher Lin looks really good today."
Teacher Lin laughed, she said "you are welcome", then waved for Jiang Shen to come over.
"Did you buy dancing shoes?" Teacher Lin asked.
Tan Lingling was a little embarrassed: "I haven't had time yet..."
Teacher Lin didn't say anything, and went to the clothing room to get a pair of spare dance shoes out: "I have a pair of big girls here, you can try it?"
Jiang Shen hurriedly took off his shoes, ready to put them on.
Mr. Lin was holding a pair of ballet shoes, the size was okay, but Jiang Shen couldn’t tie the straps. He sat on the ground and tied his legs cross-legged for a long time, sweating.
Teacher Lin bent down: "Don't worry, I'll tie it up for you."
Boys' ankles are much thicker than girls', and the straps are a bit shorter, so Mr. Lin cut him a few times. Because of the cold weather, Jiang Shen's woolen trousers had not been taken off yet, and the trouser legs of his outer trousers were rolled together. on the calf.
When Jiang Shen stood up, it looked a little funny. From the perspective of others, he looked like a duck with its legs shaved. Tan Lingling watched from the door, and couldn't help lowering her head and smiling.
Jiang Shen didn't notice, his expression was very serious, and he stood straight in front of the mirror.
Teacher Lin said: "Let's warm up first, press down on the lower back and stretch the legs, don't force yourself, you can do whatever you can."
She bent down in front of the mirror, and Jiang Shen imitated her movements. Teacher Lin straightened up, walked around behind him, and stretched out his hand to press his back: "Slow down..."
Both Jiang Shen's palms were pressed against the floor, and Teacher Lin was very satisfied: "Get up."
Jiang Shen straightened his back.
"A few more times in reverse." Teacher Lin supported his lower back, "Take your time."
Jiang Shen couldn't help asking: "What is this for?"
Teacher Lin: "This is called lower back."
Jiang Shen turned his head to the sky and put his hands above his head. He felt that his clothes were stretched and his stomach was exposed.
"Don't relax." Teacher Lin exerted some force, "Put your waist up."
Jiang Shen held his breath and tried hard, feeling embarrassed again, his face turned red.
Teacher Lin saw it and said with a smile: "Don't be shy, you won't be like this next time you change your dance clothes."
Jiang Shen didn't speak in silence, and when he finished he lowered his waist, Teacher Lin instructed him how to stretch his muscles, stretch his legs, and at the end of the splits, Jiang Shen didn't expect that he could do it so easily.
"Very good." Teacher Lin praised him, "I will practice every day after I go back."
Jiang Shen nodded. He felt a little uncomfortable when he stood up. His pants were too tight. He didn't notice it when he did the splits with all his strength. Only when he got up did he realize that the movement just now was too tight.
Tan Lingling watched her son covering his bottom with one hand and changing shoes awkwardly with the other, and finally couldn't hold back his laughter.
Jiang Shen: "..."
Teacher Lin comforted him kindly: "Boy, it's normal. Next time, change to looser pants."
Tan Lingling helped Jiang Shen take off his shoes, and when she was about to return them, Teacher Lin pushed them back: "Give him these shoes, and change the straps later, it will last for a while."
Tan Lingling knew that she was kind, so she accepted it, and said in a low voice embarrassedly: "This young boy grows too fast, and the shoes he usually wears have to be changed all the time..."
Asahi went out and Mushen came home. When Tan Lingling called Jiang Shen up, the boy rubbed his eyes sleepily. He was still holding the ballet shoes in his hand when he fell asleep. Now it seems that the soles of the shoes are a little deformed.
Tan Lingling took his hand and asked, "Does your leg hurt?"
Jiang Shen yawned: "It doesn't hurt."
Tan Lingling: "What are you going to endure when you're home? Just say it hurts."
Jiang Shen thought for a while, and said honestly: "There is still a little..."
Tan Lingling laughed at her son twice.
When Jiang Luoshan went back, he had already cooked the food. Tony walked around the yard aggressively, and when he saw Jiang Shen and Tan Lingling, he spread his wings and patted a few times.
Tan Lingling went into the house to get the chicken food and came out to feed it. Jiang Luoshan glanced at the ballet shoes in his son's hand and said nothing.
The family sat together and had dinner. When the dishes were being cleaned, Gou Mao called Jiang Shen to catch birds. Jiang Luoshan waved his hand: "Let's play."
Jiang Shen left with Gou Mao.
After Tan Lingling washed the dishes, she took out the needle and thread from the house, and moved a stool to sit at the gate of the courtyard. Jiang Luoshan put the charcoal basin at her feet.
The two chatted for a while, Jiang Luoshan fiddled with the charcoal fire, and asked, "Have you paid the tuition?"
"It's over." Tan Lingling scratched the top of her hair with a needle and thread. She found a few new ribbons, removed the old ones from the ballet shoes, and slowly sewed them on. "How much money do we have left?"
Jiang Luoshan looked at her sewing shoes: "Don't worry about the money, I work hard every day, and I can have a good harvest in September this year."
Tan Lingling sighed, she lowered her head, she sewed her shoes quickly, but her tone was not relaxed: "I could have bought a rice transplanter... You will be tired again in April or May this year, can your waist bear it?"
Jiang Luoshan: "Why can't I be a big man?"
Tan Lingling gave him an angry look: "You, my son is like you, no matter what hardships he has endured, he doesn't even say when he's tired or in pain."
Jiang Luoshan smiled and said nothing, he asked: "How is our son dancing?"
Tan Lingling smiled: "I haven't started learning yet, what kind of lower back, stretching, and splits did you practice today? Oh, it hurts me just looking at it." After a pause, she said, "But Shenzi likes it."
Jiang Luoshan's expression became complicated again, and he said slowly after a while: "Tell me, why did our son suddenly like dancing? It's not a little girl..."
Tan Lingling rolled her eyes: "What age is it? What's wrong with being a little girl? Maybe our family can produce a dancer in the future."
Jiang Luoshan smiled and listened to his wife's "dream talk", and stretched out his hand to fiddle with the charcoal fire, bright red stars flew up little by little.
It seems to warm up the cold night of early spring.