Zhiwu wiped his mouth after drinking and said with a smile on his face, "It’s okay, Grandma, we were just too thirsty."
They had watched picture books at Wang Li’s house for over an hour and followed him outside to play wildly for several rounds, sweating profusely.
"Who told you to run around in the scorching heat? Sit down and take a break." Zhang Guihua picked up a palm-leaf fan from the coffee table and fanned her two grandsons with a look of concern on her face.
As it was almost lunchtime, Li Lan finished tidying up, told Jiang Mianmian she was leaving, and went home to have a meal.
Seeing Jiang Mianmian’s friend leave, Zhang Guihua stuffed the palm-leaf fan into Zhiwen’s hand for him to fan himself, and mysteriously waved Jiang Mianmian over, "Mianmian, come here, Grandma has something nice for you."
Jiang Mianmian walked over, curious, "Grandma, what’s the nice thing?"
Zhang Guihua took out a brand new, pink pencil case from her pocket and playfully dangled it in front of her.
"Grandma bought you a new pencil case, to use when you start school. Do you like it?"
Jiang Mianmian had not expected her grandma to buy her a pencil case. She joyfully accepted it and said, "Yes, Grandma, I really pencil case, thank you, Grandma."
"I knew you would like it. You must study hard in junior high, okay?" Zhang Guihua advised.
"Yes, I understand, Grandma. Don’t worry." Jiang Mianmian patted her little chest, confidently assuring her.
"Mom, Zhiwen, Zhiwu, Mianmian, the food is ready. Come wash your hands and eat," Su Wanyu called out from the kitchen, tidying up the dining table as she spoke to everyone.
"Got it." Zhang Guihua led her two grandsons to the washroom to clean their hands, while Jiang Mianmian went to the kitchen to help with serving the dishes and setting the bowls.
For lunch, Su Wanyu had prepared a sumptuous feast with six dishes, four of which were meat dishes. She had even made a special trip to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative to buy some cooked foods.
Zhang Guihua, Zhiwen, and Zhiwu had a thoroughly satisfying meal. It had been a long time since they had indulged in so much meat, and it was delicious.
After the meal, Zhang Guihua contentedly wiped her mouth.
Thinking about the dishes they had just eaten, she quickly calculated the cost in her mind and couldn’t help but fretfully criticize, "Eldest daughter-in-law, next time we visit, you don’t need to prepare so much food. So much meat, how much money must that have cost? We still have debt to pay, and Eldest is so spendthrift—you can’t lose track of money like that too. If no one in this house knows how to budget, how will we ever get ahead?"
"Mom, I understand. I just thought since you all came all this way, I’d prepare something nicer to improve our meal. We don’t usually do this," Su Wanyu explained with a smile.
Jiang Mianmian, seeing her grandma continue to nag, quickly intervened on her mother’s behalf, "Grandma, why don’t you take a nap in my room after eating? It’s really tiring in the middle of the day."
Zhang Guihua’s attention was indeed captured by Jiang Mianmian’s suggestion.
"No need to sleep. Grandma just came to see you, there’s nothing to do, we’ll be leaving now," Zhang Guihua said, ready to grab their things and leave.
"Hey, Mom, don’t go. It’s too hot outside at midday. If you walk back now, you might get heatstroke," Su Wanyu quickly urged them to stay.
"Yeah, Grandma, it’s really hot outside. Let’s wait until the sun goes down a bit before going back," Zhiwen added, trying to persuade her.
Zhiwu even pretended to rub his eyes in a languid manner, "Grandma, I’m really sleepy now, I don’t want to walk."