"A bowl of porridge is ten cents, Auntie had two bowls, brother and Uncle each had one bowl, the pastries are ten cents each, and we had six in total. Also, there were five pastries packed for brother just now, so, we only need to pay one yuan and fifty cents, that’s the price for our family’s pastries."
"Right, that’s exactly it."
Qin Xiangyang also nodded continuously.
Jian Zhiqing put away the one hundred cents and then took out one yuan and fifty cents in change from his pocket and placed it in front of Qin Xiangnuan.
Qin Xiangnuan accepted the money and put it away, her little mannerisms were quite proper, and her calculations were also accurate, not missing a single digit. Thinking more about it, the child had always been in the shop, and no matter what, she must have been trained properly.
He thought for a moment, then took down a necklace from around his neck and put it on Qin Xiangnuan’s neck, "This is what brother has worn since he was little, and now I’m giving it to you. You didn’t only bring us this meal, you also saved not just brother, but also the little sister in our mother’s belly. Brother knows you don’t want the money, so I’m gifting this to you, is that ok?"
Qin Xiangnuan felt the necklace on her neck, it was quite understated, just right to hang a jade on it, and the chain was very sturdy, it wouldn’t fall off, and it still carried Jian Zhiqing’s body heat, it felt warm. She figured it couldn’t be worth much, so she accepted it.
"Thank you, big brother," she looked up, her eyes smiling, and her chubby cheeks that had grown flesh looked somewhat cute.
Jian Zhiqing rubbed her little head again.
For the Qin siblings, the Jians were just a simple encounter and a surprise in their lives, worlds apart, each caring for their own families. It seemed unlikely that they would meet again in the future.
Qin Xiangyang and his sister thoroughly cleaned up the entire shop, then shut the door, ready to go home for the New Year celebration.
On New Year’s Eve, every household began to put up Spring Festival couplets. Qin Xiangnuan also bought a pair, but she felt that the handwriting on these couplets wasn’t very good. Before, she knew nothing about these matters, but after being influenced by those ancient books, she had somehow improved her aesthetic sensibility. Besides, she had already started learning calligraphy bit by bit. Although she had not yet produced any work to show for it, she had begun to understand some aspects of calligraphy.
At night, every household set off firecrackers, and the air was tinged with the smell of sulfur. The festive atmosphere was still very strong, firecrackers were allowed here, and the celebration of the New Year still felt close to these children.
The Qin siblings, taking advantage of the night, carried gifts in their hands and arrived at Aunt Hua’s house.
"Ah, Nuannuan and Yangyang are here. Come, have some dumplings first. Auntie just fished them out of the pot, they’re still piping hot."
"Thank you, Aunt Hua," Qin Xiangyang said, pulling on his sister with one hand and placing the carried items on the table with the other. Uncle Hua saw that there was even a pack of Peony cigarettes inside, which was an expensive item, and there seemed to be some pastries as well; in their village, these were significant gifts, probably worth nearly 10 yuan. How did these two kids have money? And now he noticed that both Qin Xiangyang and Qin Xiangnuan were wearing better clothes, no longer patched upon patched, they were clean, and they both had put on some weight, no longer looking as sallow and thin as before. What happened, had the children earned some money?