"Nianhua, Nian’an, you’ve finally arrived." Lin Wei had been eagerly waiting at the intersection. When she told her parents about this, they didn’t believe her at all. They insisted she had gotten the date wrong or was just joking.
"Sister Wei." Xu Nianhua smiled as she handed over a bag, saying, "Sister Wei, these are scarves and hairpins my brother sells himself. You can’t find them in our county."
"Isn’t your brother studying in Ningbei?" Lin Wei looked at Xu Nian’an with a surprised expression. If she remembered correctly, her father had mentioned that the siblings were at a university in Ningbei, Xu Nianhua at Beining University and Xu Nian’an at Ningbei Medical University.
"Sister Wei." Xu Nian’an greeted with a hint of embarrassment, as Lin Wei’s gaze seemed to question: You’re supposed to be in university, why are you selling things?
"I, well, I sell things in my free time," Xu Nian’an explained.
Lin Wei nodded in understanding. In fact, it was understandable, just like some classmates who also worked somewhere else while in school.
"Come on in. My dad was so happy to hear you were coming."
When Lin Wei brought Xu Nian’an and Xu Nianhua, it gave Lin’s mom and dad quite a scare. They thought Lin Wei was joking—how could it be that they had actually come?
"Mr. Lin, Mrs. Lin." Xu Nianhua and Xu Nian’an greeted with smiles.
"Come in and have a seat."
Mr. Lin warmly stood up and led them inside to warm up by the fire.
Mrs. Lin hurriedly poured tea and started preparing the noon meal, thankful it was a day for celebrating the Minor New Year, otherwise there wouldn’t have been much food at home, which would have been really embarrassing.
"Mrs. Lin, let me help," said Xu Nianhua as she handed over the big bag, saying, "Mrs. Lin, this bag contains cabbage, radish, bamboo shoots, and wood ear mushrooms. Except for the bamboo shoots, everything else is from our own garden."
"The bamboo shoots were freshly dug by my dad from the mountains."
Xu Nianhua arranged the vegetables one by one on the cutting board, smiling as she said, "Mrs. Lin, please don’t mind."
"Look at you, bringing so much food. What, do you think Mrs. Lin can’t even afford to buy vegetables?" Mrs. Lin, looking at the vegetables and the two pounds of unmentioned meat, was rather speechless. It wasn’t like the old days when people might go hungry. Nowadays, people don’t bring their own food when visiting someone’s home.
"No, no, Mrs. Lin, please don’t misunderstand. Today is the Minor New Year, and my parents said it wouldn’t be good to come empty-handed. It was all thanks to your husband’s excellent teaching that we managed to get into good universities. This time, we just wanted to bring some vegetables as a gesture of our appreciation," Xu Nianhua hurriedly explained, "Please don’t mind, Mrs. Lin."
Xu Nianhua, who already had a pleasing appearance, looked even more pitiable when anxious, making one think she was being bullied.
Mrs. Lin smiled and said, "I don’t mind at all. Next time you come, don’t bring anything, alright?"
"Mhm," Xu Nianhua nodded vigorously, thinking that next time she should buy something Mrs. Lin would particularly like.
"Mrs. Lin, let me help with washing the vegetables."
Xu Nianhua rolled up her sleeves, ready to wash the vegetables.
Mrs. Lin quickly stopped her, saying, "No, no, no. I can handle this. You go outside and keep your teacher company. He often speaks highly of you and your brother at home."
"Really? What has the teacher said about us?" Xu Nianhua appeared somewhat surprised, as Mr. Lin was usually very strict and rarely praised anyone.