He stood there with a stern little face, full of determination, and no one’s words could sway him; even Ruan Jiaojiao’s coquettish calls of "Brother Xiu" several times failed to make Xiu Xi give up. He insisted on buying everything!
The clothing counter clerk was very happy because there was a commission on these clothes.
She brought out the sizes that Ruan Jiaojiao would wear with a smile and then let her try them on. Perhaps it was because she looked so delicate and pretty, even the green dress looked extremely good on her.
Seeing Ruan Jiaojiao looking beautiful, Xiu Xi felt completely satisfied.
When it was time to pay, it was the Ruanlin Family who handled it, yet he repeatedly claimed that he would pay her back when they returned, making the Ruanlin Family feel a bit strange—as if Little Jiaojiao wasn’t actually their child, but rather someone he was taking care of.
But the Ruanlin Family also had their own stance.
These clothes were too expensive, equivalent to more than a month’s salary for some people. How could she really let a child pay? If others found out, wouldn’t they point their fingers and curse?
Even if no one else knew, she couldn’t get past the feeling herself.
After buying the dresses, the Ruanlin Family secretly asked the clerk to bring out a set of men’s shirts and shorts.
Having bought these items, Ruan Jianguo also returned.
Ruan Jianguo checked the time and saw it was about lunchtime, so he asked Du Qing, "Can you get away from here? Let’s go have lunch together."
"Of course, of course, let’s go." Xu Men immediately chimed in, "I’ll watch the counter for her, no worries, go ahead."
Seeing this, Du Qing didn’t refuse.
With policies having been relaxed these past years, quite a few people had started businesses in town, including several restaurants, although the venues were small—big enough just to have a bowl of noodles or some porridge, and there weren’t many places that offered stir-fried dishes.
Ruan Jianguo led the three of them inside and, after glancing at the menu and considering this was the first time he was treating his family to a meal out, he ordered four dishes: one meat dish, one soup, and two vegetables.
The owner was all smiles as he went off to the kitchen. Du Qing usually brought her own lunch to work and slept at Ruan Jianjun’s dorm in the evenings, rarely eating out. Even when she did, it was usually just some porridge with pickled vegetables.
This was her first time eating stir-fried dishes, and she said with a hint of distress, "One bowl of porridge per person is just twenty cents, why order such good dishes? It’s too expensive."
The four dishes would cost almost three yuan—that’s more than two kilos of meat.
"Well, there’s meat in the dishes, so of course it’s a bit more expensive," Ruan Jianguo said with a smile.
"Still, we don’t need to spend that much money. With two kilos of meat, you could stir-fry a huge bowl of food. It’s enough to just order meat porridge for the little ones; we can just eat whatever," the Ruanlin Family also felt the pinch.
"It’s fine, we won’t break the bank. We’re going out again in the afternoon; how can we have the energy if we don’t eat well, right? Sweetheart... eh, tired, are you?" Seeing Ruan Jiaojiao drooping her eyelids, leaning into the Ruanlin Family’s embrace, Ruan Jianguo reached over to pick her up and said, considering the food would still take a while to come, "Sweetheart, you can sleep for a bit, you must be tired from today."
"No kidding, she’s been busy. Changed into five dresses, all of them beautiful, just like a little fairy," the Ruanlin Family said, knowing Ruan Jiaojiao was still conscious of her teeth, and deliberately spoke with a smile.
"Of course! My daughter is the prettiest!" Ruan Jianguo said with evident pride.
Xiu Xi nodded in agreement.
Even Du Qing smiled and said a few words in praise of her beauty.
"..." Ruan Jiaojiao, who just wanted to sleep, thought it was a wonder she hadn’t become so conceited as to not recognize herself in such an environment, especially since there was a prettier little antagonist around!