The daughter was left with her parents, and Li Manjun and Zhao Yong went to the store in town to look for Li Lijun.
Li Jianjun followed him excitedly and got a digital watch. His older brother-in-law and younger brother-in-law became Zhao Yong's followers.
The couple mainly came to town to pick up the birthday cake they had ordered in advance. Today is the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, and it is also their birthday every year.
The cake maker on the 29th stopped making cakes and sent them to Wang Xiaojuan's shop early in the morning before going to the countryside, and left them in the shop.
The cake was made yesterday, so the weather is cold and it doesn't need to be put in. Moreover, the cake decoration at this time is not made of butter, but a kind of decoration sugar, which is not afraid of melting.
I just don’t know if it tastes good or not.
However, such a "luxury" birthday cake is something you can only eat once a year, but it's always delicious.
Business in Wang Xiaojuan's store has been particularly good these past few days at the end of the year. The streets are full of folks who come to buy new year's goods. Li Lijun is too busy by herself. She collects money here and gets goods there. If it weren't for Aunt Wu's help, customers would have been waiting for a long time.
It's time to leave.
When the sisters met, there was no time to say anything. Li Lijun gave her wallet with a look and asked her sister to help with the checkout and change. Zhao Yong and Li Jianjun went to help move the goods.
Last year, the business of selling New Year's goods during the New Year was good. This year, Wang Xiaojuan got all the New Year's goods in the store half a month in advance and sold them from the 20th of the twelfth lunar month to the 29th of the twelfth lunar month.
This year I’m going to the countryside to celebrate the New Year, and I won’t come back until the third day of the new year to open the door.
Almost all the shops in Heather Town open and close at this time, because today is the last day and the people on the street are particularly busy.
Li Manjun took the wallet, asked about the prices of various items, and quickly got started and was responsible for making change at the cash register.
The four of us worked hard for half an hour before the number of guests gradually dwindled.
Li Lijun finally got some free time and asked hurriedly: "Sister, where is Nian Nian?"
"At home, let's come over to get the cake." Li Manjun picked up the broom on the wall and swept out the garbage at the door. Aunt Wu was already closing the stall and getting ready to go home.
"I'll go back when you guys are here. I'm waiting for me to cook at home. Your sister and brother-in-law are coming to celebrate the New Year this year. They'll be there tomorrow morning. If you have time, come and sit." Aunt Wu invited.
Li Manjun agreed that she would go there then, helped Aunt Wu clean up the stall, watched her go back, and turned back to the store. The New Year's goods that Wang Xiaojuan had brought down had almost been sold.
"There's no one on the street anymore. Let's close the door and go back together." Li Manjun said to his younger siblings.
The two siblings wished for it, knowing that their eldest sister was the only one in the family who could resist the authority of their parents, so they quickly took in the wooden shelves outside the store.
Before closing, he sold a box of pears. When someone came later, Li Jianjun directly said to them: "We are closed. There are no more goods. You can go elsewhere."
Zhao Yong tapped his brother-in-law's head. Li Jianjun chuckled and shrank his neck guiltily, "Brother-in-law, you can't tell my mother that I told the guests this."
Li Manjun heard the noise, turned around and asked, "What bad things have you done that you can't tell mom about?"
The two men shook their heads and said, "It's nothing."
Li Manjun looked at Zhao Yong. Zhao Yong shook his head slightly and said it was a trivial matter. Only then did Li Manjun let his brother go.
After closing the door, taking the birthday cake, the four siblings walked home quickly.
Li Jianjun and Li Lijun rushed to the front, turning back from time to time to shout to their sister and brother-in-law who were walking leisurely behind: "Hurry up!"
Li Manjun can't walk fast, nor does he want to walk fast. He hasn't been back to the town for a long time. The town has changed a lot. The welfare housing area in the community used to be very deserted, but now there are several more houses on both sides of the road, which is obviously more lively than before.
Unable to call her sister, Li Lijun and her brother took the first step and trotted home. When they saw Nian Nian, they immediately surrounded her.
I haven't seen my aunt and uncle for a long time, and I don't recognize them very well every year. I look for my grandfather everywhere with my big eyes, and I am a little afraid of the enthusiastic siblings in front of me.
Li Dawei, who was sitting next to his granddaughter, immediately reached out and grabbed his grandfather's hand. He staggered to his feet, causing Li Lijun and her brother to scream in surprise.
“I can walk every year!”
"Li Lijun, don't scare Nian Nian, speak softly." Wang Xiaojuan yelled in the kitchen.
The siblings shrugged together, slowed down their movements, squatted in front of Nian Nian and looked at her, not getting close, just looking at her, they just thought she was cute no matter what she did.
People are small, their hands are small, and their feet are small.
In the evening, Wang Xiaojuan cooked a large table of sumptuous dishes. Li Manjun was touched but also annoyed.
There are so many dishes that I will definitely not be able to finish. I have to go to my hometown tomorrow and leave them without anyone to eat, so I have to throw them away.
But Wang Xiaojuan is only afraid of treating her granddaughter badly. Even if she has to do so much, no one can stop her from being happy.
"This is our first birthday every year, so we must commemorate it properly." Wang Xiaojuan looked at Zhao Yong, "Xiao Yong, have you brought your camera?"
Zhao Yong nodded.
"Then let's take a photo together as a family." Wang Xiaojuan said enthusiastically.
Zhao Yong said yes and got up to get the camera.
Li Dawei hugged Nian Nian, and Li Lijun took out a birthday hat and put it on her.
Li Manjun and Li Jianjun put candles on the cake and lit it.
Zhao Yong took out the camera, fixed it with a bracket in front of the table, pressed the timer shutter, ran over quickly, and stood behind his wife.
A burst of white light flashed, and the photo was taken. Nian Nian clapped her little hands excitedly. The birthday hat on her head was a bit too big, and it was crookedly hooked on her little hair.
The three Li siblings never had birthday cakes when they were young.
When it came time to cut the cake, the whole family was looking forward to it. Li Manjun, holding her daughter who always wanted to reach out to grab the cake flowers, directed Zhao Yong to cut the cake.
"Get the candles out first. There are six of us adults, and the cake is not big. We only have one big piece for each of us. It's just right to cut it into six pieces."
Nian Nian is a kid who knows good things. He smells the aroma of cake, keeps swallowing, reaches out to grab his mother's arm, and wants to eat.
Zhao Yong took a fork and scooped a piece of it for her, and gave it to the little birthday girl to take a bite first.
The first time she ate cake, Nian Nian's expression was very interesting. She frowned slightly at first, and when she tasted the sweetness, her brows instantly opened, her eyes were bright, she smashed her mouth, and opened her mouth wide with "ah", and asked
.
Not daring to give her more of these colorful table flowers, Zhao Yong picked the cake embryo inside and gave his daughter another small bite.
Nian Nian was so happy that she clapped her hands, kicked her legs hard, and jumped up in her mother's arms, amusing the whole family.
This year, when he returns to his parents-in-law's house, Zhao Yong can sleep in a room with his wife and children.
The main reason is that the weather is cold now and we have to set off together tomorrow. It is very troublesome to arrange who can go back to the old house to sleep.
The room over there has been unoccupied for a long time, and the wall coverings have fallen off. The uncared-for home is quickly falling into disrepair.
When she came, Li Manjun also brought her daughter's quilt over, fearing that she would recognize the bed. Unexpectedly, the little girl slept soundly and did not cry at all.
Zhao Yong sighed: "She must have lived here before, so she still remembers it."