Chapter 529: Chapter 273 Joy Upon Joy_1
"I won’t go," Lian Zhizhi shook her head, "Mom and Dad are both in the shop, and all these chickens and ducks at home can’t be left unattended."
"Okay then," Lian Manman, seeing Lian Zhizhi say this, could only nod in agreement. Lian Zhizhi’s point was reasonable, and besides, she was fifteen this year. Though she was still a bit young for a betrothal, she had started to understand the need for discretion, and she favored peace and quiet over activity, unlike Lian Manman.
Lian Manman then asked Little Monk Yuantan for help, getting him to carry the basket, and went to town to find Wang Youheng. The day before yesterday was Wang Youheng’s seventeenth birthday, which he had gone back to the county town to celebrate with his family. He had said he would return today. Lian Manman was going to find Wang Youheng now to invite him over for a meal.
As for the dumplings with egg and shepherd’s purse filling, that was Lian Manman’s idea. They had a good relationship with Wang Youheng, often bringing him gifts. Those two pairs of shoes were made by Lady Zhang and Lian Zhizhi together. In the past, when their family was not well-off, they gave Wang Youheng cloth shoes, but now that their circumstances had improved, they switched to using soft satin for the uppers.
Upon arriving at Jisheng Hall, Shopkeeper Wang came out to meet her, saying Wang Youheng had already returned, was in the back courtyard, and he sent a young shop assistant to help Lian Manman with the stuff.
"Why are you here so early?" Wang Youheng was sitting at a table with a scroll in his hand. When he saw Lian Manman arrive, he put down the scroll and stood up with a smile.
"It’s not early," Lian Manman smiled and put everything she brought on the table.
Wang Youheng looked at the food box that the young shop assistant placed on the table, as well as the basket Lian Manman had brought in.
"Manman, didn’t I tell you not to bring so many things again?"
"It’s all from home; we didn’t spend any money on it," Lian Manman said with a smile, then asked, "Brother Youheng, have you had breakfast yet?"
Wang Youheng, seeing Lian Manman change the subject, didn’t say anything more. Lian Manman’s sincere care for him throughout the year meant that to decline would seem too distant. He had the shop assistant serve up some tea, and sat down at the table with Lian Manman.
"What delicious things did you bring me this time?" Wang Youheng asked with a smile.
Lian Manman opened the food box, and the attentive young shop assistant promptly brought over bowls and chopsticks.
"It’s dumplings with shepherd’s purse filling," Lian Manman told Wang Youheng with a smile, "I could have brought them over earlier, but I was afraid the vegetables wouldn’t be fresh. I dug them up this morning and then we made dumplings. Brother Youheng, it doesn’t matter if you’ve already had breakfast. Try these and see if they taste good. The rest can be pan-fried with some oil at noon, and they will be even more delicious."
As she said this, Lian Manman also cracked an egg and handed it to Wang Youheng.
"Brother Youheng, have another egg. In our village, it’s customary to eat dumplings and eggs on one’s birthday."
Only then did Wang Youheng realize that Lian Manman had come to celebrate his birthday.
"Okay," Wang Youheng ate the dumplings and then an egg. Then, looking at the nine eggs left in the food box, he raised his head and asked, "Manman, why did you bring so many eggs? Surely you’re not expecting me to eat them all at once."
"Yes," Lian Manman nodded deliberately, but as soon as she had said it, she couldn’t help but laugh first. Even if Wang Youheng was starving, eating ten eggs in one go would likely be very difficult. "I’m just kidding, Brother Youheng. You can take your time with the dumplings and eggs; it’s fine."
"That’s a relief, that’s a relief," Wang Youheng pretended to sigh with relief, patting his chest, "You really gave me a scare."
"Brother Youheng, try on these two pairs of shoes and see if they fit," after they laughed for a while, Lian Manman took out the two pairs of satin shoes from the basket and handed them to Wang Youheng.
Wang Youheng hesitated slightly, but still took the shoes. Going out early in the morning to dig wild vegetables was to make his dumpling filling fresher, and she gifted him ten eggs at once. The food was one thing, but these two pairs of shoes, crafted stitch by stitch by tenant farmers with layers of soles, must have required a fair amount of effort. Moreover, such a gift of shoes wouldn’t normally be given unless the relationship was special.
Wang Youheng held the two pairs of shoes in his hands; they were not heavy, but the deep affection loaded into them was immeasurable.
"Manman, you’re so busy now, in the future, these shoes..." Wang Youheng said carefully.
"Brother Youheng, please don’t say such things to me. No matter how busy we are, we still wear shoes," Lian Manman interrupted Wang Youheng.
Her words implied that she considered Wang Youheng part of her own family.
"However, Brother Youheng, these two pairs were specially crafted for you by my mother and sister with extra care—more than the ones they make for me, my brother, and Xiao Qi. I’m even a bit jealous," Lian Manman said with a laugh, "Brother Youheng, go ahead and try them on."
