Chapter 226: Leave the Most Beautiful Memory ③
Nie Aifang couldn’t contain her excitement. She hugged Nie Qiu for a long time before letting go. Happily, she said, “My Qiu Qiu is so amazing! Tell Mom, what reward do you want? Oh right, I mentioned last time I’d buy you a writing desk. You watch the vegetable stall for me, and Mom will go buy you a writing desk. Also, your schoolbag… your schoolbag doesn’t need to be replaced. Last time, your classmates bought you one. A pencil case? Yes, a pencil case. Aren’t you still using that old pencil case? Mom will buy you a new pencil case, okay? Whatever you want, just tell Mom…”
Nie Aifang was overjoyed. She had never imagined Nie Qiu would get a scholarship or anything like that. She brought Nie Qiu to the big city to study because she wanted Nie Qiu to have a better future than being a farmer or a migrant worker! Now, it felt like half of that dream was coming true, making Nie Aifang excessively happy. “Don’t worry, Mom won’t use your money. Mom will save your money for you. When you get a job and have expenses, you can ask Mom for it then.”
“Mom, I really do want to buy a writing desk, and… I also want to buy a tent.” She heard it! She heard about the reward! Nie Qiu had received scholarships many times, but she had never received a reward from her parents. Nie Qiu smiled, almost in tears. She had received it; she had received this family affection.
“A tent? What do you need a tent for?” Nie Aifang asked, confused.
“Right, Mom, our class has decided to go on a study tour, which is like learning while playing. Tomorrow, we’re going to Shuanglonggou Reservoir for the study tour. We’ll play during the day and set up tents at night to study. Our foundation in the first and second grades wasn’t strong, and even though my grades are good now, the Senior High School Entrance Examination scores still depend on the first, second, and third grades.” Nie Qiu smiled and said, “So I wanted to say… buy a tent.”
Nie Aifang listened to Nie Qiu’s words and was silent for a moment. Hearing Nie Qiu talk about staying overnight outside, Nie Aifang, like many parents, couldn’t help but feel worried. The news on television constantly reported robberies and dismemberment cases. Honestly, she was worried. Also… for a girl, staying out overnight always made parents anxious.
However, she also felt that Nie Qiu was right. She knew what kind of class Class 10 was. Since she only started putting in effort in the third grade, she naturally had to catch up during the winter holiday. She hesitated for a while and then looked at Nie Qiu, “Is your whole class going? Is Huang Yan going?”
Nie Qiu nodded, “The whole class is going, and Huang Yan is going too.”
With so many people, Nie Aifang felt relieved. If there were many people, even many criminals wouldn’t be able to do anything. She smiled and said, “Okay, Mom agrees. I’ll buy you a tent!”
Normally, meal times were around two or three in the afternoon. Nie Aiwen arrived with the food a bit early. It was almost three o’clock now. Nie Aifang asked Nie Qiu to help cover the stall with plastic film. Then, she took Nie Qiu’s hand and said, “Let’s go, Mom will take you to buy a tent.”
Nie Aiwen smiled and followed behind Nie Qiu and Nie Aifang. The three of them walked towards the mall. In an outdoor equipment store, Nie Aifang personally picked out a pink tent for Nie Qiu, but it was unanimously rejected by Nie Aiwen and Nie Qiu.
“Mom, in the wild, what matters is durability and practicality, not looks,” Nie Qiu said with a smile. “That camouflage one and that dark gray one are good.”
Nie Aifang picked up the tent and looked at it a few times, not very satisfied. She looked at Nie Aiwen, “Aiwen, what do you think?”
“Qiu Qiu is right. Tents should be durable and practical, and the quality should be good. This one is good,” Nie Aiwen nodded.
Since Nie Aiwen had said so, Nie Aifang had no choice but to buy this one for Nie Qiu. Nie Aifang also had some common sense. A tent would be useful in the summer, but in the winter, a warm sleeping bag would be necessary. She handed the chosen tent to Nie Aiwen and then took Nie Qiu to look at the sleeping bags.
After buying the tent and sleeping bag, the three of them left the outdoor equipment store and headed towards Xinhua Bookstore.
There were indeed writing desks at the second-hand furniture market, but Nie Aifang hadn’t bought one when she bought furniture for the house. It wasn’t that she was reluctant to spend money, but she didn’t want to wrong Nie Qiu. She had promised Nie Qiu she would buy her a writing desk from Xinhua Bookstore, so of course, she would buy a writing desk from Xinhua Bookstore.
In her opinion, Xinhua Bookstore, which had existed since her childhood and was a long-standing brand, naturally had better products. Nie Aifang had her eye on a few writing desks, but she still let Nie Qiu choose her own desk.
Today, she was happy and thought that no matter how expensive the desk Nie Qiu chose was, she would buy it for her. At worst, she would just eat pickled vegetables for a couple more meals when she ate at the vegetable market. From the beginning, she had never thought of spending Nie Aiwen’s money. She had watched Nie Aiwen grow up. Although they had argued, she understood Nie Aiwen. Nie Aiwen’s love and affection for her were genuine, but she didn’t want to spend Nie Aiwen’s money just because of that.
As for Nie Qiu’s scholarship, she had said she wouldn’t use it, and she wouldn’t. She had said she would save it for Nie Qiu, and she would save it.
Nie Qiu looked around and chose a wood-colored writing desk, the same height as a computer desk. The chair was also a style she liked, with a place to put a desk lamp and a row for books. Seeing the writing desk Nie Qiu chose wasn’t expensive, Nie Aifang finished choosing and went to the counter to pay. She also took the invoice, left their address, and asked the Xinhua Bookstore employees to deliver it to their home.
Most of the items they needed to buy were almost done. Next to the Xinhua Bookstore cashier counter, there were many neatly arranged pens, and around them were various study utensils, brightly colored and dazzling. Nie Aifang pulled Nie Qiu along and asked, “Qiu Qiu, is there anything else you want to buy? Tell me, Mom will definitely buy it for you. I see pencil cases over there…”
“Mom, I have a pencil case.” Speaking of pencil cases, Nie Qiu remembered that Peng Yu Yang had given her one. Because it was less than half a month before the final exam, she was too busy. That day, she put the pencil case in her schoolbag. After returning home, she put the pencil case in the cabinet, thinking that since the semester was almost over, she would use the new pencil case next semester.
Hearing Nie Qiu’s words, Nie Aifang didn’t ask further. The cashier finished printing the receipt and invoice and said with a smile that they would deliver the desk as soon as possible. Then, they left Xinhua Bookstore.
Nie Aiwen looked at the mobile phone store not far away and smiled, asking Nie Qiu, “Qiu Qiu, you did so well on this exam. Uncle said last time that if you did well, Uncle would give you a reward. How about Uncle giving you a mobile phone?”
Nie Qiu’s eyes lit up. Honestly, she had wanted to buy a mobile phone for a long time. But if she bought a mobile phone, she would naturally need Nie Aifang’s phone number. But if Nie Aifang asked her where the money for the phone came from, how would she answer? So, Nie Qiu had been delaying buying a mobile phone until now.
Side note: I always want to shout, “Recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, smash me!” Do you remember the book I recommended? The gap between me and Qingfeng Mowan is too big; we can’t play happily. I’m only fit to look up to her!
