Chapter 138 Winter Daily Life
For college students like Li Xu, if there is nothing special to do during the winter vacation, they can really relax.

But Li Xu didn’t want to think about too many complicated things at the moment. The resources he had at his disposal were very limited, and the only thing that concerned him was his father’s physical condition.

My father is indeed in good health. He had a physical examination last year in a Grade A hospital, and all the indicators were normal. This year, he hired a private doctor.

Li Xu also had some speculation about whether his father’s subsequent accident had anything to do with the private doctor.

But this kind of thing seems a bit too exaggerated after all. It is just speculation and there is no way to jump to conclusion.

But to be on the safe side, Li Xu still took some effort to ask someone to investigate the information of each private doctor, but found no clues.

This Doctor Chen is an expert in medical skills who is talked about by many wealthy people. He is not only my father’s personal doctor, but also Tang Qiaoning’s father and many entrepreneurs.

So Li Xu could only bury the doubts in his heart.

Apart from this incident, there has been nothing to be busy with recently. Li Xu calmed down and sorted out some major events that he could still recall about what would happen in the next few years, and then looked up some information related to O2O.

Time flies and it is Chinese New Year. In the past, Chinese New Year was the most boring time for Li Xu. There were few relatives in their family, and although it was Chinese New Year, his father had the most social engagements during those days.

Most of the time, Li Xu couldn’t find anything interesting to do during the New Year holidays, and since his father was not at home, there was naturally no festive atmosphere at home.

But the situation this year seems to be different from previous years. Wherever my father goes, he wants to take Li Xu with him.

During the Chinese New Year period, the main thing is naturally to visit various people. Most of them are at the same level as my father. There are some government officials, some business partners, and some who seem to have no interest in it, but are very powerful people in a certain field.

Welcoming and seeing off guests, and greeting each other during the New Year were probably Li Xu’s life during this period.

Every time he went to someone’s home, Li Yuqian would introduce Li Xu to them very seriously. In fact, Li Xu could feel the purpose of his father’s doing so. Obviously, this was his father gradually transferring the connections he had built up to him bit by bit. However, how much he could accept depended on his own ability.

Some powerful figures are extremely difficult for other people in society to meet. Li Xu knows this, so he pretends to ignore his father’s utilitarian intentions, but he certainly won’t show impatience. He behaves well and acts as an obedient junior.

The friends who visited my father behaved properly and politely no matter who they were in front of.

Li Yuqian had anticipated Li Xu’s reaction this time, so he didn’t seem surprised, but he still felt relieved.

Li Yuqian had originally thought that his company wouldn’t necessarily be handed over to this brat in the future. As Tang Rui had said, handing it over to a professional manager would be a good idea. But seeing his son’s performance and abilities, and the foundation he had built with his own hands, he naturally wanted his son to inherit it himself.

This kind of life continued until the seventh day of the New Year, when the father and son finally had some time to themselves.

There were no plans for today, but Li Yuqian drank too much the night before and didn’t get up until noon. Li Xu called his cousin Ye Ling and asked her to come over for dinner.

My cousin has now found a new job in Jinchuan City, also as a teacher, teaching English in a private high school. The high school is in the south of the city, which is quite far away. My cousin has rented an apartment there.

When Li Xu asked his cousin to come over, he also bought a bottle of soy sauce. During the Chinese New Year period, the nannies and Uncle Liu had gone back home to celebrate the New Year, and no one had turned on the stove at home. Li Xu was worried that the soy sauce would go bad.

When my cousin came over, she was carrying two bags in her hands. She said helplessly, “These are the wild mushrooms, bacon, and a bag of potatoes that my parents brought me from my hometown. They insisted on giving them to me and asking me to bring them here.”

Li Xu took the bag of wild mushrooms and jokingly said, “Will you be able to see little people dancing after eating them?”

Ye Ling scolded and hit Li Xu, saying, “You little bastard, how is this possible?”

But then she said helplessly, “I guess your family is unlikely to fry it and eat it. It will definitely go bad. But there’s nothing we can do about it. My parents are just like that… By the way, where’s my cousin?”

Li Xu said: “My dad is still sleeping now. I thought that since I have no plans today, I might as well cook a meal at home.”

Ye Ling nodded and said, “That’s fine. Let’s do it together. You can help me.”

Li Xu glanced at his cousin unhappily and said, “How dare you say that? I’m helping you. Why, do you need me to open the packaging for you when you cook instant noodles?”

Ye Ling was stunned for a moment, picked up the soup spoon next to her and was about to hit Li Xu, but Li Xu ran away with a grin on his face.

Ye Ling came with confidence this time. More than ten minutes later, Li Xu, with a sad face, helped Ye Ling wash vegetables and thaw the ingredients in the freezer.

Ye Ling rolled up her sleeves and said confidently, “Well, you don’t understand the saying ‘three days of absence brings new perspectives’. I’m telling you, I’ve lived alone for so long, I definitely can’t eat instant noodles every day. My cooking skills are much better than they used to be. Just wait and see, I’ll show you some color today.”

“Giving you a taste of color” is a really niche way of describing it.

Dad got up after noon.

At this time, Li Xu and Ye Ling were still preparing dinner.

Li Yuqian took a look in the kitchen and saw that they were busy preparing dinner. Without saying anything, he went out for a walk in a very good mood.

Just have a light lunch, the main thing is dinner.

When Li Xu had prepared all the ingredients, Ye Ling pushed Li Xu out and said she wanted to show off her cooking skills.

Li Xu said with some concern: “Do you really not need me by your side?”

Ye Ling said fiercely, “If you talk too much, I’m going to beat you up. Get out.”

Li Xu had no choice but to go out and watch TV.

It was around four or five in the afternoon when Dad came back from playing outside. Ye Ling was still in the kitchen, so Li Xu went in to check on her.

But as soon as people walked in, they were dumbfounded.

Ye Ling called out in panic, “Why are you coming in so early?”

Li Xu took a look and saw the messy kitchen stove. He had no idea what had happened.

The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, and then he sighed and walked slowly to the stove.

Ye Ling is still trying to hide something, but such behavior only makes the truth more obvious.

Finally, under Li Xu’s gaze, she lowered her head deeply and whispered, “Well… people always make mistakes sometimes. It’s mainly because I’m not used to using the stove here.”

At this moment, Li Xu no longer wanted to care about how Ye Ling ended up like this. He was thinking about how to solve the problem since it was almost time for dinner.

“What is this burnt thing?” Li Xu asked.

“That’s Jinhua ham.”

“What about this?” Li Xu picked up a black thing from the plate.

“That one is what I made. It’s a weird-tasting blood sausage.”

Li Xu was silent for a moment and then asked, “Does that mean there’s nothing edible?”

Ye Ling said: “Listen to my excuses, no, listen to my explanation.”

Li Xu took a look at the sticky stuff on the wok, shook his head and said, “Cousin, please go out for a while.”

Ye Ling almost begged, “Please give me another chance. Please don’t embarrass me in front of my cousin.”

Li Xu said earnestly, “It’s just to prevent you from getting embarrassed further. Go out now and leave the rest to me.”

Ye Ling hesitated for a moment, and finally went out worriedly.

Li Yuqian was watching TV when he saw Ye Ling coming out of the kitchen, still wearing her greasy apron. He blinked but tactfully didn’t ask any questions. He just casually asked, “Is Li Xu in there making dinner?”

Ye Ling nodded.

Less than half an hour after Li Xu went in, he came out with two dishes, one was fried bacon with mushrooms, and the other was fried shredded potatoes.

He smiled and said, “We’ve been eating too much meat and fish these past few days, so let’s have something light today.”

Li Yuqian smiled as he looked at the two dishes. A rare warmth glimmered in his eyes. He looked back at the past and said, “I remember when I was very young, I was very happy just to have a serving of fried bacon.”

He took the chopsticks handed to him by Li Xu, picked up a piece of food, put it in his mouth, and then his expression brightened slightly. He said, “Where did this mushroom come from?”

Li Xu smiled and said, “My cousin brought it here specially from my hometown.”

Li Yuqian looked at Ye Ling and said, “It’s delicious.”

Seeing this scene, Ye Ling, who was a little nervous, suddenly relaxed and gave Li Xu an approving look.

So, on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, in this expensive villa, with clean and tidy marble floors and a large dining table, there was a plate of shredded potatoes and a plate of fried mushrooms with bacon on the table, but the chopsticks kept picking up the dishes one after another without interruption.

The civic atmosphere emitted by the three people warmed up the huge space.

…When Tang Qiaoning came back from abroad, the winter vacation was almost over.

When she came back, she called Li Xu and wanted to ask him to go out and play together, but Li Xu was preparing to go to the countryside to pick up Xia Xiaohe and her brother and take them back to Jinchuan City, so he said he was busy.

When Tang Qiaoning heard this, she pestered Li Xu and said that she would accompany him.

Li Xu originally planned to refuse, but suddenly thought that after Xia Xiaohe entered university next year, they might work together. There would be no harm in getting to know each other in advance, so he agreed to Tang Qiaoning.

But later Li Xu felt a little regretful, because he had been waiting downstairs of Tang Qiaoning for more than two hours.

When Tang Qiaoning came down from her large flat, Li Xu was completely stunned.

At this time, Tang Qiaoning was wearing an Hermès sun hat, sunglasses of an unknown brand, and carrying a Donkey brand bag in her hand. She looked like a rich girl going out for an outing.

Li Xu was speechless for a moment and said, “Are you planning to go to the countryside with me like this?”

Tang Qiaoning asked curiously, “Is there something wrong?” In her opinion, there was nothing wrong with her.

For a moment, Li Xu didn’t know how to complain, but when he thought about it, for ordinary people, buying one or two luxury items was showing off and being vain, but for Tang Qiaoning, it was just her daily life.

When we were in high school, everyone wore uniforms and it didn’t feel like anything, but after we got to college, the class differences among people became more and more apparent.

In the end, Li Xu just said, “Your hat and sunglasses, well, the ultraviolet rays aren’t that strong over there.”

Tang Qiaoning took off her hat and asked curiously, “Really? Okay then, I’ll just put it in your car when the time comes.”

Li Xu drove Tang Qiaoning to the countryside. When they arrived, it was just past noon, and they were working in the fields at this time.

After Li Xu called to ask for their location, he decided to go over and take a look.

Tang Qiaoning said excitedly, “Take me with you, take me with you.”

Li Xu said seriously, “They’re working in the fields, why would they bring you along?”

Tang Qiaoning said dissatisfiedly, “What’s wrong with taking me with you? I can work too. I can help.”

Li Xu smiled dumbly and said, “Just don’t make things worse.”

Tang Qiaoning raised her eyebrows slightly and said with her hands on her hips, “Who are you looking down on? I can endure hardships, okay? Will you let me go? If you don’t let me go, I’ll cry in front of you.”

Li Xu laughed and said, “Then cry.”

Tang Qiaoning jumped over and pinched Li Xu’s waist. Li Xu held Tang Qiaoning’s head and said, “I’m impressed. Fine, don’t talk nonsense when you go over there later.”

Tang Qiaoning snorted and said, “Do you think I have such low emotional intelligence?”

Li Xu knew that if he continued talking, Tang Qiaoning would really get angry, so he immediately stopped talking and took Tang Qiaoning to the field.

Xia Xiaohe and Xia Xiaomiao are working hard in the fields. Their task today is to turn over an area of land. This is not an easy task. The frozen soil in the ground requires a lot of effort to dig up.

Although the brother and sister are now future top students, and their parents and fellow villagers are well aware of this, Xia Xiaohe and Xia Xiaomiao have not forgotten their roots here. Every time they come back, they still rush to help their parents with some farm work.

After Li Xu and the others came over, Xia Xiaohe’s first glance was towards Tang Qiaoning. Then she smiled shyly at Li Xu and said, “We’re almost done. You guys should rest at home for a while.”

Her expression was a little reserved because there was a Tang Qiaoning here whom she didn’t know.

Li Xu immediately introduced Tang Qiaoning to the siblings, saying that she was his high school classmate.

But Tang Qiaoning immediately took over and introduced herself gracefully, saying, “My dad and his dad are good friends. We often play together.”

Hearing this, Xia Xiaomiao’s eyes flickered slightly, and then he frowned and looked at Tang Qiaoning.
Tang Qiaoning looked at the hoe in Xia Xiaohe’s hand with some curiosity and excitement, and asked eagerly, “What are you doing?”

Xia Xiaomiao frowned and said nothing. Xia Xiaohe replied shyly, “We’re loosening the soil. We just need to turn over the frozen soil.”

Tang Qiaoning asked, “Just dig it directly, right?”

Xia Xiaohe nodded and said, “That’s about what I mean.”

Xia Xiaomiao muttered quietly beside him, “Don’t you even know what turning the soil means?”

The words were spoken so quietly that no one else heard them, but Xia Xiaohe frowned slightly. Then he turned his head, glared at Xia Xiaomiao, and whispered, “Have you forgotten what I told you about sorghum growing on trees?”

Xia Xiaomiao’s face turned slightly red, but she still looked at Tang Qiaoning with some displeasure.

Because the brother and sister’s task today was to turn over the land, and they could not leave until they finished turning it over. In order to save time, Li Xu rolled up his sleeves and prepared to help.

Tang Qiaoning was even more eager to try and begged the two men to teach her.

How could Xia Xiaohe have the nerve to ask others for help, so she quickly said it was not necessary, but Tang Qiaoning didn’t care.

Li Xu said nonchalantly: “It’s okay, if she wants to try, let her try.”

Li Xu originally thought that Tang Qiaoning would only be able to swing the hoe twice at most and then give up, but what he didn’t expect was that after he taught Tang Qiaoning the trick, Tang Qiaoning actually did it very seriously.

The hoe was swung methodically, and his expression changed from excitement to seriousness, as if he was really doing something big.

Li Xu was speechless after watching this scene.

Fortunately, there are a lot of farm tools here, so no one will be idle if they want.

Tang Qiaoning swung the hoe again and again, and soon her pants and clothes were stained. Her pair of white Chanel leather shoes were covered with yellow mud, but her face was filled with an excited smile.

After being busy for a long time, she took off her hat and wiped the sweat off her face, then proudly showed off her achievements to Li Xu.

This scene surprised Li Xu a little. He really didn’t expect that Tang Qiaoning would actually bend down and work hard on the farm work. He really had some preconceived notions.

As the saying goes, prejudice in people’s hearts is a mountain.

The work that originally took more than three hours to complete was finished in less than an hour and a half with the help of Li Xu and Tang Qiaoning.

They were planning to pack up and go back directly, but then Xia Xiaohe’s father called and asked them to pick some radishes when they came back.

Radish is one of the few vegetables available in winter. The radish varieties here are small round radishes as big as apples.

Xia Xiaohe pulled out seven or eight of them and held them in his arms, which made it a little inconvenient for him to get the farm tools.

Tang Qiaoning saw it, thought for a moment, took out her lipstick and cell phone from her bag and put them in her pocket, then opened her bag and said, “Put them in my bag.”

Li Xu blinked and subconsciously looked at the logo on the bag.

Although Xia Xiaohe didn’t know how much Tang Qiaoning’s bag cost, she felt that this was inappropriate. She quickly shook her head and said, “You’ve made your bag dirty. After all, this radish is covered in dirt.”

Tang Qiaoning shook her head nonchalantly and said, “Bags are meant to carry things. It doesn’t matter if they get dirty. Just wash them. They’re made of leather inside, so I can just rinse them with water and they’ll be clean.”

So without saying anything, he put the radish in Xia Xiaohe’s arms in it.

Seeing this, Xia Xiaohe didn’t say anything more, but just thanked him embarrassedly.

When the four of them went back, Tang Qiaoning carried the bag, while Xia Xiaohe and Xia Xiaomiao carried the farm tools and walked in front.

A local farmer walked past from the opposite side, and Tang Qiaoning smiled at him in a very familiar manner.

The farmer was stunned for a moment, then smiled shyly and kindly.

When the farmer uncle walked away, Tang Qiaoning suddenly turned her head and glanced at him, then said to Li Xu with a smile: “Li Xu, Li Xu, look at me, look at me!”

Li Xu lowered his head and looked at Tang Qiaoning seriously…

Don’t say it, really don’t say it…

Li Xu looked back at the farmer uncle again. He was wearing a sun hat on his head, holding a nylon bag in his hand, and his yellow rubber shoes were covered in mud.

Look at Tang Qiaoning again.

Tang Qiaoning laughed heartily, and that smile was like an airplane cloud across the clear sky, lingering for a long time.

(End of this chapter)