Starting a new chapter in life

Chapter 152 Buying Books

Jingyan glanced at the other bookshelves: "Don't you want to look at anything else? I see you've chosen quite a variety of books. What else are you interested in? Do you want to take a look? We have plenty of time."

He Ci'en shook her head: "It will take me a lot of time to finish reading these books, so there is no need to buy too many at once. I will come back if I need more after I finish reading them. The variety of books I could buy at home was not as great as here. I was so engrossed that I didn't expect to choose so many."

Although his family wasn't poor, it was impossible for them to buy him so many books at once. In the past, his parents would only buy him one extracurricular book a year. Every time he went to the bookstore, he would pick and choose, selecting the one he wanted the most. He had never chosen so casually as he did today. He looked at the nearly twenty books he had selected, squatted down, and wanted to pick them out again, eliminating half of them.

Jingyan looked at his actions with some confusion: "Haven't you already chosen everything? What are you still picking out?"

“Let me see which ones aren’t so necessary; I’ll have to filter out half of them.” He Ci’en answered in a very casual tone. Jing Yan also squatted down and held his hand, looking at him: “Weren’t these all carefully selected by you? Why do we need to filter them again?”

He Ci'en looked at her strangely: "I only plan to buy eight books this time, which is already a lot. Before, I could only buy one a year. This is the amount I have purchased over eight years, which is already a lot."

Jingyan smiled: "At my aunt's house, you can be careful with other things, but when it comes to buying books, my aunt fully supports you. You don't need to control the number of books you buy. Just make sure you read all the books you buy and don't waste them. We have a lot of children in our family, so after you finish reading, your younger siblings can read them too. There won't be any waste."

After saying that, Jingyan put the two books she was holding on top, picked up the stack of books, and walked towards the cashier. He Ci'en was shocked and quickly got up to follow, reaching out to take some of them. Jingyan shook her head: "It's only a few steps. After we pay, we'll each carry half."

When Jingyan placed the stack of books on the checkout counter, the sales clerk looked at her with utter shock. Pointing to the books, she asked again, "All of these?"

Jing Yan had the air of a nouveau riche, and nodded generously: "I want them all, including that set of textbooks, let's include them together."

The cashier counted the books one by one, and after calculating, looked at Jingyan and said, "There are thirty books in total, eighty-nine yuan and fifty cents. Are you sure you want them all?"

Jing Yan nodded, took out her wallet from her bag, counted out nine ten-yuan bills and handed them over: "Please wrap them up for me, divide them into four packs, so it will be easier for us to carry them back."

The cashier took the money, gave him change, and hurriedly packed it up, saying as she did so, "This is the first time I've seen someone buy books so lavishly. Are you all cultured people? You're so willing to spend money on books."

Jing Yan smiled and said, "Yes, we have a lot of kids at home. Buying this once can be used by six or seven kids, so it's not a bad deal."

The sales clerk and cashier exchanged a glance: "Your family is really well-off; so many of your children are able to go to school."

Jing Yan was a little stunned. After a moment of reaction, she smiled and said, "We are four families whose children grew up together and shared resources, so we have a lot of children."

The cashier then realized what was happening and explained somewhat embarrassedly, "The family planning policy only started this year. I thought they were all your children. I was wondering why you look so young."

“Almost thirty, not young anymore.” Jingyan smiled. The books had already been packed up, so Jingyan picked up two bags, and He Ci’en quickly picked up two bags as well. “Auntie, let’s go home.” The two turned and left the bookstore.

Throughout the journey, He Ci'en tried to remain composed, but being only a sixteen-year-old, he couldn't hide his excitement. The smile on his lips never faded, and his light steps revealed his good mood.

Jingyan saw through his intentions but didn't say anything. She happily followed him into the house, put the books in the study on the second floor, and the two of them opened the books. Jingyan took her two books downstairs, while He Ci'en didn't even have the desire to go downstairs. He picked up a book and started reading.

Downstairs, Grandma watched Jingyan come down and looked behind her, asking, "Why didn't Ci'en come down with you?"

Jingyan waved the book in her hand and said, "This child loves to read. It's rare for me to buy so many books that he likes. He's eager to read them. He's probably already started reading. Let's call him when it's time for lunch. It's rare for our family to have a child who loves to read."

Grandma laughed when she heard this: "Indeed, neither Zhizhi nor An'an in our family can sit still. Xiaoli is relatively better, but he is still playful. Since Ci'en likes to read, we have three studies in our house. We'll tidy up the rooms later and see which study he likes. Let him choose the books he likes and move them there. Otherwise, it's a waste to leave these books idle. It's better to let him read them all."

Jingyan nodded and handed the book to her grandmother: "Grandma, this is a cookbook I bought. I think all the dishes in it are delicious. Let's ask Sister Wang to help us study it together. It only contains simple recipes, and the details are only briefly mentioned. I definitely can't cook it with my skills. I can only rely on Sister Wang's talent."

Grandma took the book, flipped through it, and nodded: "Hmm, these dishes are all very good, and the recipes are included, but the amounts... it's almost like they didn't write anything down. What are these 'appropriate amount' and 'a little bit'? What the hell? This can be published as a book?"

Sister Wang happened to come out of the kitchen and heard this. She came over, took a book, looked at it, and smiled, "This is not difficult. We can study it together later. As for the dosage, it often depends on the feel. However, I know that Jingyan does not have a feel for it. I will try my best to confirm the weight in grams so that it will be easier for you to do it later."

"Will our scale work?" Jingyan asked.

Sister Wang shook her head: "Our scale is measured in jin (a Chinese unit of weight), not grams. The amount of salt used in cooking a dish is actually measured in grams. The difference is too big, so we can't use the same scale."

"Then what else can we use to replace it?" Jing Yan tilted her head, looking somewhat conflicted.

He Zhijun came out of the house and reached out from behind her, ruffling her hair. Jingyan wanted to scratch him, but He Zhijun chuckled and grabbed her hand, saying, "Don't be so hasty. I know the kind of scale you're talking about that needs to be accurate to the gram."

Our factory's lab has those very precise electronic scales, the kind that need batteries. If you'd like one, I'll ask around after the New Year holiday to see where I can buy one, how much it costs, and what I think.

Upon hearing that he knew, Jingyan immediately stopped complaining about her messy hair and happily agreed. She went inside to re-tie her hair. Watching Jingyan run back into the house, Grandma couldn't help but tap his forehead: "You, all you know how to do is bully her, and you even use things she's interested in to divert attention. Do you use all your cunning on your wife?"

He Zhijun chuckled and scratched his head. "No, I just think it's fun to tease her. Don't you think it's funny how she acts all fierce? And she doesn't get angry easily. Even when she gets angry with me, she doesn't actually hit me. If she were that easily angered, I wouldn't tease her like this."

Lunch was ready quickly. Zhizhi volunteered to go to the study on the second floor to call Cien. Soon, Cien followed Zhizhi downstairs. While eating, Jingyan said that the textbooks for the third year of junior high school had been bought and asked He Cien when he planned to start previewing them.

He Ci'en thought for a moment and said, "I'll start studying on my own tomorrow. If I encounter anything I don't understand, I'll ask my uncle. I brought all the textbooks for the first and second years of junior high, so I can review them together."

Seeing that he had his own plans, Jingyan didn't say anything more. The afternoon was free for everyone; after all, it was Chinese New Year, so everyone should relax. Of course, mahjong was an annual must, and this year, with her uncle and aunt joining in, Jingyan, who disliked losing money, finally didn't have to play.

The men sit at one table, the women at another. Grandma never misses a mahjong game. Even though she's almost eighty, her card counting ability is much better than Jingyan's. She wins more than she loses. The old lady's favorite days of the year are these few days when she can play cards to her heart's content, except that it's a bit hard on her back.

He Ci'en wanted to read in the afternoon, so he took Zhizhi to the study to read with him. He Ci'en read, and Zhizhi listened for a short while before lying down on the single bed in the study. Soon she fell asleep to his reading.

Seeing the little girl sleeping sprawled out, He Ci'en felt a bit of a headache. Why did this child dislike reading so much? But no matter what, he resigned himself to covering Zhizhi with the blanket and then sat back down at his desk to read quietly.

When Jingyan entered with a plate of oranges, this was the scene she saw. She didn't say much, placed the fruit on the desk, and said softly, "Ci'en, would you like something to drink? Water, tea, milk, or I'll make you a cup of malted milk?"

He Ci'en looked up and smiled at her: "Auntie, I'm not thirsty, but I want to drink malted milk powder."

Jingyan nodded: "Then you should eat some oranges first. I'll make you a cup. No matter how attractive the book is, don't read it for too long, it's hard on your eyes. Remember to rest after reading for a while. There's still plenty of time, take your time reading."

He Ci'en smiled and nodded in agreement. After Jing Yan left, she brought up another batch of malted milk powder and then never went to the study again. The children were studying, so the adults didn't want to disturb them. As for Zhizhi, the four-year-old girl could sleep in the study if she wanted, since she was dressed warmly enough and wouldn't get cold.

After everyone had rested that night, He Zhijun and Jing Yan lay on the warm kang (heated brick bed). Jing Yan said, "Won't Uncle and Mom and Dad be cold sleeping on the bed? Are you sure you don't need them to sleep on the kang with us?"

"Don't you want us to have some alone time?" He Zhijun asked, pinching her cheek.

Jingyan slapped his hand away: "Don't touch me like that, or my face will swell up. I'm serious."

“Our house is well insulated, and we have heated kang beds in both rooms, so the whole house isn’t cold. Your uncle and the others are used to sleeping in beds, and your parents haven’t complained about being cold, so they certainly won’t be cold either. You don’t need to worry about it.” He Zhijun stopped pinching her cheek and put his hand on her waist.

Jingyan ignored his messy hands and changed the subject: "Among the books Ci'en bought today, there are a few about astronomy. I think this child seems quite interested in astronomy. Do you think we should buy him a telescope, the kind that can be used to look at the stars?"

He Zhijun paused, "You like Ci'en that much?"

Jingyan asked in confusion, "Why do you ask that? I just think this child is really good and well-behaved. You don't know, when I said I was going to pay today, she wanted to sort through the books she had chosen again. She only wanted to buy eight books. She is so young and knows how to manage her money. She is not greedy. It is really rare."

However, my brother and sister-in-law only allowed him to buy one extracurricular book a year before, so he probably hasn't had many books to read over the years, which makes me feel sorry for him. Our children probably haven't even read the titles of the books in the study, let alone bought new ones. It's probably because my own children lack these books, but Ci'en has them, that I pay more attention to him.

He Zhijun patted her waist and said gently, "So that's how it is. Actually, if you really like Ci'en, it would be good to have him become our son-in-law in the future. Anyway, he and Zhizhi are not related by blood. They were raised together since childhood, so we can be more at ease with him."

Jingyan slapped him: "What are you thinking? Ci'en is twelve years older than Zhizhi, a full cycle. It's good that he's the older brother. When Ci'en becomes successful in the future, he can also be a support for Zhizhi. Stop thinking about such nonsense. What, are you regretting not raising a wife for yourself?"

He Zhijun quickly begged for forgiveness: "I didn't, I really didn't. It's just that I have a colleague whose wife was adopted by his family when she was a child. She grew up and married him. You know what, maybe it's because of their childhood friendship, but their relationship is really good."

Now they both work in different departments at the same company, and many of their single colleagues envy them. Just thinking about it reminds me of that. Since you disagree, just pretend I didn't say anything. But I'll talk to your uncle about keeping Cien here for school tomorrow and see what he thinks.”

Jingyan nodded and yawned: "I just think that children tend to resemble whoever they spend time with. It's rare that our Zhizhi is so attached to Ci'en. This child has the potential to be good at studying. If Zhizhi can be influenced by him to love learning, she might be able to get into a good university in the future."

Then everything will go smoothly for your studies, work, and even finding a partner. If there's no opportunity, that's fine, we won't force it. But since there is an opportunity, and we already have three children, one more won't make a difference.

He Zhijun hugged her tightly: "Okay, I understand. I'll go sound her out tomorrow."

Jingyan slept soundly through the night. The next day, she woke up to the sound of training exercises. She stretched and crawled out of her warm bed. After getting dressed and washing up, she ran excitedly to the front door to watch her uncle continue to torment the two brothers.

However, the training from her uncle was indeed effective; at least today he didn't whip the children as frequently as yesterday. Jingyan looked over at the children; apart from He Ci'en, who was practicing boxing quite well, the other children were just going through the motions.

Especially Zhizhi, who didn't even straighten her arm before moving on to the next movement, thinking that no one would see her little tricks. In fact, not only her uncle, but even the layman Jingyan could not hide it from her.