Chronicle of the 70s
Chapter 166 - 162 Start of School Additional - with 750 Monthly Tickets

Chapter 166: 162 Start of School Additional Chapter with 750 Monthly Tickets

The day before, Xu Hui helped Li Xianglu chop vegetables and such, and after stir-frying a dish, Li Xianglu was amazed. Cooking definitely requires talent; the order of adding seasonings can make the same dish taste different. So, the same dish can taste different depending on who cooks it, and Xu Hui was one of those people particularly gifted at making delicious food using ordinary ingredients.

Li Xianglu then gave up her position as the chief cook and let her take over. The An family father and son didn’t come back at noon, so it was just their family, Xu Hui, and the two kids.

Qin Zhen picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs, took a bite and his eyes widened in surprise: "This tastes just like the food at the International Restaurant."

Li Xianglu also picked up a piece, took a bite, and nodded vigorously, swallowing quickly before turning to everyone and saying, "Except for the red bean rice that I steamed, everything else was cooked by little aunt, delicious, isn’t it?"

Everyone nodded. Xu Hui’s face turned red as she modestly said her cooking was just ordinary, but inside she was happy. Finally, she received others’ recognition, otherwise, it would be too embarrassing consistently living off others, and now she felt useful.

However, Mr. Li felt his granddaughter’s cooking was better, the An family daughter-in-law’s dishes were a bit too sweet for his taste. Occasionally okay, but as a person from the Northwest, it wouldn’t work for him in the long run.

After the meal, Xu Hui was in a particularly good mood, insisting on doing the dishes herself and pushing away Li Xianglu who wanted to help, saying she would handle these small chores from now on.

Li Xianglu smiled, shook her head, went back to the room to brew some tea for Grandpa, carried it over, and seeing Mr. Li picking his teeth, she placed it aside and said, "Grandpa, I plan to pick some good items for Grandma Su. Xu Xi mentioned a few days ago that she might go back to the United States soon."

Mr. Li watching his granddaughter couldn’t help but chuckle. Ah Yin and Xiangxiang were too much alike, almost quarreling every time they talked on the phone, but they always cared about each other, and here she was wanting to give something nice to Grandma Su.

Mr. Li pondered for a moment about the feasibility of the plan, and after a long pause, he said, "Okay, you can discuss it with Xu Xi to see if he has any way to help." Nowadays, customs checks were strict, more than three items had to be registered, and if any items were missing, they would have to be extensively questioned when returning.

Li Xianglu nodded and picked up the phone beside her, dialing several times before finally getting through directly to Xu Xi, which was fortunate as she didn’t have to wait for him to return the call. When he heard it was about sending stuff for Su Yan, he paused, "She has everything." Very subtly implying, aside from atomic bombs what couldn’t she buy?

Li Xianglu explained, "It’s some small jewelry, very pretty with cheongsams, and she loves to look beautiful. With so many clothes, each must have a matching set of jewelry, right?"

Xu Xi was shocked by Li Xianglu’s description. Mrs. Su was wealthy, but a set of jewelry for every outfit? Even the Queen of England wasn’t that luxurious. These two really did fit together well; probably if he mentioned this to Miss Su, she would agree, saying, "Yes, that’s how it should be."

After a moment of thought, Xu Xi said, "Alright, since it’s that important, let’s wait. Tomorrow afternoon someone is going to Shanghai anyway, I’ll have them bring it over, and it can go on the ship the day after tomorrow."

Seeing things were settled, Li Xianglu quickly ingratiated herself, "Lawyer Xu, I’ve also prepared a small gift for your wife. Please be sure to accept it, it’s our family’s intention."

Xu Xi blinked oddly, wondering when this girl had become so generous.

When Xu Xi received the item, he was struck dumb. No wonder he mentioned preparing a gift for his wife: it was a bracelet with a brilliant green hue and decent quality. But how did it compare to the box filled with gold and silver jewelry, measuring forty centimeters in length and thirty centimeters in depth? Was it meant to provide a stark contrast? Well, he felt deeply wounded.

Su Yan was also stunned when she received the gift and the letter. Seeing so much stuff made her laugh after reading the letter. This girl really has good fortune, even finding treasures while fixing a house. Xu Xi was holding the bracelet looking at it, and Su Yan curiously asked, "What is this?"

Xu Xi replied emotionlessly, "Oh, it’s nothing much. It’s just a bracelet Ms. Xianglu sent specifically to thank my wife."

Looking at the big wooden box of gold and silver jewelry next to her, then back at the single bracelet in Xu Xi’s hand, Su Yan’s lips curved in a smile and she nodded, saying, "Mm, this girl is thoughtful."

Xu Xi...

On September 15th, Su Yan left Hong Kong. She didn’t call Xianglu before leaving, which disappointed her. However, school was about to start and she couldn’t dwell on the matter any longer.

The An Family wrapped up their affairs rather quickly. Before school began for Xianglu, their house was already sorted out. There were a few options available, but the An family was particularly fond of the courtyard house where Mr. Li currently resided, so they chose a similar two-entry courtyard house nearby Mr. Xun’s home, roughly a twenty-minute walk away.

Old Sir An, Mr. Xun, and Mr. Pang were acquaintances, and now the three old gentlemen often gathered together to play chess, drink tea, and chat, very much at ease, which relieved Xianglu a great deal.

Qin Zhen left with his bicycle, which Xianglu and Qin Xi had helped him buy before he left. It was a special Phoenix Head bike from the Overseas Chinese Store, equipped with a small lamp in front to light up the night. The black body of the bike was very sleek, and Qin Zhen loved it. Thus, he obediently boarded the train to study in Shanghai.

Before he left, Xianglu brought some clothes for him, though not too many. Nowadays, schools still harbored resentment towards well-off students, so it was best not to be too showy. Xu Xi gave her some Shanghai Overseas Chinese coupons he had, worth two thousand yuan, which Qin Zhen could use to dine at the International Restaurant if he got tired of the school cafeteria meals. This made Qin Zhen extremely happy.

After seeing off Qin Zhen, it was time for Xianglu and the others to start the school term.

Originally, school was supposed to start around September 7th or 8th, but it was delayed this year because the autumn round of college entrance exams had just ended in late July, which was known as the first ’Black July’.

The enrollment didn’t take as long as the first time, completed within a month. Consequently, from September 7th or 8th to the 15th was the registration period for new students, while returning students were to report on the 20th.

On the first day of school, Xianglu wore a long-sleeved, long dress as she sat behind Qin Xi in his bike, entering directly through the north gate of the school.

The handsome boy and the beautiful girl attracted a lot of attention. Standing on the tree-lined path, a tall beautiful girl asked her companion, "Who is that guy?"

A male student, obviously a sophomore, laughed and said, "Ah, Shen Yuehong, you don’t recognize him? It’s not surprising. He is Qin Xi from the sophomore law department, a top-notch student. But he’s already taken."

Ps: Do you still remember Shen Yuehong from the first Chapter? Those who remember, please leave a message to remind everyone.