The next day, when Li Yi woke up from his hangover, it was already past ten o’clock!
Last night, Li Yi had brought his two brothers-in-law, Yang Wenguang and Long Zhanjun, back to the courtyard house. He whipped up a few small dishes, grabbed a few bottles of Moutai, and the three of them got down to drinking.
Li Yi wasn’t much of a drinker, so he sensibly sipped his drink and didn’t go on a bender with his two brothers-in-law.
But even so, Li Yi still blacked out.
Shaking his dizzy, throbbing head, Li Yi crawled out of bed, got dressed, and made his way to the living room.
Jiang Xue was sitting on the sofa reading a book. When she saw Li Yi come out, she immediately set the book aside and said, “There’s porridge in the pot. I’ll serve you some!”
“Sure. Where are my older brother-in-law and Dalong?”
“They’re gone!”
“When did they leave? Why didn’t they say goodbye?” Li Yi asked.
“They said they had something to do today, so they left at seven. They actually wanted to say goodbye to you, but you were snoring so loudly…”
Jiang Xue didn’t finish her sentence, but Li Yi knew exactly what she meant.
With a touch of embarrassment, he said, “Well… I got a little tipsy yesterday!”
“With your drinking tolerance, you shouldn’t be raising a glass so easily in the future—especially when you’re out!” Jiang Xue admonished him.
She knew all too well how Li Yi handled his liquor, and she was a bit worried.
It wouldn’t be a big deal if someone was there to keep him in check, but if no one was around, his ability to hold his liquor—which was practically nonexistent—could easily get him into serious trouble.
“Got it!”
Soon, Jiang Xue returned from the kitchen, carrying not only a large bowl of congee but also a brown sugar bun.
Li Yi was genuinely hungry; he took the bowl and began to wolf it down.
After he’d finished eating, Li Yi suddenly remembered something and asked, “By the way, honey, why haven’t any teachers come by today?”
“Mom said I should balance work and rest, so she told me to take the day off!”
“That makes sense. How’s your studying going? Do you think you can get into a good school?” Li Yi asked again.
Although Li Yi knew that with Jiang Shiying’s powerful and influential father, Jiang Xue could get into a top university even if she scored only 200 points.
But Li Yi knew his wife well—she had a strong will, and it would be best if she could get into a good university on her own merits.
“It’s going okay. Mom has arranged for quite a few tutors to come to our house these past few days. I feel like my grades are improving quickly—I’m scoring over 500 on the practice exams!”
Li Yi was slightly surprised. Scoring over 500 out of a total of 710 points—while not exactly making her a top student—was still quite impressive.
After all, last year’s admission cutoff for Capital University was only 380 points. As long as Jiang Xue could score 400 points, she’d be more than qualified for a prestigious university like Capital University.
“That’s great. Keep up the momentum and don’t slack off. There are still three months left until the college entrance exam. Just hang in there for these three months, and you’ll be fine!” Li Yi said.
“Yeah, my teachers all say I still have room to improve. I’ll do my best to get a good score on the exam!”
“I believe you can do it!”
“Yeah!”
Suddenly, Jiang Xue changed the subject and asked, “By the way, are you free today?”
“I don’t have anything important planned. What’s up?”
“Next Monday is Grandpa’s 80th birthday. My eldest and second uncles want to throw him a proper celebration. I was thinking of buying him a birthday gift, but I don’t really know much about this sort of thing, so…”
“Sure, I’ll go with you!”
“Then let’s drop Yunrui and Yunjin off at the old house first so Mom can watch them, and then we’ll head out!” Jiang Xue said.
“Alright!”
Soon, the two were all set and drove straight to the Jiang family’s old mansion!
After leaving the two children with his mother-in-law, Li Yi took Jiang Xue straight to Wangfujing Street!
………..
Wangfujing Department Store!
Jiang Xue looked at the bustling department store before her, her face full of wonder.
Even though she had been in Beijing for over four months, she had only been shopping a handful of times.
It wasn’t that she didn’t have the money; it was because of those two little rascals.
It was inconvenient before they were born, and even more so after they were born.
So now that she was here, everything seemed magical to her.
“What do you think we should get Grandpa for his birthday?” Jiang Xue asked as they walked.
“There’s plenty to choose from, but just remember there are four things you absolutely can’t buy!” Li Yi said.
“What are the four things we shouldn’t buy?”
“First, no clocks; second, no medicine; third, no combs; fourth, nothing black and white!”
“Uh… what does that mean?”
Li Yi smiled and explained, “There are many taboos when giving birthday gifts to the elderly. The first is not to give clocks or watches, because ‘giving a clock’ sounds like ‘sending someone to their final resting place’—it’s considered unlucky.”
“Second, don’t give black or white clothes—they don’t look festive, and the elderly are most superstitious about that. If the elderly person is bald, you definitely shouldn’t give a comb.”
“Also, if the elderly person isn’t in good health, you must never give them medicine—including ginseng, seahorse, or deer antler—because they’re very superstitious about these tonics!”
Jiang Xue said with a look of surprise, “I had no idea there were so many taboos when it comes to birthday gifts. I was originally planning to go to the pharmacy and buy some ginseng for Grandpa to boost his energy and blood circulation. Thank goodness I brought you along—otherwise, I would have definitely made a fool of myself!”
“Hehe, it’s the thought that counts. It’s fine to give him some tonics from time to time, but try to avoid them on his birthday!”
“Hmm, so what should we get him instead?”
Li Yi thought for a moment and said, “You’ve really stumped me. Since it’s a birthday gift for the old man, he has to like it first. I honestly don’t know what his hobbies are.”
“Grandpa loves to drink…”
Before she could finish, Li Yi shook his head and said, “Haha, that won’t do. The whole family is keeping a close eye on him to make sure he doesn’t drink. If we send him alcohol, wouldn’t that be going against the grain?”
“You’re right!”
Jiang Xue frowned as she thought for a moment, then said, “I’ve noticed Grandpa really enjoys studying calligraphy and paintings. Why don’t we get him a piece of calligraphy or a painting?”
“Calligraphy or paintings?”
He really hadn’t expected that the old man, a general who had fought on the battlefield, would have such a hobby.
“Yeah, there are quite a few calligraphy and paintings in Grandpa’s study. Whenever he has some free time, he takes them out to look at them. He’s very serious about it—you can tell he really loves them!” Jiang Xue said.
“If that’s the case, then we should definitely buy a piece of calligraphy or a painting to give to Grandpa!” Li Yi said.
“Do you know where we can buy calligraphy or paintings?”
“I don’t know, but we can just ask a local and find out!”
Li Yi looked around and finally settled on an elderly man wearing a Zhongshan suit to ask for directions.
Li Yi quickly led Jiang Xue over to the old man and asked, “Sir, may I ask you a question?”
The old man was quite friendly and replied with a smile, “Young man, what would you like to know?”
“I’d like to ask you where I can find a place that sells calligraphy and paintings!” Li Yi said.
“You want to buy calligraphy and paintings? These days, not many young people are into that anymore,” the old man asked, somewhat surprised.
“It’s an elder in our family’s birthday coming up, and we’re planning to buy a calligraphy or painting as a birthday gift!” Li Yi explained.
“I see. It’s rare to find such filial devotion these days. If you’re really planning to buy a calligraphy or painting, I recommend you go to the National Museum. They have a Foreign Visitors Service Department there, and all the calligraphy and paintings are authentic works by famous artists—and the prices aren’t too high!” the old man said.
The National Museum!
The Foreign Visitors’ Service Department!
Upon hearing the old man mention these two places, Li Yi’s mind went “boom”—he suddenly remembered something!
Immediately, after thanking the old man, he grabbed Jiang Xue’s hand and hurried off to the National Museum!