By the time they got home, it was almost dark. Zhao Yuzhen had finished cooking dinner at five o'clock, but she waited a long time and didn't see Zhou Xiaoyun return. She left some food on one side for Zhou Xiaoyun, and the rest of the family had already eaten.

  Zhou Xiaoyun had just entered the house when Zhao Yuzhen scolded her: "Da Ya, where did you go today? Why are you only coming back now? The whole family has been waiting for you for half a day and we've already eaten dinner."

  Zhou Xiaoyun obediently replied: "I was called by Teacher Fang to discuss something, and after finishing talking, I only realized that the sky had already darkened, so I ran back."

  Zhao Yuzhen scolded Zhou Xiaoyun a few words, then took out the rice that had been set aside. Zhou Xiaoyun felt warm in her heart, Ah, mom has a sharp tongue but a soft heart!

  Zhou Xiaoyun's stomach was indeed hungry too, and she started eating big mouthfuls.

  The big bowl is Zhou Xiaoyun's favorite noodles, not hanging noodles but hand-pulled noodles! Zhao Yuzhen is very skilled at making hand-pulled noodles, but she rarely makes them because she's busy. Today, she had some free time and made some to satisfy the kids' hunger, using bone broth to cook the noodles, which smelled great.

  Zhou Xiaoyun slurped up the noodles with a "gulp gulp" sound, and finally drank all the soup.

  To put it in a literary way, there is a taste of motherly love in noodles that cannot be compared to any delicacies from mountains and seas!

  Zhou Xiaoyun used to think that she was the least noticeable and least loved by her parents among all her siblings, but now it seems that her past resentment was too hasty a conclusion.

  Under the lamp, Zhao Yu Zhen's still youthful face was full of concern, why hadn't she ever noticed it before?

  At this moment, Zhou Xiaoyun's heart flashed with past events, and the five flavors were mixed with a hundred tastes that only she knew. Zhou Xiaoyun, who was indulged in memories, didn't even hear what Zhao Yuzhen was saying.

  She called out to her daughter several times, but there was no response. Zhao Yu Zhen found it strange. Her daughter's eyes were clearly looking at her, so why didn't she respond even after being called multiple times?

  Zhao Yuzhen waved her hand in front of Zhou Xiaoyun's eyes a few times, and only then did Zhou Xiaoyun wake up with a start: "Mom, are you calling me?"

  Zhao Yuzhen was both amused and annoyed, having not seen Zhou Xiaoyun's dazed and lovely appearance for a long time: "I've called you so many times, but you only heard me now, what were you thinking?"

  Zhou Xiaoyun thought this was a good opportunity to communicate, and took the chance to tell about how Teacher Fang taught her to play the harmonica and had her participate in competitions. The hard practice during the process of learning to play the harmonica was glossed over, with emphasis placed on the importance of the cultural performance and the necessity of buying new clothes for it.

  Zhao Yuzhen heard that Teacher Fang was going to take his daughter to the county to compete and instinctively felt it was a big deal, so she hurriedly called her husband Zhou Guoqiang over and asked him to make a decision.

  Zhou Guoqiang and Zhao Yuzhen were equally unbelievable, looking at their seven-year-old daughter with a new gaze.

  A delicate and clean little face, at first glance, seems to be no different from other children's, but those big eyes are particularly bright and calm, making people see the girl's intelligence and spirit. The corners of her mouth are slightly raised, not smiling but with a hint of a smile, giving off an air of composure and determination.

  After a careful observation, Zhou Guoqiang felt that his daughter seemed somewhat different from before, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. In the end, he could only come to this conclusion: as his daughter grew up, her personality had also changed, and she was no longer introverted and weak like when she was a child.

  However, no matter what, this change is moving in a good direction. In this regard, Zhou Guoqiang is still very satisfied. Although he is busy outside all day, it does not mean that he knows nothing about family matters.

  She is a great help to her mother in all aspects, and has become her reliable assistant. Moreover, she takes care of her younger siblings and can cook, such a child is hard to find even within a radius of ten miles.

  Zhou Guoqiang couldn't help but feel a little proud of himself, and when he thought about his daughter going to the county to participate in some kind of competition, he felt even more glorious. He agreed with his daughter's request:

  "It's great that the kid is going to participate in the competition, representing our school. I think it's a good idea, tomorrow is Saturday and there are no family gatherings or busy things at home, you stay at home and I'll take Xiaoyu to the mall to buy some nice clothes. Let's dress her up like a flower for the competition."

  Zhou Xiaoyun was overjoyed, she had originally thought that buying a skirt at the fair would be enough, but unexpectedly her father was so generous and wanted to take her into town to buy some good clothes.

  Zhou Xiaoyun remembered that when she was a child, except for Chinese New Year and other festivals, she rarely had new clothes to wear.

  What an unexpected surprise! Who doesn't want to dress up and look pretty?

  Zhao Yuzhen felt a little heartache for the money, the clothes sold in the mall must be very expensive! Which is affordable for rural people. But her daughter is so capable, as parents, who wouldn't be happy? Now the family's economy is much more prosperous than before, and it's not like they can't afford to buy because of a little expensive clothes. Moreover, it's summer now, how expensive can a skirt be?

  Thinking of this, Zhao Yu Zhen felt relieved and agreed.

  The next day, after breakfast, Zhou Guoqiang rode a bicycle with Zhou Xiaoyun to the county town.

  When leaving, Da Bao made a fuss and wanted to follow, but was scared away by Zhou Guoqiang's raised palm.

  After riding for about an hour, they arrived at the county town. Zhou Guoqiang was sweating after riding for so long and stopped the car to let Zhou Xiaoyun get off. After parking the bike, he took Zhou Xiaoyun into the Hongguang Mall.

  Huang Guang shopping mall has a total of two floors, each with an area of over 200 square meters, making it one of the largest shopping malls in the county.

  At that time, the shopping mall was still a state-owned enterprise. The salespeople were all employees of the mall, sitting there knitting sweaters and chatting, with several eating melon seeds. When they saw customers coming, they didn't even get up, only going to open tickets and collect money after people had chosen something.

  Zhou Xiaoyun couldn't help but miss the enthusiasm of the service staff at the specialty store later on.