Doing It Over Again [Rebirth]

17: Gift

Spring Festival was almost here. Because Shen Shao wasn't going to return to his hometown this year, he went to the post office to ship some presents to his relatives.

In this era there was no express delivery, and he had to fork over a considerable amount of postage at the post office.

After mailing the packages, Shen Shao rode his bike home. Along the way it began to rain, and by the time he arrived, his hair was soaked.

"Xiao Shao, you're back?" Grandma Yang, who lived next door, saw Shen Shao was wet. She asked with some worry, "What happened? Your clothes are soaked through!"

Shen Shao took out his key and opened the door. "It's OK. I got a little rained on, that's all. I'll just take a shower and change my clothes."

"Then go change your clothes. Don't think if you're young you don't have to take care of your health. It won't be good if you get sick." Grandma Yang didn't say much more to Shen Shao when she heard what he said, but she urged him to go inside and dry off. Grandma Yang liked Shen Shao. In her eyes he was a boy with good grades, good manners, and respect for the elderly.

It wasn't just her. Many of the older people in the community spoke highly of Shen Shao, because they frequently encountered him when Shen Shao was out running for exercise. If they were carrying things, he was always eager to help. In addition to Shen Shao's sweet tongue, they heard from the Liang family that Shen Shao was ranked first in an experimental class of No. 3 High School. All of that meant Shen Shao won the affection of a lot of local grandparents in just a few months.

After taking a shower, Shen Shao changed his clothes. He'd only been sitting down for a little while when he heard a knock at the door. When he opened it, he saw Grandma Yang standing outside with a bowl of kelp and pork trotter soup. The old lady smiled brightly. "Xiao Shao, come and try the kelp and pig trotter soup that Grandma made. Tell me if it's close to what you made last time."

"Thank you, Grandma Yang." Shen Shao didn't refuse but quickly accepted the soup. Because they lived across from each other, they frequently gave each other bowls of soup or steamed meat to sample, so he didn't try to be polite.

After taking a sip of the steaming soup while Grandma Yang watched, Shen Shao said with admiration, "This is a lot better than the version I made. When XiaoLan comes back, she'll probably eat two entire bowls."

"Oh, don't exaggerate! Our XiaoLan always says your cooking is better than mine and her mother's." Grandma Yang was elated by the compliment. She shared a few more details with Shen Shao about how she stewed the soup before heading back to her home.

Shen Shao looked down at the bowl of pig trotter soup in his hand, smiled helplessly, and closed the door. With such a large bowl of stewed pig trotters, all he had to do for lunch was stir-fry some vegetables.

The community he lived in had a better atmosphere than he'd expected. All of the neighbors got along well. If anyone had trouble, they helped each other out. He was glad he'd rented a one bedroom apartment here. After all, it was important to have a good living environment.

After resting for an hour in the afternoon, Shen Shao did ten sheets of calligraphy practice. Because it was so close to New Year's, he didn't bother his master. He relaxed and stayed in his apartment practicing calligraphy in peace and quiet.

In the evening, he heard the neighbor next door say he had a package, so he went to the doorman with his umbrella to get it. He felt a little confused. How many people even knew he lived here, and who would have sent him something?

When he went to the doorman, he took the package and saw his name was clearly written on it, along with the address of the apartment he lived in now. He thanked the doorman and went back to his place with the package. Countless movie plots ran through his mind, but when he opened the package with a knife, everything looked normal. There were no time bombs or poisonous needles or darts, and there were no anonymous threatening letters.