vstars Chapter 43 Gifts, Oh Gifts
Chapter 43 Gifts, Oh Gifts
Grandmother Jia presented a set of six jade animal carvings, round and chubby, each with eyes inlaid with various colored gemstones. Jia Hu fell in love with them at first sight; they were so beautiful. The gemstones shimmered in the candlelight, leaving Jia Zhen and Jia Zhu mesmerized.
Jia Hu could tell that his two younger brothers really liked them, but they were both very sensible and didn't ask for any. Jia Hu liked these things, but he liked his two younger brothers even more because they were cute and sensible. So he decided to let his two younger brothers each choose one of the other items, except for his favorite puppy.
Jia Zhu and Jia Zhen were overjoyed, never expecting that Brother Hu would give them to them and even let them choose for themselves.
However, the two insisted that it was their brother's birthday gift and they couldn't accept it.
Jia Hu was happy that his two younger brothers were so sensible now, and found them even cuter, so he pinched each of their little cheeks and said:
"Go and pick one, your brother is willing to give it to you."
After the two children thanked them happily, they went to choose their pets. Jia Zhu chose a little rabbit, while Jia Zhen chose a little deer.
The two were overjoyed and said that they would let the older brother choose the gifts first in the future.
Their response, of course, was a loving pinch.
The three continued reading. Jia She had presented them with a money tree: a jade base, a gold-carved trunk, and silver branches. Various gemstones and silver and gold leaves adorned the branches, swaying gently in the breeze. It perfectly matched Jia She's consistently extravagant style. This gift pleased Jia Hu; it must be said he had a great fondness for gold.
The gift from Zhang was a garment she had made herself for Jia Hu, embroidered with bamboo and orchids. Jia Hu cherished it, touching it again and again, knowing his mother had made it for him while heavily pregnant. Because of her pregnancy, she couldn't use scissors, so the maids cut the fabric first, and then she assembled and embroidered it. He had seen Zhang embroidering several times when he went to pay his respects; his mother, pregnant, was still embroidering for him, and Jia Hu couldn't bear to wear it.
The Wang family gifted them a set of jade pendants depicting the twelve zodiac animals, made of the finest jade.
Jia Zheng gifted him a set of books he had read as a child, the most precious of which were the various annotations.
Jia Jing and Li Shi gifted a set of writing implements for children, which was very exquisite.
Jia Zhen gave Jia Hu a self-propelled tiger as a gift. Because it was a mechanical product, it surprised Jia Hu for a moment. Then he thought that at the corresponding time, things from the West should also be coming in.
Little Jia Zhu was much more direct, giving a box of pink pearls of the same size and saying she wanted to play with the pearls with her brother.
When Jia Hu received the box of beads, he immediately explained to Jia Zhu how many candies could be bought with it, letting Jia Zhu understand the value of the items. Fortunately, Jia Zhu understood after he explained. Jia Zhu had no concept of these things before. He only thought that there were many of them, they were pretty, and they were convenient to roll, so he liked to roll them around and play with them.
Only at the end did Jia Hu realize that his maternal grandfather and uncle had also sent gifts. He had no memory of his maternal grandparents' family because, in his memory, the two families did not have close ties.
Upon opening the box, I found an inkstone, as well as a set of famille rose peach-shaped brush washer and peach-shaped paperweight.
It seems I should ask my mother about my maternal grandparents' family tomorrow.
After looking around at the gifts, Jia Hu suppressed his excitement. Seeing that it was already quite late, he told the two younger children to go to bed. The two children were a little reluctant, saying they wanted to play more and didn't want to sleep. Jia Hu said that if they went to bed early tonight, he would take them to see the little horse their great-uncle had given them first thing tomorrow morning.
This finally calmed them down, and they obediently went to wash up and go to bed.
While sleeping, Jia Hu suddenly felt something pressing on his chest, making it hard to breathe. He opened his eyes and saw Jia Zhu and Jia Zhen sleeping on either side of him, each contributing an arm and a leg to support him.
Jia Zhu's sleeping posture was reasonable, except that his arms were on his body. Jia Zhen's sleeping posture was much more unrestrained. He usually slept with his head facing the head of the bed, but for some reason, he was now sleeping with his head facing the foot of the bed and his feet pressed against his chest. Did he turn around in his sleep at night?
After Jia Hu put their arms and legs down, he got up. He never liked maids or old women serving him in the room when he slept; he would only call for them after he woke up. The noise he made woke up Jia Zhu and Jia Zhen as well.
Jia Zhu also saw Jia Zhen's sleeping posture, and the two of them played around on the bed for a while before getting ready. He then went to pay his respects to Jia Daishan and Grandmother Jia; if they had nothing else to do, they only needed to visit them every five days.
After exchanging greetings and having breakfast there, the three of them couldn't wait to run outside.
Today is Jia Hu's birthday, and since they were too tired from playing around the day before, they don't have to go to school today.
When the three arrived at the stable, they saw a small white horse grazing with its head down.
Jia Hu and his two companions happily went over. They had already seen the horse yesterday; it was gentle and didn't seem to mind their approach. With the horse handler nearby, they boldly reached out to touch the horse. The horse moved slightly before continuing to graze.
Jia Zhen said enviously:
"I want a pony too!" Jia Zhu chimed in.
"I want a pony too," Jia Hu said with a smile.
"You can have ponies when you grow up."
The two of them eagerly counted how long it would be before they grew up, and talked about what kind of pony they wanted.
After the foal had eaten its grass, the horse groomer took it for a walk. The three of them couldn't ride it yet, but they squatted by the field and watched the foal go for a walk with great interest.