She claimed her daughter was the head of a department store and mentioned that when her daughter came home from work yesterday, she brought up that the store had recently received a batch of flawed clothing, including men's, women's, and children's wear, said no ticket was needed, and the prices were very cheap...."
This was purely a fabrication by Kang Li, but Kang Guoan apparently didn't think too much about it and believed it. He said, however, "So you didn't even think about it and were dragged by that auntie to the department store's storeroom, bought a good piece whenever you saw one, and before you knew it, ended up buying too many."
Kang Li freed up one hand to give Kang Guoan a thumbs-up, "Little brother, you're awesome, almost right on the mark. But, I didn't buy too many, oh, I bought according to the number of people in our family, not one more, not one less."
"You didn't buy for Fourth Brother Kang's family and Second Brother Kang's family who are far away, did you?"
Although he was asking, Kang Guoan already had an answer in his heart.
"They're all my brothers; of course, I had to buy for them too!"
Kang Li batted her fox-like eyes, looking innocent, which gave Kang Guoan quite a headache to see.
How did he end up with such a naïve sister?
Apart from him, her little brother, the older brothers each had their own families. Wouldn't it be enough to buy one gift per family? Did she need to buy for everyone?
"Are you having a headache, little brother? Should we go to the hospital and find a doctor to take a look?"
Seeing Kang Guoan raise his hand to rub his forehead, Kang Li showed concern, just waiting for Kang Guoan to nod so they could go straight to the county hospital.
What else could Kang Guoan say?
He lowered his hand and before Kang Li could react, he grabbed the two large cloth bags from Kang Li's hand to his own, "Let's go, to Fourth Brother Kang's house."
...
Fourth Brother Kang's family rented a small courtyard on the south side of the county town. Since it wasn't yet off-work hours, only Fourth Sister-in-law Kang and the two sons were at home.
After knocking on the courtyard gate, footsteps could be heard after a short while.
"Who is it?"
This was Fourth Sister-in-law Kang's voice.
"Fourth Sister-in-law, it's me. My little brother and I came to town to stroll around today and thought to drop by to see Maomao and Doudou before heading to North City."
With a smile at the corner of her mouth, Kang Li responded to Fourth Sister-in-law Kang, and the next moment, the courtyard door creaked open from the inside as Fourth Sister-in-law Kang greeted them with a beaming smile, "It's Li Bao and Guoan, come in quickly, sit down. Maomao and Doudou are inside, reading picture books."
At the sound of their little aunt's voice, two young voices rang out from the house: "Little Aunt!"
One could see two boys, one slightly older than the other, burst out of the house joyfully. The younger one, four years old, stopped in front of Kang Li and Kang Guoan, tilted his little head back, and asked with a grin, "Little Aunt, Uncle, did you come to see my brother and me?"
Kang Li nodded, the smile lingering in her fox-like eyes, "Yes, Little Aunt and your Uncle came especially to see you and your brother!"
"Little Aunt, come on, let's go inside and sit."
The older boy, seven years old, took hold of Kang Li's hand and tugged her toward the house, "It's hot outside, cooler inside, Little Aunt, please come in and rest for a bit."
"Brother is right, Little Aunt, you and Uncle should follow us inside quickly."
Doudou, whose full name was Yihang, and his older brother Maomao, called Yifan, saw the older boy taking their little aunt's hand. Following his lead, Doudou took Kang Li's other hand, gripping the index and middle fingers, and didn't forget to turn back and urge Kang Guoan, "Uncle, make sure you keep up~"
Kang Guoan smiled helplessly, "I know."
"Li Bao, Guoan, come drink some mung bean soup to soothe your throats."
Fourth Sister-in-law Kang brought over two bowls of mung bean soup to the small dining table in front of Kang Li and Kang Guoan, "I made it early in the morning, and I added some sugar, it should be quite refreshing to drink now."