Ning Zhichu patted the ribbon that had just fallen on his shoulders and hair, and asked suspiciously, "Dad, Mom, Coco, who are you?" ”

But Mother Ning and Ning ignored Ning Zhichu, Mother Ning smiled and looked at him, her eyes were a little moist. And the younger sister rathered her hands and clapped the beat, and sang the happy birthday song in her mouth: "happybirthdaytoyou, happybirthdaytoyou......"

Ning Zhichu was confused for a moment, he thought about it, and calculated the next day in his heart, it was March 20th. If it's a birthday, it's supposed to be last Saturday, March 18th.

It's just that Ning's father's words quickly solved the confusion in Ning Zhichu's heart, "Ah Chu, your original birthday was last Saturday, but your mother and I have been busy recently, so I forgot about it; In addition, you also know that your grandfather has just been in the ground during this time, and you have to review the content of the exam at that time, so your mother and I have only delayed it until now to celebrate your birthday, I hope you will not blame me and your mother. ”

Ning Zhichu heard this, and his nose was sour. Before that, although the family was poor, Ning's father and Ning's mother would do their best to satisfy Ning Zhichu's wish. For example, when Ning Zhichu wanted a toy car on his 6th birthday, the toy car was quite expensive at that time, almost a day's salary when Ning's mother was asked to be a helper by others, and then Ning's mother said she would buy it.

The same is true today.

In order not to leave behind the birthday party that Ning Zhichu must hold every year, Ning Guhou and Chen Yue'e hesitated for a day when they remembered Ning Zhichu's birthday, quarreled several times during the period, and finally decided to secretly hold a simple birthday party at home. There is only a small cake and a bowl of longevity noodles with 2 eggs in it. As for the ribbon tube, it was left over from the last time I had a birthday, and now I don't need to buy it anymore, and I can use it directly.

"Mom, Dad, you don't have to celebrate my birthday."

Although Ning Zhichu was very moved, in order to avoid his parents from working so hard, he hurriedly said to Ning Guhou Chen Yue.

didn't think about it, but Ning Guhou gently slapped Ning Zhichu's head, "What nonsense, it won't cost anything." ”

"Ning Guhou, be careful, why are you so eyeless," Ning's mother shook off Ning Guhou's hand, pulled Ning Zhichu to her side, and rubbed Ning Zhichu's head, "Ah Chu is the one who wants to take the high school entrance examination, you fight like this, in case it is broken, you break your head, what do you say." It's really not big or small. ”

"Mom, I'm fine, I'm fine." Ning Zhichu couldn't cry or laugh, so he had to explain to Ning's mother.

"It's okay, it's okay." Mother Ning said distressedly, "Then you can make a wish, and then cut the cake." Your sister Coco has been hungry for a long time. ”

Hearing this, Ning Ke, who was originally standing on the side, was dumbfounded, so he didn't follow, "Mom, what do you say about me." ”

"Okay, don't make a fuss, let your brother make a wish." Mother Ning held Ning in her arms and said.

……

The table that used to be used as a dining table is now served with a strawberry-flavored cake. The cake is not big, only about 7 inches. On top of the cake, there are some fruits, the most common of which are strawberries and mangoes. These two fruits are Ning Zhichu's favorite fruits in his daily life. From this point, it can also be seen that Ning's father and Ning's mother are very concerned about Ning Zhichu. In other words, the parents in the world are always most concerned about their children.

Next to the cake, there are longevity noodles made by Ning's mother. The origin of eating longevity noodles on birthdays in Xinyang is no longer available, and the legend is that it comes from the custom of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Longevity noodles are basically boiled with handmade noodles and two poached eggs, and some chopped green onions and sesame oil will be put down to make the noodles taste more fragrant and flavorful.

Ning Guhou had already picked up the lighter, lit all the seventeen slender candles, and then inserted them into the cake. The reason why seventeen candles are inserted is because when people in the Xinyang area talk about age, they will add one year to the real age, that is, the virtual year. For example, if a person was born in 1990, in 2006, the actual age should be 16 years old, but in Xinyang City, everyone else will record this person's age as 17 years old......

Under the urging of Ning's mother and Ning Ke, Ning Zhichu closed his eyes and made a sixteen-year-old wish. In his wish, Ning Zhichu seemed to see himself ten years later, no longer so poor, no longer so destined to be lonely, and his family was no longer so poor.

Ning Zhichu, who had made a wish, blew out the candle, picked up the knife that cut the cake, and cut the cake into 8 pieces as evenly as possible. Then put the cut cake in a disposable bowl prepared on the side.

"Come on, Coco, do you want strawberries? Or do you want mangoes? Do you want mangoes? Then this one is for you. ”

"I want mango, I want that cake."

"Mom, Dad, come on, eat cake."

"After you finish the cake, eat that bowl of longevity noodles."

After Father Ning took the cake, he pouted at the longevity noodles placed next to the cake, and motioned to Ning Zhichu to eat the bowl of longevity noodles after the cake was finished.

"yes, okay, Dad." Ning Zhichu nodded, then carefully took out a paper towel and wiped the cake crumbs from Ning Ke's mouth, "Coco, eat slowly, no one wants to grab the cake from you, or do you want to eat that bowl of noodles?" ”

"I don't want to eat noodles," he muttered, tucking his mouth into the cake. It's just that her voice is very quiet. If Ning Zhichu didn't pay attention to it, he really couldn't hear it clearly.

……

By the time Ning Zhichu finished eating the longevity noodles, it was already past ten o'clock. When Ning finished eating three cakes, he was driven to brush his teeth and go to sleep by Ning's mother, while Ning's father only ate one piece of cake and then went back to his room to sleep. And Ning's mother waited for Ning Zhichu to finish eating longevity noodles before washing dishes and tidying up the table.

Ning Zhichu, who returned to his room after brushing his teeth, listened to the sound of Ning's mother returning to her room and bringing the door, but she couldn't sleep for a long time. Ning Zhichu knew that Ning's father and Ning's mother didn't mention much about their studies and grades during this time, in order to avoid increasing pressure on Ning Zhichu, lest Ning Zhichu have a burden in his heart, and then he would not perform well when facing the exam.

However, the more Ning's father and mother are like this, the more pressure Ning Zhichu feels in his heart. After all, I took the high school entrance examination for the second time, and the last time I was ignorant, playing with my future and my parents' expectations. Now it's different, Ning Zhichu made up his mind early that he must create a future for himself and his family.

Thinking about it, Ning Zhichu slowly fell asleep, with a shallow smile on the corner of his mouth.