As usual, we wandered around the mall for a bit and ended up having Mexican food again. Honestly, it wasn’t very good.

Later, Dr. Zhao prepared a huge spread of dishes and invited two other friends over. After dinner, they were getting ready to watch a movie, but I decided to head home early. I wanted to make a few phone calls and get some rest.

Every day is busy, but I’m lazy; I can’t be lazy.

16:01 Submit Assignment 3 of Mining

I am still concerned about the 50% deduction on my assignment 1.

16:52 Preview study

Focus Verb. I felt calm when I focused on the verb in each sentence.

Today Jian and Chathuranga invited us to have bear together. This is the first time drinking in Canada, it was a new expierience.

中午和小欢欢去吃了冰粉，姚述屿也来和我们一起，绿豆冰粉可好吃了。吃完对面 36 块钱开了两个小时自助 KTV，休息了一下。

晚上我们一起和峰哥，猛哥吃了牛肉，味道还可以，就是相对来说太贵了，不划算，两斤半就吃了 300 多。

吃完后去骚坤求婚的地方，我觉得这些事情有点尴尬，并不是很想布置。但最后的效果还是挺经验了，超乎预期，果然真诚最重要。

仪式弄完，我们就准备撤了。后面因为没有提前化的蛋糕，又继续坐着聊了好一会儿。十点钟，再不走就不行了。峰哥开着他新提的理想送我们去龙洞堡机场。峰哥说他这个车听日落大道效果特别好。

结果没唱几句，想到只能和小欢欢呆几个小时了。眼泪就在眼眶里打转转留下来了。音乐具有击穿心理屏障的作用。

和峰哥道别后，在酒店马上就和小欢欢相拥而泣了。难过并不是我们没有信心，而只是单纯的不舍，想时刻在彼此身边。

中午到了贵阳，预约了个滴滴直奔白云区，我提前在兄弟牛杂订好了位置。好久没吃了，还是挺好吃的。好久没见有些生疏了，我要习惯于人际交往中的突然安静。

郭师傅带我去办理护照的相关事情，在半路把小欢欢放在了酒店休息。郭师傅对我的事情非常的伤心，带着我东跑西跑。很快便把事情弄完了，还去去入境管理局咨询了出境的相关事情，最后又开着车把我送回酒店。非常感谢郭师傅，心里暖暖的。

欢欢给我买了个超贵的耳机，很开心但是还是有些不想要，太贵了。去打印了保留党籍的资料并寄了出去。

晚上约了老师们吃饭，想到今天是七夕节，突然想到给老师们买一束花吧。点好菜之后我们问着工作人员找到了花鸟市场。买到了非常漂亮的花，一朵一朵挑的。

吃完已经比较晚了，打车回酒店准备休息了。

好久没有打篮球，和他们一起去打了篮球，明显发现自己的身体跟不上剧烈的运动了。晚上去吃宣威菜，特别的好吃，吃了好多。吃完后一起骑车回民宿，很快乐的感觉。

大黄买了码字，少见的赢了 15 块钱。而后就开始喝酒了，喝到快四点钟，实在太困了，睡了。

This morning, I had a medical check-up arranged by the Emergency Management Bureau. First, I went to the bureau, where Section Chief Wang from the Personnel Department and another colleague accompanied me to the People’s Hospital for the examination. These two colleagues were quite strict at first but later seemed a bit tired and couldn’t keep up.

After the check-up, I took the bus back by myself—they still had some things to wrap up. When I got back, I had a bowl of beef dumpling skins with some Laba garlic. It was quite tasty and not too pungent.

Sometimes, I really dislike dealing with people, especially those who leave a less-than-favorable impression. Avoiding work or using work time to do other things seems pretty common—maybe everyone does it to some extent.

Heading to Guiyang by Train

Since Xiaohuanhuan’s training ended early today, I changed my train ticket to an earlier high-speed rail. After arriving in Guiyang, I went straight to meet Huanhuan, who said she was getting a massage. After getting off the subway, I followed the navigation to the place, only to find it quite remote, even though it was a newly built building. I felt a bit uneasy—these kinds of places don’t seem very safe. So, I was both worried and a little upset with Huanhuan, and I later told her how I felt.

Grabbing a Bite to Eat

Huanhuan had found a place for snacks, but when we got there, we couldn’t locate it. So, we just picked another random spot nearby. We ordered sour rice noodles, potato wedges, shrimp tarts, and two craft beers. Everything was pretty good, though a bit overpriced. It’s fine for an occasional treat.

Visiting Brother Meng’s Place to Catch Up with Long-Time Friends

As we were nearing the destination, the driver’s phone lost signal due to the many bridges, so we had to take a big detour, delaying us by several minutes. Then, we took a wrong turn, which cost us a few more minutes. When we finally arrived, we found everyone waiting for us to eat. Tingting had prepared a whole table of dishes, all of which were delicious.

We chatted casually over some beer. Spending time with friends is always comfortable and relaxing. Maybe someday, after settling down, I’ll cook them a little something to show off my skills.

Since it was getting late and we were too tired to drink more—plus, I had an interview the next day—we decided to leave for Gui’an around 11 p.m. By the time we got there and finished washing up, it was already quite late.

Today, my second uncle, second aunt, fourth aunt, fourth uncle, youngest aunt, and even Huanhuan are all planning to come to my house for a visit.

I remember bringing a bag of wheat gluten powder home earlier and have been thinking about improving my homemade gluten skewers. Taking advantage of my parents going out to buy food for the afternoon and evening, I poured out half the bag of wheat gluten powder to give it another try.

Noon

When the relatives arrived at noon, little Huanhuan came too. I drove fourth uncle’s car, taking Manman and Ningning to pick up Huanhuan. The streets were so crowded that I couldn’t find a single parking spot, so I had no choice but to turn back and park in the parking lot.

Right next to the parking lot was a supermarket, so I decided to take Manman and Ningning shopping. And that’s where the nightmare began. After Manman and Ningning took forever to finally pick out what they wanted, it was time to check out. Manman cheerfully said, “My uncle will pay for me!” Like an idiot, I replied, “So how are you going to repay me?” What I actually had in mind was tricking Manman into helping me grill the gluten skewers later.

Unexpectedly, Manman got angry right away. She ran over, put the items back, and started crying. Nothing I said worked. Thankfully, I’ve dealt with situations like this before, though I was still a bit flustered. I said everything I could think of, then decided to just stand by and wait for her emotions to settle on their own. Meanwhile, Huanhuan was patiently comforting and coaxing her the whole time. Ningning, on the other hand, stayed very calm—she didn’t join the tantrum, didn’t say anything, and didn’t run around, just waited quietly beside us.

After about thirty or forty minutes, when Manman realized this wasn’t getting her anywhere, she started asking for Huanhuan to hold her. Seeing this, I figured things were okay now, so I handed her the stuff I’d just bought and went to get the car. Manman took the things from me, and that was that. In a way, Manman gave Huanhuan a little lesson too.

Evening

In the evening, I saw some mulberry leaves and suddenly remembered a video I’d watched about frying them. So I took the kids to pick some leaves, then made a batter with eggs, flour, and salt to fry them. Personally, I found them a bit greasy—probably because the batter wasn’t prepared well and absorbed too much oil—but everyone else thought they were delicious, and we finished every last piece.

After dinner, Huanhuan and I took Manman and Ningning for a walk before sunset. The laughter along the way and the feeling of being close to nature were wonderful.

When we got back, I prepared to grill my gluten skewers. I gathered whatever ingredients we had at home and made a simple version of chili oil. Using a portable gas canister, I lit the remaining charcoal and started grilling slowly. This time, the gluten skewers were a hit with everyone, and even I thought they tasted great—much better than the deep-fried version I’d made before.

Night

My dad, mom, and sister all have birthdays in late March. After finishing the grilled gluten skewers, I asked Manman to bring over the cake Huanhuan had ordered from Shenggu Cake. Manman made three birthday cake hats for them, and I handed the cake-cutting knife to Dad. It was his first time cutting a cake, and he didn’t seem awkward at all—it was perfect.

Everyone chatted away, each person happy in their own way. Today was a truly wonderful day.