This kind of plum powder belongs to the category of "three-no" products, yet it once became the pinnacle of street food snacks. It wasn't because it tasted great, but because of the "treasures" inside.
The shape of those small spoons was random; it could be from a series of cold weapons like knives, forks, swords, halberds, axes, hooks, and forks. It could also be characters from "Journey to the West", or the twelve zodiac animals like dragon, snake, horse, and sheep, or deities such as the Supreme Laozi or the Tathagata Buddha. Even rarer were the series of European gods and firearms like machine guns, pistols, or submachine guns.
Buying a bag of plum powder felt like defeating monsters and getting equipment, not just ordinary excitement.
If you got a rare series spoon, the spoon alone could be exchanged for several bags of plum powder, but usually, kids were reluctant to trade it.
In his childhood, Su Zelin bought hundreds of bags of plum powder not for eating, but to collect the spoons. His family still keeps a set of weapons and a full set of "Journey to the West"; there's also more than half a set of the twelve zodiac animals. Unfortunately, he never got a rare spoon, which was a small regret.
He opened another bag, but luck was still not on his side; it was from the cold weapons series. These spoons were common and had little collection value.
Su Zelin wasn't disappointed. He played around casually, poured the plum powder into his mouth; it was sweet and sour, the taste was quite nice.
After finishing a soda, he still wanted more and bought a banana popsicle, also one of Su Zelin's favorite summer treats from his past.
At this time, two other little kids, a boy and a girl about six or seven years old, ran into the convenience store. They were children from the nearby neighborhood.
The two kids were playing so hard that they were sweating. The little girl looked eagerly at the banana popsicle in Su Zelin's hand, almost drooling.
Su Zelin couldn't help but laugh. This suddenly reminded him of his childhood with Qin Shiqing, so he asked Uncle Chen to bring them a box of "Seven Dwarves".
"Thank you, brother!"
The two kids were overjoyed.
Being able to eat a popsicle on such a hot summer day was their greatest pleasure.
"Hey, wait a minute, kids!"
Su Zelin called out to the boy holding the box of ice cream and casually asked, "There are seven popsicles here; how will you divide them?"
The little boy tilted his head and thought for a moment: "I'll have three, and Qiqi will have four!"
"Oh, why?"
Su Zelin asked with interest.
"Because I'm a boy, and Dad said boys should let girls have more, so it's fine if Qiqi eats one more!"
The little boy answered with an air of maturity beyond his years.
"Very good!"
Su Zelin patted his little head.
"That's not a fair division!"
The little girl suddenly spoke up.
"Oh?"
"Mom said things should be fair, so for the last popsicle, Xiaoqiang and I will each take a lick until it's finished!"
"You're a good kid, too!"
Su Zelin gave her a thumbs up.
The two kids ran off with their popsicles.
Su Zelin was filled with emotion.
This was our childhood, so pure!
"Zelin!"
A gentle and soft female voice came from behind.
It was Qin Shiqing, standing behind him at some point.
"How long have you been here?"
Su Zelin was slightly taken aback.
Qin Shiqing did not answer but instead gazed at the disappearing backs of the two children, a touch of nostalgia appearing on her serene jade-like face: "That's how we divided it back then, too."
Uh, she's been here for a while...
As she recalled something, Qin Shiqing's face suddenly reddened a bit.
The last popsicle had also been shared that way between her and Su Zelin, each taking a lick.
After a while, Qin Shiqing's gaze finally returned.
She studied Su Zelin in front of her, her beautiful eyes lit up, slightly surprised.
Having been neighbors for so long, it was the first time she had seen her childhood friend like this now.
The thick long hair with a 3:7 parting had been cut off, replaced by a refreshing short tousled hairstyle. The slim-fitting straight-leg jeans made his 180 cm figure appear even more tall and straight, paired with a red-and-blue color-blocked T-shirt; he exuded a casual and fashionable aura.
Very trendy!
Not like the previous kind of "pseudo-trendy" non-mainstream fashion, but with genuine taste. At least, Qin Shiqing found it very pleasing to the eye.
"Do I look so handsome now that you can't recognize me?"
Su Zelin waved his hand in front of her; it was only then that Qin Shiqing snapped back to reality and gave him a slight huff: "No way, don't flatter yourself!"
Uncle Chen watched the two with a happy smile.
In those kids, he saw the reflection of Su Zelin and Qin Shiqing from back in the day.
The Qin family's girl, with her pigtails, loved to follow the Su family boy around.
In the blink of an eye, these two children have grown up, and I'm getting old!
"Uncle Chen, two more Arctic Ocean sodas!"
Without asking, Su Zelin already knew Qin Shiqing's taste.
They both liked the same kind of soda.
Growing up together, from kindergarten to high school, they were in the same class; he knew her all too well!
Uncle Chen took out two Arctic Ocean sodas from the fridge and opened them.
Su Zelin took one for himself and handed the other to Qin Shiqing.
The two of them just sat outside the convenience store, slowly sipping their sodas without talking, feeling as if they were returning to the old times.
After drinking more than half of the soda, Su Zelin spoke again: "Qin Shiqing, promise me one thing!"
"What is it?"
Qin Shiqing asked casually.
"Make sure you get into Tsinghua or Peking University!"
Su Zelin said seriously.
In her previous life, Qin Shiqing was also qualified for Tsinghua or Peking University, but for some reason, she underperformed and ended up at Zhejiang University in their home province.
Because of this, during college, the two had many opportunities to interact, leading to him later hurting her.
Therefore, Su Zelin didn't want that to happen in this life.
"I'll try my best. That's it, I'm heading home!"
Qin Shiqing put down her bottle, stood up, and walked toward the alley.
"Hey, why are you walking so fast? I haven't finished my drink yet; wait for me!"
...