Chapter 111 Going Home

The smell of rotting straw mixed in the air was gradually replaced by the smoke from firewood burning in each household over time.

While every household was stockpiling firewood for the winter, the medical team, having completed its mission, finally boarded the train for their return journey.

"Director Chen, we'll head back now!"

Because the hospital had notified the medical team's families in advance before departure, the families, who were eagerly waiting on the platform, greeted the team members before the car even came to a complete stop.

Chen Yun pulled his cotton coat tighter and nodded with a smile.

It was February when he left, but he returned in mid-November, still wearing the old cotton-padded jacket that Duan Yun had kept hidden away for who knows how many years.

The smell of mothballs on her cotton-padded jacket accompanied her throughout her two-day, two-night train journey.

"Get some rest, see you at the hospital."

Instead of rushing off the train with her colleagues, Chen Yun slowly stood up and packed her luggage under the bed.

The hospital granted the medical team a two-month leave, and this was probably part of the reason behind the colleagues' visibly excited attitude.

"Isn't Comrade Gao coming to pick you up?" Zuo Lingling asked casually after seeing Chen Yun packing her things at a leisurely pace and haphazardly zipping up her denim bag. "Should I have Xiao Xu take you?"

“Gao Ming has a job, I’ll take a taxi back in a bit.” Chen Yun waved to the window: “Go ahead, don’t keep your son-in-law waiting too long.”

Zuo Lingling's daughter smiled shyly at Chen Yun, while the young man beside her nodded generously. The two held hands and looked very sweet.

Time always slips away unnoticed. The little girl who used to wear a pink dress in front of the factory kindergarten has now reached marriageable age.

"See you at the hospital."

Zuo Lingling also saw her daughter and her boyfriend, and her subordinates packed their things much faster.

Chen Yun waited until almost everyone in the carriage had left before getting off the train.

The platform gradually emptied, and a few people hurried toward the exit.

Unlike the perpetually gloomy skies of Mengding County, the weather in Beicheng in November is crisp and clear, with a hint of chill in the air.

"Why are you getting off the bus and not going home? What are you looking around for?"

A teasing, amused voice pierced the air and reached Chen Yun's ears. He recognized the voice so instantly that he knew who it was.

"Why are you here...?"

Suddenly, one large and two small figures jumped out from behind the cement pillar.

Gao Nian'an and Gao Nianping, wearing cotton hats and scarves, with only their smiling eyes showing, immediately took off running towards Chen Yun as soon as she turned to look at them.

"mom."

"Mother."

The long-awaited calls made Chen Yun laugh out loud. She let go of the luggage bag and opened her arms to hug the two children tightly.

How could I not want to...

Unlike his calm smile, Gao Ming's right hand, which was tucked into his pocket, was already clenched into a fist with tension.

As the train roared into the station, his gaze was fixed on the train door, afraid that he might miss seeing Chen Yun get off the train if he didn't look closely.

This is the longest period of time the couple has been separated since they came to Beicheng.

Even last night, he still couldn't get used to the absence of another person's breathing beside him. Although he was using the same shampoo, the faint fragrance was gone.

Gao Ming slowly walked up to the mother and her two children and stood in front of them. He was so close that he could see the fine lines around her eyes and her wrinkled old cotton-padded jacket.

His wife looked haggard, her lips were pale...

"You've suffered a lot during this time." Gao Ming raised his hand and tucked the stray hairs from Chen Yun's forehead behind her ear. His voice sounded no different from usual, but Chen Yun quickly caught the slight tremor at the end of his voice.

“Train travel is tiring.” Chen Yun leaned down and kissed Gao Nianping on the head again, then raised one hand to say, “You look like you’ve lost a lot of weight.”

Gao Ming smiled and reached out to grasp the cold hand.

“I know why Dad lost weight!” Gao Nian’an took Chen Yun’s other arm and winked mysteriously: “Because Grandma’s cooking is not good, Nianping and I also lost weight.”

Squeezed aside by her sister, Gao Nianping could only stand helplessly next to Gao Ming. Holding her father's hand was out of the question, so she simply grabbed the hem of his clothes with one hand.

"Let's go home first! We'll eat out tonight," Chen Yun said.

"Mom, why don't you ask why Grandma's cooking isn't good?" Gao Nian'an asked before she could even finish what she wanted to say.

"Grandma's cooking has never been very good, but it's still better than Mom's."

"It's all Dad's fault!" Gao Nian'an finally found a chance to complain, her little face scrunched up as she accused him with great grievance: "Grandma is busy with work and has no time to cook for us."

Gao Nianping nodded repeatedly: "Sometimes Grandma even gives us money to go out to eat; she's very busy!"

Gao Ming nervously wiped the tip of his nose.

Chen Yun turned and glanced at Gao Ming, asking curiously, "Grandma's at work! What kind of work?"

“Ask Dad,” Gao Nian’an replied.

“Gao Lan’s restaurant is short-staffed. My parents said that instead of hiring from outside, they should help out themselves… Gao Lan wouldn’t let my parents work for nothing…” Gao Ming shrugged, and Chen Yun already understood without him saying anything more.

Gao Lan's salary must be very high, and with real money in hand... do you even need to think about the old couple's enthusiasm for going to work?

Chen Yun shook her head and chuckled: "So you don't have time to take care of the children either?"

"The company is busy." Gao Ming's smile became increasingly guilty. He licked his lips and quickly found an excuse for himself: "They either eat at Gao Lan Restaurant or in our company cafeteria. How could they possibly be starving... Don't listen to their nonsense."

Gao Ming was too embarrassed to admit that he couldn't muster the energy to cook because Chen Yun wasn't home, so he simply took the kids to eat at the cafeteria.

"Mom, I want to eat Dad's braised fish, and I also want to eat sweet and sour pork ribs..."

Gao Nian'an wanted to eat the food cooked by Gao Ming, but she knew in her heart that she could only get it by complaining to Chen Yun.

It only works if you find the right target!

Sure enough... before Mom could say anything, Dad took over the conversation.

Gao Ming said, "Dad will go buy fish tomorrow."

"What's in your bag?" Chen Yun then noticed that Gao Ming was carrying a bulging gray bag in his other hand.

"Look at my memory." Gao Ming slapped his forehead and quickly put down his luggage: "I was afraid you would be cold, so I specially brought a coat."

"Mom, hurry up and change into your new clothes." Gao Nian'an pinched her nose and waved her right hand in the air. "This dress smells terrible and feels damp."

In the humid south, clothes that haven't seen the sun for a year or two will develop a musty smell, so you have to take them out and air them for a few days before wearing them.

"New clothes?"

Gao Ming took the old cotton-padded jacket, folded it, and stuffed it into the bag. Chen Yun took a long gray wool coat, which was soft to the touch and smelled of detergent.

"I had someone bring back a new style from Hong Kong, it looks great on you!"

“Mom would look good even if she wore a burlap sack.” Gao Nian’an pouted and raised her chin at her brother, who was agreeing. “Don’t you think so?”

Gao Nianping chuckled twice, and taking advantage of Gao Nian'an's inattention, he darted to Chen Yun's right and snatched his sister's seat.

“Mom looks good in it.”

After snatching the spot, they didn't forget to flatter him a couple of times, which made Gao Nian'an roll her eyes in exasperation.

When Gao Nian'an turned seventeen, several of her classmates had already been called to school by the teachers for dating, and she gradually developed an interest in romantic relationships.

But after observing around, I found that my parents had the best relationship.

This made Gao Nian'an secretly resolve that if she were to date in the future, she would also want to find a good man like her father.

If you encounter a man like Li Huguo, it's better to be alone...

While thinking to himself, he didn't stop, grabbing Gao Nianping's collar and pulling him backward.

"Alright!" Chen Yun grabbed her daughter's hand before she could even finish buttoning her clothes. "Your little brother is being squeezed so tightly he can't breathe. It's only been half a year since we last met, and you've gotten stronger, haven't you?"

"Master Jiang is taking my older sister to a martial arts competition."

Gao Nianping was already used to her older sister's strength. She pulled her deformed collar forward and grabbed Chen Yun's hand with a smile.

"Yeah……"

The family chatted and laughed as they walked towards the exit.

The car sped away, and after about ten minutes, Chen Yun realized that it wasn't heading home.

Where are we going?

Gao Ming glanced at his watch and pointed to the wide road to his right: "Let me take you to a nice place first, then we'll go out to eat something delicious."

In the rearview mirror, two children were making funny faces and winking at each other.

Chen Yun smiled and sighed, leaning back in her chair, letting the three men give her a big surprise... even though she already guessed what it was.

Underneath the mud doll in front of the windshield was a commercial housing brochure, with the address at the end pointing in the direction the car was traveling.

"How is Shuai Shuai?"

It was rush hour, and there were many cars on the road. Chen Yun estimated that it would take at least half an hour to get there.

“Shuai Shuai was discharged from the hospital last month!” Gao Nianping leaned into the middle of the front seat and excitedly told Chen Yun, “Aunt Ruanqiu took Shuai Shuai back to Guanming Hutong to live. Yesterday, I even brought Shuai Shuai his junior high school Chinese textbook for review.”

"Ruanqiu is going back to live in Guanming Hutong?" Chen Yun asked in surprise.

Gao Ming knew Chen Yun was asking him, so he sighed and nodded: "Aunt Fang is worried about Shuai Shuai living outside, so Ruan Qiu can only go back to Guanming Hutong to live, otherwise she can't take Shuai Shuai away at all."

Li Shuaishuai was awarded to the Li family back then. If Li Huguo hadn't agreed, Ruanqiu wouldn't have been able to take the child away.

"Isn't that living in the same courtyard as Li Huguo and his wife?"

The two divorced so badly back then, and now they have to live under the same roof again, seeing each other all the time. Just thinking about it makes Chen Yun feel bad for Ruanqiu.

“Li Huguo hasn’t had time to go home lately.” Gao Ming curled his lips and said in a very calm voice, “His convoy was involved in a serious car accident on the road, and the driver was found to be driving under the influence of alcohol…and the company was also shut down.”

It wasn't just one driver who was drunk driving, but a fleet of twelve drivers who were caught drunk driving. Combined with the egregious incident that occurred, this constitutes a very serious criminal offense.

The vehicle was seized, the company was inspected, and a series of losses were incurred afterward, requiring compensation.

"How could an entire convoy be driving under the influence?"

Gao Ming could see what Chen Yun could think of, and upon hearing this, he simply shook his head slightly: "We were tricked, but who did it... is none of our business."

Chen Yun agreed: "As long as it doesn't implicate Ruanqiu and Shuaishuai, it's fine."

"Next week, Ruanqiu is taking Shuai Shuai to the hospital for a check-up. If everything is fine after the check-up, our two families will take the kids to see a movie. A new movie theater just opened in the city... and then we'll have a nice meal to celebrate."

"good."

"Let's personally take Nian'an to the martial arts competition! We'll buy a video camera and record it then."

"Let's go buy it tomorrow."

The couple tacitly steered the conversation elsewhere, and the car arrived at their destination while they chatted casually.

Chen Yun opened her mouth in surprise.