The next morning, after breakfast, the family sat in the main hall waiting. When Liu Chuanlai drove the tractor to the door, Qingya and her two siblings carried their belongings and helped Xuemei and her two children get in the car. Liu's father and mother also came out.

Mingwen and the other three were already on the tractor. He Wanting and the others were also leaving for Hai City today. He Wanting was almost six months pregnant, and her belly was already quite prominent. Although He Wanting felt that her pregnancy was relatively easy, Mingwen and Wang Shuihua were worried about her. So after discussing it, they asked Mingwu to go along as well, so that he could help on the way there and back.

The tractor was already loaded with two large, covered backpacks, three bundles—two large burlap sacks, one small one—and a rattan box. He Wanting and He Jing sat with straw padded under their buttocks and backs, and a special place was left for Xuemei. Mingwen and the other three wore hand-me-downs, adhering to the principle of keeping a low profile and not displaying wealth, even though Mingwen was visiting his father-in-law's house.

Mingwen and Mingwu were in the car, helping to carry Xuemei and Hanchen's two backpacks onto the tractor. Xuemei and Hanchen then placed their own burlap sacks onto the tractor. Hanchen's large sack contained their spare clothes and other belongings, while Xuemei's small sack, a small package, contained cornmeal buns for the trip. Xuemei took sixteen of them, and Liu's mother also put six hard-boiled eggs in it.

Xuemei's backpack, slung across her shoulders, contained two lunch boxes, two toothbrushes, a tube of toothpaste, a dry towel, and a few oranges. Xuemei and Han Chen each had a water bottle slung across their shoulders.

After Xuemei and Han Chen got in, Liu's father gave Han Chen a few instructions, and then gave Mingwen a few more instructions before letting Liu Chuanlai start the tractor.

Xuemei and Hanchen looked at their family members, who were getting farther and farther away, and waved. Liu's parents were worried about Xuemei and Hanchen's long journey, even though the radio said the situation was much better now than in 1966 and that anyone not descended from capitalists or landlords would be fine.

But Liu's parents' worries didn't diminish, and they were also worried about whether the Lin family would get along well, and even more worried about Han Chen's mother. This made Qing Ya and the other two a little anxious. These three naughty kids had been hanging around Xue Mei and Han Chen every day these days.

Xuemei and Han Chen turned around only after they could no longer see Liu's father and mother.

Mingwu looked at the two people's outfits and said with a smile: "Although your clothes are relatively low-key, your faces are too high-profile. They don't look very compatible."

"Who says that people can't be good-looking just because their family is poor?" Xuemei retorted.

Liu's parents shared this concern, suggesting Xuemei paint her face darker with soot before leaving. Xuemei's pretty face might attract the attention of human traffickers, but she refused. If there was no water on the train, would she have to disembark to face the Lin family with a dark face? However, Xuemei considered other solutions, such as covering her face and avoiding movement while on the train.

Han Chen has been in Liujia Village for more than a year. Although his facial complexion has become several shades darker, he still does not look like a rural person. Liu's father asked Han Chen to bring the certificate of educated youth he had received when he went to the countryside.

The two sisters, He Wenting, have become a lot darker, but they still look very beautiful and have a kind of beauty of healthy labor.

Mingwu thought for a moment and said, "That's right. A person's appearance has nothing to do with whether his family is rich or not. It's more related to his parents. Look at me and my second brother, we can tell at a glance that they are my father's children. Especially my second brother, he is simply the younger version of my father. My eldest brother and I are better, and we also look a bit like my mother.

As for Juhua, she looks exactly like my mother, but she has an even worse temper and is very aggressive. Luckily, Juhua looks like my mother. If she had my father's face and such a bad temper, she would be in trouble in the future!

Mingwen's mouth twitched when he heard Mingwu's unreliable words. He couldn't help but look at He Wanting's belly. He quickly retracted his gaze and glared at Mingwu, scolding him: "Mingwu, what nonsense are you talking about? You are such a grown-up, and you talk nonsense every day! If Juhua were here, you would not be able to escape a beating! Let me tell you, it's good for girls to be a little bold. They won't be bullied when they go out. Juhua doesn't like you because you like to tease her every day!"

"Brother, where did I say anything nonsense? Sister-in-law, please judge for yourself, is what I just said right? If Juhua looks like dad, would it still be interesting?" Mingwu said unconvinced.

He Wanting and He Jing were indeed sisters. When they heard what Mingwu said, they both looked at Mingwen's face.

He Jing took a look and her heart was as calm as water. She closed her eyes and didn't care about anything. She was blind and deaf now and knew nothing.

After looking at Mingwen's face, He Wanting glanced at her belly, then looked at Mingwen's face again. She couldn't imagine the effect of two pigtails on Mingwen's masculine face. She covered her eyes with her hands and shook her head. Then, she said silently to the child in her belly: "My child, whether you are a girl or a boy, I love you. But if it's a girl, it's better for her to look like you!"

When Mingwen saw He Wanting's reaction, he knew that he was disliked. He looked at He Wanting pitifully, and found that He Wanting didn't notice his actions at all, so he reached out and pulled He Wanting's hand.

He Wanting didn't pay any attention to him at all. She was communicating with her child in her heart! He Wanting directly pulled Mingwen's hand away. Mingwen was sad for a few seconds, then reached out and took the corner of He Wanting's cotton coat. He was fine again, and his face returned to his usual expression.

Han Chen shuddered as he watched Mingwen's series of actions, then looked at Xuemei. Han Chen felt that he needed to wash his eyes.

Mingwu noticed that everyone's expressions were not right, and realized that he had said something wrong, so he quickly made amends: "Second sister-in-law, the child you and my second brother have will definitely be good-looking. Look at you, you are so beautiful!"

He Wanting asked worriedly, "Really? What if it's a girl who looks like him?"

"Wanting, you see, Yanan looks like my father. Isn't he also quite handsome, but with a little more heroic air?" Xuemei consoled.

Yanan looks 50% to 60% like Liu's father, but her skin and face shape are like Liu Xiu. Although her facial features are very similar to her father's, her facial features are softer, and her face is small and her skin is fair, so she looks a little more heroic than the average girl.

He Wanting thought about Yanan's appearance, and suddenly felt that it was not so difficult to accept that her daughter looked like Mingwen, as long as her skin was whiter.

After that, Mingwu didn't say anything else along the way, fearing that he would say something wrong again.

It was just past nine o'clock when Xuemei and her group arrived at the commune. Liu Chuanlai came to help move their belongings onto the bus and then left.

When Xuemei and her friends arrived in the county town a little after eleven o'clock, they got off the bus directly at the county station.

After getting off the bus, Xuemei, the other two girls, and Mingwu sat in the waiting room to look after their belongings, while Han Chen and Mingwen went to buy bus tickets to the county town.

Han Chen and his friends bought tickets for the trip that departed at 12 noon. Afraid of running out of time, they did not go to the state-owned restaurant for lunch and planned to go directly to the bus to eat the food they brought with them.