Chapter 196: Hot and Booming

The atmosphere in the car was stagnant, with only the rustling sound of a woman peeling off candy wrappers.

Gu Qingqing had just peeled half of it when Xiao Niannian suddenly came over and licked it with a look of satisfaction.

She laughed dumbly: "Mother! Look at this little greedy cat."

"It's up to you." The little girl in Shi Rushuang's arms also moved to the side. She said helplessly: "Adai, do you have any more candy? These two little guys in your family are really greedy."

Chu Dai handed over another candy, and the matter was over.

Halfway through the journey, the two kids had already fallen asleep, and Gu Qingqing was also a little sleepy.

When you reach the border between the two cities, you can see the difference between Shi Rushuang's parents' home and her husband's home.

The roads here are terrible, with potholes everywhere, but Chu Dai has driven all kinds of vehicles in the Corps and didn't find it difficult.

The two little guys fell asleep, and slept more soundly after some tossing and turning. However, Shen Sui, who was sitting in the back row, suffered, and his little face turned extremely pale.

Chu Yuan was about to say something sarcastic, but seeing that his two grandsons were sleeping soundly, he didn't want to disturb them, so he clasped his hands around his chest, closed his eyes, and was too lazy to say anything.

Except Chu Dai, everyone else fell asleep.

He took a look and found that the mountains here were bare, not as lush and green as those on Gu's side, and they were all short mountains.

Driving in this weather was a real pain. His fingers were so stiff that he held the steering wheel with his left hand, took a candy from his pocket with his right hand, bit open the wrapper with his teeth, and stuffed it into his mouth.

The sweet taste touched the tip of his tongue. He chewed it twice to let the sweetness spread. The dizziness disappeared and he woke up a little.

Driving was faster than taking the bus, and at 12:30 noon, they approached the harvest production team.

On the second day of the New Year, I went back to my parents’ home.

Shi Rushuang's two brothers from her mother's family had been waiting at the entrance of the village with their hands in their pockets, chatting with relatives who passed by from time to time -

"Going to your second uncle's house?"

"Of course I did. I went to my eldest uncle's house yesterday and ate all day. Today I will go to my second uncle's house, tomorrow I will go to my younger uncle's house. On the fourth and fifth days of the New Year, I will accompany my wife back to her parents' house."

"That's great." Shi Liancai said with a smile.

"Are you two waiting for a girl?"

"Yes, I always come back at this time every year..." Before he could finish his words, he caught a glimpse of a small black car approaching from a distance. He was suspicious and asked, "Is there a leader coming from above?"

"Let me take a look." The person next to him also stood on tiptoe and stretched his neck to see: "Oh, most likely, I don't know if it's from the municipal government or the provincial leader, it's so grand."

There is a reason why I didn't mention the commune. The comrades in the commune traveled on two bicycles, going out in the wind and rain. When they went to the town on weekdays, you rarely saw cars on the streets.

Occasionally, there were one or two times when we went through other places.

"Here I come, I have to go and inform the captain." The man ran back quickly.

Shi Liancai looked at the excitement and said, "It will take at least four or five minutes to drive here. It's winding and twisty."

"Yes, the road where I live is still good. It was filled with gravel before, but now every household has built a new house, and the dirt from the old house has been used to raise the road and then concrete has been laid. I don't know when we can get it back."

"We are so poor. The mountains are barren and we can't grow crops. The brigade has no money, and the commune is even less likely to give us money."

The two brothers chatted casually, and while they were chatting, the iron triangle of the team leader, the party branch secretary and the political instructor came over.

The captain, who hadn't even caught his breath yet, bent over and asked, "Where's the leader?"

"Still in the car." Shi Liancai said casually.

The captain slowly straightened up with the help of the party secretary next to him and looked around.

The black car zigzagged along the muddy road and it would take at least two or three minutes to get here.

He took a deep breath and asked his old partners: "Why did the leader come to our place during the New Year?"

The party secretary next to him was also puzzled: "I don't know, let's just check along the way."

The instructor stood on tiptoe with his hands behind his back, and looked, "I heard that the production team next door learned some breeding technology from the Invincible Production Team a while ago, and they want to vigorously develop the collective economy. Can they stop by to take a look and take our village with them?"

When the villagers heard that a leader was coming, they ran out of their homes to watch the excitement. No one knew what year their grey cotton jackets were from, with patches on top of patches, but that couldn’t hide their enthusiasm and vigor.

"We'll know soon." The captain didn't care. After all, they hadn't done anything to let the organization down. Leaders, come and join us if you want.

Shi Lianyun and Shi Liancai were chatting and laughing on the side, waiting to see the excitement. They had never met the leader from the provincial capital and had no idea what he looked like.

"Huh?" someone exclaimed, "Why is there another car?"

Everyone looked in the direction he pointed and saw two cars, one behind the other, approaching the village entrance at a distance from each other.

The captain was also stunned for a moment: "Could it be that the city leaders and provincial leaders came together? Or the provincial leaders and the central leaders?"

Hearing the word "Central", the political instructor became uneasy. He straightened his patched clothes and asked the party secretary next to him: "Is there anything wrong with this?"

The party secretary patted the dust off his back and grinned: "Is this the chive dumplings you had for lunch? There's still some on your front teeth."

The political instructor quickly covered his face with his hands and dug it out.

Gu Qingqing woke up in a daze and saw a large group of people standing at the entrance of the village. She rubbed her eyes and wrapped her little son tightly.

She gently touched the sleeping Shi Rushuang and whispered, "Mother, we're here."

Shi Rushuang woke up slowly and looked down at the little Tuantuan in her arms, but she was still asleep.

She sat in the middle and looked through the windshield to see her two brothers standing shivering in the cold wind. Her heart warmed: "Your uncle and second uncle always wait outside very early. I don't know what they are waiting for in such a cold day. It's not like I don't know the way."

Although he said this, his happiness was obvious on his face.

Gu Jin also woke up yawning. When the car stopped, he turned around and called Shen Sui in the back, "Ah Sui, we're at grandpa's house. Don't sleep anymore. Go downstairs and get some fresh air."

Shen Sui's narrow eyes suddenly opened, he nodded slowly, suppressing the discomfort in his throat.

The car door opened, and the captain and his men quickly surrounded him. "Comrade, thank you for your hard work."

As soon as Chu Yuan got out of the car, he was surrounded by people. He had a strong aura and a pair of stern and steady tiger eyes. He looked like someone who was in a high position.

Looking at the situation in front of him, he frowned, then realized something and shook his head, saying, "Comrade, you are mistaken. We are here to visit relatives and wish them a happy new year."

"Ah?" The captain and the party secretary looked at each other in bewilderment. "Who are your relatives?"

Before he even opened his mouth, the villagers knew who it was.

Gu Qingqing spoke crisply: "Uncle!" Her voice was like a silver bell, clear and pure.

"Oh, my dear!" Shi Liancai was squatting with his hands folded, watching the excitement. He heard his niece telling him to hurry up and go towards the car.

Chu Dai also opened the car door and got out, following Gu Qingqing and shouting, "Uncle."

"Hey!" Shi Liancai turned around and shouted to his eldest brother, "Brother, don't just stand there like an idiot! It's our Qingqing."

"Oh? Oh!" Seeing the excitement, Shi Liancai was stunned for a long time before he reacted. Then he went up to greet his in-laws and said to the confused captain, "My sister brought Qingqing and the others back to pay New Year's greetings."

The captain shook his head.

“I see.”

But this car belongs to a relative of the Shi family, what about the one behind it?

The party secretary and the political instructor looked at each other, both of them were confused.

The Shi family's relatives were chatting happily. Shi Lianyun and Shi Liancai helped to get things from the trunk. The car coming from behind also stopped nearby, and four or five people in black Zhongshan suits got out of it.

Gu Jin grinned. This was a familiar lineup, this was a familiar configuration.

The leader was still Secretary Zhou, followed by a young man holding a thick leather book, and behind him was a gentle man wearing glasses.

Gu Jin had never met the other three.

When the captain saw their clothes and the party emblems on their chests, he knew that the great leader had really arrived, and he quickly stepped forward to shake hands with them.

"Comrade, I'm from the harvest production team..."

After they introduced themselves, Secretary Zhou nodded gently, and Xiao Wu beside him also introduced himself.

There aren't many cars these days, especially such good Jiefang cars. Secretary Zhou quietly wanted to see who the person was, and whether he was also sent by the higher-ups.

After looking at each other like this, I was stunned.

Gu Jin tilted his head and smiled at him, "Secretary Zhou, long time no see."

"Captain Gu, why are you here?" He came to his senses and knew the identity of the vehicle's owner: "Is Commander Chu here too?"

"I'm there." Gu Jin pouted: "I'm here to pay New Year's greetings to my father-in-law."

Secretary Zhou followed his gaze and saw the founding general, who had fought and killed decisively throughout his life, holding a baby and tearing its diaper, apparently intending to help the baby pee.

Secretary Zhou: “…” Let’s go say hello later.

Seeing that he was distracted, the gentle finance director adjusted his glasses and said, "Secretary, the captain asked you to report to the brigade headquarters."

"Well, OK." Secretary Zhou was silent for a moment, then said, "That's Commander Chu from the Southern Military Region. Go say hello."

"Hmm?" The Minister of Finance obviously remembered what the comrade from the commune had said that day about the background of the Gu Jin family.

Both of my sons are in the military, one in the Border City Construction Corps, and the other in the Southern Military Region Air Force Group Army. My son-in-law is in the Navy Command. My in-laws are...

He followed behind Secretary Zhou and greeted Chu Yuan, who had just finished peeing: "General Chu."

They are not soldiers, so there is no need to salute, just shake hands.

Chu Yuan stuffed his grandson's diaper, held him in one hand and shook hands with them: "Hello."

You can tell by looking at the car that it is licensed by the provincial government.

Just like Secretary Zhou and his men could tell it was the military district commander's car just by looking at the military license plate.

The captain and his men were still talking to Xiao Wu, and Secretary Zhou disappeared in the blink of an eye. He tilted his head and looked around, muttering, "Aren't we going to the brigade headquarters?"

The party secretary nudged him with his elbow and said, "The relative from the Shi family is here, and Secretary Zhou is greeting him. Why don't we go too?"

They are all from the same village, so naturally they know the details of Shi's nephew's son-in-law's family.

"Go ahead." The political instructor said, "The leaders from the provincial capital have all gone, so we should go too."

To their surprise, Chu Yuan looked dignified but was actually very humble and shook hands with them one by one.