Chapter 256 Returning Home

The days in the capital passed quickly.

That day, during dinner, Mr. Jiang mentioned their return to the northwest: "Liangchen, have you bought your tickets?"

Lu Liangchen put down his chopsticks and said, "I've bought the train ticket for the afternoon of the day after tomorrow, a specially approved sleeper berth."

He Wanyi picked up a scrambled egg with chopsticks and put it in Jiang Haitang's bowl. "So urgent? Can't you stay a few more days? There's no one to take care of you in the northwest. I'm really worried."

"Mom," Lu Liangchen explained, "I'm taking my wedding leave this time, and combined with the family leave I saved up before, I've already exceeded it. Besides, Haitang's work can't be delayed."

Jiang Haitang noticed the reluctance in her mother-in-law's eyes and gently held He Wanyi's hand: "Mom, we will definitely come back after the New Year. Besides, communication is convenient now, we can write letters often."

He Wanyi sighed and began to worry about what they should bring with them on the trip.

"I'll prepare some things for you to take back home. You need a lot to live on. You're young and your salary isn't high. If you need anything, just be polite to us elders and tell us. We always have more solutions than you do..."

He Wanyi kept nagging and giving instructions, and Jiang Haitang agreed obediently.

He Wanyi, Yuan Yinan and Shi Shulan were busy preparing food, clothing and other necessities for them.

Old Master Jiang quietly handed Lu Liangchen a small cloth bag containing some money and bills.

I didn't know I had a granddaughter like Haitang in the early years, so I don't have much left. You can use these to live on.

"Grandpa, we can't accept this. Haitang and I are well treated and have no shortage of money." Lu Liangchen refused firmly.

"What you have is yours. I know you are all treated well, but this is my old man's gift to my granddaughter. I can't refuse it."

"The Northwest is a tough place. Liangchen, you're a man, you have to take good care of them. Come back when you have time. I'm old, so I don't see them that often."

Lu Liangchen hurriedly said, "Grandpa, please don't think like that. You are still strong and healthy. Besides, don't you want to see your great-grandson?"

"You have to work harder, don't make me wait too long." When Mr. Jiang heard the word "great-grandson", he obviously became interested.

The next day, He Wanyi, Yuan Yinan and Shi Shulan and his wife sent them to the train station.

Before leaving, Jiang Guozhu pulled Haitan aside and handed her an old envelope.

"These are some things your father left behind. When you get back, give them to Liangchen. Perhaps they will be useful to him." The old man stroked his granddaughter's hand with his rough palm. "Good child, live a good life with Liangchen. I have watched him grow up. There is nothing wrong with him."

Jiang Haitang hugged her grandfather tightly and smelled the familiar smell of tobacco on him.

This old general, who was once invincible on the battlefield, is now as fragile as a dead leaf.

"Grandpa, I will find time to come back and see you. In another year, or at most two years, everything will be fine, and we can recognize each other openly."

"Okay, Grandpa has been waiting for this day."

When the jeep drove out of the military compound, Xiao Taozi leaned on the window and waved desperately.

In the rearview mirror, two white-haired old soldiers stood in the sun, their postures as straight as pine trees, until they disappeared after turning a corner.

On the platform, He Wanyi, with red eyes, kept reminding Yuan Yinan as he stuffed candies into Xiao Taozi's pocket.

As she spoke, He Wanyi's eyes became moist. At this time, the train whistle sounded and entered the station.

Xiao Taozi suddenly burst into tears and hugged He Wanyi's legs tightly: "Grandma, I will miss you..."

Jiang Haitang squatted down and gently wiped away her daughter's tears: "Little Taozi, be good. We will come back to see grandpa and grandma during the New Year. Didn't Daddy say he wanted to plant an apple tree in our yard? Let's plant a tree when we get back, okay?"

Lu Liangchen picked up his daughter and let her sit on his shoulders: "Grandma will come to see Xiao Taozi when she has time. Xiao Taozi, don't cry! You won't be pretty if you cry. We need to let Grandma and the brothers remember the beautiful Xiao Taozi, right?"

The couple worked together to coax the little girl to stop crying.

The family of three got on the train, and little Taozi was still waving to the people outside the window reluctantly.

He Wanyi sighed and said, "When we get home, we'll still have to coax them. If those brats knew their sister was gone, they'd definitely make a scene."

The adults in the family remembered that some of their children had gone to school and didn’t know that Xiao Taozi was leaving today.

If I can't find my sister when I get home at night, I will definitely be in a state of panic.

"Just wait until they come back."

"I feel like the atmosphere has changed recently. Maybe after a while, they will be able to come back, and our Lu family won't have to be so cautious." Yuan Yinnan said this in a low voice.

The train started slowly. Jiang Haitang looked out the window at the figure waving on the platform getting farther and farther away, until it finally turned into a small black dot.

She took a deep breath and turned to look at her husband and daughter beside her, her eyes filled with endless love.

The train clanged away from the Beijing station, and the scenery outside the window gradually changed from densely packed houses to open fields.

Little Taozi lay by the car window, her nose pressed against the glass, her eyes wide open, watching the rapidly receding telephone poles and the wheat fields in the distance.

"Mom, why are the wheats all yellow?" Little Taozi turned her head, with tear marks on her little face, but her attention was already attracted by the new things.

Jiang Haitang gently wiped her daughter's face with a wet towel. "Because it's summer now, the wheat will turn yellow when it matures. Along the way, you will see more unique scenery."

Lu Liangchen took the military green kettle from the luggage rack, poured a cup of warm water and handed it to his wife: "It's hot, it's good to drink more water. This is the sugar water that Mom packed."

Jiang Haitang took it with a smile, first fed Xiao Taozi two sips of water, and then took small sips herself.

Lu Liangchen habitually observed his surroundings. This time he was in a specially approved sleeper car, which was relatively quiet, but he could still smell the unique smell of the train, a mixture of coal smoke and sweat.

Little Taozi drank a few sips of water and asked, "Dad, how are we going to sleep at night? Will Mom and I sleep together, or will Dad and Mom sleep together? If Dad and Mom sleep together, won't it be too crowded?"

Jiang Haitang almost spit out the water he had just drunk because of his daughter's words.

She quickly covered Xiao Taozi's mouth and said, "Xiao Taozi, let's stop talking and eat something delicious, okay?"

As expected, he was a child. When he heard about delicious food, he immediately became interested and forgot what he asked.

Seeing that the time was almost up, Jiang Haitang opened the bundle prepared by He Wanyi. Inside were several layers of oil paper packages neatly stacked, containing braised beef, braised eggs, homemade pickles, a small jar of honey and a few pieces of peach cakes.

There was an envelope at the bottom. Jiang Haitang opened it curiously and found a stack of national food coupons and several industrial coupons inside.

"Mom is secretly subsidizing us again..." Jiang Haitang's eyes were slightly hot when she thought of He Wanyi trying hard to hold back her tears on the platform.

She took out the aluminum lunch box from her bag and opened it. Inside was the leek and egg dumplings she had made before leaving. They were already a little cold.

"Come and eat," she called Lu Liangchen and Xiao Taozi, "while the dumplings are still cold."

The three of them sat around the small table on the lower bunk, sharing this simple meal.

Little Taozi's mouth was full of grease. Suddenly she looked up and asked, "Dad, grandma's dumplings are so delicious."

"Then next time we come back, let grandma make delicious dumplings for our little Taozi." Lu Liangchen smiled and wiped the chive leaves from the corners of his daughter's mouth, speaking in a low voice.

"When we get home, Mommy will make dumplings for Xiao Taozi, okay? Let's have mutton dumplings."

Little Taozi was even happier when she heard that she would eat dumplings when she got home. She ate the dumplings seriously with her little mouth moving.

As night fell, the train crossed the North China Plain and headed towards the Loess Plateau.

The lights in the carriage were dimmed and other passengers went to rest.

Little Taozi fell asleep on the bunk, holding the cloth tiger made by her grandmother in her arms.

Lu Liangchen and Jiang Haitang sat on folding chairs by the corridor, looking through the car window at the occasional flashes of light outside.

"Are you tired?" Lu Liangchen asked softly, his fingers gently stroking the back of her hand.

Jiang Haitang shook her head: "Fortunately, I'm finally going home."

Although the capital is also very good, it always feels a bit unreal.

She really wanted to return to her own home and live a peaceful life with Lu Liangchen and Xiao Taozi.

"When we go back this time, we can move in together." Lu Liangchen had a smile in his eyes and brows.

He has waited for this day for too long!

Jiang Haitang let Lu Liangchen hold her hand and felt the rhythmic shaking of the train.

Suddenly, she remembered the old envelope her grandfather had given her and said, "Grandpa gave me an envelope and said it was something my father left behind and asked me to give it to you."

Jiang Haitang didn't open it, but she felt that the contents of the envelope might be related to what Lu Liangchen was investigating.

"Put it away first and we'll look at it when we get back."

"Yeah, okay."

Late at night, the train passed through a tunnel and blew a long whistle.

Lu Liangchen stood up and said, "Let's get some sleep. When we wake up, we'll be in Shaanxi Province."

Jiang Haitang nodded, and the two of them tiptoed back to their respective bunks.

Lying on the narrow berth, listening to the rhythmic collision of wheels and rails, Jiang Haitang fell into a deep sleep.

Although on the train, Jiang Haitang slept soundly. The next morning, it was Xiao Taozi's scream that woke Jiang Haitang up.