Chapter 217

Winter break is just around the corner, and Ji Wanmei's classmates, whose hometowns are far away, have been looking forward to it for a long time.

During winter vacation and Chinese New Year, Ji Wanmei naturally had to go home to be with her father.

However, Lei Tingjun was very busy throughout the entire month of December, running between Pingdong City and Honghe Township.

When things got busy, both the transport team and the brick factory couldn't do without him, so Lei Tingjun and Ji Wanmei didn't see each other as often as before.

It had been two weeks since they last met. Lei Tingjun had rushed to East China on Sunday to see Ji Wanmei, and then rushed back overnight.

The two had a meal together, but didn't exchange more than a few words before parting ways in a hurry.

With a month-long winter break, Ji Wanmei wanted to take the opportunity to visit Pingdong City to see how Lei Tingjun's transportation team and brick factory were doing.

She listened to him speak entirely through his letters, or when they met, he told her what he had done.

Ji Wanmei relied solely on her imagination; she hadn't seen the actual appearance and didn't know the specifics.

Once she has seen it with her own eyes, when he is unsure about something in the future, he can ask her for advice, and Ji Wanmei will have more confidence.

Of course, these were all secondary considerations; Ji Wanmei mainly wanted to visit Lei Tingjun.

For more than half a year, he has been tirelessly traveling back and forth, driving for hours to see her.

Ji Wanmei also wanted to take the initiative to visit him once.

However, this matter was not easy to explain to her father.

Ji Wanmei hadn't figured out what reason she should give for taking a few days off during the winter break to go to Pingdong City.

Zhou Min hadn't been home for a whole semester, only writing two letters home. She spent most of her time in the library and dormitory studying diligently.

Zhou Min's grades are considered excellent for her age.

However, Zhou Min admired Ji Wanmei the most. She rarely saw Ji Wanmei studying or reviewing books. Instead, she read mostly books about fashion design and went to learn embroidery every week. She rarely spent time on her classroom studies.

However, she consistently ranked among the top students in every quiz.

Little did Zhou Min know that Ji Wanmei was reborn, and the knowledge they were learning now was what Ji Wanmei had already learned in her previous life.

Actually, Ji Wanmei thought Zhou Min was the one who was really impressive.

I grew up in a remote mountain village, attending village schools for both primary and secondary education. I never had access to quality teachers, and I relied entirely on my own efforts to get into the top university in the provincial capital.

Moreover, even in a prestigious university like East China University, where talent abounds, she was still able to stand out from the crowd through her hard work.

"What kind of transportation are you taking back?" Ji Wanmei asked Zhou Min.

“I have already bought the train tickets in advance. My home is far away. It takes six or seven hours just to take the train. After arriving at the station, I have to transfer to two buses and walk for more than an hour along the mountain road.”

After a semester of getting to know each other, Zhou Min no longer had the obvious inferiority complex she initially had when talking about her family.

Because she has realized that while one cannot choose their birth, one can choose their future.

She firmly believes that with her own efforts, she can definitely change the fate of this country girl who came from the mountains.

"And you?" Zhou Min asked with a smile. "Is your boyfriend coming to pick you up?"

Ji Wanmei shook her head: "I won't let him pick me up this time. He comes from Pingdong City to East China, then takes me back to Pingquan County from East China, and then goes back to Pingdong City himself. One day isn't enough time for him to travel all that way."

Although these counties, cities, and towns are all in the same province, East China Province covers a vast area.

These three places are not on the same line. After passing through the city, the roads below are still old, bumpy dirt roads without any paved surfaces, so driving speeds are slow.

If Lei Tingjun were to come back to see him off, he would stay overnight in Pingquan County and then return to Pingdong the next day.

This will take up two days of his time.

Ji Wanmei still felt a lingering fear when she thought back to the last time he came to see her off at the train station, when her father almost caught them red-handed.

After thinking about it, she decided against it and decided to take the direct bus back herself. She wrote him a letter, asking him not to come to see her off this time.

Moreover, Ji Wanmei had already made a plan to visit him in Pingdong during the winter break. Since they could meet anyway, there was no rush.

Unexpectedly, this opportunity was brought to her by Lu Zhuoxuan.

Just a few days before the holiday, Lu Zhuoxuan came to see her and said that the seventh day of the first lunar month was his grandmother's birthday.

The family was preparing a birthday banquet for Grandma Song, and he invited Ji Wanmei to attend on behalf of Grandma Song.

Ji Wanmei thought for a moment, and it was the seventh day of the first lunar month. By then, the New Year would be over, and she would have been at home with her father for more than half a month. She could use this as an excuse to leave home a few days early, go to Huadong to wish Grandma Song a happy birthday, and then go to Pingdong. Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?

Ji Wanmei agreed.

Lu Zhuoxuan was pleased to see her agree and gave Ji Wanmei the Lu family's phone number.

She told him to call her in advance when she came over, and he would come out to pick her up.

"Okay, I've got it. Thank you, Senior Brother Lu." Ji Wanmei wrote the phone number down in the notebook in her bag.

"Please tell me your home phone number so I can contact you to let me know when to call."

Ji Wanmei thought that having a landline phone number to contact him wouldn't be a problem, and besides, if she made the arrangements in more detail, her father would trust her more.

Ji Wanmei then gave Lu Zhuoxuan the home phone number and arranged to come and wish Grandma Song a happy birthday on the seventh day of the first lunar month.

Two days before the holiday, Ji Wanmei went to the wholesale market again to find the owner of the snow cream stall from last time and bought another batch of goods.

However, she didn't plan to take the goods back with her and had her boss send her the shipping logistics.

Ji Wanmei only brought her own suitcase and some New Year's goods she bought for her father. Even with just that little bit of stuff, she felt it was quite heavy.

Lei Tingjun accompanied her on several trips, including the one when she went to Zhejiang to purchase goods.

Ji Wanmei was already used to it. Every time, Lei Tingjun would carry her luggage, and she would walk empty-handed, which was very easy.

Now she carries her own luggage, and it's exhausting for her.

After finally managing to stuff all her luggage onto the bus, Ji Wanmei habitually found a window seat in the back and sat down, thinking to herself, "Girls shouldn't be too delicate."

She glanced at her palms; in just a short while, they had turned red.

The bus started its journey. Ji Wanmei took out the radio that Lei Tingjun had given her, put the earphones in her ears, listened to Teresa Teng's songs, leaned back in her seat, and closed her eyes.

Several hours later, the bus arrived in Pingquan County.

The driver reminded everyone from the front: "We've arrived in Pingquan County, get off the bus now."

Ji Wanmei woke up from a nap in the car, quickly got up to pack her luggage, and prepared to go home.