Before leaving, Zhang Shuzhen and Sheng Liancheng gave each other many instructions, fearing that Sheng Xiping might not take it seriously.

Logically, Zhou Qinglan was less than three months pregnant and shouldn't have gone through this ordeal.

It's cold and the roads are slippery at this time of year. If anything goes wrong, not only will the children be in danger, but the adults will also suffer.

But Zhou Qingyang went home to visit his family before the Lunar New Year, saying he would have to leave on the sixth day of the new year. Zhou Mingyuan called the forest farm specifically, hoping that Zhou Qinglan could go back after the new year so that the family could be reunited.

Zhou Qingyang only goes home once every few years, so the Sheng family can't very well say no to Zhou Qinglan going back for a family reunion.

Fortunately, Zhou Qinglan's pregnancy with her second child has been going smoothly. She's eating well, sleeping soundly, and in excellent health, which puts the Sheng family at ease.

"Dad, Mom, don't worry, I will take good care of them."

Sheng Xiping responded and hugged Sheng Xinhua in his arms, raising his hand to adjust his son's hat and scarf.

"Everyone in the car is from our forest farm, so we can look out for each other. When we get to Songjianghe, Brother and Qingyue will pick us up. Don't worry, everything will be fine."

Sheng Xiping had already discussed the matter with the Zhou family beforehand by phone. Zhou Mingyuan and his wife knew about their daughter's situation, so they arranged for their son to pick her up at the station.

"Okay, be careful on the road. Second brother, third brother, hurry up and help your eldest brother take the things to the station."

That morning, Zhang Shuzhen had given the instructions several times, and seeing that the departure time was approaching, there was no time to dawdle.

So Zhang Shuzhen waved to her second and third sons, asking them to help take all the large and small packages to the station.

Qianchuan Forest Farm is the largest forest farm on the northern route. It is close to Changbai Mountain, has abundant forest resources, and produces a high output of forest every year.

The forest farm is profitable, and the workers' welfare benefits are higher than those of other forest farms, so girls from the surrounding forest farms love to date young men from Qianchuan.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, married women return to their parents' home.

Many of the young wives in Qianchuan Forest Farm are from Shuguang Forest Farm, Shengli Forest Farm, and even Kaifeng Forest Farm. When they go back to their parents' home, they either walk or take the forest railway train.

But the little train won't arrive until the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, and many people can't wait to go back to their parents' home.

So after discussing it, the leaders of the farm arranged for the farm's shuttle bus to make a trip to take these people to visit their relatives or go back to their maternal homes.

When Sheng Xiping and his companions arrived, carrying their child and large bags, there were already many people waiting at the small train station.

"Xiping, over here, oh my god, are you moving your whole family to Songjianghe? You're bringing all this stuff?"

As soon as Wang Jianshe saw Sheng Xiping coming over, he waved to him from afar.

Wang Jianshe's wife, Li Xue, is also from Songjianghe, and she will definitely be going back to her parents' home today.

Wang Jianshe held his four-month-old son in his arms, with Li Xue, who was dressed in full protective gear, beside him.

Li Xue was carrying a bag on her back and holding a triangular pouch in her hand, while Wang Jianshe had another bag at his feet.

Sheng Xiping walked over, looked at Wang Jianshe and his family of three, and smiled. "You've taken just as much as I have, and you're still criticizing me."

When it comes to going out with children, it's pretty much the same; just the children's changes of clothes, diapers, and so on can fill a whole bag.

Sheng Xinhua is a bit better. He's over a year old and knows to tell adults when he needs to pee. If that doesn't work, he can even stand on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and pee directly, since he's wearing open-crotch pants anyway.

Sheng Xinhua now needs to wear a diaper at night, but he basically doesn't wet his pants during the day.

Wang Jianshe's baby is still very young, only a little over four months old. He needs a lot of diapers every day, so he definitely needs to prepare more.

The two fathers, each holding their child, looked at each other and burst into laughter.

Over there, Zhou Qinglan also greeted Li Xue and chatted casually for a few minutes.

Just then, the commuter bus refilled its water tank at the water tower at the other end of the triangle line, then added coal, and then drove over with a gurgling sound, stopped at the station, and opened the doors.

Ignoring everything else, everyone rushed forward, eager to grab a seat.

Sheng Xi'an and Sheng Xikang, two strong and agile young men, rushed onto the car and reserved two seats for Sheng Xiping and Zhou Qinglan.

"Big brother, sister-in-law, come over here, there's a seat here."

Sheng Xiping, holding the child, and Zhou Qinglan sat down at the seats her younger brother had reserved for them.

Sheng Xi'an placed all the bags and packages at Sheng Xiping's feet, and then the two boys quickly got out of the car before it started moving.

There were so many people getting on the bus that the two commuter cars couldn't all fit, and many people had to stand.

When Sheng Xiping saw that Wang Jianshe and his wife hadn't managed to get the seats, he quickly handed the child to Zhou Qinglan and then gave his own seat to Li Xue.

"Thank you, Brother Sheng." Li Xue thanked Sheng Xiping and sat down next to Zhou Qinglan.

Then he took his son from Wang Jianshe's arms, lifted a corner of the blanket, and checked whether the child's mouth and nose were covered.

That little guy was quite well-behaved; going out didn't even disturb his sleep. His little face was rosy from sleeping, and he was so adorable.

Seeing this, Li Xue finally felt relieved and chatted with Zhou Qinglan while holding the child.

Since Sheng Xiping and Wang Jianshe didn't have seats, they simply stood next to them. As grown men, standing for a while wouldn't be tiring.

It's 18 li from Qianchuan Forest Farm to Shuguang Forest Farm, and it takes less than half an hour to get there.

The commuter bus stopped at the small train station on the north side of Shuguang Forest Farm. Everyone going to Shuguang Forest Farm and Shengli Forest Farm packed up and got off.

The car was much more spacious now, and Sheng Xiping and Wang Jianshe quickly sat down.

It's over 70 li from Qianchuan to Songjianghe. The commuter bus took two hours to finally reach the small Sentie train station.

Sheng Xiping carried the largest backpack on his back, held his son in one arm, and carried a smaller bag in the other.

Zhou Qinglan was also carrying many bags and bundles. The couple slowly got off the bus, following the crowd.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!