Liu Aimin drove, and the two of them didn't know what to say. He knew that Wang Hongxi wasn't in the mood either.

They both knew it was impossible to catch the bus. "Hongxi, if we happen to run into the bus later, let's stop them and ask them."

"Yeah, that's what I think too, that brat." Wang Hongxi gritted her teeth in anger, she's such a worry.

They were not slow; they were faster than buses, and they encountered buses returning home on the roads of the city and county.

Liu Aimin stopped his car some distance away, and Wang Hongxi intercepted it.

The driver had changed long ago and didn't recognize them at all, but they still slowly came to a stop.

Wang Hongxi boarded the bus and said, "Following the ticket seller, I'd like to ask you, is there a woman around thirty years old on the early morning bus? She's carrying two handbags."

"Who are you?"

"I'm her father. This child didn't say hello. Is she on the bus?"

"Hmm, do you often travel by car?"

"Yes, that's her. She used to live in the city."

"Yes, she took the first bus in the village."

"Comrade, where did she get off the bus?"

"She got off at the final stop, and I watched her head towards the train station."

"Thank you so much, comrade," Wang Hongxi said as she got off the bus.

"Aimin, that girl went to the train station. What is she going to do?"

"Do you have any distant relatives?" Liu Aimin asked as he started the car.

"Where are your relatives?"

"Then let's go straight to the train station." Liu Aimin thought to himself, "Luckily I didn't go to find Dashan, otherwise who knows what kind of trouble would have happened?"

Knowing that Wang Xiaorui was there, the two wasted no time and arrived at the train station an hour later.

Wang Hongxi got off the car and ran straight into the train station hall.

Liu Aimin parked the car on the side of the road, locked it, and then went inside with them.

It was already past 11 a.m., and there were still quite a few people at the station. The two of them searched one by one, but Liu Aimin realized that this wasn't a solution, so he went to the ticket window.

"Comrade, how many buses have departed since nine o'clock in the morning?"

"Seven times already."

"Comrade, could you tell me where they all went? My niece has run away from home, and we can't find her."

The ticket seller glanced at Liu Aimin, saw that he seemed like an honest man, and then told him.

"There's another train going south, it'll be leaving in a quarter of an hour."

"Thank you, comrade." Upon receiving the news, Liu Aimin hurriedly went to find Wang Hongxi.

With so many people, it was hard to find, but we still managed to find Wang Hongxi at the entrance of the station.

"Hongxi, seven trains have already left, and there's another one coming soon, this one is going south."

Finally, the two spent one yuan to buy two platform tickets and hurriedly went up to the platform.

But they couldn't get on the train, so they separated and searched along the train tracks.

Persistence pays off, and Wang Hongxi finally discovered Wang Xiaorui.

He knocked on the window, and the young man next to the window, seeing the anxious old man outside, immediately opened the window.

"Wang Xiaorui".

Wang Xiaorui, who was lost in thought, was startled when her father called her. She turned her head and saw that it really was her father.

She had intended to run away, but seeing her father's anxious expression, she came over anyway.

"Dad, I'm going out to have a look around. You and Mom don't need to worry about me. I'll call you when I get there."

"What are you going out for?" Wang Hongxi was really anxious.

"Dad, I can't stay at home anymore. I'm a grown man, nothing will happen to me."

Wang Hongxi wanted to say something, but seeing his daughter's wrinkled face, he sighed. He quickly rummaged through his pockets, grabbed a handful of money when he left that morning, not knowing how much it was, and gave it all to his daughter, saying, "Take this. Be frugal on your journey. If you can't make it outside, come back."

Liu Aimin also came over and saw Wang Xiaorui. He was furious. What a troublesome thing!

"Aimin, give me all the money you have with you."

"Okay, here you go, take it all, I don't even know how much it is."

Wang Hongxi took the money and counted it; there was one hundred yuan, which she also handed to Wang Xiaorui.

"Take it all. Go on, your mother and I will wait for you at home." At this moment, the train slowly started moving.

Liu Aimin pulled Wang Hongxi away. "We've got it! Finding it means the trip wasn't in vain. Let's go. We need to find Jianguo quickly and get the money from him, otherwise we'll have to push the cart back."

Seeing how much older Wang Hongxi looked in an instant, Liu Aimin sighed and pulled him back.

Liu Aimin looked at Wang Hongxi, who was sitting blankly in the car, and didn't know how to persuade her.

They found the cotton mill and asked the gatekeeper to find Liu Jianguo.

"Uncle, what brings you here?"

"It's okay. Do you have any money on you? I need to catch my breath."

"Yes, is twenty enough? If not, I'll go borrow some right away, wait a moment."

"No need, twenty is enough." Liu Aimin took the twenty yuan and left. After taking a step, he turned back. "Jianguo, are you going back? Hongmei is back. I reckon she'll be back by the day after tomorrow at the latest."

Liu Jianguo shook his head with a wry smile, "Uncle, I'm not going back. I'm afraid Hongmei will scold me."

"You should take leave and come back with me. Sanya has already given birth. It won't do if you keep not showing up."

Liu Jianguo lowered his head and thought for a moment. "Okay, Uncle, wait for me a moment, I'll go ask for leave right away."

Twenty minutes later, Liu Jianguo came out in his work clothes. He got into his car and greeted Wang Hongxi.

After refueling at the armed forces department, none of the three mentioned eating, and they drove straight home.

Throughout the journey, only Liu Jianguo and Liu Aimin spoke, while Wang Hongxi sat in the passenger seat without saying a word.

"Uncle, why is Hongmei back at this time?"

“Her goddaughter and godson came from abroad. She brought the children home to visit your great-grandmother.”

"Hmm, Uncle, don't you think we should buy something for the child?"

"No need. Hongmei knows your situation; she won't care about these things. After all these years, you've still been avoiding her?"

"Yes, she and Er Ya and San Ya must hate me for not being good to my parents."

“That’s all in the past, why are you thinking so much about it? Hongmei is filial to your parents, so of course she can’t tolerate your wife being unfilial, but it’s not a good idea for you to keep hiding.”

Liu Jianguo fell silent. He felt extremely bitter. He had been so focused on living his own life that he hadn't paid much attention to the situation, and by the time he realized it, it was too late.

Wang Hongxi felt a pang of bitterness listening to their conversation. She had treated that girl well before, but the girl just wasn't close to her. Liu Maocai was the one who benefited the most; Hongmei had gotten all three of his children into excellent jobs, especially the two girls, whose husbands were reportedly from capable families, including government officials. There was simply no comparison now. If only Xiaorui had been on good terms with Hongmei from the start.