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Niu Lili's behavior just now had indeed made them extremely wary. They knew that this was Huo Yingjie's first time in Taoyuan County, and it was impossible for the people here to know him.
Fortunately, they are not hostile forces!
"Hello, Comrade Niu," Huo Yingjie said. "Thank you for taking care of Tiantian."
Niu Lili quickly waved her hand and said, "No need to thank me, Tiantian has helped me a lot too. We're good friends, no need to be so polite. By the way, are you here to visit He Tiantian?"
This isn't a secret, Huo Yingjie nodded and said, "Yes, we're thinking of going there after we finish eating. The county town is quite far from Qijia Village, isn't it?"
“Yes, it’s very far,” Niu Lili nodded. “It’s probably forty or fifty li, and it’s mountainous, so it’s really difficult to walk. You’re carrying luggage, and walking there would be too tiring. How about this, I’ll help you find an oxcart?”
"Thank you so much," Huo Yingjie said. Sweetie's friend is great.
"You're welcome," Niu Lili said. "Your noodles will be ready soon, I'll bring them to you right away."
Niu Lili went to the kitchen, and for He Tiantian's sake, she asked the chef to add a few more pieces of beef.
"You guys eat first, and I'll find you an oxcart," Niu Lili said enthusiastically. Of course, she didn't go find it herself, but asked her colleague for help.
After Huo Yingjie finished his meal, the oxcart was already waiting outside.
Niu Lili was also generous and had already paid one yuan for the fare in advance.
"Thank you for your trouble, Comrade Niu," Huo Yingjie said, expressing his gratitude once again before finally placing the oxcart on the table.
Watching the oxcart drive away, Niu Lili sighed, "No wonder He Tiantian is so devoted to Huo Yingjie. Anyone would like such a good man!"
However, although Huo Yingjie was good, she still preferred a man like Qi Rongjun.
Someone as handsome as Huo Yingjie must have many female admirers. Next time I see my good friend He Tiantian, I must give her a good talking-to and tell her to keep a close eye on him.
As Huo Yingjie, sitting on the oxcart, passed the supply and marketing cooperative, he said, "I have grain coupons, let's buy some rice to take back."
Resources were scarce, and everyone's food rations were fixed. Since He Tiantian wouldn't let them go hungry after arriving in Qijia Village, she could only borrow from the village. But what if the village ran out of food? Wouldn't she still have to come to the county town to buy more?
It's dozens of miles away, so we might as well get this done first.
Zhang Aijun nodded, and the young soldier Li Yunzhong happily took the food coupons and went to the supply and marketing cooperative. In no time, he carried out 100 jin of rice and 50 jin of flour, which should be enough for them. As for vegetables, they would have to buy them in the village.
It was very hot, and the oxcart didn't move very fast, but it was still much faster than walking.
Li Yunzhong, this young soldier, especially loved to chat. He chatted with the old man driving the cart the whole way, learning about all the big and small things in Taoyuan County.
"Qijia Village is so famous in Taoyuan County!" Li Yunzhong exclaimed in surprise. "Ah, there are even mountain gods appearing there? Grandpa, you can't just talk nonsense. That's feudal superstition."
The old man pulling the cart, seeing Li Yunzhong's disbelief, didn't mind and chuckled, "Whether there's a mountain god or not, I don't know, but the vegetation on the back mountain of the Qi family is so lush, it surpasses all the other villages in Taoyuan County that are backed by mountains. It changed overnight. Also, this year Taoyuan County suffered a severe drought, and all the villages were without water, but the spring in Qi family village not only didn't lose water, it actually had more water than before. Isn't that strange? And last winter, the back mountain of Qi family village was the only place without any large livestock, only small things like pheasants and rabbits, the biggest being wild boars. Look again, isn't that strange?"
Li Yunzhong was skeptical, saying, "If you're telling the truth, then this Qi Family Village is quite strange."
“That’s right!” the old man chimed in. “You young people may not believe in this, but you can’t talk nonsense when you go to Qijia Village. If you anger the mountain god, you’ll be in deep trouble.”
"Understood," Li Yunzhong said, adding another point to his mind.
When they got down there, the weather was a bit cooler, and the oxcart sped up a bit. They finally arrived at Qijia Village at eight o'clock in the evening.
Huo Yingjie took out his money and asked, "Sir, how much is it?"
"No need to pay, Lili already paid." The old man waved his hand and said. Niu Lili had introduced him to many jobs, so when he heard that Niu Lili was giving someone a ride, he skipped his lunch break and came to give her a ride.
"Huh?" Huo Yingjie was taken aback. "This...this...sir, please tell me how much it costs, and I'll pay Comrade Niu back next time."
"Oh, is that so? It usually costs 1.2 yuan to get from the commune to Qijia Village. Lili and I are familiar with each other, so I charged her 1 yuan." The old man also did Niu Lili a favor.
"Thank you very much," Huo Yingjie said gratefully. "It's getting dark, is there anywhere to stay?"
"Yes, my niece lives in Hujia Village not far away. I'll go to her place to rest," the old man said. They usually travel by bus and at night, they can only stay at the homes of relatives or acquaintances.
He has been doing this for many years and has a place to stay in most villages.
“Since you have a place to stay, we won’t keep you,” Huo Yingjie said, taking out a half-pound bag of milk candy from his bag. “These are milk candies; take them back and give them to the kids to sweeten their mouths.”
"I can't accept this," Grandpa Zhao quickly declined, as it was a rare and precious item!
Huo Yingjie smiled and said, "It's nothing, just take it."
Huo Yingjie put the suitcase in the car and walked away with it.
Seeing that the person had left, Grandpa Zhao didn't want to chase after them, so he accepted the bag of candy.
Huo Yingjie was unaware that his unintentional generosity had done He Tiantian a great favor, even saving her life.
I didn't ask who these people were looking for earlier. I'll ask Niu Lili when we get back to the county town. If we run into each other again, I'll ask her to charge less for the ride. He's an honest man and won't take advantage of me.
Huo Yingjie entered the village, but it was already dark, and he couldn't find out which house He Tiantian was staying at.
Li Yunzhong's outgoing nature came in handy at this moment, and he knocked directly on the door of a house at the village entrance. The family was Aunt Liu's. Upon hearing that he was looking for He Tiantian, they sized Li Yunzhong up and down, asking, "Who are you? What are you doing looking for a young woman so late at night?"
Because of what happened with Qi Jianguo last time, Aunt Liu was very wary.
Li Yunzhong smiled and said, "We are her family, and we have come to visit her."
"You guys?" Aunt Zhao looked behind Li Yunzhong again and found two more people.
There were three strange men outside, and it was dark now, so Aunt Liu didn't dare to lead the way. She turned to the man inside and said, "Honey, there are three men outside who say they are He Tiantian's family and have come to see her. Let's take them there."
Aunt Liu's husband had just finished showering when he heard his wife's words and quickly got dressed.
Aunt Liu told Da Niu to stay home and look after her younger siblings, and then go with her husband to take the three of them over. That way, if the three of them were bad people, she could shout for help from outside.
It was past eight o'clock. Grandma Qi had finished her meal and was cooling off in the yard because it was hot inside.
Hearing a knock at the door, He Tiantian, still in her pajamas, asked, "Who is it?"
Huo Yingjie felt a surge of warmth upon hearing He Tiantian's voice; he was finally going to see Tianbao.
"Sweetie, it's me, your Aunt Liu. There are three people outside, saying they're relatives of yours, coming to visit you," Aunt Liu explained. "Do you recognize them?"
"Three relatives?" He Tiantian was taken aback. She didn't have three relatives. "What are their names?"
"Sweetie, it's me!" Huo Yingjie couldn't wait any longer and answered directly through the door.
He Tiantian was stunned for a moment, thinking she was hallucinating. She quickly shook her head, thinking it couldn't possibly be Huo Yingjie.
"Sweetie, do you even know him?" Aunt Liu asked anxiously when He Tiantian didn't speak, especially when Huo Yingjie excitedly called out "Sweetie" in such a sweet and cloying way, which made Aunt Liu extremely wary.
"I've come to see you, Sweetie," Huo Yingjie said eagerly, disregarding the presence of others.
He Tiantian heard Huo Yingjie's voice again and knew this wasn't a dream, so she quickly opened the door. The moon was bright and the stars were few; even without lights, one could clearly see a person's face.
"Is it really you?" He Tiantian exclaimed excitedly. Her brother Yingjie had come to see her.
Aunt Liu was relieved to see that He Tiantian knew these people.
Grandma Qi San came over, leaning on her cane, and said, "Since we're relatives, come in quickly, don't stand outside. Da Niu's mother, don't leave yet, help Tian Tian tidy up the guest room."
"Okay!" Aunt Liu replied. Three people had come to her house, and she did need to tidy up a place for them to stay.
With outsiders present, He Tiantian didn't feel comfortable making any intimate gestures, so she helped Aunt Liu tidy up the room.
"Yingjie, why didn't you tell Grandma before you came? Grandma could have arranged for someone to pick you up from the county town," Grandma Qi said with a smile. During the Spring Festival, Huo Yingjie often took her and Grandpa Qi out for walks, and she knew he was a good boy.
“Grandma, I’m a grown man, I can come over myself, you don’t need to trouble you to find someone to pick me up,” Huo Yingjie said. “This is my colleague.”
"Okay, okay, there's room at home, don't worry," said Grandma Qi. "Please sit down, I'll go cook for you."
He Tiantian went to help Aunt Liu tidy up the room, while Grandma Qi, a woman with bound feet, cooked in the dark. Huo Yingjie felt bad and wanted to help.
Li Yunzhong jogged over and said, "Grandma, let me help you!"
Along the way, Zhang Aijun was truly in charge of the protection work, while Li Yunzhong mostly did logistics.
"Okay." Grandma Qi didn't refuse. She added water, poured in some vegetables from her basket, added some oil, and made a vegetable dumpling soup, cracking three eggs into it.
Although there is only one guest room, it has two large beds, which is enough for the guests.
Aunt Liu was tidying up the room when she asked with a smile, "Sweetie, three people have come. Which one is your boyfriend?"
He Tiantian nodded and said, "The tallest one!"
"Oh my, that young man is really handsome!" Aunt Liu chuckled. "And what about the other two?"
He Tiantian shook her head and said, "I don't know either, I've never seen it before."
"Oh, not bad. You can tell that child is very capable. Sweetie is destined to have a good life," Aunt Liu said with a smile. Since He Tiantian started working with her, her family's life has improved a lot.
He Tiantian smiled shyly and lowered her head.
Over there, Grandma Qi and Li Yunzhong had prepared the meal, and the three of them wolfed it down, barely managing to fill their stomachs.
He Tiantian and Aunt Liu had finished tidying up the room! Thanks to the previous drought, the house was very dry and there were no insects or anything like that. However, it was summer, so there were mosquitoes. Since they didn't have mosquito nets, He Tiantian used some mugwort to fumigate the house.
He Tiantian was about to boil water when Huo Yingjie stopped her, saying, "Tianbao, you don't need to bother. We use cold water in the summer, not hot water!"
Ah, what Huo Yingjie said is absolutely true.
Living so close to He Tiantian, Huo Yingjie couldn't sleep at night in winter and had to take cold showers, let alone now that it's summer.
"Alright then," He Tiantian agreed. "That's the washroom over there, with water in a big vat!"
After being exposed to the sun, the water inside becomes warm.
"Yingjie and those two young brothers, make yourselves at home, don't be shy," Grandma Qi said with a smile. "Tiantian, it's getting late, you should go back to your room and rest. We can talk about it tomorrow."
He Tiantian blushed after hearing what Grandma Qi said; it was a reminder not to talk to Huo Yingjie alone late at night.
"Oh!" He Tiantian replied, then turned and went inside.
Grandma Qi reminded her from outside, "It's windy tonight, so lock the door!"
Three men from outside the family came to visit. Although one of them was He Tiantian's boyfriend, Grandma Qi, who was heavily influenced by traditional ideas, was unwilling for the two to meet in private, especially at night.
A lone man and a lone woman, like dry wood meeting a raging fire, are prone to getting into trouble.
Grandma Qi's actions truly showed that she treated He Tiantian like her own granddaughter.
It's okay for a woman to have someone she loves, but she must cherish herself even more.
"Okay, Grandma!" He Tiantian's face was burning hot; she was so embarrassed.
Huo Yingjie chuckled and took the basin to wash up.
Li Yunzhong and Zhang Aijun couldn't help but chuckle to themselves; this old lady was clearly wary of Huo Yingjie!
After a day and a night on the train and half a day in an oxcart, the three of them were exhausted. After washing up, they went back to their room to rest.
Huo Yingjie slept in a small bed by himself, while Zhang Aijun and Li Yunzhong slept in the big bed.
The two soldiers slept soundly through the night.
Huo Yingjie's dream was quite wonderful. The sky was blue, the grass was green, the water was clear, and the birds were singing melodiously. But what was even more delightful was his beloved girl, He Tiantian, who was dancing and singing happily.
The next morning, Li Yunzhong, Zhang Aijun, and Huo Yingjie got up early.
They are not people who sleep in late, and besides, since Grandma Qi and He Tiantian have gotten up, they can't stay in bed any longer.
Zhang Aijun was a diligent young man. When he saw that the water tank was empty, he picked up a carrying pole and went to fetch water.
Li Yunzhong followed Grandma Qi to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables.
Only He Tiantian and Huo Yingjie remained at home.
"Brother Yingjie!" Words failed me; they were all contained in that one address.
Huo Yingjie gently held He Tiantian, kissing her delicate eyebrows, her pert nose, her fair cheeks, and finally her long-desired crimson lips.
“Sweetie, I miss you so much,” Huo Yingjie said softly. “I couldn’t wait for the New Year, so I came to see you. You know, Zhou Yuanyuan wrote you that letter a while ago, and I was worried about you, so I wanted to come and see you.”
Upon hearing this, He Tiantian remembered—she had a rival in love. (To be continued.)
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