Although Secretary Qi was very gossipy, he kept a straight face, afraid that his strong-willed Uncle Qi would get angry!
"Alright, I'll get you the certificate and buy the train ticket too," Secretary Qi said. "As for He Tiantian, I'll talk to her. If she has a house, you won't need to stay at the guesthouse."
Upon hearing this, Old Man Qi waved his hand and said, "No need to say anything more. As long as Sweetie has a room at home, she won't let me stay in the guesthouse. If there isn't a room, I won't squeeze in with them; I'll stay in the guesthouse myself."
Secretary Qi paused for a moment, but that's how straightforward and unpretentious people are when they've been through military campaigns.
"Alright, I won't go and tell him," Secretary Qi said. He wasn't worried that his second uncle didn't have money. His second uncle hadn't spent much of the money he received each year, so it was probably enough.
After returning home, Old Qi rummaged through the box and took out the two green military uniforms. He removed the medals, revealing them to be two relatively high-quality uniforms.
Secretary Qi quickly issued the necessary certificates, and then, while submitting the material distribution list to the commune, he asked Niu Dajun to buy three sleeper berths. Two of them were lower berths, which he reserved for the two elderly people. He Tiantian, being young, bought an upper berth. After all, everyone wanted a lower berth, but there were only so many, and getting two was only possible through connections.
The holiday is long; as long as she gets back before the tenth day of the first lunar month, it'll be fine. Just in case, He Tiantian wrote another leave request form, stamped it, and left the number of days of leave blank, to be filled in later.
Just before leaving, Grandma Qi and He Tiantian learned that Old Man Qi was also going to Nanshi. So when they were making food for the journey, they made an extra portion for one more person.
He Tiantian learned how to make scallion pancakes from her mother, Wang Shuping. They're soft and fragrant. Even without any vegetables, you can soak them in hot water and eat them with great flavor.
Grandma Qi San raised several chickens, which laid a lot of eggs. She boiled forty eggs, enough for three people. Inside a large bundle were two changes of clothes. Although bulky, they weren't heavy.
Old Qi had even fewer things left. He had clothes in one bundle, and the rest of his food coupons and money were in the pockets of his clothes.
He Tiantian didn't have much stuff; she'd be back after the New Year anyway, and she had a change of clothes at her home in Nanshi. As for the hundreds of cleaned and prepared rabbits and pheasants she'd brought earlier, they were all in the Snake King's protective space. The other package was bulging with the game He Tiantian had brought.
With everything prepared, Secretary Qi and Qi Ergou personally drove the oxcart to take them to the train station.
Secretary Qi bought platform tickets and personally saw the three of them onto the train. After putting away their luggage, he secretly slipped a rolled-up handkerchief to He Tiantian and whispered, "The two elderly people are getting on in years and their teeth aren't very good. There's hot soup and hot dishes on the train, so please buy some more."
"No need, Secretary Qi, I have money," He Tiantian refused. "They won't eat much, you should take the money back quickly."
"Listen to me, sweet girl," Secretary Qi said with a smile. "If you can be filial, we can't! Take this quickly, it's on the train, I'll leave it to you when we get to Nanshi."
“I can’t accept this money. I really have money on me,” He Tiantian said. “Secretary Qi, don’t worry. My house is big. When Grandpa Qi went to Nanshi, he stayed at my house.”
Secretary Qi said with a stern face, "Why is this child so stubborn? I told you to take it, so take it. It's better to have extra money on you when you're traveling, just in case. If you don't take it, I'll get angry. Uncle Qi and Aunt Qi are my elders, and I already feel guilty for not being able to go with them. If you don't take the money, I won't feel right!"
Seeing that Secretary Qi said so, He Tiantian couldn't refuse. She took the rolled-up handkerchief and said, "Then... I'll take it."
"Take it quickly," Secretary Qi urged. "Be careful on the road, keep important things close to your body, and take good care of the two elderly people."
"Okay, I'll take good care of you."
"Then I'll get off!" Secretary Qi said as he got off the train after hearing the staff urging him.
Secretary Qi waved from the platform outside the window.
It was Grandma Qi's first time riding a train, and she looked around with great curiosity.
Old Qi was a lieutenant general before he retired; what hasn't he seen!
As the train started moving, steam filled the air, accompanied by a loud "clatter, clatter..."
He Tiantian, Grandma Qi, and Old Man Qi waved goodbye to Secretary Qi. Secretary Qi also kept waving from outside the window, repeatedly instructing them to take good care of Grandma Qi and Old Man Qi.
It wasn't until the train left the station that Secretary Qi's figure gradually disappeared from sight.
"Oh, thank you for your hard work, Dazhu," Grandma Qi said gratefully. "If my son were alive, he would be just as filial."
Old Qi smiled bitterly and said softly, "There aren't that many 'what ifs' in this world!"
Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit sad, He Tiantian took out a kettle filled with hot water and three cups, saying, "Grandma, Grandpa, have some water. Are you hungry?"
Grandma Qi took a sip of water and chuckled, "I ate before getting on the bus, so I'm not hungry yet. I'll drink some water and then take a nap."
He Tiantian tidied up Grandma Qi and helped her lie down.
Grandpa Qi went to the bathroom, and when he came back, he didn't eat or drink anything, and went to sleep.
He Tiantian was a little hungry, so she peeled two eggs and ate a scallion pancake. She was full and satisfied, and climbed down to the shop to sleep.
Before going to sleep, I also told the snake king to be on guard.
If Grandma Qi or Old Man Qi wakes up, you should also wake her up.
Sure enough, around midnight, Grandma Qi woke up and needed to go to the bathroom. Just as Grandma Qi sat up, He Tiantian got up and helped her to the bathroom.
Old Qi also woke up, looked at the things, and only left after they returned.
He Tiantian was worried. It was nighttime and the carriage was dark. What if Old Man Qi fell down?
After returning home, the two elderly people went back to sleep.
At the bus stops along the way, people kept getting off and on.
The next morning, He Tiantian got up and took out three towels. One was old, which was for Grandma Qi, and the other was new for Grandpa Qi. They were all rewards she had received in Qi Family Village. There was no basin, and not much hot water in the car, so she could only wet the towels and wipe her face.
"Grandpa and Grandma, wipe your faces," He Tiantian said with a smile. While the two elderly people were wiping their faces, she poured them some warm water to rinse their mouths, took out a small makeup box, took out the peony snow cream inside, and applied it to Grandma Qi's face.
When it was time to apply the paste to Old Man Qi's face, Old Man Qi became embarrassed and said in a muffled voice, "This is something women use in case of emergency, I don't need it."
"Your face looks like old tree bark! So rough, and you still don't take care of it. When we get to Nanshi, you'll embarrass Tian'er!" Grandma Qi said disdainfully. "Tian'er, if that person doesn't appreciate kindness, then we won't give him the job."
He Tiantian chuckled to herself, thinking, "This old man and woman are quite interesting."
******
Highly recommend the military romance novel, "Transmigrating to the 1970s and Transforming!" I'm a female soldier who falls in love with her regimental commander; it's so sweet it's almost cloying! It's already completed, so feel free to check it out! (To be continued.)
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