"I still have some things to do." Shiyue thought of the yams she had promised Ming'er, and her tone was a little conflicted.
"I inquired and found out that there's only one train every three days from the county to the provincial capital, and the next one is the day after tomorrow morning. If you miss it, the next train won't be until Friday. Are you planning to spend the Spring Festival in the provincial capital?"
He Lixuan interrupted his cousin's attempt to continue persuading her.
Shiyue: "!"
She never thought about the train!
It was almost ten years ago when I went back to the provincial capital in October. Back then, there was no train to the county!
Her father rented a mule cart, and the whole family drove it to Uncle Shen's house.
Shiyue had absolutely no idea how to take the train, let alone that there was such a thing as this particular train.
She immediately realized that going with He Lixuan would indeed solve many of her problems.
Shiyue immediately nodded: "Okay, then I'll go get the letter of introduction tomorrow, and we can go together then."
Hearing her agreement, He Lixuan's gaze softened noticeably.
Clearly, he had already prepared a plan before this.
He said, "I asked the postman who delivered the mail today, and he said that train tickets to the provincial capital are not easy to buy right now. What I mean is, if you decide to go, it would be best to get the letter of introduction today, so we can leave first thing tomorrow morning."
It takes half a day to get from the commune to the county seat, and we'll arrive there in the evening. Let's go to the train station first and buy the tickets then, so we don't have to worry about not being able to buy tickets the day after tomorrow morning.
Shiyue didn't expect time to be so tight, and she had to leave immediately!
But there was no need to dwell on things that had already been decided. She stood up decisively and said, "You guys eat first, I'm going to the team leader's house."
He Lixuan stood up with her: "I'll go too, and tell the captain about using the mule cart tomorrow morning."
The two walked out of the house together and headed side by side toward Sun Yongfu's house.
The two did not speak on the way. He Lixuan was not talkative to begin with, while Shiyue was thinking about something.
With such a tight schedule, it's impossible to make the gift box. Shiyue plans to apologize to Ming'er tonight and ask if it's okay to give it to her a few days later.
If that doesn't work, then we can't take the business.
As for the more than 20 kilograms of yams currently stored in the hut, we'll have to see how we answer that tomorrow.
If she wants it, then we'll naturally save it for her first. The gifts we originally intended to give to Buyu and the others will have to be changed to something else.
If you don't want it tomorrow, you can use yams as a gift.
The two walked silently together to the brigade leader's house.
It was well past dinnertime by then.
It was already getting dark, and the family couldn't bear to turn on the lights, so Sun Yongfu and his family sat under the eaves.
Sun Erhu continued weaving in the last rays of sunlight, while Sun Yongfu, with his pipe in his mouth, smoked some unknown leaves, enjoying this rare moment of tranquility.
Sun Yongfu was quite surprised to see Shiyue and the other person.
He first greeted He Lixuan: "Why are you back so early today? Where's Jiang Zhiqing? Didn't she come back with you?"
Then he looked at Shiyue with a questioning look in his eyes.
Shiyue didn't say much and got straight to the point: "Uncle Captain, I asked you to come and get a letter of introduction. I want to go to the provincial capital to visit Uncle Shen's family. I was planning to tell you tomorrow, but He Zhiqing just told me that there is only one train to the provincial capital every three days. If I miss this train, I won't be able to come back before the New Year."
Sun Yongfu's expression clearly showed a hint of shock, obviously he was also unaware of this situation.
After all, no matter how high-ranking the leader of the Forward Brigade was, Sun Yongfu was still a native farmer.
He lived to be over fifty years old but had never been to the provincial capital, let alone know how often the train ran there.
He didn't make things difficult for Shiyue. He immediately stood up, tapped his pipe, and said, "Come with me."
After saying that, he put his hands behind his back and walked straight towards the door.
Shi Yue quickly followed, and He Lixuan also walked beside the two.
Sun Yongfu turned to look at him, and He Lixuan said, "I'm going to pay for the feed, Captain, can you send us there by mule cart tomorrow morning?"
Sun Yongfu nodded, then thought for a moment and added, "You and the others who are with you should agree that they must work hard even when you're not here, and not slack off."
He Lixuan hummed in agreement, and Sun Yongfu remained silent.
Shi Yue glanced at the two of them and could clearly sense that Sun Yongfu and He Lixuan's tone of voice was different today; they sounded much friendlier.
She wondered if it was because of that telegram.
Shi Yue didn't know what relative He Lixuan was who sent the telegram.
She didn't want to ask any more questions.
Everyone has their own secrets, and she does too, so naturally she wouldn't pry into other people's private affairs.
With Sun Yongfu's facilitation, things went smoothly. Shiyue quickly obtained the letter of introduction, and He Lixuan also arranged a departure time with the team for tomorrow.
When the two of them returned home, Jiang Dong and Ye Pu'an had already installed the window bars in Shi Yue and Yu Chuxia's rooms. Yu Chuxia had even hung up the modified curtains for Shi Yue.
The blue striped curtains added a touch of elegance to the room.
Seeing that it was already getting dark, He Lixuan stood at the door of the kitchen without going in.
Shiyue knew he was worried about what she had said first, so she went over and went into the house first.
"Today is a special case, let's eat before going back," she said to the outside.
"I'll just take a pancake," He Lixuan said as he followed him in.
"There are no flatbreads. Today we're making mashi (a type of noodle dish), not flatbreads."
As Shiyue spoke, she went to lift the lid of the pot, only to find that because of the long time that had passed, the sesame paste that Yu Chuxia had left for them had turned into a clump.
She poured a spoonful of water into the pot, added some firewood to the stove, and then pointed to the table: "Sit and wait, it'll be ready soon."
He Lixuan sat down at the table again.
Jiang Dong and Ye Pu'an had already gone back. Yu Chuxia had been busy at the construction site all day and was so dirty and tired that she couldn't take it anymore. She filled a container with water and started washing herself inside.
There were only the two of them in the kitchen.
Perhaps fearing that Shiyue would feel awkward, He Lixuan, who was usually taciturn, took the initiative to start a conversation.
He said, "I've already told Jiang Dong and the others that they'll be bringing mud home in the next few days, and once the adobe bricks are made, they'll build the wall."
Don't worry, Jiang Dong is a resourceful person. Even if he can't build it himself, he'll find a way to get help.
Shiyue turned her head and glanced at the man with a hint of surprise.
She wasn't actually worried about the back wall.
With He Lixuan not home, Captain Uncle will definitely take over the task of building the wall.
Even if it weren't for his own sake, he wouldn't slack off on this matter for the sake of the team's security.
Shiyue was surprised that this person, who had always been aloof, had learned to take the initiative to start conversations.
She nodded: "I'm not worried."
He Lixuan looked at her after hearing this, and seemed to have thought of something, his expression somewhat hesitant to speak.
He paused, as if considering how to phrase it appropriately.
After a long pause, he continued, "You'll be gone for several days, so remember to pack up any important things."
Shiyue paused in her movements.
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