Chapter 23: Stubborn Dong Taohua buys a ticket back to Gancheng
Xu Heye also put away her notebook and went back to the classroom to get her schoolbag and monthly ticket.
She wanted to rush home to see her mother off.
Her mother had already bought her ticket back home, for the 9:00 train tonight. She hadn't planned to go back so soon, but she had received a call from her family urging her to leave.
Her mother is also a working person. Since her colleagues are urging her to do the work, she can't delay it any longer and let other people do the work, which will have a bad impact.
Xu Heye arrived on time. As soon as the school bell rang, she threw her schoolbag behind her and walked out of the school gate.
The bus stop was right at the door. After getting on the bus, she showed the monthly bus pass that Dong Taohua bought for her to the conductor, and then walked directly to the middle of the car near the back door and sat down.
This seat was right next to the back door, so when the bus arrived, she could get off directly without having to squeeze with others. Xu Heye was one of the first people out, so the bus wasn't crowded, which made it easier for her to choose a seat. Normally, with so many people, there wouldn't be much room to sit, let alone stand.
Xu Heye was just thinking about it when the car was soon packed with people, all of whom were students from the Eighth Steel Middle School.
The car was crowded, and there were the anxious voices of the conductor and the passengers at the back.
"Everyone squeeze to the back, there are still people who haven't come up yet!"
"Stop pushing. If you push any more, you'll squash everyone."
Overloading was the norm, and no one was surprised. Not long after, the bus clanged to the bus stop where Xu Heye was getting off.
Xu Heye got off the bus and took a deep breath, feeling revived. Buses and subways during rush hour are not for people.
She walked to the entrance of the alley with her schoolbag on her back, and saw a familiar figure standing under a big tree looking over here.
"Mom!" Xu Heye shouted happily, and ran quickly to Dong Taohua's side, and then scolded her a little embarrassedly, "You can just wait at home, why do you come here to pick me up? Aren't you tired of standing?"
Dong Taohua also took a few quick steps, smiled and stretched out her hand to take the schoolbag from Xu Heye's back, "It's only for today, you can't take it tomorrow."
Xu Heye refused: "I can carry it myself."
Dong Taohua took the schoolbag firmly and said, "You are still young. The less heavy things you carry, the better. You won't grow taller if you are weighed down by them."
Her father, Old Dong, was a very selfish man, but he wasn't short, standing over 1.8 meters tall. Her mother, her biological mother, wasn't short either, almost 1.75 meters tall. Her eldest brother, Dong Hongfu, and her youngest brother, Dong Fuyun, were also tall, and even her second sister, Dong Xinghua, was 1.7 meters tall.
Only she did more work and bent more when she was a child, which affected her height. Now she is only 1.57 meters tall, far below the average height of the Dong family.
There was no other way. Her father, Mr. Dong, was always busy with work and never even helped to fix a fallen oil bottle when he got home. Her mother was responsible for everything at home. If she, the eldest daughter, didn't help, who would feel sorry for her mother?
So after her daughter was born, she paid great attention to this and did not let her do any hard or rough work to avoid shortening her height.
"Your bag is really heavy. Next time, take better care of it. Just bring the books and homework you need for class. Leave the rest at home. You don't have to bring all the books. You're still growing, so you can't strain your spine. If you strain too much, not only will you not grow taller, but your back will also be easily deformed."
"I understand." Xu Heye smiled at her mother. It was wonderful to have a mother. After her mother passed away in her previous life, there was no one left who could give her such detailed instructions. She used to think it was commonplace, but later she realized that some things and people, once lost, could never be found again.
Dong Taohua was very happy: "Little darling, you have grown up." She used to complain about her mother's nagging.
Xu Heye held her mother's hand and snuggled up to her: "I am my mother's little boy, of course I am sensible."
"Mom, when you get home, you and Dad don't have to worry too much about me. I'm grown up and can take care of myself. As for you, go to work when you should and rest when you should. You must also eat well after work. You can't just mess around and eat cold rice all day just because I'm not at home."
"I know, I know." Dong Taohua smiled until fine lines appeared around her eyes. She decided to show off to her husband when she got home. Their good daughter had really grown up and knew how to care for her parents.
"Lian Jiashu, just play at the entrance of the alley, don't run too far." Dong Taohua and others greeted Lian Jiashu.
"Okay." Lian Jiashu raised his hand and waved mechanically without turning his head.
"Also, don't play with those bad boys. If they ask you to get under their lap, they're just bullying you. Don't do it, okay?"
"Um."
When the mother and daughter walked into the alley, Xu Heye asked, "Mom, why are you with him?"
"The kid was waiting for his brother. I happened to be coming to pick you up, so we stood together for a while." Dong Taohua said, sighing, "This kid is really pitiful."
Who would have thought that a single fever would make his brain go crazy? He was so confused and dazed that he didn't understand anything. When the naughty kids in the alley bullied him, he thought they were playing with him.
When she got home, Dong Taohua took out the key from her pocket and opened the door.
She put down her schoolbag and called her daughter, "It's time to eat." The small square table was filled with the delicious food she had prepared this afternoon, seven or eight dishes in total, all of which were big dishes.
Two dishes were kept warm on the small stove, while the others had gone cold. Dong Taohua had prepared them for Xu Heye to eat the next day or the day after tomorrow. It had been cold recently, so the food had stayed put, and these could be eaten for a day or two. In the summer, they wouldn't be so good; they would go bad overnight.
"Mom is so nice. This dish is so delicious, better than the ones in other small restaurants." Xu Heye ate the dish cooked by her mother, and her little mouth was as sweet as honey.
"If it tastes good, eat more." Dong Taohua smiled as she picked up some food for her daughter.
After dinner, Xu Heye did her homework. At seven o'clock, Dong Taohua prepared to leave for the train station. Xu Heye wanted to see her off, but Dong Taohua refused. She was worried about her little girl riding the bus alone late at night.
Both mother and daughter are stubborn and neither of them is willing to give in.
Dong Taohua said angrily: "I just said you were sensible, and now you're being stubborn with me!"
Xu Heye was also unhappy: "I won't even send my own mother off when she goes back home. How can that be right? Think about it, back then, you got on the train alone and went to the queue alone, wasn't it okay?"
"Can you compare with me? Besides, how can we compare now with those days?" She was poor then, but the social security was excellent. After the reform and opening up, the economy was getting better and better, but there was also some chaos.
"Sister, niece?" Just when they were about to miss the time, Dong Fuyun appeared.
Dong Taohua was a little surprised: "Why are you here?"
Dong Fuyun said, "I'm here to see you off. Don't you have a train ticket for tonight?"
He looked at his elder sister and then at his niece: "What are you two doing?" They were both very angry.
Dong Taohua said, "It's all because of this stupid girl! She insisted on sending me off in the middle of the night. How unsafe it is."
Xu Heye ignored her, took her uncle's arm and said happily: "Uncle, you're just in time! Let's go to the train station now."
She looked at Dong Taohua again: "Ms. Dong, now that my uncle is here, it will be fine for me to take you there with him!"
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