Zhang Xudong didn't expect that less than ten days after Uncle Gen talked about immigration, the first group of people would embark on the journey.
October 15th, Sunday. Uncle Gen came again early in the morning with his mule cart, having come the previous Sunday.
This time he was not alone, Heidan and Xu Liguo were also in the car. They were here to say goodbye.
"Uncle Gen, are you really in such a hurry to leave?" Zhang Xudong looked at Uncle Gen in disbelief.
In any case, he never expected that the first batch of immigrants would set off the day after tomorrow.
"Dongzi, the government is doing this for our own good. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can have a full meal.
If we arrive any later, it will be too cold there. Arriving a day earlier will give us an extra day to adapt and prepare."
"Uncle, how many families in our village want to leave?" Zhang Xudong asked.
"There aren't many families in our village. There are only your third grandfather's third and fourth sons, my family, Li Guoguo's family, and the three brothers of the Zhao family at the head of the village. There are only about 40 people in these seven or eight families.
But there are more people in other villages, and more than half of the forward team has already left.
The main thing is that the government said that as long as you get on a truck, food and accommodation will be provided.
As long as they can eat their fill and not go hungry, they all want to leave immediately."
Zhang Xudong felt sad when he saw Heidan, Xu Liguo and Zhang Xiyan crying beside him.
I have been raising these two kids for more than a month!
"Uncle Gen, what else do you need? See if I can get it for you." Zhang Xudong wanted to ask, what could he do for them?
"Don't worry about anything, Dongzi. We have the government to take care of everything. We came here today because these two kids wanted to say goodbye to you and Xiao Xiyan.
We don’t know when we’ll meet again.” Uncle Gen’s eyes turned red as he spoke.
"Grandma, talk to Uncle Gen for a while. I'll go to the bedroom."
Zhang Xudong let his grandmother chat with Uncle Gen first, then he went to the bedroom and entered the space.
After Zhang Xudong entered the space, he looked at the cotton seedlings that were only knee-high and knew that he could not rely on these cottons.
Zhang Xudong got furious and tore apart all three quilts and mattresses in the space. He tore off the outer coverings, carried six cotton batts, and left the space to the living room.
"Uncle Gen, I don't have anything to give you, so I'll give Heidan and Liguo a quilt each.
"Please take the remaining quilt to Third Grandpa for me. I'll send it to you the day after tomorrow." Zhang Xudong handed the six quilts to Uncle Gen and said.
"Dongzi, you...what do you want your uncle to say?" Uncle Gen said with trembling lips.
"Uncle, don't say anything. If one day I go to your place, just make sure I have a place to live." Zhang Xudong patted Uncle Gen on the shoulder and said.
"How can that be? If you really go there one day, your food, drink, and shelter will all be my responsibility. Dongzi, if I don't do it, may God strike me with lightning."
Uncle Gen said this with tears in his eyes. Zhang Xudong knew that this might be the most serious words this honest man had ever said in his life.
Zhang Xudong and his grandmother forced Uncle Gen and the two kids to stay and have lunch before letting them go.
After Heidan and Xu Liguo arrived at the yard, they turned around together, knelt down in front of Zhang Xudong, and kowtowed with a "bang".
Then, without waiting for Zhang Xudong to speak, he stood up and left the yard.
In their hearts, this is their forever brother and a master who is like a father.
At night, in the space, Zhang Xudong looked at He Jingxian seriously and said:
"Jing'er, although we didn't let the villagers know when we got engaged, I hope you can go with me to see them off the day after tomorrow.
Just go with me to see them off as my fiancée, okay?"
After listening to Zhang Xudong's words, He Jingxian shook her head slightly and said:
"Brother Dong, you shouldn't ask me this. They have feelings for you, Zhang Xudong, and they are indebted to me, He Jingxian.
This is what I should do, there is no good or bad."
What else can Zhang Xudong say? What else can he do except cherish her more in the future?
Early on Tuesday morning, Zhang Xudong and He Jingxian rode two bicycles and returned to Xiangyang Brigade with their grandmother and younger sister.
Two trucks were parked in front of the brigade headquarters. Big red flowers were tied to the frontiers of the trucks, and banners were hung on both sides: "It is my honor to support the frontier, and I am proud to build the frontier."
The people who were leaving had already loaded their limited luggage onto the train and were waiting for the firecrackers to go off. They were rushing to the city to catch the train.
Zhang Xudong brought his family to find his third grandfather and his family.
"Third Grandpa, we're here to see you off. Have you prepared everything?"
Zhang Xudong asked his third grandfather.
"Sister-in-law, Dongzi, thank you, thank you for coming to see us off." Third Grandpa said with red eyes.
"Uncle San, please take care of yourself!" Grandma said to Grandpa San.
"Third Uncle, uncles and aunts, this is He Jingxian, my fiancée. We are here to see you off and let you get to know her." Zhang Xudong introduced her to Third Uncle and the others.
He Jingxian took out the Erguotou prepared by Zhang Xudong from the backpack and said:
"Third Uncle, uncles, this is the gift that Brother Dong and I prepared for everyone. Two bottles of Erguotou for each person. If you get cold on the road, drink some to warm yourself up."
Zhang Xudong took the wine from He Jingxian and handed it to his third grandfather, his two younger sons, Uncle Gen and Xu Liguo's father one by one.
As for the Zhao family, haha, we didn’t see them.
Several families looked at Zhang Xudong's family, speechless, with only sincere gratitude.
This departure may last a lifetime. This meeting may be the last.
What ulterior motives might they have when they give us gifts? They are simply trying to help us.
Heidan and Xu Liguo brought the other five little ones over. They all stood in front of Zhang Xudong and He Jingxian and bowed deeply.
They all shouted in unison, "Meet my sister-in-law."
Perhaps it is this separation that makes these little people mature earlier.
The car horn beeped and the car body began to move slowly, getting faster and faster.
The people in the car waved their hands, tears in their eyes, staring at their relatives who were running after the car, wishing they could carve their figures in their eyes.
The people under the car waved their hands and chased after the car, looking at their relatives who were getting farther and farther away, wishing they could pull them out of the car.
No matter how reluctant people are, the wheels keep rolling and heading towards the unknown distance.
No matter whether this separation lasts forever or not, life must go on.
After Zhang Xudong saw his third grandfather and the others off, he had no interest in staying in the village any longer.
After carrying Zhang Xiyan, whose eyes were swollen from crying, into the car, they said goodbye to their neighbors in the village and went back to the county town.
This farewell made Zhang Xudong depressed for a while.
But before he could completely get over his sadness, another farewell happened that he was even more unexpected about.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
