Chapter 225 Traveling together
Wu Yong'an frowned as he watched Xia Yi's retreating figure. He knew perfectly well that Xia Yi was clearly after Xu Yirou.
"What is Li Xiang doing? He can't even keep an eye on his wife. He's really getting worse with age!"
Tong Liqun secretly decided that when he had some free time, he would have to go and have a good talk with Li Xiangdi. This daughter-in-law of hers was obviously troublesome and might cause trouble one day.
If you have a daughter-in-law like this, you should beat her until she's terrified, so she won't cause trouble for the family in the future.
He said that Li Xiangdi and Tong Yaozu should never have married Xia Yi in the first place.
Marrying an unvirtuous wife will bring misfortune to three generations.
But then again, Li Xiang's brother himself is also...
Sigh, I'm too lazy to think about it anymore. The more I think about it, the more I feel that I might as well quit being the village party secretary!
"Secretary Tong".
Just then, Wu Yong'an called out to him.
"Director Wu, please speak." Tong Liqun took a deep drag on his cigarette butt before reluctantly tossing it aside.
"After the New Year, Yirou will be going to Beijing with me. Thank you for taking care of me during this time, Secretary Tong. I just wanted to ask you, would you like to come to Beijing with us to see Aiguo?"
Wu Yong'an looked at Tong Liqun; Xu Yirou had also mentioned this matter before.
Wu Yong'an was well aware that without Tong Liqun's protection, Xu Yirou would never have been able to stay peacefully in Bakushu Village and successfully get into Peking University.
Therefore, deep down, he was actually very grateful to Tong Liqun.
Although Tong Liqun always favored the villagers among the educated youth and villagers, he truly did his best for Xu Yirou.
"Go to the capital?!" Tong Liqun was taken aback.
He naturally missed his only son, Tong Aiguo, dearly.
Especially after learning that Tong Aiguo wouldn't be able to come back for the Spring Festival, this longing had nowhere to go.
If he could, he would certainly like to go to the capital to see Tong Aiguo.
The farthest they've ever been is to the county town, and that was only once, for medical treatment.
Apart from that, he has never traveled far from home.
This capital city is a long way away, a place they don't know well. Even if they wanted to go, they were powerless to do so.
However, now that Wu Yong'an is with them, they can actually make a trip to see their son.
Go and see the capital city, the most sacred place in the hearts of the people.
Tong Liqun hesitated for a moment: "Wouldn't this be too much trouble for the two of you?"
These two old folks have never traveled far from home, so they'd really feel bad if they had to trouble Wu Yong'an and the others with anything.
“Secretary Tong, you’re being too polite. These past few days, it’s been you two who have been taking care of Yi Rou. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to concentrate on preparing for the exam. Her ability to get into a good school like Peking University is inseparable from your care.”
Wu Yong'an said with a smile.
"Director Wu..."
"Secretary Tong, please stop calling me Director Wu and just call me Yong'an!"
"Alright, Yong'an, you can just call me Uncle Liqun from now on. Stop calling me Party Secretary. I'll go back and discuss this with your aunt and see what she says."
As they were talking, the courtyard gate was opened from the inside.
It was obvious that Xu Yirou and the others had heard the voices outside.
When she saw Wu Yong'an standing outside, Xu Yirou exclaimed in surprise, "Brother Wu, you've come!"
Seeing that she hadn't put on the military overcoat he'd given her, Wu Yong'an realized she was in a hurry to open the door. He stepped forward to shield her from the biting wind and said, "It's cold outside, let's come inside first."
The three of them entered the room.
The room was warm and cozy with a charcoal fire burning inside, and Xu Yirou thoughtfully prepared a thermos for both Wu Yong'an and Tong Liqun.
After walking in the snow for half a day, their bodies quickly warmed up.
Tong Liqun took the hot water Cai Shuhua handed him, took a sip, and then told her about Wu Yong'an's plan to have the two of them go with them to the capital to see Tong Aiguo.
"Go...go to the capital?" Cai Shuhua was stunned for a moment, then said nervously, "This...Old Tong, I've never been out of the house before. I don't know anything about going to the capital, I don't even know a single word...what if..."
"Don't worry about these things, I'm here for you! Just come with me, you don't need to worry about anything else." Tong Liqun said with some heartache as he looked at his wife's bewildered and nervous expression.
They've been married for most of their lives, though they don't have the kind of passionate, dramatic love that young people have.
But they cherish each other deeply.
They're more like family than lovers.
“Going to the capital will definitely be a lot of trouble, and you’ll be exhausted. You need to be prepared for that,” Tong Liqun said.
His wife had never been far from home either, but just by looking at how listless the educated youth were on their first day in the countryside, she knew that this must be hard labor.
He was afraid that his daughter-in-law would be exhausted.
"Look at what you're saying. Although I'm old now and rarely do manual labor, I've worked in the fields every autumn harvest. In terms of physical strength, I'm no worse than those young people. Those educated youth who came to the countryside, even the men couldn't beat me! It's just a ride, how tiring can it be?"
Cai Shuhua glared at Tong Liqun with annoyance.
The head of her household really looks down on people.
"So, you're going to come along?" Tong Liqun asked.
Actually, he already knew the answer before he even asked.
Their son has never left their side since he was born.
He was gone for several months, and how could his wife not miss him?
Especially after learning that her son wouldn't be able to come back to celebrate the New Year with them, she secretly shed tears for several nights in a row.
Now that I have the opportunity to go to Beijing to see my son, how could I possibly not go?
Xu Yirou also chimed in, "Auntie, why don't you come with us? Don't worry, with Brother Wu and me here, we'll take good care of you."
Cai Shuhua nodded and said, "Of course I'm going! Even if you don't go, I'm going with Yirou!"
In fact, when Cai Shuhua learned that Xu Yirou would be going to Beijing University to register after the New Year, she had already had the idea of going to Beijing with her to see Tong Aiguo.
It's just that I haven't taken the initiative to speak up because of various considerations.
Obviously, since Wu Yong'an and the others had said so, she couldn't possibly refuse anymore.
"In that case, we should get ready. After the New Year, we'll go to the capital with Yirou and Yong'an!"
Upon hearing his wife's words, Tong Liqun immediately made the decision.
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