Just as they had initially imagined, their only fear was that the adults in the village would discover it. If some selfish people hid it, then their efforts would have been in vain.
There was a knock on the door. Sun Kaicheng and Qian Xiao exchanged a glance. Sun Kaicheng quickly walked into the backyard. Qian Xiao only asked, "Who is it?" when she could no longer see Sun Kaicheng.
"Big sister, open the door." A slightly hoarse voice rang out.
The voice sounded familiar. Qian Xiao quickly opened the door and immediately saw her mother and two younger brothers: "Mom? Why are you back? Come in and talk to me."
"Big sister, big sister."
Qian Xiao glanced at her two younger brothers, who were almost as tall as her: "Come in quickly, did the three of you come back together?"
"Yeah, Dad didn't have time, and Mom said she was worried about you, so she brought us back to visit."
Qian Xiao quickly prepared a basin of clean water for the three of them to wash up quickly, as the train journey was quite unpleasant. Sun Kaicheng probably heard the voices and realized they weren't strangers, as he came straight over from the backyard, carrying a watermelon.
Qian Xiao rolled her eyes inwardly; he was putting on quite a convincing act.
"Auntie, you're back! I happen to have a watermelon here, let's cut it up and eat it together."
Li Guizhi looked at Sun Kaicheng coming out of the backyard, then glanced at her own daughter. These two children are grown up, isn't it inappropriate for them to get along like this?
"Chengcheng, have you been here all this time?"
"No, we opened a gate in the backyard, thinking that if anything happens in anyone's yard, we can come and help. Xiaoxiao just got back from her business trip, and I was thinking of bringing some watermelon over so we can eat together."
"Oh, I'm so sorry, you can keep this watermelon for yourself."
Unless you grow your own watermelon, it's almost impossible to buy one. But how many people would give up growing grains to grow something seemingly useless? That's why it's so expensive. How could they afford to feed their children such expensive food?
"This is such a big one, I can't finish it by myself. Let's eat together. Auntie, have you eaten yet?"
San Dan rubbed his stomach: "Brother Chengcheng, we were in the car last night and haven't eaten anything yet."
Sun Kaicheng had visited the military base a few times with Qian Xiao and had a good relationship with the two lads.
“Perfect timing. I have some noodles over there. Xiaoxiao, why don’t you start the fire and cook some noodles for your aunt and the others to tide them over?”
Li Guizhi had no right to eat other people's food: "No, no, we'll eat whatever Erdan has here." Noodles were a precious food.
“You can’t make noodles for other things, Xiaoxiao, you start the fire, I’ll go get the noodles.”
Qian Xiao's lips twitched. What was wrong with this person, acting like he was the master? "Mom, just wait and eat. I'll give it back to him later."
Looking at my mother and younger brother, I guessed they hadn't eaten their fill in a long time. They were even thinner than the last time I saw them. Eating some refined grains would help them recover.
Li Guizhi had no habit of being waited on. She went to the kitchen with Qian Xiao and was quite satisfied with the clean kitchen. She then pushed aside her daughter and started the fire herself.
Qian Xiao didn't try to argue: "Mom, how did you know where I live?" She remembered that she had given the factory's address when she wrote the letter.
“Your grandma wrote a letter saying that she came looking for you with your two younger brothers as soon as she got off the train. Look at you, you've graduated and you haven't even gone to see your mother. Your mother misses you terribly. How can I not worry when I hear you're living alone out there?”
"What do you mean 'alone'? Sun Kaicheng lives next door. Besides, how powerful is your daughter? Who can bully me?"
"That's not the same. It's not that you're afraid of thieves stealing from you, it's that you're afraid of thieves eyeing you. Can you be on guard every single moment?"
"Oh, you're overthinking it. My grandma and my second and third uncles come over almost every two weeks. All the neighbors know that, so they don't dare to bully me easily."
“I can’t rest easy if I don’t come and see for myself. The school is too far for me to go. This time it’s closer and I can’t sleep well at night if I don’t come and see for myself. I’ll also come back to see how your grandparents are doing.”
“Your two younger brothers are older now, and I dare to take them out with me. A couple of years ago, when they were still little, I really didn’t dare to leave them out alone. What if they got snatched away by a kidnapper?”
"I almost forgot to ask this. Didn't you say that the primary school was going to establish a junior high and a senior high school? How's it going? Did it come to fruition or not?"
"It's done, of course it's done. Back then, the army had just moved there, and there weren't many people who went with them. Even when the school was set up, not many people went to study there. Now that more people are going with the army, there are more children."
"That's good. I was thinking that if all else fails, I could let my younger brother come back to school. I work in the county town, so they won't have to live at school."
"That won't do. You only need to take care of yourself. Your parents are here; do they need you to take care of your two younger brothers?"
"Mother, how long will you stay this time?"
“I’m going back to the village to see your grandparents tomorrow. I’ll stay for a few days and then come back to keep you company. I’ll go back again when your two younger brothers start school.”
Would my father agree?
Her father adored her mother. In the past, he had no choice but to fight everywhere and never had a stable place to live. Now that things had finally settled down, he quickly brought his mother away. This time, her mother had been back for so long, and her father was sure he wouldn't agree to it.
"What's there to disagree with? It's his fault for not having time to come back." He clearly disagrees, but does that mean I'll listen to him?
"Alright, my grandparents have been talking about you and San Dan and Si Dan. They said they haven't seen you in so long and they miss you terribly. Why don't you stay here with me for a while, and we can go back to the village together after I've rested?"
"No need, it's not like I don't know the way. I'll go back first thing tomorrow morning. I miss your grandparents too, and I'll go see your maternal grandparents when I get back."
Qian Xiao shut up. She didn't want to visit her maternal grandparents. Every time she went, they couldn't say anything nice. The year before last, when she went with her parents, she actually had the audacity to suggest that her cousin take her place at university. She didn't know what was going on in her head.
If it weren't for her mother's sake, she would have overturned that family's dinner table right then and there.
Li Guizhi found it amusing but didn't scold her own daughter. Her parents were extremely sexist and had never liked her daughter, Erdan, since she was little. She also tried to avoid Erdan having contact with her parents so that her child wouldn't suffer any grievances.
"Auntie, you must be tired from this journey. Why don't you go out and rest with your two younger brothers? Xiaoxiao and I will take care of things here." Sun Kaicheng returned quickly, probably having been back for a while. He only came in after the mother and daughter stopped talking.
When Li Guizhi saw her daughter scoop a large spoonful of lard into the pot, she felt a pang of heartache. This was such a waste! But she wouldn't say it out loud.
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