After hanging up the phone, she called Qiu Dashu again, "Third brother, it's me... Well, everything is fine, my parents have already packed up... The day after tomorrow? Then I'll send a car to pick you up..."
"Hello, sister-in-law, it's me... Brother hasn't come back yet?... It's okay, I just wanted to tell you that the journey is long, so you can stay home with your uncle and aunt... It's okay, there's a long way to go... Yeah, Yeah..."
"Hello, I'm looking for Qiu Dashan. Could you please tell him to call the Zaohua Factory back at noon... Okay... Thank you!"
What she didn't expect was that this year her fourth aunt and fourth uncle also planned to come back, although not for her.
But these two people are relatives who have given her great care during her growth, so she naturally has to fulfill her duties as a host.
Because her fourth uncle's motorcade was always going back and forth, her grandmother would often go to her fourth aunt's place to help out, so much so that this was the first time that Li Qingju had come back after being married for many years.
As soon as Qiu Yuling picked someone up at the train station, she burst into tears. "Yuling, you've grown up now. I receive your photos every year, but in my heart I always think of you as a child. I never thought our Yuling has grown up already."
Li Qingju sniffed and wiped her tears. She was so shocked by the changes in Wu City that she opened her mouth wide. "So many buildings? It's like a big city. I remember when I left a few years ago, it was still the same..."
As she spoke, she gestured with her hands, saying that the bus station was leaky on all sides, and she had to take a shuttle bus, a train, and then a truck to get into the base.
"It's much more convenient now. I can get here in one go, and there are no shuttle buses running back and forth. It's so convenient."
Qiu Yuling waited until her excitement had subsided before picking up her luggage. "Auntie Four, go to my place first. Uncle Four will be back the day after tomorrow. His car is big, so you can put all your stuff in the bed. I'll take the people..."
"The day after tomorrow? I can't wait for him. I finally made it back and plan to go home today. I haven't seen my eldest and second brothers in years. Good kid, just take me directly to the shuttle bus. I'll come to your place when I come back."
Li Qingju couldn't wait even a minute longer, she wished she could fly back.
But Qiu Yuling couldn't just leave this mess behind and send people back today.
Seeing that Qiu Yuling was still in a dilemma, the driver volunteered to put the things into the car and said, "Please get in the car first and rest for a while before leaving. Our factory director has a meeting this afternoon. I will drive you while she is in the meeting. Let's go for a walk around the city first."
Let me show you the specific changes here. Look, this and that are the branches of Zaohua Factory. This is the Family Planning Branch, which was expanded by incorporating the original Cotton Mill. And look over there, that is the Installation Branch.
We also have a small military airport, designed and built by our Zaohua engineers... Look over there, those two tallest buildings are our Zaohua employee welfare housing...
All of this is thanks to our factory director. In recent years, our Zaohua has developed well in the province and even the country. Our factory director often goes out for academic exchanges. People outside envy us so much..."
Xiao Zhao, no, now he should be called Director Zhao. He knew that the person he was meeting today was Qiu Yuling's fourth aunt, and he also vaguely knew that the man was a high-ranking officer in the army. When he saw him today, he immediately judged the closeness of the two people based on their brief contact.
Thinking that the factory director should not brag in front of his elders, he spontaneously began to publicize it.
Qiu Yuling tried to interrupt several times, but was interrupted by her fourth aunt's exaggerated "Ah? Ah! Oh? Oh!", so she simply shut up and kept a calm face. Although it was a bit exaggerated, it was not too exaggerated.
Fourth Aunt gently squeezed her niece's hand and whispered, "It must be very hard!" Managing a household was already exhausting for her, and just thinking about her niece's rise from a grassroots to such success today, she knew how much hardship and suffering it contained that ordinary people could not imagine.
If what the driver said happened to someone else, she might think it was bragging, but her niece was the most simple and down-to-earth person. She would never exaggerate the above things, and might even exaggerate two things into one.
"Ah? It's okay. I just did it without thinking." Qiu Yuling didn't expect her aunt to react like this at first. She felt sorry for her!
Li Qingju didn't say anything, but just pinched the fingers wrapped in her rough palm from time to time. She knew what was going on.
"Oh, big sister, how are your parents? They keep saying everything is fine in their letters. I don't know if they're lying to me.
I remember that my eldest sister had arm pain, and my eldest brother-in-law had legs pain too. They would feel weak when the weather got cold. I was worried that you would get cold, so I asked people to exchange your cotton for camel wool every year..."
"It's fine. They are all fine. My parents are fine, my uncles are fine too. They are just worried about you. I will have dinner with you and my cousin later. I will ask Xiao Zhao to take you back first. I will go back after I finish my work.
Oh, my fourth uncle?"
"Never mind him. He's on a mission. He should be with Dahe and the others. They're all doing fine..."
"Is my eldest cousin also with my uncle and the others?"
"I think so. I'm not really sure. Family members are usually not allowed to ask too much about what's going on there. Did you see that? When his eldest brother was mentioned, the brat got angry and complained that he couldn't go..."
"My little cousin hasn't graduated yet, right?"
"Your cousin is asking you a question. This child, I don't know who he inherited this personality from, he doesn't like to talk. But since he was little, grandma has been taking care of him most of the time, so he talks a lot when he sees grandma.
They were supposed to be having some kind of training session, but when they heard we were coming to see grandma, they immediately wanted to follow me back..."
Zhou Mingrui's impression of this cousin has always been based on various hearsays. Today is the third time he has seen her since he can remember.
She looked the same as he remembered, but her aura was completely different. He had intended to exchange a few words with her like an adult, but his mother talked too much and there was no chance for him to get a word in.
But his mother turned the tables and accused him of being quiet...
"Cousin." He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw his mother and cousin looking at him with smiles. Zhou Mingrui called out, then turned his face away embarrassedly and looked away.
"See, I was right, wasn't I? This brat is just like that, haha. By the way, when is your meeting this afternoon? Will it interfere with your work?"
Qiu Yuling looked at her watch. There were still two hours left. "Don't delay. I'll go get something for you and Mingrui. We can talk for a while. I'll go to a meeting later. Xiao Zhao will take you back."
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