He chuckled at Li Jianguo.
Li Jianguo grabbed his luggage and headed out of the station: "Alright, there are too many people at the station, let's talk at home!"
While leading the way, he kept saying to Xu Ningyan, "After receiving the telegram, Lin Hong cleaned up the yard where you live. Your aunt went out yesterday to air out all your bedding and washed the sheets and blankets. You can move in as soon as you get back."
"And your lackey, hey, he's practically a spirit, incredibly perceptive! When he saw Lin Hong cleaning your yard, and probably even overheard her mentioning that you were coming back, he absolutely refused to go back to her house with Lin Hong! He just stays in your yard every day, and Lin Hong has no choice but to bring him food three times a day! She says she's raised a grandpa dog, a real ancestor!"
"I've distributed everything you sent back from the Northwest last time, just as you said in your letter. The rest I've put in your room; go back and unpack them yourself!"
Xu Ningyan followed behind, and as Li Jianguo kept talking, she relaxed completely.
“You were away for a bit too long this time! Although you were supposed to be cooperating with the Northwest Military Region, you didn't keep your trip to Beijing a secret, and quite a few people know about it! When you go back to work tomorrow, I expect a lot of people will gossip! Just ignore it! But you should still pay a visit to those leaders to thank them, after all, they did you a favor—”
Xu Ningyan knew that Li Jianguo was giving her a hint: "Uncle Jianguo, I understand. I'll listen to you!"
Li Jianguo nodded in satisfaction.
After exiting the station, Li Jianguo parked his bicycle in the parking shed. Lin Hong was looking around in the parking shed when she saw the two of them and waved.
Although some of Xu Ningyan's belongings were still on their way, she brought back quite a lot of luggage, two large bags in total.
The items were all placed on the back seat of Li Jianguo's bicycle and tied tightly with rope.
Xu Ningyan jumped onto the back of Lin Hong's bicycle and put his arm around her waist: "You haven't seen me in so long, did you miss me?"
Lin Hong rolled her eyes in annoyance: "I've missed you so much! If you don't come back soon, your lackey will be waiting for you until he's worn out and turns into a stone statue!"
After making a brief complaint, Lin Hong quickly moved on to the topics she was most interested in: "Is Beijing fun? Is it big? How much bigger is it than our county? Is it exactly like what the books say? Have you been to Tiananmen Square? The Great Wall? The Imperial City? Is Beijing really like the song says, with its mountains of gold..."
Xu Ningyan didn't know which question to answer for a moment.
After thinking for a moment, he said, "The capital city is fun! And it's huge! One district is bigger than our county town..."
As Lin Hong listened to Xu Ningyan's story, she slowed down her pedaling, focusing most of her attention on Xu Ningyan's description of the capital city, her eyes sparkling with longing.
In this day and age, who doesn't yearn for Beijing? Who doesn't want to visit the heart of the nation's capital, see Tiananmen Square, climb the Great Wall, and meet the top leaders?
Li Jianguo, who had originally ridden ahead, slowed down and listened intently as Xu Ningyan talked about the capital.
Xu Ningyan was already eloquent, and when she talked about the capital, she did so vividly. Li Jianguo and Lin Hong listened with rapt attention the whole way.
After dropping Xu Ningyan off at her place, the two were still reluctant to part. They agreed to continue the presentation at the department store the next day. Only then did they help put their things down and rush back to work.
The lackeys had been waiting in the yard for a while, and stood up alertly as soon as they heard the noise.
The familiar footsteps, the familiar smell, and the familiar voices came from outside the yard, and the lackey immediately became excited.
As soon as Xu Ningyan entered the door, it pounced on her, its tail wagging so hard it seemed to spiral upwards.
After Li Jianguo and the others left and the courtyard gate closed, Xu Ningyan finally relaxed completely and hugged the lackey for a while, stroking it: "Oh, lackey, I've missed you so much! Let your big sister hug you and stroke you!"
The lackey nuzzled its head affectionately against Xu Ningyan's hand while making affectionate whimpering sounds, essentially saying, "Human, why are you only coming back now?"
After being affectionate for a while, Xu Ningyan took out a large beef bone from her spatial storage and tossed it to her lackey to gnaw on. She then looked around at the small courtyard she had left more than a month ago.
The small courtyard was well-maintained by Sister Wu from Lin Hong and Li Jianguo's family.
Especially that vegetable garden, which is still lush and green.
The autumn cucumbers, autumn loofahs, eggplants, and peppers on the trellis were all laden with fruit, and there were hardly any weeds in sight.
It must have been watered last night, as the ground is still a little damp.
There was no sign of the desolation caused by the absence of its owner.
Taking a deep breath, the familiar air and familiar surroundings, Xu Ningyan stretched and began to go inside to pack her luggage.
The lackey, carrying a cow bone, didn't go far, but lay down at the bottom of the steps, guarding the door, as if afraid that Xu Ningyan would leave again.
Xu Ningyan entered the house and found it spotless. The windows were open, and the bed was covered with freshly washed and dried sheets and blankets. The jasmine in the corner of the yard was in bloom, and a faint fragrance wafted through the air.
Xu Ningyan washed her face and hands with water and took out her luggage and arranged it neatly.
Aside from my own clothes and daily necessities, the rest were food and some light local specialties.
After tidying up, Xu Ningyan was covered in sweat. She went to the kitchen and saw that the water tank was full and the firewood was neatly piled up.
I originally planned to boil water for a bath first, but after being busy for so long, I'm actually hungry.
Let's just cook something first.
I simmered a pot of cured pork, potato, and rice, then picked two tender autumn cucumbers from the garden, smashed them, and made a cucumber salad with minced garlic.
Another dish of stir-fried autumn chili peppers and autumn eggplant, and a loofah and egg soup.
Xu Ningyan didn't cook a large portion, and she was hungry. After more than a month away, returning to the place where she was born and raised, and eating vegetables from her own garden, she had a great appetite.
Besides giving half of the cured meat, potato, and rice to the lackey, and mixing half of the loofah and egg soup for it, Xu Ningyan finished the rest.
Clutching her round belly, Xu Ningyan was stuffed.
I chewed some digestive tablets and strolled around the yard a couple of times before I could finally bend down to wash the dishes.
After washing dishes, boiling water, and taking a bath, it was already afternoon by the time I finished.
I took a short nap, and then I heard someone knocking on the door.
As Xu Ningyan expected, Lin Hong had just finished get off work and came straight here without even going home, carrying two lunchboxes: "I'm not going home tonight, I'll sleep with you and listen to you tell me about things in Beijing! You don't need to cook, I've already gotten food from the state-run restaurant, the head chef's specialty braised pork, come and try it—"
They diligently arranged the lunchboxes.
Just as they finished setting the table and I picked up my chopsticks, the courtyard gate rang again. Pushing it open, Zhou Zi'an walked in with a helpless expression, unable to resist complaining, "Have you forgotten that we already agreed to eat at my mom's today? I went to pick you up as soon as I got off work, but I heard you ran off as soon as it was time, and when I got home I didn't see you, so I guessed you were here—"
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