For the next few days, Lin Lishan drove around collecting and mailing local specialties, busying herself with taking care of Zhou Jiao's five meals a day. As the day of separation approached, Lin Lishan became even busier. Taking advantage of her car, she would go out every afternoon after Zhou Jiao fell asleep, asking around for maternity supplements and looking for them.
The day Zhang Guoqing returned finally arrived. After lunch, Zhou Jiao didn't care and took a nap. The mother and daughter chatted in the house, occasionally paying attention to the movements in the yard.
At the provincial capital's railway station, Zhang Guoqing, along with the senior military commanders, saw off Mr. Lin and his companions, declined everyone's requests to stay, and hurried home.
After getting off the bus from the provincial capital to the county town, Zhang Guoqing did not rush back to the village.
After a detour, I was burdened with more luggage. I hurried home. When I finally set foot on Zhangjia Village, I was overwhelmed with emotion, thinking that I would soon be returning to my familiar home. I was thrilled to see my parents, my wife, and my son.
He had met and made many friends following the old man these past few days, and it was quite rewarding. He wanted to have a good talk with Zhou Jiao and tell her how he felt.
Before he even entered the gate, he saw a group of people working furiously in the foundations not far away. His father was doing all the work himself, and his two brothers were working in their outer clothes, having taken off their cotton-padded jackets. His mother and her sisters-in-law were helping to pour water.
Seeing Zhang Guoqing, Zhang's mother shouted happily and ran over quickly. Zhang Guoqing was so scared that he ran over and held her up.
He was afraid that his mother would fall.
From a distance, the mother and son excitedly rushed towards each other and hugged each other.
A group of men who were working were watching from a distance. When they saw the mother and daughter being so affectionate, they all burst into laughter. They had never seen anything so funny before.
Zhang Guoqing hurriedly supported his mother and complained, "Mom, please don't run. What if you fall? I can't fly, so I'll just wait here."
Zhang's mother looked her youngest son up and down, worried that he had lost weight during these days outside. Hearing the concern in his words, her heart was filled with joy. Look, her youngest son cares about her.
"It's okay, Mom is taking care of it. Have you eaten? I'll make you some noodles. Your mother-in-law just happened to have some chicken soup stewed in the stove. Come in with Mom." As she said that, she ignored Dad Zhang coming over and took his hand and walked home.
Zhang Guoqing followed his mother's footsteps and greeted everyone. Seeing that his uncles and uncles were helping, he hurriedly pulled his mother and took out a pack of cigarettes from one of the packages.
Seeing his father walking towards him, he said, "Mom, wait, Dad is here, let's see what he says."
"Dad, I'm back. I'll come to see you after I finish eating. Don't worry, everything is going well. I'll be back after seeing the old man off at noon." He said to the smiling Dad Zhang and stuffed a cigarette into his hand.
Father Zhang looked at the cigarette in his hand. Daqianmen? Oh, this prodigal boy. He took it out so carelessly, and a whole pack of cigarettes was gone. Behind his back, he glared at him fiercely.
After staring at him, he came back to his senses and laughed again, "Then go eat first, and come back after you've rested. There's no rush. We're all watching here."
Zhang Guoqing and his mother returned home and gave his mother a package. He then took the rest back to the west wing, fearing that Zhou Jiao and the child were asleep and not wanting to shout. Before he even reached the small living room, his mother-in-law, Lin Lishan, came out.
"Jiaojiao, it's really Xiaowu who's back. Xiaowu, come in quickly. Jiaojiao was counting the days last night, saying you'd be back today, and she's been eagerly waiting for you."
After saying that, Lin Lishan left so that she could talk to the couple. She went to the kitchen to see Zhang's mother and prepare something to cook for him to fill his stomach.
Zhang Guoqing laughed foolishly and watched her leave. Without even bothering to wash up, he quickly walked into the inner room, put down his package, and came to the kang.
Seeing Zhou Jiao staring at him eagerly, he felt as if he hadn't seen her for ages. Ever since they got married, they'd barely been apart, except for work. He'd been thinking about her all night these past few days, and now he finally saw her.
"Jiaojiao, did you miss me? I will be back as soon as I see grandpa off. I can't stay in the provincial capital for a moment. It will be fun if we go together next time. Are you not used to it these days? Is my son well behaved? I'll change my clothes first. Now I'm covered in mud and dust. I don't even dare to hug you. Just wait for me for a while, I'll be back soon." After saying that, he blew a kiss to her and went out with the change of clothes and towel in the bag.
Before Zhou Jiao could say a word, she saw him running out in a hurry.
Seeing that he was still quite energetic and his expression was normal, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing her son beside her with his dark eyes open, Zhou Jiao smiled and kissed him, "Baby, your dad is back. Wait for him to come in and ask him to tell her if he has missed us these days?"
Zhang Guoqing came to the well, took off his coat, drew a basin of water and began to wash his face.
Listening to his mother-in-law and his mother chatting in the kitchen, they were laughing out loud, and it seemed that his mother-in-law had adapted to his absence.
After returning to the inner room and changing his pants, he finally felt refreshed. Zhang Guoqing hurriedly hugged Zhou Jiao, kissed her passionately, and reluctantly let her go. He sat on the kang, picked up his son, and seeing that he was still awake, he stared at him with his big, dark eyes, unable to help but laugh.
"Ping'an, you've seen daddy, right? Do you still remember him? Daddy misses our Ping'an very much. When our Ping'an grows up, Daddy can take Ping'an out to play, take Ping'an to see cannons, tanks, and real wooden warehouses. So our Ping'an must grow up well and quickly."
He teased his son and looked at Jiaojiao's face. "Well, not bad. You look much better these days. It seems you still need to nourish yourself. Now that I'm back, I don't have to worry about having nothing to eat. I see the stove in the living room is ready. What have you eaten these days? Is there anything you want to eat? How did you sleep last night? Did Ping'an let you down?"
Zhou Jiao looked at him with amusement, "Don't be impatient, take your time. My mother has been feeding me five meals a day these days. They're all old hens, and I eat rice. I'm eating very well. My brothers installed the stove the day after I bought it, and there are three hundred kilograms of coal briquettes outside. Ping'an is very well behaved, and he's only fed once in the early morning as before. Don't worry, they're all taking good care of your son. My mother sleeps with me at night, and I sleep outside. How are you doing outside?"
Zhang Guoqing held his son in his arms, kissed his forehead, and looked at the expression on his little face with a smile, "It should be five meals a day. Otherwise, you can't bring him back to health. There's no need to treat yourself harshly since your family is rich. At noon, the army officers and I sent grandpa on the train. They are soft sleeper trains with high standards. Grandpa asked us to find time to go to Beijing to play and take Ping An to see grandma. If you need anything, write to him and he will mail it to you. Don't be wronged. There is nothing missing at home." After speaking, he winked at Zhou Jiao.
Zhou Jiao laughed heartily, leaning against him and nudging him with her shoulder. "Now I know where my mom's aura of being rich and having no shortage of money comes from. It's inherited."
The couple were talking to each other. Zhang Guoqing talked about some of the things he had seen in the past. It was fun to listen to, and Zhou Jiao laughed out loud from time to time.
When Zhang's mother and Lin Lishan came in, they saw the two of them laughing happily.
Mother Zhang placed a bowl of noodles on the kang and said, "Big sister, Xiaowu is back. I feel like the house is lively now. Xiaowu, eat some noodles first. We'll have dinner later, so this is a good place to fill your stomach."
Zhang Guoqing gently placed Ping'an on the kang and covered him with a blanket. He quickly stood up, took the bowl and chopsticks, and started eating. He had eaten some buns at noon. After seeing the people off and coming back, he didn't have time to go to the restaurant to eat. After saying goodbye to those people, he took a car directly back.
Zhang's mother looked at her son and said, "Xiaowu, why did you come back with more things? Did you buy some food for Grandpa? I heard that there's nothing good on the train and it's very expensive. The train has been a long journey for three days. Big sister, will today's train reach Beijing the day after tomorrow?"
Lin Lishan nodded. "It's not late. It will arrive at 5 pm the day after tomorrow. The train takes 55 hours from the provincial capital to Beijing, which is almost two and a half days. It was late the day I came from Beijing. It normally arrives at 8 am, but it didn't arrive until after 9 pm. The old man will definitely be home the day after tomorrow evening."
Zhang Guoqing finished the noodles in a few bites, put them aside and said, "There are not many fruits to buy in the winter, so I bought some soft pastries. The old man and his family are in soft sleeper cars, which seem to be better than ordinary soft sleeper cars. They should be specially prepared for the leaders. Is that right, Mom?" After he said that, he looked at Lin Lishan and saw her nod.
Seeing his mother didn't understand what a soft sleeper was, she stood up and gestured, "That soft sleeper is quite nice. It's about the size of a room from the door to here, with two small beds inside and a small table in the middle. There's someone to bring hot water and meals. The stationmaster and the train conductor came to say hello to the old man. Everything is perfect. Apart from the longer time on the train, it's quite comfortable."
Zhang's mother curiously asked about the train. She wondered if it was long, if it was still fast, how many people could fit inside, and if it was faster than a car. She had never even seen a train before, so she was very curious.
Zhang Guoqing explained everything to her one by one, trying to use simple sentences to answer.
"Mom, I'll take you to the provincial capital to see the trains later. Whenever we go to Beijing to visit my mother-in-law, we'll take the train. But you have to know that we can't take the sleeper, we'll just have to sit. Can you stand it for three days?"
Mother Zhang nodded, full of hope. "That's the capital. I wouldn't be afraid of three days, let alone thirty. When I have time, I'll go to the capital with your father. When I was ten, I heard the village patriarch, a successful candidate in the imperial examination, say that he would die with regret if he didn't have the chance to go to the capital. In the end, he never made it to the capital, and he kept talking about the good things about the capital and the people there. I want to know what it is about the capital that makes the patriarch so obsessed with it."
Zhang Guoqing smiled and promised his mother, "I will definitely take you and Dad to visit the capital. But the patriarch of your village, who passed the imperial examination, isn't obsessed with the capital, but with fame and fortune. The next level after the imperial examination is the jinshi, and passing the jinshi exam allows one to become an official. It's like he already has the ticket, but the journey is too long to get through the gate. I don't know when he passed the examination, maybe it was during the fall of the Qing Dynasty, so he couldn't go to the capital."
Mother Zhang laughed heartily. "Silly son, do you think your mother is stupid? Of course I know he kept talking about going to the capital because he wanted to be an official. When the Qing Dynasty was still around, he passed the imperial examination and was so glorious at the time, a juren. But after he passed the examination, his parents died one after another, and he had to observe mourning and couldn't go to the capital. After he finished mourning and was about to go to the capital, something happened. He waited a few more years, and then the Qing Dynasty fell. He often told us kids about the capital, where it was good, and where most people went. I wanted to see those places."
Lin Lishan and Zhou Jiao also laughed when they heard this. How unlucky this was. They finally got the chance to go to Beijing, but their parents passed away. By the time they had fulfilled their filial duties, the world had changed and there was no point in going to Beijing. No wonder they died with their eyes open.
Lin Lishan quickly said to Zhang's mother, "Sister, are you still worried that you won't have the chance to go to the capital? We are all there. If you want to come, just send a telegram and I will pick you up. I'm not in the capital, but my mother is too, and someone will pick you up. I'll go back to the capital for a few days tomorrow and then come back here. How about you come with me and come back together?"
Mother Zhang shook her head and said with a smile, "I won't go with you this time. You should take care of your business first and bring the child's father back to see Jiaojiao as soon as possible. We are still building a house and are busy right now. Next time, we will go to see you with Jiaojiao and the others and take a look around the capital."
"Okay, you'll have plenty of opportunities to come to Beijing in the future. I won't ask you to leave tomorrow. Jiaojiao still depends on you to take care of her."
Zhang Guoqing hurriedly asked, "Mom, are you really leaving? Can't you just wait here? Riding the train back and forth is tiring. Look, today is the 20th, and if you go back tomorrow, you'll arrive in Beijing on the 23rd, and then it'll take another three days to get back. Riding trains like this is unbearable. Grandpa also told you to wait here, and he'll tell Dad. Otherwise, he'll pick you up today and take you back together."
Zhou Jiao also disagreed with her mother riding the bus like this and tried her best to persuade her.
"Don't worry. Your mother is in good health. Besides, it's a sleeper berth, so we can get there just by lying down. Have you forgotten what I said? I'm going to check on your father's work arrangements. What if he confirms everything when he comes back? We need to discuss it carefully and let him know your plans.
If you all get into college in two or three years, there's no point for us in the Northeast. Also, we need to see where your uncle works. What Xiaowu said last time makes a lot of sense. I need to talk to your dad. I can't rely on your grandpa to pass on this message.
I also have to go back and make arrangements for my work before I can take another leave. Also, didn’t you say you missed that calligraphy artist?
Zhang Guoqing and Zhou Jiao exchanged glances, and they really wanted to go back. "Okay, then I'll take Mom away tomorrow. Do you want to book the tickets in advance?"
Lin Lishan shook her head. "No need. You can use my ID to book a sleeper ticket tomorrow. The train is at 10 o'clock, so just go early. Xiaowu, why don't you not send me off tomorrow? I'll drive back and park at the provincial military district, then go to the train station. This will save you the inconvenience of having to take a bus back."
Zhang Guoqing quickly shook his head, looked at his mother, and said to his mother-in-law, "I must see you off in the car tomorrow, otherwise I'll be worried. How about this, tomorrow you go to the provincial capital with my mother, and we'll see her off. I happen to have a car, so I can also take you around the provincial capital.
I've got a lot of extra tickets to the provincial capital this time. It's a good idea for you to go see what you can buy, Mom. Think about it, things must be cheaper in a big city. I happen to have a car, so after we finish exploring the provincial capital, I'll have someone drive us and we can come back together. How about that?
Jiaojiao, I'll have my two sisters-in-law take care of lunch tomorrow. I also happen to have a car, otherwise it would be inconvenient to take you to the provincial capital, so I'm taking this opportunity to go and see what the train is like. What's the difference between the department stores in big cities and ours?
Okay, don't think about it, just make it this way. You sisters can still chat in the car tomorrow, everything is fine."
Zhou Jiao watched him fooling around happily and nodded along with him. Lin Lishan also tried to persuade him.
Zhang's mother finally nodded in agreement. She also wanted to see her in-laws off, and as for buying things, there was no rush, as they were all available in the county town.
Knowing that her in-laws were leaving tomorrow, Zhang's mother quickly pulled Zhang Guoqing out to pack up the mountain products and game, leaving Zhou Jiao and her daughter to chat.
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