On the morning of the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, the day after the Chinese New Year's Eve in Northeast China, a rare and spectacular scene appeared on the platform of the provincial capital railway station.
A dozen or so young men stood in a row, craning their necks and heads to watch a train slowly approaching the station. A soldier was standing in the middle of them.
"Grandpa Zhao, is this the train?"
Zhao Chuangguang was so annoyed by them that he nodded repeatedly, "Yes, it must be."
"Come on, come on, you little ones, stand still, we'll run over there."
"Do you know which car this is? Stay put," Zhao Chuangguang said quickly. "Goodness, so many of you rushed over and scared the passengers getting off the train."
It didn't move, but as soon as the train stopped, the voices shouting the names of the three Ping'an brothers became louder and louder, which made Zhao Chuangguang stare.
Could you please stop being so embarrassing?
As Ping'an stood at the entrance of the carriage, he was stunned by the scene in front of him. He then waved in response, took the hands of his two younger brothers, and followed Xiao Wang and the others forward.
"Are you exhausted? Let's go home with grandpa."
"Grandpa Zhao, I will definitely bring my younger brothers to your house in the future. My grandparents are still waiting, hehe..." Xizi smiled as soon as he saw Zhao Chuangguang speak.
"Yes, why don't you go to the county town together."
Zhao Chuangguang looked at the young men with amusement and asked the three Ping An brothers, "What's your decision?"
Ping An squeezed his hand and said with a smile, "Second Grandpa, wait a moment, I'll ask my brothers first. Brother Xizi, where will your wedding be held?"
"At home." Xizi had already made plans. "Grandpa Zhao, let's take my brothers back first. We'll go back to the city in a couple of days and send them to your place."
Zhao Chuangguang was reluctant to let the children run around with them in the cold weather. "Don't be in a hurry to talk. I want to take them back to see his second grandmother. I will send them back to the village. You guys, hurry up and do your business and go back early."
The bride's family was in the provincial capital, and the wedding was held in Zhangjia Village, not far from each other. Although Zhao Chuangguang wasn't entirely clear on the details of the weddings, the fact that so many young men had rushed to the provincial capital, aside from picking up their three children, was likely primarily to prepare for the wedding.
Zhang Ziwen thought about it and agreed. He had to squeeze into a car with the bride's relatives. Looking at the two soldiers protecting the three Ping'an brothers, he pulled Xizi and said, "I think what Grandpa Zhao said makes sense. Let's move our things first, and then take Ping'an and the others to visit the new house in a few days."
Xizi patted the hats on Liuyi and Wuyi's heads and said, "Then you two should behave well and go home early today. Big brother has hidden a lot of candies for you."
Liuyi nodded and said, "Congratulations, Brother Xizi."
After leaving the station, Zhao Chuangguang took Ping An and the other four into the car and separated from Xizi and the others. After the car drove for a while, he said, "You don't have to go back so early. You can still make it tomorrow afternoon."
Ping An shook his head. "Second Grandpa, we'll leave after meeting Grandma and my uncles. After Brother Xizi's wedding is over, the three of us will come back and stay for a couple of days."
"Are you worried that someone will know that you're coming back to attend the wedding as a favor?"
Ping'an smiled and said nothing.
"Okay, I'll bring you back after the banquet."
Ping An disapproved and asked, "Are you and the other grandpas planning to join in the fun? You should wait until we get married before coming."
Zhao Chuangguang hesitated for a moment, "Really, we don't need to go?"
"No need. You guys should be busy at the end of the year. I thought they would just have a simple party in the company cafeteria, but it's a bit complicated."
Zhao Chuangguang heard what he said, and then saw the two little ones nodding their heads. He smiled happily, but he didn't insist on attending the wedding. However, he had to go to Zhangjia Village anyway, and asked Zhao Dashan to take the favor.
Zhao Chuangguang's wife Huang Huijuan rushed home this morning after attending a meeting at work, saying she was out on business. Before she could catch her breath, she saw the car coming back.
He was so happy that he pulled Ping'an to take a good look at him, hugged the twins and rubbed them, then ran to the kitchen with satisfaction to heat up the snacks he had prepared early in the morning.
Ping An opened the luggage bag and took out the New Year gifts for Zhao Chuangguang's family first. "Second Grandpa, I'll have to trouble you to call my grandfather later. We have arrived safely."
"Okay, I guess your grandpa will call as soon as he gets to work this afternoon. Xiao Wang, you and this comrade should have your IDs with you. I'll take you to pick up the car later."
Ping An didn't interrupt them when they discussed what time to leave. Before coming, his grandfather had already told the three brothers that they could trust their two uncles.
It was already two o'clock in the afternoon when they returned to Zhangjia Village. Unlike summer, there were few pedestrians on the roads of Zhangjia Village due to heavy snow. Ping'an asked Xiao Wang to park the car directly in his yard.
When they passed the old house, the gate was open and they saw people coming and going. The gate to his yard was not locked either, so they parked the car directly in the yard. Ping An took the lead and led the group of five into the main house.
Probably because Zhang's mother knew they were back, the kang in the main room had already been lit. Ping'an went into the east and west wing rooms to take a look, and found that there were no quilts in the other rooms except his parents' bedroom.
This way, he more or less understood that his grandmother had not arranged for relatives to stay in her house. This was good, as he was not used to living under the same roof with strangers.
After spreading the quilts Zhao Chuangguang had asked them to bring in the vacant east room, Ping An let Xiao Wang and the others rest first. On the train, the two uncles had barely closed their eyes to protect them.
Besides, he didn't want any ignorant people to see Xiao Wang and his friend and ask if they could drive over to pick someone up or help out.
You have to know that although they were guards around his grandfather, their status was not low, otherwise they would not have been able to mobilize a military vehicle. Moreover, for the three brothers, Uncle Xiao Wang and Uncle Xiao Zheng, who had watched them grow up, were like family members.
After repeatedly assuring them that they would not leave Zhangjia Village and settling them down, Zhang's mother, who had rushed over after hearing the news, had not yet arrived when the voice rang out.
"Here we are, Grandma. We are inside."
As the three brothers answered, they quickly lifted the door curtain and came into the yard. Their grandmother had barely stepped through the gate when the twins, delighted, rushed towards her.
"Ouch, little ancestor, run slowly, be careful not to fall."
"Grandma, we missed you so much and were just about to go look for you."
The sweetest Wuyi followed up Liuyi's words and said, "Grandma, why are you so thin? I'm so worried about your little grandson." Then he held her hand and said, "Look, you're frozen, right? I'll warm you up."
Zhang's mother laughed heartily. How could she be thin? She had plenty of food and clothing. But her grandson's words were truly sweet. He truly took after his father.
Ping An walked forward and stopped in front of her. "Grandma, my parents asked me to tell you that I'm sorry. They asked you and my grandfather to go back with us after the New Year."
"They're just idiots. What are you sorry for? I know they're busy. Come on, it's cold outside, let's go back to the house and talk. Who drove you here? Did you thank them?"
The twins were holding Zhang's mother on either side. Ping'an, who was standing nearby, smiled and said, "My grandfather asked Uncle Wang and Uncle Zheng to accompany Wan Pingmi here. They didn't sleep on the way here, so I just forced them to rest in the east room. Grandma, let's go to the west room first."
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