In the waiting hall.
Old Mrs. Cheng was accompanied by a doctor, a guard, and a nanny, with a pile of luggage following behind. After a while, Cheng Ruzhu came towards them from the door carrying the luggage.
Zhou Jiao looked at her family members around her again and opened her mouth in surprise.
"What? Don't you want me to come over and accompany you?"
"No, no. I'm just worried about delaying your work."
After Cheng Ruzhu sat down, she pulled out a piece of paper from her backpack, handed it to her happily, and winked at her, "Look! Auntie, I have a mission to accomplish."
After taking a quick look, Zhou Jiao handed it back to her. It turned out Cheng Ruzhu worked at the Commerce Bureau. She had never asked anyone else, but now she knew. "That's great. It's so lively with so many people."
Zhou Jiao knew that the other party was most likely worried about the safety of her group. What the hell was that? Headquarters was even talking to a branch office?
Soon, Zhou Jiao no longer had the mind to think about these unimportant things.
Because the relevant staff came over in person to ask them to get on the bus first.
We went directly to the platform through a special passage and got on the soft sleeper compartment.
A series of reception procedures and high-level layout make people clearly feel the solemn atmosphere.
The layout of the soft sleeper compartments in the carriage is different from the soft sleeper compartments I had previously seen from the Northeast.
Zhou Jiao and Zhang Guoqing exchanged glances, a bit puzzled by Old Lady Cheng's identity. However, she glanced at her father, Zhou Xiaozheng, and saw he wasn't surprised at all. Clearly, he'd already known everything, so she didn't dwell on the details. Regardless of the old lady's status, she was now a retired woman. Regardless of her contributions to the country, to him, she was still his aunt.
Zhou Xiaozheng patted his daughter and told her not to be afraid of bothering others and to tell her elders if she had any problems. Don't worry about anything this time, don't be afraid to spend money, just have fun.
Finally, he looked at his son-in-law meaningfully and told him to stay with Zhou Jiao and be careful when he was outside.
Zhang Guoqing smiled and nodded slightly. He knew his father-in-law was worried about Zhou Jiao revealing her secret and asked him to keep an eye on her. Judging by the worry in his eyes, if it weren't for the unusual circumstances, they would have left together long ago.
As the station broadcast sounded, passengers began to board the platform one after another.
Seeing that the time of departure was approaching, Zhang Guoqing stepped back a few steps and turned to chat with the old lady and the others, so as to make room for the father and daughter to have a private conversation.
Even after traveling thousands of miles, we will eventually have to say goodbye. Time flies.
"Woo, woo..." The train whistle sounded, and Zhou Xiaozheng and others who were seeing them off got off the carriage. They stood on the platform, looking at everyone with a smile and shouting, "Be careful."
After waving goodbye to Zhou Xiaozheng, the train slowly started moving. Zhou Jiao stretched out her body and looked at the familiar figure in the crowd of people seeing her off, tears streaming down her face.
Zhang Guoqing was so frightened that he hugged her, grabbed her clothes tightly, and carried her back to the car. At this moment, he was covered in cold sweats. This father and daughter were really hard.
He was always tormented by the look of life and death on their faces. Just now, he saw his father-in-law's right leg was already stirring. Is it really that important that he be back in a few days?
Lin Lishan couldn't see her husband's expression through the window, but she could hear his shouts. Seeing her finally return to the box, she couldn't help but laugh and teased her daughter, "Didn't your dad get in the car with you?"
After saying this, Mrs. Cheng and Gu Mingzhu, who had been watching the lively scene, burst into laughter.
Zhou Jiao took the towel Zhang Guoqing brought and wiped her face. She burst into laughter and glared at her mother. "My dad is a man who does big things. How could he get in a car?"
After she finished speaking, she saw everyone looking at her with teasing eyes, and she smiled and said, "I just remembered that our whole family has left, leaving my dad alone at home. It's so pitiful, and I feel a little sad."
Old Madam Cheng smiled and glared at everyone, "Our Jiaojiao is the best, thinking about her dad. Come on, Xiaowu and Jiaojiao, come and sit down and have a glass of water."
In order to prevent Zhou Jiao from thinking of her father and feeling bad, Old Lady Cheng tried her best.
Every time they passed through a town along the way, the old lady would readily recount famous stories and anecdotes about famous people. She also had a rare ability to tell stories about both the past and the present, and she would combine them with the scenery along the way, making Zhou Jiao reluctant to leave her side.
Not to mention those well-known anecdotes, when told by the old lady, they are so interesting and make people smile.
This trip was much more relaxed and enjoyable than the last one. Everyone shared anecdotes and laughed non-stop. By the end, even the train staff came over during their break to listen in.
When we arrived at the final stop, City S, a soldier and some other people had been waiting on the platform for a long time.
The other party was a middle-aged soldier in his forties. When he saw Old Mrs. Cheng in the crowd, he became very excited and immediately rushed up to her, calling her "old leader."
After being scolded by Old Lady Cheng for changing his address, this rough man still stayed beside her like a child, not saying a word, just smiling foolishly.
After Mrs. Cheng introduced the two parties to each other, she learned that the other party also had the surname Cheng.
After everyone greeted Uncle Cheng, Zhou Jiao paid special attention to Aunt Cheng Ruzhu. She realized this was her first encounter with the man. She more or less understood that this man wasn't a member of the old lady's husband's family, the Cheng family, but rather one of her former subordinates.
Old Mrs. Cheng declined Old Cheng's suggestion to stay at the military guesthouse. She repeatedly asked him to help find a guesthouse near Huaihai Road. She strictly forbade him from publicly announcing his arrival in S City. For her, official business was never to be confused with personal matters. This time, for personal reasons, she had no intention of taking advantage of public resources.
Two military vehicles brought them to the Peace Hotel on Nanjing Road. This was the Hualin Hotel, formerly known as the "First Hotel in the Far East," which opened to the public in 1956 and was renamed the Peace Hotel.
Old Mrs. Cheng stood in front of the car, pointed at the other person, and finally smiled without saying much.
However, she immediately whispered to the staff around her to take the money and follow Lao Cheng's guards to personally apply for a standard room. She knew that once she entered here, the news that she was in S City would be revealed.
Zhang Guoqing and Zhou Jiao looked at each other, both of them feeling surprised and worried about each other. They had come here to deal with the aftermath, and things seemed to have gone wrong as they had expected.
Zhou Jiao lowered her head, considering whether she should contact Wang Dong this time. Then, thinking of the old lady's reticence, she relaxed a little. Since she was already here, she could only act according to circumstances.
Following Mrs. Cheng upstairs, Zhang Guoqing listened to Lin Lishan's introduction to the hotel. He observed the surroundings and noticed that most of the people were foreigners. He found himself there, surrounded by the melodious music, the familiar foreign language, and the well-dressed people. He felt a sense of daze, a familiarity that made him feel like he had traveled back in time.
After returning to the room and putting their luggage away, the group, accompanied by Lao Cheng, went to the Chinese restaurant.
After lunch, the old lady saw that Lao Cheng had already paid for the meal privately, so she smiled and shook her head, and sent Lao Cheng away, asking him to concentrate on his work, and agreed that she would notify him before leaving.
It was already past two in the afternoon when I returned to the room.
The old lady began to change her itinerary, deciding to stay in the hotel for a maximum of three nights before leaving. She was worried about the large number of guests visiting her. Having retired early and having no more time to herself, she decided not to let them interfere with her work.
After she finished speaking, the old lady noticed that when she mentioned three days, Zhou Jiao and her husband both smiled and nodded. She knew that this time seemed to be enough for the young couple to handle the matter.
Taking into consideration the presence of outsiders, the old lady emphasized that they should go for a walk around Hangzhou first, and then go back to S City for two days before returning to Beijing.
She figured that, combined with the last two days in City S, there should be enough time for the young couple to sort things out. She didn't ask what they were dealing with—she instinctively guessed it was probably something to do with her nephew.
After that, the old lady urged Zhou Jiao to keep her breast milk. She happened to be taking a break with the child. While the child was sleeping, she took the opportunity to go to the Bund with Zhang Guoqing.
Finally, feeling uneasy, he asked Cheng Ruzhu and Lin Lishan to go to the department store together first.
Zhou Jiao didn't hesitate to postpone the milking. Time was running out, and if guests came over, she and Zhang Guoqing would attract attention. She ran inside to finish milking, then took Zhang Guoqing's hand, smiling and saying goodbye to everyone as they left.
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