The three people who were eating breakfast in the staff quarters with panda eyes knew nothing about Lin Yaqin’s plan!
The canteen in the government compound was crowded with people in the early morning.
Li Mingyuan was holding a full aluminum lunch box filled with hot porridge and a few steamed buns. He was so sleepy that his eyelids were drooping and he walked out in a daze.
When the crowd squeezed, he subconsciously moved to the side to avoid it, and the lunch box in his hand tilted, and the warm porridge was about to spill out - but he was completely unaware of it.
"Ah, ah, ah! Mingyuan! Hand! Hand! Hand!"
A loud reminder came. Li Mingyuan shuddered and came back to his senses. He quickly held the lunch box steady.
Uncle Ge, who was sitting at the small table at the door drinking porridge, felt relieved when he saw this!
Pointing at his hand, he said, "Kid, did someone take your soul away? If you waste this little bit of food again, the three of you will really have nothing to eat this morning!!"
Looking at the breakfast that was almost reimbursed, he forced a tired and awkward smile on his face: "Oh, thank you so much, Uncle Ge, look at me..."
Uncle Ge narrowed his eyes, sizing him up, then glanced at Shuhang and Shuduo, who were also yawning and had dark circles under their eyes. Uncle Ge smacked his lips and shook his head, his tone a mix of teasing and concern: "Good fellows, I thought you could even fall asleep while walking. Look at the three of you, look at the three of you, did you go steal manhole covers last night? Your panda eyes are almost falling to the ground!"
He sipped his porridge and muttered calmly with the composure of a seasoned veteran, "Young man, you still have to get enough sleep! Don't just rely on your youth to keep working yourself up! At my age, it's hard to get a full night's sleep. That's torture!"
Li Mingyuan felt bitter in his heart, but he could only force a vague smile on his face and nodded repeatedly: "Oh, yes, yes, I understand, Uncle Ge, thank you..."
After saying that, he hurriedly took his two children and found an empty table in the corner of the cafeteria as if he was escaping, and buried his head in dealing with the bowl of porridge that was almost spilled.
Uncle Ge, who was holding a bowl of porridge behind them, looked at the silent and tired backs of the three men and couldn't help shaking his head several times, his gray eyebrows twisted together.
He sucked his teeth and sighed softly to his old friend who was also a security guard next to him: "Hey, did you see that?
Mingyuan... he really can't do without a woman. A grown man, he has to be both a father and a mother, and also take care of all the work at the company, how can he handle it all? It's difficult, it's really difficult..."
These words carry some insight from someone who has experienced this, as well as some genuine sympathy.
It was two o'clock in the afternoon and the sun was shining brightly.
Uncle Ge changed his shift, came down from the gate of the government compound, and slowly strolled to Li Guifang's "Guifangzhai" with a thermos cup in his pocket.
Before anyone even entered the room, a loud voice arrived: "Sister Guifang!"
Li Guifang was counting the bills with her head down. When she heard the voice, she looked up and immediately put on a familiar smile. "Oh! Uncle Ge is off duty! So early today?"
"Of course!" Uncle Ge walked in and approached the counter with familiarity. "I'm on the early shift these past two days, so it's quiet! As usual, for half a pound of jujube paste cakes, you have to pick the ones baked in the oven at the bottom that are golden brown. They smell so good!"
"Don't worry, I'm saving it for you!" Li Guifang responded with a smile, nimbly pulling out the oil-paper bag. "Wait, I'll pack it for you right away. I guarantee it'll be crispy."
As she packed the cakes, Uncle Ge leaned over the glass counter and chatted, and as they talked, they mentioned what they had seen and heard in the cafeteria that morning.
"Hey, sister Guifang, let me tell you something. I saw your uncle Mingyuan and his two children in the cafeteria this morning. What a great bunch!"
He gestured exaggeratedly around his eyes, "The three of us have dark circles equivalent to two big bosses each! They're like circles drawn with ink! I thought we were all beaten up!"
Li Guifang didn't stop moving her hands, and smiled and shook her head: "He must have stayed up late again. He's worried about everyone, big or small."
"Mingyuan is such a grown man, but he was carrying a bowl of porridge and it felt like he was stepping on cotton. He was wobbling and almost spilled the porridge all over himself!
"It's a good thing I was sharp-eyed and yelled, otherwise they would have had nothing to eat this morning." He said, shaking his head with lingering fear.
Then, he smacked his lips, acted like an older brother talking about serious matters, and said sincerely, "I'm telling you! What's wrong with people nowadays? They often stay up late without sleeping, and even bring their children with them!
How can this be tolerated? Not being able to sleep at night and suffering during the day, neither adults nor children can handle it!
Sister Guifang, you have to talk to him. No matter how busy he is at work, he can't mess around with his child, right? "
But he changed the subject, showing some understanding and sympathy, and sighed: "Alas, but then again, Mingyuan has had a really hard time.
The work at the unit was enough to keep him busy, and when he came home he had to play both the role of father and mother, taking care of the two little ones' eating, drinking, defecating, and urinating, as well as their studies. He had to handle everything by himself.
It’s hard to not have someone who understands you and lends a hand… it’s really hard!”
As Li Guifang listened, she slowed down the movement of packing the cakes, the polite smile on her face gradually faded, and her brows furrowed slightly!
She nodded in agreement with what Grandpa Ge said: "Yes, you are right, staying up late is indeed not good. I will definitely tell him off when I see him."
Uncle Ge's serious persuasion was like a hammer, solidifying the doubts in her heart. These three must be hiding something from her!
The three of them were acting very abnormally at the dinner table last night, and she felt something was wrong at the time.
It turns out this is a pretty big problem. I didn’t sleep after I got home last night, and I got three big dark circles under my eyes!
We sent away Uncle Ge, who was carrying a date paste cake and still lamenting how "it's not easy to be the head of the family."
Li Guifang picked up the rag and habitually wiped the already clean counter. As she wiped, her movements slowed down.
What could be so serious that the three of us couldn't sleep together? And so distraught that we almost spilled our breakfast?
The more she thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong, and the more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt, like she was being scratched by a cat.
Looking up at the old clock on the wall, the hour hand pointed to a quarter before four, and the children were about to go home from school.
She took off her apron and called out to the back, "I'm going out to get some fresh air. I'll pick up Shuhang and the others on the way. Keep an eye on the pot!"
She didn't even bother to change her flour-stained sleeves. She grabbed the old cloth bag she usually used to buy vegetables and hurried out of the store.
He walked quickly and decisively, without any delay, heading straight to the Government Primary School.
She had to go pick up the child in person and see with her own eyes what was going on!
Besides, the uneasy feeling in my heart is becoming more and more unbearable!
If she doesn't go and check it out, she won't be able to sleep tonight!
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