A short while later, Liu Zi met everyone at the exit.
"Mother!"
"mom!"
The two children, who looked like little adults, immediately ran over happily upon seeing Liu Zi.
Liu Zi quickly squatted down and hugged the two children into her arms.
She misses them so much too!
After kissing their two daughters, the parents and Aunt Zhang approached.
"Was the journey smooth?"
"It's alright, but I was a little nervous during takeoff and landing," Aunt Zhang said, patting her chest.
"It's normal, everyone experiences this. As long as you don't get airsick or throw up, it's fine," Liu Zi reassured her.
"I didn't throw up!"
"That's good. We'll book a flight when we get back; that'll be faster." Liu Zi smiled, pushing the luggage and leading everyone out.
"It's really fast. We were in Beijing this morning, and just a few hours later we were in Anshi, a thousand miles away," Liu Daqiang exclaimed.
"It's just too expensive. One plane ticket can buy three train tickets, and even the price for a child isn't low," complained Liu's mother, Xu Mei.
"Is it worth trading money for time and safety?"
There are too many lost children on trains these days, and Liu Zi doesn't dare to take the risk. Even with a lot of people around, there are always times when someone is mistaken, and she can't bear to suffer another blow like that.
"Let's hurry up, I've driven here. Let's go back to the hotel and rest! You must have gotten up very early this morning!"
"That's right, none of us have much experience flying, so we just wanted to come early so we wouldn't be late." Xu Mei and the others got up before dawn and spent the whole morning getting ready.
"Didn't my dad sit in it before?" Liu Zi asked, puzzled.
"I used to travel by business jet, always going out with my superiors. I had a personal escort, and the checks weren't too strict. The car would drive right up to the plane," Liu Daqiang explained.
"Wang Jian helped us get our tickets, checked our luggage, and even took us to the security checkpoint. Otherwise, we would have just been wandering around the Capital Airport! The newly built airport is so big, it's easy to get lost." Xu Mei praised Wang Jian a couple of times.
Anshi Airport had not yet been renovated, and the group walked out of the terminal building as they talked.
"This car is nice!" Liu Daqiang circled the car that Liu Zi had driven twice.
"Knowing there are many of us, they specially borrowed a big one from them." In Liu Zi's eyes, this car was just a large van, with nine seats, and quite spacious.
"Okay, this is much more convenient." After Liu Daqiang was satisfied with the car, he began to look around.
"This airport used to be a military airport, but it's been converted to civilian use now. Although there are many more buildings around it, I still remember the shape of that mountain," Liu Daqiang said nostalgically.
"This is Shangdu District, I don't know if it's the one you're talking about." There were no electronic maps yet, so Liu Zi specially bought a paper version before coming.
"It wasn't called that back then; it must have been renamed later." Liu Daqiang hadn't been back for twenty years, and things had changed quite a bit.
"Alright, you two stop reminiscing, Qiqi is about to fall asleep," Aunt Liu Xu Mei called out from beside the car, holding the swaying child.
"Okay, let's go right away." Liu Daqiang immediately loaded the luggage into the car. His wife's temper had gotten much worse recently, and he didn't dare to offend her.
Liu Zi also sat in the driver's seat and handed the map to her father. It would be a joke if a veteran reconnaissance soldier couldn't even understand a map.
Liu Zi circled the hotel's location, and Liu Daqiang quickly found the route and immediately began directing Liu Zi in the right direction.
Having directions makes things much faster. Before coming, Liu Zi asked many people and stopped twice to check the map, mainly because she was afraid of getting lost.
In just over half an hour, they arrived at the hotel that Liu Zi had booked.
Liu Zi booked two more rooms next to hers, one for her parents and one for Aunt Zhang.
"I have to write tonight and I didn't want to disturb the old lady and the children, so I booked another room for you. The children can stay with whomever they want," Liu Zi explained.
Qiqi was fast asleep by now. Liu's mother put the child on the bed, then rubbed her sore arms and said, "This bed is so soft, I'm afraid your dad won't be used to it."
"It's okay, if I can't sleep, I'll sleep on the floor. The floor is quite clean." Liu Daqiang walked to the window, marveling at the changes in Anshi City, noting that there were even such high-end hotels now.
"Why are you sleeping on the floor when you have a bed?" Xu Mei exclaimed.
"I'm afraid of back pain, so I prefer to sleep on the floor. Besides, this is an apartment building, so it's not damp," Liu Daqiang explained.
"Whatever, I'm going back to my room." Xu Mei rolled her eyes and pushed her luggage away.
"I'll push it, you go open the door." Liu Daqiang quickly followed.
Aunt Zhang watched the couple's retreating figures with envy. A young couple can grow old together; her husband had passed away too soon.
"Zizi! This time when I go back, I want to go back to my hometown to visit your grave. Your uncle's death anniversary is coming up soon, and I want to go back and see him."
"Okay, if I don't have time, I'll find someone to go back with you, so you can look after each other on the way." Liu Zi understood perfectly. Aunt Zhang had been with her for almost a year, and it was only natural for her to go home and visit.
Aunt Zhang hesitated, feeling that it was enough for her to go back home and not trouble Liu Zi and the others.
"Let's talk about this when we get back. You should enjoy your time in Anshi first." Liu Zi understood and quickly changed the subject.
"Lingzi, do you want to sleep here, or go to Mom's?" Liu Zi asked her eldest daughter in a low voice.
"Mom, I want to sleep with you." Lingzi's eyes were also getting tired.
"Okay."
Liu Zi, holding her daughter's hand, came out, explained the location of her room to Aunt Zhang, and then they each went back to their rooms.
Lingzi is very self-reliant. She went to the bathroom to wash her face and hands, took off her clothes, and climbed onto the big bed that smelled like her mother. She rubbed her little face against it, and then she fell asleep in no time.
When Liu Zi came out of the bathroom, she saw her daughter already asleep. She looked exhausted. She pulled a blanket over her and then returned to her desk to continue writing.
Now that her field trip is over, she needs to organize her thoughts and reflections as soon as possible to provide richer material for her future creative work.
Before she knew it, it was getting dark. It wasn't until she heard a noise at the door of her room that Liu Zi came back to her senses.
Liu Zi rubbed the bridge of her nose, stretched, and looked back.
Lingzi was sleeping soundly, like a little pig, and the blanket had been kicked off.
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