339 Looking deeply at her husband's face, she said her final goodbye

Zhou Linglan continued to pack up the things in the house. She put aside some old clothes that she couldn't take away, some leftover food, oil, rice, and flour. She

also packed all the things that she could take on the train tomorrow.

Dinner was stir-fried chicken with sour beans and pig fat and small rapeseed, and a pot of luxurious white rice.

She also baked a pot of sugar cakes to take on the train.

Fu Yuanhang and Mumu came back at dinner time. Zhou Linglan had just finished dinner when they came back.

"Did you pay Uncle Niu for the fare?" Zhou Linglan forgot to pay when she set out.

Fu Yuanhang nodded: "It has been paid. Mumu also gave Uncle Niu a pack of cigarettes and asked him to take us to the station tomorrow morning."

"Mumu, how much is the cigarette? Godmother will give it to you." Although she felt sad that Mumu was so extravagant, Zhou Linglan couldn't say anything since the child had already given it.

Mumu waved his hands and said: "It's free. No one in my family smokes. My father gave me two packs before getting off the bus. He said it was hard currency and could be used when asking people for favors. It is more useful than money. Uncle Niu was very happy to receive it."

Uncle Niu was worried that Mumu didn't know the seriousness of the matter and took the cigarettes from the family and gave them away randomly. He was so scared that he didn't dare to accept it. Usually, if someone gave one cigarette, it would be a big deal. This whole pack was twenty.

Mumu said that his father had cigarette coupons every month, and no one smoked the cigarettes at home, so they were all used to thank people for their help.

Uncle Niu accepted it with great trepidation, and helped the two children all the time.

"Uncle Niu is a good person, go wash your hands and have dinner." Zhou Linglan didn't want to be too formal, she treated Mumu as her own child.

When Zhou Linglan fried the chicken, she also added some basil and green pepper to remove the smell. The sour beans and chicken, which were already very appetizing, had more layers. It was so delicious that Mumu couldn't stop eating.

"Godmother, you and Sister Taozi are really a family, and the dishes you cook are delicious!"

Zhou Linglan picked up some food for him: "If it's delicious, eat more."

After dinner, the three of them took advantage of the dark and moved the things they had packed to Xiaomeizi's house.

Mumu stood at the door of Xiaomeizi's house in silence for a long time.

He didn't live a life of luxury since he was a child, but at least he had enough food and drink.

He knew that Xiaomeizi's family was poor, but he didn't expect it to be so poor.

The yard was surrounded by a fence, and the house was made of yellow mud bricks. There was not even a complete tile on the roof, and it was all patched up with thatch and mud.

It could be said that it was the most dilapidated thatched house Mumu had ever seen.

The furniture in the house was either missing arms or legs, and none of it was good. The walls were also smoked black, and it was not much better than the cowshed he had seen before.

But it was very clean and the things were arranged in an orderly manner.

The three of them put down their things, and Xiaomeizi's grandmother thanked them profusely and asked Xiaomeizi to kowtow to Zhou Linglan.

Fortunately, Zhou Linglan was quick to stop it.

Mumu lent twenty yuan to Fu Yuanhang, and he still had thirty yuan left. He felt the money in his pocket and felt very uncomfortable.

The three of them left the hut and walked a short distance. Mumu suddenly ran back.

"You go first, I want to talk to Xiaomei's grandmother."

"Mom, you go back first, I'll go and take a look." Fu Yuanhang was worried and followed.

Back to the hut, Mumu stuffed ten yuan into Mei's grandmother's rough hand.

"Grandma, this is the pocket money I earned from working part-time during the summer vacation. It is not money given by the adults at home. It is for Xiaomei's study. When Xiaomei grows up and earns money, she can return it to me. Ah Hang and I will come back every year."

He did not say he gave it, he said he borrowed it.

Mumu felt that if he said he gave it, Xiaomei's grandmother would definitely not accept it.

They don't need charity.

Xiao Meizi's grandmother still insisted on not accepting it. Xiao Meizi took the money and stuffed it back to Mumu.

Mumu's eyes were dark and bright, and he looked at Xiao Meizi seriously:

"If you are worried, please write me an IOU. Ah Hang knows that no matter how much money I have, I can't keep it all. I will spend it all. I can save some by lending it out.

I will come to borrow some money from you every summer or winter vacation. If I save it for a few years, maybe it will be enough for me to get married in the future."

Xiao Meizi, Xiao Meizi's grandmother, and Fu Yuanhang: "..."

What else can Fu Yuanhang say? She had no choice but to nod: "He worked part-time in my sister-in-law's factory to earn pocket money, and his brother and parents would also give him pocket money regularly, most of which he spent."

Xiao Meizi looked at Mumu's sincere eyes and thought that in order to support her schooling, grandma was reluctant to spend money on eggs at home and took them to the supply and marketing cooperative to exchange for money.

She could not eat them, but grandma was old, so it was good for her to eat eggs to supplement her diet.

Xiao Meizi held the money in her hand: "Then shall I write you an IOU?"

Mumu nodded with a smile: "Go ahead, I'm not in a hurry to use it. The longer you save it for me, the better. Do you know?

Sister Taozi's factory is recruiting workers, and many positions will give priority to high school graduates. The monthly salary is dozens of yuan, so you don't have to rush to pay me back. Spend it when you should. You will need money to buy books and stationery in the future. Wait until you graduate from high school, pass the exam to become a worker, and make money, then you can pay me back in no time."

Xiao Meizi knew that Mumu was helping her, including Zhou Linglan and Fu Yuanhang, they were all helping them.

Xiao Meizi did not refuse their kindness. With tears in her eyes, she smiled and nodded: "Okay."

...

Mumu walked backwards, flicked the IOU against the moonlight:

"This little girl's handwriting is pretty good. Why do I feel it looks familiar? Hey, it looks a lot like your handwriting. Wow, you have a good ability to imitate."

"I'll give you the money when I get back." Fu Yuanhang said.

"Why are you giving me the money I lent out?" Mumu asked in confusion.

"How are you going to explain to Aunt Zhong when you get back?" Fu Yuanhang asked.

Mumu grabbed Fu Yuanhang's neck and said, "Are you stupid? How could Zhong know my dad's private money? She didn't even know that my brother gave her money. She still didn't know that I saved my own pocket money. She thought I spent it all.

Don't think our Zhong is stingy. In fact, she is sometimes quite generous. She gave my dad pocket money, and when my dad asked her about it, she gave it back again. She didn't even remember giving it to him. Otherwise, how could my dad save his private money?"

Mumu's family was very nice. Fu Yuanhang smiled and said, "Okay."

Mumu looked serious for the first time: "Ahhang, before coming to Xiaomeizi's house, I really didn't know people could be so poor. My father's relatives in his hometown were not rich either, but at least they had a roof over their heads. This is the first time I've seen such a shabby house."

Fu Yuanhang looked at the mountains in the distance and said: "In fact, many people in the village live like this, maybe they just live in a slightly better house. If I didn't have my brother and sister-in-law, I wouldn't be much better than her."

Mumu tightened her arms: "Hey, hey, you make it sound so pitiful, who gave my sister-in-law Taozi tens of dollars to buy clothes?"

Fu Yuanhang smiled and didn't respond to Mumu's words.

The kindness of my sister-in-law cannot be measured by money.

...

I still packed up everything when I went back at night and reduced the things I brought to the minimum.

There was still some food left, so Zhou Linglan asked Fu Yuanhang to deliver it to the cowshed at the back.

However, no matter how Fu Yuanhang knocked on the door, there was no response.

Instead, a neighbor at the back said, "No need to knock. The people inside left early this morning."

"Gone?" Wasn't Teacher Cao demoted and unable to leave Qinglian Village?

He went back to tell Zhou Linglan the news.

Zhou Linglan didn't say anything, but asked him to deliver the remaining food to Xiao Meizi.

The next morning, the three of them got on Uncle Niu's tractor and headed to the station.

Before leaving, Zhou Linglan took Fu Yuanhang to the statue of Fu Lei.

She used Fu Lei's favorite inkstone to press the note with the address and contact information, and looked deeply at her husband's face, saying her final farewell.

After getting on the car, Zhou Linglan looked at the small mountain village where she had lived for nearly 30 years, which was getting farther and farther away, and she was reluctant to look away until it was completely out of sight...