Jinan bears the footprints of her childhood, youth, middle age, and old age. Now, the more places she travels to, the more she understands what she missed in her past life.
After her second marriage, she only wandered around the neighborhood and rarely even left the community. Jinan's development had long since left her far behind.
The label of "housewife" confined her to the small space of her home and the small kitchen, isolating her from communication with society.
This is her biggest regret. In this life, she is determined to go out into the world, not just to Jinan, not just to China, but also to go abroad. The world is so big, and she wants to see it!
After returning home, Chen Hong first called Guoqing and arranged to bring her child to visit him after school in the afternoon.
When Guoqing heard Chen Hong say on the phone that she would be staying in Jinan for an extended period, Chen Hong could tell he was very happy. She told Guoqing and Chen Hong that they must have dinner at home that night before hanging up.
After hanging up the phone, Chen Hong began preparing things for her visit. Since she wasn't going out to eat, she planned to bring some fish, shrimp, and fruit that she could eat at home.
Bring two groupers, but they cannot be live! You can bring two live lobsters, and eight crabs!
The village chief often sends them dried fish, dried shrimp, and other dried goods, so she stops sending them.
The fruit in the space could be delivered, and Chen Hong chose common varieties found in supermarkets: grapes, bananas, durians, mangoes, lychees, and rambutans.
There are cheap ones and expensive ones, and this combination is not conspicuous and is also presentable as a gift.
Knowing he loved to drink, she brought four bottles of wine, plus two bottles of honey. Chen Hong looked at the contents; there were three large boxes, which wasn't a small amount.
It wouldn't be appropriate to bring too much, as the first visit was already quite formal. Next time you visit, just bring some fruit or seafood; we're family, so the gifts don't need to be excessive, anything simple will do.
After tidying up her things, Chen Hong went back into her space. The vegetables she had planted, such as cabbage and radishes, had all sprouted.
Those that have been transplanted will need to wait two more days. Cabbage, radish, cilantro, and celery all need to be thinned out.
Farming is much easier; Chen Hong planted sparsely, so there was no need to thin the seedlings.
She bought rice and millet seeds online, but they haven't arrived yet. She plans to plant some dryland rice and millet.
She planned to grow both rice and millet to live a self-sufficient life during the years her children were in school.
In the afternoon, she drove to pick up her child from school and went directly to Guoqing's house.
Guoqing Ge rents a place in an old neighborhood near the city outskirts. The road becomes difficult to navigate once you turn into the neighborhood from the main road.
It's a typical old and dilapidated housing area. Brother Guoqing was worried she wouldn't be able to find her way home, so he was already waiting to greet her at the entrance of the alley.
He didn't realize it was Chen Hong and her daughter when he saw them driving up.
Chen Hong parked her car next to him, rolled down the window, and asked, "Brother Guoqing, how long have you been waiting here?"
Wang Guoqing only realized that Chen Hong was the one driving when he heard her call him.
He opened the car door, got into the passenger seat, and directed Chen Hong to continue driving forward. It took another six or seven minutes before they arrived at his rented place.
It took another five minutes to find Fang Huitou, park the car properly, and then lead Chen Hong and her daughter to lock the car and go home.
Chen Hong opened the trunk and let him carry one box of things. She carried two boxes herself, and the three of them went back to Guoqing's house together.
Chen Hong remembers that the place where he lived used to be a rural area, but now that the city has expanded, it has become part of the urban area.
Once inside the courtyard, Chen Hong realized that their house was a collective building constructed by the village.
There are only three floors, and his family lives on the top floor, which is only about fifty square meters.
It's a two-bedroom, one-living room, one-bathroom apartment, not very big. There are four units per floor, and he said the third floor is better, with access to the rooftop to dry clothes and bedding.
On summer evenings, one can also go up to the rooftop to cool off. Hearing his satisfied words, Chen Hong smiled.
Isn't this the same as building your own house in the countryside? You use a cement roof to dry crops, clothes, and bedding, and to enjoy the cool air on summer nights.
However, when renting a house, the price and the convenience of picking up and dropping off the children at school are definitely the first considerations.
Isn't this the living environment for all migrant workers in big cities? Who wouldn't want to live a better life if they had money?
As soon as they entered, Guoqing's wife and Yiming warmly greeted them. Yiming even held onto Yu Yang's hand tightly.
Yiming is already in fifth grade and will be taking the junior high school entrance exam in a little over a year. Although the elementary school he attends is not a key school, the teaching quality is still quite good.
When Guoqing's sister-in-law saw how many things Chen Hong had brought, her smile widened, and she kept saying:
"We're all family, why are you being so polite? We're happy you came empty-handed, but please don't be so formal in the future."
You and your brother Guoqing sit there and have some tea; my meal will be ready soon.
Chen Hong wanted to go into the kitchen to help, but she wouldn't let her, saying, "The kitchen is too small; there won't be enough room for another person."
Chen Hong glanced at it and realized that the area was indeed too small, only about three square meters, not enough for two people to fit inside.
She had no choice but to hand the box containing the fish and shrimp to her sister-in-law, saying, "These are all fresh fish and shrimp. Take a look, eat what you can, and put what you can in the refrigerator. Don't let them rot."
It's so hot today, let's keep it simple. We're not strangers, just make a couple of dishes and have a bite to eat.
Don't make it too lavish; there are only a few of us, we can't finish it all and it'll go to waste, plus we can't store the leftovers.
Guoqing's wife readily agreed and carried the box into the kitchen, while Chen Hong first toured his house.
It's really too small. Having gotten used to living in a big house, moving into such a small house feels cramped and uncomfortable.
Guoqing poured Chen Hong a cup of tea and pulled her to sit down for a chat. "My dad called a few days ago and said that you were going to bring Yu Yang to Jinan for school. I thought you would come to visit before the start of the semester!"
Why are you only coming now that your child has started school? Are you unwilling to visit your brother? I didn't even recognize you when you drove up.
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