When Qian Jinshu and his son returned to their hometown, they looked at the yard full of cobwebs and dust, and felt mixed emotions.
The house was empty, without a trace of life, the doors and windows were closed, the yard was overgrown with weeds, and the former bustling atmosphere was long gone.
Qian Lei opened the door to the living room and carried his luggage in.
The father and son began to clean. Qian Jinshu looked at the old house with a mixture of emotion, "Leilei, I've decided to stay here and not go anywhere else.
Anyway, I can take care of myself now."
"Okay," Qian Lei responded.
Instead of letting his father suffer from his aunt's bullying in the city, it would be better for him to return to his hometown. His great-grandfather and others will not ignore his father.
"Dad, after the New Year, I'll go collect the remaining luggage."
Qian Jinshu shook his head. "No need. They are all worthless things. Ask your aunt if she wants them. If she does, take them yourself. If not, just let the landlord throw them away."
The father and son were busy until their uncle called them to his house for dinner.
My uncle walked around the yard with his hands behind his back. "Let's go. The meal is ready. We'll continue tomorrow."
In the blink of an eye, the New Year was over, and Qian Lei followed Qian Wanwan to North City by bus.
Qian Wanwan helped him find a part-time job, which happened to be near the house where Qian Jinshu had rented before.
Qian Lei plans to stay until school starts and then go back to school.
He brought the bacon given by his great-grandfather from his hometown and prepared to give it to his aunt.
Nana opened the door and asked, "Cousin, are you back?"
Qian Lei smiled and said, "I just arrived. Where's my aunt?"
Nana smiled and said, "Cousin, my mother went to the south to work with her friends this morning."
Qian Lei was surprised. "Going to the South? What are you going to do then?"
Nana repeated to Qian Lei what she had said to Qian Lili.
Qian Lei looked at Nana with a forced smile, "Nana, you are still young, don't worry!
I'll tell your uncle to take care of you."
Nana frowned and refused immediately, "No! I can take care of myself! I don't need my uncle to take care of me."
Qian Lei snorted in his heart, "My aunt is really racking her brains to get rid of them."
He sighed deliberately, “Okay, cousin, I’ll listen to you.
Well, since you don't want your uncle to take care of you, then I will let your uncle stay in his hometown."
Qian Lei saw Nana heaved a sigh of relief, “Sure enough, he guessed right.
My aunt's so-called going out to work was just a pretext to get away from them."
Qian Lei took the bacon back.
After closing the door, Nana rolled around on the bed excitedly, "Yeah, I'm free!
From now on, no one will supervise me, and I will be the one who calls the shots in this family."
When Qian Jinshu heard that Qian Lili had gone to work in the south without saying a word, he was so angry that he told his uncle about it.
This caused my uncle and his wife to scold Qian Lili several times behind her back.
Qian Lili got on the train with Sister Chen and the woman named Sun Lan.
Sun Lan told them, "Train tickets are hard to buy. Let's go to Mashan Station first, and then take another express train from Mashan Station to the south."
Qian Lili asked Sister Chen, "Didn't we say we were going to follow Sister Jin? Where is she?"
Sun Lan told her, "Sister Jin is still in her hometown, she is waiting for us at Mashan Station.
Then the four of us will take the evening train to the south together."
"Oh, is that so?"
After taking a train for two days and two nights, Qian Lili and her friends got off at Mashan Station.
"It's so cold! It's still covered in ice and snow here."
Qian Lili looked around and saw mountains all around. The snow at the foot of the mountain had melted, but the snow above the halfway point was still unmelted.
Sister Chen was carrying her luggage. "Oh my god! Why is this train station built in the mountains?"
Sun Lan tightened her cotton coat and looked around, "Hey, where's Sister Jin?
Didn’t she say she would wait for us at Mashan Station? "
An oxcart came by, and a woman wrapped up tightly got out of the cart. "Sun Lan, I'm here!"
"Oh, Sister Jin is here!" Sun Lan went to greet her.
Sister Jin greeted Qian Lili and the others enthusiastically, "You two are Sun Lan's friends, right?"
"Sister Jin." Sister Chen called out.
Qian Lili also called out, "Sister Jin."
Sister Jin looked at Qian Lili and Sister Chen, "Okay, okay!
Our train to the south leaves at seven o'clock in the evening. Let's go to my house to have something to eat and rest for a while. We'll come back here at five o'clock to wait for the train."
Several people climbed onto the ox cart. Sister Chen, who was a talkative person, said, "Sister Jin, is this your hometown?
Which county do you belong to?"
Sister Jin smiled and tightened her military coat, "Mashan County."
Sister Chen asked her again, "Sister Jin, why did you travel across several provinces to work in such a poor place like ours?"
Sister Jin sighed, "My fellow villagers said that although the wages are low over there, the expenses are low.
I was thinking of giving it a try, but who knew that wages in your North City are low and prices are high, which makes me unable to make any money all year round.
Now, let's go to the south and see if we can make some money."
As we were talking, we arrived at Sister Jin's house.
Their home was in a village at the foot of the mountain, and the ox cart dropped them off at the door and left.
There were only Sister Jin's mother, her husband, and her brother-in-law in the room.
Three people were sitting around the fire pit and warming themselves. When they saw Sister Jin coming in with her people, the two men quickly stood up to make room for Qian Lili and the others to sit down and warm themselves by the fire.
Sister Jin spoke to them in dialect, which Qian Lili and the others could not understand.
The two men went out, and Sister Jin smiled and told them, "They're going out to buy some food, and we'll make dumplings later."
Sister Chen smiled and asked her, "Sister Jin, are you from an ethnic minority?"
Sister Jin hummed, then she brought over a bag of flour and said to Sister Chen, "I heard you're a good cook, so I'll give you this flour in a while."
Sister Chen readily agreed, "No problem! I'll roll out the dough later."
While Sister Chen was kneading the dough, Qian Lili wanted to go to the bathroom.
Sister Jin took Qian Lili to the main door and pointed to the right, telling her, "The toilet is right over there. Look, those are all toilets. See which one is clean."
Qian Lili nodded and came out of the bathroom. She was stunned by the big slogan on the wall.
Written on it were the words, "One person joins the army, the whole family is honored."
The small characters below read: "Announcement from the Fulin County People's Armed Forces Department."
Qian Lili put her hands in her pockets. "Hey, that's weird. Didn't Sister Jin say they were from Mashan County? Did I hear it wrong?"
Before Qian Lili could figure it out, Sister Jin came out to find her, "Oh my, I was worried that the toilet would slip!
Come on! It's cold outside! Let's go inside and warm ourselves by the fire."
Sister Jin reached out and enthusiastically took Qian Lili's arm. Qian Lili smiled a little awkwardly and followed Sister Jin into the house.
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