After a brief pause, Song Lan shifted her gaze to the two children: "You two should try not to go out to play. On the one hand, it's cold and you might catch a cold. On the other hand, it's better to be safe than sorry. If something happens to you outside, our family might not be able to make ends meet."
"Don't worry, sister-in-law, I won't run around. I'll stay home and practice calligraphy and drawing, or look at my picture books. I'll be a good girl and wait for you and second brother to come back!"
Tuanzi Xiaowu is a clever little devil; he opened his mouth and immediately expressed his opinion.
“I listen to my aunt and second sister at home and don’t go out to play.”
Little Qin Yaxuan echoed her sentiments. Looking at the two little ones, Song Lan's expression was gentle, her eyes full of smiles: "Little Five and Little Six are the best behaved. I believe you can keep your word. But if you really can't sit still at home, you can play in our yard for a while. If any of the other children ask you to come out of the yard to play, you must ask your family for permission first. You can only do so if you get permission."
"Okay!"
The two little ones nodded in unison.
Song Lan then shifted her gaze back to Qin Yaxin: "Second sister, you're already a grown woman, so I shouldn't be too strict with you. But it's cold and there are few pedestrians on the road. Just in case, you'd better not ride your bike to play with your classmates outside the residential area."
It wasn't that Song Lan was overly cautious; it was that Qin Yaxin's personality was still a bit unstable.
She couldn't help but give a few more instructions.
"...I, I won't leave the family quarters."
Is such caution necessary?
What kind of things might happen if you go out in broad daylight?
Qin Yaxin had some doubts.
It wasn't that she didn't know what was good for her; it was that she felt her sister-in-law, Song Lan, was being overly cautious.
At the same time.
Heilongjiang Province.
Tiger Town, Qiaoxing Village.
The former residence of educated youth.
Are you going home for Chinese New Year?
In the female educated youth dormitory, Li Qiu and Qin Yaqing's bunks were next to each other. They slept on a large communal heated brick bed, and had been hibernating for some time now.
Several of the female educated youth living in the same room had not been home for two or three years. A few days ago, they discussed and agreed to ask the brigade leader for leave on the 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month to go home and visit their families.
Li Qiu was hesitant because her home was too far away, and a round trip would take six or seven days. Most importantly, train tickets were very expensive, so she decided to stay in the village for the Spring Festival.
She planned to visit her family again before the Lunar New Year next year. Seeing everyone chatting enthusiastically, she couldn't help but ask Qin Yaqing if she wanted to go home for the New Year.
As far as she knew, Qin Yaqing had been working in Qiaoxingtun for several years, but had never gone back even once.
"...I, I don't know..."
Qin Yaqing hesitated for a long time before shaking her head and replying.
Before winter arrived, she wrote two letters home, and... the two letters were returned by the post office one after the other.
The postman said no one would sign for it.
She asked why?
The postman said her family was no longer in Beijing.
Here I should mention that Qin Yanzheng had previously written a letter to Qin Yaqing, which was sent to the town post office by Wu Dong.
However, Qin Yaqing did not receive this letter.
Qin Yanzheng waited a long time for a reply, assuming that Qin Yaqing was still arguing with her family after several years. He was secretly annoyed and temporarily put aside Qin Yaqing's matter.
As for where that letter went, that can probably only be found out through the post office.
In other words, without Qin Yanzheng's letter, Qin Yaqing would naturally not know that her family had moved away from Beijing and settled down near the Hongxing Machinery Factory.
"What do you mean you don't know?"
Li Qiu frowned: "You've been in Qiaoxingtun for several years now, don't you miss your parents and other family members at all?"
Upon hearing this, Qin Yaqing's eyes instantly welled up with tears.
She longed for her loving parents, her older brother, and her younger siblings.
But... but her father had an accident, and her mother was gone...
My older brother is busy with work and rarely comes home throughout the year.
My younger siblings... the oldest of them are still minors, and the two youngest... probably haven't even started elementary school yet.
She was the eldest sister. She had nothing when she was sent to the countryside in Qiaoxingtun. All she did when she went home was cause trouble for her younger siblings. She couldn't help them with anything else.
Furthermore, the postman said that her family no longer lived in Beijing.
She's going home? Which home?!
"Speak your mind, why are you acting like this?"
She didn't do anything to the other person, so why did she look like she was about to cry?
Li Qiu felt a surge of irritation: "Could it be that I said something wrong?"
Qin Yaqing shook her head, but she couldn't hold back the tears in her eyes, which rolled down her face.
She quickly raised her hand to wipe it, so that other female educated youth besides Li Qiu wouldn't see it and cause gossip.
"If I didn't say anything wrong, why have you become like this?"
Li Qiu was puzzled.
Qin Yaqing: "My mom is gone... my dad..."
Overwhelmed by her emotions, Qin Yaqing couldn't stop the tears from flowing, and at the same time, her nose was congested, making it hard for her to breathe.
Seeing how upset she was, Li Qiu said, "Try to calm yourself down."
As the music faded, she recalled the expression on Qin Yaqing's face after receiving a letter around August.
My condolences.
She realized that the letter from home must have mentioned Qin Yaqing's mother's death, but Qin Yaqing had never mentioned it to anyone in the educated youth compound.
In an instant, Li Qiu shook her head inwardly. No, Qin Yaqing might not talk about family matters with other people, but she definitely wouldn't hide anything from Wen Qiming.
Does Wen Qiming know?
Li Qiu is confirming her suspicions.
"Um."
Qin Yaqing nodded.
Seeing this, Li Qiu sneered inwardly.
No wonder.
No wonder Wen Qiming's attitude towards Qin Yaqing changed; no wonder he accepted the captain's daughter's advances...
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