Shen Qian took out a dollar and gave it to Lin Dongsheng, who pushed it back with a dark face.
"What are you doing? It's just borrowing a car, why would I charge you?"
Shen Qianqian smiled and said, "Uncle, please take this. My head won't be fine anytime soon, and I'll definitely have to go to the county town a few more times. If you don't take this money, how can I borrow a car later? I'll have to walk myself."
"...There's no need for one."
Lin Dongsheng took out 50 cents and returned it to her.
Shen Qianqian took the bicycle, pushed it, stepped on the pedal with her left foot, and zipped away. She then sat on the seat and rode off steadily.
Lin Dongsheng had originally intended to help him up. He hadn't expected the person to actually know how to ride! He himself had fallen off his bicycle several times back in the day.
Seeing a doctor was just an excuse; Shen Qianqian actually had something else to do.
Yesterday she asked Grandma Fang about the money her original parents sent her.
Only then did they learn that there was more to the story. For the first three years, Shen Jia and Ruan Yuan sent back 20 yuan every month. In the fourth year, the amount Shen Jia sent changed from 20 yuan to 15 yuan, and in the sixth year, it changed from 15 yuan to 5 yuan. Meanwhile, the amount Ruan Yuan sent became 30 yuan in the third year.
She was quite curious. Shen Jia held a high-ranking position in the Armed Police Force in the capital, serving as the Minister of Equipment, a corps-level officer. His salary was steadily increasing, so why was he withholding her daughter's allowance?
And then there's Ruan Yuan, who's living a comfortable life in Hong Kong. She's paid the same amount of money, and she's a little more conscientious than Chen Jia, but not by much.
She had to get to the bottom of these two things: why was her daughter abandoned in the countryside for thirteen years without ever visiting her, and now they were even cutting her living expenses? There was no reason for this!
This also allowed the post office staff to recognize her, so they could collect the remittances from now on. The brigade wasn't far from the town; it took about half an hour to get there.
Shen Qianqian parked her car in front of the post office, walked in, looked around, and came to the counter. Inside, a middle-aged woman with short hair was sitting, chatting with someone next to her. Her attention was not on her work at all, and she did not notice that there was someone else at the counter.
Shen Qianqian tapped the table twice: "Hello, I'd like to ask if Shen Jia and Ruan Yuan have sent any packages this month?"
The short-haired woman finally turned her head to look at Chen Qianqian, her expression not good.
"Who are you? The package for these two people was previously picked up by an old lady. She's not related to the sender, so we can't tell you."
Shen Qianqian: "I am Shen Jia and Ruan Yuan's daughter. I've come to pick up the things my parents sent me. The old lady you mentioned is my maternal grandmother, Fang Qing."
The woman checked the records and confirmed it was indeed that name. "Do you have any way to prove your identity?"
Shen Qianqian thought for a moment: "Can I call my dad?"
The woman pointed to the phone next to her: "Five cents for three minutes."
Shen Qianqian started making phone calls. She learned Shen Jia and Ruan Yuan's contact information from Grandma Fang, but Grandma Fang said that she had never contacted the two of them.
The capital city. A military compound.
Wu Yunhua returned home with her daughter, placed the shopping basket on the ground, and wanted to change her daughter's clothes first.
shoe.
Ring ring ring—
When the phone rang, Wu Yunhua quickly changed her shoes, brought her daughter back to the living room, and sat her on the sofa before answering the phone.
Hello.
Shen Qianqian blinked. A young female voice came from the other end of the phone. She recalled the number of people in Shen Jia's family and guessed that the person on the other end was probably Shen Jia's wife, her stepmother.
Shen Qianqian always adhered to the principle of getting along with others if no one provoked her, and her voice was sweet and bright:
"Hello, Auntie, I'm Shen Qianqian. Is my father home?"
Wu Yunhua was taken aback. Although the name Shen Qianqian was unfamiliar, she quickly realized that this was her stepdaughter whom she had never met.
"Hello, hello. Your father is still working in the military. What do you need him for? You can tell me first, and I'll pass on the message to him later."
Shen Qianqian could tell that the woman on the other end of the line was a little nervous: "It's nothing important, I just came to the post office to pick up the things you sent me. My grandma used to pick them up, but now I'm here to pick them up. The lady at the post office asked me to call you to confirm."
Shen Qianqian and Wu Yunhua didn't talk for long. After proving something to the woman, she hung up the phone.
talk.
She had actually been thinking of asking why her living expenses had been decreasing over the past few years, but she didn't ask directly because there were too many uncertainties in communicating over the phone. She planned to find an opportunity to go to the capital later and ask in person!
The short-haired woman took out a small package.
"This was sent from the capital; it just arrived a couple of days ago."
Shen Qianqian never expected that after riding her bicycle for more than half an hour, she would end up with such a little toy.
meaning.
Shen Qianqian inwardly scorned Shen Jia.
Goodness, you've really got some serious skills when it comes to being a strict daughter!
Shen Qianqian smiled gratefully at the middle-aged woman, then opened the package directly in front of her. Inside was only an envelope and a packet of white rabbit milk candy.
It's quite shabby.
The short-haired woman couldn't help but ask, "Is this all your dad sent you?"
Shen Qianqian took out five yuan and five bills from the envelope: three meat coupons and two grain coupons.
What the heck...?
Shen Qianqian really wanted to buy a train ticket and rush to the capital to confront Shen Jia.
She gave the woman a bitter smile: "It's probably because my father works very hard to support the family in the capital."
The woman hesitated, then asked, "What does your father... do in the capital? How did he and your mother separate?"
"The two places can't be too far apart."
Shen Qianqian lowered her head, her eyes reddening.
“They divorced when I was five years old. I live with my maternal grandparents now. My father has remarried and is a leader in the military in the capital. He has a new family. I don’t blame them. I just want to see them. I haven’t seen them for thirteen years.”
So pitiful. So pitiful.
The woman looked at Shen Qianqian with pity. She had just seen the child excitedly open the envelope, probably thinking it contained a letter, but it turned out to be a five-yuan note. Really, five yuan in an envelope.
What an obedient child, but he didn't have good parents. He lives a life of luxury in the capital and Hong Kong, while his child...
The child was left in his hometown
"There's probably another one being forwarded from Hong Kong Island at the end of the month, that's how it always is. You can come and pick it up then. My name is Zhang Jin, you can just call me Sister Jin."
"Thank you, Sister Jin. Please take care of these packages from now on. Please don't give them to anyone else except me. I want to open my parents' packages myself..."
"I know, even if that old lady comes again, I won't give it to her."
Why didn't this little girl come to collect it before? I guess the old lady took it without telling the little girl. How wicked.
Shen Qianqian opened a handful of White Rabbit milk candies and gave them to Zhang Jin. The latter only took two, and told her to take the rest back. Although White Rabbit milk candies were rare, they were sent by the little girl's father. The package contained only five yuan and a bag of candy. Who would feel comfortable taking them?
Seeing her resolute attitude, Shen Qianqian had no choice but to take back the money and take out five cents for phone credit. "Sister Jin, can we make calls to Hong Kong from here?"
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