Chapter 10

Hurry

In fact, Mother Nie's intimidation and pressure were completely useless.

A bicycle, with two kids on the big bar of Nie Laoer's bicycle, and clothes tied on the back seat, which Nie Bozhao was carrying. Chen Lina followed behind with Sandan in her arms. When they passed Niejiazhuang and arrived at Chenjiahe Village, Chen's father, mother and Chen Lili were all waiting by the roadside.

Mother Chen used five catties of fine flour and two catties of cooking oil to bake ten hot pancakes, which she packed in a green canvas bag.

In addition, there was a basket full of apples, pears, walnuts and other things to eat while passing the time on the road.

All of these are little bits and pieces of money that Chen's mother has saved over the years.

Early in the morning, the wind was howling coldly. Chen's mother pulled Chen Lina over and whispered, "Mom asked his family for a dowry of 168. I've discussed this with your father. You take all the money and use it on the way. If this man really doesn't work out, you should come back immediately."

"Mom, you have raised your daughter to this age. Now that she is getting married, they should be the ones to pay for the gift." Having said that, Chen Lina stuffed the money back.

"Listen to me, it's good to stay at home for a thousand days, but it's hard to go out for a day. Mom has never been away from home, but she knows how difficult it is. Besides, as for your college debt, Mom will find a way to earn work points and privately weave some straw mats and sell them at the market, and pay it back slowly." Chen's mother just put the money in the bag.

Chen Lili also said, "Just pretend. That's the money you earned from selling your body. You should spend it yourself."

"You are so rude. How can you ask me to sell my body for money? Has your mother ever sold you? Tell me, Lili?" Chen's mother asked and Chen Lili was speechless.

Mother Chen added, "I can see that you like this man, but he doesn't like you as much as you do him. If you can get your sister out and avoid the fight, that's fine. But if you can't, you should be careful. If you two don't get along, remember to buy a train ticket and come back by yourself."

Father Chen was also not far away, looking the children up and down, then walked up to Nie Bozhao, shook his hand, and said, "My Lina, I will depend on you from now on."

"Father-in-law, I will."

"Dad, he will definitely do that." Chen Lina said quickly.

Nie Bozhao took two steps forward and said, "Second brother, you ride the bike and carry the luggage first, I'll be there in a moment."

After Nie Laoer left, he turned back and, under the gaze of the two elders of the Chen family, walked past his little son in his arms, took out a brown paper envelope from his coat pocket, and handed it to Chen's father.

"The previous financial gift was discussed and decided by my mother. I won't talk about that. It is a little respect from your son-in-law. You two can keep it. If you have any difficulties in life, send a telegram to the base. As long as I can help solve it, I will do my best to help." He said.

Mr. Chen didn't bother to see what was in the envelope, but seeing how thin it was, he guessed that it contained at most a large reunion note, so he accepted it.

"Comrade Xiao Chen, the car doesn't wait for anyone, let's go quickly."

It was only five in the morning, but the long-distance bus to the village left at six, so it might be too late to catch up if we went there now.

Chen Lina hugged Sandaner, picked up the dry food, followed Nie Bozhao, and started running forward.

Chen's father watched his daughter leave, feeling frustrated. Chen Lili was stunned and kept asking, "Dad, take a look, what did Nie Bozhao give you just now?"

"I guess it's just a meeting gift. You see, Dad doesn't want to see it." The old father wiped his face and shed tears. He didn't dare to show them to anyone.

"Oh my god, one, ten, hundred, Dad, this is a remittance slip. I see it says it's three hundred yuan." Chen Lili started shouting, "Three hundred yuan, Dad, this is a remittance slip for three hundred yuan. It was sent from the Qisi Township Post Office and received at the Qisi Township Post Office. You are the recipient."

So, in addition to the 168 yuan financial gift, Nie Bozhao also left him 300 yuan privately?

"Good boy, you are worthy of being a graduate of Northern University of Technology and an engineer at the oil base. You did such a thing that I don't know what to say to you." Father Chen was so excited that he couldn't even speak coherently. "Go after them, and give them back when you catch up. Although we are poor, we won't sell our daughter. Save the money for them to live on."

"Dad, why did he use a remittance slip instead of giving you the money directly? It's because once the money is remitted, it will take five days to collect it. After another five days, he would have already reached the border. And if you don't go to collect the money, it will just lie in the post office forever." said Chen Lili.

I have to say that this new son-in-law is a really nice guy. He takes care of people without any complaints and works hard behind the scenes.

Chen Lina's running was just like going to war.

Today's long-distance buses have green skins and hard seats. It's really cold to sit on them early in the morning.

Fortunately, each of the three children has a pair of large cotton shoes, and yesterday they took out all their cotton clothes, and they are all warmer than each other.

They bought three tickets in total. Nie Bozhao got one ticket because he was holding the two children. Chen Lina and Nie Weimin each got a seat and sat in the same row.

Nie Bozhao looked at Erdan, then at Sandan, as if he had discovered some new continent, and said, "Why don't you two have runny noses anymore?"

Chen Lina was behind him. She turned around and pointed at Erdan and said, "Comrade Chen, these two kids don't have runny noses anymore."

"The runny nose must be caused by freezing. They have cotton-padded clothes on and big cotton shoes on their feet, so how could they have a runny nose?" Chen Lina said with a smile, holding a canvas bag of fried cakes in her arms.

Even when their noses were no longer runny, Erdan and Sandan were still two adorable kids, but the eldest, Nie Weimin, sat awkwardly beside them, pouting and saying nothing.

He Lan'er's fried scallion pancakes are soft and fluffy. These days, she is reluctant to bake them even once a year. It's not called baking, it's called serving. When a pancake is taken out of the pan, it smells so good that it makes people drool.

On the long-distance bus, there were people with seats and people without seats. Everyone looked around and kept sniffing, "Whose cake is this? It smells so good."

"It still smells like sesame oil. Sesame oil is valuable nowadays. When my family cooks, we only use one drop of oil." Someone pointed with his finger to show that it was really just one drop.

"You can still get a drop of oil in your house, but when I cook, I just use a felt wipe to wipe the pot and smell the oily smell." Another person gestured, and everyone burst into laughter.

"Big Egg, do you want some cake?" Chen Lina tore off a piece.

"I want to eat. I want to eat." Erdan stretched out his hand first.

"You can eat, but you have to make sure you don't vomit. Mom is afraid you'll get carsick and throw up if you eat too much." Most people of this era have never ridden in a car, and many of them would vomit when they smell the gasoline.

Erdan grabbed it with one hand and almost climbed over his father's head.

"We grew up on an oil field and smell gasoline every day. How could we get motion sickness?" At this moment, Nie Weimin, who had been silent, spoke up.

After a pause, he added, "Comrade Xiao Chen, don't call me Dadan from now on. I have a name, Nie Weimin. Please call me by my name from now on."

The child is only six years old, but he is pretending to be a little adult.

Chen Lina tore off half a piece of cake and passed it to him. "Then I'll call you Comrade Xiao Nie from now on, how about that?"

Nie Weimin looked greedy, licked his lips, and reached out to grab the cake.

"But, from now on, you are not allowed to teach your two younger brothers to call me Aunt Yao. Your second aunt taught you to call me Aunt Yao and also taught you to sing a song to curse me. You yourself don't dare to sing, but ask Erdan to sing. Not only did you make a mistake, but you also brought bad consequences to your younger brothers. This is wrong." Chen Lina turned the cake around and gave it to Erdan.

Nie Weimin felt humiliated and turned to the window angrily. "Owner Yao doesn't feel sorry for beating the baby. She either pinches or twists the baby. She uses not only a stick but also a rope. Owner Yao is the stepmother, the stepmother is Owner Yao, and you are Owner Yao."

Chen Lina was no longer angry and tore off another small piece of cookie and gave it to Sandaner.

Sandaner opened his mouth wide and stuffed it into his mouth, "Mom, Mom, I want more, more."

Chen Lina broke off another half and gave it to the child, but she deliberately teased him, "Call me mom again."

"Mom, Mom." Sandaner called out like a yes-man.

"You only know how to bluff children, using the sugar-coated bullets of capitalism to seduce these children." Nie Weimin looked like an old man. "But I am not a child anymore, don't try to turn me against you."

Well, if Nie Bozhao is an old cadre and a middle school student, then Nie Weimin is just a little angry young man.

Chen Lina tore off half a cake and took a bite. She sighed, “It’s so delicious!” and quickly closed the lid of the canvas bag.

This long-distance bus was much slower than Chen Lina had imagined. It was shaking, stopping and starting. Gradually, silly voices were heard in the car, and some people could not help but open the window and vomit.

At this time, Chen Lina had to be thankful that none of Nie Bozhao's three children suffered from motion sickness, otherwise, she really didn't know what to do.

It was not until two o'clock in the afternoon that we arrived at the railway station in the provincial capital.

Nie Bozhao's train ticket was bought for him by the staff of Umay Oilfield in Hongyan Province.

The trains at that time were really crowded, so of course you had to queue up five or six days in advance to buy tickets, so you could get your train tickets by waiting for his long-distance bus.

Only two hours left before we can board the train.

Three kids, two adults, lots of bags, and the train station was basically full of people like them.

Fortunately, Chen Lina was quick-witted and grabbed three seats in the waiting hall, otherwise most people would have sat on the floor.

The railway station was a busy place, especially during the revolutionary period, although because it was not a festival, not many educated youth returned to the city.

But the connected little warriors are everywhere. Once they put on their green clothes, they can travel all over the world without tickets.

Of course, there were many hooligans, all with sly eyes. In such a place, luggage was important, and children were also important. Many children followed their parents to catch the train and were taken away by others.

It was obvious that these three children were experienced. They pulled at Nie Bozhao's tweed coat like chicks pulling at their hen, and did not dare to take a single step far away, for fear that they would be kidnapped accidentally.

"You guys stay here and eat the steamed buns. I'll go out and buy some things for us. Comrade Lao Nie, Comrade Xiao Nie, is that okay with you?" Chen Lina deliberately emphasized the tone and called Comrade Xiao Nie.

Little Nie Weimin stood up straight immediately, maintaining his little adult demeanor. "I think it's okay. Dad, what did you say?"

"Comrade Xiao Chen, train stations are always the most chaotic places. Why don't you take care of the child while I go?" Nie Bozhao said. He was still afraid that she would be stupid and get lost if she went out.

Chen Lina shook her head and said, "No, I have to buy a lot of things myself, you just look after the children."

There were still two hours left, and she had to buy three days' worth of food. In the crowded railway station hall, Chen Lina ran as fast as a whirlwind, like a storm, thunder and lightning, and while running, she kept saying sorry.

Suddenly she turned around and smiled, looking pretty and lively. She was only seventeen or eighteen years old, a quiet college student, and there was no longer the silly look of the past.

As soon as she turned and left, Nie Weimin immediately complained, "Dad, she didn't give me steamed buns to eat."

"But I also heard you call her Yao Po. I asked your second uncle last night. In our Qisi Township, Yao Po is an insult. Old Yao Po, old Yao Po, it is a term specifically used to insult rural women." Nie Bozhao was impartial and did not take his son's side at all.

But he still tore off a piece of oil cake and gave it to his son, "Eat it quickly and drink some water. We still have to get on the train. You can't be so hungry."

"I won't eat her things." Nie Weimin snorted and turned his face away.

"If you don't eat, you will continue to be hungry." Nie Bozhao was merciless. He blew on the water in the enamel pot. When it cooled down, he coaxed the two children to drink it little by little.

Nie Weimin swung his legs and watched the people coming and going. Someone in the east was shouting, "Big Wa, Big Wa, where are you?" Someone in the west was shouting, "Mom, Mom, where are you?"

His eyes suddenly turned, and he pulled Nie Bozhao's sleeve and said, "Dad, Dad, why don't we just leave her behind and go on our own."

"How about throwing her away and letting your grandmother take care of you?"

Before Nie Weimin could say anything, Erdan started to shout, "Grandma, please don't do that. Grandma hits people. Grandma feeds me mutton every day."

Although he was only three years old when he passed away, the experience of eating mutton until he vomited left a deep impression on him. He shouted and shook his head, "I don't want grandma."

"Dad, can't you just take care of us? We don't want anyone else but you." Nie Weimin started to act pitiful, with tears in his eyes.