Chapter 1201: Losing Interest
"Too……"
Chen Guifen's words made sense, so He Hongjin didn't bother to guess about this matter any further.
But he couldn't wait until the day after tomorrow.
The next morning, when it was still light outside, He Hongjin had already gotten up.
After a quick wash, He Hongjin took a shoulder pole, removed the iron hooks on both ends that allowed things to fall off, put one hand behind his back, and used the shoulder pole as a crutch with the other as he walked out of the house.
He groped his way to the county, and it was just past nine-thirty and before ten o'clock.
Hu Zhiyuan and his team had just finished their breakfast and were about to start their day's work after coming out of the cafeteria.
When walking towards the office compound, Hu Zhiyuan heard the young comrade say that someone was looking for him, and he wondered who it could be.
When he saw someone at the gate of the courtyard, Hu Zhiyuan hurried to greet him:
"Oh, Uncle He! It's so cold, why are you here? And it's so early... You must have gotten up before the rooster crowed this morning!"
He Hongjin smiled and waved his hands:
"I came here to take care of some business in the county. Uh, and I also wanted to ask Comrade Hu for some information..."
"What's the matter, uncle? If you have something to say, just tell me! Why are you being so strange with me?"
Hu Zhiyuan smiled and invited He Hongjin into the courtyard, but He Hongjin withdrew his hand and refused to go in:
"No, no, no, this isn't heresy... I'll just say a few words, then I won't go in and disturb you."
Having said that, He Hongjin stopped being shy and grabbed Hu Zhiyuan's arm with his rough hands and asked:
"Comrade Hu, has that brat of mine contacted you recently? Did he say anything about coming back this year?"
“Ah, this…”
Hu Zhiyuan touched the back of his head and said:
"Brother Xiao Fu hasn't called me recently..."
"Oh, I see."
He Hongjin let out a sigh and began to touch the back of his head.
Seeing his frown and frustrated look, Hu Zhiyuan quickly said with a smile:
"Hey uncle, this isn't a difficult problem! If he doesn't call us, why don't we just call him?"
As Hu Zhiyuan was speaking, he tried to pull He Hong into the compound.
He Hongjin laughed dryly, but still pulled his hand away and refused:
"It's nothing serious. I just stopped by to ask. I guess those two kids didn't receive my last letter! It's still a long time before the Chinese New Year, so I'll just send them another letter later. Comrade Hu, I'm really sorry to bother you this time!"
"Uncle, what are you talking about?"
Hu Zhiyuan tried to persuade He Hongjin again and again, but still failed.
Seeing the old comrade walking away with a hunched back, Hu Zhiyuan still took the matter to heart.
After returning to the office and sitting down, Hu Zhiyuan picked up the phone and made a call to Jingbei.
But how could he find Fu Jingyou at this time?
After a few simple greetings, Tang Mei asked Fu Jingyou to call her back when he returned later. Hu Zhiyuan responded repeatedly before hanging up the phone.
After get off work in the afternoon, Hu Zhiyuan waited a little longer at the company.
At a quarter past six, I really received a call from Fu Jingyou.
"Hello? Brother Xiao Fu? Are you guys coming back this year? When are you coming back? Uncle He even came to see me today..."
Hu Zhiyuan briefly described what happened when He Hongjin came this morning.
It was also at this time that Fu Jingyou remembered that he had forgotten to reply to the letter back home.
Northern Beijing is in a mess these days.
Now that he had this phone call, Fu Jingyou simply skipped the step of writing a reply and directly explained the situation on the phone.
He couldn't tell the truth, so he just summarized it:
"To be honest, this is the first year my factory has survived, so it's really hard to leave. I won't be going back for the New Year... Please take some time to go and tell my uncle that I'll be free after the New Year, and I'll go back then depending on the situation."
"That... that's fine too! Brother Xiao Fu, you and my sister should be careful outside! The children are all here with us, so it's the same for you to celebrate the New Year outside. Don't worry about your hometown, I'm here! If anything happens, I'll send you a message in time!"
"No need to bother you."
"Hey, look at what you said..."
Fu Jingyou not only asked Hu Zhiyuan to help convey the message, but also wrote 200 yuan on a letter to Hu Zhiyuan and asked Hu Zhiyuan to pass it on.
Ask my hometown to prepare everything necessary for the New Year.
On such a big day, don't be reluctant to let go of this or that.
Hu Zhiyuan did as he was told, and a few days later, after finishing his work, he went to Dahe Village.
However, after He Hongjin received the news and the money, he didn't show any happy smile at all.
In front of Hu Zhiyuan, He Hongjin said nothing.
At night, the old couple closed the door and went back to their room, but He Hongjin sat by the bed and started smoking his pipe.
His face was dark and he was puffing away smoke, looking very ugly.
"If you ask me, if they don't write home anymore, then forget it. There's no need for us to keep asking about it."
Chen Guifen glanced at him sideways:
"What kind of epilepsy are you having?"
It would have been fine if she didn't speak, but as soon as she spoke, He Hongjin knocked his pipe against the corner of the bed, making a loud "dong dong" sound, and then he started to get angry with a fierce face:
"If I were really busy, I wouldn't have come back! You always talk about money! What are you doing here with these two hundred yuan? I guess I'm running around just for the money!"
After sleeping in the same bed for so many years, how could Chen Guifen not understand He Hongjin's personality?
Although he spoke harshly at this moment, he was actually still worried about his children not being able to come back for the New Year.
People are reasonable.
Out of sympathy for the children's difficulties, he didn't make a fuss with them, so he was just sulking with himself here.
"The children sent money back to show their filial piety to you, but where have you gone? You used to understand that it's not easy for two children and a family to support themselves out there, but you didn't say anything about that. What's wrong with you now? Why do you have to overthink everything?"
He Hongjin sighed and said nothing.
Chen Guifen continued:
"We'll see later! Didn't the kids say they'd come back after the New Year when they have some free time? Maybe even during the first month of the lunar year."
It is not easy to run a factory outside.
Chen Guifen thinks these are understandable.
He Hongjin also knew that what she said made sense, but for some reason, he just felt uneasy.
In the past, even if we were busy, we would always exchange letters several times in a quarter.
But what about the past six months?
The last time we contacted each other was when I sent the children back home during the summer vacation.
He Hongjin couldn't help but think about it.
"well……"
He Hongjin sighed while making pancakes and couldn't sleep.
Chen Guifen stayed by his side and comforted him for half the night before she managed to convince him.
Back home, we are slowly packing up to prepare for winter and the New Year.
This is the case with the Fu family in northern Beijing.
It’s just that not all the people are here this year, and the atmosphere in the house always feels a little lacking.
Later, when it came to buying New Year's goods, the family became a little less interested.
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