“Mom can come whenever she wants. It’s not like there’s nowhere for her to stay. The air here might even be better than in Beijing! I can even help her get some treatment when she comes,” Lin Qing said with a smile as she read the letter.
"I feel like we built our house too small; it seems like it's getting smaller and smaller," Gu Nanxun said with a helpless smile after thinking for a moment.
"That's easy. The side rooms on both sides are already one big room. We can build a wall in the middle and it will become two rooms." After saying that, Lin Qing thought for a moment and continued to suggest, "Why don't we take advantage of the fact that it's not frozen yet and renovate the rooms? Otherwise, if Mom comes over, there won't be any room for her. Mom can't squeeze in with Xixi and the others!"
Gu Nanxun then handed the remittance slip to Lin Qing: "Okay, we'll start construction tomorrow!"
"Did Mom and Dad send money too?" Lin Qing asked with a smile as she took the remittance slip from Gu Nanxun. Why do all the elders like to send money?!
"2000 yuan? Dad and Mom are really generous." Lin Qing looked at the remittance slip in her hand, clicked her tongue, and said with a smile.
"I guess it was given by Mom! Dad probably doesn't have that much money!" Gu Nanxun explained with a smile.
"Why?" Lin Qing asked in confusion. Gu Nanxun seemed to have spent less time with her than with her mother! How did she know that the money came from her mother and not her father? And what was the difference between money from her mother and money from her father?
"Dad's salary is limited. Although I don't know how much Dad earns, he has quite a few sons, and judging from Uncle's spending habits, his family must have been quite well-off before. So it's normal for Mom to have some savings. Of course, these are all just my guesses."
Gu Nanxun guessed correctly; the money was indeed taken by Zhao Xuan from her private savings. In fact, Chen Jianjun's money was also in Zhao Xuan's hands, but there wasn't much of it, so Zhao Xuan took this money from her private savings.
"Here are some more tickets." Gu Nanxun handed the tickets from the envelope to Lin Qing: "Mom said there's another package. We didn't see the postman mention it earlier. Let's ask at the post office."
Lin Qing took the tickets Gu Nanxun handed her and examined them carefully. She saw that the tickets included cloth tickets, milk powder tickets, sugar tickets, coal tickets, grain tickets, and other types of tickets, all of which were valid nationwide.
"Qingqing, why don't you mail these tickets to your parents and say that you have more than you can use? That way, when your parents see that you have so many tickets that you can't use them all, they definitely won't worry about you so much."
“Okay, then I’ll mail these coupons along with the grain. Let’s write a letter! We have nothing to do today anyway, so why don’t we go to the post office?” Lin Qing suggested with a smile, thinking that she still needed to repair the house tomorrow.
“Okay, after we go to the post office, I’ll take you to see a movie.” Gu Nanxun said, then took out a letter and pen, and together with Lin Qing, they began to write a letter.
In her letter, Lin Qing mentioned her maternal grandparents and the fact that her second brother, Lin Changyuan, had passed away. She also mentioned that Gu Nanxun's parents had wired her two thousand yuan, along with some coupons she couldn't use. Finally, she emphasized that her parents shouldn't worry about her, that she was doing well, and had money and food.
In his letter, Gu Lanxun also mentioned his current situation and emphasized that he was not short of money, asking his parents not to send him any more.
After writing their letters, the two prepared the items to be mailed home, packed them into burlap sacks, and then put them into their spatial storage. Gu Nanxun rode his bicycle with Lin Qing sitting behind him. Lin Qing carried an empty bamboo basket on her back, covered with a cloth to conceal its contents.
The bicycle Gu Nanxun rode this time was the Phoenix brand women's bicycle that Chen Jianjun gave to Lin Qing as a betrothal gift. Lin Qing had bought the bicycle herself, but Lin Yunfeng had taken it, so Gu Nanxun had to ride this women's bicycle.
The two quickly arrived at the commune. As they neared the post office, Lin Qing got off the back of the bicycle, opened the bamboo basket, took out a sack of things, and placed it on the back seat. Then Gu Nanxun pushed the bicycle, and together with Lin Qing, they walked to the post office.
Gu Nanxun carried the sacks from the back of his bicycle into the post office, and then took another sack from the bamboo basket behind Lin Qing.
The two mailed the package along with the letter. Gu Nanxun inquired at the post office about his package and learned that he did indeed have one. Gu Lanxun then took the package out and put it in Lin Qing's basket. The two then took out the money order, withdrew the money, and left the post office.
Gu Lanxun rode his bicycle directly to the county town with Lin Qing. There was no movie theater in the commune; if you wanted to see a movie, you had to go to the county town. Fortunately, the journey to the county town would pass through the commune, so it wouldn't cause any delays.
When the two arrived in the county town, Gu Nanxun first took Lin Qing to a state-run restaurant for a meal, and then went to find Wang Dongsheng. He told Wang Dongsheng about some materials he would need to repair the house the next day and asked him to deliver them to him. After that, he took Lin Qing directly to the movie theater.
Gu Nanxun and Lin Qing stopped their bicycles in front of the county cinema. Lin Qing looked around; this was her second time visiting the county cinema. The cinema was much the same as before, with the latest movie posters on the exterior walls—black and white posters, unlike the brightly colored ones of later years.
Du Lanxun bought Lin Qing some melon seeds and two movie tickets. They chose a popular romance film at the time. The movie theater was dimly lit and bustling with noise. The two found their seats and sat down to wait for the movie to start.
The movie began, a love story about two young people struggling between war and peace. As the plot unfolded, Lin Qing was also drawn into the story, her eyes brimming with tears as she stared intently at the black-and-white film in front of her, even stopping coughing while eating her sunflower seeds.
"Why are you crying? You're such a child." Gu Nanxun helplessly wiped away Lin Qing's tears and teased her with a smile.
Lin Qing shook her head, ignoring Gu Nanxun's words, and continued to stare intently at the movie.
After the movie ended, Gu Nanxun asked Lin Qing with a smile, "Want to watch more?" Lin Qing shook her head, "Brother Nanxun, I'm hungry."
"Alright, let's go back then!" The state-run restaurants weren't open yet at this hour, so Gu Nanxun took Lin Qing and prepared to return to Chaoyang Brigade.
After Gu Nanxun rode his bicycle out of the county town, Lin Qing looked around to make sure no one was there, then took out a steamed bun from her spatial storage and sat behind him eating it. Every now and then, she would offer it to Gu Nanxun in front of her, feeding him a few bites.
Gu Lanxun wasn't riding fast, and the two chatted as they rode, arriving home before they knew it. It was just getting dark outside when they got home.
"Sister, where did you go? Why are you only coming back now?"
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