Chapter 336 County Town
Nan Zhiyi glanced at the living room, where Xiaoman and Gu Meng were huddled together on the sofa, flipping through a small photo album.
Inside are photos that were specially developed in the last few days, recording their visits to the Forbidden City, climbing the Great Wall, and eating Peking duck.
The two children pointed at each other in the photo, chattering away, completely absorbed in watching.
After checking the luggage, Li Xiuqin urged her youngest son, "Xiao Meng, go check if you've left anything behind in your room. Comrade Xiao Liu will be here to pick us up soon."
Gu Meng stuffed the photo album into his backpack and took Xiaoman's hand: "Xiaoman, come on, let's go get checked out together!"
Xiao Man happily followed Gu Meng and ran off.
Nan Zhiyi whispered to her sister-in-law, "Look how well Xiaoman and her brother are playing together. Once you leave, this little one will probably cry because she misses her brother."
Li Xiuqin sighed, "Yes. When you have time, you must come to the Northwest to visit, so the children can play together. I'll treat you well then! Or... I don't even know if we'll be able to go back to Jian'an for the Spring Festival this year..."
As soon as the words were spoken, the sorrow of parting enveloped the two of them.
A few clear car horns sounded outside; it was Xiao Liu signaling that we could get ready to leave.
Upon hearing this, Li Xiuqin called out to Gu Meng, "Xiao Meng, grab your bag, we're leaving!"
The group got into a jeep and headed to the train station.
Once they reached the platform, the little guy saw his brother Gu Meng carrying his luggage and about to leave with his aunt. Only then did he realize that his brother was leaving. He pouted and reluctantly held onto Gu Meng's hand.
Nan Zhiyi bent down and picked up her son, gently patting his back to comfort him: "It's alright, it's alright, Xiaoman, don't cry. Your brother is going back to school. We'll see each other again in the future."
Xiaoman sobbed, then slowly stopped crying and waved her little hand at Gu Meng.
Nan Zhiyi also whispered to Li Xiuqin, "Sister-in-law, take good care of yourself and Xiaomeng on the road. When you get there, remember to let us know you're safe."
Li Xiuqin nodded, "Don't worry, Fifth Sister-in-law! You should go back quickly too, don't linger on the platform, we're getting on the train now! See you later...see you later!"
She pulled Gu Meng along and boarded the train.
Soon, the train let out a long whistle and slowly started moving.
Li Xiuqin and Gu Meng leaned out of the car window and waved vigorously at Nan Zhiyi and Xiaoman on the platform until their figures became smaller and smaller in their sight.
After a bumpy ride, the train finally came to a stop two days later at a train station near a military region in Northwest China.
Li Xiuqin, accompanied by Gu Meng and carrying large and small bags, followed the flow of people out of the simple train station.
As soon as I stepped out of the station, a dry, hot wind carrying sand and dust hit me, making it almost impossible to open my eyes.
Li Xiuqin squinted, habitually shielding her forehead with her hand, her gaze sweeping across the square in front of the station.
She spotted her husband's bodyguard, Xiao Wang, at a glance.
"Sister-in-law! Gu Meng!"
Xiao Wang saw them too and quickly ran up to them, taking the luggage from their hands. "The commander sent me to pick you up! The car is over there."
He pointed to the military jeeps parked on one side of the square.
"Okay, thank you for your hard work, Xiao Wang."
Xiao Wang put the luggage in the trunk of the jeep, smiled and opened the car door: "Sister-in-law, get in quickly! The commander is still in a meeting at the division headquarters, and asked me to take you directly to your family compound."
Li Xiuqin breathed a sigh of relief and pulled Gu Meng into the car.
The jeep drove away from the train station, and outside the window was a vast Gobi Desert with barren mountains stretching into the distance.
Compared to the bustling greenery of Beijing, this place presents a completely different and magnificent scene.
Back in the residential compound, the familiar gray tenement buildings came into view, with wide gaps between them. A few drought-resistant poplar and jujube trees were scattered in the open space, their branches swaying in the dry wind.
Li Xiuqin returned home with her son. As soon as they entered, Gu Meng threw his luggage at the door, exclaimed "I'm exhausted," and tried to sneak into his room.
"Stop!" Li Xiuqin called out to him. "You're covered in dust! You're filthy! Hurry up and go to the bathroom to take a shower and change into clean clothes before coming into the room!"
Gu Meng gave a dejected "Oh," not daring to disobey, and obediently took his change of clothes to the bathroom.
Li Xiuqin rolled up her sleeves, disregarding her travel fatigue, and first opened all the windows to ventilate the room. Then she picked up a rag and broom and began cleaning inside and out.
The weariness from several days of bumpy train travel was completely dispelled by the irritation of this messy home.
After she finished mopping the floor, wiping the furniture, and changing all the sheets and pillowcases on the bed with clean blankets, she felt like her old back was about to give way.
She quickly took a shower, changed into her home clothes, and looked at the deserted kitchen. She really couldn't muster the energy to cook, so she instructed Gu Meng: "Xiao Meng, go to the cafeteria and get a few steamed buns and two dishes. We'll just make do for dinner tonight."
In the evening, Gu Weiguo returned home and saw a large pot of stew and steamed buns from the canteen on the table. His brows immediately furrowed. "Why are we eating at the canteen again? I've been out all day and all I want is a hot meal from home. The canteen food is too oily and salty; I'm so tired of it."
Li Xiuqin was leaning back in her chair, rubbing her aching back. Upon hearing this, she became angry and glared at him irritably.
"Tired of the food? I've been on the train for two days and two nights, my bones are practically falling apart! When I got home, I didn't even have a sip of water before I had to clean your pigsty! Look at this floor, all this dust! I've been working so hard, my back is aching, and you expect me to conjure up a Manchu Han Imperial Feast for you? If you want a hot meal, go cook it yourself!"
Knowing he was in the wrong, Gu Weiguo muttered "Alright, alright," and then stopped talking, picking up a steamed bun and eating it in silence.
After taking a few bites, he asked, "How was things at Fifth Brother's house? Did it go smoothly?"
Seeing that her husband had stopped nagging, Li Xiuqin felt a little better and her tone softened. "Great! Very good! My fifth brother and sister-in-law are truly exceptional; they treated us with exceptional hospitality. My fifth sister-in-law took us to try all the famous restaurants in Beijing and visit all the tourist attractions. They were busy running around, never complaining about the trouble."
She pointed to the large package on the cabinet, "Before leaving, she insisted on packing so many local specialties for me, oh, and a whole salted duck! She said it was so you could taste the flavors of Beijing. I'll see how to make it for you tomorrow."
Gu Meng said from the side, "Auntie Wu took a lot of pictures of us. We'll show them to Dad later."
Gu Weiguo nodded and said with satisfaction, "My fifth brother's family is doing well in the capital. Dad was very happy when he found out about his promotion."
Li Xiuqin wasn't very interested in these work-related matters, so she gave a curt "oh" and didn't continue the conversation.
Her thoughts returned to the capital, and she continued, "You didn't see it, but my fifth brother is really... impeccable when it comes to his wife."
As she spoke, she rolled her eyes at her husband, the meaning of which was self-evident.
Gu Weiguo chuckled awkwardly, continued chewing his steamed bun, and didn't reply.
Under the lamplight, his expression was complex, but his thoughts were on his two younger brothers: Gu Xiao was rising rapidly in the capital, and Gu Yan was making his way in the south as a businessman...
These two brothers are actually doing better than the four of them.
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