Chapter 136
The other five people including Zhou Jiani implemented a shift system, taking turns to rest. Those on duty relied on strong tea to refresh themselves, and Zhou Jiani brought books to relieve boredom. Although the arrangement was very thoughtful, sitting on the train for more than two days not only made them soak in the heat, but they also became tired and exhausted.
Zhou Jiani was so upset because she didn't get enough rest after sitting in the car for a long time that she went on a shopping spree in the group without opening a group order or sending out red envelopes.
Red envelope: Please give me colorful pickled peppers!
Someone opened it, and she bought the whole box.
Red envelope: Please give me an old popsicle!
One tour group leader ordered more than a dozen flavors of ice cream, and Zhou Jiani bought a box of each flavor.
Red envelope: Please give me an iced cola!
Buy the whole package.
Red envelope: Please give me chocolate!
No one opened it, so she continued to send out red envelopes in annoyance: Please give me hot and sour turkey noodles!
Buy by the box!
Did you eat everything you bought? No!
There were so many people on the train, and the only private space was the toilet. She didn't have such a strong taste, she just moved the goods.
It was almost six o'clock in the evening when they arrived in Qiyang. After getting off the car, they tacitly walked to the open space nearby and sat there for a while to calm down and adjust their mood before starting to talk.
Aunt Cuiyun cried, "I don't want to take the train anymore. I never want to get on it again. Let's ask if there's a truck going back. It's better to ride in the truck bed than be stuck on the train."
Yes, after arriving in the provincial capital, we still have to take a ten-hour train ride back to the county.
Everyone's letters of introduction hadn't expired yet, and even though they were going to the Canton Fair, finding a guesthouse to stay in wouldn't be a problem. Zhou Jiani suggested, "There's no guarantee there will be tickets back to the county town at this point. Let's find a guesthouse to rest for a day and leave tomorrow."
Tian Yumei and the others' eyes lit up.
Yes, it’s not certain whether there are tickets to go back tonight, so let’s rest for a night and leave tomorrow.
Liu Cuiyun then stood up from the ground and asked Zhou Jiani: "Will you join us?"
Zhou Jiani: "I can't. I'm going back home and will meet you guys tomorrow morning."
After buying tickets for the return trip at 8 o'clock the next morning, Zhou Jiani arranged for them to stay in a nearby guesthouse, gave them food coupons and money, and asked them to find a place to eat by themselves. She then carried her suitcases back home.
They had four suitcases when they went there. Before leaving, Bai Haoyang and Li Jingdang gave them to the Lin City Handicraft Factory. They were given a handbag each, and Zhou Jiani still used her own suitcase.
When she arrived near her home, she didn't rush in. Instead, she found a place to drink a can of ice cola and breathed a sigh of satisfaction. She had been feeling suffocated for the past two days. Then she emptied things out, unpacked things, put the things she was going to give to her family in the suitcase, took out a net bag and put a roast chicken in it, and slowly returned to the dormitory area.
When she reached the bottom of the dormitory building, a neighbor who was cooking saw her and looked over to confirm, "Is Nini back?"
Zhou Jiani looked up and called out "Auntie," and the neighbor hurriedly shouted in the direction of Zhou Wanli's house: "Yu Huifang, your daughter is back."
Yu Huifang went into the house to carry a dish and missed the scene of her daughter turning in with a suitcase. Upon hearing this, she hurried out to take a look and immediately said with a smile: "Nini is back from the Canton Fair? Why didn't you tell me, kid? Ask your dad to pick you up at the station."
Yu Huifang had already spread the word that Zhou Jiani was going to the Canton Fair. Several neighbors started to look out. Zhou Jiani stepped forward, hoping that no one would gather around her. Otherwise, the smell of cigarette smoke mixed with the sour smell and the indescribable smell of the crowded train would be really embarrassing. She quickly smiled and greeted everyone one by one, then pretended to be weak and acted coquettishly to her mother, saying, "Mom, come and pick me up. I feel like my soul is flying after sitting on the train for two days and two nights."
Seeing how exhausted she was, everyone felt too embarrassed to come around and ask questions. Plus, it was time for dinner, so they all sighed, "Oh, what a suffering this must have been."
Someone else asked: "Didn't you get enough sleep? Your little face looks so pale."
He indeed looked tired and listless.
Zhou Jiani smiled tiredly: "We took turns taking a nap, but no one dared to sleep properly."
"Go back and rest."
Yu Huifang and Jiang Xinfeng who came out to greet her were also heartbroken. They quickly took the things in her hands and let her into the house.
When Zhou Wanli and the twins were about to come out, he was startled by his daughters' appearance and said, "Oh, you've suffered a lot."
Yu Huifang said, "Of course. Let's take a break and eat. You eat first and I'll go cook some vegetables."
Zhou Jiani put the roast chicken on the table and said, "Mom, don't cook anymore. I bought some roast chicken. I'll just have one bite and I'll go take a shower first."
Yu Huifang hurriedly took the roast chicken to the small kitchen, cut it up, and put it on a plate. When she brought it out, Jiaan was asking her sister, "Sister, was the Canton Fair fun?"
Zhou Wanli said, "Let your sister eat first."
Jiaping was curious and felt sorry for her sister's hard work, so she suggested thoughtfully: "Sister, why don't you just keep quiet and just nod or shake your head when we ask you questions."
Zhou Jiani was amused and said, "You really love me. Let's eat first. I'll tell you after I finish eating and taking a shower."
The two little ones lowered their heads to eat.
While Zhou Jiani was drinking porridge, she remembered the colorful pickled peppers she had put in her suitcase. She quickly got up, opened them, took them out, and put them on the cabinet next to her. She took out a bottle and unscrewed it, saying, "The small peppers I bought from the south are really delicious with rice."
Her family no longer found it strange that she brought back rare things. She could just buy them. It was not like the family could not afford them anyway. They were all happy to eat rare things.
Zhou Wanli took one and took a bite. It burst with juice, first sour, then spicy. He hummed, raised his eyebrows, and said, "This thing is spicy."
Zhou Jiani also liked the small chili peppers, one in each bite. Jiang Xinfeng found it a bit spicy and inhaled with a hissing sound, and the spiciness made her tears come out.
Yu Huifang and Zhou Wanli actually enjoyed eating them. She even found it strange: "There are such small peppers? Hiss... The pickled ones are also delicious, sour and spicy, very appetizing."
The twins didn't dare to eat it and concentrated on the roast chicken in the bowl.
After dinner, Zhou Jiani began to distribute things. She gave her father two boxes of black tea, a shirt, and a blue checkered men's cotton handkerchief. Her father's original handkerchief could no longer be washed, so she replaced it with a new one.
Zhou Jiani specifically instructed: "Dad, I waited in line for a long time to buy these two boxes of black tea. They have a limited supply, so don't give them away. Keep them for yourself."
Zhou Wanli nodded with a smile.
The old lady took the blue floral shirt for Jiang Xinfeng and squinted her eyes in the light from outside the door. She smiled and said, "This floral fabric from the south is so beautiful. It's quite suitable for my age."
She went back to the house and tried it on. The size was right, and most importantly, it looked good. She said happily, "I can wear it when the weather gets warmer."
"Grandma, look at this handkerchief again. It's a silk handkerchief. I've only seen silk items here at the Friendship Store. The department store over there has them."
"It's beautiful. The material is so soft and fine that my rough hands dare not touch it." Jiang Xinfeng liked it, but she was reluctant to use it. She handed it back to her granddaughter and said, "It would be a bit of a waste for me to use it. You can keep it for yourself."
Zhou Jiani stuffed it back into her grandmother's pocket and said with a smile, "How can I not have my own share when I buy something for a while?"
Jiang Xinfeng smiled and put it away, reluctant to use it, but happy to take it out and look at it from time to time.
Yu Huifang was very happy to receive the skirt from her daughter, as well as a small silk handkerchief. She also had an extra larger square scarf, the kind you tie around your neck. These were the ones that Meng Yan asked her colleagues at the factory to help her get. Yu Huifang treasured them very much.
And sandals.
The twins clung to their toy telescope and refused to let go of the sandals their sister had bought them. Despite Yu Huifang's persuasion, they refused to take them off. She angrily said, "It's too early to wear sandals now. If they wear out early, I won't buy you any more this summer."
Zhou Jiani was going to the south, so she had to make good use of this excuse. She had unpacked the bread and snacks from the group and wrapped them in brown paper in advance. She took them out and handed them to her mother, saying, "Mom, please keep these southern snacks. Don't let the disobedient children at home eat them."
The twins cried out, took off their new sandals and gathered around Yu Huifang. Yu Huifang locked them in the kitchen and said, "Want to eat? Wash the dishes, sweep the floor, and put your sandals away."
twin:……
Zhou Jiani took out two more straw hats. The brims of the straw hats she bought this time were not as wide. They were smaller and more fashionable than the last ones. Zhou Jiani felt that if she had nice-looking cloth and added some cloth decorations around the brim or top of the hat, it would definitely be fashionable.
She planned to keep one for herself.
Knowing that her daughter also bought skirts for her aunt and Aunt Su, Yu Huifang said, "Of course. If you don't have time tomorrow, I'll send it to your Aunt Su."
Zhou Jiani had to take the train back early tomorrow morning, so she asked her mother to help send one and deliver one, and also added a small silk handkerchief for each.
After distributing the things, Zhou Jiani immediately took the tickets and things and went to take a good bath. Only then could she really calm down and talk.
She told everyone about the eating habits and customs there, the grand scene in the conference hall, the foreigners she met, and the interesting things that happened when negotiating deals, etc. She chatted until 9:30 and then went to bed. She slept until morning and her mother couldn't wake her up.
Seeing her daughter get up and sit there in a daze with lifeless eyes, Yu Huifang felt distressed: "Why don't you just rest at home for a day?"
Zhou Jiani yawned, shook her head, then winked at her mother and smiled, "I'll go back and give a brief work report. Before Deputy Director Li comes back, Qiu Zeming and I will go to the capital to meet his parents. Otherwise, I'm afraid they won't be able to spare the time in a short time."
Yu Huifang's eyes suddenly lit up. She sat down on the edge of the kang next to her daughter and said with a smile, "Have you discussed it?"
Zhou Jiani nodded.
Qiu Zeming mentioned this over the phone a week ago after asking about their work arrangements. Zhou Jiani thought it was a good idea to create a time difference. Li Jingdang would be too busy to finish his work in three to five days. By the time he finished his work and returned to the team, she and Qiu Zeming would have returned from the capital. Next, there might be a commendation meeting, a summary meeting, her job transfer, and work diversion arrangements, etc. She probably wouldn't be able to spare the time in a short period of time.
Speaking of her future son-in-law, Yu Huifang was filled with satisfaction, praising him non-stop and saying with a smile, "I was so busy listening to you last night that I forgot to mention that Xiao Qiu has sent things back to the provincial capital several times this month..."
Zhou Jiani raised her eyebrows. That's quite clever of hers. He didn't say that on the phone.
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