Jingjing is on summer vacation. Shuyan asked Tianbao for leave, and the three of them, along with Fang Zeyu, packed their things and prepared to go out and play together.
"If you all go out, then I'll take a leave of absence and go back to my hometown." My aunt felt that there was nothing to do at home, and it wasn't right to just collect a salary for nothing.
"No need for that, Aunt. If you have something to do back home, just take leave. If not, just stay home." Shu Yan isn't short of this little bit of salary.
“I’ve been away for more than half a year, and I want to go back and visit. I’ll come back a day or two early to clean up, it’s fine.” My aunt felt it wasn’t good for her to stay at home alone, and she really wanted to go back and visit. After being away for so long, she really missed home.
Since her aunt had already said so, Shu Yan didn't try to persuade her anymore. Shu Yan prepared a lot of things for her aunt to take back: seafood, meat, fruit, several boxes of milk, bread, and tonics. The seafood was a gift from Hu Ruixue, and the meat was something she bought herself, as it wouldn't taste good if left out for too long. The milk, bread, and tonics were all gifts from others during the holidays.
"That's enough, that's enough, how can I accept this?" The eldest aunt waved her hands repeatedly when she saw the things Shu Yan had packed.
The host family is really good. They pay wages on time, provide good food and accommodation, give red envelopes on holidays, and often give fruit for her to take to her daughter. My aunt feels like she's not working for someone else, but here to enjoy life.
"It's alright, the food won't spoil if it's left uneaten. Take it home, keep what you like, and give the rest away." It's a two-way street; Shuyan was only able to be generous because her aunt took such good care of the two children.
In addition, the spring clothes that Jingjing and Tianbao wore definitely can't be worn next year, so Shuyan packed them all up and gave them to her aunt to take away.
The temperature difference between day and night is quite large on the grassland, so in addition to summer clothes, you should also bring a jacket, a pair of shoes, toiletries, a personal first-aid kit, and some pickled vegetables made by my aunt, in case you don't like the taste and can use them to eat with rice. All I need to pack is two large suitcases.
When Fang Zeyu went upstairs to move his luggage, Shu Yan was quite embarrassed, "Isn't this too much?"
"It's alright, I asked a friend to help me book a sleeper berth." Fang Zeyu felt fine.
Shu Yan called the two children and locked the door from the inside. At this moment, the door diagonally opposite opened, and Lin Hui, carrying a trash bag, was about to go downstairs to throw away the trash. She was taken aback when she saw Shu Yan and Fang Zeyu standing together.
"What are you doing with all these big and small boxes?" He glanced at Fang Zeyu, who was carrying two large boxes.
“The kids are on vacation, planning to go on a trip. We need to catch the train, so we'll talk to you later. I'll bring you some local specialties when we get back. Jingjing, Tianbao, say goodbye to Aunt Hui.” Shu Yan generously took a bag from Fang Zeyu’s hand. “Let’s go, we’re in a hurry.”
Lin Hui realized what was happening, grabbed the trash, and followed. She didn't say much along the way, but she kept observing Shu Yan and Fang Zeyu, feeling that there was something fishy going on between them.
Fang Zeyu's car was parked at the entrance. Shu Yan naturally opened the car door, and Fang Zeyu carried the two children inside. Then he opened the passenger door, carefully waited for Shu Yan to get ready, closed the door, and returned to the driver's seat. During this time, the two exchanged a few words, and Fang Zeyu smiled very brightly.
Hey! Something's up here!
After turning the car around, Shu Yan was facing Lin Hui. Shu Yan waved to her, "We're leaving now, bye-bye."
Both children bought full-price tickets, which meant they booked four beds, and the small private room was just for the four of them.
"It must be very expensive, right?" It's not easy to book a soft sleeper at this time of year.
"It's not expensive," Fang Zeyu said with a smile.
There is no direct train from the southern part of the city to the grasslands. You have to transfer in Beijing, which takes more than ten hours, followed by a two-hour bus ride. If you want to go to the place where Fang Zeyu used to live, you have to ride a horse for one or two hours.
"Was there no one around where you used to live?" That's too remote.
"No." Fang Zeyu, thinking Shu Yan was worried about the journey, smiled and said, "I've already told my friend, he'll come pick us up." He took out a bag of washed fruit and some miscellaneous snacks and placed them on the small table, asking Jingjing and Tianbao, "What do you want to eat?"
The two children shook their heads; they had been woken up early by their mother and were still a little sleepy.
"You guys should get some sleep first." The train takes 19 hours to get to Beijing, arriving around 1 a.m., and then you'll have to wait for another hour. You should take advantage of this time to rest and recharge on the train.
Fearing the two children might fall, Shu Yan and Fang Zeyu each took the upper bunk. After covering themselves with the blankets and lying down, Shu Yan turned her head and saw Fang Zeyu staring at her. She glared at him and said, "Why are you looking at me? Go to sleep." After saying that, she turned her back to him, but she could still feel Fang Zeyu's burning gaze, and her whole back felt hot.
Shu Yan shifted uncomfortably, then, feeling the burning gaze disappear, she slowly relaxed and unknowingly fell asleep.
Perhaps because there were only the four of them in the room, or perhaps because Fang Zeyu was there, Shu Yan slept soundly with a sense of peace.
When Shu Yan woke up, it was almost eleven o'clock. She stretched and saw that Fang Zeyu and the children were awake and playing cards on the lower bunk opposite her.
Shu Yan lay down and took a look. It turned out to be a card game where each person took turns playing a card. Whoever's card matched one of the cards above could collect the stack, which was her spoils.
"Mommy, you're awake! Come play with us!" Tianbao exclaimed excitedly when he noticed that Shuyan was awake.
Jingjing looked at Shuyan expectantly.
"Okay, then Mom will come too."
Along the way, Fang Zeyu knew each city and could even talk about them, which really surprised Shu Yan a little.
"You've been to all these places before?" Otherwise, why would you be so familiar with them?
“I’ve been to some places, and I’ve heard about others from them. When I joined the army, I traveled along this road. Along the way, our squad leader also heard about these places from others and then told us about them,” Fang Zeyu recalled. “I met some of my comrades back then.”
They were in the same recruit company. He and one of his comrades were lucky enough to get into a place, but unfortunately, he would never be able to go home.
"Uncle Fang, can you tell me about your time in the army? I want to hear it." Boys and girls are really different. Tianbao was interested in Fang Zeyu's past military service, while Jingjing preferred to play word games with Shuyan.
Around 1 a.m., they finally arrived in Beijing. They had all slept on the train and were refreshed when they got off. Those in the hard-seat carriages, however, looked particularly exhausted.
"Let's wait in the waiting room for a bit. You must be hungry. I'll go outside and see what we can get to eat." Fang Zeyu put down his things.
"No need, I'm not hungry right now. Besides, there's still fruit and snacks here. You should sit down and rest for a while. You're carrying all that luggage by yourself." Shu Yan was originally going to carry it, but Fang Zeyu wouldn't let her.
Despite saying that, Fang Zeyu still went out for a walk and came back with a few tea eggs. Jingjing and Tianbao each had two. Shuyan didn't have much of an appetite, so she only ate one, and the rest went into Fang Zeyu's stomach.
"Tickets are about to be checked, let's go." Shu Yan held the two children's hands and followed closely behind Fang Zeyu.
"We should arrive around noon tomorrow." Fang Zeyu noticed that the two children and Shu Yan were getting sleepy. "You can get some sleep. I'll wake you up when it's light."
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