"I was planning to pick you up from get off work in the evening, why did you come back at noon?" he asked.

Ji Ling put down what she was holding, "Are you planning to give me a surprise?"

It takes several days to travel back from the northwest. Zhu Weidong came back without saying hello, obviously wanting to give his family a surprise.

Zhu Weidong held his daughter in his arms, and his eyes sparkled as he smiled. "Yeah, it's a pity that you found out first."

"I'm already very surprised. A few days ago, I told grandma that it was a pity that you couldn't come back for the New Year. Now you're back. It's a relief."

Mrs. Zhu smiled and said, "It's a good thing that I can rest at home for half a month this time."

Ji Ling was even more surprised to hear that there were so many days off.

"I haven't had a rest in the past six months. The higher-ups took the initiative to give me a half-month leave." Zhu Weidong didn't say that he had been asking his superiors for special approval.

Life in the Northwest is very hard and the environment is very harsh. He spent three years there the first time. Later he was sent there again. The leaders were also reasonable, so when Zhu Weidong asked for a vacation every half a month, they agreed.

Zhu Weidong came back suddenly and everyone in the family was happy. They bought ingredients and made hotpot at home in the evening.

At night, Niu Niu was taken to sleep by Kong Siya. Ji Ling's face was slightly hot, and she pretended not to realize her mother-in-law's intention.

Zhu Weidong only kept his eyes on his wife and ignored all this.

At night, the couple felt like they were newlyweds after a short separation. Ji Ling felt that her waist was about to break. Finally, she was too tired to continue and Zhu Weidong let her go.

She touched Zhu Weidong's arms and chest, which were full of broken muscles that looked like rocks, and asked, "Do you usually work with us over there?"

"We're just staying in the camp anyway, so we can follow the construction site and exercise."

Ji Ling thought that with Zhu Weidong's muscular body, he could participate in bodybuilding in a few years.

Zhu Weidong seemed to have just remembered something, "Half of Gu Baoshan's face is ruined."

"What do you mean ruined?"

"During the construction, a worker made a mistake in operation. He pushed the worker away to save him. The falling angle iron cut a long gash on half of his face."

Ji Ling was shocked. "Such a big thing, how come no one has told me about it? Has Gu Baoshan been hiding it from everyone?"

"It was handled in the northwest. The higher-ups wanted him to rest but he disagreed, so no one at home knew about it." The family Zhu Weidong was referring to were naturally Gao Jinghe and the people who knew Gu Baoshan.

Ji Ling said, "Gu Baoshan is a man who is determined to achieve great things. He is very ruthless to himself."

In fact, the reason why she was not close to Gu Baoshan was because Gu Baoshan was a very materialistic person who would do anything for profit.

But his eating habits weren't that bad, and his behavior was pretty good.

The real reason why Ji Ling wanted to stay away from him was that at a party in the summer, she learned from Zhu Weidong that Gu Baoshan fed water to the child. It was heartbreaking to hear that he was so harsh on a two-year-old baby.

Everyone was very busy after graduation and rarely got together. At most, they would just talk on the phone. However, Ji Ling knew that Miao Man and Hua Xiaoyu were dating, and the parents of the two families had met. They were just waiting to hold the wedding after the New Year.

Ji Ling calculated the date, "You can still go to Miao Man's wedding before you return to the northwest."

"She's getting married?"

"With Hua Xiaoyu."

Zhu Weidong smiled, "The two of them are quite suitable."

Ji Ling was surprised, "How do you say this?"

"Miao Man is talkative and has endless things to say alone, while Hua Xiaoyu is taciturn. Aren't they a perfect match?"

Ji Ling was stunned for a moment, then smiled in his arms.

After laughing enough, I asked him, "Do you remember what they look like?"

Ji Ling teased, "It's okay. You're such a meticulous observer that you can tell who's who even if you don't remember their appearance."

Zhu Weidong hugged the man and said, "Others are not important, as long as I remember you, that's all."

Ji Ling didn't respond to him. This man's sweet talk had never changed, but his mind was sometimes clear and sometimes confused, making her unable to figure out whether he was smart or stupid.

Afraid of not being able to get up tomorrow, the two went to sleep.

While the Zhu family was busy preparing for the New Year, Ji Jianhua and Ji Kegang arrived in Bei County.

The New Year is coming and the store is closed.

Ji Yong has been busy at the factory these days, and only Xu Fang is at home preparing New Year's goods.

After receiving Ji Ke's call, Xu Fang had been in a bad mood. Seeing the three people finally come back, she felt relieved.

Ji Ke frowned and went straight back to his room, slamming the door.

Ji Jianhua said coldly, “Look, now she is the hero of the family, and she turns her face to everyone.”

"Okay, we're home now." Wang Sanmei advised him.

Ji Jianhua couldn't help it, he was holding it in all the way, "Mom, Sanmei and I came back earlier, but Ji Ke didn't come. I didn't want to care about her anymore, but guess what Ji Ke did? She went to Xiaoling's workplace, what kind of place is that? Just let her do whatever she wants? I've brought her back to you now, you can handle it yourself, don't look for me if you have any problems in the future, I can't care, if I care again I'll make myself mad to death."

After saying this, Ji Jianhua went back to the house.

Xu Fang frowned, "Sanmei, what's going on?"

Wang Sanmei then told her about what happened in the capital. If it were in the past, she would have said that Ji Ke was young and immature, but Ji Ke had been making a lot of noise in the past few days.

The Zhu family is just a nice family, otherwise, any other family would think that Ji Ling’s family is not good.

Xu Fang remained silent.

Wang Sanmei couldn't bear to see this, "Mom, don't take it to heart. Ji Ke is still young, and everyone does stupid things when they are young."

"I'm fine." Xu Fang cheered up, "Go back and tell Jianhua about this, and ask him not to tell your dad. I'll talk to Ji Ke."

Wang Sanmei agreed.

Then went back to the house.

Xu Fang sat alone for a while before going to her daughter's room.

Ji Ke was lying on the bed. When he saw Xu Fang come in, he lowered his eyes. Xu Fang walked to the bed and sat down, but didn't rush to speak.

Before her daughter came back, Xu Fang had a lot to say, but now that she had met her daughter in person, she didn't know where to start.

Ji Ke was also feeling very nervous. She had been making trouble outside because her parents were not around. Now that they were back, she didn't have the courage.

If her mother was the same as before, she wouldn't have made a fuss in the past two years, but her mother has changed, and her father will not indulge her anymore.

After not hearing her mother speak for a long time, Ji Ke said aggrievedly, "Mom, do you believe what they say too? Do you think I am being willful?"

Xu Fang raised her head and looked at her daughter. "Xiao Ke, you still have two years to graduate. After graduation, you will be assigned back to Bei County. Which unit do you want to go to?"

Ji Ke's heart tightened, and she was unwilling to go back to Bei County.

"I saw a few days ago that the Education Bureau is pretty good. If you think it's suitable, I'll ask your father to find someone and assign you there when you graduate."

"I'm not going." Ji Ke said, "I want to go abroad."