The train journey was three days long, during which Chen Jianguo only slept for one night. Su Xia persuaded him to rest as well.
So when Su Xia came out of the station, she felt that the air in the county town was incredibly sweet.
Seeing her like this, Chen Jianguo couldn't help but laugh.
Su Xia was speechless. "And look at the state you've become!" she thought, "with that lewd smile."
"What's it like?"
"Dark circles and bloodshot eyes, don't scare the people around you!"
Chen Jianguo knew how scary he looked, but seeing Su Xia's expression, he couldn't help but suppress his laughter.
Su Xia....
"Wife, you're not much better either. Your hair is a mess, your clothes are all wrinkled, and most importantly, you have bad breath..."
Su Xia.....
Gritting her teeth, she kicked the man and yelled, "Go home right now!"
Chen Jianguo didn't dodge. He deliberately stood there and waited for his wife to calm down. He had a backpack on his back with one bag on each side.
Su Xia was also carrying one on her back, one on each side, but they were smaller than Chen Jianguo's.
As the two approached home, the sky darkened, and they walked through the alley, where both sides were covered in snow.
"Looks like it's snowing again!" Su Xia said.
"Is she going back to the village tomorrow?" Chen Jianguo was quite worried about this, as her vacation was only ten days long, and she only had two days left.
Su Xia nodded. "Let's go back. I miss Niu Niu and the others!"
"Okay, I have something to do back home too!"
When the two of them went home, no one noticed them; otherwise, seeing all those bags and packages would have caused quite a stir.
They opened the door, went inside, put the things down, and Chen Jianguo went to light the stove.
"Take some more firewood, I'll cook something to eat!"
"Alright, just leave the things there. We need to go back to the village tomorrow!"
Su Xia nodded, but still organized a copy of the book and put it here, since few people live in the village.
Chen Jianguo lit a fire to heat the kang (a heated brick bed), and soon the fireplace in the living room was burning.
As coal was added, the room slowly warmed up. Su Xia lit the kerosene lamp, illuminating the entire room.
"Jianguo, when will the electricity be connected?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Jianguo shook his head. "It should be soon, right?"
Su Xia pouted, "They have all the buildings, but not here!"
Chen Jianguo smiled helplessly, "Policies on this matter must be implemented gradually."
Su Xia wasn't idle either. In the warm living room, she started tidying up, putting the gifts for her parents and Su Nan's family aside separately.
All the cosmetics and toiletries she bought were stored in the living room cabinet.
All the snacks, except those given away, were divided into two portions, one of which was placed in the county town.
Another set was packed up, and Ming brought it back to the village as a gift for Chen's parents and for the old man and the third son's family.
The gifts for my nieces and nephews: When I go back to the village tomorrow, I'll bring Niu Niu and the others a snack and a few toys. I'll leave the rest of the books here for now and bring them back later.
Su Xia took out two more portions separately, one for Grandma Dou.
Half a portion of Beijing Eight Delicacies, which is pastry, and a coat just like the ones worn by Chen's mother and Su's mother.
As for why she was so generous, it's because Grandma Dou gave Niu Niu and the others a lot of things.
Half of the Beijing Eight Delicacies were left for Su Xia's gossip ally—his young wife, Xia Yuzhen.
I put in half a bag of fruit candies that aren't available in the county town; this was for the kids.
As for what's inside the belly, that's gone.
After cleaning up, Su Xia cooked a big pot of noodles, and she and Chen Jianguo ate it all up with pickled eggs and salted vegetables.
After eating, taking a shower and soaking my feet, I felt like I came back to life.
Neither the couple spoke, and they fell into a deep sleep, only to wake up at midnight the next day.
In the village, Bao Bao got up very early and ran to Niu Niu's room, rummaging around.
Niu Niu sat up angrily. Ever since her parents left, she had been the one taking care of the two little ones while they slept.
Da Bao and Gu Bao, looking at Gu Bao Niu Niu, gritted their teeth and said, "If you don't have something important to say, believe me, I'll hit you!"
Upon hearing this, Bao wasn't scared at all. Instead, she excitedly exclaimed, "Sister, get up quickly! Mom and Dad are coming back...!"
Niu Niu was taken aback, then rolled her eyes. "How did you know?"
Gu Bao blinked, a smug look on her face. "I just knew it!"
"Hurry up, I'll go find my older brother, then I'll go find Grandpa and Grandma!"
The six-year-old kid dashed out, leaving Niu Niu alone in a mess, while her little darling Niu Niu slept soundly beside her.
Sighing and resigned to his fate, he first touched the two little ones, then... *sighs*
I peed again, and it just won't stop...
Waaah....
"Mother, please come back quickly!"
...
Achoo...
Achoo...
Su Xia sneezed twice in a row, then said nonchalantly to the worried man.
"It must be the child who's been talking about it; let's hurry back!"
Chen Jianguo touched her forehead to make sure she didn't have a fever, and then decided to go out.
In the village, the baby woke up the little girl and the big baby. Although they were angry, they loved their little brother and just followed along, busy with whatever they could.
It wasn't just busywork; Da Bao fetched firewood and lit the stove, while Niu Niu cooked, made porridge, heated up steamed buns, and added a few pickled eggs and goose eggs.
Father Chen fetched water and firewood, while Mother Chen boiled water to feed the pigs and chickens...
"Grandma, can I go feed the geese?" Gu Bao's eyes lit up; he clearly had a mischievous idea.
Chen's mother immediately noticed, and without giving him a mischievous look, she thought, "When my grandson isn't here, I'm thinking..."
Now that her grandchildren are everywhere, they're making her head ache.
"Go stand over there and wait for your mother to come back. When she sees that you've pulled off the goose's tail again, she'll see if you don't get a beating."
After Chen's mother left, Niu Niu was also angry with her younger brother, "Bao Bao, you're not allowed to go again! It's winter now, and if the geese don't have feathers, they'll freeze to death!"
Da Bao laughed heartily, "Gong Bao, you'd better shut up. There are only two of us left in our family. If Mom comes back, there won't be any left. You'll be in big trouble!"
Ge Bao pouted, listening to her mother, suppressing her restless thoughts.
A person runs outside, but still knows to let others know – “Hmph – I’m going outside to wait for my parents!”
Seeing her younger brother run out, Niu Niu wasn't worried. Da Bao, on the other hand, asked curiously, "Sister, how can you be so sure that Dad and Mom will be back today?"
Niu Niu wasn't sure either, but she had a feeling that it was today that she was coming back.
"We'll find out soon enough; it'll only be a day or two!"
"Okay, then I'll go out too!"
Niu Niu told her, "Come in for dinner in a bit!"
"Great job, Da Bao who ran away!"
Niu Niu shook her head and went back to her bedroom to see the two little ones.
The road was covered in snow, and with so much stuff to carry, Chen Jianguo and Su Xia had a hard time walking. By the time they reached the village, it was already 10 o'clock.
Whew...
"Finally!"
"I should have taken the oxcart back!" Su Xia complained as she saw the village.
Chen Jianguo didn't say anything, because most of the things were with him.
Su Xia looked into the distance, and it seemed to be someone she knew. "Jianguo, isn't that the old commander over there?"
Chen Jianguo looked over and nodded. "Yeah, that's true!"
"Let's go home and rest!"
Old Man Yi looked at the two bicycles in the distance and completely relaxed. He was afraid that if Jianguo and his son were to carry things for him, someone would notice.
Chen Jianguo and Su Xia stood beside the old man and asked, "Uncle, why did Da Leng come out?"
Old Man Yi chuckled and waved his hand, "It's alright, you're all dressed warmly. What were you wearing yesterday?"
Chen Jianguo nodded, "Okay, let's go back first, we'll come find you tonight!"
Old Man Yi nodded and quickly shooed the man away. Su Xia noticed that he was dressed quite warmly and let him go.
As the two were nearing home, they heard shouts from afar, and saw two small figures running.
"father...."
"mother...."
Su Xia was also happy; she suddenly felt a surge of strength and began to move faster. Chen Jianguo shook his head and chuckled when he saw this.
Bao excitedly shouted, "Haha... I knew Mom and Dad would be back today..."
They charged out like cannonballs, and even when they fell in the middle, they didn't cry. Instead, they got up and continued running forward.
Da Bao was initially shocked, then excitedly ran after him, calling out, "Daddy, Mommy..."
Chen Jianguo and Su Xia exchanged a glance, then quickened their pace and headed home.
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