Above a small town in Henan, Pei Yan, carrying a large amount of stuff from running back and forth shopping, was not stopped much by Hu Wenjun. It wasn’t because he wanted these things, but because he understood this was a child’s pride, and if you didn’t let him carry these things, he would definitely not agree to disturb the family’s New Year celebration by returning ho with him.
"Alright, alright! This is enough! Co on, get in the car!" Hu Wenjun helped take the things from Pei Yan’s hands, who was grinning silly with the load, opened the trunk, and put them inside.
As they gradually drove farther away from the small town, Pei Yan, chewing gum, asked, "Instructor Hu, isn’t your ho here?"
"My hotown is in the countryside. The teleportation array in this county is the closest to my ho. My wife and kids have already gone ahead. I used the excuse of handling so things in the county to co out." Hu Wenjun, holding the steering wheel, glanced at the rearview mirror and seeing the two business cars following him out of town, frowned and continued, "From now on, you don’t have to call instructor. Just call Captain Hu like Xiaowang does. And rember what our identities should be when we get to my house."
"Got it. We are from the Shui Longyin Wine dia Culture Group; you are my section chief, and I am a newly hired salesman. This year, due to work reasons, I couldn’t make the high-speed rail trip ho, so I was invited by you to spend the New Year together." Pei Yan patted his thigh and, following Hu Wenjun’s gaze, nonchalantly glanced at the rearview mirror and spoke slowly.
"That’s right! Rember not to slip up. If my family asks too much, I’ll cover for you." Hu Wenjun watched as the two vehicles following him turned in another direction, the tight frown on his face gradually unwinding, and his tone relaxed a lot.
As the car gradually drove into the village, the atmosphere of the New Year beca increasingly intense. Unlike the strict ban on fireworks in the city, as soon as Hu Wenjun’s car drove onto the dirt road at the village’s entrance, deafening firecrackers’ sound ca in from outside the car.
The car slowed down amid the noise and stopped before a large iron gate. After honking twice, a little girl with a lollipop opened the gate from inside. Hu Wenjun couldn’t help but laugh as he waved at the little girl to step aside, and then parked the car in the courtyard.
After getting out of the car, Pei Yan looked at the beautiful three-story standalone building and couldn’t help but marvel at how much more enjoyable rural life had beco compared to the city.
Hu Wenjun patted his daughter’s head and introduced with a smile, "This is my girl, in the fifth grade. Co on, Wenwen, say hello to your brother."
"Instructor Hu.. Ah, Hu Ke, your daughter takes after your height! Just in the fifth grade and already this tall!" Nearly slipping up, Pei Yan quickly corrected himself and complinted.
The little girl was a bit shy, standing timidly by her father’s side, whispering, "Hello, brother!"
"Hello, hello! Here, take this red envelope!" Pei Yan squatted down, took out the red envelope he had secretly packed in the supermarket restroom, and handed it to the girl with a smile.
Wenwen dared not take it and looked blankly at her father. Hu Wenjun hurriedly intercepted Pei Yan, "Xiaopei, what are you doing with this? You’ve bought so many things already, let’s not do this, take it back!"
"Oh, Hu Ke, now that I’ve taken it out, you can’t make put it back, right? You’ve taken good care of this past six months, and I can’t spend this money right now. Let the child accept it, alright?"
Pei Yan said, stuffing it into Wenwen’s hand. After a brief struggle, Hu Wenjun realized he couldn’t stop him, sighed, and said, "Alright, take it then. Wenwen, thank your brother!"
"Thank you, brother!"
"Ah, such a good girl!" Pei Yan smiled, squatting down and pinching the little girl’s rosy cheek.
As the two were tugging, a simple, middle-aged woman ca out from the small building. She looked at the red envelope in her daughter’s hand and then at the unfamiliar young man in front of her. Hu Wenjun quickly pulled her over to introduce, "Dear, this is the kid from work who missed the high-speed rail I told you about, Xiaopei, this is Auntie Hu."
"Hello, Auntie Hu!" Pei Yan stood up and bowed politely.
Auntie Hu warmly pulled Xiaopei along, saying, "Ah, good, good, Xiaopei, right? Don’t just stand there; quickly co inside! Co on in, it’s warm inside!"
Inside the house, after putting down the things, he took a warm cup from Auntie Hu and t Hu Wenjun’s family one by one with introductions.
In the living room, besides Instructor Hu’s parents, there were also his brother and sister-in-law, whose child is now studying in the United States and couldn’t co back for the New Year. Seeing Pei Yan, who was about the sa age as their son, they felt especially close, asking him to sit down and chatted.
Just when Pei Yan was getting overwheld by the questions, nearly exposing himself, it was lucky that Hu Wenjun rescued him in ti, telling his wife he would take the kids to the village head for a walk before taking his daughter and Pei Yan, with the fireworks they bought, along with their black dog, out the gate.
On the road, Hu Wenjun greeted and exchanged New Year’s wishes with the villagers, and before long, the three of them, along with the dog, arrived at a large patch of wasteland at the village head. He let the black dog off the leash to run freely on the land and handed the fireworks to his daughter to play with on the open ground.
"Be careful! Keep it away from your eyes, right!" Hu Wenjun, standing hips akimbo, watched his daughter happily twirl around the field with sparklers in hand, his face full of doting affection.
Then he pulled out two cigarettes from his pocket, gave one to Pei Yan, and quietly said as he took one himself, "Do you know why the director has left you hanging lately?"
Pei Yan, taking the cigarette, was taken aback and shook his head, saying, "I don’t know, did I do sothing wrong?" After saying that, he leaned forward for fire and took a puff.
"It has nothing to do with you; it’s an upstairs issue. There’s been a heated debate about whether you should stay or leave." Hu Wenjun said as he naturally squatted on the field embanknt.
Pei Yan also squatted down, asking in surprise, "My staying or leaving? Where are they thinking of sending ?"
"To the army. The people there have officially asked the director to have you."
Pei Yan questioned in confusion, "Why? Wouldn’t it be the sa anywhere for ?"
"There are many things involved here, affecting various aspects that I can’t explain to you now. Director Gu’s aning is to first ask you what you think." By this ti, Wenwen had finished playing with the sparklers and ran up to her father. Hu Wenjun stubbed out his cigarette and lit another one for her, patted her back, and sent her off to play elsewhere.
"Is there any difference between the two?"
"There’s definitely a difference. The director here takes on more missions with more exposure to different things, and the risk is higher, but people are freer. The military, on the other hand, is managed more strictly, training is tougher, they seldom go on missions but a mission is a big one when they do. Safety is relatively secure, and the treatnt is better with more resources. It’s kind of a mixed bag." Hu Wenjun dusted off ash and leisurely stated.
Pei Yan didn’t speak; neither did Hu Wenjun ask further. After finishing their cigarettes in silence, Hu Wenjun took out his cigarette box from his pocket and lit another cigarette while the two of them squatted quietly on the field embanknt, watching the little girl holding fireworks and the black dog running back and forth across the broad land.
"I still want to stay with the director." After a long ti, Pei Yan stood up, staring at the ground littered with cigarette butts, rubbed his knee, and said in a twitchy voice.
"Got it."
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