The six of them ate until they couldn’t take it anymore, slowly moving along the courtyard wall. Everyone glanced at each other, not daring to laugh out loud, because who knows if a laugh would cause them to spit it all out.
Zhou Jiao was sowhat better off; she hadn’t overindulged to the point of overeating, but with everyone’s encouragent, she still couldn’t help but eat more.
Everyone slowly walked back, taking a pit stop halfway to relieve themselves, finally feeling normal again. Years later, when recalling this al, they couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Before reaching the barracks, they were t with the rich aroma of at wafting through the air. They shook their heads helplessly; they really couldn’t eat another bite.
By the campfire, they ate big chunks of at, sang and danced, and continued until night fell. Only then did they reluctantly bid farewell to their soldier buddies and leave by car.
Zhou Jiao listened to the gentle snores of her girlfriends beside her, grinning. A truckload of wild ga and a truckload of snoring were quite a spectacle.
As they neared ho, she joyfully gazed at Beijing in the night. So much at; the people in the Big Courtyard would be overjoyed. Then she glanced at Zhang Guoqing.
"We’ll have to head to school by morning. Let’s try to get so rest for a bit."
Fang Fei chuckled lightly. Even a soft sound could be shocking, right?
"Don’t you want any at? Have you decided how to split it?"
Zhang Guoqing shook his head, then realizing he was driving, spoke softly, "You guys sort it out yourselves. Brother Xiao Fei, where’s my fishing net?"
"We confiscated it. Now we won’t worry about not having fish to eat later."
Zhang Guoqing speechlessly glanced at him. These shaless guys, always taking things with no return.
"Did you have fun? Next ti let’s set a date and go again. I’ll take you hunting in the future. Being brothers, right?"
Zhang Guoqing was driven crazy by this shaless fellow.
"If you don’t respond, I’ll take it as a yes."
Zhang Guoqing refused to speak with this guy. Too shaless!
"Xiao Wu, your Brother Zhou got transferred to my departnt."
This news instantly invigorated Zhang Guoqing, "That’s great! I haven’t seen him all year and thought he’d been transferred elsewhere. Is this transfer permanent?"
"Yeah. Let’s find a ti to get together. Brother Zhou really turned misfortune into a blessing this ti; not needing to serve as a guard is quite nice."
Zhang Guoqing raised his eyebrows. That’s an interesting way of putting it. But he genuinely felt happy for Xiao Zhou; surely talent wouldn’t go unrecognized wherever he went.
A line of trucks pulled up at the Big Courtyard’s gate, and people, waking from the commotion, were as lively as ever. The quiet street turned into a bustling morning market.
In front of the trucks loaded with ga, representatives from each courtyard gathered to discuss.
Zhang Guoqing, a bit concerned, turned to look at Zhou Jiao, seeing her chatting with her girlfriends, finally felt at ease leaning against the vehicle, listening to their distribution. Faced with a few suggestions, he didn’t give any opinions, instead observing their interactions.
The people at the back were growing impatient, but finally, a resolution was reached. Each courtyard received a quota based on the number of participants, and then each courtyard distributed internally. Interestingly, everyone collectively decided to send everything to their respective logistics departnts for further distribution.
Once the results were out, everyone looked at Zhang Guoqing; they still needed him to affirm the decision—this ti, the greatest contribution was his.
Zhang Guoqing smiled and nodded. He didn’t care much about how much they got; after all, his household wouldn’t get shortchanged. Besides, what he and his wife privately took was no less than what was on the truck.
With the distribution settled, the trucks drove into their respective courtyards. With daylight breaking, those needing to work had to go, and the students hurriedly said their goodbyes and each returned ho, seeking out their mothers.
After all the hustle and bustle, as they entered the courtyard, they were just in ti to hear the bugle. Everyone shook their heads and chuckled helplessly. Well, this ti there truly was no resting.
Zhou Jiao pushed open their ho’s door, finding it unsurprisingly unlocked. She happily pulled Zhang Guoqing, opened a small door, and peeked inside.
"You’re back? Quickly, go get so sleep. Don’t bother going to school today."
The abrupt voice startled Zhou Jiao, causing her to jump, and then she saw her father, Zhou Xiaozheng, standing at the living room door.
She delightedly ran over, clinging to his arm, "Dad, you’re awake. The scenery there was beautiful, pity you didn’t co."
"Next ti, let’s all go as a family. Go eat a little and get so sleep, girls shouldn’t stay up late."
Seeing this, Zhang Guoqing smiled and shook his head; this father-daughter duo certainly had things to chat about. He carried the luggage to the kitchen. Although they sent everything to logistics, everyone still had quite a bit of clean at in their luggage.
Aunt Chen, up early making breakfast, wasn’t surprised to see him co in. She’d heard the commotion in the courtyard, "Breakfast won’t be ready for a bit, want to make so noodles first?"
"We ate earlier, so we’re definitely not hungry now. We’ll head back to school soon. Take half of this at, Aunt, and send it to the Cheng Family later. There will be more at coming down later, don’t be stingy about cooking it."
Aunt Chen nodded joyfully, "You got quite a bit of at this ti, right?"
"Not bad, enough to last for a while. Cook a bit extra, leave so for Brother Wang and the others." After saying that, Zhang Guoqing didn’t linger to chat further and returned to the living room.
"Dad, call the school and tell them not to go today."
Just as he erged, he caught that last bit, "Dad, I’m full of energy, no need for the trouble. Jiao Jiao’s at ho, I’ll go to school and ask the teacher for leave."
"Can you handle it?"
Zhang Guoqing nodded with a cheerful smile.
"I’ll go too. If I get tired, I’ll take a leave later." Zhou Jiao finished speaking and quickly changed the subject, "Dad, have so more mutton. The at’s incredible, it lts in your mouth. We even went to have roast whole lamb, but unfortunately, we couldn’t bring it ho..."
Zhou Xiaozheng chuckled at her. Fine, let the kids go to school first if they want.
"Rember to rest if you’re tired."
Zhou Jiao nodded eagerly. Watching him leave to exercise, after sending him off, she quickly darted to the master bedroom.
Upon entering, she saw her mom and Ping’an sleeping soundly, causing her to stifle her laugh with her hand—these two big lazybones were sprawled on the bed, completely oblivious to the noise outside. She finally understood where Ping’an inherited his sleep talents.
Having prepared everything, Zhang Guoqing saw her co out grinning, "Let’s go, they’re probably waiting impatiently."
"I’ll quickly change clothes, and we’ll go."
Zhang Guoqing raised an eyebrow, lifting the bags in his hand. If he waited for his wife, it would take forever; luckily, with him around, it seed Jiao Jiao couldn’t stay away from him.
Zhou Jiao had no idea soone was indulging in a bit of self-satisfaction.
Leaving the Big Courtyard, sure enough, Wan Dayong and the others were already impatiently waiting at the entrance.
As they walked, Yi Jiefang incredulously eyed the two bags Zhang Guoqing carried.
"Don’t stare. They’re just spare clothes." With that, he suspiciously looked at the bags belonging to the others, "You didn’t bring it all to school, did you? Aren’t you afraid they’ll stink?"
"Left half at ho, the rest my mom had an aunt rub with salt."
"Why does what you’re saying sound off? Who exactly got salted?"
Zhou Jiao chuckled at their playful banter. Her man was becoming more childlike, wasn’t he? It seed Zhang Guoqing could adapt to any environnt quite well.
That ability must be innate, she thought. As for herself, she sowhat missed the quiet life before.
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