Zhou Jiao watched as the group reluctantly bid farewell to the enthusiastic villagers, promising to return soti, though she was speechless. Who knows when that "soti" will be.
As soon as they arrived in the county town, before having a chance to go ho, Zhang Guoqing and his group were pulled to Zhao Dashan’s house, ostensibly to discuss the grassland trip, but in reality for another al.
Seeing this, Zhou Jiao quickly asked Zhang Guoqing to bring the bundle she was carrying to the kitchen. With so many people eating, the Zhao family might not have enough food for ten or even fifteen days.
The Zhao family didn’t have much, but they had plenty of previously stored wine. By the end of the al, a few young n had passed out, and only then did the al co to a conclusion. Yi Jiefang and the others, after sobering up, repeatedly vowed never to drink in the Northeast again; everyone there was like a wine vat.
Upon learning that they would depart the next day, except for the few who were drunk, the great drinkers went ho to prepare their things. In particular, Zhang Guoqing’s pot was taken directly to the Zhao house.
Leaving a few people to sleep, Zhang Guoqing finally had ti to take Zhou Jiao, and the two of them carried pastries and candied fruits to visit their elder siblings and nearby elders.
They visited several households in succession; previously, not bringing a four-piece gift set made one hesitant to show up. Nowadays, a box of pastries and candied fruits counted as a substantial gift, saving the couple quite a bit of money.
Reunions always felt warr, especially as Zhang ili had waited bitterly for several days to see her younger brother, clinging tightly to the couple’s hands, insisting on confirming that they were doing well.
In terms of life details and human relationships, she repeatedly advised them, her sole concern being the young couple’s hard life away from ho — this older sister had never changed.
Upon returning ho, Mother Zhang finally felt at ease to take out her hidden items and speak privately with her youngest son.
Zhou Jiao stifled a laugh. Could she say that she already knew her mother-in-law would lessen the amount of gifts? She was deliberately giving more.
Lin Juhua had given birth to her grandson, and Zhang ili was her own daughter. Zhou Jiao found it difficult to handle this matter until Old Mrs. Cheng reminded her to send everything to her mother-in-law for her to handle.
"I split the fabric and cotton in half for Juhua, seeing as every year she makes clothes for Ping’an. Giving it is giving it, the milk powder given was treated like eggs. Everything else I kept. As for your second sister, I followed the city standard, just like what you three brothers gave."
Zhou Jiao nodded with a smile, pushing away the items handed to her, "Mom, leave them with you for now, the child will need them at one hundred days."
Seeing the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law talking peacefully, Zhang Guoqing smiled and said to Mr. Zhang, "Dad, you and Mom should set off with us tomorrow. This ti my godfather Dashan and the others will go."
Mr. Zhang looked at his wife. He really wanted to see the so-called great grassland competition. If it weren’t for his youngest son, he wouldn’t have the chance in his lifeti.
"Won’t we be a bother to you? An old woman like going over there won’t look good. You and your dad go with them, I’ll stay ho and tidy up things."
"Mom, you’re no old woman. Let’s all go, and I’ll call you big sister, soone will believe it. Aunt Cheng is going too, you’ll have company."
Mother Zhang was tickled into laughter by her joke.
Soon the plans were set. Seeing it getting late, Zhang Guoqing left Zhou Jiao with Mother Zhang to prepare the al and went to Zhao Dashan’s house to look for people to return.
As dinnerti approached, Li Qinglin and Zhang Yuntao arrived at the Zhang Family with grains and dried goods, saying they were from their parents to Xiao Wu and his wife.
Zhou Jiao did not decline, knowing that nowadays people brought al tickets when visiting soone else’s ho, and pulling back and forth looked bad to outsiders. She took them straight to the kitchen, planning to reciprocate the gifts before their departure.
Early the next morning, a truck set out from the county town and rendezvoused with Zhao Chuan Guang’s transport truck in the provincial city, heading grandly to their destination.
This ti, unlike the last, everyone didn’t get off halfway but directly followed Zhao Chuan Guang to the racecourse. With Wan Dayong’s uncle there, they arranged to rest for a night.
The next day, they left the transport truck behind and, led by Uncle Wan, went to the horse racing site.
They sang, danced, and participated in horseback activities, shouting with delight. Unfortunately, their schedule was tight, and after a satisfying day of play, they returned to their lodging with locally bought specialties.
In the following two days of waiting, the elders gathered to enjoy their leisure, while Zhang Guoqing and his friends went hunting with weapons, often visiting nomadic tents to drink kumis with the locals, enjoying pleasant exchanges.
At the end of their fun, when Zhao Chuan Guang and the others were about to depart, so of them, albeit reluctantly, decided to stay a few more days since the interesting places they heard from the nomads were still unseen, and many local delicacies were yet untasted.
During this rare visit, a few who lacked neither money nor tickets imdiately clamored for the elders to take the ga ho first, while they continued to have fun and take the train back.
With Zhao Chuan Guang and others eager to head ho with their transport truck, they had no choice but to leave so food vouchers behind and return on schedule. anwhile, the carefree youngsters went completely wild.
Along the way, mailing things back or helping passersby, until their pockets were empty, they finally managed to gather enough al vouchers to have a hearty al before returning to the county town.
After the prairie trip, everyone was sunburned, with even Zhang Guoqing and Zhou Jiao getting tanned all over. This aningful journey brought both joy and so sorrows.
This trip, with all that they saw and heard along the way, made these young people mature considerably. Like flowers in a greenhouse washed by storms, they gained a bit of stability and insight.
On the ox cart, Yi Jiefang, using both hands as a pillow, leaned against a companion and looked up at the sky. The previous carefreeness now vanished, he felt he should thoroughly reflect on his life.
Wan Dayong, a year older than them, had even deeper reflections. He seed to understand the so-called suffering of the common people that his grandfather often ntioned.
Geng Dasheng kept quiet throughout, staring into the distance. What was he thinking about? The children running barefoot, the huts everywhere, or perhaps those wandering strangers?
No one pursued these questions further. So matters were distant from them, so were within arm’s reach. Everyone was engrossed in their own thoughts.
Sotis realizations can influence a person for life, akin to an epiphany in Martial Arts. How much one comprehends depends on their luck, and these are experiences everyone undergoes in the journey of life.
Zhou Jiao leaned tightly against Zhang Guoqing, closed her eyes, and tried hard to forget those faces that disturbed her mind.
She laughed at herself, pondering such a life juxtaposed between Heaven and Hell. She wasn’t sure if she’d end up ntally unstable. In the past, she used to comfort herself with the idea that life was like a play, but now it’s no longer like looking at a faded photo. It seems she has imrsed herself into it, becoming an unfamiliar, flesh-and-blood stranger even to herself.
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