At noon, He Lang called his father over to their house for lunch.
"Dad, we’re planning to head back tomorrow. You should get ready and co with us."
Mr. He waved his hand. "No, I won’t. Your mother is here, and I’m not going anywhere. The village is fine. I can go to work with your uncle and the others, and when I’m free, I can chat with them. I won’t starve."
He Lang said firmly, "No, you have to listen to this ti. Mom is here, and we’ll co back to see her during the holidays. But I can’t rest easy leaving you here all by yourself. Big Brother and the others are in town and have to work, so it’s impossible for them to co back every day. Do you even know how to cook? Don’t tell you’re going to learn now. Forget it. You haven’t cooked in decades, how could you possibly learn in a flash?"
"As for working, just look at your age. You don’t have the strength for it anymore. Even if you did, I wouldn’t allow it. Dad, please, just think about us. I’ve already lost my mother. All I want now is for you to be by my side so I can look after you. Beijing City is so far from ho. Don’t you miss us? Don’t you miss your grandkids? Besides, all those people at the supermarket are waiting for you to co back and manage them."
The corner of Mr. He’s eye twitched. He was clearly starting to be persuaded.
"I know you can’t bear to leave Mom. Don’t worry, I’ll co back with you often to visit. I can’t bear to leave her either, but you promised you would live well for our sake."
Then, He Lang said, a bit disheartened, "I should have insisted on not letting you and Mom co back before. You didn’t listen to then, so you have to listen to now. I’ll tie you up and drag you to Beijing City if I have to. I can’t be at ease leaving you here all alone."
Xue Yue chid in, "That’s right, Dad. Please co. We need you, too. If Ruanruan and Shiyi miss their grandpa, they can see you anyti. And the supermarket needs you."
As Xue Yue spoke, she gave the two children a look. Ruanruan ran to Mr. He and shook his arm. "Grandpa, Ruanruan wants to see you every day. Please co, okay?"
Shiyi ran over too. "Grandpa, please co! Shiyi wants Grandpa too."
Mr. He nodded. "Alright, alright, alright. Grandpa will go with you. I’ll go, okay?"
The two children were instantly overjoyed. "Yay! Grandpa agreed!"
But then Shiyi mumbled, "I wish Grandma could co too."
His words cast a somber mood over the room again.
Xue Yue called Shiyi over and told him, "Grandma went up to heaven. She beca a star, and she’s watching over us."
Shiyi looked at the sky outside, thought for a mont, and said, "But there are no stars during the day. Where does Grandma go in the dayti?"
Xue Yue: "..."
After lunch, Yang Xiaoxia ca over. She wanted to chat with Xue Yue and also to say goodbye, as she and her family were heading back to the provincial capital that afternoon.
"When are you guys leaving?"
Xue Yue said, "Tomorrow, probably."
Yang Xiaoxia asked her, "Have you gone back to see your dad?"
Xue Yue shook her head. "I haven’t had the chance."
"If you’re free this afternoon, you should go see him. When I went back yesterday, I ran into your dad at the village entrance and chatted with him for a bit. I could tell he probably misses you."
Xue Yue looked at her. "You went ho yesterday?"
Yang Xiaoxia nodded. "I went back to see my parents to put my mind at ease. I asked them to co live with us in the provincial capital so I could take care of them, but my dad is stubborn. He said he couldn’t bear to leave the villagers and the land, so he absolutely refused to go. He’s more dedicated to being the production team leader than a provincial governor. I couldn’t persuade him, and my mom only listens to my dad, so it didn’t work out."
"So what do you do about your child? Aren’t you and Zhen Dong both busy with work?"
"We hired a lady to cook for us. We pay her a bit more, and she also picks up and drops off our kid."
Xue Yue nodded. "Well, that works."
Yang Xiaoxia sighed. "It has to work. We’re both so busy trying to make a living."
"Don’t his parents want to go to the provincial capital either?"
Yang Xiaoxia pursed her lips. "I didn’t ask. I can tell they don’t want to leave ho either. My father-in-law ca to stay with us for a while before, but he felt uncomfortable and went back. Besides, you know my personality. I’m blunt and sotis I offend people without aning to. I’m afraid if I live with my mother-in-law for too long, we’ll end up fighting. It’s better this way. We just visit during the holidays, and they’re always happy to see us."
Xue Yue nodded.
Yang Xiaoxia asked Xue Yue, "By the way, how’s your job?"
Xue Yue smiled. "Not bad. I even got a promotion last month."
Yang Xiaoxia said with envy, "That’s great. It really pays to be a college graduate. Not like , with just a technical secondary school degree. I used to think that was pretty good, but all the new colleagues in recent years are university graduates. They get assigned housing not long after they arrive, but I’ve been applying for ages, and my boss just keeps putting off. A new colleague ca the other day and applied for housing too. I got so mad I went to see my boss, and he used my education as an excuse. He said my academic qualifications were a bit low and told to find ti to upgrade them, saying then I might qualify for housing. I’m already this old, where would I find the energy? It’s infuriating."
"If I had known, I would have repeated a year back then and gotten a university diploma no matter what."
It was true. With the resumption of the national college entrance exam, large batches of university graduates were entering the workforce every year and being assigned jobs. Those with lower qualifications would naturally be pushed aside unless they possessed a specific technical skill.
Xue Yue asked, "Are you guys still renting in the provincial capital?"
Yang Xiaoxia shook her head. "Not exactly. A few years ago, Zhen Dong made so money and bought a two-bedroom apartnt. But over the last few years, housing prices in the provincial capital have skyrocketed. The money we used to buy our apartnt back then wouldn’t even be enough to buy the bathroom now. I was just hoping my work unit would assign a small place. Then Zhen Dong’s parents could live there when they visit, or my parents could stay there too."
Xue Yue agreed, "Housing prices really have gone up like crazy. It’s the sa in Beijing City. Everything is in the tens of thousands."
Yang Xiaoxia nodded. "Yeah. Zhen Dong told to give our boss a gift, but I really don’t want to. Every ti I see that old bald coot, I just want to go up and pull out the few remaining hairs on his head. And he wants to give him a gift?" As she spoke, Yang Xiaoxia rolled her eyes.
Her words made Xue Yue laugh.
"Actually, Zhen Dong has a point. You shouldn’t be so rigid. Be a little more flexible. Zhen Dong is a businessman; he’s got a nimble mind."
Yang Xiaoxia sighed. "We’ll see. Anyway, I have a place to live now. If it cos down to it, I’ll just quit and stay ho to take care of my kid. The money for the nanny is almost as much as my monthly salary anyway."
Xue Yue frowned. "Actually, your boss has a point too. Maybe you could enroll in a night school or sothing and get a university diploma, the kind where you don’t have to attend classes full-ti."
Yang Xiaoxia just said she would discuss it with Zhen Dong when she got back. Seeing that she wasn’t very keen on the idea, Xue Yue dropped the subject.
"Is Zhen Dong’s business still doing well?"
"Yeah, it’s okay. But it’s not as profitable as it was a few years ago. Now the whole street is lined with clothing stores, and many sell the sa styles. The competition is always trying to steal custors."
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