Li Wei was lying on the table and writing a postcard intently. After she finished writing, she put it into the book and planned to mail the postcard in the afternoon.
Someone said it was snowing, so she raised her head and glanced out the window, and sure enough, thin white snow fell from the sky. After coming here for so many years, she experienced snowy weather for the first time. She didn't expect that it would be in a foreign country.
London's weather doesn't often snow, but these two days have been extremely cold, and I'm still looking forward to the first snow of the year.
When get out of class was over, Qiu Ci came over and asked, "Are you going to the post office?"
"Instead of going to the post office, go to the nearby mailbox. Do you also want to send postcards to people in China?"
"Yes." Qiu Ci said, took out a stack of postcards he had written a long time ago and stuffed them into Li Wei's hand, and said, "Sorry to trouble you."
Li Wei said: "It's okay."
She went riding with these postcards in her arms.
The snowflakes were very fine and melted before they even reached the ground. The weather was extremely cold, so she pedaled hard, trying to warm herself up as quickly as possible. So you only have to cross one street to get to the nearest mailbox. She stuffed the postcard inside as the weather turned to sleet. It was drizzling, so she pulled up the hat on her coat and tied the rope securely.
She quickly rode her bike back to the dormitory, shivering with cold, and ran all the way upstairs. When passing by the second floor, Fang Bin called her.
"Li Wei, have you made a reservation for skiing?"
The flight is on the 29th. I don’t know when I will come back to the UK again. She smiled and nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go. But I can't skate."
"It's okay, most of us don't know how to do it. It would be better if we practice more. Then it's decided that we will leave on the 23rd and come back on the 26th."
The 24th happened to be her birthday, but Li Wei never thought of telling anyone else. She thought about it and agreed.
She returned to the dormitory, and Qiu Ci was chatting online with her boyfriend. There was no air conditioning or other heating equipment in the room. Li Wei just wanted to get into bed.
After Qiu Ci finished chatting with her boyfriend, she turned around and saw Li Wei lying on the bed reading a book. She walked over and said, "Are you going skiing?"
"Well, Fang Bin asked me just now, and I agreed. You will all go by then, and there is no point in leaving me here alone."
"Isn't that great? We are a collective and we act collectively on everything. If anything happens, we can help each other."
Li smiled without saying anything and continued to read her book. After a while, her cell phone rang. Seeing that it was an unfamiliar number, Li Wei answered it after hesitation.
"Li Wei, it's me."
It was Qi Jingzhen's voice, and Li Wei hurriedly greeted: "Hello, aunt."
"Well, I'm leaving London tomorrow. How about we meet before I leave? Should I come to you, or should you come to the hotel?"
The weather outside was bad, and there was no way for the elders to run around. Li Wei hurriedly said: "I'd better come over."
Qi Jingzhen entertained Li Wei with desserts as usual. Without Jian Bo in front of him, the two of them felt more harmonious with each other.
"Auntie, are you flying directly to the United States?"
"Yeah, I'll fly to New York at eight o'clock tomorrow morning." Qi Jingzhen said, taking out a box and saying: "This is something I had people fly over from the United States. I have kept it with me for more than thirty years. You go back to China Please help me bring it to Jianbo when the time comes."
Li Wei took a look and saw that it was a palm-sized green iron box. She couldn't see what was in the box through the lid, but it should be a particularly important item after having been with Qi Jingzhen for so many years.
"Last time when my second brother was here, why didn't you give it to him personally?"
"I never thought he would suddenly come to London at that time. I don't know what year it will be next when I see him. Please bring it to him for me." Qi Jingzhen handed it to Li Wei solemnly.
Li Wei also solemnly accepted it.
"Auntie, will you come to London to invest?"
"Of course, so my inspection period has been extended and the contract has been signed. The business department will be officially established next year. There are still many things to do when I return."
Li Wei looked at her quietly. Qi Jingzhen was almost sixty years old and was still busy expanding her career plans overseas. She was really a strong woman. It’s just that strong women also have their own weaknesses and helplessness. The relationship between mother and son was awkward, and perhaps they lacked a chance to open their hearts.
"In what year did Auntie go to the United States to expand her career?"
"I can't tell the year, but I should be about the same age as you. It's been more than 20 years in a blink of an eye. Time flies so fast."
The lights in the room were very bright, so from Li Wei's perspective, the fine lines accumulated at the corners of Qi Jingzhen's eyes became increasingly clear. She is no longer young, and her energy will definitely be even worse in a few years, but she doesn't even have a single family member around her. Although she has an only son, her son has conflicts with her. She is a loner.
"Auntie, if you get older in the future and no longer have the energy to take care of these businesses, will you return to China?"
Qi Jingzhen looked at Li Wei in surprise and didn't understand why Li Wei said this, but she still smiled and replied: "Maybe. I also want to see your parents. Maybe I can go back one day when I have time. "
"Second brother is actually very emotional. He is a gentle person at heart. Maybe you haven't spent enough time together. When you have the opportunity to make good in the future, you might be able to open up his heart. Auntie, don't worry, take your time. Come."
Qi Jingzhen listened carefully to Li Wei's words, smiled and nodded: "Maybe that's the case. Although I gave birth to him, I didn't raise him. I don't know how he grew up or what he went through. I There is something wrong with being a mother. Maybe it’s because I have been used to it all my life, and I don’t think about it from other perspectives. Maybe it takes some time to settle.”
The conversation this time was not intended to be harmonious. Later, the light rain turned into heavy rain. Qi Jingzhen did not let Li Wei leave and let her stay in the hotel for one night.
When Li Wei woke up the next day, Qi Jingzhen had already taken a flight and left a note on the dining table outside, which said in Chinese: "Nice to meet you, lovely little girl. I like you very much, if you can do it for me Daughter-in-law, I prefer it.”
She will be thirty in two years, and Li Wei feels weird being called a little girl. Li Wei hopes that his second brother can get along well with his mother, and that they will open their hearts and truly accept each other early.
She touched the small iron box in her bag and shook it. There was a dull sound inside, and she couldn't guess what was inside.
The classes gradually ended, and everyone invited the instructors to have dinner together.
Christmas is coming in the blink of an eye, the streets and alleys are decorated, and the festive atmosphere is getting stronger day by day.
(End of chapter)