The Spring Festival in the capital is lively and leisurely. What is exciting is that the festive atmosphere is strong, and the family members get together very lively.
The leisurely thing is that except for breast milk, Guoguo does not need Xiaochan to take care of her at all. The family members are rushing to take care of her. She can have time to drink tea, read books, and bask in the sun.
He Suling prepared a lot of things for Guoguo. Apart from the piles of clothes, the most precious thing is a small lock inlaid with gold and jade. She took her previous jewelry to a reliable gold shop and changed it. The jade is clear and green. , Exquisite workmanship, not comparable to the thoughtless commodity jewelry in the shopping malls of later generations.
On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, my uncle invited the gentleman from the photo studio to take pictures at home, a single photo of Guoguo, a photo of He Suling holding Guoguo, a group photo of the young couple and Guoguo, and finally a group photo of the whole family .
He Suling told her son Gu Wenqian, "When the photos are developed, I will send them to your dad. He must also be looking forward to seeing Guoguo."
Gu Wenqian nodded, "Okay, we originally planned to go to the Northeast, but the weather is too cold now, and I'm afraid that Guoguo will not be able to bear it on the road, so we will start when it gets warmer."
He Suling expressed her understanding, "It should be, but I am too ill to go anywhere. Your father has not had a chance to come back in the past few years, and wrote a letter saying that the environment there is poor and he will not let me go. I haven't seen him for a long time. .”
The poor environment is one aspect, and the more important thing is the inconvenient transportation. To get to the county town by train, you have to back up several times to get to the farm where Gu Zhenping is a labor camp. Outside the pigsty, he cried out in pain at that time. He asked the cadre in charge of the farm several times before he said that he had built a thatched hut.
My father always reported good news but not bad news in his letters. At first, everyone thought that his father was doing well there, but after seeing it with his own eyes, Gu Wenqian realized that it was just comfort.
Even though it was difficult, my father still reminded himself not to mention it to his mother, because he was afraid that his mother would be too worried and affect his body.
My father said, "My greatest wish is to live a comfortable life with your mother until I grow old. I have no ambitions for life or fame. Now my only wish has become empty talk. Let her live the rest of her life with peace of mind. Worrying about me every day will aggravate her condition."
Gu Wenqian agreed, so every time he mentioned his father's living conditions to his mother, he picked up those interesting things.
At the end of the twelfth lunar month, my cousin took Xiaochan to go shopping, and gave Xiaochan a coat. The beige cashmere material is neat and slim, and there is a strap around the waist. It is a very classic style and especially warm.
According to the salesperson, the clothes are all made of cashmere, and there are only twenty pieces in the entire capital city, and this is the last one.
Limited quantity means expensive. Although Xiaochan likes it very much, but thinking that it will cost so much money, she will not be able to wear it a few times when she buys it back, so she politely refuses, "Sister-in-law, it's a waste for me to wear such good clothes. I can't wear them in my hometown." Come on, it’s a waste to put it on the shelf.”
The winter in my hometown is colder than that in the capital, and she has to wear a thick cotton jacket to bear it. Besides, she works every day, and it is inconvenient to wear a coat that reaches her calf, and she is reluctant to be so cruel.
Such coats are not expensive after decades, but they were very precious in the planned economy of the 1970s.
The cousin took a step back and admired Xiaochan's appearance after putting on the clothes. The texture of the whole person was improved, and a pair of leather boots would be the real perfection.
What Sun Jiarong thought in her heart was that although this younger brother and sister were born and bred rural girls, both their conversation and appearance were excellent, and they were a good match with their cousin. The fate arranged by God, they are destined to be together.
"You look so good in clothes. How can you say it's a waste if you look so good? If you can't wear them back home, then wear them here a few more times. This material is very valuable, and it won't break after decades. This is my New Year's gift for you." , you have to accept it."
Xiaochan knows that her cousin-in-law wants to treat her well, but unfortunately she can only feel ashamed and can't repay anything.
The cousin saw her thoughts and comforted her, "You don't have to worry about it. We are a family and we should treat you well. You can see that although our life has some unsatisfactory places, it must be materialistic. Sufficient than you, this is also a kind of psychological compensation."
"Cousin, we are living a good life. Although we are not materially rich, we are spiritually fulfilled."
Sun Jiarong nodded with a smile, "You are right, but you have to understand our feelings. As relatives, I only hope that you will have a better life."
Maybe this is the feeling of eating meat and drinking while the other party can only eat bran and vegetables.
On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, the couple took Guoguo back. On the platform, He Suling had tears in her eyes, holding Guoguo and was reluctant to let go. When Guoguo raised her hand and touched her face and called "Grandma", He Suling burst into tears instantly. Seeing grandma crying, Guoguo was stunned, staring at her with grape-like eyes, revealing a faint doubt, then hugged He Suling's neck and leaned against her cheek.
The aunt also covered her face with red eyes, and said to her daughter-in-law with emotion, "Who can bear this, it melts people's hearts. I don't know how long it will take for your aunt to recover after Guoguo returns."
Sun Jiarong echoed, "That's right, the whole family often doesn't see each other, and my aunt must be very bitter."
The only fortunate thing is that everyone is alive and well. As long as they are alive, there is hope. Today's parting is also for a better reunion in the future.
After the Dragon Boat Festival, the transplanting of seedlings was over, and the time quickly entered July, the hottest season of the year. Guoguo, who had been in the past eight months, had grown up a lot. She was wearing a pink floral skirt and red cloth shoes with a thousand layers of bottoms that her grandma personally bought. The toe cap is made into the shape of a little tiger, the snow is tender and cute, and the hair grows very well, the jet black is shiny and not yellow at all.
After Guoguo was born last year, he planned to take Guoguo to the Northeast to visit relatives. Gu Wenqian discussed with his wife when the busy farming season was over.
"Let's go as soon as we get the tickets. It's best to buy a sleeper berth, so that we can have a good rest on the Guoguo road."
Xiao Chan knew that sleeper berths were in short supply. The last time she went to the capital, she asked her connections to find her. "Why don't I make some meat dumplings, and you can take them to the county tomorrow to get some? Buy it if you can, and forget it if you can't."
Gu Wenqian picked up his daughter and nodded with a smile, "Okay, let's hire twenty scouts first."
Xiaochan responded and immediately started to prepare. Just after the Dragon Boat Festival, there were still a lot of materials left at home. A while ago, I saved more than a hundred rice dumplings with various fillings, plus the few hundred I saved in the past few months. Northeast once is enough.
Hearing from her husband that her father-in-law's conditions were poor, Xiaochan was going to buy more things to take with her. Even though she had never met him, just because he was Gu Wenqian's father was enough to win her all the respect.
I got the sleeper ticket very smoothly. It is said that it is the off-season now, so naturally it is not as popular as it was in the twelfth lunar month. In addition to the twenty meat dumplings, Gu Wenqian gave an equal fare, and the meat dumplings should be given as a gift. After all, useful relationships always It takes sacrifices to maintain.
The departure time on the ticket was three days later, so Xiaochan hurriedly got ready. Fortunately, the summer clothes were thin, and all the changes of clothes for the three of them could be packed in one box, and the remaining medicines and specialty products were put in another box. Pack food for the trip into Xiaochan's carry-on bag.
This trip to the northeast is much more tiring than the trip to the capital. First of all, there are traffic problems. At night, the bus to the lower-level commune at the train station has been suspended, so I can only go to the guest house to stay overnight. The next morning, I missed the earliest bus. And have to wait two hours for the second shift.
Gu Wenqian held Guoguo in his arms, and the three of them found a big tree and sat on the root of the tree to enjoy the cool air. Afraid that Guoguo would be hungry, Xiaochan took the peaches out of her bag, peeled them, cut them into strips and fed them to Guoguo.
Seeing Guoguo carefree and delicious, the anxiety in Xiaochan's heart dissipated little by little.
She caressed Guoguo's small face and asked, "Guoguo, are peaches delicious?"
Guoguo nodded, and handed the peach petals she was holding to Xiaochan's mouth, "Mom, eat."
Xiaochan kissed her daughter touched, "Guoguo is awesome, she knows how to share with mom, what about dad, does Guoguo want to share with dad too?"
Guoguo nodded again, turned around and passed the peach petals in his hand to his father's mouth. Gu Wenqian took a bite, kissed the top of his daughter's hair and said, "Well, it smells so good, thank you Guoguo, Guoguo is a good boy."
Xiao Chan took out the water bottle from her bag and asked her husband, "Are you thirsty, can you drink some water?"
I hurried out in the morning, walked for more than ten minutes from the guest house, and asked several people to find this place.
This is not the starting station, but just one of the stops that the bus will stop on the way, and there is no sign, only the locals know it.
After taking the kettle, Gu Wenqian shook her hand and said, "It's been a hard journey, and there will be an even harder journey ahead..."
Xiaochan smiled back and held him back, "What kind of hardship is this? If you are full of water, with you and Guoguo, I can go to the ends of the world. I am very happy."
Both of them have puns, and they both understand each other's intentions. He wants to give her a safe and worry-free life, and she is willing to accompany him through life's twists and turns.
Guoguo was sleepy after eating peaches, Gu Wenqian hugged her to sleep, Xiaochan stood by the roadside waiting for the bus when it was about ten o'clock, and then saw a yellowed car driving tremblingly Come over, squeezed a car full of people, saw that they had brought luggage, the driver stopped to help them tie the boxes on the roof of the car with a net bag, Gu Wenqian thanked them with a cigarette.
"It's okay, it should be, your accent is not local?"
"We're here to visit relatives."
"Oh, no wonder I brought so much luggage."
The driver opened the door and yelled inside, "Hey, does anyone have a seat inside? There are some people with children here, take care of each other when they go out."
A few seconds later, a young guy raised his hand in the crowd, "Sit with me."
Then another aunt yelled, "I can do this too, I'm about to get off the bus."
Gu Wenqian walked in front with Guoguo in his arms, everyone gave way to them, and Xiao Chan got into the car after him, Gu Wenqian sat in the seat vacated by the young man, and thanked the aunt.
Seeing Guoguo sleeping in his arms, the auntie also has grandchildren at home, and said lovingly, "This doll is so white, it's not easy to take a child with you when you go out."
Gu Wenqian didn't sit in the seat she gave up, so she let Xiaochan sit. Xiaochan looked at the people standing in the car, some of whom were older, and declined, "Thank you, ma'am, as long as the child has a seat, we will come later." , Let the comrades who get on the bus first sit."
Gu Wenqian called Xiaochan over and asked her to sit with Guoguo in his arms while he stood, so that Xiaochan and Guoguo would not be tired.
In this way, the passengers who were originally standing because there were no seats in the car had no objections. After all, in the traditional concept of Chinese people, the elderly and children should indeed be treated preferentially. , please keep in mind:,.