Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Going Home
Lu Xianrun hadn't received a call from his daughter for two months and said excitedly, "Qiuqiu, why haven't you called in these two months? Your mom has been missing you."
"Dad, I miss you guys too. I have some good news—I'm coming home for a visit. I'm at the station right now. I want to surprise Mom, so Dad, don't forget to pick me up at the station in three days. Oh, I still haven't gotten my ticket. After I get on the train, I'll have my friend call you to let you know the time."
"Alright, alright, my daughter is coming back. Dad will pick you up. Be careful on your way, be very careful."
"I know, Dad. I have to go now; I need to catch the train."
Lu Jingqiu could hear the excitement in her father's voice, but she was in a hurry and worried she might miss the train.
After hanging up the phone, Lu Jingqiu borrowed a piece of paper and a pen from the person at the phone booth, wrote down a phone number, and handed it to Shen Mu who was behind her, asking, "Comrade Shen, could you help me make a call later? Just tell my dad the time."
Shen Mu took the piece of paper, glanced at it, and said, "Okay."
Seeing that he had agreed, Lu Jingqiu took out fifty cents from her pocket and handed it to him.
Shen Mu pushed the money back to her: "It's not necessary."
Lu Jingqiu insisted, "This won't do, take it, otherwise I'll ask someone else for help." She then stuffed the money into Shen Mu's hand.
Shen Mu didn't decline further.
As they hurried back, Gao Shu and Xia Lin came over with their tickets: "The train will arrive in ten minutes; let's hurry to the platform."
Lu Jingqiu took the tickets and change from them, glanced at the time, and turned to have Shen Mu take a look as well.
Zhang Yumin and a few others helped carry her luggage to the platform, and when the train arrived, they helped get her luggage aboard.
Because it was the busy farming season, there weren't many people coming and going, and she was fortunate to get a seat.
Gao Shu somehow bought several eggs and passed them to her through the window: "Eat these on the way. Keep an eye on your luggage, and don't sleep too deeply."
The atmosphere felt as if last night's words hadn't been meant for him, but then again, in her previous life, Gao Shu had always reacted this way whenever she confessed her feelings—as if nothing had happened.
Lu Jingqiu nodded, wondering whether she should give him money, when Yun Yuzhi and Li Yinger came over to say goodbye.
As the train started moving, Lu Jingqiu's eagerness to return home surged, and she waved goodbye in high spirits: "Sister Yuzhi, Sister Yingying, goodbye. You all go back now; I'll write to you when I arrive."
"Be careful on the journey."
Several educated youths waved back at her, including Gao Shu, though his hand had just been raised when Xia Lin pulled it down again.
Gao Shu looked down at her, saw Xia Lin's playful expression, and smiled affectionately.
Watching this scene, Lu Jingqiu felt no waves in her heart any longer.
As for Gao Shu, she had let go of him last night.
Or perhaps, she had let him go on the final night of her previous life.
"Is this Uncle Lu? I'm Comrade Jingqiu's teammate, Shen Mu. Comrade Jingqiu asked me to tell you that she will probably arrive at West City Railway Station around three in the afternoon the day after tomorrow, on train number..."
"Comrade Shen, thank you. Uncle has noted it down; thank you for your help with Jingqiu. If there is an opportunity in the future, you are welcome to visit our home."
"I will certainly visit if there's a chance, goodbye Uncle Lu."
While Shen Mu was on the phone with Father Lu, Xia Lin teased Gao Shu from a distance, saying, "Ah Shu, Comrade Shen Mu seldom speaks to female comrades, right? It seems he treats Comrade Lu Jingqiu a bit differently. He couldn't possibly like Comrade Lu, could he?"
Gao Shu shook his head with a smile: "How could that be, Shen Mu has no thoughts in that regard."
Xia Lin said, "Are you a worm in his stomach to answer so definitively?"
Gao Shu replied, "Anyway, such a thing is impossible. Let's go; it's not easy to come to the county town, I'll show you around."
Gao Shu was an educated youth, and after marrying Xia Lin, he temporarily lived at the Xia Family.
Gao Shu had come here since graduating, and the work points he earned in a year weren't enough to cover one person's expenses, but Uncle Gao would occasionally send him some money.
Aunt Gao didn't just send money; she had never let him lack material support.
So, Gao Shu had a few hundred yuan on him. He might not have enough to complete the three big items for Xia Lin, but buying a wristwatch was still possible.
Lu Jingqiu was more experienced; she kept her valuables hidden in her sock and sewed her money into her pants.
She only kept enough for meals over the next two days on her person.
Her seat was by the window, and the woman sitting beside her seemed like a comrade, which greatly relieved her mind.
As the beautiful countryside scenery outside the window grew more distant, Lu Jingqiu's heart slowly calmed.
The car wasn't crowded with passengers, but there was a lot of luggage; traveling far was not easy in those times, and many were visiting family, so they brought many belongings.
The person in front had even brought along two live ducks.
Nobody struck up a conversation during the journey; by noon, an attendant was pushing a cart selling items.
Lu Jingqiu glanced at the few eggs Gao Shu had given her. Seeing the woman next to her buy two buns, she followed suit and bought two vegetarian buns for a total of forty cents.
No matter when, things were always a bit more expensive on the train.
For lunch, she ate the two buns with some cool boiled water, and at night, she ate two eggs.
She had lost track of how many stations the train had stopped at throughout the day. People came and went, and now the carriage seemed to have more passengers.
As dusk fell, Lu Jingqiu gazed out at the night sky, so brightly lit with stars that the memories of her past and present life intermingled in her mind, becoming a tangled mess. The thought of her mother leaving her so early weighed heavy on her heart, nearly suffocating her.
She was finally roused by feeling stifled and looked around to find the carriage silent with most people fast asleep.
Awake, Lu Jingqiu couldn't fall back asleep for a long time. She was grateful to heaven for allowing her to return to her twenties but lamented why she couldn't have come back a few years earlier.
If she had returned earlier, she surely wouldn't have followed Gao Shu to the countryside again; she would have found a job in the city, taken good care of her mother's health, and perhaps her mother wouldn't have succumbed to cancer and left them.
She knew that life was never perfect. What she could do now was to stay by her mother's side and make her remaining days as painless and regret-free as possible.
...
In the West City Military District Compound, at the far southwest row, counting from the south, the third house was where Lu Xianrun had returned early today, a rare occurrence.
Seeing his wife busily working in the kitchen, he entered with a smile, "Lanping, tidy up Qiuqiu's room, will you? Buy some extra treats these next few days, and let's have a lavish dinner the day after tomorrow night."
Zhou Lanping put down her spoon and looked at her husband's smiling face. It seemed to dawn on her, and she asked hesitantly, "Why the sudden need to tidy up Qiuqiu's room? Is she...is she coming back?"
Lu Xianrun didn't hide it from her, "Yes, she called today to say she's coming back to visit."
Zhou Lanping said, "She called today? How come I didn't get the call?"
"She called me. She even asked me not to tell you because she wanted to surprise you."
Zhou Lanping laughed: "That child, if she came back without telling me, I'd really be mad." As she laughed, tears welled up in her eyes.
Lu Xianrun hugged his wife and quietly patted her back. Both spouses had missed their daughter dearly, day and night, and now that she was finally returning, their excitement was undeniable.
"Is she coming back alone, or with Gao Shu?"
"By herself. Lanping, when the child comes back this time, we should really talk to her. Gao Shu isn't right for her."
"Your daughter is just as stubborn as you are. If we could have persuaded her, she wouldn't have sneaked off to the countryside."
"The two of them must have endured a lot out there. Maybe she's gained some perspective."
"Let's hope so. I don't want our daughter to leave us again."
"Mm-hmm."
...
Lu Jingqiu had been on the train for three days and two nights. Since she was in a hard seat, she hadn't slept well on either night. Maybe that was for the best since it meant the thieves didn't have an opportunity to strike.
Her seatmate, a woman who seemed careless, had her pocket slit open during the night without realizing it. Luckily, there was only ten cents in her pocket, so the loss wasn't too significant.
After arriving at West City Station, Lu Jingqiu slung one bag over her shoulder and carried another in her hand.
She squeezed through the crowded exit off the train.
From a distance, Lu Xianrun spotted a petite figure stumbling out of the crowd. The figure, burdened with several large bags, moved not clumsily but with the nimble agility of a squirrel darting through the throng.
Seeing his daughter like this, Lu Xianrun's eyes uncontrollably reddened. He hurried forward with the guards, calling out, "Qiuqiu."
"Daddy."
Seeing her father, who looked thirty years younger, Lu Jingqiu felt a surge of excitement and affection, yet a thousand words stuck in her heart, not knowing how to express them.
Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Letting Go
"Let Dad have a look, you've lost weight, you're tanned." Lu Xianrun and the guard hastened to unburden her of her luggage. He held Lu Jingqiu's arms, looking her over from side to side, his eyes filled with pity as he gazed at her. The affection in his eyes made Jingqiu's heart ache, "Dad, I've missed you all so much."
"Silly child, let's go home."
The guard Xiao Wang had driven with Dad, and on the way, father and daughter sat in the back, asking and answering questions, getting a thorough account of Jingqiu's life in the countryside over the past two years.
Looking at West City as it was thirty years ago, those slowly fading memories came flooding back to Jingqiu with each familiar sight.
In the military compound of the West District of West City, there were two-story buildings in the south area and north area, as well as a few three-story flat buildings in the East District right by the gate.
In between lay rows of connected tile-roofed houses.
The Lu family's home was in one of the two-story buildings on the southwest row, the smallest unit of the third house from the inside, was Jingqiu's home—which she had missed most in her previous life.
Zhou Lanping had been attentive to the noise outside; hearing the sound of the car, she hurriedly came out of the house.
"Mom."
"Qiuqiu, mom has missed you to death."
Zhou Lanping hadn't seen her daughter for two years, which had become a constant ailment in her heart.
But for Jingqiu, it felt like a lifetime.
In her middle and later years, all she yearned for was her mother.
Seeing the person she had longed for day and night, Jingqiu's tear ducts began to lose control again.
Seeing her daughter weep, Zhou Lanping also embraced her and wept together, as if to vent all the longing of these two years.
Meanwhile, the guards moved the belongings to the entrance, saluted Lu Xianrun, and silently left, leaving space for the reunion of the family.
Lu Xianrun escorted Xiao Wang to the door and then returned to stand in front of the mother and daughter, wrapping his arms around them, "Stop crying now. You must be tired from the days on the train. Hurry inside, your mom has prepared a lot of delicious food for you."
Zhou Lanping hurriedly wiped her tears and took her daughter's hand, "Look at me, fussing over you just as you've arrived. Let's go inside so you can take a bath first, mom has made your favorite pork ribs."
The Lu family's house was a small two-story building with a courtyard, like most houses in the compound.
On the first floor were the kitchen and bathroom, and a room in the living room area, while the second floor had a very small platform right at the top of the stairs, with a bedroom on each side; one small bedroom and another facing the sun with a large balcony, which was Jingqiu's room.
When her father had been assigned here, they lived in the connected tile-roofed houses, which were old and worn. Four years later, those houses were renovated into three-story tube buildings.
That's when they moved into this small building at the back, the last remaining unit of its kind.
Originally, with its small layout and the former leader's family having many children, the living room on the first floor had been divided into two rooms, leaving even less space to move around. It was because of this that no one wanted it, and although Dad didn't yet have the seniority to occupy a building, there was a housing shortage at the time, which worked out for him.
The leaders also considered that their family was small, making this set just right for them.
After taking over this house, Dad astonishingly spent fifty yuan to have it restored to its original state and repainted.
In the third year after moving in, they caught up with the construction of new buildings, and while the new buildings were being equipped with heating, the entire compound had heating and water pipes installed as well.
Dad took this opportunity to add two bathrooms on both the first and second floors.
After the new buildings were completed, some of the dangerous houses in the middle also had to be demolished.
When planning, a lot of space was left at the back of the row, initially meant for planting flowers and grasses.
Eventually, people fenced it in to make yards, one family after another, uncontrollable; luckily, in the end, everyone got their yard and agreed to divide the areas.
Mom cleaned up the yard, planted vegetables on one side and some flowers under the wall on the other. Their unwanted yard became better and better.
Lu Jingqiu arrived at her own room and, looking at the familiar objects, touching the real textures, found the authenticity of these items conveyed so much more beauty than photographs ever could.
It's so good to be back!
Lu Jingqiu took a bath and changed into a dress she had left at home, surprisingly still able to fit into it.
After coming downstairs, her parents were already waiting for her at the dining table.
Lu Xianrun beckoned her to sit down, while Zhou Lanping served her daughter a big bowl of pork ribs.
Lu Xianrun said, "Sit down and have some more meat."
Lu Jingqiu took a bite of pork rib, sipped the soup, and exclaimed, "I've finally got to taste Mom's cooking again, that's what I missed the most over there."
Zhou Lanping said sympathetically, "You've gotten thinner and darker; these two years must have been very hard for you."
Thinking about the endless farm work, Jingqiu made a bitter face and complained to her parents, "It was quite tiring. Most of the time, I was working in the fields without any sun protection, so naturally, I got darker and thinner. But I've learned to cook, plant vegetables, and farming became no problem."
Listening to their daughter speak so casually about her hardships, Lu Xianrun and his wife couldn't help but get teary-eyed.
Zhou Lanping blinked away the tears and replied with a smile, "Qiuqiu is now stronger than Mom; I can't even farm."
Lu Xianrun just quietly added more food to his daughter's plate, seeing her spirit undamped despite her hardships, and felt reassured.
But Zhou Lanping was still worried, carefully asking, "Qiuqiu, how long do you plan to stay this time? Are you going back? If you don't want to go back, your dad and I can think of a way to find you a job here."
Lu Jingqiu knew what her parents were concerned about and didn't hide anything: "Mom, Dad, I have a one-month leave to visit home, but I don't want to go back."
Lu Xianrun asked, "Is it because something happened over there? Or did Gao Shu bully you?"
Looking at her parents' worried and anxious expressions, Jingqiu felt her heart fill with a soft warmth: "Mom, Dad, don't worry, it's me. I've made up my mind; I don't want to chase after Gao Shu anymore. I want to come back and be with you, is that okay?"
In the two years their daughter had been away, she had grown and come to terms with herself. They couldn't be happier, repeatedly saying, "Good, good." They were deeply gratified. Over the years, Qiuqiu had devoted herself to Gao Shu, headfirst and heedless of anything else.
During her high school years, when she was at her most rebellious, neither light nor stern words from him, her father, worked; he was so anxious and helpless behind the scenes.
"It's good that you don't want to go back. Your dad and I will definitely resolve the job situation for you this month. Let's return to the city," said Zhou Lanping, knowing that her daughter must have gone through a lot over there, but if it meant Qiuqiu had a change of heart, it was a good thing.
Lu Xianrun had always wanted his daughter to join the army, but she was unwilling. She was too delicate to endure his kind of training; it was better for her to follow her and study medicine at the hospital.
Lu Jingqiu knew her parents could help, but she also had her ways: "Mom, Dad, don't worry, I can find a job on my own."
Zhou Lanping chuckled, "What can you do?"
Jingqiu smiled and replied, "I can check if the factories are hiring."
In her previous life, despite her mental issues, she had her talents, such as drawing. She could create illustrations; during her idle moments, she would sit alone in her room with a drawing pen.
Her art had once been seen by an old man by chance, who said that if her drawings were published, they would surely win awards.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
41 Power
stone 
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