Chapter 167: Chapter 167: Zhong Zijun’s Letter, Preparations Before Going Home

Zhong Luoning took the three children to feed the rabbits some carrot tops and vegetable leaves, then they washed up and had breakfast.

Ming Ruxue showed up at the table right on time for the meal.

“Huanhuan-jie, what’s for breakfast today?”

“Big pork buns from the state-run restaurant, plus soybean milk and porridge.”

Ming Ruxue picked up a big pork bun and took a bite. “If you ask me, these state-run restaurant buns still aren’t as tasty as the ones you make, Huanhuan-jie.”

“Oh, come on! You’re just flattering her. Let’s see if my sister gets flattered all the way to the sky!” The two bickered like usual.

Gu Qinghuan could only shake her head helplessly.

*Bang bang!*

Dabao quickly put down his chopsticks and ran out.

“I’ll get the door!”

Gu Qinghuan hurried after him.

“Mama, it’s the postman!”

“There’s a letter for Gu Qinghuan. Are you Gu Qinghuan?” The postman handed over a letter.

“That’s me.” Gu Qinghuan nodded and signed for it.

“Mama, who’s the letter from?” Dabao craned his neck to see.

Gu Qinghuan laughed and patted his head. “Go study hard. Once you know more characters, you can help Mama read letters.”

The letter was from Xujiatun.

Gu Qinghuan’s expression turned serious as she opened the letter and started reading.

She finished it in a flash, reading ten lines at a glance, and then started pacing anxiously.

Seeing this, Zhong Luoning came over and asked softly, “Huanhuan, is something wrong?” She rarely saw Gu Qinghuan like this.

The letter was from Zhong Zijun. Because of winter transportation issues and regular mail being slow, it had taken over a month to reach Gu Qinghuan.

Zhong Zijun briefly mentioned running into danger and being saved by Ji Linhao, then asked when Gu Qinghuan would return to Xujiatun, and inquired about Lanting and Zhong Luoning.

Although Zhong Zijun didn’t go into detail about the incident, Gu Qinghuan could sense how dangerous it had been, and she felt worried.

After Gu Yunchuan was brought to justice, she had written a letter home, thinking she’d be back in Xujiatun soon, so she hadn’t said much.

“It’s nothing!” Gu Qinghuan shook her head at Zhong Luoning, then handed the letter to Lanting—after all, he was Zhong Zijun’s son and had a right to know.

Lanting took the letter, confused, but after reading it, he exploded with anger. “Sis, what kind of people are these! Mom won’t be bullied in the village, will she?”

Silly boy, a tiger fallen to the plains is bullied by dogs—of course Zhong Zijun has suffered. She’s already endured all the hardships the world has to offer.

“No way, Sis, we have to go see her! I won’t be at ease otherwise,” Gu Lanting said, all worked up.

Gu Qinghuan fell silent, deep in thought.

She had too many concerns.

On one hand, Xu Huaian had been gone for over half a month without returning—she worried something might have happened to him.

On the other hand, she carried a lot of responsibility: Lanting, Ming Ruxue, the two kids, Zhong Luoning and her son—they were all her responsibility. Leaving anyone behind didn’t feel right, especially with the New Year approaching.

If she took Lanting and the two kids back to Xujiatun and left Ming Ruxue and Zhong Luoning’s family here, she’d be worried sick.

She’d just promised Nan Sheng and his wife to look after Ming Ruxue, and even accepted 3,000 yuan from them.

Not to mention Zhong Luoning and her son—both were sick and needed care. If the Xu family came looking for trouble, they’d be defenseless.

But she was also anxious about the situation in Xujiatun. Anything could happen in the winter.

Ji Linhao was a good person, but he had his own life—he couldn’t watch over Zhong Zijun all the time. Zhong Weiqian and his wife were old and frail, and needed Zhong Zijun to look after them, not the other way around.

Thinking it through, Gu Qinghuan laid out her concerns for everyone.

“That’s the situation. I really don’t know what to do.”

After hearing this, Dabao and Beibei were the first to raise their hands. “Mama, wherever you go, we’ll go too!” As for Dad, he could take care of himself—sticking with Mama was more important.

Ming Ruxue swallowed the last bite of her bun. “Sis, me too! Wherever you are, I’ll be there! Don’t leave me behind.” She definitely didn’t want to spend New Year’s alone.

Lanting, of course, felt the same. Knowing what his mother had gone through, he was desperate to pack up and leave right away.

That just left Zhong Luoning and her son.

Everyone looked at them.

Zhong Luoning spoke up, “Yuran and I are fine with it. The only thing is, we might trouble you along the way…”

“No trouble at all, Sis! With me around, what’s there to be afraid of?” Lanting patted his chest. He’d been eating well lately, had grown taller and stronger, and was starting to look like a real man.

Since everyone was willing to go, Gu Qinghuan stopped hesitating and decided to take everyone back to Xujiatun for the New Year.

The big kang bed at home could fit everyone—no need to worry about space.

The only regret was not being able to wait for Xu Huaian. She’d thought he’d be back in a week, but it had been half a month with no sign of him. Who knew what kind of mission he was on, or if it was dangerous.

Oh well, there was nothing she could do to help anyway.

The whole family sprang into action.

Getting so many people on a train to the Northeast wasn’t a simple matter—it required a lot of preparation.

First up: train tickets. Four adults, three kids, plus luggage—there was no way they could squeeze into hard seats. They needed to get sleeper tickets.

But with the New Year approaching, sleeper tickets were hard to come by.

If Ming Ruxue hadn’t volunteered that she could find someone to get the tickets, Gu Qinghuan would have forgotten she had such a lucky charm on her side.

After all, Ming Ruxue was a little princess under the special care of certain departments—getting a few sleeper tickets was a piece of cake for her.

So that task was left to her.

Gu Qinghuan also reminded her to let her parents know, so they wouldn’t worry.

Next was visiting people and handling social obligations.

With New Year’s coming, it was customary to bring gifts to elders and close acquaintances. Relationships needed to be maintained.

First stop was Xu Lei and Xia Lian’s house. Gu Qinghuan rode over with thirty jin of white flour, thirty jin of rice, a three-jin slab of pork fat, and a five-jin piece of fatty pork.

She’d wanted to bring them some wild chickens or rabbits from her space, but just didn’t have the time, so meat would have to do. With so much meat and fat, they’d have a good New Year.

These gifts were not only for the holiday, but also to thank Xu Lei for all his help lately.

Gu Qinghuan was always someone who repaid kindness with kindness, and grudges with grudges.

She remembered Xu Lei’s help.

As soon as she arrived, she told Xia Lian she’d be heading back to the Northeast soon, so their business would have to pause.

But all the finished products could be sold, and any leftover raw materials could be used as they liked.

Xia Lian was a bit disappointed, but quickly understood and asked if there was anything she could help with.

Gu Qinghuan handed over the gifts she’d brought.

Xia Lian was startled by how much there was. “Huanhuan, I can’t accept all this. Old Xu will scold me when he gets back.”

“Auntie, Lanting and I couldn’t have managed on our own—it was all thanks to Uncle Xu. Our families will keep in touch, and I really want to thank him. Please accept it,” Gu Qinghuan said sincerely, so Xia Lian had no choice but to accept.

Gu Qinghuan’s gifts were so generous that Xia Lian had nothing comparable to give in return. After thinking for a moment, she dug out a string of prayer beads from her cupboard and gave them to Gu Qinghuan as a token of appreciation.

“Huanhuan, our house is bare, don’t laugh at us. These beads were left by my mother—they’re made of small-leaf red sandalwood and are worth a bit. I’m just passing them on to you, so please accept them.” Xia Lian pressed the beads into Gu Qinghuan’s hand.

At this time, such things weren’t worth much—couldn’t even be traded for a few jin of grain.

People were barely getting enough to eat, so trinkets like this didn’t matter much.

But in the future, they’d be valuable. As the saying goes: gold in troubled times, antiques in prosperous times.

“I can’t accept this—it’s a keepsake from your mother!”

“If you don’t take it, then take your gifts back too,” Xia Lian said helplessly.

Seeing she couldn’t refuse, Gu Qinghuan accepted.

Xia Lian packed up all the pastries she’d made in the past couple of days and tied them to Gu Qinghuan’s bike, along with some homemade pickles.

Gu Qinghuan paid Xia Lian for the goods and wished the family a happy New Year in advance.

On the way home, she put the pastries into her space, keeping ten boxes of Beijing-style assorted pastries aside for gifts.

The rest she put up for sale—the pastry business was officially wrapped up.

That afternoon, she visited Zhang Zheng, Qu Hanwen, Xiao Fengying, and the Fang family with gifts.

Even though she now knew about the relationship between Qu Hanwen and Xiao Fengying, she still gave them gifts separately—after all, they weren’t officially together yet.

She specially organized the warehouse in her space villa and put together several sets of gifts."