CHAPTER 118: CHAPTER 97: NATIONAL DAY RETURNS (PART 2)

Zhou Jiao barely had a chance to say a word before she saw him rush out in a hurry.

Seeing that he still looked quite energetic without any unusual expression, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Noticing her son beside her with his big, shiny, black eyes open, Zhou Jiao smiled and kissed him, "Baby, your dad is back. When he comes in, let’s see if he’ll tell us if he missed our baby these past few days."

Zhang Guoqing went to the well, took off his jacket, and drew a basin of water to wash his face.

Listening to his mother-in-law and his own mother chatting idly in the kitchen, he could hear them bursting into laughter from time to time. It seemed that during the days he wasn’t home, his mother-in-law was quite comfortable staying there.

Back in the inner room, he changed his pants and finally felt refreshed. Zhang Guoqing eagerly hugged Zhou Jiao, gave her several big kisses, and reluctantly let go of her. Sitting on the kang (a heatable brick bed), he picked up his son, who was wide awake with big, shiny eyes, watching him, making him laugh out loud.

"Ping’an, you see Daddy, don’t you? Do you remember Daddy? Daddy missed our Ping’an very much. When you grow up, Daddy will take you out to play, to see the cannons, the tanks, and the real wooden warehouses, so our Ping’an needs to grow up well and quickly."

He teased his son and looked at Jiao Jiao’s face, "Hmm, not bad, your complexion looks much better these days. Seems like you need to be nourished more. Now that I’m back, there’s no need to worry about not having enough to eat. I see the living room stove is ready; what did you eat these days? Is there anything you wanted? How are you sleeping at night? Ping’an didn’t give you a hard time, did he?"

Zhou Jiao looked at him amusedly, "Don’t rush, take it slow. My mom fed me five times a day these days. All old hen broth, plenty of rice, I’ve been eating well. The stove was installed the second day after it was purchased, and there are three hundred pounds of coal outside. Ping’an is very well-behaved, just one feed in the early morning like before. Don’t worry, your son is taken care of meticulously. At night, my mom sleeps with me, your mom sleeps outside. How was it for you out there?"

Zhang Guoqing kissed his son’s forehead and looked at his little face with a smile, "Five times a day is about right. Otherwise, you won’t recover. We have money at home, no need to treat ourselves badly. At noon, I and the military officers sent Grandpa on the train; they were in a soft sleeper, high standard. Grandpa told us to find time to visit Beijing and take Ping’an to see Grandma. Whatever you need, write a letter, and he’ll send it over. Don’t hold back; we lack nothing at home." After saying this, he winked at Zhou Jiao.

Zhou Jiao burst into laughter, leaned against him, and nudged him with her shoulder, "Now I understand where my mom gets her ’We’re rich, we don’t lack money’ attitude from, it’s hereditary."

The couple whispered to each other about things they saw and heard in the past days, bringing joy to Zhou Jiao, who occasionally laughed out loud.

Mother Zhang and Lin Lishan came in to see the two of them joyfully laughing.

Mother Zhang put a bowl of noodles on the kang, "Little sister, with Xiao Wu back, the house feels lively again. Xiao Wu, have some noodles first; we’ll eat later, just to warm your belly."

Zhang Guoqing gently placed Ping’an on the kang and covered him with the quilt. He quickly stood up, took the bowl and chopsticks, and started eating. At noon, he only had some dumplings, and after sending people away and saying goodbye to those people, he came straight back by car without having a proper meal.

Mother Zhang looked at her son, "Xiao Wu, why did you bring things back again? Did you buy something to eat for Grandpa? I heard there’s nothing good to eat on the train, and it’s very expensive. The train journey is really far for three days. Little sister, will the train arrive in Beijing the day after tomorrow?"

Lin Lishan nodded, "Without delays, it will arrive at 5 PM the day after tomorrow. The train takes 55 hours from the provincial city to Beijing, almost two and a half days. The day I came from Beijing, there was a delay, we should have arrived at 8 AM, but we only reached after 9. Grandpa will surely be home the day after tomorrow night."

Zhang Guoqing finished the noodles in a few mouthfuls, tidied up, and put them aside, "In the middle of winter, there aren’t many fruits to buy, so I just got some soft pastries. Grandpa and the others are in a soft sleeper, apparently even better than the usual ones, seemingly specially prepared for leading officers, right? Ma." He finished speaking and looked at Lin Lishan, who nodded.

Seeing his mother not understanding what a soft sleeper was, he stood up and gestured, "That soft sleeper, it’s pretty good. From the door to this big, there are only two small beds inside, with a small table in between. Someone brings hot water and meals. The stationmaster personally came with the train captain to greet Grandpa, everything was proper. Other than the lengthy time on the train, it was pretty comfortable."