Director Qin said he was going to hang up, but ended up chatting about the painting for a few more sentences before reluctantly hanging up.
After finishing everything, Qin Huai glanced at the writing progress of Qin Luo’s essay next door.
It read: "Uncle Gong, I’m really thankful for your help today."
Not even a full sentence was completed.
Qin Huai started to suspect that this kid didn’t pass the Chinese exam in high school because he didn’t finish his essay.
If it were an online article author, they would have churned out a couple of thousand words by this time. Meanwhile, his hapless sibling was busy researching and organizing language, and only managed to put together these 11 words.
By the time the high-speed train arrived, Qin Luo still hadn’t finished the thank-you essay.
From the looks of it, Qin Luo won’t be able to play on the phone tonight; he’ll have to focus on practicing his Chinese writing skills.
Qin Huai and Qin Luo dragged their luggage; Qin Luo wore a backpack in front, and they exited the station together.
"Bro, I want to eat a beef burger at the train station!" Qin Luo exclaimed, wanting food as soon as they stepped out of the station.
"Didn’t you use Uncle Gong’s New Year money to buy two boxed meals and a bag of duck necks on the train? One was black pepper beef rice, and the other was Kung Pao chicken rice. Wasn’t that enough?" Qin Huai asked, his voice full of soul.
Qin Luo held up one finger: "There’s still a beef burger missing, the double beef kind."
Qin Huai sighed: "Fine, buy it. Get me one too."
Qin Luo cheered and ran with his luggage to the beef burger shop at the train station entrance.
At the entrance of Qiu County train station, there’s a burger shop claimed to have the best beef burgers in the whole county, touted as handmade beef patties, though it’s just a claim. Qin Huai knew the supply chain of these patties, as they were on the higher end for the same category, and small shops usually wouldn’t splurge on such expensive beef patties. Whenever Qin Luo wanted some during holidays, no one in the Qin Family would stop him.
During the Spring Festival period, the burger shop’s business was quite good, filled to capacity.
Qin Huai waited at the entrance with two suitcases, and meanwhile, sent a WeChat message to Huang Shengli and others to let them know he was safe.
Just typing, Qin Huai heard a familiar voice.
"Huaihuai, why are you here alone? Where’s Luoluo, is she buying double beef burgers again? Let me get her out; her dad already bought some for her." Zhao Rong, dressed in a thick down jacket, appeared behind Qin Huai. Without giving him a chance to respond, she dashed into the burger shop.
Behind Zhao Rong was Qin Congwen, carrying two paper bags.
"Dad, didn’t you and mom already go to the countryside? How come you’re back in the county?" Qin Huai asked with pleasant surprise.
"It was you who called and told your mom you were staying in the county for a day instead of returning to the countryside today. She worried that the blankets on the bed in your and Luoluo’s rooms weren’t thick enough. Right after the call, she dragged me back by bus."
"We had already cleaned once, and now we cleaned again. Didn’t you send the high-speed train schedule to the group before you left? Your mom and I came directly to the high-speed rail station to pick you up, and we even bought you beef burgers, both double layered."
"In your bag, there’s mashed potatoes, and in Luoluo’s, there’s corn on the cob." Qin Congwen handed the burger to Qin Huai. "You must be starving on your way back; I’m not worried about Luoluo, since you’ve never liked eating on long-distance transport since you were a kid."
"When you were younger, your mom and I took you to another province; on an 11-hour train trip, you didn’t eat a thing. Your mom and I were scared you were sick. As soon as we got off the train, we took you to the hospital, but just at the hospital entrance, you pointed at a vendor selling boiled corn and said you wanted that."
Qin Huai didn’t expect that he would start reminiscing about his childhood embarrassing moments right outside the train station before visiting the Sanmalu Children’s Welfare Institute to admire his childhood drawings. All he could do was awkwardly munch on his burger.
The hot, double-beef burger was juicy and delicious!
It would taste even better with a slice of pineapple and two slices of cheese.
Before swallowing the first bite, Qin Luo and Zhao Rong came out of the burger shop.
Like a gleeful Samoyed, Qin Luo hugged Qin Congwen, exclaiming happily, "Dad, I love you so much! You actually went out of your way to buy me my favorite double beef burger. I got so many red envelopes today; I’ll give you a tenth when we get back."
Zhao Rong was a little curious: "Who gave Luoluo the New Year’s money?"
"The chefs and diners on the Gusu side," Qin Huai briefly explained. "The chefs at Huang Ji get a bonus every New Year. I took a few, and Luoluo took a few as well."
Zhao Rong nodded, not thinking much of it, assuming it was a few hundred yuan’s regular New Year bonus. "Luoluo, remember to thank them; they gave it to you for your brother’s sake."
"Don’t squander the red envelopes."
"Got it, mom," Qin Luo eagerly opened the burger wrapper, took a big bite, and mumbled.
"New Year’s is just great; it’s my favorite time!"