Ling County Train Station.
When the roaring green train arrived, it was already evening.
Xia Chuyi had just gotten off the train with Qian Qianqian and the two little ones, when she soon heard someone shout, "Chuyi, Chuyi, look over here!"
She looked in the direction of the voice and saw her cousin Zhao Xiaogui, Uncle Xia, Aunt Xia, and her brother Xia Chengzong.
"Qianqian, Qianqian!" Qian Qianqian’s father also called out soon after, clearly both families had come together to pick them up at the train station.
"Dad, I’m here, I’m here!" Qian Qianqian, seeing her father, excitedly waved at him.
Qian Qianqian’s eyes also slightly reddened.
By the time the relatives squeezed their way over, Xia Chuyi and Qian Qianqian had already composed themselves and were presenting their best faces to their family.
"Chuyi!" As the crowd reached them, Aunt Xia couldn’t hold back and hugged Xia Chuyi excitedly.
"You’re finally back, it’s good to have you back!" Uncle Xia was a bit incoherent.
Only Zhao Xiaogui, the naive and sweet one, reacted first by asking with sparkling eyes, "Sis, did you bring me any gifts? Ouch!"
It’s true what they say: spare the rod, spoil the child.
After half a year, the child Zhao Xiaogui was still a handful—especially since his health had fully recovered, a good dressing-down was inevitable.
Xia Chuyi gave a smile and said, "Of course I brought something."
Xia Chengzong, not one for many words, silently came over to take the luggage from her hands and, looking at Xia Pan and Xia Cong, asked, "Are these your two kids?"
Previously, when she sent back documents to register the two kids, she had told her family the details.
Occasionally, when she would call, she would let Xia Pan and Xia Ming talk with Uncle Xia and the others.
All in all, everyone was familiar with the two children.
"Yes, this is Xia Pan, and this is Xia Ming." Xia Chuyi introduced, "Panpan, Xiaoming, this is your uncle, aunt, big brother, cousin..."
Xia Chuyi taught the two kids to recognize their relatives.
"Uncle, Aunt..." Xia Pan obediently called out, following Xia Pan as a guide, Xia Ming quickly called out too.
"Good, good, good!" Seeing the two kids behaving well, Uncle Xia and the others seemed very happy.
"Let’s go, let’s head home." Xia Chengzong, carrying the luggage and looking at the crowded surroundings, said to everyone.
"Yeah, let’s go home."
The next day, the two families together arranged a welcoming dinner.
Once seated, they asked about their specific experiences in Capital City—this had been agreed upon beforehand, as they were all concerned about the same issues, and it would be exhausting for the kids if everyone asked them one by one.
Xia Chuyi was touched by the adults’ consideration and thought to herself: No wonder Zhao Xiaogui, the most gossip-hungry child, hadn’t asked her about Capital City.
She sighed to herself, thinking her cousin had indeed grown up a bit.
"Sis, did you go see where the Emperor used to live? Did you watch the flag-raising ceremony? Did you climb the Great Wall?" Now that the "ban" was lifted, Zhao Xiaogui’s questions burst forth like a string of beans.
Xia Chuyi facepalmed: Alas, the thought of her cousin growing up was just an illusion.
However, in the end, she still recounted the details to everyone.
After all, Beijing is the capital, and when speaking about issues of Beijing, not just Zhao Xiaogui’s generation, even Uncle Xia, Aunt Xia, and other elders listened with great joy.