At the Beijing Railway Station square, numerous travelers could be seen coming and going everywhere. As the Capital of the nation, this place experienced a huge daily flow of passengers. Many were waiting at the south gate exit for the return of family and friends. At this moment, two trains had just arrived, with passengers carrying luggage and parcels of various sizes.
Xiao Zhou glanced at the exit and squeezed through the crowd. After much effort, he managed to catch hold of a staff member to inquire and learned that the train Lin Lishan was on would arrive in another hour. He breathed a sigh of relief. After thanking the staff, he casually showed his work badge and was allowed into the platform. He found a sheltered spot, cleaned the ground, and leaned against the wall to rest with his eyes closed.
An hour later, the sound of the train entering the station echoed. Xiao Zhou quickly stood up and ran towards the boarding point. As he walked along the sleeper carriage, searching for Lin Lishan, even before he found her, he saw staff at the front of the carriage moving large parcels. Upon sight, he knew these were packed by Zhang Guoqing and hurried forward. Sure enough, he saw her conversing with the staff, "Big sister, Mr. Lin asked me to come to pick you up."
Lin Lishan was delighted to see Xiao Zhou and said to the train conductor, Liu Ming, "Mr. Liu, look, my family truly came to pick me up. You really don’t need to worry. My kid does tend to trouble people, and I owe much to your care along the way. Now that the train has stopped, you must have many tasks to handle. You go ahead with your work. We’ll get in touch later."
Liu Ming looked at the young man in military uniform standing before him and let out a sigh of relief, "It’s a good thing you’re here. Now I can truly say I’ve completed my duty. I’ll go arrange my work first. A cart will come over in a bit; you can exit then."
Xiao Zhou hurriedly approached to express his gratitude, "Thank you very much. Go ahead with your work. I’m here, so nothing will go wrong, and if needed, we can always reach out to the staff nearby."
Lin Lishan watched Liu Ming leave and curiously asked, "Has Xiao Wu sent a telegram?"
"Yes, he said there’s a 500-pound load for someone to pick up. The chief was worried last night and had me come to pick you up today. I think these things weigh more than 500 pounds."
Lin Lishan saw carts being pushed over upfront and anxiously said, "It certainly is more. There’s a lot of stuff, all sorts of things. We’ll discuss it after we return. The cart is here."
After more than an hour had passed and all the luggage and parcels were loaded onto the vehicle, Beijing was already shimmering with lights. The car followed the road towards the military district courtyard.
Lin Lishan glanced out of the car window and sighed, "Seeing all these bright lights and hearing the noise all of a sudden is really a bit overwhelming. By now, Jiao Jiao would have already had dinner in the Zhang Family Village, and the Zhang Family would be getting ready to sleep. There’s no electric light, no entertainment there, and although life is simple, it does bring peace to the mind."
Xiao Zhou laughed and picked up speed on the road.
The car drove into the courtyard heading towards the small back courtyard. Just as the car stopped, the old man came out of the courtyard with Li Jianjun. Upon seeing Lin Lishan, he laughed heartily, "To think Shanshan is truly back. Quickly, let me see what’s inside all these?"
"Hehe, Dad, lots of rare things Xiao Wu sought out for you and Mom. You’ll surely like them. Don’t rush. Let’s move everything into the living room and then unpack. There’s so much, I can’t even say."
Mr. Lin laughed heartily and kept urging, "Jianjun, help carry them in too, Xiao Zhou, don’t rush, take your time. Wow, these bags are packed tight, and there’s quite a lot of stuff. Xiao Wu really went all out this time."
The laughter from Mr. Lin piqued the curiosity of the old ladies sitting in the living room. Moments later, the large parcels filled up the empty space of the living room.
Jianjun barely sat on the couch and took a sip of tea, laughing heartily as he spoke to Lin Liyin, "Now I truly believe that Zhang Guoqing has divine power. The big sister said he loaded all these things onto the train all by himself, without breaking a sweat. Each parcel is almost over a hundred pounds; there’s definitely more than 500 pounds here. I don’t know what it is, but it’s heavy. I could smell meat and mushrooms; the rest I can’t identify."
Lin Xueling had been itching to start, holding scissors in wait. Seeing everything brought in, she didn’t need to be told, and directly intended to cut them open.
Lin Lishan hurriedly stepped forward, stopping her and taking the scissors, "Little ancestor, you better rest. You can’t just cut randomly; there’s some very precious Wolf King Fur inside, which Xiao Wu sought out for your grandparents to use. One cut and it’s ruined.
Dad, Xiao Wu mentioned that though it’s not winter yet, you often touch your knees, and he thinks your old cold legs are acting up. So, he sought out some experienced hands and managed to get hold of two Wolf King Furs, saying that sleeping with these in winter would relieve your leg pain. It’ll do good for Mom too, sleeping on it would prevent her from feeling cold due to her weak body." Read full story at N()velFire.net