"Uh-huh." Ma Shan grunted in response, picking up the snacks provided by the shop. Since they were spicy, Wang Chunmei didn’t touch them and instead continued to converse with him in a low voice:
"Our town’s electricity has only been connected for two years; it hasn’t reached the village yet. But our village is doing well, we already have a quota."
With the Xie and Zhou families leading the way in Qingfeng Village, followed by the support of the Li and Chen families, the village was expected to have electricity by the end of the year at the latest.
There was only one telephone in the entire village, and that was at the village brigade headquarters, which really highlighted how remote it was.
"Society is progressing; our country will definitely get better and better!" Ma Shan asserted confidently.
Hadn’t the benefits of their Rong Wei troops been on the rise too? If the country was doing well, surely, they wouldn’t neglect these big-headed soldiers who fought on the frontlines.
Upon hearing this, Wang Chunmei nodded in firm agreement, thinking that compared to four or five years ago, the people are much happier now under the current policies.
"The dishes are here~"
After about ten minutes of everyone chatting about their own topics, the waiter began to serve the food. It couldn’t be helped—it was pitch dark outside, and only Xie Jingchen and his group were dining in the state-owned restaurant.
As a result, the food was served very quickly.
Xie Jingchen had ordered simple stir-fries, nothing fancy, so the serving time was indeed very fast.
The group was starving, having not eaten a proper hot meal since leaving Qingfeng Village. Even Wang Chunmei and Yan Jinsu, who were usually picky eaters, were ravenous and unreservedly joined in the scramble for food.
The two little cherubs had already grown eight teeth each and had joined everyone in eating rice during the New Year’s celebration.
Yan Jinchang specifically mashed the rice very finely for the two little ones; the meat was carefully cut into small pieces by Yan Jinsu with scant quantity, just two strips of vegetables and a piece of meat, all chopped into tiny morsels.
Despite their young age, the two cherubs were not ordinary children; they were always a step ahead of others. They had long since learned to chew their food slowly and thoroughly, never swallowing without chewing properly, so there was no choking hazard.
The two little ones were held respectively by Xie Jingchen and Yan Jinchang, sitting on their propped-up thighs, just the right height to eat steadily from the table.
Yan Jinsu didn’t give them extra attention, as the children were already capable of eating on their own. Perhaps due to their high intelligence, they didn’t require careful teaching from adults. Having seen their three youngest little cousins eat by themselves, not to mention Xiaojiu, even Xiao Shi very proudly insisted on eating by themselves, as their sense of self-esteem was incredibly strong.
Even though the two cherubs were not yet grown up, they had a particularly strong sense of self-respect from an early age. They could also interpret the subtle expressions of adults, and coupled with the growth they gained from their parents’ disappearance a while back, they were especially obedient.
Seeing how well-behaved the two cherubs were, even the waiter standing by the cashier looked on with envy!
Xiaojiu and Xiao Shi had remarkably similar features, and if it weren’t for their gender-revealing clothes, outsiders would think they were a pair of sisters.
Of course, Xiao Shi currently also had short hair, just like Little Jiu’er. There was no help for it; Xiao Shi’s hair had been lighter in color than Xiaojiu’s since they were young, and the hope was that frequent trims would help increase its thickness.
Before the New Year, the siblings had their hair cut, and now, half a month later, the hair length just covered their necks. With identical features and hairstyles, it was really hard for strangers to tell them apart without close acquaintance.
Yan Jinsu was not out to confuse anyone, so the color of their clothes made it easy to tell their gender at a glance.
The daughter was often in pink, while the son wore more blue and black, immediately clarifying that they were a pair of dragon and phoenix twins.
After the meal, the temperature dropped even more. They didn’t hang around but went straight back to the guesthouse to rest.
After three days , everyone was weary. Yan Jinsu was especially tired after eating and, along with Xiaojiu and Xiao Shi, was in a state ready for sleep.
It was too cold, and being outdoors, no one in the group took a bath. Instead, they requested some hot water from the staff, washed their faces and feet, and then went to bed to rest.
The next morning, they woke up to a rare sunny day!
This was simply great, making it convenient for their group to travel!
The closer they got to Beijing, the smoother the roads became. Setting off at half-past eight in the morning, they safely entered Beijing by a little after three in the afternoon.
Beijing was vast, divided into several districts. The place Xie Jingchen had prepared early on was located in a hutong district.
When he had people looking for a house, he knew he wanted something spacious, and, in Beijing, the most spacious accommodations were the tri- and quadrangle-style courtyard houses.
What Xie Jingchen found was a Siheyuan located at the front of Qian Dajie Alley, with a roadway more than four meters wide. One could see many gnarled tree branches poking through the enclosing wall.
The branches were covered in layers of pristine white snow, resembling cotton wool, making for a gorgeous sight.
Wang Chunmei’s eyes gleamed with surprise at seeing such a residence.
This type of house was rarely seen in their southern region. It was only because Xie Jingchen had spent a long time in the north that even their self-built house bore some resemblance to a Sanheyuan.
"So beautiful!" Wang Chunmei exclaimed.
Upon seeing this, Yan Jinsu also found it extremely pleasing. She had only seen ancient tri- and quadrangle courtyards on maps of the old capital.
Seeing it in person was a first-time experience.
Indeed, being in the capital was an eye-opener. Although Yan Jinsu did not exhibit the awkwardness of ’Dowager Liu entering the Grand View Garden,’ her eyes too radiated plenty of admiration.
As for Wang Chunmei’s reaction, it was even more pronounced than Yan Jinsu’s.
Yan Jinchang glanced at his younger sister a few times, hesitating to speak. He then looked at their entire group and finally said nothing.
Even if he wanted to suggest that his little sister’s family stay with the Yan family for a few days, it all depended on whether the boss was willing or not. If the house had not been previously arranged, the boss might have been inclined to accompany him.
But now, seeing that the boss had already found a house and seemed to know his way around Beijing, he had no grounds to suggest otherwise.
Of course, having been in the army for over a decade, how could Xie Jingchen have not visited Beijing before? It’s just that in the past, he was always accompanying commanders, but now, he himself was a commander.
It was Xie Jingchen’s first time coming to the residence, but with his extraordinary memory, even though his last trip to Beijing had been two years ago, he was immediately able to accurately find the location upon hearing the address from his subordinates.
This place was called Qian Dajie Alley, located in the third row of the alley, and the Siheyuan was a two-entry style. In this area of the hutong, it was quite ordinary.
As soon as Xie Jingchen arrived, he had just placed the children on the ground and instructed his subordinates to park the vehicle, without even knocking at the main gate. The gate suddenly opened, revealing the head of an elderly woman wearing a black-gray headscarf, with hands that were black and cracked from age clasping the gate.
When the old woman saw Xie Jingchen at the front, she immediately opened the gate wider with excitement and said with a smile:
"Thirteenth Master, you’ve finally arrived!"