novellhall Chapter 7 Idle Talk Under the Old Walnut Tree
Chapter 7 Idle Talk Under the Old Walnut Tree
The moon rose above the willow branches, casting a silvery glow over the courtyard.
The operations department of Chehe County, 2,000 kilometers away from Lianchi Village, has just adjourned its meeting.
Huo Jiyun walked towards the dormitory and ran into Brigade Commander Qi Yunsheng on the way.
"Ji Yun, this is the thermal underwear your sister-in-law mended for you. Take it back."
"Please thank your sister-in-law for me." Huo Jiyun took the autumn clothes.
Qi Yunsheng was going in the same direction as him. "He's a regimental commander, how come he can't even afford a thermal undershirt?"
Huo Jiyun just smiled and didn't say anything.
"I heard you send 20 yuan home every month. You only earn 60 yuan a month, and you give almost half of it home. The rest you have to support Lin Wan and her son. What's left for you?"
Seeing Huo Jiyun's indifferent expression, Qi Yunsheng felt both heartache and anger.
"You, you just never think about yourself."
"By the way, your family visit leave has been approved this year. Go back to your hometown for the Spring Festival and spend some quality time with your wife and kids."
As they spoke, the two arrived at the dormitory building entrance, and Qi Yunsheng walked towards the family compound on the right.
Huo Jiyun then entered the single dormitory and went to room 307.
In the shadows at the corner, there was a blurry figure.
Hearing footsteps, the young woman emerged from the darkness with a gentle smile.
"Commander Huo, you're back?" Lin Wan took out two aluminum lunch boxes from her bosom. "I heard you had a meeting tonight, and I guessed you hadn't eaten, so I made some vegetable dumplings. Here, have some."
"Thank you." Huo Jiyun took the lunchbox. "You don't need to go to so much trouble next time."
"It's no trouble at all. After Fan Lin sacrificed himself, you took care of me and Xiao Tao. There's not much I can do for you, just cook a meal. I hope you don't mind."
"It's too late, you should go home to your dormitory. I'll wash your lunchbox for you tomorrow," Huo Jiyun said as she opened the dormitory door and turned back.
"Don't come to see me so late in the future. It's not good if someone sees you."
Lin Wan lowered her eyes and remained silent, only clutching the hem of her clothes.
When she was about to look up and speak, she realized that the dormitory door was already closed.
Lin Wan stomped her foot angrily and left the dormitory building unwillingly.
Huo Jiyun turned on the desk lamp and casually placed the lunchbox aside.
Qi Yunsheng's words just now reminded him of his wife and children far away in Zhongchuan Province.
He returned to the Northwest a month after his marriage and stayed away for four years.
To be honest, Huo Jiyun can hardly remember what Qiao An looks like now.
She was uneducated and illiterate; every time she wrote a letter, she would ask for money and urge him to be more filial to his parents.
To be honest, he couldn't see any affection between husband and wife in the letter.
But then I thought about it again, and he had been gone for four years, which already made me feel bad for Qiao An.
If giving money to my parents can make her and her child's life better, then I'll give it to them.
Joan hadn't slept well all night, her whole body aching from the pressure, and she finally opened her eyes to the sound of roosters crowing.
Huo Ning had already woken up. She dared not move and remained nestled in Qiao An's arms, craving the warmth of her mother.
Qiao An propped herself up and looked at Huo Chen.
He sat cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed) with his eyes closed, facing her and Huo Ning.
Like a meditating little monk
Hearing the sound from this side, he immediately opened his eyes and looked over alertly.
"Huo Chen, I've left you two some food. Stay home and behave yourself. I'm going to town to buy some things and I'll be back tonight."
"Don't wander off. Stay home and wait for me to come back, okay?"
Huo Chen kept a cold expression and remained silent.
"Mom, we'll be good." Huo Ning crawled out of her arms.
When she smiles, she reveals a row of small white teeth.
"Ah Ning is still the best." Qiao An pinched her little face.
If his face weren't so dark, I would have kissed him no matter what.
Qiao An's clothes hadn't been changed for three days and had gone bad. She took out a pair of army green pants and a white cotton shirt with a dark pattern from her spatial storage.
She then casually took out two colorful hair ties that Mo Yuxuan had bought for her and braided two thick, black braids for herself.
Autumn weather is the driest, and my skin starts to feel tight right after I wash my face.
Qiao An hid in the side room, took out the lotion and essence that Mo Yuxuan had bought from her space, patted it for a while, and finally applied hand cream.
She left two large jars of mineral water and eight steamed egg cakes for Huo Chen and Huo Ning.
That should be enough to feed them for a day.
Actually, there are many fast food and packaged meals in Qiao An's space.
But children shouldn't know these things yet, at least not until they fully believe in themselves.
"If you finish your water, just wait until I get home. Whatever you do, don't drink the cold water from the pump, okay?"
Before leaving, Joan gave them some instructions.
"I know, Mom. You have to come back soon," Huo Ning said pitifully, leaning against the doorframe.
"Mom will cook something delicious for you when she gets back." Qiao An waved, closed the gate, and walked towards the village entrance.
"Brother, look, Mom has really changed for the better. She even said she'll cook something delicious for us tonight," Huo Ning called out happily as he turned around.
Huo Chen didn't think so. He suddenly remembered a sentence that Qiao An often said: "My biggest regret is giving birth to you. Sooner or later I will go to town and find someone to sell you."
The wicked woman went to town. Before she left, she gave them malted milk powder and chicken cakes.
This is very unusual.
And what did she just say?
Making them stay home obediently is just to prevent them from running away, isn't it?
"Ah Ning, I think that bad woman wants to sell us out. Do you remember that time she tricked me into eating eggs and then beat me so badly that I couldn't get out of bed all day?"
"A bad woman who's nice to us is definitely trying to harm us," Huo Chen said definitively.
Huo Ning hesitated. What her brother said seemed to make sense, but she really liked the mother from last night.
Joanne was unaware that the two little ones at home were having wild thoughts, and even began to suspect that she was going to sell the children.
She was walking towards the old walnut tree at the entrance of the village.
To get to town, you either have to take a tractor or walk.
Every Monday morning, the brigade's tractors would go to town for repairs, leaving at eight o'clock in the morning and returning at five o'clock in the evening.
If you don't want to walk, you can pay to take a tractor; it costs 30 cents per person.
Three mao (a unit of currency) is quite a lot, enough for a family to eat for a day, so not many people ride tractors.
Qiao An was too lazy to save money. She hadn't slept a wink on the train the day before yesterday and hadn't slept well yesterday either. Even a body made of iron couldn't withstand such torment.
Several men and women were sitting under the big walnut tree at that moment.
These were all educated youth sent to the countryside in Lianchi Village. Their families would send them living expenses every month, so spending three cents to ride a tractor was nothing to them.
"Have you heard what happened in Lianchi Village last night?" Xu Chunping said to the woman next to her, touching her braid.
"What's all the fuss about? You're so well-informed, tell us what's going on," Feng Xiaoli asked, craning her neck.
The others also gathered around.
Although the educated youth were educated, they also liked to gossip about everyday matters, especially in this poor mountain village. If they couldn't chat, life would be even more boring.
"Isn't it all about the Huo family that caused such a stir a few months ago? Didn't a wealthy couple come to Shenzhou and claim that Qiao An was their daughter? Qiao An dumped her child and happily followed them."
Xu Chunping covered her mouth and laughed as she said this, "As a result, he came back yesterday looking dejected. As soon as he got back, he started making a scene at home, saying that he wouldn't get a divorce and that he wanted to take the child with him and raise him himself."
"Why did she come back? Shenzhou is a big city. Weren't her parents supposed to be quite wealthy? They're big bosses, aren't they?" Feng Xiaoli asked.
"Is that even a question? She's a capitalist! She must have been overthrown. She wanted to go to Shenzhou to enjoy the good life, but she didn't get to enjoy it, so she ran back to Lianchi Village. She's shameless enough. If I were her, I wouldn't dare come back."
As soon as Qiao An walked up to the old walnut tree, she heard people under the tree gossiping about her.
These people were young and somewhat unfamiliar, but they were dressed quite neatly; they were probably educated youth sent to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution.
Sitting next to them were Wang Shuyun and her younger sister Wang Lijuan.
Wang Shuyun went to town today to buy shoes for her two sons.