Chapter 29: To the Destination

On the afternoon of the Lantern Festival, Wei Dai and Wen Jiajia went to Fuyang, handed the spare key to Zhang Xiuli, and took away the last part of the things they needed to take.

Finally, they went to the tea mountain to visit the graves of the original owner’s family.

The Qingming Festival is not far away, and she will definitely not come back by then. However, this is the first year after the original owner’s family passed away. Even if she can’t sweep the graves during the Qingming Festival, she has to come here to weed the graves before leaving.

You also have to pay attention to whether there are bamboo shoots.

It is no exaggeration to say that bamboo shoots can support a tomb. There was such a situation in the village before. Even though the family chopped the bamboo shoots into pieces, they still felt very angry.

It’s an insult to our ancestors!

Fortunately, the few bamboos on the tea mountain are far away from the cemetery, so Wen Jiajia and Wei Dai only need to clear the weeds.

This is the time when peach blossoms are in full bloom.

The valley and the hillsides on both sides are all pink. Occasionally, a breeze blows, making the petals flutter and dance in the air.

Wen Jiajia was stunned.

There is no reason. At some point, people will be moved by beautiful scenery.

She suddenly felt a little regretful for not bringing Wen Chun and Wen Xuan with her. Last year she had clearly promised them that she would bring them to see the peach blossoms.

“Is it ready?” Wei Dai asked. Seeing Jiajia’s interest in the wild peach forest, he said, “I came to this wild peach forest when I was a child. There are not many peaches, but there are a lot of peach gums.”

“When there is more peach gum, there will be fewer peaches. This is normal.”

Wen Jiajia had eaten peach gum, and somehow it became popular, and was said to be a tonic. Therefore, a business asked her to promote it. After receiving the sample, Wen Jiajia stewed it and tasted it, and rejected the business on the same day.

No reason, the difference between taste and price is too big, and it takes too much time to stew, which does not fit in with the fast-paced life of young people today. Chunchun is here to reap the benefits, or the kind who runs away after reaping a few.

As for whether it is nutritious or not, forget it. With the money, you can buy alternative products to supplement nutrition.

They left the wild peach forest and returned to the village entrance.

The Wen family’s house can be seen at the entrance of the village. The house seems a little desolate, even though she had just left not long ago.

Like… a guard dog that was abandoned.

Wen Jiajia felt a sour and swollen heart, as if it had been soaked in water or was being pinched by a pair of large hands.

When the moment came, she was really reluctant to give up.

But that was all, she couldn’t accept the heavy labor, so she had to leave this land that gave her a quiet life.

This is my farewell to this home.

The setting sun filled the sky, and flocks of birds flew through the sunset, occasionally passing over the newly sprouted reeds, stepping on the already drooping reeds to make them droop even lower.

The hibernating insects and the dead trees are waking up together, and sometimes you can hear rustling sounds.

Fuyang is not bad, but if it is a more remote place, there will be snakes on the country roads during this season.

A few days after the Lantern Festival comes the Waking of Insects.

Jingzhe, the spring thunder, awakens the hibernating insects and also reminds farmers that those who have not started spring plowing should hurry up, because the spring thunder and rain will come too late.

“Let’s go, Comrade Wei.”

Wen Jiajia took a deep breath, composed herself, raised the corners of her mouth again, sat on the back seat of the bicycle, and patted Wei Dai on the shoulder.

“Jia Jia, hold on tight.”

Wei Dai kicked hard, and Wen Jiajia crashed into his broad back.

“You did that on purpose!”

After all the fuss, the sadness disappeared without a trace.

___

The next day.

Before daybreak, when the stars were still shining brightly, Wei Dai woke Wen Jiajia up from her sleep.

Wen Jiajia is actually a little grumpy when she wakes up.

In her previous life, it was always her mother who woke her up because her mother was stricter at home, and Wen Jiajia didn’t dare argue with her. But she dared to do that with her father. Her father wanted to wake her up, but it took him ten minutes to do so.

But Wen Jiajia at least knew when she could stay in bed and when she couldn’t. Just like today, she got up after just three minutes.

Fortunately, she went to bed early last night, so even though it was only four in the morning, she was not so sleepy that she couldn’t open her eyes.

Wen Jiajia rubbed her eyes and yawned again. “Have you prepared the meal?”

Wei Dai helped her get the clothes hanging at the end of the bed. “Dad got up early to make this.”

Sure enough, Wen Jiajia got dressed much faster.

The sisters Wen Chun and Wen Xuan did not wake up. They could not be roused, and even if shaken awake, they would fall asleep again.

Wen Jiajia quickly brushed her teeth and washed her face, shook the toothbrush a few times, stuffed it into her luggage bag, and hurried to eat.

It was a pleasant surprise to find spring rolls for breakfast.

Spring rolls are also a local specialty. Wen Jiajia had seen them at the market.

Biting into spring rolls, in the eyes of the locals, means enjoying spring pancakes.

But because there were too many people queuing in front of the spring pancake stall, Wen Jiajia couldn’t squeeze in and didn’t buy anything.

The candlelight in the kitchen was dim, with only the stove glowing. Wei Dai brought in two more candles, and the room suddenly became bright.

Wei Chengcai: “It’s unnecessary. It’s a waste of candles.”

Wei Dai placed one candlestick on the table and the other on the stove. “Light them up. How much money can this cost?”

In the bright light, Wen Jiajia noticed the iron plate next to the stove and couldn’t help but say in surprise, “Dad, you made the spring pancake skins fresh. I thought you bought them at the market yesterday.”

“Well, spring roll wrappers become hard if left overnight. They taste best when made on the same day. Those that are no more than four hours old taste best.”

Wen Jiajia nodded, looking impressed.

The filling of the spring rolls was mostly bean sprouts, and Wei’s father added leeks and dried tofu as garnishes.

The leeks were delicious at this time, and the dried tofu enhanced the taste of the stuffing. When you chew the dried tofu, you can also taste the fragrance of the braised tofu.

Because some fat is added when frying the filling, even the vegetarian filling has a meaty aroma.

A large bowl of stuffing was placed on the table. If you wanted to eat it, you had to make it yourself.

Wen Jiajia always liked to use two pancakes so that the juice wouldn’t leak out and she wouldn’t be rushed while eating.

“Mmm~ delicious!”

The crust was chewy and had a wheaty aroma.

The bean sprouts were crispy, not overcooked, and you could hear a sound when you bit into them.

Overall, it was fragrant and refreshing, and best eaten in spring.

Wei Chengcai also cooked egg drop soup. Wen Jiajia was not satisfied until she ate five spring rolls and a big bowl of egg drop soup.

“Roll some up and take them in the car to eat,” said Wei Chengcai.

Wen Jiajia nodded. “It’s just right for lunch.”

She took out two lunch boxes, filled them with 25 spring rolls, and lifted them up after closing the lids. Not only was there enough for lunch, but she also had to give a few rolls to Wen Chun and Wen Xuan, who were still sleeping.

It was still dark outside when they had to leave.

Wei Dai rode Lao Bai’s bike, while Brother Wei drove a donkey cart borrowed from the village.

Most of the luggage and the two girls were placed on the donkey cart, while Wen Jiajia sat on the back of the bicycle with two packages.

Wen Chun and Wen Xuan were sleeping so soundly that they didn’t even wake up when they were carried from the room to the donkey cart.

They seemed to be waking up when the donkey cart started, but because they were sleeping on the quilts, they soon fell back to sleep.

“Hey, they shouldn’t have been born in the year of the rooster; they should have been born in the year of the pig.” Brother Wei made a joke. Although his feet were not good, he had no problem riding a bike, let alone driving a cart.

The group arrived at the county town under the stars.

Fortunately, Wei Dai brought a flashlight this time; otherwise, he might have fallen several times on the road.

It was already past six o’clock when they arrived at the county town.

They were now going to the transport team, and then Wei Dai would ride his bicycle alone to the state-owned hotel in a hurry. He had to return the bicycle to Lao Bai.

Lao Bai: “Where’s your sister-in-law?” The two of them are usually inseparable.

Wei Dai: “In the transport team. Do you remember Song Taosheng? He was the one who practiced with me in the second year of my joining the team. He retired and now works in the transport team. Their car will go to the city today, and we can take their car.”

“That’s good.”

Lao Bai stuffed some buns and pancakes into his mouth and said, “Keep them. I made them at home. If you don’t eat them, others on the road will.”

Wei Dai refused.

“Hey, what’s the relationship between us? You won’t accept a few buns and cakes?” Lao Bai pushed them over again.

When his nephew was recommended to attend the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University last year, he was almost squeezed out. It was Wei Dai who helped to use his connections to send him to the university.

There was no time left, so Wei Dai didn’t refuse and just took another oil paper bag and left.

Fortunately, the transport team was not far away, and it only took about ten minutes to run there.

“Did Lao Bai give it to you?” Wen Jiajia looked at the big bag of oil paper in Wei Dai’s arms.

Wei Dai panted and nodded.

He put half of the steamed buns and pancakes into another oil bag and handed it to Brother Wei. “Brother, take it back and eat it.”

Brother Wei: “What do you want to give it to me for? I don’t want it.”

Wei Dai: “I’m not giving it to you. It’s for Wenjin. You can refuse it, but you can’t refuse it on Wenjin’s behalf.” Wei Wenjin is the son of Wei’s eldest brother. He started primary school last year and is chubby and strong.

Only then did Brother Wei accept it.

The convoy set off on time at seven o’clock, and Wen Chun and Wen Xuan also woke up before departure.

The light was bright, making it difficult not to wake up under the strong illumination.

They were initially stunned, confused, and panicked for a moment, but after seeing Wen Jiajia beside them, the fear in their eyes gradually dissipated.

“Aunt.” Wen Chun climbed up, sat in Wen Jiajia’s arms, and hugged her waist tightly.

Wen Jiajia comforted her. “This is the county town. We are going to take the train soon.”

“Train?” Wen Chun’s eyes were full of curiosity.

“Yes, um… a very long, very long car.”

With anticipation, the two children got on the truck.

The truck was much faster than the bus, and they arrived at the city train station before nine o’clock.

After getting off the truck, Wei Dai dragged most of the luggage, Wen Jiajia carried a bag, and held a child in each hand as they headed straight for the train station.

There were many people like them in the station, covered with luggage, so it would be a tough battle to grab a seat later.

However, Wei Dai, who had come back from the ticket office, said, “Let’s change to sleeper berths.”

Wen Jiajia was surprised. “Really?”

Wei Dai smiled. “Really!”

If this weren’t a public place, Wen Jiajia would have kissed Wei Dai several times to express her gratitude.

Although she was in high spirits, she was extremely sleepy.

It is normal for cars to be late at this time.

A delay of several hours was common, so she was prepared to arrive at her destination the next day.

If there was a berth, sleeping wouldn’t be a problem.

At ten o’clock, the train arrived half an hour late.