As a result, the time Lu Yaozu spent with Ning Shu and her three children was very pleasant.

Lu Yaozu’s presence made the trip to the capital livelier than Ning Shu had anticipated.

He was a talkative person, but his conversation was always appropriate and enjoyable.

Lu Yaozu was also knowledgeable, thanks to his upbringing in a military compound, his capitalist mother, and his experiences during the Cultural Revolution.

His knowledge fascinated the three children, who found his company enjoyable.

In the eyes of the three children, Lu Yaozu was an adult, and indeed he was.

Previously, the children had only been surrounded by peers like Yang Wenjie, which made them stand out among their friends as particularly clever, but also limited their perspective.

Now, with an adult like Lu Yaozu around, the children felt as if a new window had been opened for them, exposing them to new people and things.

Even after getting off the train, they made plans to meet up and play together again in the future.

“We’ve finally arrived,” Ning Shu sighed.

“Mom, there’s dad!” As soon as they got off the train, Yibao spotted their father in the crowd.

Lin Guodong also saw them and waved. Knowing when they would arrive, Lin Guodong had arranged his rest day for today.

However, he raised an eyebrow at the man standing with Ning Shu and the children.

He wasn’t suspicious of Ning Shu, but he was curious about the man, considering how well they seemed to be getting along.

Ning Shu said, “Yibao, your eyes are really sharp.”

Yibao chuckled.

Ning Shu didn’t immediately join Lin Guodong.

Instead, she turned to Lu Yaozu and said, “Comrade Lu, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“Huh?” Lü Yaozu was taken aback. “Comrade Ning, please go ahead.”

With Lin Guodong present, Ning Shu felt at ease leaving the three children with him and spoke to Lu Yaozu about the matter with Lu Qingshan. “Comrade Lu, there’s actually something I haven’t been upfront about. It was difficult to discuss on the train with so many people around. The house we were assigned to as a military family was the small Western-style house where your father, Colonel Lu, used to live. He’s moved out now, and I heard he retired from the army. I’m not sure of the exact reason, but I’ve heard they’re now living in a siheyuan in XXXX. There’s also some history between us and Colonel Lu…”

Ning Shu briefly explained the awkward situation.

Lu Yaozu was stunned.

His father had gotten into trouble, likely due to the end of the special period.

But his father was okay and had just retired from the army, which was a relief.

However, he was embarrassed by the conflict between his family and Ning Shu’s, though he was also grateful. “Thank you, Comrade Ning, for sparing my dignity on the train. Although I don’t know the details of the conflict between my parents and your family, I trust both my parents and you. I believe there may be a misunderstanding between you. I hope that one day, you can resolve it. Now that your husband is here to pick you up, I won’t accompany you any further. I’ll head to the siheyuan to find my parents. Thanks again.”

Ning Shu understood Lu Yaozu’s reaction.

After all, they were his parents, and it would be strange if he immediately sided with her after hearing only her side of the story, thereby doubting his own parents.

Lu Yaozu’s response was reasonable; he affirmed both her and his parents, downplaying the conflict by calling it a misunderstanding.

“No need to be so polite. I’m grateful to you. You’ve helped me a lot on this trip by taking care of my three children, making the journey much easier and more reassuring. Comrade Lu, I wish you a bright future. Goodbye.”

“And I wish your family peace and happiness. Goodbye.” Lu Yaozu picked up his luggage and left without hesitation.

After Lu Yaozu left, Lin Guodong walked over. “Who was that?”

Ning Shu responded mysteriously, “Guess. This person has quite the connection to us.”

Lin Guodong was puzzled. “…” Even with his quick thinking, he couldn’t guess.

Erbao chimed in, “Dad, Uncle Lu lives in the same compound as us… Mom, isn’t Uncle Lu coming with us?”

Ning Shu: “…”

Lin Erbao had let the secret slip again.

Lin Guodong immediately guessed, “He’s a family member of Comrade Lu Qingshan!”

Since Ning Shu and the three children didn’t have much luggage, Lin Guodong didn’t borrow a car from the military, nor did he bring along Xiao Hou.

He came by himself.

After exiting the Capital Train Station, the three children immediately noticed the differences between the capital and other places, mainly in terms of the people.

There were so many more people here.

“Mom, there are so many people here. It’s so lively,” Erbao remarked, his big eyes darting around.

At this moment, his mind was filled with curiosity about the city, far from thinking about his playmates back home in the family quarters.

“Yes, there are a lot of people here. And where there are many people, there are also more bad people, like human traffickers. So, you must be careful when you go out in the future.”

“Don’t worry, Mom. We’ll be careful,” Erbao replied.

Yibao and Sanbao also nodded. They definitely didn’t want to be kidnapped.

“Mom, are we walking home?” Yibao asked curiously as he noticed his father leading them outside without seeing any vehicles around.

Lin Guodong replied, “We’ll take the bus. You’ve grown up without ever taking the bus. From today on, you’ll get familiar with it, because you’ll be riding it often in the future.”

“Father, what is a bus? Is it like a train or a car? Or is it like a tractor or a minibus?” Erbao immediately asked.

Having already learned about trains, cars, tractors, minibuses, and bicycles, he was curious about this new type of vehicle.

Yibao and Sanbao were equally eager to know, their eyes fixed on Lin Guodong.

“Well…” Lin Guodong thought for a moment about how to explain it. “It’s about the same size as a minibus, but buses don’t travel long distances. They only operate within the city. Each bus line has a different number. Adults and children alike can take the bus by themselves. Buses are a very convenient mode of transportation within the city.”

“Wow, such big buses running in the city—how lively!” Erbao was eager to ride the bus.

He was excited at the thought that in the future, they wouldn’t need their parents to go out; they could take the bus on their own.

Lin Guodong led the mother and three children to the bus stop.

The bus stop was crowded with people, each displaying different emotions on their faces—some smiling, some pensive.

The variety of expressions added a lot of color to the scene.

Seeing so many people waiting for the bus made the three children even more eager to ride.

As they waited with anticipation, a bus gradually approached from the distance.

“Father, Father, Father… Is that the bus? It has a number on it, and it’s about the size of a minibus,” Erbao excitedly exclaimed.

Although Erbao kept his voice down, knowing it was impolite to shout in public, his excitement still caught the attention of many around them.

People probably wondered where these country folks had come from.

When encountering people from out of town, it was natural to take an extra glance or even feel a bit of xenophobia or disdain.

However, upon seeing that the three children were neatly dressed without any patches on their clothes, and noticing that their “country” father was wearing a military uniform and standing tall, the crowd dismissed the idea that these were country kids.

Perhaps they were “new capital residents” who had just arrived in the city.

Erbao, not being very sensitive to others’ emotions, simply looked up at his father. Despite the 30-centimeter height difference, with Erbao being under 160 cm, he didn’t feel any discomfort in looking up at his father.

“Yes, that’s a bus. But this is the No. 16 bus; we need to take the No. 25 bus and then transfer to the No. 266 bus,” Lin Guodong patiently explained to the children.

“This bus is really nice,” Erbao said, watching the No. 16 bus stop in front of them as people rushed to board, though many were still left behind.

Ning Shu seized the opportunity to educate the children, “When you ride the bus in the future, don’t push or cut in line. You should queue up in order. Pushing might hurt someone or yourself. Understand?”

The three children nodded.

“Mom, what if someone else pushes us?” Erbao asked.

Ning Shu hesitated, feeling a bit frustrated but still replied honestly, “If someone bigger and stronger pushes you, then you might just have to accept it because you can’t fight them. Just focus on protecting yourself. But if it’s someone smaller or weaker, don’t let them push you around.” That’s how she saw it.

The people around them had mixed reactions to Ning Shu’s words, but most agreed with her.

If someone stronger tries to push you, you might have to take it—there’s nothing you can do.

But if someone weaker is trying to push you, they’re just asking for trouble. You can’t let both sides bully you, can you?

“Mom, what if the person is bigger but weaker than us? If they push us, can we push back?” Erbao asked again.

Who knew what went on in his little head? He seemed to have endless questions.

“…Alright, you can push back,” Ning Shu replied helplessly.

The people at the bus stop had varying opinions on Ning Shu’s answer.

Some thought she made sense, while others felt it wasn’t a good way to teach children.

But since it was someone else’s business, they just listened and didn’t interfere.

Ning Shu was unaware of the crowd’s thoughts, and even if she knew, she wouldn’t care.

After waiting for a while, the bus they were expecting, number 25, finally arrived.

The bus was crowded, and Ning Shu and her four children were at the end of the line.

By the time they got on, there were no seats left.

Ning Shu couldn’t remember the last time she had taken a crowded bus.

It seemed like she hadn’t done so since graduating from high school.

When she was in college, the city got a subway system, so she didn’t need to take the bus.

After graduating, she worked for a year before starting her own business and buying a car. Since then, she had always had a car to get around.

Now, after thirty years in this new world, she was taking the bus for the first time again.

The experience felt both distant and familiar.

Lin Guodong stood behind Ning Shu, keeping her separated from the other passengers.

The three children held onto the handrails themselves, looking out the window as the bus moved along, gradually leaving the pedestrians behind.

After getting off bus 25, they transferred to another bus, which took them near the compound.

It was a 15-minute walk from the bus stop to the entrance.

“Mom, all these houses are like little Western-style homes,” said Erbao, his dark eyes darting around the compound.

These houses were different from the ones in the countryside, and even from the homes in their hometown and family compound.

The children, who had never lived in such houses, were eager to explore.

“Yes, they’re all small Western-style homes,” Ning Shu replied, then turned to Lin Guodong and asked, “The furniture that was being delivered by the tractor hasn’t arrived yet, right?” She wasn’t sure, but she guessed it wouldn’t be as fast as the train.

“No one has contacted me, and the guard at the gate didn’t mention anything, so it hasn’t arrived yet,” Lin Guodong answered.

“Then where will we sleep tonight?” the third child asked innocently, blinking his big eyes.

This was indeed a problem.

There was no furniture in the house, and the beds and blankets were being transported from the family compound.

They didn’t even have a change of clothes.

The mother and her three children suddenly realized this and looked at each other in silence.

Finally, the youngest child sighed, “Mom, what are we going to do tonight?”

Ning Shu sighed too. “We’ll stay at a guesthouse.”

Erbao suggested, “Mom, we could sleep on the floor instead.” Staying at a guesthouse didn’t sound as good as just sleeping on the floor at home.

“But how can we sleep on the floor without any blankets?” Ning Shu pointed out.

Erbao thought about it and realized she was right.

There weren’t many people walking around in the compound since it wasn’t the weekend.

Most of the residents were at work.

A few people passed by and glanced at them but didn’t pay much attention.

“Here we are,” Ning Shu said, pointing to the small Western-style house in front of them. “The house isn’t big, but it’s enough for our family of five.”

As she spoke, all three children turned to look at her. Noticing their stares, Ning Shu asked, “What’s wrong?”

Erbao grinned innocently, “Mom, you call this house small? It’s much bigger than our old home in the countryside, the town, and even the family compound.”

Yibao and Sanbao nodded in agreement. To them, this small Western-style house seemed quite large.