Starting a new chapter in life

By the time they arrived in the city, it was already getting dark, but it wasn't late, only a little before six o'clock. The two walked to the older brother's house, and as soon as they knocked on the door, they heard hurried footsteps coming from inside. The older brother quickly came to open the door, complaining, "Why are you so late, kid?"

"I had lunch at my second brother's house before coming here. Big brother, have you had dinner yet?" Jing Yan asked pitifully.

Just like when they were kids, Zhang Jingtian tugged at her braid: "You're so old and still acting like a child. Dinner is ready, just waiting for you to arrive. Hurry up and go inside. It's so cold, you guys are really resistant to the cold. Wash your hands and get ready to eat."

Zhang Jingyan ran happily into the house, calling out as she ran, "Sister-in-law, I'm hungry, I want to eat!"

Hearing her voice, her eldest nephew came out to the doorway, grinning, "Auntie."

Jingyan stopped abruptly, looking at the tall young man in front of her with a somewhat complicated expression: "Jianjun, you've grown taller so fast, you're a head taller than me now. I hope you're not going to grow any taller."

Zhang Jianjun looked at her speechlessly: "Auntie, I'm already twenty years old. Isn't it normal for me to be 1.8 meters tall? If I were shorter than you, my mom would cry. She said that everyone in the Zhang family is tall. She was willing to marry my dad because she liked his good looks and height. You can imagine that this is a powerful tool for the men in our Zhang family to find wives. How can there be a gap in my family?"

Jingyan...

Zhang Jingtian looked at his unreliable eldest son with a dark expression and slapped him on the head: "You brat, you're only twenty and you're already thinking about finding a wife? You're thinking too much. Get inside. Your aunt and uncle have finally come back for a visit. Don't try to make your presence known here. Say hello to your uncle."

Zhang Jianjun rubbed his head, which had been slapped, and greeted him pitifully, "Uncle."

He Zhijun looked at the young man who was slightly taller than him and could only smile. He was really hurt. It was one thing that his older brothers were taller than him, but now his nephew was taller too. This was a blow to his self-satisfaction with his height of 1.75 meters. However, when he thought about how their children would also be tall in the future, his expectations became even higher.

As the group entered, the eldest sister-in-law was carrying the warm food from the pot into the living room. Knowing they would be coming, they had used a large round table suitable for the whole family to have a reunion dinner. Jingyan and He Zhijun washed their hands, and everyone sat down together. Jingtian picked up his chopsticks and said, "Let's eat." Only then did they begin to eat formally. There were no rules about not talking while eating or sleeping at the table, and everyone chatted and laughed, making it a lively occasion.

Jianjun and Jingyan are close in age and grew up together. Despite their different generations, they didn't feel any awkwardness after not seeing each other for several years. Jianjun was busy preparing the meal: "Auntie, these ribs are your favorite. This piece is easy to chew. This is a wild pheasant that my dad's colleague gave us before winter. Try it and see if it tastes better than domestic chicken..."

Jingyan was really getting a headache from his enthusiasm. She couldn't take it anymore and looked up at him: "What's wrong with you?"

Jianjun chuckled, moved closer to her, and said in what he thought was a soft voice, "I'm letting your uncle know that you not only have older brothers and sisters who love you in our Zhang family, but also your nephew. You have your family backing you up, so even if you're far away, he and his family won't dare to mistreat you. If they dare to make you suffer, just come back. Your nephew has grown up and started working and earning money. He can support you in the future."

Jingyan looked at her grown-up child and couldn't help but feel a lump in her throat. Just like when he was a child, she raised her hand and patted his back, saying, "Your aunt isn't a good-for-nothing. She can't be unable to support herself. But I've remembered what you said about being my support. If I ever suffer any injustice in the future, I'll come back to you for help."

Jianjun's eyes narrowed into slits with laughter, and his sixteen-year-old brother Jianguo added in a muffled voice, "Don't be afraid, Auntie, you still have me. We two brothers can fight. If anyone bullies you, we'll beat them up." He even waved his fist after saying that.

Jing Tian looked at his two sons and, for the first time, didn't scold them when they mentioned fighting. He nodded with satisfaction and gave He Zhijun a warning look. He Zhijun touched his nose and said somewhat dejectedly, "Don't worry, I will treat Jing Yan well. You can come to see her anytime you miss her."

Jingyan ate her fill at dinner, while He Zhijun ate with trepidation, feeling scrutinized by his entire family for the first time. After dinner, Jingtian took out a few bath tickets, pulled out two, and handed them to his wife. "Tomorrow morning after breakfast, you take Jingyan to the bathhouse for a good scrub. I don't know if there are any skilled scrubbers like us in Yangshi. Jianjun, Jianguo, and I will take Zhijun to the men's bathhouse."

The eldest sister-in-law took the bath ticket and said okay, then went to boil water to prepare for everyone to soak their feet and relax that evening. Jingyan also went to help out, leaving only a few grown men in the room.

The group looked at each other in silence, but Jian Guo, quick-witted as ever, broke the silence: "Uncle, now that you've been admitted to university, you should be able to tutor me on some high school problems, right? I just started high school this year, and some of the problems in my winter break homework are quite difficult for me. Could you take a look?"

He Zhijun was feeling uneasy when he heard this, so he immediately got up and followed Jianguo to the study. Jingyan and her sister-in-law boiled water, and after they had both washed up, they boiled water for the men. When they came over to call for them, they saw only her older brother and his son in the living room. Jingyan was confused: "Where are Zhijun and Jianguo?"

Jianjun sat on a round stool, drinking tea, with his legs crossed and leaning back on the dining table. He said in a somewhat nonchalant manner, "Oh, my uncle is a bit shy, so Jianguo dragged him to help him with his studies."

Jingyan nodded: "Then you two wash up first, and then go and call the other two over to wash up."

The father and son obediently took the washbasin to fetch water to wash their faces, and then took the foot bath bucket to sit in the living room to soak their feet. After they finished getting ready, they went to the study to call the two lazy people. But when they got to the study door, they saw that the two people inside were really explaining something very seriously, and they didn't know whether to disturb them or not.

Jianjun tugged at his father's sleeve, shook his head, and the two of them sneaked out of the study and returned to the living room. When they saw Jingyan, they smiled and said, "Uncle is explaining a problem to Jianguo. Why don't we go and take a look later? Aunt, you and Mom go to sleep first. I'll get Uncle some water to wash up later."

Jingyan yawned and nodded, "Okay, remember to get him some water later. He's not familiar with your house, so please take care of him." After saying that, she followed her sister-in-law to the second bedroom to sleep.

It wasn't until 10 p.m. that the aunt and nephew finally emerged from the study. He Zhijun looked dejected, while Jianguo was in high spirits, praising his father and older brother as soon as he saw them.

"Dad, brother, you really have no idea how amazing my uncle is. My teacher could only give two solutions to two problems, but my uncle came up with four solutions for me. He's even better than our teacher. I originally just wanted to ask about two problems I encountered in my winter break homework, but I accidentally got my uncle to go through the problems I had questions about last semester as well. Now I feel really great. I'm sure I can amaze our teacher when school starts."

Jianjun nodded happily in agreement, then went to the kitchen to fetch water, taking exceptional care of his uncle-in-law. After washing his face and brushing his teeth, he even arranged for him to soak his feet in hot water. This left He Zhijun somewhat at a loss, as his attitude at the dinner table hadn't been like this before, and this change seemed rather drastic.

Seeing his awkwardness, Jing Tian could only explain, "You tutored Jianguo, so it's normal for us to be enthusiastic towards you in return. You should get used to it. By the way, you said you got into university. Which one? If Jianguo's score is good enough, can we ask him to apply to your university too?"

He Zhijun nodded repeatedly: "Great! I got into Shanghai Jiao Tong University, majoring in Mechanical Engineering. If Jian Guo is interested in this, he can also study this major. It's a relatively new major in our country, with great potential for future development. It's quite suitable for boys."

The men suddenly found common ground. As for how long they talked, Jingyan had fallen into a deep sleep and knew nothing. She only knew that when she woke up in the morning, Zhijun unusually stayed in bed. He was only woken up by Jingyan before breakfast. After breakfast, the group went to the bathhouse in the municipal family area to take a bath and get a scrub.

Two hours later, everyone came out, their faces flushed despite the cold winter. They sat around the stove outside the bathhouse, drying their hair. After everyone was bundled up, they went home together. Once home, the eldest sister-in-law, Jianjun, and Jianguo started cooking in the kitchen, while He Zhijun and the eldest brother played chess.

Jingyan originally wanted to help, but her sister-in-law pushed her out. With nothing to do, she could only sweep the floor. Afterwards, she watched the two of them play chess. Well, she was terrible at chess and couldn't understand it very well, so she soon lost interest. She could only go to the study and find a history book to read as a storybook. And to be honest, it was quite interesting.

Lunch was quite plentiful. After they finished eating, my sister-in-law started preparing food for them to eat on the road. Radish balls are fine even when they're cold, so we could bring a lot. The spring pancakes she made would stay soft even when they were cold, and she made quite a few of those too. She also packed some brown sugar, which we could just rinse with hot water on the train to give it some flavor. Of course, boiled eggs were definitely included, and finally, there was meat sauce, which could be used to wrap pancakes or to go with eggs. In short, she packed a whole bag of food.

Before leaving, He Zhijun took out two red envelopes wrapped in red paper from his pocket and handed them to Jianguo and Jianjun: "These are New Year's red envelopes from your aunt and me for you two. Fourth Sister's children and Second Brother's children also received some. Jianguo, study hard and try to get into a good university."

Jianjun has grown up now, so don't worry. I can't promise you anything else, but at least I won't let your aunt suffer here. But you know your aunt's personality; she won't let herself be wronged. So don't worry, we'll write to you as soon as we get home to let you know we're safe. Let's keep in touch more often and not become estranged.

Jingyan watched him make a promise to his family, and stood beside him smiling. His older brother, Jingtian, and Jianjun saw them off together, pushing their luggage on bicycles, which wasn't too heavy. They even saw them onto the train and settled them into their sleeper berths before leaving. As the train started to clatter along, they could still see the father and son waving goodbye to them from the platform.

Only after they had completely left the platform did the two sit down. He Zhijun held Jing Yan's hand and comforted her gently, "Your family is doing well. We'll find time to come back and see them in a couple of years."

After calming herself down, Jingyan nodded. She understood that family and friends always come and go, whether due to life's separations or distance. She would miss them, and she would strive because of that longing, hoping that one day in the future, when her family came to visit her, she would be living a happy and fulfilling life. For her family who cared about her, that would be the greatest comfort.

Thanks to the food brought by their sister-in-law and the salted duck eggs pickled by their fourth sister, they didn't need to eat in the dining car much during the four days and three nights of their journey. Of course, by the time they arrived in Yangzhou, they had used up most of the food, so it was a relief.

As soon as they got off the train and stepped off the platform, He Zhijun saw He Jiaoxu and He Zhicheng, who had come to pick them up. He took Jingyan's hand and headed towards the He family father and son. When they reached them, the men couldn't help but hug each other. Jingyan took two steps back and stood aside quietly watching.

After the three parted ways, Jingyan greeted the two men: "Dad, Big Brother."

The two responded happily: "Jingyan/Sister-in-law".

He Jiaoxu and He Zhicheng took the luggage, leaving He Zhijun and Jing Yan with their hands free. He Zhijun took her hand and followed behind. Once outside, the group went straight to a jeep. After getting in, He Zhicheng sat in the driver's seat and said with a smile, "This is borrowed. I came here to pick you up. It would have taken too long to take the bus."

Men's fascination with cars is timeless. The three men discussed it all the way, but Jingyan was completely confused, so she simply stopped listening and turned to look out the car window. This place was really different from Northeast China. Although there was some snow on the road, it was a negligible amount, and there was no dry cold like in the north. Although it wasn't warm either, she was wearing a cotton coat that made her look much heavier than the locals.

The trees outside have lush green leaves, and there are also grasses and trees along the roadside. In short, unlike the vast white expanse in the Northeast, this place seems to have more vitality in winter. However, it's a bit cold... bone-chilling. Hmm~ I'm still not used to it.

When they arrived home, Jingyan's sister-in-law and Cui Hongru came out to greet them as soon as they heard the car. They escorted Jingyan through the yard and into the house. Once inside, Jingyan didn't feel much warmer than outside. Although the house was clean and tidy, it was really cold.

Sitting in the main room was an elegant old lady with silver-white hair styled in a bun adorned with a hairpin. She wore a Tang suit and sat with her back ramrod straight, a sprightly old woman.

When she saw Jingyan, she stood up and waited until everyone got closer before waving to Jingyan: "You must be Junzi's wife, right? Your name is Jingyan? Come here and let Grandma take a look."