country bumpkin

Time flies, and three more days have passed in a blur. The holiday is about to end.

Today is October 7th, and school starts tomorrow. Yunya started packing her luggage again. This time, she put some dried vegetables made by her grandmother into her backpack to take back to her mother.

Around 3 p.m., she reluctantly said goodbye to her friends, and carrying her schoolbag and the bag she had brought to store her things, she went to the village entrance to wait for the bus.

Although she was reluctant to leave, Yunya knew that she could come back again next holiday and bring more new and interesting things from the city for her family and friends.

Mu Shuyun took her to the village entrance to wait for the bus. After waiting for a while, the bus still hadn't arrived. Yunya looked around, her eyes filled with expectation and a hint of anxiety.

If she can't catch a bus by 3:30, she's afraid that if she misses it, she won't be able to go to school tomorrow.

Mu Shuyun gently patted her shoulder, "Yunya, study hard at school and listen to your teachers. If you need anything, ask your mother for it. Don't deprive yourself." Yunya nodded obediently.

Mu Shuyun took out another 10 yuan and handed it to Yunya. She said, "Buy whatever you want to eat in the city. Don't go hungry, remember?"

Yunya clutched the money with joy and gratitude, carefully putting it into her pocket.

With tears in her eyes but a smile on her face, she said, "Grandma, don't worry, I won't mistreat myself. I'll take the bus here by myself when winter vacation starts."

Mu Shuyun also wiped away her tears and nodded: "Okay, come on the second day of your holiday. Don't forget, Grandma is waiting for you to come back at home."

Just then, a cloud of dust rose in the distance, and a car slowly approached. Yunya clutched her bundle tightly, feeling both excited and sad.

After the bus came to a stop, Mu Shuyun helped hand the bundle to the ticket seller to put on the bus. Yunya stepped onto the bus, looked back at her grandmother, and said with tears in her eyes, "Grandma, I'm leaving."

Mu Shuyun waved her hand, tears welling in her eyes, "Go, child, be careful on the road! When you get to the bus station, go find your second aunt. She sells popsicles there; you'll see her as soon as you get off the bus. Ask her to take you home."

Yunya waved goodbye, "Okay, I understand, Grandma, you can go back now!"

As the car started, Yunya looked through the car window at her grandmother's figure, which was gradually getting smaller, and silently made a promise in her heart that she would take good care of her grandmother when she grew up.

The bus was quite crowded, with people carrying large and small bags, either returning home or going out to work.

Yunya found a seat, hugged her little bundle tightly, which was filled with her grandmother's love.

The car finally quieted down, and she sat there, tears streaming down her face again. Yunya secretly wiped away her tears, afraid that others would see and laugh at her.

She tried hard to stop herself from crying, racking her brains to think of happy things. But all the happy moments seemed to have happened at her grandmother's house.

She made a few good friends in the city, but she was still quite afraid of her teachers at school.

Their current teachers are all verbally abusive and physically abusive. Yunya realized her thoughts had wandered off course, and she earnestly recalled the happy times she spent with her friends in the village.

Thinking this, she had already traveled halfway. Yunya looked around at the people on the bus. Next to her, a little girl about her age sat there in a daze.

Suddenly, the car jolted violently, and the driver got out cursing to check. It turned out that the tires were stuck in a large ditch.

Everyone started complaining, and Yunya was extremely anxious, worried that she would miss her connecting bus if things continued this way.

Just then, the little girl who had been silent in the next seat spoke up: "Sister, let's get off the bus together and see if we can help."

Yunya hesitated for a moment, then got off the bus. The two shouted, "Uncles and aunties, please help us find some big stones to put under the wheels so they can get up!"

Seeing this, other passengers came over to lend a hand, and with great effort, the bus finally got back on the road.

Yunya was filled with curiosity about the little girl, and the two began to chat. The little girl said she was going to stay with relatives in the city and was very confused about the future.

Yunya comforted her and shared her own experiences studying in the city. The two exchanged contact information.

Yunya gave her her school address because she didn't yet know how to write her mother's home address.

After the car arrived at the station, Yunya saw her second aunt and told her about the little girl.

My aunt kindly took the little girl with her, saying she would help her contact relatives first.

Yunya held the little girl's hand, thinking about the unexpected gains along the way.

Not only did I make new friends, but I also learned to face difficulties positively, and I no longer felt so heavy-hearted and afraid to go back to school.

The aunt took the little girl to a familiar little restaurant. Using the phone number the girl had given her, she dialed the number from a public phone.

She asked her relative to pick her up at "Xinyi Restaurant." The person on the other end of the phone thanked her profusely before hanging up.

The little girl then remembered that she hadn't given Yunya her phone number yet, so she took out a pen and paper and started writing it down.

Yunya said apologetically, "Um... I'm sorry, we don't have a telephone at home."

The little girl smiled sweetly and said, "It's okay, just call me when you have a phone. You can write to me now."

Yunya agreed, "Okay, okay, I will definitely write to you."

Auntie and Yunya left after instructing the restaurant owner to keep an eye on the girl.

As Yunya walked, she chatted with her second aunt, and before she knew it, she had arrived at her grandmother's shop.

After walking north for five minutes through the alley behind the storefront, you'll see the main gate.

The gate was open, and Yunya walked straight in. Her second aunt followed behind, pushing a cart.

When Kong Xiujuan saw her second younger sister coming to see her daughter off, she quickly went up to greet her. The two chatted for a while.

Yunya went to the bedroom to put away her belongings.

Kong Xiujuan asked her second sister, "Now that it's cold, popsicles aren't selling well, are they?"

Kong Xiuzhen replied, "Yes, business is much worse than in the summer. Right now, around noon, I can only sell about ten popsicles. I'll quit in a few days."

Kong Xiujuan asked, "If you're not going to do it, what are you planning to do? Or do you want to take a break?"

Kong Xiuzhen said, "Let's rest for a couple of days and think it over. My mother-in-law doesn't want to take care of the child anymore; she's been causing trouble these past few days."

Kong Xiujuan asked, "What's she up to? She has nothing to do, and she won't help look after the children. What's she trying to do?"

Kong Xiuzhen said, "I don't know who instigated her, but she wants money. She'll only be willing to continue taking care of the children if she's paid a salary."

Kong Xiujuan sighed, "I thought your mother-in-law was a good person, but I didn't expect that all crows are black."

Kong Xiuzhen said, "People are inherently selfish; nobody wants to do something for nothing. Even though they are her grandchildren, she still wants some benefit."

Kong Xiujuan said, "If you can earn enough to cover your salary and have some extra, then giving me some money is fine. But if you get a salary and can't earn any more, it's not worth it. You should take care of the child yourself!"

Kong Xiuzhen nodded repeatedly in agreement with her sister's statement.