Lin Qingping and Gu Juncheng

Chapter 493 Long Separation

It's an evening train.

The family of four set off from the island by boat in the morning, planning to have lunch in the county town and buy some local specialties to take back to the capital.

"Mom..." Zhiyuan had been looking like he had something on his mind, but he couldn't hold back any longer and called out to her.

Lin Qingping knew what he was thinking and smiled, "Let's go see them."

Zhiyuan is worried about Qinglang's family!

Lin Qingping also helped persuade Gu Juncheng, "Aren't you going to bring back local specialties? Let's go see what dried seafood they have and buy some."

Gu Juncheng looked at her with an expression that said, "You're just spoiling him," but he still went.

Along the way, Lin Qingping bought a lot of dried scallops, cuttlefish, dried abalone, fish maw, sea cucumbers, and so on, all of which Gu Juncheng carried.

Gu Juncheng laughed, "You told me to travel light, that I don't need to bring anything except what Zhangzhu needs on the way, but you're saving the labor force to buy all this stuff?"

“Otherwise what? We have so many friends in the capital, and we should bring gifts for everyone.” Lin Qingping was still selecting seafood.

At that time, aquaculture was not yet so developed, and most of the seafood sold was wild. Lin Qingping was already considering some ideas, and when she saw Zhiyuan standing in front of Qinglang Fish Stall, her ideas became even stronger.

Zhiyuan held a shiny bead in his hand and looked at it with a grin.

Lin Qingping walked over, and Qinglang and Qingtian quickly greeted her as "Auntie," showing great politeness.

Lin Qingping smiled and agreed, then asked Zhiyuan, "What are you holding?"

Zhiyuan opened his palm. "Mom, these are pearls. Aren't they pretty? Qinglang said she was giving them to you."

Qinglang was quite embarrassed, "Just a few, they came out of oyster shells, they're not anything good..."

"It's very beautiful, thank you, Qinglang." It wasn't a high-quality pearl, but Lin Qingping would never be disappointed by the child's good intentions. She looked at Qinglang's fish stall, which had fresh fish, shrimp, and clams, and asked about Hu Cuilan's recovery. She was relieved to hear that everything was going well.

Seeing that his good friend's family was all well, Zhiyuan felt relieved. He helped Lin Qingping carry her things and was about to go to the train station to catch the train. In the instant he turned around, Qingtian, who had been standing behind the fish stall without saying a word the whole time, hesitated and then swallowed back the words "Brother Zhiyuan".

After nearly two days and two nights on the train, they finally arrived in the capital. It was noon, and Lin Qingping never expected that Wu Tianjiao would come to pick her up at the train station.

"How did you know we were coming back?" Lin Qingping asked, pleasantly surprised.

Wu Tianjiao smiled and hugged her, "Is there anything I don't know about you?"

Gu Juncheng told the truth: he and Wu had broken up.

To be honest, Lin Qingping had always thought that Wu Tianping would be stationed on the island like Gu Juncheng, but that wasn't the case. When she asked Gu Juncheng, he only said that he had other missions. As for what those missions were, it was naturally not something she could know, so she never asked any further questions.

After Wu Tianjiao and Lin Qingping hugged, she was eager to hug Zhangzhu and see her goddaughter.

The little girl is much fairer and plumper than when she was born, with big, bright eyes. She has just woken up and is really cute. Wu Tianjiao took one look and held her tightly, refusing to let go.

Gu Juncheng was secretly puzzled: This is really strange. Wu Tianjiao is a stranger to Zhangzhu, right? Why doesn't she seem unhappy at all when she's holding Zhangzhu? What is it about him, her father, that his daughter doesn't like?

Wu Tianjiao didn't care what he was thinking. She carried her sweet and soft goddaughter into the car and told everyone to hurry up and get in too. Gu Youlian had cooked dinner at home and was waiting for them!

Knowing that Lin Qingping's family was coming back, Gu Youlian had already cleaned their house thoroughly. Lin Qingping and his family went back to their own home first and did a thorough cleaning. They still had some clean clothes at home, but they hadn't been worn for two years. The climate in the north is dry, so they were actually quite clean, but Gu Youlian still washed several sets in advance. They were all dry and clean and ready to be worn immediately.

The welcome banquet was held at Gu Youlian's house, and it was really lively, with a house full of people—the Cheng family, Zhong Xiaoxiao and her daughter, Sister Zhao, He Qiancheng and his three friends, and a woman that Lin Qingping didn't recognize. Lin Qingping guessed that one of them must have gotten married or was in a relationship.

They are all people and things that bring joy.

Without a doubt, the pearl in her palm became the center of everyone's attention.

Adults and children alike flocked around the baby, praising her as the most beautiful child in the world.

Wheat, in particular, absolutely adores the palm-shaped pearls.

Knowing that her little niece was coming, Gu Youlian had even prepared a small cradle and a basket full of toys. At this moment, Lin Qingping placed Zhangzhu in the cradle, and Xiaomai clung tightly to it, playing with Zhangzhu with small toys that could make various sounds, her eyes overflowing with affection.

The adults spent a long time playing with the little girl, some busy preparing food, others talking, before dispersing. Only Xiaomai remained sitting next to Lin Qingping, playing with the little girl and talking to her.

What could a little pearl understand? But it looked very happy, and occasionally let out an "ah," as if it were talking to wheat.

Zhiyuan chuckled, his face full of pride, and said to Xiaomai, "Isn't my little sister cute? She's our island's flower!"

Xiaomai didn't even want to look at his arrogant attitude, and snorted, "Zhangzhu is also my sister!"

Zhiyuan thought about it and realized, "Oh right," and immediately deflated...

The two little ones grew up together and hadn't seen each other for two years. They had a lot to talk about. For example, although Zhiyuan was no longer in the capital, Xiaoyuanlian and the others had always been very close to her. She had promised Zhiyuan that she would protect her little sister, and she had always kept her promise.

Zhiyuan also told her about his life on the island and his new friends. While listening, Xiaomai played with Xiaozhangzhu. Before long, Xiaozhangzhu started yawning...

Zhong Xiaoxiao's daughter has grown up a lot and is of school age. She is very well-behaved, even too well-behaved. She doesn't make a fuss. She just takes a small stool, sits on the side, and listens to her older brothers and sisters talk.

Even among adults, there is still affection after separation, and each tells the other about their own situation.

In the past two years, Lin Qingping has only been remotely managing the dessert shop, cake shop, and two factories. However, judging from the financial reports sent to her every year, the results are really good. Moreover, under her guidance, two more cake shops and three more dessert shops have opened, and all of them are doing very well.

However, during her pregnancy, she had limited energy and could only provide solutions for fund allocation and direct store operation. There was basically no progress in new product development. Now that she's back for two months, she needs to bring this aspect of the work up.

Hearing this, Gu Juncheng objected, "Seriously, we've traveled a long way back for a vacation, and we're still hungry. And you've already turned this into a work meeting?"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Among the crowd, there were two women and a little boy whom Lin Qingping did not recognize.