Lin Qingping and Gu Juncheng

Chapter 371 Our Task Is Heavy and Our Road Is Long

Lin Qingping saw disappointment in Zhiyuan's eyes.

She pinched Zhiyuan's cheek.

It has to be said that Zhiyuan has been raised better and better by her. His face has become chubby and fleshy, he no longer runs around in the woods in the countryside, his skin has become fair, and his lips are red and his teeth are white. He is starting to look like a porcelain doll.

It felt so good to squeeze that she couldn't help but squeeze it a couple more times.

“Mom—” Zhiyuan looked at her helplessly and pitifully, “I’m already in second grade.”

"Second grade is still my son!" Lin Qingping snorted. "Pack up and get ready, we're going to spend the New Year in a different place this year."

Sister Zhao suddenly realized, "Are you going back to your hometown for the Chinese New Year?"

Lin Qingping smiled and said, "No, we're going to... a place with warm weather."

Neither Sister Zhao nor Zhiyuan knew what kind of place this was.

The next day, Lin Qingping made sure everything was settled regarding the people and matters in the capital.

Gu Youlian didn't plan to go back to her hometown, so she stayed in the capital with Xiaomai.

"I wrote to my parents to come over, and I want to enjoy being a daughter again. The capital has changed a lot in the past two years, and I want to take them sightseeing again." Actually, Gu Youlian was thinking that now that she was better off, she could support her parents completely, and she wanted to bring them to the capital to live out their retirement. Her younger brother couldn't go back to their hometown now, and her parents had no one to rely on back home, so what was the point of them staying there?

Lin Qingping was worried about Zhong Xiaoxiao, fearing that she would be harassed again.

Gu Youlian had already thought it through. "Pingzi, just go ahead. Let Xiaoxiao stay at my house. If anything happens, I'll call out, and Brother He and the others will come over."

Lin Qingping was surprised, "Aren't Brother He and the others planning to go home for the New Year either?"

“Yes.” Zhong Xiaoxiao said with a smile, “Brother He and the others said they wanted to experience the atmosphere of celebrating the New Year in the capital.”

Zhong Xiaoxiao was involved in the entire process of building the cake shop from scratch. She is now very familiar with He Qiancheng and the others. She knows their plans: to take advantage of the Spring Festival holiday to travel around the capital and see if there is a suitable house to buy. They can't keep living in Lin Qingping's sister's house, even if they are paying rent.

Reassured, Lin Qingping led Zhiyuan home to pack their luggage.

Zhiyuan noticed that all the clothes she brought were summer clothes and asked curiously, "Mom, it's cold, don't you bring a cotton-padded coat?"

"No need to bring it, you'll see when you get there," Lin Qingping said with a smile.

Zhiyuan's memories of the past few years have all been in the capital. He has vivid memories of the climate in spring, summer, autumn and winter. Where else would he go that he would wear short sleeves? Looking at his mother's mysterious expression, he was completely puzzled.

They took a train, which took a very long time. Zhiyuan slept for two nights. When the train stopped again, Lin Qingping told him that they had arrived.

Along the way, Zhiyuan took off his clothes as he rode the train. He started out wearing a cotton-padded jacket, but now he was only wearing a sweater. Once he got off the train, he wouldn't even be able to keep up with the sweater, so he took it off until he was only wearing an undershirt.

"Mom, where is this? It's so warm." Zhiyuan's face was beaming with joy; he loved warm weather.

He had barely finished asking the question, and before Lin Qingping could answer, someone shouted, "Sister-in-law! Over here!"

Zhiyuan looked over and spotted a familiar face: Uncle Xiaotian.

"Uncle Xiaotian! What brings you here? Are you here to pick us up?" Zhiyuan hadn't seen Xiaotian for a long time, but he still recognized him. He not only recognized the man, but also the epaulets on Xiaotian's shoulders. Uncle Xiaotian was no longer the little soldier he used to be.

Xiao Tian picked up Zhiyuan, who was running towards him, and was very happy. When he put him down, he slapped him on the bottom and said, "You little rascal, you're getting heavier and heavier!"

Zhiyuan chuckled, "I've grown up!"

Lin Qingping approached with a smile, and Xiao Tian quickly took all her luggage. "Sister-in-law, let's go, let's go take a boat now."

"Okay," Lin Qingping agreed with a smile.

"Do we need to take a boat again?" Zhiyuan had never been on a large boat before and was very curious. "It's much bigger than the boats in the park, isn't it?"

His memories of boating are from the boat he took when he went boating on the lake in the park!

“Of course, we’re sailing on the open sea,” Oda said with a smile.

The sea breeze, carrying a damp, salty scent, blew against his face, and Zhiyuan jumped and danced with joy as soon as he stepped onto the deck.

Xiao Tian's smiling gaze shifted from Zhiyuan to Lin Qingping, who was also smiling beside him. He looked away, a hint of unease in his eyes. "Sister-in-law, Commander Gu isn't on the island. He's on a mission."

Lin Qingping nodded. "Okay."

Looking at Lin Qingping's expressionless face, Xiao Tian didn't know what she was thinking. He simply said in a low voice, "Sister-in-law, there are some things that are inconvenient to say, but we... have a long way to go."

Lin Qingping, reborn from decades in the future, wasn't an innocent and naive girl. How could she not understand the significance of them wearing these uniforms? Her face immediately turned solemn. "Xiao Tian, ​​I understand. You are the coastline, the defensive wall,... the backbone of the people!"

“Sister-in-law…” Sunlight shone on the deck, and Xiao Tian’s face showed a hint of emotion. Her eyes reflected a bright luster, a mixture of excitement, emotion, and surging ambition.

The ship sailed on the azure sea, the sky was as blue as jade, and the sunlight was golden, shimmering and undulating in the waves. The whole world seemed to be plated with gold, and the sky and earth were wider than ever before.

After a long silence, Xiao Tian finally whispered, "So, sister-in-law, Master Gu, he..."

Hmm, is it Master Gu?

She must have been the last to find out, right?

Is Xiaotian trying to plead for Gu Juncheng?

“Xiao Tian, ​​look what’s that?” Lin Qingping interrupted him, pointing to the sea not far away.

"Mom! Look! What a big fish! It's flying!" Zhiyuan exclaimed excitedly on the deck.

Oda looked at the sea and said, "It's a dolphin."

Lin Qingping knew, of course, that they were dolphins.

The dolphins gracefully leaped out of the water, their clear calls mingling with Zhiyuan's cheers. The blue sea and sky shimmered with golden light; it was truly beautiful.

“Xiaotian.” Lin Qingping squinted, shielding her eyes from the bright sunlight. “The sea is so beautiful, our country is so beautiful, of course I understand.”

"Mom, come quick!"

After Lin Qingping finished speaking, she walked to Zhiyuan's side and watched the dolphins with him, letting the seawater splash on their faces and laughing together.

After a glittering and joyful voyage, they arrived at an island.

Oda brought them to the island and took them directly to the family quarters.

They stopped in front of a row of two-story bungalows. "Sister-in-law, this is it. Master Gu isn't home. I'll take you inside."

This is Gu Juncheng's residence, located on the first floor.

The neighbors on both sides have already moved in. They've fenced off the front of their houses with wooden fences, and they've even planted vegetables inside and hung clothes to dry in their yards.

Gu Juncheng's room had no fence, so Xiao Tian just went in. The room wasn't locked either; he just pushed it open.

Lin Qingping thought about it and realized that they didn't need to lock the door here!