Chapter 204: Arrival
In the future, Grandma Zhang’s injury was caused by being pushed and trampled by the rioting crowd when she went out that day, resulting in a broken femur. The old lady’s bones were brittle and healed slowly, and this undeserved disaster was also the root cause of her eventual death from illness.
This matter is easy to resolve. As long as they find a way to keep her from going out that day, she naturally won’t encounter the subsequent situation.
What kept her tossing and turning was the scenes of madness she saw through this event.
Although it wasn’t the first time she knew about it, seeing it again in foresight still inevitably brought discomfort, a powerlessness that couldn’t be stopped or changed.
In the end, apart from that bit of encounter, she was just an ordinary person. Being able to take care of and protect her loved ones well was already pretty good; she didn’t have the ability to shake the overall trend of events.
……
She drifted off into a dazed sleep without knowing when, then woke up groggily, her temples throbbing with pain.
She pressed hard on them, and after glancing at her watch and seeing it was almost time to pick someone up, Su Ning quickly threw off the quilt and got out of bed.
She tidied up at the fastest speed, opened the courtyard gate, and Zhang Ze was already standing stiffly by the corner of the wall.
“Brother Zhang, when did you arrive? Why didn’t you knock?”
“I just got here not long ago. I’m watching the time.”
There was crystalline frost on the tips of his hair, clearly showing he’d been waiting for quite a while, but knowing he wanted her to rest more, Su Ning just smiled and didn’t argue with him.
After she locked the door, the two walked side by side toward the alley entrance, and only then did Zhang Ze pull out a thing wrapped in kraft paper from his arms and hand it to her.
A round and plump red bean steamed bun, warmed by his body heat and still carrying a bit of steam.
“Eat it while it’s still warm to pad your stomach. Knowing you like sweet buns, your sister-in-law specially made two with red bean filling for you.”
“Mmm, smells so good! Thank your sister-in-law for me~”
She squinted her eyes and took a big bite; there was plenty of red bean filling inside, soft and glutinous with a moderately sweet taste that Su Ning loved very much. “Brother Zhang, have you eaten?”
“Rest assured, I ate my fill before heading out. Eat slowly so you don’t choke.”
“Mm-hmm.”
……
Gaoyun Bridge had already been rebuilt, making it much more convenient and quick to go to the other side.
When the two arrived outside the train station, the timing was just right.
They spent money to buy two platform tickets; the train hadn’t arrived yet, probably delayed again.
Ten or twenty minutes later, a train whistle sounded from far to near.
“It’s coming, it’s coming!”
“Finally here, the train has arrived!”
The people anxiously waiting on the platform perked up, all impatiently tiptoeing and looking around.
The train engine slowly passed by with clanging and chugging sounds, stopping after one final whistle.
……
“Godfather, godmother, older brother, Xiao Qiu!”
In the crowd, Su Ning waved her arms, her face beaming with happy brilliance.
Zhang Fu and Hu Yingtao each held one of Xiao Qiu’s hands tightly, while Zhang Qi struggled alone at the end with all the family’s luggage.
Hearing the familiar call from not far away and meeting that pair of shining eyes, a smile uncontrollably spread across his face before he even spoke.
“Ning Ning!”
“Auntie!”
Xiao Qiu broke free from the hand holding her and threw herself forcefully into her open arms. “Auntie, boo~”
With one arm she picked up the child. The little one, whom she hadn’t seen for a long time, had not only grown taller but also gained quite a bit of weight; it was no longer as easy to hold her as when they first met.
Nestled against her neck, the little one hugged her tightly with both arms, and as if burned by the teardrops falling one by one from her, Su Ning couldn’t help but redden her eyes too.
She gently patted her back, her voice as gentle as ever. “Xiao Qiu missed Auntie, right?”
“Yeah, missed you so much!”
Nodding vigorously, Xiao Qiu sniffed, replying in a choked, trembling voice. “Auntie wouldn’t come see Xiao Qiu, so Xiao Qiu came to see you.”
This accusatory tone made her both cry and laugh. “Okay, okay, Auntie was wrong. How could I not go see our adorable Xiao Qiu for so long?”
“That’s not it. Uncle said Auntie was busy, not that you didn’t want me.”
The warm and affectionate conversation between the big one and the small one deepened the smiles on the faces of everyone else present.
After laughing, Zhang Fu strode forward and took the little one into his arms with one swoop. This girl was heavy now; better not let her crush Ning Ning.
“Godfather, godmother, older brother, let’s go home first and talk at home.”
“Alright, all listen to Ning Ning.”
Zhang Ze timely stepped forward a few steps and reached out to take some of the luggage from Zhang Qi’s hands.
“This is also my brother, Zhang Ze, Brother Zhang.”
“Hello, uncle and aunt.”
“Good, good, good. The young man looks upright and spirited, no wonder he’s Ning Ning’s brother. Speaking of which, we should be one family; we’re all surnamed Zhang, who knows if we were really relatives a hundred years ago. Hahaha!”
“Hahaha! Uncle’s right, we’re all family!”
The group chatted and laughed as they left the train station.
……
Back on Nanmen Street, the sky had already brightened fully, and Zhang Ze’s wife Tian Xiang had prepared a sumptuous welcome feast.
Perhaps because they all shared the surname Zhang, or maybe because of Su Ning, everyone gathered together felt no restraint or unfamiliarity, and the meal ended with host and guests all delighted.
“Ning Ning, you’ve decorated this small courtyard quite elegantly.”
“I just did it casually according to my own preferences back then. Not bad, right?”
“Very nice. I can imagine the beautiful sight when these wall flowers are in full bloom.”
Pushing up the glasses on his nose bridge, Zhang Qi smiled warmly like jade, sighing inwardly: He hadn’t realized his little sister had such girlish romantic sentiments.
She poured a cup of hot tea for each of them one by one, then sat down in the empty seat nearby.
Xiao Qiu’s eyes lit up, hugging Little Round Circle as she quickly toddled over to sit right next to her, her nervous look as if afraid the person would run away amusing everyone into laughter.
“Older brother, I haven’t thanked you yet. You went back and forth helping out when the Yan Family and Fu Family had their incidents.”
Stroking the little one’s fluffy head, she turned back to him with eyes full of gratitude.
For him to be so devoted, doing three times more than asked, he must truly have her in his heart as family.
“Why be polite with older brother?”
He waved his hand in mock displeasure, but mentioning this, Zhang Qi couldn’t help thinking of the Yan Family Members he’d only met once and the Fu Family members who were all patients.
“By the way, Ning Ning, how are those two families now?”
“They’re okay for the time being, no new issues have arisen.”
“That’s good. As long as no major problems with the people, there’s hope for everything.”
“Mm, that… cough~ Godfather, godmother, older brother…”
The usually poised and generous person showed a bit of shyness and discomfort at this moment.
Her sudden coy, ladylike demeanor was truly a novelty to the Zhang Family members watching.
“Ning Ning, do you have something difficult? Just say it, no need to be embarrassed. With godfather and godmother here.”
Hu Yingtao held her small hand, her mind quickly filling in the blanks: Had she run into some difficulty to be this embarrassed?
She wondered if the family savings at home were enough.
“Yes, Ning Ning. Though we’re only godparents, in our hearts you’re just like Nannan.”
Zhang Fu hurriedly chimed in to reassure her, afraid she had concerns and hesitations. “What’s wrong exactly?”
“It’s not what you think. I have something to tell you all: I’ve started dating someone.”
“Started dating? Where’s he from? How’s the young man?”
The two elders were first stunned, then upon reacting, they couldn’t help but grow anxious and ask questions in succession, fearing she’d been deceived.
An eighteen-year-old girl dating wasn’t unusual, but Ning Ning lived alone without elders at home. What if that person had bad character and ill intentions?
Cases of inviting wolves into the house weren’t rare; some households had bad intentions, specially targeting pretty girls like Ning Ning from superior family backgrounds with no authoritative elders at home to be easily manipulated.
How could they not be anxious and worried?
“Why didn’t we hear you mention it before? Ning Ning, you must keep your eyes open when dating. We’re so excellent; don’t settle for a crooked tree.”
“We just started not long ago. I was planning to write a letter to tell you, but after getting your letter saying you were coming, I decided to tell you in person.”
Then Su Ning briefly explained Yan Bei’s situation and the current state of the Yan Family, not intending to hide it.
First, older brother had already met the Yan Family Members and had some understanding; better for her to explain clearly than for them to worry after hearing from elsewhere.
Second, she really liked and admired all the Yan Family Members, whether Grandpa Yan and Grandma Yan, or Uncle Yan and Uncle Yan.
For such good people, she didn’t want the Zhang Family to have any misunderstandings due to outside rumors or the labels currently imprinted on them.
