"Let Dad have a look, you've lost weight, you're tanned." Lu Xianrun and the guard hastened to unburden her of her luggage. He held Lu Jingqiu's arms, looking her over from side to side, his eyes filled with pity as he gazed at her. The affection in his eyes made Jingqiu's heart ache, "Dad, I've missed you all so much."
"Silly child, let's go home."
The guard Xiao Wang had driven with Dad, and on the way, father and daughter sat in the back, asking and answering questions, getting a thorough account of Jingqiu's life in the countryside over the past two years.
Looking at West City as it was thirty years ago, those slowly fading memories came flooding back to Jingqiu with each familiar sight.
In the military compound of the West District of West City, there were two-story buildings in the south area and north area, as well as a few three-story flat buildings in the East District right by the gate.
In between lay rows of connected tile-roofed houses.
The Lu family's home was in one of the two-story buildings on the southwest row, the smallest unit of the third house from the inside, was Jingqiu's home—which she had missed most in her previous life.
Zhou Lanping had been attentive to the noise outside; hearing the sound of the car, she hurriedly came out of the house.
"Mom."
"Qiuqiu, mom has missed you to death."
Zhou Lanping hadn't seen her daughter for two years, which had become a constant ailment in her heart.
But for Jingqiu, it felt like a lifetime.
In her middle and later years, all she yearned for was her mother.
Seeing the person she had longed for day and night, Jingqiu's tear ducts began to lose control again.
Seeing her daughter weep, Zhou Lanping also embraced her and wept together, as if to vent all the longing of these two years.
Meanwhile, the guards moved the belongings to the entrance, saluted Lu Xianrun, and silently left, leaving space for the reunion of the family.
Lu Xianrun escorted Xiao Wang to the door and then returned to stand in front of the mother and daughter, wrapping his arms around them, "Stop crying now. You must be tired from the days on the train. Hurry inside, your mom has prepared a lot of delicious food for you."
Zhou Lanping hurriedly wiped her tears and took her daughter's hand, "Look at me, fussing over you just as you've arrived. Let's go inside so you can take a bath first, mom has made your favorite pork ribs."
The Lu family's house was a small two-story building with a courtyard, like most houses in the compound.
On the first floor were the kitchen and bathroom, and a room in the living room area, while the second floor had a very small platform right at the top of the stairs, with a bedroom on each side; one small bedroom and another facing the sun with a large balcony, which was Jingqiu's room.
When her father had been assigned here, they lived in the connected tile-roofed houses, which were old and worn. Four years later, those houses were renovated into three-story tube buildings.
That's when they moved into this small building at the back, the last remaining unit of its kind.
Originally, with its small layout and the former leader's family having many children, the living room on the first floor had been divided into two rooms, leaving even less space to move around. It was because of this that no one wanted it, and although Dad didn't yet have the seniority to occupy a building, there was a housing shortage at the time, which worked out for him.
The leaders also considered that their family was small, making this set just right for them.
After taking over this house, Dad astonishingly spent fifty yuan to have it restored to its original state and repainted.
In the third year after moving in, they caught up with the construction of new buildings, and while the new buildings were being equipped with heating, the entire compound had heating and water pipes installed as well.
Dad took this opportunity to add two bathrooms on both the first and second floors.
After the new buildings were completed, some of the dangerous houses in the middle also had to be demolished.
When planning, a lot of space was left at the back of the row, initially meant for planting flowers and grasses.
Eventually, people fenced it in to make yards, one family after another, uncontrollable; luckily, in the end, everyone got their yard and agreed to divide the areas.
Mom cleaned up the yard, planted vegetables on one side and some flowers under the wall on the other. Their unwanted yard became better and better.
Lu Jingqiu arrived at her own room and, looking at the familiar objects, touching the real textures, found the authenticity of these items conveyed so much more beauty than photographs ever could.
It's so good to be back!
Lu Jingqiu took a bath and changed into a dress she had left at home, surprisingly still able to fit into it.
After coming downstairs, her parents were already waiting for her at the dining table.
Lu Xianrun beckoned her to sit down, while Zhou Lanping served her daughter a big bowl of pork ribs.
Lu Xianrun said, "Sit down and have some more meat."
Lu Jingqiu took a bite of pork rib, sipped the soup, and exclaimed, "I've finally got to taste Mom's cooking again, that's what I missed the most over there."
Zhou Lanping said sympathetically, "You've gotten thinner and darker; these two years must have been very hard for you."
Thinking about the endless farm work, Jingqiu made a bitter face and complained to her parents, "It was quite tiring. Most of the time, I was working in the fields without any sun protection, so naturally, I got darker and thinner. But I've learned to cook, plant vegetables, and farming became no problem."
Listening to their daughter speak so casually about her hardships, Lu Xianrun and his wife couldn't help but get teary-eyed.
Zhou Lanping blinked away the tears and replied with a smile, "Qiuqiu is now stronger than Mom; I can't even farm."
Lu Xianrun just quietly added more food to his daughter's plate, seeing her spirit undamped despite her hardships, and felt reassured.
But Zhou Lanping was still worried, carefully asking, "Qiuqiu, how long do you plan to stay this time? Are you going back? If you don't want to go back, your dad and I can think of a way to find you a job here."
Lu Jingqiu knew what her parents were concerned about and didn't hide anything: "Mom, Dad, I have a one-month leave to visit home, but I don't want to go back."
Lu Xianrun asked, "Is it because something happened over there? Or did Gao Shu bully you?"
Looking at her parents' worried and anxious expressions, Jingqiu felt her heart fill with a soft warmth: "Mom, Dad, don't worry, it's me. I've made up my mind; I don't want to chase after Gao Shu anymore. I want to come back and be with you, is that okay?"
In the two years their daughter had been away, she had grown and come to terms with herself. They couldn't be happier, repeatedly saying, "Good, good." They were deeply gratified. Over the years, Qiuqiu had devoted herself to Gao Shu, headfirst and heedless of anything else.
During her high school years, when she was at her most rebellious, neither light nor stern words from him, her father, worked; he was so anxious and helpless behind the scenes.
"It's good that you don't want to go back. Your dad and I will definitely resolve the job situation for you this month. Let's return to the city," said Zhou Lanping, knowing that her daughter must have gone through a lot over there, but if it meant Qiuqiu had a change of heart, it was a good thing.
Lu Xianrun had always wanted his daughter to join the army, but she was unwilling. She was too delicate to endure his kind of training; it was better for her to follow her and study medicine at the hospital.
Lu Jingqiu knew her parents could help, but she also had her ways: "Mom, Dad, don't worry, I can find a job on my own."
Zhou Lanping chuckled, "What can you do?"
Jingqiu smiled and replied, "I can check if the factories are hiring."
In her previous life, despite her mental issues, she had her talents, such as drawing. She could create illustrations; during her idle moments, she would sit alone in her room with a drawing pen.
Her art had once been seen by an old man by chance, who said that if her drawings were published, they would surely win awards.