On the morning of the 21st, Feng Yiping and Huang Jingping flew directly to the provincial capital, and without stopping in the provincial capital, they picked up the car at the car lot and returned directly to the city.
As soon as they entered the house, Huang Jingping took a deep breath, 'It's still nice to be at home!'
Yes, it is better at home. No matter how good the hotel service is, and no matter how great the view from the window is, it is still a hotel. Not only is it not as comfortable as home, but it is also not as private as home, because you are always sharing the space with other people. Of course, if it is your own hotel, for example, when the hotel in the provincial capital is built and he moves in, it will be different.
The first thing he did after unpacking was to call his parents to let them know he was safe. 'You're back? Did everything go well?' were the usual greetings, followed by the main topic: 'The results will be out the day after tomorrow, and your mother and I will come to the city tomorrow.'
Feng Yiping couldn't refuse this request. They hadn't been there for the college entrance exam, and now the results were coming out. And Feng Yiping was likely to be the top scorer, so they were even more anxious than he was.
What about Huang Jingping? He was going to go to university next, and when the time came for him to be able to date and have a girlfriend, he felt bad that his parents would make her hide out when they came.
But now there was no time for him to think about it. Since returning home, the phone and fax had been ringing non-stop. Before the college entrance exam, in order to avoid affecting him, a lot of things had been put on hold. Just a few days after the exam, he had left for Hong Kong, and all the companies had a backlog of work that urgently needed his attention.
Huang Jingping brought him a glass of water and said, 'What would you like for lunch? I'll go shopping.'
'I'll like whatever you cook!' After being away for more than ten days, he had been eating hotel food all the time and really wanted some home-cooked food.
'For that, I'll give you a reward,' Huang Jingping said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
Feng Yiping took her hand and said, 'Jingping, my parents are coming to the house tomorrow morning,'
'Ah, why didn't you say so earlier? I just took my clothes out of the suitcase and now I have to pack them again.'
'Why don't you just stay home? They have to know anyway.'
'No, no, some other time, I'm not ready yet.' Huang Jingping shook her head like a rattle, 'Why don't you just book a room for me at the hotel from last time, okay?'
Huang Jingping had also thought about the issue of meeting her parents in private, and she had thought about it very clearly.
It is precisely because she cares about Feng Yiping so much that she does not want to give the slightest impression of being bad in front of his parents. In their eyes, dating in high school is still considered early love, and parents definitely do not have a good impression of their children's early love interests.
In addition, both the man's and the woman's parents are generally very picky when they first meet. I heard that the man's parents seem to be even more picky, so now is not a good time to meet his parents.
We have waited for so long, so it would be best to wait until Feng Yiping comes home after going to university and then go to his parents' house to meet them.
'But don't you feel that this is very unfair? You always have to hide.'
'No, I happened to be at the hotel sleeping in for a few days. I was exhausted after being out for more than ten days.'
'I'm sorry!' Feng Yiping still feels a little guilty.
'Silly,' Huang Jingping crouched down, took his hand and looked at him seriously, 'Why do we need to say sorry to each other? You work hard and I'll go shopping.'
Huang Jingping was very happy when she left. Feng Yiping's attitude made her very happy, although she could sense that there was still another person in a corner of Feng Yiping's heart, so he had been very restrained these days.
The closer their hearts have grown, the clearer she has seen that. But compared to before, things have improved a lot. At least for now, she has a very important place in Feng Yiping's heart.
The next morning, Huang Jingping still prepared the lunch seriously at home, then carried her suitcase and went to the hotel with Feng Yiping.
Feng Zhenchang and Mei Qiuping arrived home a little after ten. It seemed that they must have got up early. After living in their hometown for a few months, they looked healthier. 'Dad, has your hair turned black?'
Feng Yiping took a bag from his father's hands, which contained cucumbers, eggplants and cowpeas that they had picked from the vegetable garden. They were homegrown and really tasted better than those bought at the farmers' market. For example, with cowpeas, Huang Jingping generally didn't buy them at the farmers' market because the variety was different and they would still be hard after being cooked for a long time.
'Where would they turn black? Your father is old now and wants to be fashionable, but I dyed them for him at home last month.' Mei Qiuping teased Feng Zhenchang with a smile, holding a bag of peppers and a plastic bag of cleanly washed plums in her hand. 'Grandpa specially brought these for you, there were a lot of them this year.'
In the backyard of Grandpa's house, there were two fruit trees, a cherry tree and a plum tree. When they were young, most of the fruit that grew on the trees went into his and his sister's stomachs.
Back then, we were greedy eaters. When the plums were still green, we would sneak out and hit them with a bamboo pole every now and then. Even though they were sour and astringent, we still ate every last bit of flesh, including the tiny bit on the core. In those days, when supplies were scarce, eating a bowl of noodles with green onions and poached eggs was considered a birthday treat. Those two trees brought them a lot of happy memories.
He had been eating green plums since he was a child, so he has never been afraid of the sour taste. He enjoys eating oranges, which can make most people's teeth ache, and he doesn't like unsour oranges either.
Now, when he sees these red plums, the sour taste comes back in his mouth. He takes one out, rubs it carelessly on his clothes, and then stuffs it in his mouth. It's sweet and sour and delicious!
Mei Qiuping, who was watching from the side, felt her teeth ache. 'I really can't understand it. You still like something so sour.'
When he got home and saw the dish that had been prepared, Mei Qiuping said to him slightly reproachfully, "You knew I was coming, and you were still busy cooking.'
Feng Zhenchang washed his hands and came out. He tasted the scrambled eggs with tomatoes. "In the past few years, your cooking skills have improved. You haven't married yet, but you're living a good life on your own.'
Feng Yiping felt a little nervous when he heard this. His father's words sounded like they had a hidden meaning. But that couldn't be the case. No one who knew about this, including Lao Cai, would say anything.
Fortunately, his mother's words dispelled his concerns. 'He's only just graduated from high school. What wife?'
'So what if he's just graduated from high school? He's 19 years old. There are plenty of people who get married at 19!'
'That's in the countryside. Look at the city, how many people get married at 19? They can't even get a marriage certificate. Do you want your son to go back to the countryside and farm, and then get married now?'
Then Mei Qiuping changed the subject. 'But, Yiping, we used to keep an eye on you. Next, you'll go to university, and when you can have a girlfriend, if you find someone, you must bring her back to us to meet.'
I don't know if I'm just being paranoid or what, but Feng Yiping feels that today's pace seems a bit off. 'No problem, I'll try to bring one back for you in the second half of the year, okay!' He simply decided to be more generous.
'You still have to put your studies first,' Feng Zhanchang put a chop of meat on his plate. 'We heard that universities are not as strict as primary and high schools. You still have to be self-disciplined. If you have the idea of going out to play, you might as well come back and help out at home now. You have a lot on your plate, right!'
'I think you've been talking about people in the village for a while now, and now you want to talk to everyone. What don't you understand? You don't need to tell me.' Mei Qiuping also put a piece of fish on Feng Yiping's plate. His bowl is now either fish or meat.
This is really not being polite, and this habit also comes from the time when they were poor. Whenever there was something delicious, their parents would make them eat it first. Now that things have improved, this habit has been retained.
Their parents now have a very regular routine. After lunch, they take a nap. Feng Yiping also went to his room and quietly called Huang Jingping on the phone, 'Have you had lunch yet?'
'Not yet, I don't feel like eating, I just want to sleep.'
'Then wait, I'll come over and take you to eat.'
Feng Yiping walked to the door of the guest room and knocked. 'Dad, mom, some classmates have asked me out. I'll be gone for a while, an hour or so, and then I'll be back.'
'Okay, be careful on the way.'
After hearing the sound of the door closing, Mei Qiuping nudged Feng Zhenchang. 'Hey, do you think Yiping is going to meet a boy or a girl?'
'Why worry about that? You said it yourself, he has an idea for everything. Just go to sleep!'