Read Novel Full Chapter 949: Homesick
Chapter 949: Chapter 949: Homesick
In the evening, Zhao Yanping and Zhang Fusheng came over, and they were carrying a dish full of vegetable buns, made with shredded radish and vermicelli, and they even contained some meat.
They came over right after the buns were out of the pot, but given the weather, they had cooled down on the way here.
The kids were having dinner, which consisted of sauerkraut soup with dough lumps, and some leftover pancakes from lunch reheated.
When the kids saw the buns, they didn’t show any signs of craving.
At this moment, Zhao Yanli and Zhou Yongbing also arrived. They also brought a dish full of buns, but these were stuffed with sauerkraut and meat.
"Xiao Ling, Accountant Zhang from your farm is currently at the fertilizer factory. He has already processed the paperwork for three truckloads of fertilizer, but there’s no way to get back to the farm right now. I went to the train station this afternoon, and the train service won’t resume anytime soon; it will take about ten days or so."
"Uncle-in-law, that means we can’t go back now. If it’s after ten days, it will also be the twelfth month, so we could go back then."
Zhang Fusheng nodded, "That’s fine. Accountant Zhang also has to wait until that time to leave. Then you can go back together, but you must be careful. You’re all kids, and if anyone takes you away, you might never be found again."
Zhang Fusheng wasn’t trying to scare the children; there were indeed many child traffickers out there, making it very dangerous. That’s why they were reluctant to let the kids go back alone.
Zhao Xiaoling nodded, "Uncle-in-law, we understand."
At this time, Zhao Xiaole had already brought them some hot water.
"Xiao Ling, if you have nothing to do at home these days, you can make paper boxes."
The kids all nodded happily. This way they could earn some money. Their idea was quite simple: they wanted to earn money for their studies so that their parents wouldn’t have to work so hard.
"I’ll take you there tomorrow morning. I don’t know how to make them either.
And the food your family gave you is all at my place. Is it enough for you?"
Zhao Xiaoling nodded, "It’s enough; we haven’t even eaten the corn we gathered yet."
"Alright. The food is at our place, but we’ve sent over some sweet potatoes, and you can eat them now. You’re at the age where you’re growing, so you need to eat well."
The kids wanted to eat sweet potatoes too, since they were sweet, and what child wouldn’t want them?
"Uncle-in-law, we’ll get them tomorrow. We’ll need to start a fire now, so I was thinking of steaming all of them and drying them into sweet potato chips to have something to eat later."
They didn’t know the feeling of going hungry. Although life at home wasn’t easy and was full of hardships, at least they could eat their fill.
But children get hungry quickly, and it was tough to wait for meals after coming back from school, especially when they were starving. Having some sweet potato chips would be great; even a few bites made a difference, especially since sweet potato chips are sweet.
"Alright, then I’ll bring them to you tomorrow. I left winter melons and potatoes in the cellar; don’t bring them all over now. Wait until you come back for school to bring them."
The kids saw off their aunts and uncles, their faces filled with smiles.
"Big sister, our fare is covered; now, if we earn money, we can save for tuition fees, right?" Hai Jun asked with a smile.
Zhao Xiaoling nodded, "We can. If we do more work, we can buy notebooks in the future."
This was the children’s vision for their future life.
The next day, Zhang Fusheng came over with a cart, carrying four bags of sweet potatoes, two winter melons, some potatoes, and some vermicelli.
They were placed in the house, and with the cart in tow, he took the five kids to the street.
His classmate’s wife was willing to find some work for the kids. People were quite accommodating, and Zhang Fusheng loaded up the cart with materials to bring back.
The five kids had already learned from people there. There wasn’t much skill involved, just time-consuming work that didn’t pay much.
But the kids were happy; they had time now, apart from looking at the next semester’s books. Being able to do some work and earn money was the best thing.
Seeing the happiness on the kids’ faces, Zhang Fusheng felt happy too.
And so, the five siblings sat on the heated brick bed pasting paper boxes. Honestly, over time, their hands became much quicker.
Zhang Haisheng also knew the kids were there, but he felt embarrassed to disturb them. He was staying in the dormitory at the fertilizer factory and found it quite boring. One day, he went to the street and bought some pastries.
That’s how he found out where the kids were staying.
The kids all knew Zhang Haisheng. Seeing him was like seeing half a family, and they were thrilled.
"Grandpa Zhang, why don’t you come to stay with us? It’s much warmer at home," Zhao Xiaole asked.
Zhang Haisheng was very touched upon hearing this.
"I’m alright in the dormitory. There’s a canteen, so it’s easy to get meals. And here are some steamed buns I bought from the canteen for you; they are quite tasty."
Zhao Xiaoling said, "Grandpa Zhang, why not come home to stay? We have food at home, and my parents brought us plenty of food, and it’s warm at home."
Zhang Haisheng would like that, "Alright, I’ll move my luggage."
Even if he stayed here, he wouldn’t take advantage of the kids. He’d bring them food and had food tickets as well, which he’d give to them.
Thinking about the kids, he felt certain the Zhao family would do well.
After he moved in, he helped the kids make paper boxes every day.
Every few days, he would go to the train station to ask when the trains would be running again.
Finally, after half a month, the trains started running again, and they were all overjoyed.
During this half month, their paper box work earned them three yuan. The kids looked at the money on the brick bed and felt very happy.
Zhang Fusheng and Zhou Yongbing would take turns coming over. Zhang Haisheng handed over the fertilizer tickets and the transportation team tickets to Zhang Fusheng.
"I’ll take the kids back. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to watch over them."
"Thanks, Accountant Zhang. We’ll try to go when the kids start school. If it snows again, we might have my big brother bring them over to you."
"Alright, I got it. I’ll let Qingxiang know when I get back.
I’ve already bought the train tickets for tomorrow at eight in the morning, and I’ll take the five kids with me."
Zhang Fusheng nodded. He knew what the kids were worried about. "Xiao Ling, after you leave, I’ll push the family’s food back home."
Zhao Yanping and Zhao Yanli knew their nephews and nieces were leaving, so they stayed home to make pancakes for them. These pancakes were delicious and could be eaten when cold as well, so they packed extra for the kids to take with them.
When Zhang Fusheng and Zhou Yongbing took them to the train station to see them off, they couldn’t help but worry. But they had reminded the kids many times, so they should be fine.
Zhang Haisheng was taking the kids with him and was quite nervous, repeatedly reminding the children.
As soon as Zhao Xiaoling got off, Zhang Haisheng finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Although they had reached the city, there was a sense of security now.
Every year, Zhang Haisheng hired a car to go back, and this time it was great to have the five kids with him.