Chapter 618: Sister Yang's Heartache

In the small courtyard south of the Wuyi Highway, Sister Yang and Han Fang cleaned up the snow. Han Fang went to set up the stove, and Sister Yang held two letters, hesitating whether to open them.

Compared to the big courtyard in the north of the city, Sister Yang and Han Fang still preferred to treat this small courtyard as home.

Of course, they knew the small courtyard wasn't theirs.

It was just that after the most difficult times passed, they had been living here, so every once in a while, they would come over to clean it up and set up the stove.

Sister Yang felt that they would still have to live back here in the future.

These two letters were what she had retrieved from the post office. When they lived in this small courtyard, they used this address to send telegrams to their hometown.

Later, they moved to the big courtyard, and worried that telegrams or letters sent from their hometown couldn't be retrieved, they specifically told the postman that letters or telegrams for this courtyard should be left at the post office, and she would go retrieve them herself.

Sister Yang was cautious at the time and didn't leave the address of the big courtyard, to avoid bringing any trouble to Li Long and the others.

After Han Fang set up the stove, she sat quietly at the desk reading.

Although they had lived in this courtyard for a long time, the mother and daughter had always lived in the east room, which was the guest room. They only cleaned the main room in the west but never lived in it.

The mother and daughter couldn't bear to throw away the various books and magazines they cleaned out of the house, so they kept them all, and Han Fang would read them when she had nothing to do.

The two letters were written by Sister Yang's mother-in-law, which was Han Fang's grandmother, and the village party secretary in their hometown.

Seeing that the time the two letters were sent was less than two days apart, she didn't know if they were talking about the same thing.

The village party secretary's letter was obviously thicker, and it could be seen that the mother-in-law's letter was written by her brother-in-law on her behalf.

After hesitating for a moment, Sister Yang opened her mother-in-law's letter first.

What if the letter mentioned information about her husband?

The letter was only one page. Sister Yang had finished elementary school, and although she only attended junior high for one year, reading a letter was no problem.

Han Fang heard the sound of her mother tearing the envelope, glanced back, and then continued reading.

Sister Yang didn't let Han Fang read the letters from their hometown, nor did she let her manage these matters, telling her to just focus on studying well.

Even if Han Fang wanted to help her mother share some burdens, she had no way to start.

Poor children grow up early; Han Fang had already experienced quite a bit of human suffering and was precocious, but she knew that if she didn't speak now, her mother would be more at ease.

She stood up, went to the courtyard, took the pot used for selling food to the original kitchen, and prepared to wash it.

Sister Yang looked up, then lowered her head to continue reading the letter.

There was only more than half a page of content on the one-page letter. The first half talked about the situation in their hometown. This year's harvest was bad, the fields were hit by disaster, there wasn't enough food to eat, and she asked Sister Yang to send some money back.

The second half said that some people in the village had gone to the south to work and earned money, and asked Sister Yang to return as soon as possible, saying that the Northwest was bitter and cold, and the mother and daughter must be having a hard time staying there. She should go back, leave Han Fang to be taken care of by her grandmother, and Sister Yang should go work to earn money, which would make life easier.

After reading the letter, Sister Yang read it again from the beginning. From start to finish, there wasn't a single word mentioning Han Fang's father, Han Bin.

Sister Yang sighed.

Actually, she had saved quite a bit of money; if she really took it back, it would be the kind of amount that would make people in her hometown marvel.

However, Sister Yang didn't feel safe. Coming to Northern Xinjiang was to find Han Fang's father, so they could live a good life as a family.

Her hope was to find Han Fang's father, and even if Han Bin's job really wasn't good at that time, she would have the confidence to say to Han Bin, "We can live well by relying on ourselves."

However, the money was earned, but the person she wanted to talk to hadn't been found.

Sister Yang had a vague, ominous premonition.

This made her a bit afraid to open the letter written by the village party secretary.

The village party secretary and Han Bin's father were childhood friends, but he was younger than Han Bin's father. Han Bin's father, which was Han Fang's grandfather, was injured while participating in water conservancy construction and passed away a few years ago.

Her mother-in-law favored her younger brother-in-law, otherwise, Sister Yang couldn't have run to Northern Xinjiang with Han Fang.

In the end, Sister Yang still tore open that letter.

She carefully tore a small strip along the very edge of the envelope, avoiding tearing the letter paper.

The village director's surname was Wu, named Wu Yongfu.

Secretary Wu's letter had three pages, the characters were very large, the brushwork was very sharp, and in some places, the letter paper was even torn.

A stack of money was tucked into the letter, with both small and large denominations, totaling thirty yuan.

This made Sister Yang a bit surprised.

The reason she sought Secretary Wu was because Secretary Wu was upright and had old ties with Han Bin's father. After Han Bin arrived in Northern Xinjiang, Wu Yongfu had even told Sister Yang about the situation there.

At that time, when Han Bin first arrived at his unit in Northern Xinjiang, he had written a letter and issued a certificate to this side. The letter was written directly to Wu Yongfu, and Wu Yongfu issued the certificate, so the foundation of Han Bin's unit should be left there.

The beginning of the letter told Sister Yang that he understood the situation of Sister Yang and Han Fang. Although it was not easy to interfere in the family affairs of the Han family, he still knew something about Han Bin's situation.

First, it was Han Bin's unit, in Northern Xinjiang, the Sixth Agricultural Division Red Flag Farm, and the specific address was in Jimusaer County, Beiting Prefecture. As for a more specific address, Wu Yongfu didn't know, but finding that place should allow them to inquire.

Wu Yongfu was quite concerned about Sister Yang's life in Northern Xinjiang, and the meaning in his words was also that if they couldn't find Han Bin or if it was difficult to find him, they should gather some money and return. With him there, he wouldn't let Sister Yang and Han Fang go without food.

Finally, he wrote a paragraph of Wu Yongfu's speculation. Seeing this paragraph, Sister Yang's heart suddenly jumped.

Secretary Wu said that in the second half of the year, Northern Xinjiang had sent a large package of things to the Han family, as well as letters and money orders, and later there were fifteen yuan in telegraphic transfers every month.

The money order first arrived at the village office to Secretary Wu. He saw that the unit sending the money wasn't Han Bin personally, but that Red Flag Farm.

So this made people quite suspicious, and he didn't know if something had happened to Han Bin.

Wu Yongfu said that after he received Sister Yang's letter, he went to the Han family to ask, and Han Fang's grandmother was evasive and just said Han Bin was fine, so it wasn't easy for him to ask deeply.

Finally, Wu Yongfu left a message that if Sister Yang needed him to do anything, she should write him a letter or send a telegram directly, and if they found Han Bin here, they should also send him a telegram.

Sister Yang read the letter again, her heart held high, and for a while, she had no idea what to do.

Han Fang cleaned the pot outside and carried it back to the cart. Seeing that the fire in the stove on the cart had already gone out, and looking at the sky, she entered the house and asked:

"Mom, it's getting late, shouldn't we go back to make dinner?"

Sister Yang's body trembled when she heard this, then she looked up and forced a smile at Han Fang:

"Good, good, let's go."

Sister Yang stood up, her body swayed, and Han Fang hurriedly came over to support her, asking with concern:

"Mom, what's wrong with you? Are you not feeling well?"

"No, no." Sister Yang steadied her mind and said, "It's nothing, let's go, let's go back and make dinner."

Folding the two letters and putting them into her pocket, Sister Yang tied her headscarf and pushed the cart. Han Fang locked the door, then went to open the gate, and after Sister Yang pushed the cart out, she locked the gate from the outside again and helped her mother push the cart forward.

On the way back, Sister Yang silently remembered that address—no wonder she would remember it wrong; that was the Sixth Agricultural Division, she only remembered the last word, and even remembered the division as "Si," that was Red Flag Farm, and this was Red Flag Commune.

No wonder she would go the wrong way.

It was just that she didn't know if it was far, and how long it would take to get there.

When she went back, she had to ask Uncle Li to see if it was easy to travel. If it was easy, she had to make a trip.

No matter what, she had to go see where Han Fang's father was.

Although there was an ominous premonition, Sister Yang still hoped for a miracle, to be able to see Han Fang's father.

After the two returned to the big courtyard, Han Fang went to put down the cart, and Sister Yang entered the house to change clothes. After hiding the letters, she went to wash her hands and prepare to make dinner.

When Li Long and the others drove the tractor back to the county, the sun had already almost set. On the back trailer of the tractor was Hongqin, who was curiously looking left and right.

Arriving in the county, Li Long let his big brother and old dad go to the big courtyard. Li Jianguo and Li Qing Xia didn't need to go, they had to hurry home. For the money from selling the fish, Li Long only took back the principal and didn't want any more. Li Jianguo and Li Qing Xia both disagreed, so Li Long said he still had plenty of money and let his big brother and old dad keep it.

His work that brought in money was all big work, so this money wouldn't be divided. It was considered a subsidy for his big brother's side. After all, his old dad and old mom were being supported by his big brother, and he was still eating the grain his big brother grew.

So the tractor dropped Li Long off at the door, and then without stopping, it went straight back.

At this time, there was still more than an hour before Gu Xiaoxia got off work, so Li Long returned to the courtyard intending to rest for a while before going to pick up his wife.

Han Fang was doing homework. She opened the door for Li Long, and after that, she continued doing her homework.

Truly a well-behaved child.

Seeing Li Long return, Sister Yang endured it, but waited until Li Long changed his clothes and came out to tinker with the jeep before asking:

"Uncle Li, do you know where the Sixth Agricultural Division Red Flag Farm is? It's said to be Sa'er..."

Having read the letter twice, Sister Yang remembered the Sixth Agricultural Division Red Flag Farm, but although she remembered Jimusaer, she didn't remember it completely in the end.

"Jimusaer, right? It's... two hundred-plus kilometers from here, that is, five hundred li, right?" Li Long thought for a while and said, "What? Has Xiao Fang's father's unit been found?"

Sister Yang hadn't expected Li Long to hear the reason from the one sentence she asked. She said with some embarrassment:

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"Yes, hometown... the village party secretary sent a letter, saying that Xiao Fang's father's former unit was there, so I was thinking..."

"To go find him? That's good." Li Long thought and said, "There are still ten days or so before the New Year, so how about this, wait until Xiaoxia comes back, I'll discuss it with her, and tomorrow or the day after, I'll drive you two to go find him!"

"That won't do!" Sister Yang hurriedly shook her head: "No, no, I'll just go by myself. Xiao Fang can also stay at home..."

"You go by yourself, that definitely won't do." Li Long smiled, "You went to the wrong place looking for it before, what if you get lost again this time?

The road isn't considered far, two hundred-plus kilometers, to tell you the truth, if you find it, you can stay there, I can make a round trip in one day."

To tell you the truth, Sister Yang and Han Fang living in the big courtyard really saved Li Long a lot of trouble.

Saving trouble is saving trouble, but he couldn't just keep people there forever. After all, she still had a husband, and Han Fang had a father; he had to let them reunite.

Sister Yang took very good care of Gu Xiaoxia. Sincerity is exchanged for sincerity, and Li Long couldn't be indifferent to their affairs.

It was nothing more than a trip for the jeep, and he thought Gu Xiaoxia would definitely agree.

As for Gu Xiaoxia and Gu Bo Yuan's lunch, it shouldn't be a big deal to just make do outside occasionally, right?

"Alright, Sister Yang, it's settled." Li Long said, "After eating, you pack your things—I'm not driving you away. There's time before the New Year, and there's time after the New Year, you see when to go..."

"Then it's definitely the sooner the better, it's just that Xiao Fang will stay here first..." Sister Yang said.

"I'm not staying! Mom, I'm going with you!" Han Fang ran out, not knowing when, and said with a crying voice, "Mom, I'm going with you!"

It turned out that when Sister Yang and Li Long were talking, Han Fang was already eavesdropping.

"Why are you..." Sister Yang was a bit angry, but seeing Han Fang's eyes were already red, hugging her, she couldn't bear to scold her.

"Let Xiao Fang go together." Li Long said, "It's not cold in the jeep, if you go alone, Xiao Fang won't be at ease."

"Then... alright." Sister Yang originally wanted to go explore first, if she found Han Bin, that would be best, if she didn't, she wouldn't say anything when she came back, at least she wouldn't let Han Fang be disappointed.

She was already almost disappointed, and she didn't want Han Fang to bear this kind of mood.

But Han Fang didn't want to leave her mother.

"Alright, it's settled, Xiao Fang, don't cry, we'll definitely take you when we go." Li Long smiled, "When you have time, pack your things, be happy."

He had heard of the three eastern counties, but he hadn't walked through them in his previous life or this one. But he hadn't left the boundary of Beiting Prefecture, and he had a mouth under his nose, so he would ask and find out.

The matter was settled like this, Sister Yang hadn't expected Li Long would drive the jeep to take them.

This was considered solving a big problem for her, and she was making dinner with an agitated mood, waiting until Li Long brought Gu Xiaoxia back.

Han Fang was packing her things in the house. She was quite conflicted; if she found her father, where would she go to school? Would she stay by her father's side, or come back? She actually quite liked it here, but...

Actually, Han Fang's impression of her father Han Bin was already very faint. Han Bin left the village for Northern Xinjiang when Han Fang was three years old, and later came back once a year, and the time he spent meeting Han Fang added up to less than a month each year.

To tell you the truth, her impression of her father Han Bin didn't feel as familiar as Li Long.

After all, she didn't remember things when she was younger.

Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia about this on the way.

Gu Xiaoxia was quite happy for Sister Yang. Being able to find relatives was naturally a very good thing.

Although she was a bit reluctant, she supported Li Long's idea. After returning, Gu Xiaoxia went to the kitchen and specifically congratulated Sister Yang.

When Gu Xiaoxia returned to the room to change clothes and wash her hands, she whispered to Li Long:

"Sister Yang doesn't seem particularly happy."

"Could it be that there was other content in the letter that she didn't tell us?" Li Long guessed.

"If Han Fang's father has any situation over there, you must support Sister Yang!" Gu Xiaoxia didn't know what she thought of, and immediately said seriously to Li Long.

"What could there be?" Li Long was still a bit confused, "Sick or injured? Then what support do I provide?"

"No, I'm talking about that kind of thing..." Gu Xiaoxia glared at him when she saw Li Long didn't understand, and explained, "We just received a whistle-blowing letter two days ago, reporting a male teacher at a middle school below, who had a wife but was still having an affair with someone else..."

Li Long understood immediately, and he shook his head and said:

"I don't think that possibility is high, but we'll see when the time comes. Don't worry, I'm taking Sister Yang and the others over, I definitely won't let them suffer."

"Should we bring some things over there?" Gu Xiaoxia thought after giving instructions, "If Sister Yang and the others stay there, should we express something? Sister Yang is here with us, and our relationship is so good..."

"That's simple, I'll bring some fish and some meat."

At this time, meat was considered hard currency and was welcome everywhere.

The matter was settled like this.

When Gu Bo Yuan came over for dinner, Li Long told him about this privately, and Gu Bo Yuan immediately said:

"Right, right, right, we should go send them. They were good to us and took good care of Xiaoxia, so we shouldn't treat them badly.

You go, don't worry about lunch, Xiaoxia and I will eat outside. Don't be in a hurry when you're on the road, safety first, even if you can't come back in one day, it doesn't matter, definitely pay attention to safety!"

It was agreed here that they would leave the next day. Sister Yang was quite anxious in her heart, but she said it wasn't good to be so hurried, but Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia both said that for this family reunion, the sooner the better.

The next day, breakfast was a bit earlier. Actually, Sister Yang almost didn't sleep well all night.

Li Long got up early to fix the stove, burned water in the house, and then went to the glass room in the back to set up the stove.

The small green vegetables in this glass room had already been eaten for half a crop, and the celery had also grown up. It was just that the chives were still very thin. Li Long regretted a bit, he shouldn't have planted chives, he should have waited until spring to divide some chive roots from the team.

Fortunately, after he asked Li Jianguo, Li Jianguo told him to cut the thin chives, and they would grow thick after cutting them a few times.

After breakfast, Li Long added hot water to the jeep, filled it with gas, and brought the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle in its gun case into the car.

Running to an unfamiliar place, not bringing this, he wouldn't be at ease.

Although 1983 had just passed, who could guarantee that someone without eyes or brains wouldn't come out in the wilderness?

After sending Gu Xiaoxia to her unit, Li Long returned and loaded meat and fish into the car.

Sister Yang and Han Fang were already packed, and they put their respective bags in the passenger seat, and the mother and daughter sat in the back row.

Li Long drove the jeep out of the big courtyard, got out to lock the courtyard gate, and then drove eastward.

"It's one hundred kilometers from our county to Beiting Prefecture, we have to drive for two hours. We shouldn't be hungry then. We'll continue eastward, pass Wucheng, go northeast, and it will be another one hundred and fifty or sixty kilometers before we arrive. We'll eat in Fukang in the middle."

Li Long was just planning according to the route in his memory. Many people didn't know the name Fukang, but Heavenly Lake of Tianshan should be very famous, and Heavenly Lake was in Fukang City.

"Fine, Uncle Li, we'll go however you say." Sister Yang had no objections to Li Long's plan. She didn't know how to go either, but she trusted Li Long very much.

The jeep soon drove out of the county, and all the way was ice and snow. The terrain wasn't flat, occasionally there were hills, occasionally there were low mountains. Actually, Wucheng itself was built in the mountains, Carp Mountain, Demon Mountain, Red Mountain, etc., were all well-known to the locals.