Chapter 946: Return journey, Yanjing is good, but it is not a place to live for long

Li Jianguo highly praised the first two-courtyard compound and didn't belittle the second small courtyard. Although this courtyard was small and messy, this was Yanjing after all.

Although he had a courtyard, Li Jianguo never thought that buying a courtyard in Yanjing was an easy thing. Just what that person named Shao said the day before, that one couldn't buy a courtyard without a Yanjing household registration, made him retreat.

Now Li Long bought two courtyards and even bought one in his name, which was already good enough.

He himself also knew that such a courtyard, if really calculated, its value wouldn't be much less than the tractor he drove.

That tractor could be bought by anyone as long as they had money, but this courtyard really wasn't certain!

"This courtyard is also quite good, it's fine for a family to live in, quiet. It's also convenient to clean up here, the foundation is good, and the things on top can be cleared out in a day or two," Li Jianguo commented on the small courtyard.

Renovations and such were easy to find. After all, this was Yanjing, the capital, and other things were hard to say, but at least there shouldn't be a shortage of various engineering teams.

After seeing the courtyards, Li Long, Li Jianguo, and the others walked back, talking about the next plan while walking.

"Should we go to the Great Wall?" Li Jianguo said after Li Long finished talking about the plan to buy local specialties. "Is it far? If it's not troublesome, should we go?"

The Great Wall, yes, the Great Wall must be gone to.

When coming, this plan wasn't included, so Li Long didn't remember it. Mainly because he had been to the Great Wall in his previous life and saw the carefully renovated Great Wall, the feeling was different from what he imagined, so Li Long didn't have any obsession with the Great Wall in this life.

It was just that he underestimated the attraction of the Great Wall to others, especially semi-literate and semi-farming common people like his elder brother Li Jianguo.

"Okay, then let's go to the Great Wall tomorrow, and then we'll go buy local specialties," Li Long said. "Anyway, our business went smoothly, and we can go back early, so we can stroll around the Great Wall properly. But how to go still needs to be asked to Gu Xiao Yu; it's more troublesome for us to find it ourselves."

This was certain.

After setting the plan, they returned to the hostel, and Gu Xiaoxia and Gu Xiao Yu hadn't returned yet. Li Long and the others chatted in the room, discussing some details of going back.

When Gu Xiaoxia returned, it was almost dark. Li Long heard the commotion next door and went out to see. He saw that Gu Xiaoxia's expression wasn't very good, so he asked in a low voice what was wrong.

There were many people, so it wasn't convenient for Gu Xiaoxia to speak, so she just shook her head.

When they returned after dinner, Li Long deliberately walked a bit behind Gu Xiaoxia and asked her about the afternoon's matter.

"I went to see my mother," Gu Xiaoxia was in a bad mood, and her voice felt weak. "I waited from after dinner until she got off work—to tell the truth, I had been full of anticipation, but after waiting until she got off work and seeing her, I felt... that didn't look like my mother. It was completely different from the feeling Gu Xiao Yu had when she saw Dad."

"Did you talk to her?" Li Long asked.

"No," Gu Xiaoxia shook her head. "Originally I wanted to go over to see her and talk, but when I saw her, I didn't want to talk anymore. When I saw the person, the feeling that rose up was very strange; I didn't feel that was my mom..."

Li Long smiled and said: "That's really unfair to your mother. You also know that Gu Xiao Yu's meeting with Gu Shu was also preconceived. Your mother had said some bad things about Gu Shu, and she also planned to leave after leaving a few hundred yuan. Gu Shu's true state of mind made Gu Xiao Yu change, and only then did they have later communication."

"But the first time I saw Gu Xiao Yu, I felt that she was my sister, my relative," Gu Xiaoxia didn't accept Li Long's explanation.

"That's because you and Gu Xiao Yu look alike," Li Long said with a smile. "You don't look very much like your mother, right?"

"Mm, not very much, there's a bit of a shadow..."

"Let me put it this way, you saw your mother, but felt strange, this is normal. After all, in order to see you, Gu Xiao Yu went to Maxian twice, went to the courtyard and the village, and observed the shop Gu Shu opened, and made full mental preparations before meeting. Even so, at the very beginning, Gu Xiao Yu still had some estrangement and politeness."

"You look at your mother like this now, likely because your mother remarried, and when you saw her, she should have been in a peaceful and stable state, even a bit happy, which made you subconsciously feel that she is no longer your relative or family member."

"Right, right, right, that's the feeling. Although I know clearly that she is my mother, I feel I can't call her. In my impression, mother should... should be like Big Sister-in-law, at most living in the city, looking younger and more intellectual."

"But now what I see, it feels like the feeling of an ordinary urban woman, completely different from the mother in my imagination..."

"That's the mother in your impression before, who was beautified too well, and there's a gap," Li Long thought to himself that explaining was really tiring. If it weren't to make his wife feel better, he wouldn't have explained so much.

What does that cheap mother-in-law have to do with him? She had already formed another family. To say how deep the relationship was, that was an impossible thing.

But he didn't want his wife to be too disappointed, so he inevitably had to explain a few sentences for the mother-in-law, so that his wife could let go.

"Is it really like this?" Being explained by Li Long like this, Gu Xiaoxia's mood was really better. "I feel..."

"No need to feel, it must be like this. After all, you haven't seen her for so many years, and your mother has a new home, so it's normal to have some changes, but no matter what, she is your mother."

"She didn't stop Gu Xiao Yu from coming to see you. When such a thing happened back then, it wasn't entirely her fault; the general environment and your dad's willfulness all had a relationship. So now everyone is living happily, so don't think too much."

"If you want to contact her, then we'll find a chance to meet. If you don't want to see her, then we'll live our own lives. To tell the truth, at such a long distance, even if you want to see her, you really might not be able to see her often."

Being told by Li Long like this, Gu Xiaoxia thought it was also true. She suddenly became happy and whispered with a smile: "Mingming's dad, you don't know, Gu Xiao Yu envies me so much now, saying that the atmosphere in our family is so good, and the life I'm living is what she has always been looking forward to, simply the happy life in her dreams."

"Then that's it," Li Long hugged her waist and smiled: "Just live our own lives well. If your mother knows you are happy, she should also bless you."

"We are still outside..." Being hugged by Li Long like this, Gu Xiaoxia was startled, hurriedly walked two steps to the side, and whispered: "We have to pay attention to the influence."

"Alright, alright, pay attention to the influence," Li Long smiled. His wife's knot was untied, so that was fine.

Returning to the hostel, Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia and Gu Xiao Yu about the idea of going to the Great Wall tomorrow. Gu Xiaoxia wanted to go, but was worried that it would be inconvenient to take Mingming and Haohao.

"Then let's rent a car," Li Long said. "That's less troublesome."

After saying this, he still looked at Gu Xiao Yu.

"Mm, renting a car is more convenient," Gu Xiao Yu nodded. "The distance to the Great Wall is still quite far, so it's really inconvenient to walk by ourselves. But climbing the Great Wall at this time is a bit dangerous, the snow is quite thick, we all have to be careful."

The matter of renting a car was handed to Gu Xiao Yu. Li Long originally wanted to pay, but Gu Xiao Yu didn't want it. She said that coming to Yanjing once, and arriving at her side, but still having Li Long and the others spend money, she should also contribute some effort.

Li Long didn't insist. They were all relatives and would visit each other often in the future, so it wasn't short of this little bit.

He could also see that Gu Xiao Yu seemed to feel that her sister wasn't close to her mother, and she was uncomfortable being in the middle, wanting to make up for it.

Not long after eating the next day, the car rented by Gu Xiao Yu came, a van, and Li Long and the others could all sit down. The driver was also quite talkative, talking about the changes in Yanjing all the way, and also suggested that Li Long and the others go to more places when they had time.

Li Long felt the ability of the Yanjing driver master to talk in two lives—although he had been here in his previous life, he followed a tour group and really hadn't seen it.

The Great Wall had snow, which was another kind of feeling. When Li Jianguo climbed up, he said with a smile:

"The 'Northern Scenery' of the old man is really fully experienced here!"

Li Long didn't know much, Gu Xiaoxia and Gu Xiao Yu nodded repeatedly, and Li Juan also recited that poem.

"Hey, Juan is still stronger, I only know 'Genghis Khan shooting eagles'," Li Long smiled. "Juan, work hard, and in the future, get admitted here, you can climb the Great Wall every year!"

"I also want to get admitted here!" Li Qiang was afraid of being left behind and said loudly.

"Alright, alright, all get admitted here," Li Long hugged Mingming and Haohao and said.

"Admitted." Mingming and Haohao didn't know what admitted meant, but habitually followed their father to repeat this word, which made everyone laugh. Li Long took out his camera to take photos for everyone, and also pulled a tourist on the Great Wall to take a group photo, which was very precious.

Li Long also saw Li Jianguo secretly carving a few words on the Great Wall when no one was paying attention.

He wondered if it was "been here"? How to say it? Saying this is a bad habit is a must, but Li Long didn't stop him. Some people have obsessions. Calculating, his elder brother is definitely a hero in this life, so let him carve it, just be selfish once.

Returning from the Great Wall, the pace of going home entered the countdown. Gu Xiao Yu's vacation was over, and she needed to go to school to work—although there was no one in the school now, she still had to go to sit at work and handle some chores.

Li Long and the others began to buy local specialties.

Twenty portions of pastries from the two time-honored shops were bought and packed. Li Long bought two large wooden boxes from the consignment store, directly packed the pastries into the boxes, and went to the railway station to handle the consignment.

Patent medicines from Tongrentang, as well as some medicinal materials that were not easy to buy in later generations, such as rhinoceros horn, armor plates, old mountain ginseng, etc., were all in several portions, some for himself to keep, and some intended to give to people.

As for other things, there were more foods in the time-honored shops here, so Li Long and the others only bought things like braised pork elbows that could be carried on the train, intending to eat them on the way back.

At this time, train tickets from Yanjing to Wucheng were quite easy to buy—after all, it was before the New Year, the tickets for coming were tight, but there were a large number of surplus tickets for going.

Li Long thought to himself that forty years later, once the holiday started, the tickets to Northern Xinjiang would be tight, there would be too many tourists, and students would be complaining, driving the ticket prices high.

Finally, it was time to get on the train. Before the people were sent on the train, Gu Xiao Yu already had tears in her eyes.

"It's okay, Brother-in-law said, this year individuals in Northern Xinjiang can connect to the phone, and at that time, we will pull a line at home and communicate with you then," Gu Xiaoxia was quite open-minded, took her sister's hand and said: "It will be very soon."

"Aunt, don't cry!"

"Auntie, don't cry!"

Mingming and Haohao also followed their mother to persuade Gu Xiao Yu, which made her laugh.

"So cute!" Gu Xiao Yu tried hard to hug the two children in her arms, "What should Auntie do if she misses you?"

"There are photos," Gu Xiaoxia might have a big heart, smiled and said, "Don't worry, maybe we will run over again this summer. You have to help take good care of those courtyards of ours."

"Don't worry, I will definitely use my heart," Gu Xiao Yu said. "At that time, I will buy my house next to your courtyard, and we will be neighbors."

The train was about to start. Gu Xiao Yu got off the train, waving her hands hard outside the window, wiping tears from time to time.

Watching a whole family leave by car, it seemed as if she was the one abandoned, her heart was full of mixed feelings, and the tears couldn't stop flowing down.

Gu Xiaoxia originally wasn't that sentimental, but seeing her sister crying outside the train window, she couldn't help but redden her eyes, pulling Li Long's arm and saying: "You said Gu Xiao Yu is alone here, usually not even a person to talk to..."

Li Long was speechless, he explained: "You are not close to your mother, Gu Xiao Yu is different, right? She is the landlord here, how could she have no one to talk to? It's just that she is closer to us, so she doesn't want us to leave. Alright, alright, don't worry, she will be fine in a while."

The train started. Gu Xiaoxia was busy taking care of the children, so she couldn't remember the sentimentality.

Although they had just set off from Yanjing, Li Juan and Li Qiang had already started calculating when they could arrive in Wucheng.

Coming here this time, not only did they visit scenic spots and universities, Li Long and Gu Xiao Yu also bought them clothes, study stationery, and toys. The two children came empty-handed, but when they left, each had a double-shoulder backpack, filled to the brim, which could be considered returning fully loaded.

Li Long thought to himself that now students in Maxian were carrying cross-body schoolbags. When Li Juan and Li Qiang carried these double-shoulder backpacks back, wouldn't they lead the trend?

Coming to Yanjing this time, Li Juan and Li Qiang had a huge harvest. They couldn't wait to return to Maxian and share their harvest with their little friends.

Even in the train's sleeper carriage, the two of them quickly found new friends, and after getting familiar, they started chatting about Yanjing.

"The time is still a bit short; otherwise, the two children could have had more fun," Li Long smiled. "It's just that Mingming and Haohao are still a bit young and don't understand much."

"Anyway, we bought a courtyard, so we will go often in the future." The sleeper berths bought this time were five. Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia were face to face, the middle berths were Li Juan and Li Qiang, and Li Jianguo was next door. Mingming and Haohao were already asleep. Gu Xiaoxia thought that her sister was in Yanjing, and the courtyard was in Yanjing, so going there from time to time was nothing.

"Mm, wait until we can buy plane tickets in the future, we will fly over," Li Long nodded.

Seeing Li Long say that flying was as simple as drinking water, someone curled their lips.

Obviously, they weren't convinced.

Li Long naturally wouldn't care. He was thinking that after going back and getting the calligraphy and paintings, he had to find a special room in the large courtyard to put these calligraphy and paintings well.

Fortunately, the air in Northern Xinjiang was dry. He vaguely remembered that when he was about to die in his previous life, he found books from decades ago in the idle room at home, and the books were preserved quite well.

So calligraphy and paintings, as long as they weren't damp, should be preserved quite well, at least for ten or twenty years without problems. Li Long didn't intend to preserve them for thirty or fifty years; he would sell them when the time was about right.

He had the slips and catalogs issued by the cultural relic store in his hand. This thing, after twenty or thirty years, would also be a collectible.

"I feel the van we took to the Great Wall is quite good," Gu Xiaoxia said again. "It can sit quite a few people. I don't know when our county will have such a convenient car to pull people."

"There are some for sale here, but to wait for that car to pull people, it will be at least seven or eight years later," Li Long said. "Look at the situation when we go back. If it doesn't work, we will buy one. That can pull more people than our 212."

Li Long was still quite confused about the number of people this small van could hold. The most he had seen was twelve, and it was said it could hold twenty. With such a space, how could it hold so many?

Tianjin Dafa had already gone offline and was on sale at this time. The price of a van was about the same as a Dongfanghong 75 tractor, so it was definitely affordable.

Mainly, it was more convenient to drive than the 212. 212 could pull tiger skin, but if you really wanted to drive it, it really wasn't as comfortable as Dafa.

Of course, actually, they were all quite hard compared to the cars of later generations.

But it had to come bit by bit. No matter what, it was stronger than a small four-wheel tractor.

People in the team now were excited enough to drive a small four-wheel tractor, and they didn't even dare to think about a 212, but Li Long was still complaining here.

It was time to eat. Gu Xiaoxia looked at Mingming and Haohao, while Li Long opened his backpack, took out the oil-paper package inside, pulled the rope, put it on the small table, and then called Li Jianguo, Li Juan, and Li Qiang to come and eat together.

Braised pork elbow, looking at it made one's appetite increase. This thing could be kept for two days. Li Long bought four directly, intending to eat a good meal on the road.

The food in the dining car was better than what they brought, but eating it every day was also greasy, so Li Long brought a lot of local specialties when he came back, intending to satisfy his cravings on the road.

Their family was eating, and others were looking with envy.

After all, in this era, not everyone could afford braised pork elbow.

When Li Long took out another braised pork elbow at dinner, the eyes of the people next to him widened. Was this guy doing it on purpose?

Others simply hid far away to eat. There was no way to compare, it was infuriating! (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 947 =====

Unlike when they arrived, on the way back, the Li family members had almost become the enemies of the carriage; even the train attendant had complaints—the smell was truly strong and very enticing, yet impossible to eat, which was infuriating! (End of chapter)