Chapter 372

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

"By the way, once we get to the county town, where do we catch the long-distance bus?"

Zhou Aidi asked with a confused look.

She had never left this county town in her entire life, and didn't even know where to catch a long-distance bus.

This seemed inconceivable, but it was a phenomenon that truly existed widely in rural areas.

Many elderly rural women had never been to a city in their entire lives; some had never even been to the county town, their range of movement limited to their own village, at most going to the town market to buy things.

"You don't even know where to catch the long-distance bus?"

Some villagers immediately looked surprised.

Some villagers hurriedly answered:

"The public bus will go to the bus station; once you get to the bus station, just get off."

"Where is the bus station?" Zhou Aidi asked somewhat confusedly.

Wang Xiaohua couldn't bear to watch anymore and felt pity.

At this moment, he took the initiative to say:

"Auntie Aidi, I'll accompany you to the bus station later."

According to local custom, Wang Changgen called Liang Yuanchao "Uncle Yuanchao," so by seniority, Wang Xiaohua had to call Liang Yuanchao "Granduncle," and Liang Yuanchao's wife "Grandaunt."

Zhou Aidi looked at Wang Xiaohua, immediately like a drowning person clutching a rope of straw, her face full of joy and gratitude:

"Xiao Hua, how can that be? Don't you still have to go to school?"

Wang Xiaohua answered with a smile:

"Today is Sunday, I don't have class yet. I'll just go to the county town early to look around; anyway, being idle is being idle."

Zhou Aidi hurriedly said:

"That's good, I just worry about delaying you! Thank you so much! I was wondering whether to call Xinghua and ask him how to buy tickets. With you helping, I won't have to trouble my son!"

The public bus stopped and started along the way, and after about fifty minutes, it finally arrived at the county bus station.

Wang Xiaohua enthusiastically helped Zhou Aidi carry down those several snake skin bags of local specialties.

He found the things inside the snake skin bags were strangely heavy.

"Auntie Aidi, many things are sold in the city; you actually don't need to bring them."

Wang Xiaohua saw that inside the snake skin bags there were actually several large winter melons and large pumpkins, and couldn't help but laugh and cry.

Zhou Aidi, however, said:

"I just thought, bring as much as I can down, bring as much as I can down; vegetables in the city are all sprayed with pesticide, but what we grow at home isn't sprayed with pesticide."

Wang Xiaohua said nothing more, just enthusiastically helped carry those local specialties toward the bus station.

Arriving at the bus station side, Wang Xiaohua asked Zhou Aidi which bus station in Shenzhen she wanted to go to; Zhou Aidi was completely at a loss and said:

"As long as I can get to Shenzhen, who cares which station?"

Wang Xiaohua laughed and cried:

"Auntie Aidi, Shenzhen is very big, much bigger than our county town, and has many bus stations. How about this: you call your son and ask."

Zhou Aidi hurriedly nodded: "Okay, okay, then I'll make a call."

She took out her old feature phone, fiddled with it for a good while, and finally managed to dial her son Liang Xinghua's phone number.

"Hello, Xinghua! Hello, can you hear me?"

Zhou Aidi shouted at the top of her lungs, asking loudly.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

Liang Xinghua's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"It's nothing; I just wanted to ask, which station do I go to in Shenzhen?"

Liang Xinghua said somewhat impatiently:

"Didn't I tell you before? Futian Bus Station! Why can't you ever remember?"

Zhou Aidi gave a dry laugh:

"Look at me, always forgetting things; people get old, there's no choice! Then that's it for now, you go busy with your stuff!"

Zhou Aidi hung up Liang Xinghua's phone, turned back to Wang Xiaohua and said:

"My son just said, what 'Tian' bus station, what 'Tian'? Oh, I forgot again all of a sudden!"

Wang Xiaohua hurriedly said:

"Futian Bus Station, I heard it!"

"Right right right, Futian Bus Station!" Zhou Aidi smiled simply, "It's still you young people who have better memories!"

Wang Xiaohua then said:

"Auntie Aidi, give me your ID card, I'll go buy your ticket right now."

"Okay okay." Zhou Aidi hurriedly took out a red plastic bag crumpled into a ball from her pocket, opened the wrinkled red plastic bag, took out her ID card from inside and handed it to Wang Xiaohua, then asked: "How much does the bus ticket cost?"

Wang Xiaohua was actually also buying a bus ticket for the first time; he didn't know how much it cost to go to Shenzhen either, so he said:

"Come with me to the window; whatever the staff says, you give that much."

Zhou Aidi hesitated a bit; she looked at the local specialties placed on the ground: "Then these things..."

Wang Xiaohua hurriedly said: "These things aren't worth anything; no one wants them. Just leave them here. Besides, there are surveillance cameras everywhere here, and we haven't gone far!"

Zhou Aidi still wasn't reassured: "I'm just worried that if I step away, someone will take them. No, I'd better bring these things along with me!"

She then dragged the big bags and small bags of local specialties, following Wang Xiaohua to the ticket window.

Wang Xiaohua didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

Actually, the spot where these local specialties were placed was less than twenty meters from the ticket window; there was really no need to drag them over.

But Zhou Aidi insisted on doing it this way, so he could only help move the local specialties over.

With much difficulty they reached the ticket window; Wang Xiaohua bought Zhou Aidi a ticket to Shenzhen Futian Bus Station, then moved those several snake skin bags of local specialties to find seats and sit down to wait for the bus.

Fortunately, today wasn't a holiday, so there weren't too many people at the station; the waiting hall still had many empty seats.

"Grandaunt Aidi, the ticket you bought departs at nine o'clock. There's still an hour until nine. Later the broadcast will announce the bus numbers; when your bus number is announced, you can check in and board."

"What is my bus number?" Zhou Aidi asked curiously.

Wang Xiaohua explained patiently: "It's written on the ticket — this one, the B1259 bus. Don't panic; I'll wait until you're on the bus before returning to school."

Zhou Aidi's face was full of gratitude:

"Xiao Hua, you're truly a good person. This time I really thank you so much. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't know how to take a bus to Shenzhen!"

Wang Xiaohua couldn't help but say a sentence:

"In the future, if you go to Shenzhen, have your son come back to pick you up. You're an old person traveling alone; if something happens midway, what would you do?"

Zhou Aidi could only smile dryly:

"My son is busy with work; there's no way."

Wang Xiaohua muttered a sentence:

"No matter how busy, he should take leave and come back. Which is more important — you or his job? Besides, you went down to help him take care of the kids; him coming to pick you up is only right and proper, isn't it?"

Zhou Aidi actually felt a bit uncomfortable inside; hearing Wang Xiaohua say this made her feel even more uncomfortable.

But she didn't want to speak ill of her son in front of outsiders.

So she could only respond with a bitter smile:

"It's fine, I'll go by myself. Why trouble him? Taking a day off means losing quite a bit of earnings, and the return bus fare would cost a lot too!"

Soon the time neared nine o'clock; the bus to Shenzhen Futian was about to depart.

Wang Xiaohua asked Zhou Aidi if she wanted to go to the toilet; if she needed to go, she should hurry and go, then board after finishing. After all, the trip from here to Shenzhen takes three to four hours; whether it would stop at a service area for a rest was unknown.

Zhou Aidi said she wasn't in a hurry; she'd just use the toilet when she reached her son's place.

Actually, she didn't dare go to the toilet. She had never used this kind of city toilet; she was afraid she wouldn't know how, afraid of delaying time, so she decided not to go and just hold it in.

Wang Xiaohua said nothing more, helped her carry the big bags and small bags of local specialties, and went to queue for ticket check.

After Zhou Aidi checked in and entered the station, he still very patiently pointed out the long-distance bus she needed to board, urging her not to get on the wrong bus.

Zhou Aidi nodded repeatedly, and thanked Wang Xiaohua once more.

Wang Xiaohua watched her get on the bus, only then letting out a breath of relief.

In his heart, he couldn't help but feel a myriad of emotions.

His own mother was like Zhou Aidi — unsophisticated, uneducated, had hardly ever traveled far. He didn't know if, when his mother grew old and had no choice but to travel far in the future, she would encounter such an awkward predicament like Zhou Aidi now.