Chapter 302

"Fine, I know about this matter, you go back now," Zhao Guoliang still chose to play it safe.

Right now, Li Huaide's influence at the Rolling Mill could be said to be at its zenith, and Zhang Ping'an was his staunch supporter; one would have to be out of their mind to go looking for trouble.

It was already the beginning of November, and the clothes worn in Yantai were a bit cold upon returning to Sijiucheng; Zhang Ping'an exited the platform and hailed a tricycle.

"Ouch, big brother, aren't you cold wearing so little?"

"It's alright, I just came back from the south."

"No wonder then, you'd better hurry home and add a layer; catching a cold is no fun. Sit tight, sir."

The tricycle sped along like a bolt of lightning; the man was clearly an experienced driver, fast yet steady, and in just twenty minutes, they arrived at Nanluoguxiang.

"Thanks, master."

"You're too kind."

With Yan Bugui missing from the Front Courtyard, Zhang Ping'an only nodded to the other neighbors.

Returning home, only Zhang Ping'an's grandparents, father, and mother were there, the four of them watching over Wei'an, who was not yet a year old.

"Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, Mom, I'm back."

"Keep your voice down, Wei'an just finished his Milk Powder and fell asleep."

"Oh, oh, okay."

Zhang Ping'an looked at his son's chubby little face; he was even smacking his lips occasionally in his sleep, looking incredibly cute.

At the same time, it reminded him of the other five children; they had been gone for nearly five years without realizing it, and the time for his and Wang Xiaoling's agreement was also approaching.

However, Zhang Ping'an had no good way to get there right now; unless there was a procurement mission from Pengcheng, perhaps he could sneak across, but forget it, he would just take things one step at a time when the time came.

"Mom, make something good tonight, I'm going to pick up Aihua from work in a bit."

"Alright, put on a thicker coat before you go."

"Mm, okay."

It was only a little past five, and Zhang Ping'an put on a small cotton-padded jacket; although it was only November, the temperature was already below zero.

Learning that Li Aihua had ridden her Bicycle, Zhang Ping'an walked over; there was still time, so Zhang Ping'an strolled along slowly, arriving at the Xicheng Branch Bureau just as it was time to get off work.

"You kid finally came back, you've been gone for half a month."

"Ran into a little something, big brother, where's Aihua?"

"She's inside tidying up, she should be out soon. Since you're back, I don't need to take Aihua home, so I'll head back first."

"Alright, big brother, I'll go see Dad and Mom in a couple of days."

"Good."

Zhang Ping'an waited at the entrance for about five minutes before seeing Li Aihua and a few female colleagues come out, pushing their Bicycles and chatting and laughing along the way.

"Aihua..."

"Brother Ping'an, you're back," Li Aihua said with a face full of surprise.

"Mm."

"Ping'an, you really had our Aihua worried sick."

"That's right, she almost couldn't eat or drink for days, she's even lost weight."

"Exactly, you'd better feed our Aihua well when you get home."

"..."

"I did not."

Li Aihua did indeed have moments of distraction; after all, this was the first time she and Zhang Ping'an had been separated for so long since they got married, and even when he went on business trips before, the longest time was only a week.

Seeing that these tough women were about to blurt out more shocking remarks, Zhang Ping'an hurriedly interrupted:

"Haha, sisters, my Aihua is thin-skinned, please stop teasing her."

"Hahaha, alright, we won't delay you two lovebirds, hurry home."

They teased them a bit more before letting the two leave; Zhang Ping'an took Li Aihua and fled in a panic. Married women were truly uninhibited, saying anything and everything; even Zhang Ping'an, a former joke-teller in his past life, found it a bit hard to handle.

"Aihua is truly blessed."

"That's right, Ping'an's physical fitness is absolutely top-notch, carrying a two or three hundred jin Wild Boar like it's a toy."

"Really?"

"You came late so you don't know, let me tell you, back when this place was still a Police Station..." the woman in her forties rambled on and on.

"Hehe, you'll know tomorrow when Aihua comes over, her little face will definitely be rosy."

"..."

At this moment, Zhang Ping'an was pedaling the Bicycle, Li Aihua was hugging his waist from behind, her face pressed against his back, looking completely satisfied.

"Aihua, we're home."

"Ah? So fast?"

"What were you thinking about the whole way?"

"Nothing... let's hurry inside."

Back home, after eating and putting the child to sleep, the two started their battle; the artillery fire rumbled, and it lasted for about an hour before the fighting stopped.

The next morning, Li Aihua's complexion was rosy and glowing; as soon as she entered the office, she saw one teasing look after another.

"Hahaha, Aihua, did you sleep well last night?"

"..."

Li Aihua was the youngest here; there were four or five others around her age, and the rest were in their thirties or forties, at an age as fierce as wolves and tigers.

Listening to their teasing, Li Aihua couldn't care about being shy anymore and started tickling them, and the office descended into a chaotic mess.

"Hiss~ whew, what, one hour?"

"..."

Zhang Ping'an went to report his work to Li Huaide first thing in the morning, and also brought some local specialties from Yantai.

"Ping'an is here, sit. You kid really aren't one to stay put; where did you run off to this time? It's fortunate that your nephew shares quite a bit of his procurement supplies with you every day."

Zhang Ping'an did not hide anything from Li Huaide and simply recounted the matter once.

"So that's how it is; it's also a pitiful child."

"When you have time, bring your wife and children to the house to sit for a while. Your sister-in-law and nephew haven't seen you for quite some time."

"Alright."

After getting off work in the evening and returning home, Zhang Laohan and his son were just preparing to go take a bath. Seeing this, Zhang Ping'an hurriedly grabbed his clothes and followed. The bathhouse masters in this era really had a knack for it; they all understood acupoints a little, and after a round of scrubbing, one felt comfortable all over.

Of course, it is like this in the North; there are large public bathhouses where everyone is stark naked, and it is nothing.

However, in his past life, Zhang Ping'an heard that when Southerners bathe, apart from themselves, there cannot be any other living creatures in the entire bathroom; he does not know if it is true or false.

At seven-thirty, Zhang Ping'an walked out of the bathhouse with a look of comfort, feeling as if his whole body had become two taels lighter.

Time flew by, and before one knew it, another two months had passed. It was now February of '69, and there was only half a month left until the Lunar New Year.

During this period, Zhang Ping'an and Yi Jiabei went to Qi Family Village again; Qi Qingshan had already recovered almost completely.

He had also recalled the events of these years. Looking at Jiabao, he was simply his younger self. He could not believe that there would be a day they could meet again, and the family inevitably burst into tears once more.

Zhang Ping'an also brought some Sijiucheng specialties for Qi Tongwei's family. Qi Qinghai's legs and feet had recovered better than Zhang Ping'an had expected, and he could now use crutches to get out of bed.

Three days ago, Jiabao sent a letter saying that the family of three was coming to Sijiucheng for the New Year, mainly so that Qi Qingshan and the others could come to express their gratitude and entrust things to Yi Zhonghai.

Once Qi Qingshan woke up, he had an understanding of his own physical condition, and with Yang Qingmei's confirmation, he was even more certain that for the two of them to see their child again in this lifetime, they could die without regrets.

"He, I'm afraid I'll need to borrow Yushui's room in a few days."

"What's the situation?"

"Jiabao's biological parents are coming over at the end of the year."

"Lao Yi, you this..."

At this time in the courtyard, only Yi Zhonghai's family and Zhang Ping'an knew that the Yi Jiabao siblings had found their biological parents.

"Hahaha, it's fine, He," Yi Zhonghai did not mind and recounted the matter of his previous leave of absence.

"So that's how it is. Done. Anyway, Yushui rarely comes back to stay. I'll tell her and let her come back to tidy up."

"Good, thanks, He."

"Eh."