PWE – Chapter 146

Xiao Wange couldn’t help smiling when she heard the news.

Holding the receiver, she said to Zhan Zeyan on the other end, “Alright. I’ll pack things up, and in a couple of days I’ll bring Zhaozhao over to you.”

Zhan Zeyan replied, “Call me again before you set off. I’ll go to the station to pick you up and get you and the child.”

Xiao Wange answered, “Okay.”

After hanging up the phone, she looked at Zhaozhao, who was waiting nearby, lifted him into her arms, and said with a smile, “Zhaozhao, the housing your dad applied for has been approved. We’ll be able to go live with him very soon.”

“Really?” Zhaozhao’s face instantly lit up with excitement.

Xiao Wange nodded. “Yes, really. I’ll go back and start packing right now.”

The village head, who was standing nearby, hurriedly said, “Wange, once you and Zhaozhao go to Zeyan’s place, you probably won’t come back very often. From now on, the three of you should live well together. I believe that with your abilities, your future days will be good ones.”

Zeyan was capable, and his wife was no less capable. As long as the young couple lived their lives properly, only happy days awaited them.

Xiao Wange, holding Zhaozhao, turned to look at the village head and smiled gently. “I know, Uncle. In the future, Zeyan and I will definitely raise our child well and take good care of our little family.”

After a pause, she added, “We’ll still come back. We won’t stay there forever.”

The village head smiled. “It’s good to come back and visit once in a while.”

After all, no matter what, this place was their root, and a person should never forget where they came from.

Xiao Wange chatted with the village head for a couple more sentences before carrying Zhaozhao home.

Once they got home, Zhaozhao excitedly ran into his room and started packing his things. He said he wanted to pack by himself and bring all his clothes and toys to his father’s place.

Life was better now, and Xiao Wange had bought him quite a few small toys. Zhaozhao liked them very much, which was why he wanted to take them all with him.

However, once his clothes were packed into the suitcase, there wasn’t much room left for the toys.

Looking at the toys that wouldn’t fit, Zhaozhao frowned and said worriedly, “Mom, I want to take everything. I don’t want to leave my toys behind.”

As he spoke, his eyes lowered slightly, his face full of sadness.

Xiao Wange walked over, closed the suitcase lid, and gently patted his head. “After we get to your dad’s place, Mom will buy you new toys—better and more fun ones. So it’s okay to leave these behind.”

Zhaozhao looked up at her face, bit his lip, and shook his head. “I don’t want new toys. Buying new toys costs money, and I don’t want to spend more money. Mom, these toys…”

He twisted his fingers, struggled for a few seconds, then suddenly took a deep breath and said, “If I can’t take them, then I won’t. I just won’t play with them anymore.”

If something couldn’t be taken along, there was no point in telling Mom. Telling her would only make things difficult for her.

Xiao Wange put the remaining toys into a drawer. Turning back to him, she smiled and said, “We’ll come back in the future. You can play with these toys when we return.”

Zhaozhao nodded obediently. “Okay.”

Yes, they would come back someday, so it was fine to leave the toys at home.

Xiao Wange then returned to her own room and quickly packed her belongings as well.

Packing didn’t take long—less than two hours.

After packing all the clothes they needed, Xiao Wange went to the kitchen to make more meat sauce to take with them.

They had bought quite a lot of meat before, more than they could finish eating, so she decided to make it all into meat sauce to bring along.

She made nearly ten jars of meat sauce and packed them into their bundle. The bundle was heavy—if she didn’t have much strength, she wouldn’t have been able to carry it at all.

Besides the meat sauce, she also packed the cured sausages she had made earlier, along with salted duck and salted chicken.

In total, there were more than thirty sausages, two salted ducks, and three salted chickens.

She had made these out of boredom before, after seeing others in the village making sausages, so she made some herself.

The villagers weren’t as extravagant as she was. Although rural life was much better than before, people still weren’t particularly well-off. Most households couldn’t afford to make many sausages, let alone salted duck or chicken.

Only someone like Xiao Wange, who had extra money, would be willing to prepare such things.

After packing everything, she stretched lazily, planning to rest for a bit before cooking a meal.

Now she was just looking forward to two days later—once those two days passed, she would take Zhaozhao and set off to find Zhan Zeyan.

…

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, two days were gone.

That morning, after Xiao Wange and Zhaozhao finished breakfast, they picked up their things and prepared to go to town to catch a ride.

When they reached the village entrance, Zhao Lijuan and the village Party secretary hurried after them.

Zhao Lijuan was holding a bundle. She handed it to Xiao Wange and said, “These are some pancakes I made and a few eggs. Take them for you and Zhaozhao to eat on the road.”

Xiao Wange glanced at the bundle, her brows moving slightly, her heart unconsciously touched.

She looked up at Zhao Lijuan and said, “Auntie, I already made pancakes and boiled eggs. Zhaozhao and I have food for the journey, so please take these back.”

She gently pushed the bundle toward Zhao Lijuan.

But Zhao Lijuan forced it into her hands. “Take it. What you made is what you made. This is just a little token of my feelings. You won’t be home much in the future, and it’ll be hard for me to see you again. Consider this a farewell gift.”

As she spoke, Zhao Lijuan suddenly became a little emotional.

She had grown close to Xiao Wange’s family over these days, and now that they were suddenly leaving, she truly couldn’t bear it.

Seeing her reluctance, Xiao Wange also felt uncomfortable.

Living in this village for some time, she had experienced not only the everyday warmth of life, but also genuine human kindness.

Although Aunt Zhao wasn’t related to her by blood, she had treated her and Zhaozhao very well—better than family.

Xiao Wange pressed her lips together, paused for a second, then placed the bundle into the large basket on her back.

Because she had so many things, she was carrying a suitcase in her hands and a basket on her back—the largest kind, capable of holding over a hundred jin.

After putting the bundle away, she looked at Zhao Lijuan and said, “Then I’ll accept it. Thank you, Auntie.”

“There’s no need to thank me,” Zhao Lijuan said, her eyes reddening as tears slipped out. “When you have the chance, you must come back. After all, Zeyan’s mother is still buried in this village.”

“Yes, Auntie, I know,” Xiao Wange nodded quickly. “When I have time, I’ll come back often.”

Zhao Lijuan wiped her tears and lifted Zhaozhao into her arms again. “It’ll be hard to see our Zhaozhao in the future. Let me look at him properly today.”

She truly loved the child, and the thought of not seeing him often anymore made her heart ache like it was being cut with a knife.

The village Party secretary puffed on his pipe, knocked it against a stone by the roadside, and said to his wife, “Alright, stop being sad. Put Zhaozhao down and let them set off. They still need to go to town to catch the bus—if they’re late, they’ll miss it.”

Zhao Lijuan stroked Zhaozhao’s head, looked at him carefully a few more times, and though reluctant, finally put him down.

Zhaozhao tugged at her sleeve, looked up at her, and said, “Grandma Zhao, I’ll come back with Mom and Dad to visit you in the future. Don’t cry.”

Those words only made Zhao Lijuan cry harder.

She wiped her eyes forcefully and said, “Alright, Grandma won’t cry.”

Seeing that it was really getting late, Xiao Wange said, “Uncle, Auntie, we’ll be leaving now,” then took Zhaozhao’s hand and quickly headed toward town.

Watching their departing figures, Zhao Lijuan’s tears streamed down.

The village Party secretary took a drag from his pipe and sighed. “Alright, stop crying. Zeyan’s wife and Zhaozhao are going off to enjoy a good life. If you cry like this, you might cry away their good fortune.”

Zhao Lijuan froze for a moment at his words, then wiped her eyes vigorously and said softly, “You’re right. I can’t cry—I can’t cry away their good fortune.”

She looked again at Xiao Wange and Zhaozhao’s backs. “I really can’t bear to part with them, especially that child. In my heart, I’ve treated him like my own grandson.”

The village Party secretary didn’t respond, only took another deep drag of his pipe.

Though he didn’t say it out loud, he felt the same way.

But no matter how reluctant they were, it was useless. After all, Zhaozhao wasn’t their grandson, and the family was going to Zeyan’s place to live a better life. They couldn’t hold them back and stop them from going.

…

Xiao Wange and Zhaozhao traveled by bus to the provincial capital, then took a train to Zhan Zeyan’s location.

Knowing that hard seats would be exhausting, especially for a child, Xiao Wange specifically bought sleeper tickets.

After putting their belongings away, she took off Zhaozhao’s shoes and let him climb onto the bunk.

The bunk was narrow, but it was far better than sitting on a hard seat.

And conveniently, the sleeper compartment only had the two of them, which made things more comfortable.

After lying down for a couple of minutes, Zhaozhao climbed back up and began looking out the window.

He had never traveled far before, so everything outside felt fresh and new to him.

Xiao Wange took out two steamed buns and a plain mantou. The buns were vegetable-filled. Even though they were vegetarian, her cooking was good, so they still tasted delicious.

She handed a bun to Zhaozhao and said, “You must be hungry. Eat a bun to fill your stomach. When it’s mealtime, I’ll take you to the dining car.”

Although they had pancakes and eggs, they were cold by now. In this cold weather, she didn’t want the child eating cold food.

She had warmed the buns with hot water at the station before boarding, so they were still warm and wouldn’t feel cold in his stomach.

Zhaozhao took the bun, bit into it, and continued looking out the window. “Mom, I think the scenery outside is so pretty. I feel like I can’t get enough of it.”

Xiao Wange glanced outside as well. There was nothing particularly special—just ordinary scenery.

But for a child traveling far for the first time, even the most ordinary sights felt different. Even a pile of trash could seem beautiful and fascinating.

Just as she was about to pull her gaze back from the window, she suddenly saw a black shadow flash past.