After arriving home, Tan Jincheng realized that his parents were still awake, seemingly waiting for him.
In his parents' eyes, he was still just a 19-year-old child, and not being home in the middle of the night would naturally make them anxious.
"I went to the internet cafe with Peng Ya for a bit, grabbed some late-night food, and then came back. Mom and Dad, you should go to bed, I'm fine."
"You just got home today and you're already running around; go to bed early, tomorrow we're going to your maternal grandmother's house."
Zhang Suzhi said with a hint of complaint.
"I remember, I even brought a gift for Grandma, it's in the suitcase."
"I saw it. Your grandma will definitely scold you for wasting money again."
"It's not worth much, I'm going to bed."
Tan Jincheng replied with a smile.
Elderly people are all like this; even if they're happy when you buy them something, they'll complain about you wasting money and not being frugal.
Seeing his parents go to sleep, Tan Jincheng quickly washed up and prepared for bed.
The next morning, after breakfast, the family carried their prepared gifts and hurried to their maternal grandparents' home in the countryside.
In Yicheng, the custom for visiting relatives during holidays is to arrive before lunch; visits are not made in the afternoon.
Taking a taxi, the family, carrying numerous bags, hurried to Huangtukang Bus Station.
It wasn't far, as it was also in Daguan District.
In these years, private cars were still quite rare for ordinary families, and minibuses, which would be ignored in later generations, were quite popular at the moment.
After looking at several minibuses, Tan Jincheng finally found two good rows of seats, settling his mother in a window seat and taking the outer seat himself.
Tan Lihua guarded the gifts, sitting next to Tan Jincheng across the aisle.
Before long, the minibus was full, mostly with migrant workers returning home for the holiday.
The attendant began to close the door and collect money, charging different fares based on the destination.
For the town Tan Jincheng's family was going to, the fare was 20 yuan per person.
Even though it was full, if someone flagged it down on the road later, the driver would still squeeze more people in.
This was why Tan Jincheng had sought out seats.
His mother was pregnant, and without a good seat, she could easily get squeezed.
As for why they didn't take a taxi, on one hand, traveling with his parents, they definitely wouldn't accept taking a taxi, as taxis charged per person to the countryside.
And it would also be crowded; these drivers on the road didn't care if you had chartered the car, they would still stop to pick up waiting passengers.
To the town in his maternal grandmother's county, the minibus would take about an hour and a bit, or roughly an hour and a half if there were many stops for picking up and dropping off passengers along the way.
Last night, taking a taxi home was 20 yuan for ten minutes or so; today, the minibus to the countryside for over an hour was also 20 yuan.
This was the current state of transportation in Yicheng.
Tan Jincheng couldn't change anything; what he could change was to earn money as quickly as possible, then buy a car, which would make travel much more convenient.
"Mom, you can sleep for a bit; I'll wake you when we arrive."
Tan Jincheng said to his mother.
The bumpy journey was quite a hardship for a pregnant woman.
If it weren't for wanting to visit her maternal home before giving birth, and with her son also back home, Zhang Suzhi really wouldn't want to endure this suffering.
Tan Lihua and Zhang Suzhi were born in a poor county under Yicheng's jurisdiction, in different villages of the same town, and met through an arranged introduction.
Tan Jincheng didn't know if his parents' generation had love, but their life after marriage was relatively harmonious.
In Tan Jincheng's memory, his parents had never argued in front of him.
He remembered that as a child, his father had a fiery temper outside, spoke loudly, and often argued with people, but he spoke very gently to his mother.
However, by the time Tan Jincheng reached his thirties, his father had become a very gentle person, not only with his mother but also rarely arguing with outsiders.
Tan Jincheng didn't know why his father had changed.
When Tan Jincheng was younger and working away from home, he would often call his mother, listening to her talk about everyday family matters, and conversations lasting over an hour were common.
But he rarely communicated with his father.
The father-son relationship wasn't bad, but it certainly wasn't that intimate.
Glancing sideways, he saw his father sitting upright in his seat, eyes closed, but with his hands tightly gripping the gifts, Tan Jincheng knew his father wasn't asleep.
Don't find it strange; in those days, if you put some more upscale gifts or valuables on the luggage rack and someone getting off the bus inadvertently took them, you'd just have to accept it.
After a while of idle thoughts, Tan Jincheng also decided to get some sleep.
This minibus was going to be bumping around for over an hour, and the road wasn't very good, so it was indeed uncomfortable enough.
In a daze, Tan Jincheng felt someone pushing him.
"We're here, let's get off."
"Oh, okay."
He had actually fallen asleep and was woken up by his mother.
Tan Jincheng felt a bit embarrassed, as he had intended to look after his mother during the journey.
"It's not my fault, this bus was quite comfortable to nap in with its bumps."
The minibus would only drop you at the town intersection, regardless of your final destination.
To get back to the village, you'd still have to walk for at least half an hour.
However, at this time, his maternal uncle was already waiting at the entrance of a small shop at the intersection; they had informed him of their approximate arrival time beforehand.
"Big Brother!"
"Maternal Uncle!"
After seeing him, Tan Jincheng's family quickly called out.
Hearing them, Zhang Qingfeng also waved his hand and started his electric tricycle, driving it over.
Tan Jincheng had five maternal uncles.
His eldest uncle, Zhang Qingfeng, and his second uncle, Zhang Qingchao, were actually cousins of his mother, not born to his maternal grandfather.
However, their father, who was Tan Jincheng's maternal grandfather's elder brother, had passed away when the two brothers were nine and five years old, respectively.
Tan Jincheng's maternal grandfather had raised the two brothers single-handedly, then helped them both marry and have children, only separating the family after the eldest cousin was over 20 years old.
Not only that, but he also took care of both their mothers until their deaths, which was extremely rare in an era of extreme material scarcity.
Tan Jincheng had no memory of his great-aunt; she had passed away when Tan Jincheng was three or four years old.
"You're about to give birth, why did you come back? Couldn't Ah Hua or Jincheng just come back?" Seeing his sister heavily pregnant, Zhang Qingfeng couldn't help but complain.
Zhang Suzhi smiled and replied that it was fine.
Tan Jincheng quickly took out the cigarettes from his pocket and offered one to his maternal uncle.
Zhang Qingfeng looked at Tan Jincheng with some surprise, glaring and saying,
"You don't study, you've been running around for over a year, and now you've learned to smoke?"
"I don't smoke, I just offer them to others sometimes."
Tan Jincheng replied with a smile.
"That's more like it. Give them all to me, why buy such good cigarettes?"
Tan Jincheng could only give a wry smile and hand over the entire pack of cigarettes.
In truth, he did smoke, but he dared not do so in front of his parents at the moment.
In his previous life, Tan Jincheng was also quite a heavy smoker.
These cigarettes were just 10 yuan Yingkesong, hardly good quality; but for Zhang Qingfeng, they were indeed considered good cigarettes, as he carried 3 yuan Shengtang in his pocket.
"Hold on tight, we're going home."
One person and one vehicle, carrying the family of three, drove towards their old rural home.
(End of Chapter)
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