Chapter 178: Uncle Arrives
Song Moting smiled but remained silent.
They arrived at the freight station.
Jiang Xiaoxiao took advantage of the moment Song Moting was pushing the dump truck into the yard to quickly release dozens of sacks of grain from the warehouse.
These must be displayed openly here, otherwise, how can the farm come and haul the grain back in a couple of days?
Song Moting hadn't even entered the house, and Mr. Wang had already arrived.
He found a large truck to haul goods.
Seeing Mr. Wang, Jiang Xiaoxiao hurried out.
Mr. Wang directly loaded five sacks onto the truck and thanked Jiang Xiaoxiao. They hurriedly drove off, intending to deliver this grain back home overnight.
Of course, this was also to avoid creating trouble for Jiang Xiaoxiao.
Jiang Xiaoxiao checked her watch; unsurprisingly, her uncle would arrive at the train station at ten tonight.
It was already past eight, and she regretted not asking her brother-in-law to come along. She had forgotten about it earlier, and only remembered after sending the grain away with Mr. Wang.
She really was a bit heartless to forget about her uncle.
Song Moting noticed Jiang Xiaoxiao standing still and asked, "Do you have other tasks to attend to? If you do, just tell me. I'm a strong man, and I can handle any labor-intensive work."
Jiang Xiaoxiao knew that asking Song Moting to go back to fetch her brother-in-law at this point would be excessive.
"My uncle's train arrives at ten later on; accompany me to pick him up."
Does this feel a bit like meeting the parents?
Jiang Xiaoxiao couldn't help but laugh at herself.
Song Moting gave Jiang Xiaoxiao a meaningful look. That's an elder.
"Sure!"
This is Jiang Xiaoxiao's uncle.
"Jiang Xiaoxiao, give me a chance, please. I am honest and reliable, hardworking and studious, neither lazy nor sly, and promise to remain devoted to Comrade Jiang Xiaoxiao for life."
Song Moting didn't want to miss this opportunity.
Although Jiang Xiaoxiao had previously declined, he couldn't help himself.
Jiang Xiaoxiao looked back with a smile.
Instantly, Song Moting felt as if the cold wind warmed up.
"Silly! Hurry up, lest my uncle gets a bad first impression of you by missing the train!"
"Is that you agreeing?"
Song Moting couldn't believe Jiang Xiaoxiao would agree so easily. Was he dreaming?
Jiang Xiaoxiao pressed her lips and chuckled quietly.
Now, Song Moting seemed honestly a bit simple and silly.
......
Fan Jianguo squeezed off the train with his bags, finally relieved as the train was packed full of people.
Had he not been a strong man, he wouldn't have managed to get off the train.
A woman holding a child timidly followed beside him.
Jiang Xiaoxiao was surprised to see this scene.
When did uncle have a child?
Seeing uncle protect the woman and child beside him, there seemed to be something more than common between them.
"Uncle!"
Jiang Xiaoxiao shouted.
Fan Jianguo waved excitedly upon seeing Jiang Xiaoxiao.
"Oh my, Xiaoxiao, come help quickly!"
Song Moting and Jiang Xiaoxiao went over, and Song Moting proactively took the bags.
Fan Jianguo belatedly noticed Song Moting, "Who is this?"
"This is the young intellectual from our commune, Song Moting, who came with me to pick you up. Who is she with you?"
Jiang Xiaoxiao looked at the woman, who seemed young, around 20 years old, holding a child over a year old.
The woman had delicate features but seemed malnourished.
Her complexion was sallow, and she was of small stature, particularly, the child in her arms looked poorly developed, with a large head and small body.
Clearly, they looked underfed on a daily basis. Due to the crowd nearby, the child cowered in the woman's arms, absent-mindedly sucking on her fingers.
Fan Jianguo took a glance at the woman, "Sigh, we met on the road. Her husband passed away, and her husband's family blamed her for his death, driving her and her child away. She's returning to her family.
Such a pitiful person, I heard that before she returned, her parents in her family also passed away, leaving only underage siblings. We met on the road, so how could I not lend a hand?"
The woman quickly took the bag from Fan Jianguo when Jiang Xiaoxiao asked, despite the thin bag containing just a few pieces of clothing.
She must have had a tough life with her husband's family.
"Brother, thank you so much for caring for me and my child throughout the journey. Now that we're here, we'll manage by ourselves and not trouble you further. I promise if there's a chance, I'll surely repay your kind deeds."
She seemed to be an honest person.
"Managing by yourself? Where would you go in this condition? You've only just reached the county. You mentioned the village, but I'm not aware of its location. Regardless, I imagine it's not within the county. If I'm correct, walking from the county to your village would take several hours.
The snow hasn't completely melted, and the roads are hard to travel. It's already pitch black outside, how do you plan to go? If I let you encounter trouble as a mother with a child, would I still be worthy? Enough said, I'll escort you. Since you've come this far, I'll arrange for you to stay at my niece's house tonight and take you to your village tomorrow morning. Once you both have safely returned home, I'll be relieved."
Fan Jianguo held onto the matter, making a sensible argument.
Jiang Xiaoxiao also spoke up.
"Yes, don't worry about causing trouble, my uncle is genuinely concerned, seeing no one else to care for you along the way. It's late, with nowhere to rest, better to stay at my sister's place tonight and leave tomorrow."
Genuinely feeling sorry for the woman.
The woman embraced her child, gratefully thanked Jiang Xiaoxiao, appearing truly polite.
She was pitiful; just hearing her story showed that her life hadn't been easy.
Song Moting loaded the bags onto the bicycle, freeing everyone's hands.
Soon, he transported them to Jiang Yue's courtyard.
How could Jiang Yue sleep?
Her sister hadn't returned and she was worried sick.
The courtyard gate was unlatched, the couple frequently peeked outside the gate.
As soon as the couple heard movement, they promptly greeted them and were thrilled to see Fan Jianguo.
Song Moting helped Jiang Xiaoxiao to store away the bags inside, tidying up before he bid goodbye.
At this point, it clearly wasn't appropriate for him to stay.
Fan Jianguo, however, took a liking to Song Moting, engaging him in conversation all the way over, finding ample common ground.
Even making plans with Song Moting to drink together the next day.
Song Moting left.
Jiang Xiaoxiao and Jiang Yue went to prepare food.
Uncle hadn't eaten, and presumably neither had the mother and daughter.
There wasn't anything fancy available at this time; they could only heat five large steamed buns and cook some stew.
Seeing such a young girl, Jiang Yue's motherly instincts kicked in, naturally steaming a bowl of egg custard for the little girl.
Especially after hearing about the mother and daughter's situation, Jiang Yue felt an even keener sense of sympathy.
A generous offering of warm food was placed on the table.
Fan Jianguo invited Liu Guizhi to eat.
Jiang Yue encouraged Liu Guizhi to eat while she herself fed the egg custard to the little girl.
The little girl's name was Pingping, although she was supposedly already two years old, she looked barely over one, evidencing severe malnourishment at home.
Sitting in the warm room, the girl seemed to regain some energy; still slightly timid, but irresistibly drawn to the tempting aroma of the egg custard, she approached Jiang Yue.
Obediently sitting there, biting into pieces.
NOVEL NEXT