I'm back in 1990

Chapter 9: The Person I Miss Most

Back home, Zeng Lijuan came out of her room as soon as she heard the door close and asked with concern, "You didn't drink too much, did you?"

Huang Xiaochuan smiled and said, "I'm not drunk. I have to take a long bus ride tomorrow, so I know what I'm doing."

Seeing that Huang Xiaochuan was in good condition, Zeng Lijuan felt relieved. She took out five hundred-yuan bills that she had prepared in advance and handed them to Huang Xiaochuan: "Here you go. Be frugal when you get back. Buy some snacks for your grandma. Spend it sparingly. This is all I'm giving you before you go to college."

Huang Xiaochuan didn't bother with formalities with his mother at all, readily accepting the money and exclaiming in surprise, "Wow, that's so much money! This is the first time I've ever seen so much money!"

Enraged, Zeng Lijuan slapped him on the bottom: "You unlucky kid, why are you shouting so loudly?"

Then he started giving instructions again.

Keep your money safe. There are pickpockets and scammers at the train station, so learn not to flaunt your wealth.

Money should be spent frugally; only spend it where it's necessary, and don't waste a single penny on things that aren't important.

When you go back to your hometown, you should be polite and greet your elders. You should also be helpful and do more chores for your maternal grandmother and aunt.

Huang Xiaochuan nodded in agreement with whatever his mother said and listened attentively.

In my past life, I was extremely annoyed by my mother's nagging, but I won't do that again in this life.

Zeng Lijuan talked to Huang Xiaochuan for a long time, giving him all the advice and reminders he needed to know. Finally, after thinking about it, she realized there was nothing more to say and let Huang Xiaochuan off the hook.

"Alright, that's all for now. Make sure you remember everything, understand?"

Huang Xiaochuan immediately nodded his head like a chicken pecking at rice, his attitude was extremely good.

Zeng Lijuan smiled with satisfaction, and before returning to her room, she reminded her, "Take a shower and go to bed early. You have to get up early tomorrow morning to catch a long-distance bus. Leave a glass of water by your bedside tonight so you can drink it if you get thirsty."

"Okay, Mom!"

"You brat!" Zeng Lijuan scolded playfully.

Huang Xiaochuan tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. This dream of lying down required a strong economic foundation, but where would this first pot of gold come from?

Huang Xiaochuan quickly came up with some ideas, and it seemed that this trip to Suzhou was an excellent opportunity.

Then he fell into a deep sleep.

On the morning of July 13, after having breakfast, Huang Xiaochuan, carrying a small bag containing a change of clothes and a water bottle, set off for the station with a few eggs and two pears cooked by his mother.

Zeng Lijuan chased after him outside, calling out, "Hey, hey, hey! Let your dad see you off."

Huang Xiaochuan turned around and waved, "It's just a short walk, I can walk there. It's hot, so it won't make my dad run back and forth. You go back, Mom!"

After saying that, Huang Xiaochuan smiled at Zeng Lijuan, turned around and left.

Looking at Huang Xiaochuan's confident back, Zeng Lijuan felt a little empty inside, muttering to herself, "He's really grown up!"

Qingjiang and Suzhou are both in the same province, and the distance from north to south, including crossing the Yangtze River, is only 300 kilometers, which sounds easy. However, in this era when travel was incredibly slow, this journey took a full ten hours. The reason for this was the backwardness of basic transportation infrastructure. In the entire Jiangnan province, there is currently only one Yangtze River Bridge, the Jinling Yangtze River Bridge, which was built in the 1960s.

Other regions rely on Yangtze River ferries to cross the Yangtze River, and these ferries are often suspended in case of bad weather, as Huang Xiaochuan has personally experienced.

But that's nothing, things will change drastically soon, something Huang Xiaochuan is well aware of.

After finishing the boiled eggs, the two pears, and the water bottle I carried was empty, the bus arrived at the station.

Carrying a small bag, Huang Xiaochuan walked out of the Suzhou Bus Station exit with the flow of people. His uncle had already received a call and had been waiting there for a long time.

Huang Xiaochuan has good eyesight; he saw him a long time ago.

My uncle still has a poker face. Most people are intimidated by his appearance when they first meet him. There's nothing we can do about it; it's just how he is.

My uncle, Zeng Jiahua, was of medium height and build, with a particularly thick head of hair and a face that exuded an imposing presence.

Actually, my uncle was a very capable person. Although he wasn't highly educated, only having a junior high school education, he was hardworking and intelligent. Starting as a junior electrician in a village-run factory, he worked his way up to become the head of a township enterprise, which is what people later became known as a township entrepreneur.

Unfortunately, after making some money, his uncle lost his passion for starting new businesses. He bought some storefronts in prime locations in the city center and then lived off his savings, prematurely starting his retirement. Huang Xiaochuan was once quite envious of his uncle's choice; it's rare to see someone who can retire gracefully at the peak of their career.

Out of mischievousness, Huang Xiaochuan quietly crept up to his uncle Zeng Jiahua and shouted, "Uncle!"

"Oh my god, what a mess! Do you want to seduce your uncle?" The uncle spoke in a standard Suzhou accent. In Huang Xiaochuan's memory, his uncle's accent had never changed in his entire life, and hearing it again now felt especially warm.

Huang Xiaochuan gave his uncle Zeng Jiahua a warm hug, which completely bewildered Zeng Jiahua. Wasn't this the kind of etiquette foreigners showed on TV? The two men hugged and kissed each other on the cheek.

The thought sent a chill down Zeng Jiahua's spine. He quickly pushed Huang Xiaochuan away to avoid being pressed against his face, which would be too embarrassing, especially with so many people at the station.

Huang Xiaochuan roughly guessed why his uncle was behaving so strangely, and couldn't help but grin from ear to ear.

"Come on, come on, let's go home quickly." Feeling a little embarrassed, Zeng Jiahua grabbed Huang Xiaochuan and left.

After getting in the car, Huang Xiaochuan looked around curiously, touching everything. He hadn't seen this miniature Dafa bread truck in a long time.

Zeng Jiahua enjoyed seeing others act so naive and unsophisticated, so he showed off, saying, "Just bought it from the factory, isn't it beautiful?"

Huang Xiaochuan knew that his uncle had no other faults, except that he liked to show off. He remembered that two years later, when the factory bought an Audi 100, he specially took his driver to Shanghai Jiaotong University to take him back to Qingjiang, and also went to visit his sister and brother-in-law. In fact, he just bought a new car to show off to his sister and brother-in-law.

So Huang Xiaochuan was very supportive, nodding vigorously to satisfy his uncle's vanity.

During this period, there are very few motor vehicles and traffic jams are rare, so we arrived in town quickly. The town is called Shuguan. Every year from the autumn harvest until the early spring of the following year, a famous Suzhou delicacy is made here: mutton. Huang Xiaochuan's favorite is mutton cake.

Unfortunately, it's not the right season now, so we can't enjoy the delicious mutton cake.

The town is small, but it has a rich history. The town's name comes from the name of a temple built to commemorate Zhu Maichen, a famous figure from the Western Han Dynasty.

Located in the hilly area on the eastern shore of Taihu Lake, this place is rich in fruits, fish, shrimp, and sheep. Huang Xiaochuan, a foodie, loves this place the most. Unfortunately, he arrived too late. The bayberries were out of season, and the loquats were gone too. He could only get some peaches to eat.

My seventy-year-old grandmother is still in good health. Her gray hair is braided into a long braid and coiled on her head. She also wears a blue floral headscarf, which is a traditional decoration for women in this area.

Huang Xiaochuan's maternal grandfather passed away early, before Huang Xiaochuan was born. Therefore, Huang Xiaochuan's memory of his maternal grandfather is that kind-looking old man in the photo hanging on the wall of his uncle's living room.

My grandmother's eyesight isn't very good; she's wearing thick, bottle-bottom glasses and leaning against the doorframe, peering outside.

She estimated that her little grandson should be arriving soon.

She has three grandsons, all born to her eldest daughter. This youngest grandson was placed in her care shortly after birth and raised by her from a young age, so her relationship with him is different from her other grandchildren; she cherishes him dearly. Hearing that the college entrance exams were over, she urged her son to call her eldest daughter.

The second daughter's family has two daughters, and the youngest son's family also has two daughters, so the grandmother loves and cherishes her grandson Huang Xiaochuan, whom she raised herself, the most.

Moreover, the second daughter went to Chang'an with her husband and only returned to her parents' home once every few years, so the two granddaughters of the second daughter's family are not often seen.

When Huang Xiaochuan was still dozens of meters away from his grandmother's house, he saw his grandmother waiting by the door. His nose tingled and tears streamed down his face.

It's been so many years since I last saw you, I really miss you!

As soon as the car came to a stop, Huang Xiaochuan opened the door and rushed towards his grandmother. The frail and short grandmother was tightly embraced by the tall Huang Xiaochuan.

Huang Xiaochuan sobbed, "Grandma, I'm back!"

Grandma was overjoyed; the wrinkles on her face smoothed out as she patted her grandson's broad back, saying, "You're back! You're back!"

While smiling, she wiped away Huang Xiaochuan's tears, teasing him, "You're such a grown man, why are you still crying?"

After saying that, she took Huang Xiaochuan's hand and walked towards home, saying, "You must be hungry after such a long bus ride. Let's go get some snacks first. I made you some sweet porridge and sweet cakes."

Huang Xiaochuan grew up here, which is why he developed a love for sweets. These two things were Huang Xiaochuan's favorites since childhood, and his grandmother always remembered them.

Ignored by his elderly mother, Zeng Jiahua shook his head helplessly and returned to the factory with the driver.