Back To The 80s-Chapter 456 - 466: Mid-Autumn_1

Ji Xiangdong fell onto the floor of the carriage when the train was shaking, only minorly scraping his arm.

After the carriage was overturned and stopped rattling, amidst terrified screams, Ji Xiangdong worked with the train security and other slightly injured passengers for a speedy self-rescue.

Among those helping, a young man caught Ji Xiangdong’s attention. In his early twenties with neatly-trimmed short hair and a serious look on his face, his lips were tightly pressed, but his voice was particularly gentle when speaking to the injured. He was skilled at providing first aid.

When all the passengers were moved to a place shielded from the wind to wait for the rescue cars, Ji Xiangdong greeted the young man, "Are you a soldier?"

"Yes." The young man was not very talkative and gave off an air of maintaining distance from strangers.

Ji Xiangdong didn’t mind, for some reason, he always felt a sense of familiarity from the young man. He gave a smile and asked, "Where do you serve? Are you going to see your family?"

The young man silently answered, "In the border defense regiment, I am preparing to go to the Army Academy of S Province."

Ji Xiangdong nodded approvingly, "Not bad, impressive. That’s our country’s West Point, you’ll have a great future once you graduate."

The young man, hearing Ji Xiangdong’s knowledgeable comments, gave a small smile and replied, "Yes." he did not mention that the school he was going to had a reputation as a brutal training camp.

"Where are you from? How old are you?" Ji Xiangdong felt familiar and couldn’t help but ask more questions.

The young man kept his answers brief, "From Dihua, 24 years old."

Afterwards, no matter what Ji Xiangdong asked, the young man just replied with a one or two-word answer and a smile.

When asked about his name, the young man just apologised with a smile and didn’t answer.

Ji Xiangdong still had a feeling of familiarity even after parting ways with the young man, he was sure that he had never met him before and he had never been to the border defense troops. Where was this feeling of familiarity coming from?

They boarded a shaky big truck, left Yumen Pass, and got back on their train to the province.

On the day of Mid-Autumn Festival, after lunch, Lu Songyuan started to slaughter chickens in the courtyard while the two little mischief makers were sleeping, leaving the adults to quickly get to work.

Gu Xiaobei was in charge of scaling fish.

Wen Xiuqing was frying meatballs, feeling increasingly disappointed as it approached noon. It seemed Big Brother was not coming home for the Mid-Autumn celebration.

"Is Zhanguo not coming home for dinner tonight?" Wen Xiuqing asked Gu Xiaobei, who was cleaning the fish squatting on the ground.

Gu Xiaobei nodded, "Mhm, he said he’d return after having dinner with the soldiers."

"Just us few, preparing all these, can we finish it?" Once Wen Xiuqing heard that her sons weren’t returning for dinner, she lost her enthusiasm for cooking.

Gu Xiaobei didn’t respond, he just focused on gutting the fish, his hands were all bloody.

The door was pushed open, Ji Xiangdong entered carrying two big bags.

Wen Xiuqing was sitting next to the stove, she looked up and saw Ji Xiangdong entering the courtyard. The kitchen door was open due to the heavy smoke from cooking the meatballs.

Excitement caused Wen Xiuqing to forget about the frying meatballs as she got up and greeted Ji Xiangdong.

Gu Xiaobei also saw Ji Xiangdong entering, and then Wen Xiuqing rushed out leaving the frying pan unattended. He quickly washed his bloody hands and rushed to help with frying meatballs.

"Why did you get home this late? We thought you weren’t coming," Wen Xiuqing quickly went to help with the bags.

"The bags are heavy. I’ll take care of it." Ji Xiangdong quickly grabbed the bags and placed them under a grape trellis.

Lu Songyuan, who was plucking chicken feathers, also came over with both hands full of feathers, "Was there a delay on the way?"

Zhou Siping and Bai Xiaolan came out with the baby upon hearing the noise.

Without answering, Ji Xiangdong was firmly fixated on the child in Bai Xiaolan’s arms, a big chubby boy who is white and tender. Hmm, and it seemed like the chubby boy’s mom got more plump as well.

"You’ve been longing to come back every day, hurry up, wash your hands and hold your son." said Zhou Siping happily.

Bai Xiaolan stood to one side holding the baby, grinning like a fool when so many people were in front of her, unsure what to say.

Ji Xiangdong quickly fetched a basin of water to wash his face, arms, and hands, even changing to a clean shirt, before coming over to hold the child.

"Be careful, support his neck a bit, hold him like this," Bai Xiaolan gave instructions as she handed the baby to Ji Xiangdong.

Wen Xiuqing stood on one side and smiled, completely forgetting about the meatballs frying in her pot.

Ji Xiangdong was holding this soft and squishy baby in his arms, he suddenly felt a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. Once Bai Xiaolan handed the baby to Ji Xiangdong and saw that the three old people were still here with no intention of leaving, she laughed and said, "You guys chat, I’m going to help Xiaobei in the kitchen." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Watching his wife, who had put on considerable weight, enter the kitchen with a gentle look, Ji Xiangdong then laughed and turned to Lu Songyuan and others, "The weather was bad on the road, causing some delay." If he mentioned the train accident, he would surely shock the three old people.

Once Bai Xiaolan entered the kitchen, she turned to Gu Xiaobei who was frying the meatballs and said, "Let me help you."

Gu Xiaobei teased her with a smile, "Your son’s father is back, shouldn’t you be there being affectionate with him instead of running to the kitchen?"

Bai Xiaolan pouted, "I would if I could get a word in. But why do I feel like I’ve suddenly run out of things to say to him?"

Gu Xiaobei laughed, "That’s mainly because you’ve been apart for so long. Just wait until you get under the same blanket tonight, you’ll find plenty to talk about."

"Your mouth is too naughty, always using me as a punchline." Bai Xiaolan glared at her with a laugh. She saw the fish on the ground that still needed to be cleaned, and squatted down to help.

Thanks to Ji Xiangdong’s return, Wen Xiuqing regained her enthusiasm for cooking and prepared a large table of dishes for dinner.

At the dinner table, Lu Songyuan asked, "Xiangdong, where are you going to work this time around?"

Ji Xiangdong laughed and shook his head, "I should be working at the Ministry of Commerce, but I don’t know the exact position yet. I’ll report in after the National Day." When Su Moqing gave him a phone call, he also spoke ambiguously, saying that the Ministry of Commerce has more prospects, but it would be tough in the beginning.

Lu Songyuan nodded, "The Ministry of Commerce is good, the whole country is revitalizing the economy now, so the Ministry of Commerce will be a good department in the future."

Gu Xiaobei felt that this was great news. If Ji Xiangdong could manage the market development in the Ministry of Commerce, it could greatly benefit her in the future. She wouldn’t need to worry about being messed with by Zhan Hezhi anymore.

Just in the middle of dinner, Lu Zhanguo hurried back. Seeing Ji Xiangdong, he felt somewhat excited, "When did you come back?"

"Got home at noon." Ji Xiangdong, with his son in his arms, replied with a smile.

Wen Xiuqing quickly grabbed another pair of chopsticks and a bowl for Lu Zhanguo.

Lu Songyuan ordered another wine glass to be brought over. It was the Mid-Autumn Festival, a time for family reunions, how could they not have a few drinks?

"The three of you are all admirable sons, none of you have caused me any worry. Even Aiguo, who didn’t come home, sent us five hundred yuan as a festival gift." Lu Songyuan proudly looked at his two successful sons.

Zhou Siping also laughingly agreed, "Isn’t that the case? Your three sons are not only capable but also filial. Both of you are very blessed in your old age."

Wen Xiuqing was both gratified and distressed as her thoughts occasionally drifted to Lu Ruixue, whose whereabouts remained unknown.