Educated Youth in the Countryside: She is the Village's Embroidery Queen!-Chapter 358: An Extra Meal

Yi Chichi acknowledged, carrying Ning Jiandong’s heavy expectations as she left.

Compared to the smooth journey to get here, Yi Chichi’s trip back to the city faced some hiccups. She stayed in Beijing for two days before finally getting a ticket for Sanshu Station.

After barely boarding, they had to give way to other vehicles, causing a delay. The train, supposed to arrive around 2 PM, was over four hours late.

By the time she left the station, it was already past 7 PM, nearing 8 PM.

The sky was completely dark.

Well, there’s no way to leave tonight, better find an inn to stay for the night.

For convenience and safety, she didn’t go far. She found a nearby inn, freshened up, and after a good night’s sleep, she checked out and bought a bus ticket for after 7 AM. She arrived in Baoshan County at 2 PM.

After disembarking, she took a shuttle bus and arrived at Baoshan Commune Station at a little past 4 PM, sore and exhausted.

Fortunately, someone was there to pick her up.

As soon as she got out of the station, a familiar loud voice called out.

"Chichi, over here!"

Uncle Yaozi’s voice. Yi Chichi looked up to see her uncle grinning with a big toothy smile, waving at her from beside the power pole across the road, with a bicycle nearby.

"Uncle!"

Yi Chichi shouted with joy as she ran towards him, "How long have you been waiting?"

"I brought your aunt to work and stayed around to wait for you."

There’s certainly some exaggeration there; Aunt Mu’s shift started at 1:30 PM. If Uncle Yaozi really brought her to work, he’d have to drop her off at the hospital before 1:00 PM.

Then he’d come to the station to wait for her.

Counting from 1:00 PM, he’d been waiting for over four hours by then.

"Uncle, have a steamed bun."

She took out a meat bun she bought at Sanshu and handed it over, "I’ll trouble you for the ride back home."

Uncle Yaozi accepted the bun without any fuss and began eating.

The thin-skinned, juicy meat bun made his mouth greasy. Seeing this, Yi Chichi handed him a half-peeled salted duck egg, "Here’s an extra treat."

He took it in stride, swallowed the food in his mouth, and glanced at her bag with a curious look, "Just how much food do you have in that bag?"

"Quite a lot."

No joke; when she left the island, Ji Jian and the others had prepared food for her, which she finished during her stay at the Friendship Store.

But Qiao Jun and others restocked her, and she finished those on the train. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

However, she had made stops in both Beijing and Sanshu, buying plenty of snacks there.

"Eat up. If there’s not enough, I’ve got more here."

She also handed him a water bottle, "Want some water?"

"Sure, give me some."

The meat buns were delicious, but after hours without water, he was indeed a bit thirsty.

Yi Chichi’s water came just in time, letting him satisfy both hunger and thirst. He let out a contented burp and remarked how comfortable he felt.

"Glad you’re comfortable. Let’s head home."

"Hop on."

Uncle Yaozi kicked off the bike’s stand with a light tap and patted the back seat of the bicycle, signaling for her to get on for the ride.

Yi Chichi, "...Uncle, you sit, and I’ll take you."

"Why?"

He, a grown man, being pedaled by a young girl seemed out of place.

"No way, I’ll take you."

Her refusal was firm. Originally thinking Yi Chichi would agree, he was surprised when she began to "play the pitiful card."

"Uncle, I’ve been cramped in a vehicle for days. My whole body is numb. Please let me stretch a bit, alright? Otherwise, if I suffer an untimely death, you won’t have a grand-niece to care for you, and Wen Shi won’t have a wife."

Her words left him speechless, unsure of how to respond.

Then he recalled the struggles he faced when he traveled all the way to Yangcheng to see Mu Da, feeling a pang of sympathy. "Are you sure you can pedal me?"

"I pedaled Aunt Ma."

Aunt Ma is quite tall, and though Uncle Yaozi is a bit taller, he’s not as heavy as Aunt Ma.

With that statement, she successfully claimed the bicycle’s handlebars as her reign.

Uncle Yaozi became the passenger.

On the way back, she could hardly keep her curiosity at bay and asked about the events that transpired in the village after she left.

Uncle Yaozi shared everything openly, the good and the bad, hiding nothing.

After discussing most of the updates, he announced two key pieces of news.

"The package you sent back shortly after you left was distributed by your mom according to the notes you wrote, giving to your team leader and the others."

"Great! That’s exactly who it was meant for."

"And Lanlan just had twin boys."

"When did she give birth? Have they reached a month old?"

"They were born on July 2nd. While delivering water to her parents, she suddenly went into labor and gave birth in the field. That’s why the boys are named Youliang and Yougu."

Yi Chichi was dumbfounded, "Who named them?"

"Grandpa Liu."

Yi Chichi fell silent. Since Grandpa Liu gave the names, there’s nothing more to say. The elder’s wishes are simple and sincere; having grain and grain means not going hungry, a hopeful blessing for his great-grandsons.

"Are those their given names?"

"Yes, those are the formal names."

"Don’t they have nicknames?"

"Yep, one’s called Gou Dan and the other Mudan."

Equally unsophisticated as their formal names, hopefully, they won’t be teased for them as they grow up.

"Does her husband know?"

"He knows. The day after the babies were born, Uncle Dayong rushed to the commune to send him a telegram. A few days ago, a big package came back, containing things like baby formula and beef jerky."

Yi Chichi instinctively reached into her bag, only to realize she was riding a bike and immediately put her hand back. "Uncle, I think we need to take a trip to the commune."

Sitting on the back seat hugging her package, Uncle Yaozi was puzzled, "Why go to the commune?"

"I didn’t know Lanlan had babies, so I haven’t prepared any gifts for her."

"You don’t need to; your mom will take care of it. If you really want to give something, you can do it at the full moon celebration."

In other words, there’s no rush.

Yi Chichi pondered for a moment and agreed, "How’s Lang Hong doing?"

"Very well,"

Speaking of this new health worker, Uncle Yaozi was full of praise, "She has solid fundamentals, works hard, and efficiently handles injections and basic care. Just one downside, she’s not very familiar with herbal medicine."

At this point, he sighed, "No one to help me process the herbs."

Yi Chichi kept silent, worried that if she spoke, Uncle Yaozi might enlist her as extra help.

Still, Uncle Yaozi wasn’t letting her off the hook, "How about you come back and work again?"

"I can’t; I can’t come back."

"Reason?"

Yi Chichi explained the cooperative relationship she had with the Friendship Store and the tasks she needed to fulfill for the upcoming dual trade fairs next year.

Upon hearing this, Uncle Yaozi suddenly understood, "No wonder the Yangcheng Friendship Store called personally to request your transfer."

"??? How did you know about that?"

"Hmph, did you think you could keep it secret?"

Uncle Yaozi didn’t return her question directly but instead dropped another bombshell, "Prepare yourself mentally; the commune secretary is likely going to come looking for you."

This truly confused her, with a head full of questions, "Why would he want to see me?"

"You’ve established a connection with the Yangcheng Friendship Store and been recruited under the guise of a transfer. If you were in the secretary’s shoes, wouldn’t you have some different thoughts too?"

Yi Chichi immediately understood, "The secretary wants me to lead the development of an embroidery industry?"

This issue had kept Uncle Yaozi and the brigade leader pondering for quite some time. Wen Sheng shook his head, "I feel it’s not about embroidery products, but about the broader handicraft industry."