Transmigration: On the Gossip Front-Chapter 1899 - 1900: Female Intellectual Youth Passerby 42

Chapter 1899: Chapter 1900: Female Intellectual Youth Passerby 42

Zhang Wei and his wife thought they had left early enough, but when they arrived at the dock, they found many people were already there.

Some were pushing carts, and some had bicycles with wooden planks on the back seats, clearly there to pick up intellectual youth.

The couple chose a spot to stop and then anxiously watched in the direction from which the boat would come.

Even though it was winter and near Spring Festival, there were indeed many boats on the river. Yao Ying initially thought there wouldn’t be many boats and believed they should quickly spot the boat carrying their daughter.

With so many boats passing by, she couldn’t be sure.

At that moment, a middle-aged man shouted, "It’s coming, it’s coming."

Everyone, hearing the voice, stood on tiptoe to look, "Where? Where?"

The man pointed in a direction, "It’s that boat, the Victory. I remember it clearly; it has been the same boat picking up people for years now."

Upon hearing it was the Victory, everyone quickly located the boat, including Zhang Wei and his wife.

Yao Ying watched as the boat slowly sailed toward them, and various larger boats sounded their horns, leaving her stunned, "So many intellectual youth on just a single boat."

Every year, the city sends a boat to pick them up without charging for the fare. Most intellectual youth return to the city. Although Yao Ying wasn’t sure of the exact number of intellectual youth, there should be thousands in total. Could a single boat bring them all back?

Zhang Wei was also taken aback, "Just this one boat?"

Beside them, a parent of an old knowledge youth heard their disbelief, "Your child just went there, right?"

Zhang Wei nodded, "Yes, she just went last summer."

The other party immediately understood, a graduate, "Yes, just this one boat. Now there are more people. Otherwise, in the past, with fewer intellectual youth, the boat was even smaller."

"But this one is too small," Yao Ying was still in disbelief, "How can you even rest here?"

"Find a place to sit. This boat is used for transporting goods, not people. Otherwise, just this many intellectual youth—how could one boat be enough? At least two or three boats would be needed." The other person explained again.

It’s a freight boat. Yao Ying felt sad again, "This..."

The old knowledge youth’s parent, also a parent of an intellectual youth, understood why Yao Ying was so upset, "It’s fairly good; at least here, the city arranges a boat every year to bring them back."

"My neighbor’s child went to another place, and if they want to come back, they have to do it themselves, paying their own way."

"Yes, it’s quite good. At least they can come home every year. My colleague’s child went to the Great Northwest for several years and hasn’t returned, I’ve heard they’re lacking water in all sorts there. Sigh, they’ve been there for years and still haven’t returned."

"Yes, my eldest went to the Northeast, and it’s been seven or eight years now and hasn’t come back." A parent sighed helplessly, "Luckily, my daughter went to a farm and gets to come home every year."

As everyone continued to talk, their spirits dampened considerably. Initially, everyone was very happy to see their children returning, but when other children not being able to return was mentioned, their mood quickly fell.

"At least having one child return every year is a blessing," one parent wiped away tears, "And it’s almost New Year."

"Yes, yes, it’s almost New Year." No matter the thoughts in their hearts, their expressions changed.

Meanwhile, the ship gradually docked. As the ship steadied, the crew laid the gangplank, and with their assistance, many people disembarked safely, some going back on their own, some finding their families. The number of people on the dock dwindled.

Yao Ying grew anxious, "Why haven’t I seen our daughter?"

Zhang Wei, though equally nervous, remained calm, "Perhaps our daughter brought a lot of belongings."

"A lot of things make disembarking troublesome." Although the crew assisted, with so many people, everyone was eager to get off, which easily led to incidents.

Yao Ying agreed. Then, from afar, Yao Ying spotted Zhang Yu, "Little Yu, it’s Little Yu."

Zhang Wei squinted to see, and indeed, it was their daughter, promptly moving over to take the things from Zhang Yu’s hands.

"Dad, wait a moment." Zhang Yu looked at the intellectual youth beside her, "Fan Zhiqing, thank you, my father is here to pick me up."

Zhang Wei was puzzled. What situation was this? Why was his daughter introducing him to another intellectual youth, especially a male one? What did this mean?

Did his daughter find herself a boyfriend at the farm? It couldn’t be, right? She hadn’t mentioned anything in her letters.

As Zhang Wei and Yao Ying were puzzled, Fan Zhiqing put down the rice he was holding, "I’ll be going now."

After greeting Zhang Wei and Yao Ying, he took his belongings and left.

Even though Zhang Wei had many questions for Zhang Yu, he glanced at those coming out of the cabin, "Let’s head home first."

They had already picked up their daughter, and they could ask questions at home. This wasn’t a place for inquiries.

Zhang Yu also didn’t want to linger here. Earlier, while getting off the boat, she saw Wang Yan was behind her, unable to let her catch up. If she indulged, Wang Yan might play the poor little girl card, claiming she was hungry and too weak to carry her things back.

The three hurriedly placed the items on the back rack of the bike, realizing there was no place left for Zhang Yu to sit.

"Dad, Mom, let’s walk back. I’ve been cramped in a tight spot on the boat, and my body feels stiff. A little walk would be nice," Zhang Yu said, holding onto Yao Ying’s arm, indicating that the house wasn’t too far, and walking would be better.

Since her daughter suggested it, they naturally agreed, "Let’s go."

"By the way, what did you eat on the boat, and how did you rest yesterday?" Yao Ying asked with concern.

"I brought rice balls," Zhang Yu gave a simple description of the rice balls, "I rested once I got on the boat, woke up a bit past nine, didn’t rest further, and after breakfast, continued to rest for a bit."

Zhang Yu briefly recounted her time on the boat, "Although it’s uncomfortable on the train too, with the heat and the sun making the carriage smell weird, at least everyone had a place to sit."

"Seats, but we sat on the floor this time," 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"We placed our things in the middle and the four of us sat around it." Firstly, this prevented things from being stolen, and secondly, during rest, they could lean against the baskets.

Yao Ying understood that her daughter must not have rested well, "The weather has been good these past few days; we’ve aired your bedding. Go home, have something to eat, and rest well."

"There’s some meat your brother exchanged that’s at home, we’ll have it for lunch..." Yao Ying planned to make braised pork after returning home. Even if time was tight, it would allow Zhang Yu to rest.

"Mom, it’s fine. We’ll eat together tonight when Dad and Xiao Jie return." Zhang Yu glanced around, "I also brought back a dried chicken this time."

This chicken was exchanged with carpenter Ding. Although Zhang Yu had only been there for half a year, she had visited him several times, giving him blueprints to craft various good items. When she was about to leave, carpenter Ding half-sold and half-gifted the chicken to her.