The train station was bustling with people, and there was no shortage of those seeing others off.
Lin Zhilan's group stood out as it was, and the intimate interactions between mother and daughter quickly drew a crowd of kind smiles.
When the conductor used a megaphone to urge passengers to board, Linlin hugged her mother one last time before reluctantly getting on the train.
Jiang Chengzhou assured his aunt and uncle, picked up his luggage, and turned to board.
Only Su Li, holding Zhou Chen's hand, didn't even look back, wishing the train would start right away.
Lin Zhilan and Su Lang followed them to the outside of the carriage until the train departed.
They were traveling on an express train and needed to transfer at the capital, switching to another express train.
Even so, they had to spend three days and two nights on the train.
Once on board, Linlin immediately took out her exercise books and started writing and drawing with paper and pen.
Su Li was too lively, and with children often going missing at train stations these days, Zhou Chen didn't dare take any chances. He tied a rope around Su Li and secured the other end to his own arm.
Luckily, Jiang Chengzhou was there to help. Working together with Zhou Chen, they made it to Zhouxin County without any incidents.
Chen Jin and his family were already waiting at the train station.
As soon as they saw them come out, they hurried over.
"Sweetie," Zheng Hui said, stepping forward and taking Linlin's hand. "I'm Grandma Zheng. Do you remember me? I used to hold you when you were little."
Linlin's childhood memories were a bit fuzzy, but the term "Sweetie" felt very familiar to her.
Xu Yueyun and Su Bingcheng also liked to call her that.
Linlin raised her chin with a sweet smile and called out, "Grandma."
Zheng Hui was overjoyed and held her hand tightly, refusing to let go.
Miao Yue "snatched" the girl from her mother-in-law's hands. "Linlin, I'm your aunt."
"Hello, Aunt," Linlin said with another sweet smile.
Miao Yue screamed internally.
She had a photo of Lin Zhilan and her daughter, which she still kept in the drawer by her bedside.
Whenever she was in a bad mood, she would take it out and look at it.
The thought that the beautiful woman and the little beauty were her sister and niece made Miao Yue feel like the sky had brightened and the world had become wonderful.
"Mom, Mom!" Chen Yanqiang jumped behind her a few times, trying to wake his dazed mother.
Miao Yue finally remembered she still had a son and pulled him out from behind her. "Linlin, this is my son. Just call him Qiangqiang."
"Qiangqiang."
Chen Yanqiang's face turned red like a monkey's bottom, and he shyly said, "Hello, big sister."
Su Li and Jiang Chengzhou were just finishing their conversation with Chen Jin and Zheng Hui when they heard "big sister." Su Li's radar went off immediately, and he squeezed right between Linlin and Chen Yanqiang.
He reached out his hand to Chen Yanqiang. "Hello, I'm big sister's younger brother."
Linlin tapped his shoulder. "When you introduce yourself, you should say your name."
"Oh," Su Li said, without changing his expression, continuing to Chen Yanqiang, "I'm big sister's younger brother, and my name is Su Li."
Chen Yanqiang had only ever seen his grandfather shake hands with inspection leaders before. At first, he didn't quite react—he thought this little brother was amusing and shook hands with him.
But as soon as Su Li let go of his hand, he immediately turned to Linlin and said coyly, "Big sister, I'm so hungry."
Lin Zhilan had prepared food for the children to eat on the train, but the weather was too hot, and the food wouldn't keep. They ate well only on the first day; for the next two, they had to rely on train food. The children's stomachs had gotten spoiled at home, so they ate less than usual, and by now, they were genuinely hungry.
Hearing the child say he was hungry, Zheng Hui immediately said with concern, "Let's go, let's go home. Grandma has made you a lot of delicious food."
Zhou Chen hesitated for a moment but was pulled along by Chen Dongfeng.
Zheng Hui had prepared a table full of dishes.
Afraid they might have no appetite, she had learned to make Korean-style cold noodles, which the children liked very much.
After the meal, Jiang Chengzhou opened his luggage, took out the gifts Lin Zhilan had prepared for everyone, and handed them over.
Then he suggested taking his younger siblings to stay at a guesthouse.
Chen Jin and Zheng Hui would never let them stay elsewhere since they had traveled so far to come.
They quickly said that their rooms had already been prepared.
Zhou Chen also offered that he had rooms available that could be tidied up for them.
The children could stay wherever they wanted.
Chen Dongfeng worked at the police station, and Miao Yue worked at the textile factory. Both had qualified for housing allocations from their units last year, but in the end, they chose to take Chen Dongfeng's offer to be closer to his parents.
Zhou Chen's place had only two rooms. Linlin, being a girl, would need one room to herself, making it inconvenient for everyone to share the remaining space.
Jiang Chengzhou couldn't insist, and since he wanted the younger children to be comfortable, he ultimately decided they could stay at Grandma Zheng's place.
Zheng Hui had the children take baths and get some good rest.
When Linlin came out after washing her hair, Jiang Chengzhou was playing chess with Chen Jin.
Linlin walked over and said, "Brother, I want to call Mom."
Jiang Chengzhou glanced back at her. "Dry your hair a bit more. I'll go with you after this game is over."
Jiang Chengzhou quickly finished the game.
It wasn't until the moment Chen Jin was about to be defeated that he realized he had already fallen into a losing position.
At the start of the game, he had thought he was slightly ahead, but after just a few moves, his opponent turned defeat into victory.
Chen Jin was a little stunned and then noticed Linlin waiting nearby, so he understood.
This kid had gone easy on him earlier.
Now that his sister was waiting, Jiang Chengzhou couldn't hold back anymore.
Chen Jin smiled and put the chess pieces back into the box, his opinion of Jiang Chengzhou improving even more.
Chen Jin had been something of a matchmaker for Lin Zhilan and Su Lang. Back when they went to the island, his and Zheng Hui's biggest worry had been this very issue.
Linlin wasn't Su Lang's biological child, and even though they trusted Su Lang's character, they had no idea how his family would treat the mother and daughter.
Seeing how close Jiang Chengzhou and Linlin were now, Chen Jin and Zheng Hui felt very relieved.
Jiang Chengzhou asked, "Grandpa, where can I make a phone call?"
Chen Jin stood up, saying, "I'll take you there."
Jiang Chengzhou quickly said, "No need. Just point us in the direction."
Chen Jin lived on the third floor, and his leg had only recently recovered, so Jiang Chengzhou didn't dare let him go up and down the stairs.
"That works," Chen Jin said. He stood by the window and pointed outside. "Go out the door, turn right, cross one intersection, and you'll reach the post office. There's a phone there."
"Thank you, Grandpa," Jiang Chengzhou said.
Linlin also chimed in, "Thank you, Grandpa."
Su Li suddenly emerged from some corner, with Chen Yanqiang following behind him.
"I'm coming too!"
"Me too!"
Su Li had just taken a bath. Zheng Hui had meant to wash his dirty clothes for him, but when she went to the bathroom, she found that the little guy had already washed and hung them out to dry.
Chen Yanqiang was older than him, but since he was the only child in his family, his grandparents and parents had spoiled him, so even though he was older, he still didn't know how to do his own laundry.
Now that Su Li had arrived, Chen Yanqiang even washed his own clothes, too.
