Chapter 102: Departure

After speaking, Shen Qingyi added, “Take some to the wholesale stall as well, and explain the situation to her while you’re at it.”

Lu Caiqing understood.

Early the next morning, since she was taking Lu Caiqing out to deliver goods, she woke An An up at first light. Half-asleep, An An rubbed his eyes, looking very unhappy. “Mommy, it’s not even light yet. I still want to sleep.”

Shen Qingyi soothed him and hugged the little fellow. “Mommy has to take your aunt to make deliveries. I can’t leave you home alone.”

“Why not?” An An asked aggrievedly.

“Because starting tomorrow, your aunt will do all the deliveries. We’re going to look for your father,” Shen Qingyi said gently.

The moment An An heard they were going to look for his father, all traces of sleep vanished. “Really?”

“Yes.”

At once, An An was no longer sleepy. He got out of bed very obediently and followed Shen Qingyi to the back courtyard to brush his teeth and wash his face.

By the time they were done, Lu Caiqing had already prepared the goods. When they left, Shen Qingyi locked both the room door and the front gate.

On the way back after finishing the deliveries, Shen Qingyi said to Lu Caiqing, “Don’t cook breakfast today, and don’t make lunch for me and An An either. We have to visit a friend this morning, and this afternoon I’ll take you to meet Xia Xiyue. We’ll eat at a restaurant outside together.”

Shen Qingyi ought to treat him to a meal; on the road to Pengcheng, in food, drink, and lodging, he had not treated her badly.

Lu Caiqing agreed at once. “I’ll do whatever Second Sister-in-law says.”

On the way back after the deliveries, Shen Qingyi bought meat buns, fried dough sticks, eggs, and two scallion pancakes. When she got home, she sat down at the table and started eating immediately.

After breakfast, Lu Caiqing went back out to her stall.

Shen Qingyi tidied up the house, then took An An by the hand and went to the department store.

When they arrived at the Cheng residence, Cheng Youqing had already gone to work, and only Xia Guifen and Cheng Yong were home. Seeing Shen Qingyi come over, the elderly couple could hardly have been happier.

Especially Xia Guifen. “I’ll go out and buy some vegetables, then call Youqing and have her come back for lunch.”

Shen Qingyi placed the things in her hands on the table. “All right, I’ll go with you to buy them.”

After all these years together, Shen Qingyi was never formal with them.

Xia Guifen looked at the large bag on the table. “Oh my, why did you bring more things again?”

“A little token of my regard. Lu Yan is ill and needs someone by his side. An An and I are leaving tomorrow, and I’m afraid we won’t have time to come see you for quite a while,” Shen Qingyi said truthfully.

Xia Guifen’s hand, which was holding the bag, froze. “What illness did Lu Yan get?”

The couple had only just gotten their lives back on track; surely nothing else could go wrong. Xia Guifen was a little worried.

Shen Qingyi smiled. “It’s nothing serious.”

Hearing that, Xia Guifen breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good. Going to take care of him is fine too. After all, An An has only just started kindergarten; being delayed for a while won’t be a problem. And don’t think of it as a nuisance. The good you do for him, he’ll remember.”

Shen Qingyi was silent for a moment and said nothing.

Xia Guifen took her silence as agreement and smiled as she looked through the items in the bag. “Oh dear, this set of long underwear wasn’t cheap, was it?”

It was thick and soft; just by the color, one could tell it had been bought for her.

“Why did you buy tea again for your Uncle Cheng? Such an expensive thing is wasteful. You should’ve just bought two packs of cigarettes,” Xia Guifen said when she saw the tea tin.

Cheng Yong, who had been reading the newspaper on the sofa, removed his reading glasses and came over to take the tea away. “Buying such fine long underwear is the waste. Who would even see it if it’s worn underneath?”

Xia Guifen was too lazy to argue with him and took out the last gift. “This scarf is for Youqing?”

Shen Qingyi smiled and nodded. “Yes.”

“Your taste is excellent. It goes beautifully with her blue coat. It’s just that it’ll still be a while before she can wear a scarf,” Xia Guifen said with a smile.

After looking at the gifts, Xia Guifen went to her room and brought out a small silver bracelet. “Here, this is An An’s fifth birthday present.”

Shen Qingyi hurriedly stopped her. “An An isn’t five for another six months. This gift is far too valuable; we can’t accept it.”

Cheng Yong laughed. “Why can’t you accept it? Who told that unpromising girl of ours, Youqing, to be so disappointing?”

Shen Qingyi still refused. “You should still buy him a toy like you did in previous years, or something to eat or wear. A silver bracelet really cannot be accepted.”

Xia Guifen knitted her brows. “You child, you never care for such things. A child’s fifth and tenth birthdays are major occasions; they’re usually celebrated properly. We were originally going to give it to him on his birthday, but since no one knows how long you’ll be away this time, I simply took it out in advance.”

“Thank you, Auntie.”

“What’s there to thank me for? Come on, let’s go buy vegetables!” With that, Xia Guifen turned and went into the kitchen to bring out a basket.

She remembered perfectly which dishes An An and Shen Qingyi liked, and before long she had returned with a basket full of vegetables.

At noon, when it was finally time to eat, Cheng Youqing came back at last.

Seeing Shen Qingyi and An An, she was overjoyed. “Qingyi, don’t blame me for not coming to see you during this time. Every time I got off work or had a day off, Zhou Qing clung to me nonstop. I’m really fed up with him.”

Shen Qingyi laughed. “Could you at least change your expression when you complain about Zhou Qing? You’re practically blooming with smiles.”

Cheng Youqing did not argue. She walked a few steps to An An, crouched down, and took out a packet of soft orange candies from her pocket. “Take these! Oh my, I haven’t seen you for only a few days and you’ve gotten even prettier. You’re becoming more and more like your dad.”

An An’s big eyes curved. “Thank you, Auntie.”

The family happily shared a warm lunch, and then Shen Qingyi took An An back to find Lu Caiqing. The three of them took a taxi together to see Xia Xiyue.

Who would have thought that Xia Xiyue was not even in the capital. On the way back, Shen Qingyi called the Xia family’s old residence. The one who answered was Xia Xiyun.

“If Ayue comes back to the capital, I’ll have him go look for your little sister-in-law. You really are something else—selling out such a huge shipment just by running a stall.”

Receiving Xia Xiyun’s reply, Shen Qingyi finally felt at ease. Then she said to Lu Caiqing, “If he doesn’t come, that’s fine too. Taking two months off won’t matter.”

“Okay.”

After arranging everything, Shen Qingyi took An An and set off for Lincheng the next day. Before leaving, she also brought along her father’s notebook.

At that time, Lu Yan was sitting by the bed. A small table had been set beside it. With an IV in his left hand, he wrote rapidly in a notebook with his right.

The caregiver beside him saw that the bottle was nearly empty and hurried off to call the doctor.

The doctor came carrying a medical bag. Seeing Lu Yan, he could not help frowning. Needless to say, he certainly had not taken his medicine again. “Engineer Lu, didn’t the higher-ups say it already? You’re supposed to rest for a week, let the illness be properly treated, and only then get back to work.

You didn’t eat lunch this afternoon either, did you?”

Lu Yan stopped writing. “I ate a little.”

As he spoke, he extended his right hand for the doctor to remove the needle. The pale back of his hand was lean and bony, with blue veins clearly visible. The doctor shook his head. “You’ve only been ill a few days and already you’ve lost more weight. When your wife sees you, I wonder how distressed she’ll be.”

Lu Yan’s gaze flickered, but he said nothing.

After removing the needle, the doctor instructed the caregiver beside him, “Take good care of him. Be sure to remind him to rest on time, take his medicine on time, and sleep on time.”

The caregiver agreed outwardly, but inwardly he was suffering. This man looked mild-mannered and easy to handle, but in truth he was terribly difficult. How could he possibly be made to listen?