weddingnovel Chapter 1038 - 911: Vision and Perspective
Chapter 1038 - 911: Vision and Perspective
The summer in August is as muggy as ever, and there’s the occasional sun shower as usual. The atmosphere around is even more oppressive with the hot weather, and the situation intensifies.At this time, Zhang Guoqing finally gets his turn for vacation. The original plan was to send the Ping An Brothers back to their hometown for this summer to avoid the chaos, and at the same time, accompany the elders.
But nowadays, when traveling, getting on and off the train, eating, and lodging, everything must be done with caution. Although the twins are only three years old and have memorized phrases well, as parents, they still can’t help worrying about their young age and the possibility of mistakes.
Especially after receiving a letter from Mr. Zhang advising the three brothers not to return for now, Zhang Guoqing began to change his plans. It is said that the hometown is not peaceful either, with all sorts of chaotic things happening.
Other families might let their wild kids run free, but his three children are the apple of their eyes. With the disruption from his father, Zhang Guoqing was even more reluctant to let the kids travel far.
"Dad, I’ve agreed with them to go during the summer vacation."
Ping’an tried to smile, blinking his eyes and revealing a pair of dimples. Did his mom say he was cute like this? His grandma said she would pluck the stars from the sky for him.
Zhang Guoqing ruffled his face with one big hand. This little one was using tricks—either waking him up with words or using emojis—he had to stay firm.
"What did your mom say?"
Hearing this, Ping’an laughed, "Dad, my mom said I could voice my opinion, but I’m still two votes short. You and my grandpa have to vote in favor, and she abstains."
Zhang Guoqing looked at his mother-in-law in the courtyard outside and guessed that it was a dissenting vote. He quickly shook his head, can’t mess with these folks.
"I abstain too."
"A man shouldn’t choose to escape! No way! Come on, let’s vote!"
Zhang Guoqing laughed heartily, "Stinky boy, aren’t you afraid I’ll vote against it? You really can’t go this time. If you go, Liu Yi and May 1st will cause a ruckus."
Pingan rolled his eyes and said with a smile, "You mean if I convince my younger brothers, it’s no problem?"
"I didn’t say that." Zhang Guoqing chuckled and ruffled his hair. This kid had grown taller. If he went, there’d be no need to worry; anyone who dared bully him would be risking quite a lot.
"The younger ones are indeed a bit small, they should at least be over five years old, right? As the older brother, I’ll pave the way first and then take them over, what do you think?"
Zhang Guoqing, unable to escape his pestering, could only smile and nod, reminding him, "Find your grandpa, he can handle Liu Yi and the others."
Ping’an hugged him with joy, "Oh, dad knows his son’s heart the best."
After being given several candies, Zhang Guoqing felt like flowers were blooming in his heart, but he couldn’t forget to remind him, "Remember not to go up the mountain alone after you get there."
"Then what am I going for?"
"You see, I knew you wanted to go hunting on the mountain. But son, haven’t you thought about it? Besides the danger in the mountains, there’s more danger downhill. What you catch now all belongs to the public, would you really let your grandpa be embarrassed?"
Ping’an frowned slightly, lowering his shoulders, his dad wasn’t suitable to go back at this time, "If I can’t go hunting, there’s not much point in going back to the hometown."
"Why don’t you reconsider?"
After a pause, Ping’an decisively shook his head, "A true man knows when to hold on and when to let go, nothing to reconsider, let’s forget it. I’ll write a letter to my brothers explaining it tomorrow."
Zhang Guoqing wasn’t surprised at all that his son made a decision so quickly. The little guy has always been quick to analyze the pros and cons, and once he decides, there’s no hesitation.
But Zhang Guoqing couldn’t help feeling uneasy; after all, it disappointed the child.
Ping’an glanced at him furtively, cautiously asking, "Dad, why don’t you take me this time?"
"Ah?"
Seeing the opportunity, Ping’an knew there was something to be exploited. Lest anyone think he didn’t know why his dad’s vacation fell until now, wasn’t it just to take the chance to go with his mom while she was on a business trip?
"My mom might be going on a business trip to the Southwest in the next couple of days, aren’t you worried so you want to accompany her? You see I’m pretty good now too."
Zhang Guoqing laughed speechlessly. All these layers today, is he setting a trap for himself?
"Dad, give me a clear answer."
"I really can’t give a definite answer. Because your mom said this morning, she doesn’t plan to go on a business trip. We’re planning to tour around the local area, you can come along if you want."
"Then forget it, I’ve already been to the nearby places, I’ll just go to find my grandpa and practice target shooting."
Zhang Guoqing raised his eyebrows, he didn’t expect his son’s little life to be quite busy. But it’s best if he doesn’t join, finally allowing them a world for two.
Meili Shan came in to listen for a while, and at this moment suggested, "Baby, how about going south with grandma and grandpa? This time it’s a great place. Carrots above, sugarcanes below, trip and you can grab a fistful of thumb-sized peanuts, plus the beautiful ethnic style."
Ping’an chuckled, isn’t that the province mentioned by the propaganda department? Quite exaggerated! He only knew from ancient books that place had lots of insects and snakes.
"Mom, when are we going? I need to arrange my time."
Meili Shan waved a big hand, "Your dad has it all arranged, if you don’t go back to the hometown, then just wait for Jiao Jiao to take a leave tomorrow, and our whole family will set out to visit relatives."
Ping’an looked at her mournfully. Grandma, you’re not being fair, didn’t you say you love the baby the most? Couldn’t you have said it half an hour earlier?
See how much effort he put in, finally making his dad feel guilty, and now it’s all gone... Shakespeare’s three tragedies can’t express the pain in his heart, can they?
With this decision made, on the third day’s departure, Ping’an once again witnessed what military speed was all about. Their family really embarked on a spontaneous trip.
Actually, their family was visiting relatives, wasn’t his grandpa’s old comrade also family?!
During the twenty-day vacation, they stopped and rested on the way from Beijing to the southern province, avoiding all major cities, and what they saw and heard along the way.
Those injustices, those...
Even if it was a quick, superficial tour, with grandpa’s deliberate guidance, not only did he understand the significance of this trip, but even his two younger brothers became less reckless and naive.
His grandpa used real cases to tell them, what is learned from books is never profound until it’s practiced; his dad told them through certain people and events what the survival rules of the jungle were.
After experiencing firsthand, seeing with his own eyes, and hearing with his own ears, Ping’an felt he seemed to have grown up a bit more. Just as his dad said, growing up comes with more troubles.
Injustice? Darkness? Maybe one day they’d also be in adversity, then what? This time, unlike before, the brothers’ views were not limited to the solutions provided in books.
Seeing those well-read, white-haired old men reduced to prisoners, they vaguely seemed to understand, yet perhaps became more confused.
Actually, Zhou Xiaozheng was merely moved to action this time, all along conducting open and secret inquiries, sometimes making arrangements for people to receive them, and other times demanding everyone to change into plain clothes. It was not just a lesson for the three children.
Zhou Jiao and Zhang Guoqing also discovered many things about themselves. Compared to his father-in-law’s series of actions, the scale of taking children to the countryside or the welfare institute before was still too limited.