Chapter 234: The Figure from Memory
"The moment I first saw Anmin, I liked her because she resembles my granddaughter Zhenhua. Oh, right, Zhenhua is my only granddaughter, from the eldest son’s family, but they don’t live in Huaixi County," Mrs. Dai said with a smile.
"Next time when Zhenhua arrives, I must let her meet you. Anyway, I think she really looks alike."
"Zhenhua will arrive on the train tomorrow afternoon. She mentioned she would spend this National Day in Huaixi County," Ning Xinyuan said with a smile. "We can invite Anmin and Roujing over for dinner during the holiday, then they’ll meet."
Ding Anmin felt a bit embarrassed, while Yi Roujing explained with a smile, "On October 1st, our whole family is heading to Jing City, so it might be later."
"Oh, that’s fine, that’s fine," Ning Xinyuan said understandingly.
Yi Roujing and Ding Anmin knew she might have misunderstood and thought they were going to the Huang family. However, they didn’t explain further because they indeed planned to visit, as Mrs. Huang was there.
During the meal, Mrs. Dai kept piling food onto Yi Roujing and Ding Anmin’s plates, and seeing Yi Roujing eat heartily made her happy. The elderly love to see the younger generation eat well, especially when the family can afford it.
At the dinner table, both Mrs. Dai and Dai Chunhui thanked Yi Roujing, expressing gratitude for her treatment of patients, which reduced trouble for Dai Shuhao. After dinner, they even let Mr. and Mrs. Dai personally escort them home.
Fortunately, Ding Anguo was at the door when they opened it, causing Mrs. Dai to exclaim in surprise, "Oh, Xinyuan, doesn’t this child resemble Zhenyan too?"
Honestly, Ning Xinyuan was unexpectedly struck by a fleeting thought.
"Madam Dai, this is my second brother, Ding Anguo. We are twins; he was born an hour before me," Ding Anmin explained with a smile.
"What a coincidence, what a coincidence! Our eldest’s Zhenyan and Zhenhua are twins too," Mrs. Dai laughed delightedly. "They have two elder brothers ahead of them."
Mrs. Dai looked at Ding Anguo fondly, warmly shook his hand, and then let the three of them leave.
"Second Brother, how are the travel preparations going?" Ding Anmin was now quite excited about the trip to Jing City. They have an early train on the first.
"Still packing, but Huang Xiaobao has already finished," Ding Anguo said, looking at Ding Anmin with a hint of teasing.
Originally, the whole Ding family planned to go by themselves, but Huang Xiaobao insisted on going along when he found out. Of course, his reasons were very valid; he hadn’t seen the uncle and aunt for a long time and wanted to invite them to his and Anmin’s wedding.
Huang Qianren and Wan Baohua naturally had no objections. Their son wasn’t visiting Jing City for the first time, and with Huang Xiaobao joining, he could help take care of things. Compared to the Ding family, Huang Xiaobao knows Jing City a little better.
Ever since deciding to go to Jing City, Huang Xiaobao has been very excited, constantly sharing plans and sights with Ding Anguo, almost educating him on various landmarks and places worth visiting in Jing City.
According to Yi Roujing, it seems Huang Xiaobao has already prepared a detailed itinerary.
"Second Brother, stop teasing our Xiaobao. You should think about being away for a week, how you might miss Lishu. Have you asked if she needs anything? Consider what gifts to bring her," Ding Anmin retorted.
All the way, the siblings joked and teased each other. In this regard, Ding Anguo was entirely outmatched by Ding Anmin, while Yi Roujing, listening from the side, was thoroughly amused.
"Sister-in-law, you’re laughing so happily; is it because you’ll soon see my brother?" Ding Anmin leaned closer to Yi Roujing and asked with a smile.
"Mm, indeed a delightful matter," Yi Roujing nodded.
"Anguo, what about Mr. Qi?"
Ever since Ding Weihuo and Li Hongying moved to the county town, they rarely returned to the production team. Mr. Qi and a few others felt uneasy, worrying about his meals, so on weekends, Ding Anguo would ride his bicycle back, under the guise of organizing belongings, taking time to visit Mr. Qi in the cowshed and bring some things back for supplementation.
This National Day, they were going to Jing City and would be away for quite a while, so Ding Anguo specially took a day off to visit Dingping Production Team, bringing a heap of items to Mr. Qi while explaining their plans to visit Jing City, knowing that Mr. Qi was originally from there. They also asked if he required any help, whether visiting someone or sending a message, they were willing to assist.
"The items have all been delivered, and Mr. Qi was quite spirited. But discussing Jing City made him rather silent," Ding Anguo said. "Sister-in-law, the jade ring you gave me, Mr. Qi won’t accept. He said that since you gifted it to your sister-in-law, it’s now hers and he won’t take it back."
"But Mr. Qi did give me a notebook and instructed us to deliver it to someone named Zhong Ziru at Jing University once we arrive in Jing City. He should be a teacher there," Ding Anguo continued. "Since my brother works at Jing University, letting him deliver it will ensure it finds its recipient."
"Understood," Yi Roujing nodded. "When we get there, we’ll inquire about it as much as we can. If we hear any good news, we’ll tell Mr. Qi. If not, we’ll simply say we didn’t ask."
"Mm," both Ding Anguo and Ding Anmin agreed.
"By the way, what’s the story with that household today?" Ding Anguo asked curiously.
Ding Anmin explained the context, and Ding Anguo understood, now having seen the Huang family’s perspective.
On September 30th, as soon as Yi Roujing arrived at work, she was dispatched by Fan Yuanrong to inspect goods, specifically medical masks.
Director Zou of the textile factory greeted her, with less of a smile but more apprehension in his eyes and a noticeable increase in politeness.
Yi Roujing wasn’t too bothered, but Zou Jianfeng immediately apologized, saying, "My incapable son was in trouble some days ago... He’s still in the hospital. We intended for him to apologize to Yi Roujing and Xie Chenyan, but that would have to wait until he’s discharged. I’m terribly sorry."
"No need for formality, Director Zou. He already came to apologize," Yi Roujing replied nonchalantly.
"That was for Yi Roujing; for Xie Chenyan, he must properly apologize at their doorstep, so the neighbors are also aware," Zou Jianfeng insisted seriously.
Yi Roujing chuckled at his words but didn’t say much more, acknowledging the genuine intent.
Due to the inspection, her morning work was concluded early, so she decided to go home directly and return to work in the afternoon.
Passing the goods department, she noticed outside the entrance, her mother-in-law, Li Hongying, was holding a young woman wearing a green blouse and black trousers. Seeing this, Yi Roujing quickened her pace.
Li Hongying had gone to buy groceries earlier in the day and returned home to prepare lunch only to realize they were almost out of soy sauce. With some spare time, she went out to get more.
Just as she walked out with the soy sauce bottle, a figure deeply buried in her memories appeared and walked past her. Li Hongying was stunned, dropping the soy sauce bottle, which shattered on the ground.