Back To The 80s-Chapter 337 - 347: Returning Home_1

On the tenth, Shen Heng and Qin Mei couldn’t return with Gu Xiaobei and the others because they hadn’t finished their work.

Lu Aiguo and Fang Jing sent Gu Xiaobei off on the train. Fang Jing wiped her tears. It was such a long journey. She wondered when they would meet again.

The Bai Family’s three brothers came to see Bai Xiaolan off. Like admonishing a child, they kept saying, "Xiaolan, don’t get into fights when you get there."

The third Bai brother said, "It’s okay, Xiaolan. If anyone dares to bully you, call me. I’m going to mess them up."

The second brother Bai glared at the third, telling Bai Xiaolan, "You have to behave, consult with the Qi Family if there’s anything. Don’t act recklessly..."

Fang Jing, who had been wiping her tears, suddenly started laughing at the instructions from the Bai brothers.

Bai Xiaolan scratched her head embarrassedly. Why wouldn’t her brothers preserve her dignity?

As the train pulled out of Capital City, Bai Xiaolan seemed lost in thought, feeling quite sad.

Noticing this usually carefree girl suddenly quiet, Gu Xiaobei realized it was because she had never been so far from home before, which was inevitably distressing.

"Xiaolan, will you start work right away when you get to the provincial city?" Gu Xiaobei, with a smile, asked Bai Xiaolan, who was sitting by the window.

Bai Xiaolan shook her head, saying, "I think it’ll be around the end of March or the beginning of April. My mom was worried about me traveling alone, so she let me go with you guys."

"Well, you can come hang out with us in T City for a few days," Gu Xiaobei offered, worried she’d get bored alone, especially since she wouldn’t be working and the Qi Family wouldn’t be around all the time.

"Wouldn’t that be inconvenient?" Bai Xiaolan hesitated.

Wen Xiuqing also thought it would be a worry to leave Bai Xiaolan alone in the provincial city without work, so she suggested, "Yes, you should join us for a few days. You can return when you start your job."

Bai Xiaolan nodded, thought for a while then said, "Sister-in-law, did anyone bother you there? I can help teach them a lesson."

Gu Xiaobei twitched at the corner of his eye, amused by her unusual way of expressing gratitude.

This time, on the fourth morning, the two adults, accompanied by the two children, finally arrived in the provincial town, having a relatively easier journey.

They were greeted by Cheng Qijia and Liu Hongbing.

Upon leaving the station, Lu Zhanguo spotted Zhang Lin in the crowd. Lu mumbled a few words in Liu Hongbing’s ear who then quietly followed Zhang Lin.

Bai Xiaolan handed most of her luggage to Cheng Qijia and took a bag with clothes she would need in the near future. She was ready to go to T City with Gu Xiaobei and the others.

Cheng Qijia, kind as always, on seeing Bai Xiaolan’s intention to go to Gu Xiaobei’s place, advised, "Xiaolan, it would be better if you don’t go and stir things up."

Bai Xiaolan, annoyed, rolled her eyes at Cheng Qijia, and Gu Xiaobei hurriedly said, "No problem, she is only going to start work after some time anyway."

Left with nothing else to say, Cheng Qijia found a guest house and booked a triple room for them to rest, proposing that they have lunch together later.

Lu Zhanguo left their luggage in the room for them to rest. He then went out with Cheng Qijia to handle a few things.

In the evening, they all boarded the train back to T City.

Upon arriving in T City the next morning, Zhang Lijun, having been informed beforehand, was already at the train station waiting for them.

Zhang Lijun excitedly said, "So glad to see you guys back." He greeted Wen Xiuqing, "Auntie, you had a long trip."

Once in the car, Zhang Lijun is still excited, "Let’s have dinner at my place today. Fengmei and Chunling have been preparing the meal since early morning. It probably will be ready for us as soon as we arrive."

Lu Zhanguo, sitting in the passenger seat, nodded without objection. After being empty for several months, there certainly wouldn’t be any prepared food at home.

Bai Xiaolan quietly sat in the back, curiously watching the scenery outside the window, she couldn’t help but say, "Everyone says Northwest is far, and it really is too far."

Gu Xiaobei laughed and said, "This is still okay. X Province is even farther."

Bai Xiaolan was surprised, "Even farther? Then, how would I possibly go there? I haven’t even found my treasure yet."

By the time they reached the housing complex around noon, Bai Xiaolan, taken aback by the deserted surroundings, thought it seemed quite remote.

Li Fengmei and Ge Chunling, who were out on the balcony saw the car entering the premises, quickly ran down. Li Fengmei, laughing, said, "You are finally back! I can’t wait to see if my darlings have grown." Taking Xiaopang from Gu Xiaobei, she turned to Wen Xiuqing who had just alighted from the car, "You must be Auntie. You look so young. People from the city really don’t show age."

Wen Xiuqing, slightly embarrassed by the compliment, said nothing and smiled instead.

Gu Xiaobei introduced Bai Xiaolan, "This is Bai Xiaolan. She’s the daughter of my dad’s comrade in arms."

Li Fengmei looked at Bai Xiaolan and said, smiling, "The girls from the city are so lovely."

Gu Xiaobei was amused by Li Fengmei. Ge Chunling also went forward and said, "Sister-in-law, it just didn’t feel like New Year without you."

Zhang Lijun, who had gotten all the luggage, said, "Let’s talk upstairs. Don’t stand out here, we don’t want the children to catch a cold."

Everyone, still cheerfully chatting, took the children, carried the luggage, and moved into Gu Xiaobei’s house.

Because Bai Xiaolan didn’t know anyone, she was the last to enter, and as she was closing the door, she noticed a woman across the hall, who squinted at her before closing her own door.

’Interesting, this will be interesting,’ Bai Xiaolan thought, looking at the door opposite with great interest. ’It seems this woman has a problem with Gu Xiaobei.’

After setting down their stuff, Li Fengmei and others went upstairs to cook. They asked Gu Xiaobei and others to freshen up quickly, so they could come up for lunch.

Still not well-acquainted with everyone, Bai Xiaolan hurriedly finished her meal at Li Fengmei’s place, and then told Gu Xiaobei that she was headed downstairs for a walk.

When confronted with someone she didn’t know - or worse, didn’t wish to be associated with - Bai Xiaolan never minced her words. As Fang Jing put it, if you managed to catch Bai Xiaolan’s eye, then she would treat you as a friend. Otherwise, she wouldn’t waste her energy.

Gu Xiaobei knew this about her, so he told Bai Xiaolan not to wander off too far, and that they will be leaving in a little while.

As Bai Xiaolan exited the building, she ran into Qu Yan, who was just returning from dumping the trash.

The two met at the entrance of the building. Qu Yan took one disdainful look at Bai Xiaolan.

Bai Xiaolan thought about this briefly. Considering she was at Gu Xiaobei’s place, she should keep her temper under control. But that didn’t mean she was going to let Qu Yan off the hook. She glared back at her full force.

This way, on her very first day, Bai Xiaolan found herself at odds with Qu Yan for no apparent reason.

In the following days, Lu Zhanguo was busy with his transfer. He then set off for the provincial city and asked Gu Xiaobei and Wen Xiuqing’s group to stay there. Once he had arranged the accommodation on the other end, he would come back to pick them up.

Over the next few days, Bai Xiaolan got familiar with her surroundings. She couldn’t resist asking Gu Xiaobei, "What’s the story between you and the woman across the hall? Every time our paths cross, she looks at me like I owe her something." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Gu Xiaobei was puzzled. In the past, Qu Yan had tried to pretend to like her but why did she now appear to hate her openly?

Gu Xiaobei discreetly told Bai Xiaolan about Qu Yan’s little schemes, as well as her behaviour during the incident when Xiaopang almost got lost.