The entire school of teachers and students participated in the autumn harvest labor, to be exact, it was a rush to buy autumn vegetables. Now each unit is showcasing their abilities, trying to take the lead.
The school held a mobilization meeting, explained the severe situation, and began working day and night in the fields. The cafeteria in the school gradually built up walls of cabbages, stirring Zhou Jiao’s nostalgia for the Northeast.
She wondered if Mother Zhang had started pickling sauerkraut, started poking the chimney, or started preparing for winter?
The autumn harvest in the Northeast, the familiar sights of late October in Daqing Mountain, often appeared in her dreams, evoking her deep longing for her hometown.
Since entering school, Zhou Jiao had received quite a few letters. Only Mr. and Mother Zhang would often ask Zhang the Second to relay a word or two—either "we are doing very well" or "you be careful out there."
The deep affection compressed into the simplest one or two sentences, how can she assure them to calm their worries? Especially when many rural classmates started sending food and tickets back home, it really made Zhou Jiao anxious.
Zhou Jiao leaned against the chair, staring at the stationery on the desk. How can she persuade her in-laws to come over? Those kind and understanding parents might not know how things are at home.
"Jiao Jiao, Big Sis wrote to us." Zhang Guoqing came in, happily waving a stack of letters.
Zhou Jiao’s eyes lit up at the news; finally, Zhang Meili has replied.
Last month she suggested letting Zhang Guoqing write a letter to Big Sis to have her help in persuading them. After waiting for so long, there’s finally news.
Zhang Guoqing closed the door, put down the remaining letters, opened Zhang Meili’s letter, and poured out a thick stack of stationery that still faintly showed densely packed small characters.
Seeing this, Zhou Jiao couldn’t help but laugh - the frugal nature really hasn’t changed. She guessed Big Sis must have been pained by the postage and had everyone join together.
"Oh, big brother, second brother, and second sister, it’s all here. Look, there’s Xi Zi’s letter too."
Zhou Jiao eagerly said, "Read Big Sis’s letter first."
The couple leaned in head-to-head, finally finished reading, and exchanged a wry smile.
The letter by Zhang Chunming’s hand was filled with Mr. and Mother Zhang asking if they eat well at school? Should they send food over? They straightforwardly said there’s food and drink at home, ready to spend the winter, and never mentioned coming to Beijing.
This time, the couple unintentionally chose to read Xi Zi’s letter first.
Compared to adults, children are much more straightforward. The letter paper was clearly torn from a workbook, probably a spur-of-the-moment idea, with some handwriting corrections.
In the letter, Xi Zi first expressed how much he missed them, then narrated the Zhang Family Village happenings, and ended by reassuring them. He’s living with Mr. and Mother Zhang alone now. If grandpa and grandma go hungry, he would ask Zhao Dashan to help send a telegraph to Beijing.
Zhang Guoqing carefully savored the words, after a while, finally smiled with relief. The child really has grown up, knowing what we want to hear most.
Zhang Family Village has a respectful Old Captain, a blessing for the villagers. The cabbage harvest was plentiful, along with rice bran, radish tops, and cabbage roots, enough to last until spring next year.
This is good, this is good...
The ancestors of Zhang Family should thank the Old Captain for looking after their descendants.
Zhang Guoqing took a deep breath. He hoped the path he prepared for the villagers wouldn’t be needed, that would truly be a celebration across the land.

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