Chapter 729: Chapter 731: Yishui County
"You’ve just come back by train, do you want to rest for a while?" Fei Jiayi looked at her with concern. It had been an entire night’s journey by train from South City.
"Nianhua, you should stay in the dorm. It’s all the same if we go,"
Liao Jinling agreed.
Chang Hui and Zhou Wanwan shared the same opinion. The train ride would certainly have been uncomfortable, and it takes another two hours to get to Yishui County—not to mention the four hours round trip plus a few more waiting around at Ding Guo’s. The whole day would be gone.
"No need, I took a sleeper berth and slept very well last night," Xu Nianhua said unconcernedly, glancing down at her own clothes. "Wait for me, I will wash up and change clothes."
She hadn’t showered or changed clothes on the train yesterday.
Soon, Xu Nianhua was on her way to Yishui County with the others. Apart from her and Chang Hui, Fei Jiayi and the others were from Ningbei and knew approximately where Yishui County was.
"Yishui County is actually quite beautiful, with green mountains and clear waters, and the air is especially clean," Fei Jiayi shared what she knew.
Liao Jinling said, "My dad even wants to build a house there."
"Does your dad want to build a house everywhere?" Fei Jiayi couldn’t help but twitch the corner of her mouth. Every time they discussed a place, Liao Jinling’s first thought was whether or not it was suitable for building a house.
And they had all heard it numerous times—her dad loved building houses everywhere.
"Isn’t that a good thing? Wherever we go, there’s a place to stay," Liao Jinling didn’t see anything unusual about her own dad’s behavior.
Xu Nianhua inwardly nodded in agreement. Mr. Liao liking to build houses was a good thing—those houses would be valuable in the future.
The group chatted and laughed all the way to Yishui County, and following the home addresses they had collectively kept before, they found Ding Guo’s grocery store.
Ding Family’s Grocery, a very small shop, was crammed with items looking rather cluttered. Ding Guo’s younger brother, who was tending the store, gave them precise directions to the hospital when he heard they were his sister’s classmates. Xu Nianhua and her companions hurried to the hospital.
The county hospital was easy to find. They decided to buy some fruits and pooled together fifty yuan to give to Ding Guo’s father, hoping it would help him recover with peace of mind.
"Nianhua, you’re back? You guys, how did you find this place?" Ding Guo looked at the five of them excitedly, calling out each of their names and was so overwhelmed she hardly knew what to say.
"You’ve been back for a few days now, and we figured since we were free today, we would come together to see how Uncle is recovering," said Fei Jiayi, who loved to talk the most.
"We wish Uncle a speedy recovery." Liao Jinling and Chang Hui handed the fruits they had bought together to Ding Guo.
"Thank you all," Ding Guo said, deeply moved.
She introduced her classmates to her father in bed, "Dad, they shared a dorm with me—Fei Jiayi, Xu Nianhua, Liao Jinling, Zhou Wanwan, and Chang Hui."
"Thank you for coming to see me, and for the expenses you’ve incurred," Ding Guo’s dad, half-sitting on the bed with his leg in a plaster cast, wore a kindly smile. On seeing Uncle Ding, Fei Jiayi and the others could tell where Ding Guo had inherited her looks.
Ding Guo’s dad was as talkative as she was, and learning that all he needed to recover was some rest and relaxation before he could be discharged put everyone at ease.
Not long after, Ding Guo’s mom, who had gone out to get supplies, came back. Seeing that her daughter’s classmates had visited, she hurried home to cook without a pause.