Mo Jingchun bought a high-speed train ticket departing at 10:31 on the 30th to Jing City. He had mentioned it offhandedly to his uncle a few days ago when asked.
At a little past five in the morning, Mo Jingchun switched off the power, locked the door, and left home pushing a stroller in one hand, pulling a suitcase in the other, with a backpack weighing over twenty pounds on his back.
At the end of September, the sky was already bright around five o'clock. Due to the proximity to the mountains, the morning air was a bit moist, and the roadside wild grass was covered with dew.
Mo Jingchun's home was an isolated house, with the nearest neighbor about two hundred meters away. Thankfully, after a few more steps, houses began to appear.
The heavy suitcase rumbled on the cement road, making sounds that traveled far, while Little Candy in the stroller still had sleepy eyes.
When he reached the yard outside his uncle's house, Mo Jingchun saw his uncle sitting on a small wooden stool at the door changing shoes, while the already white-haired aunt was standing beside him urging incessantly.
Mo Jingchun stopped and called out to them, "Uncle, Aunt."
"You're here?"
"Wait a moment, I'll go with you to your fourth uncle's house."
"Okay." Mo Jingchun nodded, silently waiting outside the yard without going in.
Although Uncle Mo Changyou was already over sixty, he was still in good health. However, Aunt's health was not as good, with many small ailments appearing.
After less than two minutes, Uncle, holding a shopping bag, and Aunt walked out together.
Mo Jingchun immediately noticed that the red shopping bag contained a large firework with 49 shots.
Uncle Mo Changyou walked over and without saying a word, took the suitcase from Mo Jingchun's hand.
"Let's go."
While walking, Uncle Mo Changyou advised, "Xiaochun, once you get into your fourth uncle's car with your sister, don't get out. It's for good luck."
Mo Changyou seemed worried that Mo Jingchun might misunderstand, so he explained:
"Over the years, when sending kids to university, all families do it this way."
"Don't worry, the neighbors coming over later, your uncles and I will take care of entertaining them. You just stay in the car."
There were many family customs Mo Jingchun didn't know much about. Whenever Uncle said something, Mo Jingchun just nodded.
Fourth Uncle's house was just by the village road. Before Mo Jingchun and the others arrived, they saw quite a few people already standing in Fourth Uncle's yard.
Uncle Mo Changyou pulled the suitcase straight to the car's trunk, laid it flat, and shut the trunk casually.
Mo Jingchun smiled and greeted the uncles and aunts, but was then pulled into the car by Uncle Mo Changyou, who also closed the door.
After a while, he put the folded stroller under the rear seat space.
Through the car window, Mo Jingchun noticed that his uncles each held a pack of cigarettes, passing them around. Fourth Uncle even donned a suit today, though it was somewhat old.
Bang, bang, bang～
A firework shot into the sky, forming a beautiful scene overhead.
Mo Jingchun looked up at the colorful fireworks, his expression dazed. In his arms, Candy craned her neck, tilting her small head, her big eyes fixated on Mo Jingchun's face.
"Yaya～"
Candy's voice pulled Mo Jingchun's thoughts back from a faraway place. He thought Candy was scared by the sound of the fireworks.
Soon, Mo Jingchun realized he was overthinking. Candy seemed used to the sound of fireworks, showing no signs of fear. Instead, the little one was looking at him and smiling.
The moment the driver's side door opened, various sounds around grew louder.
"Fourth Uncle."
Mo Chang'an nodded with a smile, turned around, and fastened the seatbelt.
"Hold your sister tight, we're setting off."
The journey from home to the city's high-speed train station took a full two and a half hours. It wasn't too far, just over a hundred kilometers, but mountain roads were indeed hard to travel, consisting of winding roads paved with asphalt over the old roads.
The road was good, but the speed couldn't be increased.
As the engine started, the white Chery car slowly drove out of the yard from the crowd.
Once on the highway, Mo Chang'an didn't intend to stop, driving farther and farther, and gradually picking up speed.
Mo Jingchun looked at the rearview mirror outside the window, vaguely seeing fireworks exploding in the air. Even after being quite far away, he could still hear the sound of the fireworks behind.
A tear fell unexpectedly on Candy's face, and the little one instinctively closed her eyes. Upon realizing nothing was wrong, she slowly reopened them.
With his vision somewhat blurred, Mo Jingchun hadn't noticed his tears had dropped onto his sister Candy's face.
The little one seemed to sense Mo Jingchun's emotional fluctuation, reaching out her chubby little hand trying to grab Mo Jingchun's face. Unfortunately, her chubby little hand was too short to reach his cheek. Her hand could only swipe at the air with nowhere to rest.
"Yaya～"
Unable to touch anything for a while, the little one got annoyed, using her energy as if she was feeding to make yaya sounds.
Mo Jingchun lowered his head and lifted his sister a little higher. The little one was indeed content, nestling her head into Mo Jingchun's arms.
......…
Outside the high-speed train station, people flowed in and out, some waiting for those about to exit, while others with luggage moved into the station.
"Xiaochun, going to Jing City isn't like being at home; there are many important people, so don't get into trouble or offend them."
"Study well at school. Without the help from home, you'll have to rely on yourself. Don't forget, you still have a sister to support."
"Understood, Fourth Uncle."
Mo Chang'an waved, "Alright, I won't say more. I've said enough before, saying more might annoy you."
"Quickly head inside; I'll be off now."
"Okay."
Only after watching the white car disappear from sight did Mo Jingchun turn around, pushing the stroller and pulling the suitcase towards the station to check in.
It's undeniable, taking the high-speed train now is incredibly convenient; just swiping the ID card allows direct check-in. Unlike before, when you had to take out your ticket and show it with your ID to enter the station.
Mo Jingchun found the 10:31 high-speed train G021X to Jing City on the waiting hall's big screen.
"Checkpoint 3, Platform 2."
After confirming the train G021X is indeed at checkpoint 3, platform 2, Mo Jingchun looked around and headed towards an empty seat, knowing there was still nearly an hour until departure.
But before Mo Jingchun could reach the seat, someone sat down before him. Fortunately, there were still a few vacant seats in the row behind.
He hadn't even gotten comfortable when sister Candy got hungry and wanted to be fed.
[Already contracted, lovely boys and girls, asking for monthly tickets, recommendation votes ꈨຶꎁꈨຶ]