Hua Qingqing fished out a yuan and offered it to Lin Dongsheng, who pushed it back with a scowling face.
"What are you doing? It's just lending you a bike. Do you think Uncle would take your money?"
Hua Qingqing smiled. "Uncle, please take it. My head won't get better anytime soon. I'll definitely have to go to the county a few more times. If you don't take this money, I'd feel too embarrassed to borrow the bike later. I'd have to walk there myself."
"…It doesn't cost a whole yuan."
Lin Dongsheng took out fifty cents and gave it back to her.
Hua Qingqing took it, pushed the bike, stepped on the pedal with her left foot, and scooted away. Then she lifted her leg and sat on the saddle, riding away smoothly.
Lin Dongsheng had wanted to help steady the bike, but he didn't expect she could really ride! He remembered that he had fallen off his bike several times when he first learned to ride.
Seeing a doctor was just an excuse. Hua Qingqing actually had other things to do.
Yesterday, she asked Grandma Fang about the money her parents had sent.
Only then did she learn that there was more to the story. Hua Jia and Ruan Yuan had sent back twenty yuan every month for the first three years. In the fourth year, the amount Hua Jia sent each month changed from twenty yuan to fifteen yuan, and in the sixth year, it dropped from fifteen yuan to five yuan. Meanwhile, the amount Ruan Yuan sent became thirty yuan in the third year.
She was quite curious. Hua Jia served in the Armed Police Force in the capital as the equipment minister, a full - military - rank position. It wasn't a small post, and his salary should have been increasing. Why was he cutting down on his daughter's living expenses?
As for Ruan Yuan, who was living quite well in Hong Kong, the money she sent was just so - so. She was a bit more conscientious than Hua Jia, but not by much.
She had to figure out these two things. How could they abandon their daughter in the countryside and not come to visit for thirteen years? And now they were even cutting down on the living expenses. It just didn't make sense!
She also wanted the post office staff to recognize her so that she could collect the remittances from now on.
The brigade wasn't far from the town. She arrived in about half an hour.
Hua Qingqing parked the bike in front of the post office, walked in, looked around, and then went to the counter. There was a middle - aged woman with ear - length hair sitting inside. She was chatting with someone beside her. Her attention was completely off her job, and she didn't notice the person standing in front of the counter.
Hua Qingqing knocked on the table twice. "Hello. I'd like to ask if there are any packages sent by Hua Jia and Ruan Yuan this month?"
The short - haired woman finally turned to look at Hua Qingqing. Her expression wasn't very pleasant.
"Who are you? Before, an old lady came to pick up their packages. We can't tell you anything if you're not related to the senders."
Hua Qingqing said, "I'm Hua Jia and Ruan Yuan's daughter. I'm here to pick up the things my parents sent me. The old lady you mentioned is my grandma. Her name is Fang Qing."
The woman flipped through the records. It was indeed this name.
"Do you have any way to prove your identity?"
Hua Qingqing thought for a moment. "Can I make a call to my dad?"
The woman pointed at the phone beside her. "It's fifty cents for three minutes."
Hua Qingqing started making the call. She had learned Hua Jia and Ruan Yuan's contact information from Grandma Fang, but Grandma Fang had said that she had never contacted them.
In the military compound in the capital.
Wu Yunhua took her daughter back to the door. She put the vegetable basket on the ground and was about to change her daughter's shoes.
"Ring, ring, ring—"
The phone rang. Wu Yunhua quickened the pace of changing shoes. She took her daughter into the living room, made her sit on the sofa, and then answered the phone.
"Hello."
Hua Qingqing blinked. The voice on the other end was a young woman's. She recalled the members of Hua Jia's family and guessed that the person on the other end might be Hua Jia's wife, her stepmother.
Hua Qingqing always adhered to the principle of being friendly if no one bothered her. Her voice was sweet and bright. "Hello, Auntie. I'm Hua Qingqing. Is my dad at home?"
Wu Yunhua was taken aback. Although the name Hua Qingqing was unfamiliar, she quickly realized that this was her step - daughter whom she had never met.
"Hello, hello. Your dad is still working in the military. What do you need him for? You can tell me first, and I'll pass it on to him later."
Hua Qingqing could tell that the woman on the other end was a bit nervous. "It's not anything important. I'm at the post office to pick up the things you sent me. Grandma used to pick them up, but now I'm here. The sister at the post office asked me to call you to prove my identity."
Hua Qingqing didn't talk to Wu Yunhua for long. After proving her identity to the woman, she hung up the phone.
Actually, she had wanted to ask why the living expenses had been getting less and less over the years, but she didn't ask directly. There were too many unstable factors in a phone call. She planned to find an opportunity to go to the capital and ask in person!
The short - haired woman took out a small package.
"This is from the capital. It just arrived the other day."
Hua Qingqing didn't expect that after riding a bike for over half an hour, she would only pick up such a small thing.
Hua Qingqing despised Hua Jia in her heart.
Good grief! You're really something. You're so stingy with your daughter!
Hua Qingqing gave the middle - aged woman a grateful smile and then opened the package right in front of her. There was only an envelope and a pack of White Rabbit Creamy Candies inside.
It was really shabby.
The short - haired woman couldn't help but say, "Your dad only sent you this?"
Hua Qingqing took out five yuan and five tickets from the envelope. Three were meat tickets and two were fine - grain tickets.
What the...
Hua Qingqing really wanted to buy a train ticket right away and rush to the capital to question Hua Jia.
She gave the woman a bitter smile. "Maybe it's because my dad has a hard time supporting the family in the capital."
The woman hesitated. "What does your dad do in the capital? Why are he and your mom separated by such a long distance? That's not good."
Hua Qingqing lowered her head, her eyes turning red.
"They divorced when I was five. I'm living with my grandma now. My dad has remarried. He's a leader in the military in the capital. He has his own new family. I don't blame them. I just want to see them. I haven't seen them for thirteen years."
How pitiful, how pitiful.
The woman looked at Hua Qingqing with pity in her eyes. She had just seen the girl excitedly open the envelope. She probably thought there was a letter inside, but it turned out to be just five yuan. Really, putting five yuan in an envelope.
Such a good - behaved girl, but she didn't have good parents. They were enjoying themselves in the capital and Hong Kong while leaving their child in the countryside.
"There'll probably be another package forwarded from Hong Kong at the end of the month. It's always like this. You can come and pick it up then. My name is Zhang Jin. You can call me Sister Jin."
"Thank you, Sister Jin. I'll trouble you with the packages from now on. Please don't give the packages to anyone else except me. I want to open my parents' packages myself..."
"I know. I won't give them to that old lady even if she comes again."
Why didn't this little girl come to pick up the packages before? Maybe that old lady took the things and didn't tell the girl. She was really mean.
Hua Qingqing opened the pack of White Rabbit Creamy Candies and grabbed a handful for Zhang Jin. The latter only took two and told her to take the rest back. Although White Rabbit Creamy Candies were rare, they were sent by the girl's father. There was only five yuan and a pack of candies in the package. Who would have the nerve to take more?
Seeing her firm attitude, Hua Qingqing had to put the candies away. She took out fifty cents for the phone call.
"Sister Jin, can we make a call to Hong Kong from here?"