Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space-Chapter 697 - 572: Going to the Bridge Tonight?

Zhang Guoqing was unaware of everything happening in Beijing. At the moment, he was so happy that he couldn’t close his mouth, having forgotten all about the Lin Family and those people in Beijing.

"Dad, hurry! It’s running, running..."

Ping’an, wearing a red bellyband and red shorts, stood on the shore, waving his arms excitedly and shouting loudly at the bamboo basket.

"Uncle, to your left, quickly look to your left. Ah, left... left... not right, first left, then right... Ah, behind you... behind you..."

Yi Jiefang, being directed to spin around, accidentally got his finger pinched by a crab and exclaimed, "Ouch, it hurts!"

Ping’an shouted excitedly, "Quick, put it in the water... Ah, you are so silly... crouch down..."

Seeing Yi Jiefang being directed by his son to the point his head couldn’t touch his feet, Zhang Guoqing laughed heartily and quickly went to rescue his brother.

Under the shade of the tree, Zhao Wenhui and Lin Lishan were also laughing uncontrollably.

After stopping her laughter, Zhao Wenhui remarked with emotion, "Last time we came here, this child was still a tiny lump, and in the blink of an eye, he’s grown so big."

Lin Lishan rolled her eyes, "You’ve said this eight out of ten times already. Why? Are you getting old?"

"How can I not be old? We’re quite a number of years old now."

Lin Lishan glanced at her with disdain. Pretty women certainly have the capital to boast, saying this is simply showing off.

Zhao Wenhui laughed heartily, stood up and pulled her, "Let’s go, let’s visit my best friend. The fish farm should be off work soon."

"Why did she think to transfer here?"

"A few years ago her husband was transferred as a secretary to the city, so she applied to come here. She doesn’t have many hobbies, just loves food. As soon as she heard the fish farm has crabs, all kinds of fish and shrimp, she came without hesitation."

Lin Lishan nodded with a smile, "This place is nice, although it belongs to the bordering province, it’s close to Hai City, if you want to do some shopping, it’s fine to go back and stay for a few days."

Zhao Wenhui carefully pulled her to avoid the cow dung on the ground, agreeing, "Her transfer was indeed a wise choice. Truly, if she listened to her husband and worked as a union cadre at the factory, she wouldn’t be as well off as now."

Seeing them leave, Zhang Guoqing looked at the sky and said to Yi Jiefang, "Should we go? If we’re late, there will be many mosquitoes. We should go to the cafeteria for dinner early."

After speaking, he winked at Yi Jiefang.

Yi Jiefang understood and smiled, "Let’s go. I didn’t get enough crabs at noon; tonight, I must eat more. Once we go back, there won’t be such a good opportunity."

"Xiao Wu, how about we apply to come here after graduation?"

Zhang Guoqing couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He remembered his father-in-law talking about the feast at the fishing farm, as he once had the same thought.

Aunt Chen saw them coming ashore and said to Ping’an, "Look, your dad and the others have come up; let’s go, otherwise the mosquitoes will come out and bite you."

Ping’an looked down at himself, "Grandma Chen, help me change before we go back, my grandmother is naughty."

Zhang Guoqing held his thigh and resisted the urge to laugh, "This outfit looks great, don’t change it, it’s nice and cool."

"Naughty dad!"

Yi Jiefang laughed nearby, "He should be riding a wind-and-fire wheel, then our Ping’an would be Nezha."

"No way, a lot of people gathered around me at noon."

Aunt Chen saw Zhang Guoqing nodding and hastily opened the bag in her hand, helping him change his clothes. She carefully folded the red outfit, as it was made of high-quality silk.

When Lin Lishan bought it, she was heartbroken, but thinking the little one wearing red would bring good luck, she decided not to persuade her, fearing that a stitch might snag while sewing it.

"It’s cool; we can wear it as pajamas at home."

Ping’an obediently nodded to Aunt Chen. He also knew it cost quite a bit, and he couldn’t restrain his grandmother. It would be great if his mom were there.

Thinking of Zhou Jiao, he quickly asked, "Dad, why did Grandpa say we shouldn’t rush home? What if mom gets home and doesn’t see us? Does Grandpa know that mom can’t come back yet?"

Zhang Guoqing knew he couldn’t hide it from Little Genius, nodded with a smile and explained, "That might be the reason. But your grandma’s troupe happens to have a mission here, so she has to make arrangements."

Ping’an seemed to understand and nodded, leaning closer to Aunt Chen, his eyes darting back and forth between the two bamboo baskets they carried. "Shall we play at the bridge tonight?"

Zhang Guoqing nodded.

The summer bridge was a great place. Especially at the Jiangnan stone bridge, every evening after a day’s work, the members would come out to cool off, and tireless children would chase each other, hug, and run around.

A group went to the cafeteria for a feast, enjoyed delicious food, and after tea and a satisfying meal, Lin Lishan stayed behind for a chat while Zhang Guoqing and his son and Yi Jiefang headed out with flashlights and bamboo baskets.

The starry night sky, a crescent moon hanging high, the sound of frogs croaking incessantly, seemingly calling for something.

Under a distant, weathered old date tree sat several elderly men with bare chests and arms, their dark skin merging with the night, holding palm fans and discussing Yang Family’s warriors. Children gathered around the tree, leaning, sitting, riding, or climbing, listening intently, occasionally coming up with amusing questions.

Whether in the North or the South, elderly people with rich experiences always have endless stories to tell: heroes of the Three Kingdoms, Yang Family’s warriors, legendary figures from their ancestors. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Walking on the village path, it’s common to see grandma and moms gathering, shaking palm fans, occasionally slapping exposed arms and legs to drive away mosquitoes.

Young maidens and wives sit in front of their doors twisting cords, chatting about household matters, sometimes a man would pass by and say something risqué, drawing laughter and scolding.

On the stone bridge, a few men sat smoking bag pipes, puffing out pungent smoke, chatting about their current lives: how much grain they can divide, roofs that need repair, occasionally calling out to the children playing in the river.

The arrival of two adults and a child stopped the conversations, drawing friendly gazes upon them, examining them.

A middle-aged man asked with a smile, "Are you relatives of the employees from that place? We have quite a few people working there in our team. Go play, just be careful, kid."

Listening to the richly accented Mandarin, Zhang Guoqing finally breathed a sigh of relief, saying cheerfully, "Okay. Uncles, chat slowly."

Without Zhou Jiao around, being in a foreign land, he feared the language barrier most. Jiangnan Water Village, lotus pond night scenes, all attracted Zhang Guoqing and his party’s eyes. Unfortunately, as strangers suddenly arriving in a place, it would always provoke locals to probe and scrutinize, dampening one’s elegance.

"Shitou, help watch over the kids, don’t let them near deep water."

Though Zhang Guoqing and his group couldn’t speak the local dialect, they understood the meaning and acknowledged the goodwill, exchanging a smile with Yi Jiefang.

That night, surrounded by playful children, just like in Jiang Family Village, Little Ping’an quickly integrated himself among them. They went to catch snails in the river, fish for crayfish in the ditches, stick mudfish in the fields, and catch fireflies everywhere, even handling leech bites calmly, astonishing his little buddies.

——This little kid sure isn’t like someone from the city!