Chapter Sixty: Preparations Before Departure

  Qiu's couple looked at each other, if Qiu Ye himself said he wanted to go, they could still object. Now that the child's godmother said to let the child go and she would take care of everything, they couldn't say no anymore.

  At this time, Fang Haibo also spoke up and said: "Your sister is right, we have some connections there, safety is definitely guaranteed. Besides, the child wants to go, why not let him go? Staying in elementary school every day, mixing with those kids who cry when they run their noses, what can be achieved? Going out for a trip to broaden one's horizons is also good. Reading ten thousand volumes of books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles, this time going can also experience things that are not in the book." He also agreed that the child should go out and take a look. Thinking about it, such a smart child would waste their good time stuck in elementary school second grade, which made him angry, but since the child was happy, he had no choice. In fact, he was also a spoiled child without principles.

  Fang Haibo and his wife both agreed, and Qiu Ye's parents found it even harder to disagree. Finally, Qiu's father said: "Brother Fang, sister-in-law, we think the child is too young, following her will cause you a lot of trouble, so we didn't want her to go. Since you both say the child should go, then let her go. It's good for the child to go out and see the world, unlike me and her mother, who have never been anywhere in our lives and don't know east, south, west or north."

  Qiu Ye heard that her father agreed to let her go to Xinjiang, so she wiped away her tears and jumped up excitedly in the living room, "Ah, ah, ah, I can finally go to Xinjiang, I can finally go to Xinjiang."

  Qiu's mother originally wanted to say something else, but seeing her daughter still with a tearful smile on her face, she ended up saying nothing.

  Qiu Feng, who was standing beside them, heard his father agree to let his sister go and suddenly ran over, shouting: "Dad, if my sister can go, can I also go? I'll go take a look too."

  Qiu's father saw his daughter leaving and couldn't stop her, now his son is also showing off, he was so angry that he slapped him and said: "Your sister has money to buy train tickets, do you?"

  Qiu Feng started by being slapped on the shoulder by his dad, still somewhat resentful. This family's preference for girls over boys was too severe, he wanted to protest, but after hearing his dad's next sentence, he went limp.

  He has also saved a lot of money at his sister's place over the past year, especially last winter when he and his sister went to the wholesale market next to the train station and bought some couplets and other things to sell in the Xizhai market, making a lot of money. However, once he had a lot of money, he started showing off, buying firecrackers one day and a handgun the next. Later, when school started, he saw that a classmate was wearing an electronic watch and envied him so much that he discussed with his sister to buy one too.

  His sister readily agreed, and the following Sunday, the two of them went to the provincial city with their father. In addition to his electronic watch, they also bought a single-card tape recorder, and his savings at his sister's place were also depleted.

  So now he has no money to go to Xinjiang, and at this time he finally regretted it. How could he be so arrogant? Can't he save some money? If he had saved it, would he have been able to follow them by now?

  From knowing the news to departure, there were only two days left. After confirming that they would go to Xinjiang, Qiu Ye and Zhao Shuyan began to prepare their luggage. Due to the tight schedule and heavy tasks, all the travel equipment was prepared by Zhao Shuyan, who had been to Xinjiang once before and knew what clothes to pack.

  Qiu Ye then modified her own little shorts, sewing several pockets on the abdomen with soft cloth to hold money.

  Her purpose for going to Xinjiang this time is very clear, she wants to buy Hetian jade, which requires a lot of money. Now at this time, taking the passbook to Xinjiang can't withdraw cash, so she needs to prepare a lot of cash in advance.

  Qiu Ye knew she could go to Xinjiang the next day, so she took her treasured bankbook and withdrew 10,000 yuan from the bank. This was a large sum of money, and if Qiu Ye hadn't been going to the bank all the time to deposit money, the bank staff would have recognized her by now. A little kid like her withdrawing such a large amount of money at once was bound to arouse suspicion.

  Qiu Ye had the bank aunt bring her large denomination bills of 100 yuan for convenience. She carefully put the 100-yuan bills into the pockets of her pants and secured them with several safety pins before feeling at ease. In her heart, she was grateful that this year the country issued new currency, including a 100-yuan bill; otherwise, if she had to carry around 10,000 yuan in 10-yuan bills, she would have had to sew pockets all over her body, or else anyone could see the bulging money pouch at her waist.

  The day before departure, Qiu's mother had already started a basin of noodles in the morning. In the afternoon, she began to use the family's flat-bottomed pan to make pancakes. Qiu's mother's pancakes were very popular in the Qiu family. She didn't make those hard and thick pancakes. Instead, she used a flat-bottomed pan to slightly toast both sides of the fermented noodle cakes until they were no longer sticky, then stacked them in a large steamer basket to cook until tender. After being taken out of the pot, they were as soft as mantou (steamed buns), but still had the flavor of pancakes.

  Qiu Ye was very diligently helping out beside her, listening to her mother's teachings.

  "I'm telling you, when you go with your aunt, you must listen to her and do what she tells you to do. If she doesn't let you go somewhere, then don't go. In short, just follow her instructions."

  Qiu Ye didn't get angry or annoyed, she just nodded vigorously after listening to her mom's words. She knew that this time she was being a bit selfish going out, and her dad and mom hadn't had a good rest in the past two days, having to take care of business while also worrying about her. She felt a little guilty in her heart.

  "You're just a little kid, it's very dangerous there, so you have to stick close to your aunt, got it? Or else those kidnappers will snatch you away and you'll be crying without knowing where to go." Aunt Qiu muttered to herself while busy with her hands.

  After baking a large pot of pancakes, Mrs. Qiu took out her stored goods and started frying peanuts and melon seeds, which were originally reserved for the New Year's celebration. She brought them all out for her daughter's farewell journey.

  Finally, a big pot of oil tea noodles was stir-fried with peanuts, sesame seeds and white sugar. The oily tea noodles are one of the favorite foods for Qiu Ye brothers and sisters during the Chinese New Year.

  Qiu Feng had been lying at the kitchen door since school let out, watching Qiu's mother busy herself, smelling the fragrance wafting out, and his mouth began to water. His heart felt more and more distressed, why was he so extravagant, spending all the money? If not, wouldn't he also have money to buy a ticket?

  Qiu's mother turned around and saw her son peeking at the kitchen door, shouting "You're a brother, no matter when you have to take good care of your sister, do you know that?"

  The Qiu family never told Qiu Feng that he was also on the list for this trip, and he would have to share a berth with his sister.

  Qiu Feng was heartbroken and didn't have the mind to ponder over his mother's words, he just nodded randomly in response.

  Qiu Ye couldn't help but smile secretly when she saw Qiu Feng acting so unfairly. She knew that day after the family meeting, her godmother and godfather had said that they were all their own children and shouldn't differentiate between them. They should bring both Qiu Ye and Qiu Feng together. The difference was just a hard-seat ticket, and over a hundred yuan for a sleeper ticket had already been spent, so it wouldn't make a difference to spend a few dozen more, and the siblings could take care of each other.

  Qiu's father and mother thought about it and agreed. They were really worried about a nine-year-old child going so far away, but now that his older brother is following him, he can also help take care of him. Although Qiu Feng was only thirteen years old, he looked quite mature and could take care of himself.

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