Chapter 406: Deng Yunsong's Romance

Chapter 406: Deng Yunsong's Romance

In this era, the speed and depth of news dissemination cannot be compared to the future. Deng Shirong could only follow the war by watching the central TV channel and reading related newspapers, as there were no other channels available.

Unlike the Russia-Ukraine conflict in the future, where one could easily find detailed information about the war's progress online, when the great war broke out in his previous life, Deng Shirong, like most rural people, had no idea how significant its impact was on the country. Since our country was not directly involved, everyone just went about their business, treating it as if they were hearing about a fight in a neighboring town, paying no real attention to it.

It was only after he surfed the internet and read many web novels in the future that Deng Shirong realized how profound the impact of that war had been on the country.

Now, with the war breaking out again, he follows the news every day and subtly influences his children and their spouses to pay more attention to these international events, aiming to broaden their horizons.

By the time the war ends, the annual Spring Festival travel rush in our country will be about to begin, and universities across the country will be preparing for their winter break.

...

Beijing.

At a restaurant near the Ministry of Finance, Deng Yunsong and Pei Qinghua are having their Nth meal together.

Pei Qinghua asked, "Director Deng, there are only half a month left until the Spring Festival. Are you going home for the New Year this year?"

Deng Yunsong shook his head, "No, I won't be going back. My home is several thousand kilometers away from Beijing. Even if I take a plane, it would take a lot of time to make the round trip. Our unit doesn't have such a long holiday for me to travel back and forth."

Pei Qinghua nodded, "That's true. But if you don't go home for the New Year, staying alone in Beijing must be quite lonely, right?"

Deng Yunsong replied, "It's fine, I'm used to it. When I was in school, I only went home for the New Year during my first and last years. The rest of the time, I stayed at school. I wouldn't have gone back even in the first year if it weren't for my elder sister's wedding."

Pei Qinghua asked, "Director Deng, why don't you go home for the New Year? Is it because you don't get along well with your parents, or is there another reason?"

Deng Yunsong smiled, "Director Pei, you're thinking too much. The main reason I don't want to go home is that I'm afraid of traveling by train."

Pei Qinghua blinked, "Afraid of traveling by train? What do you mean? Do you get motion sickness?"

Deng Yunsong laughed, "It seems, Director Pei, you haven't traveled far before!"

Pei Qinghua nodded, "That's true, I've never traveled far, and I've never left Beijing in my entire life!"

Deng Yunsong explained, "That's why you don't understand. Guangxi is so far from Beijing that a train journey takes several days and nights. And train sleeper tickets aren't something you can just buy if you have money; I'm not from a high-ranking family, and my father is just a simple farmer with no means to buy a sleeper ticket. So, for several days and nights, I have to sit in a narrow seat. During the Spring Festival travel rush, the entire carriage is packed with people, and there are all sorts of unpleasant smells. Once you've experienced such a train ride, you really don't want to do it again."

Pei Qinghua understood, "That makes sense, no wonder you don't want to go home for the New Year."

Deng Yunsong smiled, "Anyway, I have many brothers and sisters. Even if I don't go home, the house will still be lively."

Pei Qinghua asked casually, "Director Deng, how many brothers and sisters do you have?"

Deng Yunsong replied, "Seven, how about you?"

Pei Qinghua said, "I don't have as many as you. I only have two older brothers."

Deng Yunsong smiled, "That's pretty good too. Having two older brothers to protect you, I bet no one dared to bully you."

Pei Qinghua smiled, "That's true. My second brother is eight years older than me. With them protecting me, I've never been bullied."

Deng Yunsong was surprised, "Your older brothers are so much older than you. You must have been an aunt for a long time, right?"

Pei Qinghua nodded, "I've been an aunt for several years now. What about you? You must have been an uncle for a long time too, right?"

Deng Yunsong said, "I have two older brothers and two older sisters, and two younger brothers. My niece is already in third grade."

Pei Qinghua laughed, "So you became an uncle earlier than me. Are your older brothers and sisters all married?"

Deng Yunsong replied, "My older brother and sister, as well as my second sister, are all married. My second sister isn't married yet, but when I called home recently, my sister-in-law told me that my second sister is dating someone and is likely to get married next year."

The two of them continued chatting while they ate, touching on their siblings for the first time but avoiding deep inquiries.

After finishing their meal, they walked out of the restaurant side by side.

A gust of cold wind blew in their faces, and both of them shivered involuntarily.

Deng Yunsong put his hands in his down jacket pockets and said, "I've been in Beijing for quite a while, but I can't stand the cold weather. It's so unbearable to go out in winter. In Guangxi, the coldest weather never drops below zero, which is much better."

Pei Qinghua, also wearing a down jacket, put her hands in her pockets and said, "The coldest weather never dropping below zero is indeed very comfortable. In Beijing, the only thing to do in winter is to stay indoors as much as possible. It's the most comfortable place to be."

Deng Yunsong said, "Indeed, once you're inside, you don't want to come out."

Soon, the two returned to the family compound. They greeted each other and went back to their respective rooms.

Deng Yunsong lay down on his bed fully clothed, the image of Pei Qinghua's beautiful face flashing through his mind. Over these past few months, his relationship with Pei Qinghua had grown increasingly intimate. In the past, they only went out for dinner every now and then, but now they almost ate together every day.

Deng Yunsong was now certain that he had fallen for her.

After all, Pei Qinghua was an excellent girl in every way: she had a good education, a great figure, and a beautiful face, and her personality was also very likable. Which man wouldn't like such an outstanding girl?

However, Deng Yunsong, who had never been in love before, couldn't be sure if she liked him. This uncertainty made him hesitate to express his feelings, fearing that she might not reciprocate and only saw him as a good friend, which would be awkward.

After much deliberation, Deng Yunsong decided to prepare a gift for her to gauge her feelings.

As for what gift to give, Deng Yunsong had already had an idea in mind. Since it was still early, he decided to go out and call home.

...

Nanning.

In a luxurious residence at Wuyue Square.

Xiaodong'er stood with her hands on her hips, her head held high, and said proudly, "Grandpa, I was the top of my grade this semester. You promised to take me to Beijing for a few days. Do you still remember that?"

"Of course I remember, grandpa wouldn't lie to you!"

Deng Shirong smiled and asked, "Xiaodong'er, do you want to go to Beijing now? I need to tell you that it's very, very cold in Beijing right now. If you choose to go now, you might be very uncomfortable!"

Xiaodong'er said enthusiastically, "Grandpa, I'm not afraid of the cold. I want to see the snow. I've never seen snow in my life!"

Dongzi, dressed like a little landlord, quickly jumped in to get attention: "Grandpa, I want to go to Beijing to see the snow too."

Deng Shirong looked at Dongzi and said, "Dongzi, do you remember what I told you? You have to be in the top twenty of your class for the final exam for me to take you to Beijing."

Dongzi's face fell immediately: "I remember, I have to be in the top twenty of my class to go."

Deng Shirong asked with a smile, "So, what rank did you get in the final exam?"

Dongzi replied listlessly, "Twenty-eighth."

Deng Shirong patted his head and said, "You see, it's not that grandpa doesn't want to take you, but you didn't study hard enough and didn't meet our agreement. So, this time, I'll only take your sister. If you want to go, you need to work hard next semester. If you get into the top twenty, grandpa will take you wherever you want."

Xiaodong'er looked at her brother and said scornfully, "Dongzi, you're so stupid, you can't even get into the top twenty of your class. That's so embarrassing."

Dongzi pouted, almost crying: "Sister, I... I just don't know how. What can I do?"

Xiaodong'er, acting like a little adult, scolded, "If you don't know, it's probably because you don't pay attention in class. If you listen carefully, how could you not know?"

Dongzi pouted, "My desk partner keeps pestering me with questions."

Xiaodong'er replied, "If he talks to you, can't you tell the teacher? Anyway, since you don't study hard and can't get into the top twenty, you'll stay at home. If you want to go out to play, work hard next semester!"

Dongzi, with tears in his eyes, cried out, "Sister, I want to go too."

Although Dongzi looked pitiful, to encourage him to study hard, Deng Shirong didn't soften his stance. He said, "Dongzi, grandpa knows you don't do well in studies, so I only set the goal of being in the top twenty of your class. If you achieve it, you can go out to play.

Your sister not only has to be the top of her class but also the top of the entire grade to go out to play. That's already very unfair.

But you can't even meet such a low requirement, while your sister meets such a high one. Those who work hard should be rewarded. So, you'll stay at home. If you want to go out to play, work hard next semester!"

Seeing that grandpa wouldn't take him, Dongzi ran to his mother and pulled her sleeve, saying, "Mom~~~"

Zhang Xiuping said helplessly, "Dongzi, since you made an agreement with grandpa, you should keep it. A man of his word should never go back on his promise."

Xiaodong'er reached out and poked his cheek, "Exactly, Dongzi, aren't you ashamed?"

Seeing that even his mother wouldn't help, Dongzi could only sit there and sulk.

At that moment, the phone in the living room suddenly rang.

Deng Shirong, sitting next to the phone, picked it up, "Hello!"

On the phone, Deng Yunsong's voice came through, "Dad, it's me. Have you eaten yet?"

Deng Shirong said, "Yes, I've eaten. Have you?"

Deng Yunsong replied, "I've eaten. Dad, I want to ask you something. Which place in Yulin makes the best niuba (beef jerky)? Do you know?"

Deng Shirong said, "Why are you asking about this all of a sudden?"

Deng Yunsong said, "I want to give some local specialties to a colleague. Niuba (beef jerky) is one of the most famous specialties of Yulin, so I want to ask which place makes the best niuba, and whether it can be canned for storage."

Deng Shirong said, "If you want to give a gift, I can make very authentic niuba. When do you need it, and how much?"

Deng Yunsong was pleasantly surprised, "Dad, you can make niuba?"

Deng Shirong laughed, "What's so strange about that? I can even make specialties from other provinces, let alone local specialties. It's just that the process of making niuba is quite complicated, so I haven't done it before."

Deng Yunsong laughed, "That's great. Dad, when you have time, make about twenty to thirty cans for me. I'll give them to my colleagues and leaders. It would be best if they were ready by the New Year."

Deng Shirong said, "No problem. In addition to niuba, do you want me to prepare some huishuijie as well?"

Deng Yunsong said, "Sure, Dad, you decide. Anyway, it's all for leaders and colleagues."

Deng Shirong said, "Alright, I understand. Your elder brother is here. Talk to him for a bit!"

Deng Yunsong said, "Okay."

Deng YunTai took the phone and chatted with his younger brother about family matters for a couple of minutes before passing it to the fourth brother, Deng Yunhua, who also chatted for a few minutes before hanging up.

Deng Shirong smiled at his granddaughter, "Xiaodong'er, wait for grandpa here. I'll go back and make some niuba cans and huishuijie for your Uncle YunSong. When I come back, we'll go to Beijing for a few days."

Xiaodong'er nodded, "Okay, grandpa."

...

The next day, Deng Shirong took a bus back to Bobai County.

Huishuijie, a must-have for the New Year in Bobai, is made by almost every household.

Deng Shirong knew exactly who in the Naye Deng Clan made the best huishuijie. With only half a month left before the New Year, time was tight. Since he needed to make niuba himself, he couldn't go back to his hometown to make huishuijie.

So, he called the household known for making the best huishuijie and asked them to prepare thirty to forty huishuijie, vacuum-packed.

Then, he stayed in the county to make the extremely intricate niuba.

To make niuba with an excellent taste, the selection and processing of materials are crucial.

First, the material must be the local yellow cattle breed, called Sha Niu. The cattle must be fed with local rice, corn, sweet potatoes, and sugarcane stalks, be between two and five years old, and weigh no less than 400 pounds.

Moreover, the cattle must be slaughtered at night, and the meat must be processed within six hours, without being refrigerated.

The production process is as follows:

Raw meat → Cleaning and sorting → Selection → Drying → Slicing → Drying → Steaming → Frying → Simmering → Draining → Shaping → Canning → Sterilization.

Deng Shirong worked for two full days and made a total of one hundred cans of extremely delicious niuba.

At the same time, the huishuijie made by the villagers arrived with the clan's bus.

When Deng Shirong returned to Nanning with these items, only three days had passed.

Deng Shirong left half of the niuba and ten huishuijie, then called his third son and flew to Beijing with Xiaodong'er.

The plane tickets were arranged by Weiwei's uncle. Buying personal tickets domestically would only become possible in a few years.

This time, Deng Shirong did not bring his children to Beijing.

First, his second daughter-in-law was in the late stages of pregnancy and needed someone to take care of her at home.

Second, Beijing was extremely cold, which was not very friendly for people used to the climate in Guangxi.

Third, Dongzi's grades didn't meet the requirements, so he couldn't be an exception, or it would be even harder to motivate him to study.

...

In Beijing.

Near the Ministry of Finance, Deng Shirong booked a room in a large hotel and went in with Xiaodong'er to rest.

Entering the room, a warm breeze greeted them. Xiaodong'er was surprised, "Grandpa, why is this room so warm?"

Deng Shirong laughed, "Because Beijing is so cold, places with the means use heating. This is a high-end hotel, so it has heating."

Xiaodong'er asked curiously, "Grandpa, what is heating?"

Deng Shirong said, "Xiaodong'er, when you boil water, do you see the steam constantly coming out? That's heating!"

Xiaodong'er suddenly understood, "Oh, I get it."

Deng Shirong asked with a smile, "Are you hungry now?"

Xiaodong'er said, "A little, but not very hungry."

Deng Shirong said, "Wait for me here. I'll go buy a bun to tide you over. When your Uncle YunSong gets off work, we'll go out for dinner."

Xiaodong'er nodded, "Okay, grandpa."

Deng Shirong walked out of the hotel, found a quiet spot, and took out his water pipe, tobacco, and lighter from the system space. He leisurely smoked a few pipes before re-entering the hotel. Before entering the room, he took out a steaming hot meat bun from the space.

Deng Shirong opened the door and handed the meat bun to Xiaodong'er, saying, "Xiaodong'er, eat it while it's hot!"

Xiaodong'er took the meat bun and asked, "Grandpa, aren't you going to eat?"

Deng Shirong smiled and said, "I'm not hungry yet, you eat it!"

Xiaodong'er nodded and happily started eating the bun.

Next, Deng Shirong used a similar method to take out the huishuijie and niuba (beef jerky) cans from the space. As long as he could hide it from his granddaughter, it wasn't difficult.

After resting in the hotel for over two hours, Deng Shirong saw that the time was right and decided to take Xiaodong'er to the Ministry of Finance.

...

In a department of the Ministry of Finance.

When it was time to leave work, everyone finished their tasks and started to leave in small groups.

Deng Yunsong came to Pei Qinghua's office and smiled, "Director Pei, my father and my niece have come to Beijing. They are probably waiting for me at the entrance. Let's go out for dinner together!"

Pei Qinghua was startled and widened her eyes, "Director Deng, your father has come, and you want me to join you for dinner? Is that appropriate?"

Deng Yunsong smiled and said, "You are my best colleague here. What's inappropriate about going out for dinner together?"

Pei Qinghua was a bit flustered and said, "This... This doesn't seem right. What if your father misunderstands?"

Deng Yunsong blinked, "Misunderstand what?"

Pei Qinghua quickly shook her head, "Nothing, it's just that it might not be appropriate for you to bring me along for your family reunion."

Deng Yunsong laughed, "There's nothing inappropriate about it. Besides, I have a New Year's gift for you, I'm sure you'll like it."

"Ah?"

"Don't say 'ah.' Hurry up and get ready, let's go! It's freezing outside, and my niece is waiting. We don't want her to catch a cold!"

"Alright, then... okay!"

...

At the entrance of the Ministry of Finance.

Deng Shirong and his granddaughter were waiting for his third son to finish work. After a few minutes, people started to come out of the office building, indicating that it was time to leave.

Soon, they saw Deng Yunsong, and with him was a beautiful young woman.

Although Deng Yunsong was wearing a down jacket and a scarf, wrapped up tightly, Xiaodong'er still recognized him and called out, "Uncle Yunsong, I'm here!"

Deng Yunsong smiled and walked over, greeting his father and then picking up Xiaodong'er. He introduced them, "Dad, let me introduce you to my colleague, Director Pei Qinghua. Director Pei, this is my father."

Pei Qinghua immediately greeted, "Uncle Deng, hello!"

Deng Shirong smiled and responded, "Director Pei, hello!"

While greeting her, he was also secretly guessing the relationship between this Director Pei and his third son. Could this be his third son's girlfriend? If so, his third son has good taste. This girl looks very natural and her beauty is top-notch, not at all inferior to his eldest and second daughters-in-law. To work at the Ministry of Finance, she must be very outstanding.

If not, he should find a way to make it happen. After all, where can you find such an excellent girl?

Xiaodong'er exclaimed, "Auntie, you are so beautiful, just like my mom and my second aunt."

Pei Qinghua, who was a bit nervous about being brought to "meet the parents" by Deng Yunsong, now smiled warmly at Xiaodong'er's innocent compliment, "Little sister, what's your name? You are very beautiful and cute too!"

Xiaodong'er replied, "Auntie, my name is Xiaodong'er."

Pei Qinghua praised, "You are such a good girl."

Deng Yunsong laughed, "Let's not stand here in the cold. It's not a place to chat. Let's go to the restaurant for dinner!"

The others naturally had no objections, and the group headed to the restaurant that Deng Yunsong and Pei Qinghua often visited.

On the way, Pei Qinghua asked, "Uncle Deng, the New Year is coming soon. Did you bring Xiaodong'er here to spend the New Year with Director Deng?"

Deng Shirong shook his head, "No, I promised Xiaodong'er that if she could be the top student in her grade in the final exam, I would take her wherever she wanted to go. She achieved it, and she wanted to come to Beijing, so I decided to keep my promise and bring her here for a few days."

Pei Qinghua gave Xiaodong'er a thumbs up, "Oh, so Xiaodong'er is such a good student. That's impressive."

Deng Yunsong added, "Xiaodong'er, your Aunt Pei was also a very good student. She even got into one of the best universities in the country. You should learn from her and strive to do the same."

Pei Qinghua laughed, "Xiaodong'er, your Uncle Yunsong is very impressive too. He was the top student in the college entrance exam in Guangxi. You should work hard to learn from him."

Xiaodong'er nodded seriously, "Uncle Yunsong, Uncle YunTai, and Auntie, you all did very well in your studies. I will work hard to learn from you."

...

PS: Thank you to all the relatives for your monthly tickets.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end