"...You're leaving too?"
Sister Liu clasped Miss Ren's hand tightly, reluctant to part.
Zi Ling's Mother said helplessly, "We've already delayed for two days. The roads are clear now, and if we don't go back, it won't look good with the company."
"That's true... Work comes first." Sister Liu nodded. "Don't leave so soon. I'll get you some local specialties, all dried goods from our own home... Wait for me!"
"All right, all right. Give me plenty of cured fish, cured meat, cured duck, and whatever else you've got." Zi Ling laughed. "There's a pig-like guy at home. A little won't be enough to feed him."
The last-minute tug-of-war rural aunties usually engaged in before parting clearly wouldn't happen to her.
Soon, Sister Liu returned with a large bag stuffed full of dried goods.
"You're not going to say goodbye to the Dean before you leave?"
"I already did. She said she wasn't coming down—she couldn't walk." Zi Ling's Mother shook her head.
Sister Liu rolled her eyes. "Someone her age who can still pedal a tricycle says she can't come down? I think her face can't come down... Forget it. Never mind her. Remember to come back and visit often!"
"I know." Zi Ling's Mother replied softly.
"I heard you're going back to Kirin City?"
Captain Gao Liang appeared outside the Welfare Institute... Quite a few people had been involved in the operation to search the mountains for Wu Jiabang, so they needed to set up a temporary command center. They had therefore borrowed a vacant lot outside the Welfare Institute.
They used tents from a standard set, and the camp was soon erected.
"Yes. We were supposed to leave earlier, but we've already been delayed for two or three days." Luo Qiu nodded.
"Captain Gao, you're here