Li Jianguo came back the next morning.
"There was a train passing through our hometown around midnight yesterday. I bought tickets and saw Dad, Mom, and that girl onto it." Li Jianguo spoke to Li Long as he ate breakfast in the courtyard. "When we got to Wu City yesterday, she tried to run away again. I caught her and brought her back. Even Public Security got involved. Luckily, once they'd asked what was going on, they left us alone."
Li Long hadn't expected that complication. He was also a little surprised that Public Security hadn't intervened. Normally, when someone was being "forced" to go home, they ought to step in. Of course, it was best that they hadn't. If they had, things would have become troublesome.
"Did you tell Dad to send a telegram once they got home?"
"I did," Li Jianguo said. "Dad said he'd take the girl home and explain everything, and that would be that. From what he said, if there's nothing much going on back home, he wants to come out here again. I told him he'd better bring Mom along if he does. The winters back home are too cold. They don't light a stove, and the house is drafty..."
Li Long nodded eagerly. He couldn't have agreed more.
In any case, he didn't want to go back there in winter.
After breakfast, Li Jianguo harnessed the horse to the cart and prepared to head back. Li Long figured he ought to return too. There was nothing much to do here. He might as well go back, sell the Cynomorium, and catch fish for a few more days. Autumn was a quiet spell, with no major jobs to do.
When the brothers returned to the Production Team, Li Long found the empty courtyard a