NOVPUB
Chapter 478: 468
Shen Yunfang tore open the envelope, unfolded the letter, and laughed.
This was a letter from Old Li, as it began by asking about her and the children’s well-being. Thinking about it, it was definitely Old Li’s handwriting.
Of course, there were only two or three sentences concerning her and the children, and then the letter quickly got to its main point.
"Yunfang, Hongqi’s wedding has been set, and I thought I should inform you and Hongjun about it. It’s on the 25th of this month." Shen Yunfang glanced at the end of the letter, which was written on March 6, so it seemed there were less than ten days until Li Hongqi was to be married. Hmm? Shen Yunfang had an instinct that there was some trickery at play, there had to be, with the wedding being arranged so suddenly, so quickly—no one would believe there wasn’t any issue.
"The other party is a girl from the city, a good girl. For her to marry Hongqi, a village boy, is like the ancestors of the Li family burning auspicious green smoke from their graves." Shen Yunfang couldn’t help but snort when she read this part. What’s so great about city girls? She was indignant, as if they were the only ’good girls’. She remembered how she used to be quite the catch herself.
But this surely fulfilled Qiu Shuping’s wish; she had always desired a daughter-in-law from the city, and now it had come true. Hmph, Shen Yunfang just wondered how Qiu Shuping and the city daughter-in-law would get along.
"Hongqi is the youngest in our family. Once he gets married, your mother and I will consider our duties fulfilled. Your mother says the wedding must be done properly, and I thought, since he’s the last one, sure, I’ll write to you about it. There’s no other purpose to this letter, just want to ask if you have the time and could take part in your brother’s wedding. If you really can’t make it, then don’t bother coming back." Shen Yunfang took this to mean if she was busy she didn’t need to come back for the wedding.
Shen Yunfang readily agreed.
Let alone that it was right in the middle of the school term, and she couldn’t leave, even if it had been during the holidays, she wouldn’t have made the trip back just for Li Hongqi’s wedding. Li Hongqi wasn’t that important.
Besides, the last time she went back, Qiu Shuping had openly asked her for money to get Li Hongqi a house. She didn’t believe Li Hongqi’s house had been paid for yet. So there was no good to come from going back. Why should she?
"Hongjun is out on a mission and hasn’t returned, right? He also didn’t write home or send money during the Spring Festival. Your mother and I were thinking that maybe he hasn’t returned yet, or else he couldn’t have forgotten. Yunfang, Hongqi is about to get married, which is an important matter for the family. We’re a bit short on money, so could you send us the retirement funds from last year to get by? I’m afraid Hongjun hasn’t left you our address, so I’ve written it down for you at the end."
As expected, the letter was asking for money. But Shen Yunfang also remembered that every year before the Spring Festival, Li Hongjun would send a hundred yuan as retirement money to his parents back home. However, this year, as he wasn’t around, nobody had sent the money. Now they were prompting her with this letter.
And they had considerately included the detailed and accurate postal address just in case she didn’t know it.
Shen Yunfang thought about it. If she sent the money now, it would probably reach them just in time for Li Hongqi’s wedding.
But she wasn’t that generous to let Li Hongqi have his posh wedding financed by her own money, so she would send the money, but not right now.
Shen Yunfang stood up, tucked the letter in her pocket, and rode her bicycle back to school to teach her classes.
The next day at noon, she set out on her bicycle for a leisurely ride, but had little success. In most post offices, Monkey Stamps were already sold out.
Shen Yunfang thought it over; just wandering around in the Capital wouldn’t do, as she felt she wouldn’t be able to buy anything worthwhile if she kept on like this. Better to stop wandering here and try somewhere further afield on the weekend. Maybe she would have a better chance. 𝑛𝘰𝘷𝑝𝘶𝑏.𝑐𝘰𝘮
It was Friday today, and the weekend was only two days away.
On Saturday, Shen Yunfang got Ma Liguo to write her an introduction letter in advance. Nowadays, going out was mainly about showing that.
On Saturday afternoon, Shen Yunfang took a leave from two classes. She had arranged with Ma Liguo to have her kids stay at his place for two days over the weekend. After everything was settled, she went alone to the train station, bought a ticket, and headed to Tianjin.
On Sunday night, looking weary from travel, Shen Yunfang rushed to Ma Liguo’s house to pick up her children.
"Oh dear, you haven’t had dinner yet, have you? Wait for me to heat up some leftovers for you, just make do with a bite," Mu Huazhen said as she walked into the kitchen.
"Alright then, sister-in-law is always so considerate." Shen Yunfang buttered her up with a compliment and turned her head to look at her two kids clinging to her legs.
"Come tell Mommy, were you well-behaved at Uncle Ma’s house yesterday?"
"Yes," both children drew out the word in response, "We missed Mommy." Manman added on after.
"Mommy missed you, too." Shen Yunfang enveloped the children in her arms; she hadn’t gotten any sleep last night, truly missing her kids. They had grown so much, yet they’d never been away from her. This sudden separation was too much for her to bear as a mother.
"Oh my, aren’t you two exaggerating a bit? Who was that running wild with your Transcendent brother last night?" Ma Liguo teased the family of three. It was only one day apart, and it was as if they were experiencing a life-or-death farewell. "Yunfang, it’s okay, don’t worry, the kids were so obedient last night. They went to bed when told, no crying or fussing, all was good. If you have things to do, you go do them, you don’t need to worry."
"I’m done with my errands," Shen Yunfang said.
"What about it, did you manage to get that ’Monkey Stamp’?" Ma Liguo knew she had gone out to buy stamps in the nearby cities last week, but he didn’t understand why she was specifically after that monkey stamp. Did that monkey grow an extra foot or something?
Shen Yunfang shook her head. "I couldn’t find it, none of the post offices had it." That’s why she had decided not to wander around the Capital area anymore, it was a waste of time, but she also had no time to travel further away. So, she had directly sent letters to Sister Li’s family and Dashuan’s family yesterday, asking them to keep an eye out back in their hometown. She described the characteristics of the Monkey Stamp, telling them to check at the county post office whenever they could and buy some for her if available. In the letters, she specifically instructed them to buy as many as they could find. She also sent a hundred yuan with the letters for them to use for the purchases.
Of course, there’s no guarantee they would be able to find it for her, or even if they did, whether it would be the right stamp. She just had to leave it to fate.
"Why are you so set on getting that stamp?" Ma Liguo had not had the chance to ask when Yunfang left in a hurry on Saturday, now he was simply curious.
After some thought, Shen Yunfang revealed most of the truth to Ma Liguo, mainly about the uniqueness of the Monkey Stamp, why it was worth collecting, and that she was after it mainly because she saw its potential. Whether it would increase in value or not was something no one could guarantee. Of course, Yunfang, being a time-traveler, knew its worth, which was why she had thought of earning money effortlessly; an attempt that ended up fruitless.
To her surprise, Ma Liguo became interested after hearing about it. "Are you saying this was analyzed by a descendant of a master painter? Oh, that makes it quite credible. There’s a saying, ’Gold for troubled times, antiques for peaceful ones.’ Maybe it really will have the potential to appreciate in value, like your classmate said."
"What, you’re interested now?" Shen Yunfang hadn’t expected that.
"Hehe, I’m free anyway, and besides, I have some money on hand, and that Monkey Stamp isn’t expensive, so why not give it a try?" Ma Liguo chuckled mischievously.
Such a keen person, Shen Yunfang thought, he’ll probably find it hard not to get rich in the future.
"Don’t bother thinking about it, I’ve almost run through all the post offices around the Capital, none of them had it," Shen Yunfang said, genuinely not wanting to dash his hopes, but she had no choice.
"Hehe, they say cats have their own paths, and dogs have their own tricks, there’s no set stage for this kind of thing," Ma Liguo said with a sly grin.
