Leisurely Traveler with Check-in System

Chapter 110: Chapter 89: New Happenings at the Old House

Mom was listening very intently, occasionally asking some amusing questions, like: ”Are there monkeys on Huang Mountain?” ”Xiamen is actually an island, is it very hot there?” and other not-so-informative questions.

Some questions seem like common knowledge to young people, but not to someone of Mom’s age.

Li Younan wasn’t bothered at all, patiently explaining to Mom. Before he knew it, it had already gotten quite late.

Mom rubbed her eyes, yawning, ”Let’s call it a night. I have to get up early for work tomorrow. You should rest early too, son.”

Li Younan nodded. He’d been driving all day. Although his improved driving skills made him more relaxed overall, he was still a bit exhausted, given that it was a journey of over a thousand kilometers.

After washing up, he returned to his room to rest. The sheets and bedding were all freshly changed, with a faint scent of laundry detergent.

That night, he slept exceptionally well, better than any night before.

When he woke up, it wasn’t too late; Mom was still outside preparing breakfast.

While eating, Li Younan casually asked about his grandparents in the countryside.

That question seemed to trouble Mom. She set down the noodles she cooked for breakfast, sighing softly.

”I went to visit them a couple of days ago. Recently, their township government is renovating the water system. They plan to connect pipes directly to your grandparents’ house. Currently, it hasn’t reached their home yet. You know, your grandparents’ house is quite remote. But now the water is turned off, and they have to carry a bucket to fetch water from a few hundred meters away.”

Pausing, Mom said, ”It shouldn’t last much longer, probably just a matter of days. But even after that, the pipe connection is another hassle; the faucet can only reach the courtyard area.” Mom sighed softly, ”I think it would be best if we could get the pipe into the kitchen, but the township government won’t help with that; we’ll have to find someone ourselves.”

Li Younan furrowed his brow, for he knew his grandparents’ house well. To be honest, as a child, he really didn’t like going to his grandparents’ house, partly because it was so backward there.

Because the house was built quite early, there’s no sewage system, still using the old pit toilet, smelly and only one tap in the yard for water. To use water, they have to fetch it with a bucket from outside in the courtyard.

When grandparents were younger, it was manageable, but at their age, it’s really unnecessary to live like this anymore.

Li Younan took a couple of mouthfuls of noodles and said, ”Mom, I’ll take you to work later, and then I’ll drive to visit Grandpa and Grandma.”

Mom looked up, a bit puzzled: ”Are you going to help with things at your grandparents’ place?”

Li Younan smiled: ”I don’t have much going on anyway, so I’ll go over there, help Grandpa and Grandma with the pipe situation, and see if we can renovate their old house a bit.”

Mom thought for a bit: ”But weren’t you planning to go traveling?”

Li Younan shook his head: ”Traveling can wait. I’ve been meaning to renovate Grandpa and Grandma’s house for a while. I have to finish this before I set off again!”

He waved his phone: ”I could even make a video of it.”

Of course, Li Younan wasn’t expecting the video to achieve any kind of effect; simply recording it would be nice.

”Huh?” Mom blinked and nodded.

There’s a saying: nobody’s perfect. Even someone as gentle, beautiful, and intelligent as Mom has her flaws.

Mom’s biggest flaw is her lack of decisiveness with major issues. When she does things, keeping herself happy is the most important, and her mindset is relaxed; she’s often in a state of non-competition.

But when it comes to things like Grandpa’s house, she’s indecisive. Sometimes, she gets a bit frustrated because of it.

After Li Younan said this, Mom didn’t think too much and happily agreed: ”Alright then, do what you think is best!”

...

It was also Mom’s first time seeing Li Younan’s car. Although he’d shown her via video and calls, it’s still different seeing it in real life.

Mom doesn’t know much about cars, but she could tell this one’s nice, smiling widely: ”My son is great!”

Li Younan opened the car door for Mom, and she got in.

This was the first time Li Younan was taking his mom to work, and he felt an indescribable sense of fulfillment.

Driving for a while, he suddenly realized that Mom is still quite young; she’s only 46 this year and has many years before retiring.

Along the way, they casually chatted about changes in the county over the years, like which buildings were torn down and which roads were repaved. The small county has new changes every year; Mom eagerly explained it all to Li Younan.

Li Younan’s mom works at the county’s rural commercial bank, which used to be a credit union, now a local commercial bank.

These days, Mom no longer works in the business department, and the job intensity isn’t so high. Thanks to many years of financial experience, she works very efficiently, so unless it’s year-end settlement time, she can leave work on time.