These past few days of living in isolation on the snowy mountain have made Zhuang Rui feel a little uncomfortable.
"Honey, why haven't you called back in days? Are you okay? Did you bring enough clothes?"
Qin Xuanbing initially intended to blame Zhuang Rui, but the words turned into concern. She had also been to Tibet and knew that the climate there was extremely harsh.
"Enough...enough, honey. When I go back this time, I'll bring you a little thing you've never seen before..."
Hearing Qin Xuanbing's words, Zhuang Rui felt a surge of warmth in his heart. He wished he could rush back to Beijing right now, back to his home, to enjoy the warmth of home and the care of his family.
"Chirp, chirp..."
Seemingly sensing that Zhuang Rui had mentioned him, Little Golden Feather jumped off the white lion, flapped its featherless wings, and returned to Zhuang Rui. Hearing the voice coming from the phone, it curiously circled around the phone, making childish noises.
"What's that noise?" Qin Xuanbing heard it on the other end of the phone.
Zhuang Rui patted Jin Yu's little head and laughed, "Hehe, you'll know when we get back, I won't tell you now..."
"Uh, Zhuang Rui, Mom wants to talk to you..."
Just as Qin Xuanbing was about to ask further questions, she saw that her mother-in-law seemed to want to talk to Zhuang Rui, so she quickly handed her the phone over.
"Zhuang Rui, don't you care about this family at all? Don't you care about your wife and children?"
Ouyang Wan's voice made Zhuang Rui break out in a cold sweat. His mother rarely lost her temper, but when she did, it was a thunderous rage.
"Mom, it was my fault, you're right to criticize me... But this is work, you know. The place I went to didn't even have electricity, and I haven't showered for almost a week..."
Zhuang Rui knew his mother's temper, so he first admitted his mistake and then emphasized the difficulties. He said that he was already so old, and surely she wouldn't make him write a self-criticism like she did when he was a child.
"Xiao Rui, you're going to be a father soon, you need to be more sensible. Alright, when you get back you need to apologize to Xuan Bing, she hasn't even called to check on you in so long..."
When Ouyang Wan heard that the conditions in the place her son was going to were very harsh, she immediately felt sorry for him. What she had just said was actually meant for her daughter-in-law, because she was afraid that Qin Xuanbing might harbor some resentment because Zhuang Rui was not by her side while she was pregnant.
"Of course, of course, I will go back and apologize to you with a thorn on my back..."
After hanging up his mother's phone, Zhuang Rui was covered in a cold sweat. He had always been afraid of his mother getting angry. Recalling the family affection among the Golden Eagles, Zhuang Rui's longing for home suddenly became unusually strong.
After hanging up the phone, Zhuang Rui looked at Peng Fei, who was driving, and said, "Peng Fei, call He Shuang and Ding Hao right away and tell them to fly to Chengdu. By the way, how long will it take us to get back to Chengdu from here tonight?"
"It'll probably take at least a day or two, right? This road isn't easy to travel..."
Peng Fei took a look at the electronic map and, to his surprise, the off-road vehicle that the Tibet Autonomous Region government provided for Zhuang Rui was quite good. Not only was the body reinforced with steel plates, but it also had some advanced features.
"It's going to take this long?"
Zhuang Rui had actually traveled this route before, but now that he missed his family, he felt a bit stronger. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Call He Shuang and tell them to get ready. We'll fly to Chengdu tomorrow morning, and we'll leave tonight..."
As Zhuang Rui was speaking, his phone rang again. He gestured for Peng Fei to call He Shuang, and then answered the phone himself.
"You brat, finally the machine's on! Damn it, my son's born, and you, his uncle, aren't even here? Tell me how I'm going to punish you? Is this a son or an ancestor? You won't even let me speak..."
When Ouyang Jun first spoke, his voice was very loud, but Zhuang Rui seemed to hear a reprimand. Ouyang Jun immediately lowered his voice, looking aggrieved like a little wife.
After Xu Qing gave birth, Ouyang Zhenwu knew his son wouldn't be able to take care of the baby, and he wasn't comfortable hiring a nanny, so he simply let the couple stay at Zhuang Rui's house.
Ouyang Zhenwu and Ouyang Wan are siblings, so there's no need for formalities. That's why Ouyang Jun knew that Zhuang Rui's phone could be reached.
However, this caused Ouyang Jun a lot of trouble, as the little guy would disturb Ouyang Gongzi several times every night, preventing him from getting a full night's sleep.
"Hehe, Fourth Brother, congratulations! How many days has our nephew been born? Don't worry, I'll definitely have a big gift for him when I get back, but you'll have to wait a few days..."
Zhuang Rui laughed when he heard this. He could tell that Ouyang Jun's complaints actually revealed more of a sense of happiness and contentment.
"Why do we have to wait a few days? Don't you have a private jet? You can be back tomorrow."
Ouyang Jun was somewhat puzzled. During this time, he had been staying at Zhuang Rui's house, and apart from him and Hao Long, who was guarding the door, the whole courtyard was full of old women. There wasn't even anyone to drink with, which made Ouyang Jun feel very bored.
"I'd like to go back tomorrow, but the plane is private, and the airport is public..."
Zhuang Rui told him that he was going to transfer flights in Sichuan.
After a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, Ouyang Jun's voice finally came through: "Oh, wait a minute, let me ask you if there's a military airport near Zogang..."
"Alright, there's a military airport a few dozen kilometers from Zogang. Give me the pilot's phone number, and I'll make the arrangements..."
Just two or three minutes later, Ouyang Jun called back. This guy was also getting impatient. Zhuang Rui was a man of few words but had a good drinking habit, and Ouyang Jun loved to drag him along for drinks and chats.
"Peng Fei, is that He Shuang's phone? Give it to me..."
After Zhuang Rui gave He Shuang's phone number to Ouyang Jun, he saw Peng Fei still on the phone, so he quickly took over and told He Shuang to follow Ouyang Jun's instructions before hanging up.
"Alright, go back to the guesthouse, take a shower, get some sleep, and go home tomorrow..."
These past few days in the mountains, Zhuang Rui's hair was a mess, his clothes were as dirty as a beggar's, and he was practically covered in high-altitude redness. If he went back home like this, probably very few people would recognize him.
Chapter 762 Returning Home (Part 2)
With Ouyang Jun's arrangements, Zhuang Rui didn't need to worry too much. After returning to the guesthouse in the county, he first took a shower before contacting Ouyang Jun to find out the location of the airport.
Although Ouyang Jun was unreliable in his speech, he was quite reliable in his work. He even gave Zhuang Rui the phone numbers of the airport ground staff and the people he needed to contact, so that he could go to the location to make the necessary arrangements.
It's important to know that military airfields can't be found on maps, and ordinary people can't get in; they're national military secrets.
The next morning, Zhuang Rui drove his SUV to the airport, where he was greeted by a senior colonel. After exchanging a few pleasantries, the colonel led them to the tarmac, where Zhuang Rui's Silver Eagle was already parked on the runway.
"Captain Li, thank you so much. Please contact me if you have the chance to come to Beijing in the future..."
Zhuang Rui was in a hurry to get home, so he didn't say much. After bidding farewell to the captain of the flight squadron, he boarded the plane with Bai Shi and Xue'er.
The white lion was fine, but Xue'er was clearly not used to seeing an airplane. Only after Zhuang Rui comforted her did she hesitantly board it.
As for Little Golden Feather, it was quite excited, perched on Zhuang Rui's shoulder, looking around and occasionally letting out tender chirps.
Whether it was due to the nourishing effect of Zhuang Rui's spiritual energy or not, the fledgling eagle, which would normally need more than twenty days to grow feathers, already had a few brownish-yellow feathers on its tail and back. However, overall, it still looked like a fluffy little creature.
However, Jin Yu's claws and beak were much stronger than when he first met Zhuang Rui. When it grabbed Zhuang Rui's shoulder, it could tear Zhuang Rui's clothes with just a little force, and the muscles on his shoulder could also feel the sharpness of the claws.
Fortunately, Zhuang Rui was wearing inexpensive camouflage clothing. If Qin Xuanbing had bought him those outfits, Zhuang Rui would have been heartbroken. Even if you have money, you shouldn't waste clothes that cost tens of thousands of yuan.
"Mr. Zhuang, this... we've got another Tibetan Mastiff?"
To save cabin space, Zhuang Rui did not allow Liu Li and Tian Ya to ride with him. However, the two captains, He Shuang and Ding Hao, who were standing at the cabin door to greet Zhuang Rui, were also surprised when they saw the snow mastiff.
Although Xue'er's size cannot compare with the white lion, it is much larger than an ordinary Tibetan mastiff, and its coat color is extremely pure. Zhuang Rui also gave her a bath yesterday, and she looks much better than the white lion.
As the white lion grew up, it became less cute and more fierce compared to when it was a puppy. Compared to the white lion, Xue'er's body lines were more slender and graceful, making it much cuter. If you remove the fierce nature of Tibetan Mastiffs, Xue'er is more like a pet dog.
"Hehe, Xue'er, this is your Brother He, and that's Brother Ding. Go, smell them..."
After hearing Zhuang Rui's words, the snow mastiff walked up to He Shuang and Ding Hao, sniffed them, and seemed to remember the two of them.
Zhuang Rui's words left He Shuang and Ding Hao completely bewildered. How did they suddenly have a dog sister? It's usually women who like pets; this was the first time they'd ever met a man who loved pets as much as Zhuang Rui.
Fortunately, Zhuang Rui only plays with large dogs. If he were to carry a Pekingese dog in his arms every day, the two of them would really start to wonder if Zhuang Rui had lost his mind.
Although they saw a chicken perched on Zhuang Rui's shoulder, He Shuang and Ding Hao dared not ask any more questions. They were afraid that if they said another word, they might end up with some chicken nephew.
"Chirp chirp... Chirp chirp..."
After the plane took off, Little Golden Feather became visibly excited, jumping back and forth between Zhuang Rui's body and the white lion's. The white lion and Xue'er were already familiar with the little guy and didn't mind, letting it do whatever it wanted.
"You'll be able to fly like this someday too..."
Zhuang Rui grabbed Jin Yu and made it look out the window. At this moment, a very strange idea popped into Zhuang Rui's mind. The white lion had been nourished by spiritual energy since it was a cub, and its size was three or four times larger than that of an ordinary Tibetan Mastiff.
The eaglet is the same; it has followed me since it was a baby and I have used up a lot of its spiritual energy. I wonder what it will look like when it grows up.
"Who knows, maybe people will be able to sit on the eagle's back someday..."
Deeply influenced by Jin Yong's novels, Zhuang Rui squinted and began to daydream. With the energetic little golden feather flying east and west, time flew by, and several hours later, the plane landed at the Capital Airport. ...
Hao Long drove to the airport to pick up Zhuang Rui, but Hao Long did not expect that Zhuang Rui would bring back another Tibetan Mastiff that was not much smaller than the White Lion. Even with the Grand Cherokee, there was no room for Xue'er after the White Lion was squeezed in.
Poor Peng Fei had no choice but to take a taxi home from outside the airport with the flight crew.
"Mom, wife, I'm back!" Entering the backyard from the garage, Zhuang Rui felt incredibly relieved looking at the familiar yard. Seeing his family waiting at the gate, he opened his arms and hugged them.
"Get out of here, you have no manners! Xuanbing is pregnant, she can't take this kind of abuse from you..."
Ouyang Wan pushed her son away.
"Hehe, Mom, I just missed you guys so much."
Zhuang Rui smiled and hugged his mother tightly. He didn't know why, but since returning home, Zhuang Rui's heart had been filled with joy, and he always wanted to laugh. Perhaps this was the charm of home.
"Wife, is our child behaving well?"
After letting go of his mother, Zhuang Rui went to Qin Xuanbing's side and gently hugged her.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Put your things down, let's go to the Central Court to talk. We're about to have lunch. By the way, is this the Xue'er you were talking about?"
Qin Xuanbing gave Zhuang Rui a charming sidelong glance, but her attention was immediately drawn to Xue'er behind the white lion. Xue'er, with her smooth white hair, was obviously much more popular than the white lion.
However, Xue'er was clearly not used to this unfamiliar environment. The wildness she had developed in the snow mountain had not disappeared. She stayed close to the white lion and bared her teeth at anyone who approached her.
"Xue'er, come, let's get acquainted. This is your future mistress, uh, this is the mistress's mother, who is also my mother..."
While Zhuang Rui used his spiritual energy to comb through Xue'er's body, he hugged its neck and brought it in front of Qin Xuanbing and his mother, letting them smell it one by one.
For dogs, especially Tibetan Mastiffs, only familiar scents can make them relax; otherwise, they are prone to attacking due to tension.
"White Lion, go, take Xue'er to your room to rest..."
Seeing that Xue'er seemed a little down, Zhuang Rui knew it was because she had just come from the frigid snow-capped mountains to the hot Beijing. He would be fine after a while.
In the backyard of this courtyard house, the white lion occupies a large three-room house all to himself, where the temperature is always below 16 degrees Celsius, which is not much different from the environment in which Xue'er lives.
"You brat, so you finally know how to come home? Come on, let's go see your nephew..."
The noise from the backyard startled Ouyang Jun, who rushed over and tugged at Zhuang Rui's clothes. Now that he's a father, he loves to show off his son.
"Chirp chirp... Chirp chirp..."
Perhaps feeling neglected for a long time, the little golden feather that Zhuang Rui put in the backpack couldn't help but cry out, pecking at the backpack with its sharp beak and fidgeting with its two little paws.
Helpless, Zhuang Rui could only open his backpack and put the little guy on the ground. As expected of the descendant of the King of the Sky, Jin Yu was not afraid of seeing so many people. He tilted his little head and looked at everyone one by one.
"Hey, little brother, I wronged you! Hey, not bad, you're my good brother. You even thought of buying black-boned chicken to make soup for your sister-in-law while you were out. Not bad, I'll make sure your sister-in-law praises you later..."
Ouyang Jun smiled as soon as he saw the golden feather. These past few days, Xu Qing had been in confinement after giving birth, and she wouldn't eat this or that. She was even tired of drinking chicken soup. But this black-boned chicken that his brother brought from Tibet should satisfy his wife. Even if it was just for Zhuang Rui's sake, she would probably drink a few more sips.
Actually, Ouyang Jun didn't really care how much Xu Qing ate, but nutritional supplementation was related to breastfeeding. If she ate well, she would absorb more nutrients, produce more milk, and the baby would be full.
Moreover, Comrade Ouyang Jun lacked maternal love since childhood, and now she still occasionally swallows her pride and tries to steal milk from her own son.