Chapter 123: Watch the Movies

Chapter 123

Su Simei knew her cousin was coming today, so she got up early to wait for him.

Today was Saturday. She had wanted to ask for leave, but the person who had been covering her shift had something going on today, so she had to help out and keep working. Saturdays were a little more relaxed though, so she could slip away for a bit if needed.

Xiao Qi's family got off the car. Normally they would take the bus to go visit Auntie at the hospital.

But Xiao Qi's mother very rarely took the bus. By the time they got to Huanghe Town her face was as white as paper, and by the time they arrived in Lvshan City and got off, she had thrown up so much even her legs were weak, having emptied out not just that morning's breakfast, but probably last night's dinner too. It was quite a sorry sight.

The driver Da Yong was used to sights like this. Villagers rarely came into the city, and the few times they did, something like this usually happened. He pulled over by those few trees, which were more lush than trees elsewhere, fertilized by too many incidents like this.

And so the family of three had to walk the rest of the way to Auntie's hospital.

Luckily Xiao Qi was used to walking now, and didn't find it tiring. She even took some of the things her mother was carrying.

She wanted to take some of the things her father was carrying too, but Su Youfu quickly refused. It wouldn't look right for the child to be carrying things while the parents walked empty handed.

After walking for a while, Sheng Juanhua's complexion gradually regained some color, though her feet still felt a little unsteady.

She rarely came into the city, and looking at the high rises and big buildings, she found it all dazzling.

"Lvshan City has changed so much. I remember there weren't any tall buildings here that year I came."

"It's changed even more over that way, with a new movie theater and shopping mall built." Su Youfu said.

"We can go watch a movie together." Xiao Qi suggested. Her parents probably hadn't seen a big screen before. Alll latest novels at novelhall.com

She thought to herself, they really were from two different worlds. Teacher Zhou had taken her to see a concert, with a bunch of foreigners playing and singing.

Meanwhile her parents had barely even seen a movie on a screen this size.

Sure enough, her dad said, "I heard a ticket costs several dozen yuan. Let's not waste money, watching on TV is the same."

"You're right, it's probably about the same as TV, a waste of money." Sheng Juanhua chimed in agreement.

The family of three walked quickly, and it felt like no time at all before they arrived at the hospital.

Su Youfu and his wife had come together, also wanting to thank Su Simei in person. After all, their daughter had been trouble for her auntie for so long.

Seeing her aunt and uncle come laden with so many things, Su Simei smiled warmly, "You don't have to bring so much every time, I can't finish it all."

The combo meal of cola and popcorn cost over seventy yuan. If she had bought it her parents probably wouldn't have said anything, but she knew their hearts would ache, and her dad would be up late weaving bamboo ware again.

Sheng Juanhua and Su Youfu sat together, with Xiao Qi next to her mother.

The seats were very soft, sinking down as you sat. There was air conditioning inside too, nice and cool.

After the ads, the theater lights suddenly switched off, pitch black.

Xiao Qi reminded her parents to put on their glasses, and put on her own pair too.

The movie started, and a zombie suddenly lunged straight at them, seeming to run right up to their seats. Even Xiao Qi jumped in fright.

Sheng Juanhua was even more terrified, one hand clutching her husband and the other grabbing her daughter's arm.

Then the zombie's head abruptly exploded from a gunshot.

The bullet seemed to be flying straight at them too.

Xiao Qi tried her best to seem worldly, but was also badly startled.

She instinctively clutched her mother's arm tightly too.

Once the movie properly began, whether they had adapted to the 3D effects, or the 3D wasn't as intense after the start, in any case it wasn't as thrilling as the beginning. But watching the big screen was still very different than watching TV.

Xiao Qi had crammed to brush up her English over the holidays, so she was very familiar with the English dialogue and watched with great interest.

Meanwhile Sheng Juanhua and Su Youfu couldn't understand a word, only able to read the Chinese subtitles. But even reading the subtitles was tiring, so they just watched the visuals.

The couple was practically trying foreign food for the first time. Although they didn't really understand it, they watched very attentively, thinking they could talk about the experience of watching a movie when they got back to the village.

The pacing of the movie was decent, but the plot was muddled, never making clear by the end whether the zombies were all dead or not, if humanity was victorious or faced destruction.

The credits rolled on screen as the theater lights turned back on. Only then did Sheng Juanhua and Su Youfu take off their glasses, still a bit dizzy.

Xiao Qi wasn't much better off, just slightly more so. Seeing her parents walking unsteadily, she regretted not picking a better movie herself. She should have chosen a Chinese film, even if it was terribly bad. At least her parents could have understood it more clearly. She hadn't even really understood this one herself.

But when she saw her parents walking out hand in hand, so intimate, as Xiao Qi stood waiting at the theater entrance, she felt truly happy in that moment.

The family of three together, all was well.