CHAPTER 528: CHAPTER 359: NEAR AND FAR

It was the second night watch.

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In that era, telephones were rare, so communicating with immediate effect as in later times was impossible. Thus, Lin Baohe and Zhao Yulan’s sudden decision to return to the village early couldn’t be relayed to anyone in time.

Throughout the journey, the couple was very excited. Not only were they thrilled to see the familiar homeland, but they were also excited about the surprise they would bring to their relatives.

Luo Xiaoqiong was equally thrilled. After the car entered the Red Flag Commune, she couldn’t take her eyes off the car window—Chuxia had managed to bring Xiaoqiong and her fiance back legitimately.

Comparatively, Chuxia was much calmer.

Firstly, she didn’t have a deep emotional attachment to Dalin Village, and secondly, sending her parents home meant she wouldn’t see them for a while, which certainly wasn’t a happy matter.

Therefore, her mood contrasted sharply with her parents’ and Luo Xiaoqiong’s along the way. However, she also realized that no matter how good it was outside, it wasn’t comparable to Dalin Village for her parents. Here, they could feel their roots.

This made her conflicted. Should she have her parents stay with her, or should they live among the people they knew?

Jing Zhe watched her through the rearview mirror, but with so many people around, it wasn’t appropriate for him to say anything. His eyes, therefore, carried a hint of concern.

His feelings for Chuxia had evolved to something akin to those for a sister, yet somehow even more intimate.

Zeng Meili had jokingly asked him once, if she and Chuxia were both in danger, who would he save first. After serious consideration, he had honestly responded that he would save Chuxia.

He clearly told Zeng Meili that although he had romantic feelings for her, they had not reached a point of inseparability. In his heart, Chuxia occupied a position similar to his sister Jing Yi’s, but as Chuxia was the younger sister, he naturally cherished her a bit more.

After his answer, disappointment was evident in Zeng Meili’s eyes, but then she smiled resignedly and said she had anticipated this response. The reason she had asked was to see how long it would take before she could occupy a place in his heart closer than family.

Knowing she was giving him an out, he felt somewhat guilty then. Having such a magnanimous girl like him was his fortune.

He would transform his feelings for Chuxia into pure familial love. At the moment, he was concerned about her because Zhou Mikang wasn’t there, and she was exposed to more dangers than Zeng Meili. Once Zhou Mikang returned, he naturally wouldn’t meddle too much anymore. A brother is just a brother, and some matters needed a husband’s attention.

He hadn’t failed to notice the car following them. He knew that if he asked, Jiang Qi and Ma Chao would immediately take over his role. However, he was reluctant to give up this time to help and care for her.

So, let them follow.

Zhao Yulan and Lin Baohe had noticed their daughter’s gloominess, but at that moment, they knew that any comfort would be hollow.

Partings are always melancholic. They could only appear happier themselves, so their daughter could let go more easily...

As always, they first visited Xiaolin Village.

"You... you..." Old Master Zhao and Old Lady Zhao were so excited to see the unexpected arrival of the group that they were almost lost for words.

"Father, Mother, we’re back. Are Big Brother and Sister-in-law at home?"

"Grandma, Grandpa, we’re back. Did you miss us?"

"Grandpa, Grandma, how are you both feeling?"

"Grandma, Grandpa, do you still recognize me?"

Lin Baohe, Zhao Yulan, Chuxia, Xiaoqiong, and Jing Zhe stood by the kang, greeting the old couple eagerly, which finally calmed them down. Old Lady Zhao hurried to get off the kang to boil water, but Zhao Yulan stopped her, "Mother, I’ll do it. Let Baohe and the children keep you and Father company."

"Aunt Yulan, let me do it." As Zhao’s family’s future daughter-in-law, Luo Xiaoqiong blushed while she vied with Zhao Yulan for the task. Zhao Yulan pushed her gently with a smile, "Alright, none of us is an outsider here. You don’t have to act so capable. If we let you start the fire, when would we ever get to drink that water?"

"Yulan, how can you talk about the child like that?" Old Lady Zhao glared at her daughter and beckoned to Luo Xiaoqiong, "Xiao Qiong, come here, come sit with grandma."

"Stop being coy, you were never the coy type. Pretending like this, it’s too much for someone to take." Chuxia pushed the blushing Luo Xiaoqiong over to the old lady, continuing to tease, "Gran, don’t let her fool you, remember? You’ve seen her acting all crazy before; she couldn’t fool you even if she wanted to."

"She’s married into a family now, and still she speaks with no mercy," Old Lady Zhao affectionately tapped her granddaughter’s forehead and looked her over carefully, a satisfied nod following, "Good, you’ve put on some weight since we left, and your complexion has improved too, even your hair looks better, mmm, this marriage turned out well, taking good care of our Xia. By the way, where’s Xiaomi? Why isn’t he here?"

"Yeah, where is Xiaomi?" Old Master Zhao also inquired, "I was looking forward to him coming back and having a drink with me, how come there’s no sign of him?"

"He’s out on a mission and won’t be back for a while, so Big Brother Jing drove us back here." Chuxia said and pulled Jing Zhe to the front, "Gran, grandpa, you remember Big Brother Jing, right?"

"This child, why do you have to say something so disheartening," Old Master Zhao expressed helplessly, "I’ve been calling Xiaozhe for a while now, didn’t you hear? And you still ask if I recognize him."

"Indeed, I was just talking to Xiao Zhe not too long ago, this child..." Old Lady Zhao glanced down at her granddaughter’s belly while speaking, "Xia, don’t you have some good news to tell Gran?"

"What good news?" Chuxia blinked her eyes, "Yes, yes, yes, my in-laws have been vindicated, the Zhou family is now even better off than before."

Old Lady Zhao’s face shifted from surprise to resignation, "Aren’t you happy after hearing about this?" Chuxia asked, puzzled.

"Happy, of course, but your parents wrote to us about this a while ago, and it’s even spread outside, I was hoping to hear about some other good news."

"It spread outside?" Chuxia looked confused, "How could that be, who would spread such good news back here?" She had been worrying about people doubting the Zhou family, taking what the grandparents and others said as merely adding glory to her family’s name, and thus probably wouldn’t be believed, so she had been thinking about how to prevent her parents from being upset.

Old Lady Zhao shook her head, "I don’t know who spread it, but everyone in the village came to congratulate us, and that’s how we found out it had spread."

"Zhou Mikang was behind this." Jing Zhe interjected, "He was worried about this before and had asked someone here to spread the news early. Some things are not that hard to get out into the open if you want to."

"You were involved too," Chuxia looked at him and asked assertively.

"Grandfather has some students here too; I made a little use of them," Jing Zhe smiled sheepishly, "I couldn’t just stand by and watch my godfather and godmother get mistreated, could I?"

Old Master Zhao and Old Lady Zhao both understood Jing Zhe’s intentions and although they were very grateful to him, they didn’t know quite what to say, so they just joined in with an awkward chuckle.

Seeing Jing Zhe feeling uncomfortable, Lin Baohe quickly said, "Xiao Zhe, your godfather and godmother won’t stand on ceremony with you, after all, you’re Xia’s brother. The one thing your godmother and I regret the most is not giving her a sibling to grow up with. Fortunately, she’s blessed with having a protective brother like you, so we can rest assured."

Jing Zhe looked at him appreciatively, saying, "I love Chuxia like my own sister, and besides, with Zhou Mikang not here, it’s only right that I help my sister out more."

"Our Xia really is a blessed child," Old Lady Zhao said, and sensing that she may have been neglecting her future granddaughter-in-law, she quickly pulled Luo Xiaoqiong into her arms, "Our Qiliang is lucky too, getting such a good wife secured for us. I can finally feel at ease in my heart."

Zhao Yulan came in after boiling water, made tea, and the family settled on the kang to chat. They shared stories of what had happened since they had last parted. As the sun was about to set, Zhao Yushan, Li Aiyuan, and Zhao Qihui came back from work and were overjoyed to see such a big crowd.

"Let’s make dumplings tonight, just right, we killed a piece of pork today and have yet to touch it." After greeting everyone, Li Aiyuan was eager to prepare the food, but Zhao Yulan quickly stopped her, "Sister-in-law, we were just waiting for you and big brother to come home to say hello before we left. We don’t know if the house has been cleared out yet—we originally planned to come back in a couple of days. Coming back suddenly like this, we don’t even know if the people have moved out yet.

But, fortunately, the house has many rooms; we calculated, even if the old couple hasn’t moved out yet, there are still three rooms available to live in. If it really can’t fit everyone, we can also stay at Gangshun’s family.

But, no matter what, we have to go back beforehand and take a look, tidy up a bit. It’ll be inconvenient if it’s all dark and we can’t see anything when we get there. And if the old couple has already gone to bed, it’ll be even more troublesome."

Zhao Yulan spoke sensibly, and Li Aiyuan no longer insisted on keeping her, saying, "Yulan, I won’t beat around the bush with you, tomorrow you can come back, and we’ll all have a good meal together, alright?"

"Sure, we’ll all come over tomorrow, Xia and Xiao Qiong have taken three days off. We’ll stay for one day tomorrow, and the day after that we have to leave. Tomorrow we’ll come for lunch, visit her aunt’s house, and come back in the evening. The day after tomorrow they leave early in the morning. Does that work for you?"

"Yulan, your parents have raised you well. You know who to be close with..." Li Aiyuan smiled looking at the old couple, "Dad, Mom, Yulan misses you so much, you must be very proud, aren’t you?"

Zhao Yushan glowered at his wife, "You, as the big sister-in-law, talking like this in front of your brother-in-law, aren’t you afraid he’ll hold a grudge?"

Lin Baohe quickly said, "Big brother, I don’t hold grudges, what big sister-in-law said is true. I too feel closer to my in-laws. Yulan is expressing what I’m thinking as well." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with your recommendations and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)