WRS – Chapter 86

They stayed here for two days. During those two days, He Yan brought his sister along to help Yang Yingxiong and the others. Jin Xiuzhu even went to visit the small shack they were living in now. It was tiny and shabby, but their clothes were all folded neatly and packed into several bags to keep them from getting soaked on rainy days.

Although the brothers sold clothes for a living, they barely had two decent pieces of clothing for themselves. The clean clothes hanging in the shed were already worn out. Inside, there was also a desk with a missing leg, covered with books and homework. It was clear that despite being busy, the two never neglected their studies.

Jin Xiuzhu tidied up the shed and bought them some daily necessities. By the time the kids returned in the evening, she had already cooked four homemade dishes on the stove by the door and steamed rice in a metal basin.

The rice wasn’t fully cooked yet when the group of half-grown boys came back, laughing and joking. They washed their hands and faces by the bucket at the entrance.

That night, they all gathered to eat. There were no stools, so they stood by the door to eat. But they were all cheerful. In the nearby sheds where others also lived, some even came out to greet Yang Yingxiong.

Yang Yingxiong said that everyone living here was from out of province, coming to earn money. They rented this place to save on expenses.

Jin Xiuzhu glanced around and then told Yang Yingxiong, “When you get the chance, buy yourself a home. You do have to earn money, but you should also treat yourself better.”

Yang Yingxiong was stunned, then slowly nodded.

He had never thought about buying a house for himself. To him, finishing university and earning money to send his younger brother to college was already enough. As for anything beyond that, he had never dared to think so far ahead.

But his aunt told him to treat himself better… to buy a house. He looked at the dilapidated shack he lived in and suddenly felt that owning a home really would be wonderful.

He couldn’t let his younger brother follow him around with no fixed place to live.

After the meal, He Yan and the others left. Before leaving, He Yan hugged Yang Yingxiong. “We’re leaving tomorrow morning. Mom’s taking me to my hometown to pay respects at my biological dad’s grave. When school starts, I’ll come find you again.”

Yang Yingxiong returned the hug with a smile and punched his chest lightly. “Good timing. Wei Ningqing is here too. The three of us should get together properly.”

He Yan also laughed. “Sure!”

This farewell was different from before—they would be in the same city for the next few years. If they missed each other, they could meet anytime. So there wasn’t much sadness.

After a few words, they waved goodbye.

Later that night, Yang Yingxiong felt something under his pillow—one hundred yuan and several meal coupons. He froze. Yang Chaoying also stared blankly. “Why is there money under our pillows?”

Yang Yingxiong held the money and stayed quiet for a long moment before saying, “It must be from Auntie.”

Yang Chaoying bit his lip, touched, and softly murmured, “Auntie is so nice… even nicer than Dad.”

When they came here, their father hadn’t given them a single cent—only telling them to write home more often.

Write what, exactly!

Yang Yingxiong hummed in acknowledgment. He had said before that the money he earned was enough for the two brothers, yet Auntie still secretly gave them money.

Since childhood, he had never felt much family affection from his own relatives. Only from Jin Xiuzhu did he ever feel motherly love, and He Yan also cared for him like an older brother.

Because he had never been loved, he recognized the sincerity when someone truly treated him well. He never complained about hardship. Whenever he felt he couldn’t endure anymore, he would think of He Yan and Auntie’s affection. Then everything became bearable. He silently swore to himself that once he grew up, he would repay Auntie’s kindness. He couldn’t collapse before he fulfilled that promise.

Now, looking back, it felt like things were finally starting to get better.

Thinking of this, he lifted the blanket, dug a small hole in the ground, and pulled out a metal box. Inside were layers of oiled paper. Opening them revealed scattered bills.

He knew how much there should be, but he still counted again. When Yang Chaoying saw this, he moved over obediently to help.

Holding the money, both brothers felt extremely happy.

Yang Chaoying whispered excitedly, “We can split about eight hundred this month, right?”

Then he added happily, “Plus last month’s savings, if we’re careful, we won’t have to worry about living expenses for the next four years!”

After four years, his brother would have a job, and life wouldn’t be so hard anymore.

Yang Yingxiong thought for a moment and said, “I think Auntie was right today. We can always earn living expenses bit by bit. What matters most is buying a house. If we buy a home, then we’ll finally have a place of our own.”

Yang Chaoying was stunned. “Buy a house?”

Like his brother, he had never thought about buying one. To him, as long as his brother was somewhere, that was home. But hearing his brother talking about buying a house, he felt a flutter of excitement—he also wanted a home that belonged to them.

Yang Yingxiong wasn’t someone who hesitated. Without a second thought, he said, “Let’s buy one. At the end of the month, we’ll see how much we earned. After deducting living and tuition expenses, if there’s a lot left over, we’ll buy. Houses aren’t that expensive here anyway. Then we’ll transfer our household registration. From then on, we’ll settle here. We can work during winter and summer breaks.”

Money could always be earned. But a home—they must have one.

Besides, he had a feeling that this place would become prosperous in the future. Buying a house here wouldn’t be a mistake.

Yang Chaoying always listened to his brother. Without thinking, he nodded. “Great! We’re going to have a home!”

When they lay down to sleep, neither could fall asleep for a long time. The idea of having their own house was too exciting.

In all their years, they had never truly had a home of their own.

Yang Chaoying whispered, “Brother, I want my own room.”

Yang Yingxiong chuckled and replied, “When the time comes, I’ll buy you a big bed. You can pile it with toys. We’ll put pretty posters on your walls, and you’ll get a new desk and cabinet, and a window that lets in sunlight…”

These were things he had seen in He Yan’s room, and he would recreate them for his little brother.

Yang Chaoying listened happily. “Brother, you’re the best. I like you the most. I want to stay with you forever.”

“Will you never get married?”

“Even if I get married, I still want to stay with you!”

Yang Yingxiong teased, “You’re already thinking about marriage at your age?”

Yang Chaoying puffed up angrily. “Brother! How could you say that!”

Yang Yingxiong laughed quietly. He thought to himself that having a younger brother was truly wonderful.

He hadn’t liked Zhao Yun much in the past, but now, thinking back, he was grateful she had given him such a good younger brother. His brother thought of him as support, but to him, his brother was support too.

—

The next morning, Jin Xiuzhu took the three children to J Province. That was where He Yan’s hometown was. It wasn’t too far from here—two days and one night by train, with one transfer.

After arriving in the provincial capital of J Province, the four transferred to a bus to a city, then from the city took another vehicle to the county.

He Yan had almost no memories of his hometown. Everything around him looked unfamiliar.

Their hometown was in a production team deeper in the area, and it would take another hour on foot to get there from here.

He Yan felt a bit guilty, thinking his mother and sister were suffering because of him.

But Jin Xiuzhu remained cheerful and even commented, “Different places really do develop differently.”

He Yan said, “I heard people say foreign countries are even more developed. But it’s fine. We’ll definitely catch up in the future.”

Jin Xiuzhu nodded. “Mm, your dad said the same thing. Who knows, maybe someday this place will also have proper paved roads and lots of cars, just like the cities. We should take a good look now. Otherwise, someday it might all be gone.”

He Yan knew she was comforting him. She always sensed their feelings so quickly and eased their worries in her gentle way.

Little Liuliu then asked, “Will there be small cars too?”

Jin Xiuzhu replied, “Maybe.”

Liuliu exclaimed in surprise, “Wow—!”

Fu Yanyan couldn’t help saying, “Our country was only established not long ago. Being able to develop to this point is already not easy. Now that we’re opening up, development will only get faster and faster. Just wait—future changes will be even greater than what you’re imagining.”

He Yan had always trusted his sister’s words a bit more. “How big can the change be?”

Fu Yanyan tilted her head. “I’m guessing every household will have a television, cars, and live in bright, clean, spacious houses. The streets will be full of shops—everything to eat, drink, and play will be available.”

“Really? That good?”

Fu Yanyan huffed proudly. “Probably even better than what I said.”

“How long will that take?”

“Not too long. Anyway, you’ll definitely see it in your lifetime.”

He Yan said he didn’t believe it, but inside he was secretly looking forward to it.

The group chatted along the way. Midway, they encountered a donkey cart. The mother and her three children simply paid twenty cents to hop on. When they reached He Yan’s old production brigade, He Yan finally felt a faint sense of familiarity.

He suddenly pointed to an old house. “That used to be my grandmother’s place.”

Jin Xiuzhu and Fu Yanyan looked over. The house had collapsed halfway—clearly abandoned for many years.

He Yan added, “My house is in the back. My uncle and aunt should still be living there.”

As he said this, he looked at Jin Xiuzhu.

Although he was already grown, in front of her, he still acted like a child—always needing her to make decisions for him.

“Let’s ask around first—where your dad’s grave is.”

He Yan hummed in agreement, then went straight to a house near the village entrance. It was mid-morning, so most people from the production brigade were working in the fields. Only an old man sat at the gate weaving baskets.

Seeing them enter the yard, he looked at them in confusion. “Who are you?”

The old man spoke in dialect, but He Yan understood immediately. He replied in Mandarin, “Hello, Grandpa. I’m He Weiguo’s son, He Yan. I want to ask if you know where my dad’s grave is. I’d like to pay him a visit.”

The moment the old man heard the name “He Weiguo,” he looked stunned, then suddenly reacted. “You’re Shitou’s boy? Oh my, you’ve grown so big!”

He tossed aside the basket and hurried over. When he reached He Yan, he stopped and looked him up and down. “Handsome—so tall! Much taller than your dad. Your dad was skinny and short when he was young; only after joining the army and getting fed properly did he shoot up. But you do look like him—the eyes and mouth are exactly the same.”

He Yan stood there scratching his head, grinning foolishly. “Really?”

The old man’s eyes reddened as he looked. “Child, how have you been all these years? When your dad’s comrade took you away back then, we were all happy for you.”

He Yan replied, “I’ve been really good. My parents treat me very well. This is my mom and my sister.”

Jin Xiuzhu stepped forward. “Hello, Grandpa. Our He Yan has grown up now, so we wanted to bring him here to visit his father.”

The old man wiped his eyes. “Good, good. It’s right to come back for a visit.”

He quickly added, “Let me take you there. It’s a bit far.”

He Yan glanced at the basket abandoned on the ground. “Then sorry to trouble you, Grandpa.”

“No trouble, no trouble. I’m just so happy to see you back. I even carried you when you were little.”

He locked up his yard and led the way out, muttering as they walked, “Your uncle and aunt aren’t good people. You were so little back then, and in the middle of winter they made you sleep outside. If no one had found you in time, you might’ve frozen to death. Those two are heartless. Even when people scolded them to their face, they didn’t care. Your grandma wasn’t any better—always siding with them.”

He Yan didn’t respond. He barely remembered anything the old man said—only that he had suffered a bit before meeting his adoptive father. But now, his memories of childhood were all happy ones, and he didn’t feel like he had been pitiful at all.

“Your grandma passed away a few years ago. She was bedridden and couldn’t move, and your uncle and aunt didn’t give her any food or water. She starved to death. Such retribution…”

He Yan interrupted, “Grandpa, what kind of person was my biological father?”

“Your biological—ah right, you have another father now. No wonder it sounded strange.”

He Yan chuckled.

“Your real dad was a good boy. Sensible from a young age. When he was just a kid, he helped with chores at home—cooking, washing clothes, everything. When he got older, he worked in the fields. He was a model child in the whole production brigade.”

“He was brave too. When he was just a teenager, he would lead other kids up the mountain to hunt—and they actually caught things! My boy even got two wild rabbits thanks to him…”

He Yan walked quietly, listening. The father described by the old man was a version he had never known. That vague face in his memory slowly became clearer under the man’s words.

He thought: His biological father had also been a living, breathing person—childish, impulsive, playful.

They continued toward the back mountain. Passing by He Yan’s old home, the old man asked whether he remembered it.

He Yan nodded. “I remember there used to be a peach tree by the door.”

“Yes. Your aunt saw other kids picking the peaches and got so angry she chopped the tree down.”

He Yan fell silent. He couldn’t understand such behavior. How many peaches could children eat anyway?

The front gate was closed. He Yan glanced at it once before looking away. This wasn’t his home anymore—no need to hold onto anything.

After walking for a long time, they finally reached the mound where his biological father’s grave sat. The weeds around it had clearly been trimmed.

The old man explained, “When we pass by, we’ll pull the weeds for him. Shitou was the hero of our village. We all respected him.”

He Yan stared at the inscription on the tombstone. His eyes slowly turned red. He had thought he no longer felt much for his biological father—but at this moment, he suddenly felt like crying.

He knelt before the grave, touching the name engraved on the stone. His voice trembled. “Dad, I came to see you. Dad… do you still recognize me? I’m your son, He Yan.”

“I got into university this year—military academy. I’ll be a soldier too.”

“Dad, my parents now treat me so well. So many times I’ve wondered—why wasn’t I born their biological child? Does that make me unfilial? But don’t be sad. I still love you very much. You were a great father. I’ve never regretted being your son…”

While he spoke, Jin Xiuzhu took out pastries and paper money bought that morning. She whispered, “Burn some offerings for your dad.”

“Okay.”

She then told the two younger kids to kneel and bow three times to their uncle.

Fu Yanyan and Liuliu obediently did so.

The old man watched from behind, moved. Hearing what He Yan said, he couldn’t help asking Jin Xiuzhu, shocked, “This child… got into university?”

Jin Xiuzhu smiled. “Yes. He studies very hard.”

The old man nodded repeatedly. “Good, good. You’ve worked hard.”

“Not at all. He’s our own child—we’re the lucky ones.”

The old man was speechless. He looked at Jin Xiuzhu, then at He Yan not far away. If anyone else said that, he might not believe it. But he believed this woman.

After all, he had lived long enough to see clearly: He Yan was doing well—one glance was enough to tell.

On the way back, He Yan seemed to have let go of something. He happily followed beside Jin Xiuzhu, chattering nonstop about what he told his father, saying next time he would bring Yang Yingxiong and Wei Ningqing too, since he had already mentioned them to his dad…

Jin Xiuzhu responded patiently. Liuliu chimed in, “I want to come too.”

“Come, come, everyone can come.”

When they passed by his uncle’s house, they saw people in the yard. He Yan glanced over. A woman squatted by the door picking vegetables. A man covered in mud washed his feet at the well.

Two children were there too—one doing homework, one feeding chickens.

They all looked up, openly sizing them up.

The man even greeted them. “Old Liu, who are these people?”

Old Liu, who walked beside He Yan, snapped, “Your relatives!”

The man’s face darkened. “Why are you scolding me?”

Old Liu snorted and escorted He Yan’s family all the way to the production brigade entrance. Before leaving, he said, “If you want to see your mom, go secretly. Don’t let anyone see. The man she married… he’s not a good one.”

He Yan nodded.

After Old Liu returned home, the more he thought about it, the angrier he got. After dinner, he couldn’t hold it in. He went to He Lao’er’s house and purposely shouted loudly, saying He Yan had returned today, and that he was doing incredibly well—accepted into a prestigious university.

Hearing the commotion, many curious villagers came out. Someone asked, “That child came back?”

“Of course. I took him to his father’s grave today. When we passed He Lao’er’s house, He Lao’er even asked who he was. I said he was his relative, but He Lao’er accused me of insulting him! Isn’t that funny?”

He Lao’er didn’t find it funny, but the neighbors did.

“Imagine—he didn’t recognize his own nephew!”

“Well, not surprising. The boy’s grown tall and handsome now—looks just like a city kid. Of course he couldn’t recognize him…”

Outside, laughter rose. Inside the house of four, not a single person spoke.

He Lao’er’s face was dark. His wife looked awful too. The two kids were still eating happily, but after listening for a while, the older one felt upset. “He Yan… got into university?”

He Lao’er was already furious and barked, “Why do you care whether he got in or not? You’ll just spend your life digging in the fields!”

The older child bit his lip, threw down his chopsticks, and walked out.

He Lao’er exploded. “Get back here!”

The younger one continued eating happily.

His wife snapped, “Eat, eat, eat—that’s all you do! Were you a pig in your past life?”

The younger one pouted, grabbed his bowl, and walked out too, muttering before leaving, “Having you two as parents is so unlucky.”

“You—!”

With both sons gone, He Lao’er vented his anger on his wife. “It’s all your fault! If you hadn’t bullied that kid back then, he wouldn’t have been taken away and lived such a good life!”

“You shameless man! Weren’t you the one who started bullying him? If you hadn’t led the way, how would I dare? And now you’re blaming me?”

…

Outside was lively. Inside was lively for entirely different reasons.

Jin Xiuzhu: My son will only get better and better.

Jiang Mingchuan: Of course.

He Yan: Hehehe.

Fu Yanyan: Then who do you love more—big brother or us?

Liuliu: Mom, who do you love most?

Jin Xiuzhu: Starting trouble again, are you?

Fu Yanyan: Hehehe.