Chapter 196: Returning from the Hometown

“You handle it.”

Xu Shaochen frowned and waved his hand dismissively at Liu Wenbiao as he looked at Xu Youwei and Xu Tiezhui, who were kneeling before him.

He felt an inexplicable irritability. This wasn’t a big village, and the officials were small-time, all with the same surname. Yet, Xu Youwei could still pull off such a despicable act.

He thought yesterday’s lesson would be enough, but he didn’t expect these two idiots to hold a grudge and seek revenge.

“Alright, then I won’t disturb you.”

Liu Wenbiao nodded and bowed, then gave Xu Youwei and Xu Tiezhui a sinister smile before signaling with his eyes to his subordinates.

“Village Chief Xu, take your son and let’s go talk outside. Don’t disturb Mr. Xu.”

A few of Liu Wenbiao’s men surrounded Xu Youwei and Xu Tiezhui, smiling at them, but there was a fierce glint in their eyes.

Damn, these two need to be taught a lesson. They almost dragged everyone into a mess today.

“No! No, Shaochen, Shaochen, I was wrong. I really was wrong!”

Xu Youwei and Xu Tiezhui’s faces turned pale with fear, and they yelled in utter despair.

If they followed Liu Wenbiao and his men, no matter what, they were sure to receive a violent beating.

Xu Shaochen didn’t spare them another glance and walked straight toward the main house, saying as he walked, “Grab the things. We’re going to pay respects at Uncle and Aunt’s graves first, then we’ll visit my father’s grave.”

“I’ll go cook the meat.” Song Xinran nodded and headed into the kitchen.

This was a local custom for Xu Shaochen’s area. When visiting graves, people would always bring a piece of cooked pork belly as an offering.

Soon, everything was prepared. Long Yi and Long Er held the fire paper and firecrackers, Xu Shaochen carried the liquor, and Song Xinran held the cooked meat.

Song Xinran’s parents’ graves were closer, so after paying respects there, they headed to Xu Shaochen’s father’s grave.

Xu Shaochen’s father was buried on the edge of their family’s field, as he had requested. He said he had spent his whole life digging up food from the soil, so even in death, he wanted to keep watch over his family’s land.

Standing in front of the grave, Xu Shaochen laid out the offerings and then poured a cup of liquor in front of the grave.

“Dad, I’m here to see you. Rest assured, Mom’s surgery was a success…”

As he burned the paper offerings, Xu Shaochen mumbled on and on. When his father was alive, Xu Shaochen never had much to say, even during Phone calls. It was always the same few words. But now, it seemed like he couldn’t stop talking.

Long Yi and Long Er had already lit the firecrackers in the recently harvested field.

The crackling sound of the firecrackers echoed through the valley, lasting for more than ten minutes, ringing out loudly.

The villagers who heard the firecrackers couldn’t help but sigh with emotion.

“Old Xu’s son really made it big. Just look at how many firecrackers that must have been!”

“Yeah, during the New Year, our village probably can’t light up that many.”

“He raised a good son. Look at my wastrel of a kid. I should’ve shot him against the wall back then…”

Everyone’s conversations were full of envy. After all, who wouldn’t want their son to be successful?

After finishing at the graves, Xu Shaochen cleaned up the house, putting all the furniture back in its original place.

He knew that given his mother’s temperament, she certainly wouldn’t want to stay in the city for long after being discharged from the hospital. She would definitely return to their hometown.

The older generation was like that. They were attached to their home village. They weren’t used to city life; there were no acquaintances, and it was inconvenient. So they wouldn’t stay in the city for long.

After taking care of everything, Xu Shaochen gave some final instructions regarding the road construction, then left for Jiangzhou.

The villagers of Xu Family Village followed Xu Shaochen’s car for several hundred meters outside the village. After all, Xu Shaochen was funding the road construction, which would benefit the villagers.

Once the road was built, the lives of the villagers would improve dramatically. It would be easier for the children to go to school, and they wouldn’t have to worry about the landslides and cliff falls that occurred on the old dirt road.

There was actually one thing the villagers hadn’t told Xu Shaochen. They had secretly agreed to name the road after him.

They wanted the descendants of Xu Family Village and the nearby impoverished villages to remember who built the road and gave them endless possibilities for a better life.

………

When Xu Shaochen reached Haiwen County, he stopped by Wan Liang’s place for a meal.

He quietly left behind ten thousand yuan while they weren’t paying attention and sent a text message afterward, saying it was to cover the balance of the bride price.

He knew that if he gave it to them directly, they wouldn’t accept it. So, he decided to do it this way.

He knew that Wan Liang and Luo Juan’s family conditions weren’t great, and running a restaurant in the county surely meant they had debts.

If he gave too much, it would come off as charity. Ten thousand yuan, however, was not too much nor too little. It was just the right amount to be considered a friend’s help and good intention.

When Wan Liang and Luo Juan received the message and saw the ten thousand yuan, they were left speechless.

“That guy… really, he must have more money than he knows what to do with.” Wan Liang said after a moment of silence, half-joking but with a clenched fist under the table.

Xu Shaochen wasn’t the first friend to visit their restaurant, but he was the first to insist on covering the bride price.

If Xu Shaochen had given fifty thousand or one hundred and fifty thousand, Wan Liang would have moved heaven and earth to return the money to him in Jiangzhou, as that amount would have surpassed the bounds of friendship.

But Xu Shaochen gave ten thousand, just enough for him to accept it with peace of mind and remember this act of kindness.

“Stop here, I need to use the restroom.”

As soon as he entered the city, Xu Shaochen couldn’t wait to say it.

The three to four-hour drive from Haiwen to Jiangzhou almost made him burst.

“Boss, we need to go too.”

Long Yi and Long Er said in unison. They were also feeling the pressure.

But since their boss wasn’t saying anything, they didn’t dare ask to stop the car just to use the restroom.

“Sister Xinran, want to join? My treat.” Xu Shaochen grinned at Song Xinran.

Song Xinran rolled her eyes and blushed, scolding, “Get lost.”

Who invites someone to the restroom, especially a woman? That was blatantly teasing.

She had planned to give herself to Xu Shaochen after they left the hometown, but this scoundrel took her in their hometown instead.

Although their trip to the hometown resulted in her losing her virginity to Xu Shaochen, she still felt embarrassed that he was joking like this in front of Long Yi and Long Er.

Xu Shaochen chuckled and waved at Long Yi and Long Er. “Come on, let’s go together.”

As Song Xinran sat in the car playing with her Phone, she suddenly heard someone knock on the car window.

“Knock, knock, knock…”

“Hello, can I help you with something?”

Song Xinran rolled down the window and asked the middle-aged man standing outside, looking puzzled.