Chapter 600: Homecoming Memories

The hardships of childhood left her cherishing those fleeting moments of family warmth, holding onto them as her most beautiful memories.

Her own parents were nothing like her uncle, aunt or any of the other relatives. Though her uncle and aunt took her in, she was always treated as an outsider. She never truly felt at home with them.

Maybe it was growing up in that cold and harsh environment that taught her to be independent from an early age.

Even after starting a relationship with Zhou Can, and despite the money he loaned her, she insisted on paying every cent back.

“If you want, we could build a house here. Every year we could come stay for a few days, let you relive that childhood happiness.” Zhou Can stepped up and gently pulled her into his arms, his voice full of tenderness.

“Let’s just leave those good memories where they are—in my heart. Even if we built a house here, it’s not like we’d ever really live here. Some memories are best left untouched, just kept deep inside. When the night gets quiet or something reminds me, I can think back every now and then.”

She shook her head softly as she spoke.

“Those persimmons aren’t ripe yet, are they even edible? Won’t they be bitter?”

Zhou Can quickly changed the subject, steering her away from dwelling on the pain of losing her parents.

“They’re edible! You can’t eat them right off the tree though, you have to soak them in water for a while first. Back then, my dad would soak green persimmons in limewater and they turned out really sweet and crisp. But honestly, I don’t know if eating them was bad for us.”

She still remembered those moments from her childhood as clearly as ever.

Some memories from childhood really do last a lifetime.

These days, a lot of parents are too busy with work to care for their kids themselves. Right after birth, they hire a nanny, and aside from providing good material and learning conditions, they hardly spend any time watching their kids grow up. That emotional distance makes it hard for children to get close to their parents later on.

Just being biologically related isn’t enough to keep that bond strong between parents and kids.

Without a real emotional foundation, family ties become fragile.

Human feelings are incredibly complex.

For the sake of a lover, or even a close friend, we’d give up almost anything. Most of the time, we trust them unconditionally. That’s the power of emotion.

Whether it’s love, friendship, or family, at the core, it all comes down to trust and closeness built on real feelings.

So just giving your child a good life after they’re born isn’t nearly enough.

The deepest kind of love isn’t about how much you spend on your child—it’s about spending time together.

“Limewater mostly contains calcium carbonate, calcium hydroxide, and water. It’s a mixture and tends to be pretty alkaline. The acid in your stomach is naturally acidic. If you only eat a few persimmons soaked in limewater, the stomach acid should neutralize it, and you probably won’t feel any discomfort. But for your health, it’s best to eat just a little, or not at all.”

Zhou Can explained her doubts from a medical point of view.

Kids have strong metabolisms, so even if they eat a bit of something harmful, their bodies get rid of it quickly.

But it’s still bad for their health. There’s always a risk.

So it’s best to avoid eating too much or just not eat it.

It’s just like how smoking is bad for you.

Most foods with toxic side effects hurt your body in ways you often can’t even see.

“If you like persimmons, we can pick some before we leave. Just soaking them in regular water should do the trick—the only thing is you’ll need to soak them longer.”

Zhou Can smiled as he said this.

“Sounds great!”

Su Qianqian loved how much her boyfriend spoiled her—it always made her feel so sweet inside.

“Come on, let’s go say hi to Uncle and Aunt! Out here, people love a good commotion, and soon everyone will be coming over to check us out.”

Su Qianqian had already noticed plenty of villagers nearby, watching her and Zhou Can from a distance.

The two of them walked toward the house.

From the looks of it, the building was only a few years old—still pretty new.

The yard was finished with a concrete slab and the place took up a lot of space.

The front door was closed. Looked like no one was home.

“Uncle and Aunt probably went out to work the fields.” Su Qianqian called out a few times in local dialect but got no response.

Only an old yellow dog, barking nonstop, peeked out from the shed full of firewood and junk.

“Should we go see if we can find them out in the fields?”

“Sure!”

Zhou Can agreed without hesitation.

Compared to Su Qianqian, Zhou Can grew up in total comfort—a city kid with everything he needed, he’d never known rural hardship.

For him, village life was fresh and fascinating.

“Who are you looking for?”

A hoarse middle-aged man’s voice called out.

They turned to see an older man, nearly sixty, coming toward them with a huge bundle of cornstalks slung over his back.

“Uncle!”

Su Qianqian called out, using the local dialect.

Zhou Can could understand enough—the dialect here sounded a lot like Sichuanese.

“Wait, are you Huniu?”

The man clearly didn’t recognize Su Qianqian at first.

“It’s me, Uncle! This is my boyfriend, Zhou Can. We both came to see you and Aunt.” Su Qianqian hurried to introduce Zhou Can.

“Hello, Uncle!”

Zhou Can pulled out a pack of cigarettes he’d bought for the occasion, tore it open, and quickly stepped forward to offer one.

In the countryside, cigarettes are practically a social tool.

It’s both a gesture of respect and a ritual of hospitality.

“You’re a good-looking kid! Come on inside and sit down. Your aunt will be back soon—she’ll cook for you guys.”

The man gave Zhou Can a once-over, then couldn’t help giving him a compliment.

Zhou Can was tall, with a bright and handsome look. Add in his millions and solid career, and he stood out wherever he went—out here in the village or even in the capital city.

The man picked up a set of keys from the windowsill, unlocked the door, and invited them in.

Inside, the furniture was incredibly old. The stools were covered in thick layers of grime. Zhou Can wasn’t the pampered type, so he sat down without fuss.

Most people wearing fancy clothes would probably hesitate, worried about stubborn stains that wouldn’t come out—even with dry cleaning.

A single stain could ruin a pricey outfit.

“Uncle, how are you and Aunt doing? How’s your health?”

Su Qianqian was visibly uncomfortable, stiff instead of relaxed, like she didn’t really belong at her own family home.

Honestly, there wasn’t a trace of her left in this house.

“Your aunt has a herniated disc. If she does too much heavy work, her back hurts. We’ve been to the county hospital a few times, but it never really helped. As for me, my blood pressure’s a little high, and I think my kidneys aren’t great—the doctor said it’s chronic nephritis. Honestly, as long as I can still move, I don’t want to bother treating it.”

Her uncle’s complexion looked dull and puffy—like he had something worse than just a minor issue.

With his medical expertise, Zhou Can could tell at a glance that this wasn’t a small problem—her uncle’s kidneys were failing.

Left unchecked, nephritis quickly leads to renal failure. When the body can’t get rid of waste and water properly, all kinds of systems start to break down. It can cause vomiting, loss of appetite, headaches, dizziness, confusion, less urination, and in serious cases, even high potassium, heart failure, or worse.

End-stage nephritis is basically uremia.

When things get to stage three, the symptoms become severe and you need dialysis just to stay alive.

Lots of rural folks don’t go to the hospital because they just can’t afford it.

They think medical treatment is too expensive.

Most older villagers also didn’t have much schooling and their thinking was pretty old-fashioned.

If you tell them not to eat this or do that, they’ll just think you’re nuts.

And people who do hard labor age quickly.

By the time they get older, it’s one illness after another.

All the strain you put on your body when you’re young comes back to collect later. The body always keeps score.

That’s where the saying comes from—what you owe in youth, you pay for in old age.

“If you’re feeling unwell, you should see a doctor! The county hospital might not be the best—you and Aunt should try the big hospital in the capital.” Su Qianqian said, glancing at Zhou Can.

Her boyfriend was a doctor—one of the most well-known at Tuyu Hospital.

But to her uncle, the county hospital was the “big hospital.”

To Zhou Can, the county hospital was just a basic facility—better than a small-town clinic, but nowhere near the level of a provincial hospital.

“There’s no point running around at our age. Your aunt and I are almost sixty already. How many years do we really have left? Spend all that money and still not get better? Might as well save what we can for your little brother.”

Her uncle shook his head, refusing even to consider it. He’d already accepted his fate.

He was quietly preparing himself for death.

That’s how almost every elderly villager thinks.

Rather die themselves than become a burden to their kids—they’d rather leave money behind for their sons.

It’s a mindset completely different from what you see in western countries.

In western societies, parents dedicate themselves to their kids until adulthood, after which they expect them to live independently.

Giving away all their possessions to their children isn’t even in the picture.

As long as parents are alive, their assets are theirs. If they want to travel or shop, they do it—it’s nothing like in China where parents help buy homes or cars for their sons, or pay for their weddings.

Abroad, that’s all on the kids.

Here, grandparents raising grandchildren is taken for granted, but overseas, leaving your grandkids with the grandparents for even two hours is tough for most to accept.

They believe it disrupts their own lives.

“What about Su Jun? Is he out working somewhere?”

Su Qianqian asked.

Clearly, Su Jun was their son.

“Your brother used to work in the cities along the coast, but with no degree, all he could do was factory or restaurant work. The pay was low and the hours were long. These past two years, he’s been working at a car wash here in the county. Since you’re home, I’ll give him a call now so we can all get together.”

Her uncle pulled out an ancient buttoned phone.

These ‘elderly phones’ have almost no features—you really can only make calls on them.

But older villagers love these things because they’re cheap, the battery lasts forever, and they’re simple to use.

For folks without much schooling, that’s exactly what they need.

At that moment, a short older woman came in, carrying a big basket and shouldering a hoe.

She had a sharp, cunning face, the kind you just knew was full of schemes.

“Aunt!”

Su Qianqian stood up right away, greeting her with a smile.

Zhou Can stood up too.

“This is the boyfriend Huniu brought home.”

Her uncle introduced Zhou Can.

“Hello, Auntie!”

Zhou Can smiled and greeted her.

“Hello! Take a seat, young man!”

Auntie looked Zhou Can up and down, her face alight with enthusiasm.

“Is that your car parked outside?”

She really didn’t hold back—first thing she asked about was the car, not how Su Qianqian had been all these years.

“I rented it. After all, Qianqian and I have been dating for a few years now, and we’re old enough. So I came to formally propose marriage.” Zhou Can answered.

Auntie’s face fell at once, all that warmth draining away.

“You rented it? That must have cost a fortune, right?”

She pressed him, eyes locked on his face.

“It was pretty expensive. Three days cost two thousand, not counting gas. Driver’s fee is another two hundred a day,” Zhou Can replied, not missing a beat.

This village aunt was hoping to catch him off guard, but she had no chance.

“Wow, that’s thousands of yuan! Why waste money like that?” She complained as though it were her own cash, even making a pained face.

“Qianqian, you’re finally home—you have to stay longer. I’ll go get a room ready for you now,” she said, turning with renewed enthusiasm.

Now her attention was all on Su Qianqian.

Her uncle called her by her childhood nickname Huniu, but Aunt called her Qianqian.

“Auntie, don’t trouble yourself. We’re planning to leave tomorrow. Both Zhou Can and I used up our vacation days for this, so we really can’t stay longer.”

Su Qianqian wasn’t about to be tricked.

Their old house had been torn down by Uncle and Aunt, and when they built the new place, they took almost all of her family’s land for themselves. There wasn’t a single sign she’d ever lived there.

Truth is, she was just an outsider.

Now Aunt was acting all warm and caring, but Qianqian wasn’t buying it.

“How can you say that? Aren’t you about to get married? Your parents died young—your uncle and I raised you because we wanted you to have a good life. You need to stay so we can get to know this boy, make sure he treats you well before letting you go. Just listen to Auntie’s plans.”

Auntie’s tone turned forceful, playing the loving elder card to keep Su Qianqian from leaving.

Zhou Can listened in amused silence.

Raised her since childhood? If he hadn’t heard the real story from Qianqian herself, maybe he’d believe it.

But since this was the official proposal, Zhou Can would go along with whatever they said—for now.

If, after the wedding, her uncle and aunt really acted like family, he’d do everything to help them get better and live comfortably.

But if all they did was scheme and try to use her for their own gain, he wouldn’t bother with them again.

He’d give them a little money, call it even, and be done.

After that, he’d make sure they never crossed paths again.

“Auntie, really, we can’t stay long. You don’t have to fuss. You’ve been working all day—why not sit and take a break?” Su Qianqian said again.