Chapter 276 (Second Update): Different Paths, Same Destination...

Having completed his task, the friend who had given up his post realized that staying any longer would only interfere with others catching up, so he prepared to leave early.

Fu Ci wanted to invite him to lunch, but the other party smiled and declined, saying in broken Mandarin, "Let's have lunch together next time. You guys catch up first this time. I have to go to the factory for something."

Since the factory had matters to attend to, I won't insist on accepting your offer, and I once again expressed my gratitude.

"Thank you so much this time. Without your help, our two families would not have been able to meet again so smoothly."

"You're too kind. I've troubled you quite a bit in the past."

Fu Ci escorted the man to the door and watched him get into a taxi before returning to his grandmother's side.

He asked his grandmother and Grandpa Shen with a smile, "Why don't we go to the hotel to rest first?"

Old Master Shen understood that Fu Ci was going to make the arrangements, and quickly said, "We will arrange the hotel ourselves, you don't need to worry about it."

Shen Jian also said, "Yes, I've been to Shenzhen twice, so I'm not completely unfamiliar with it."

“How can this be?” Madam Fu firmly disagreed. “Besides, Aci and Mingli have already booked a hotel.”

Tang Mingli then spoke up, smiling, "Yes, I, Aci, have already booked the hotel in advance. This time you're in Shenzhen, just follow our arrangements. Next year, when Hong Kong returns to China, we'll follow your arrangements when we go to Hong Kong, okay?"

Old Master Shen was pleased to hear this and was very happy.

“Great! When Hong Kong returns to China, you can come to Hong Kong and see this land that originally belonged to us.”

Tang Mingli nodded, "I'll definitely go. Grandma has been looking forward to going."

Since that's the case, Grandpa Shen stopped insisting and followed Fu Ci and Tang Mingli's arrangements. He even said to Madam Fu, "Your granddaughter-in-law is quite the talker. Even someone as stubborn as me was persuaded by her in just a few words."

Shen Jian can attest to this: "Grandpa can be really stubborn sometimes. For example, regarding the issue of living in a nursing home, we all told him not to live there and to live with us, but he preferred to."

Upon hearing this, Old Master Shen snorted coldly.

"If I were to live with you, wouldn't I have to go to Canada? I won't go. I will never leave Chinese soil in my entire life."

These words made the Fu family realize that Mr. Shen's descendants might no longer be living in Hong Kong.

Although it's hard to swallow, you can't say there's anything wrong with this choice. After all, they were born and raised in Hong Kong, so their perspectives are bound to be different from those who have always lived on the mainland.

As more and more people entered and exited the country, Fu Ci suggested that they go to a bar first.

If you get tired, you can relax for a while after checking in.

Mr. Shen immediately said he wasn't tired, "Going back to Hong Kong is just a short walk away."

However, the thought that it took ninety-nine years to walk these two steps filled me with sadness.

Madam Fu knew his temperament; he was exactly like her husband in this respect. She comforted him, saying, "Don't dwell on the past anymore. Hong Kong will be returned to China next year. In the future, our Chinese land will never again be forced to be leased to other countries."

Grandpa Shen hummed in agreement, feeling somewhat relieved upon realizing this.

"Let's get in the car first, go to the hotel, check in, and then see what happens. The customs officers have been watching us the whole time we've been standing here."

Madam Fu made the final decision.

The group followed Fu Ci to the parking lot.

Fu Ci bought a new minivan at the end of last year, which can seat eight people.

As soon as Grandpa Shen saw the car, he knew that the Fu family was doing well.

Let alone mainland China, even in Hong Kong or Taiwan, those who can afford to drive a commercial vehicle are not ordinary people.

He was very pleased that Fu Zhenhua's descendants were so outstanding.

Along the way, looking at the city outside the car window, Mr. Shen became more and more excited.

“The changes are really great. Back then, when I took a boat from Shanghai to Hong Kong and passed through Shenzhen Harbor, this place was just a small fishing village.”

Madam Fu told him, "Isn't this because of the reform and opening up? Now it's a special economic zone."

"In less than twenty years since the reform and opening up, the changes have been tremendous. Look at those skyscrapers, how tall they are!"

Madam Fu found it amazing and laughed at him, "Aci has been to Hong Kong a few times and has told us about its prosperity. Doesn't Hong Kong have even more skyscrapers? Why are you so surprised to see these buildings?"

"How can they be the same? They're not the same."

"How are they different?" Old Madam Fu asked, puzzled. "Aren't they all buildings made of reinforced concrete?"

"It's different, it's very different." Old Master Shen couldn't express himself.

No matter how prosperous Hong Kong is, it was under British rule. Shenzhen's prosperity, on the other hand, was built up bit by bit by the Chinese people, including their taxes.

no the same.

How could they be the same?

Upon arriving at the hotel and completing the check-in procedures, Mr. Shen declined the Fu family's offer to let him rest, saying that he could go without sleep for several days and nights without any problem.

Even Shen Jian, the grandson, couldn't stand this exaggerated statement and immediately exposed him: "Grandpa, do you want to do the same thing as last year again?"

Madam Fu asked with a smile, "How was last year?"

"Last Mid-Autumn Festival, I don't know why, I said I wanted to admire the moon and didn't sleep all night. As a result, I fell ill the next day."

Shen Jian didn't know, but Old Madam Fu understood why.

Perhaps she's longing for her hometown while gazing at the moon.

As people get older, they miss their hometown more and more.

She sighed softly, but didn't say anything.

Since they weren't going to rest, the group decided to arrive at the lunch spot early.

Although it's a bit early to have lunch at this time, it's already past the restaurant's opening hours.

Fu Ci had reserved a large private room, which was spacious, quiet, and very convenient for chatting.

After ordering, it seemed like nothing else could bother us, and we could concentrate on chatting.

Mr. Shen gave a brief account of his experiences after moving from Shanghai to Hong Kong.

When I first arrived in Hong Kong, life was really tough. For the first few months, I survived entirely by selling my labor.

Fortunately, he was smart enough to find another way after working for a few months and got a job as a salesperson at a candy factory.

It was at this candy factory that he met his future wife, and the two quickly married and had two sons and a daughter.

Shen Jian was the son of his eldest son.

Madam Fu was very happy for him after hearing this.

The war back then destroyed Brother Shen's family, and she was truly happy for him that he was able to rebuild his family over there.

After briefly explaining his situation in Hong Kong, Old Master Shen looked at Fu Ci and mentioned something that even his wife didn't know.

“Back then, your grandfather and I made a pact that if our children had children in the future, the first grandchildren, regardless of gender, would be named Chen Jian and Fu Chi, respectively. This means perseverance. As long as we persevere, victory will surely belong to us Chinese people.”

Tang Mingli almost burst out laughing.

She was right; Fu Ci and Shen Jian's names really do have a significant origin.

However, Fu Ci and Shen Jian, the two parties involved, were not so amused. When they learned that their names had this meaning, they were both amused and exasperated.

In particular, Fu Ci said, "No wonder."

Grandpa Shen asked, "No wonder what? Didn't your grandfather tell you about this?"

Fu Ci shook his head.

Shen Jian hurriedly replied, "Grandpa, you didn't tell me either."

Old Master Shen glared at him: "How can I tell you? You always say your Chinese name is unsophisticated. If I told you that your name might be paired with someone else whose gender is unknown, wouldn't you be even more defiant towards me?"

Shen Jian smiled and said helplessly, "That's not true. Although my name has always been the most rustic among my classmates, I've accepted it."

Old Master Shen snorted coldly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, "If you really accept it, then why don't you insist that everyone call you Jie... Jie what?"

“Jason,” Shen Jian said for him.

"Yes, Jason." She looked at Old Madam Fu and said, "Isn't 'Chen Jian' a better name than 'Jason'?"

Madam Fu chuckled; this was a question she really couldn't answer.

After a brief change of topic, Old Master Shen looked at Fu Ci again and asked, "What did you just say was 'no wonder'?"

Fu Ci smiled and recounted a story from the past.

“When I was little, my name was actually the character '持' (chí) in '坚持' (jiān chí, meaning 'persistent'). Then one year, when the community workers were collecting household registration information, including names, they said they needed to enter it into the system. I took it upon myself to change the '持' in '坚持' to the '辞' in '义不容辞' (yì bù róng cí, meaning 'righteous indignation'). When the household registration book was issued, my grandfather saw that my name had been changed to '辞' and was quite angry. At the time, I didn't understand why my grandfather was angry, since '辞' sounded much better. It turns out there was this reason behind it.”

Madam Fu and Fu Cheng'an also remembered this matter.

Madam Fu said, "Back then, the old man only named his grandson; he didn't say it was an agreement with you."

As for why she didn't say anything, Madam Fu could roughly guess.

In those special times, if people knew that his name came from an agreement with a friend who held different beliefs, it would definitely cause trouble, so he simply kept quiet about it.

The fewer people who know, the less risk there is.

The reason that Madam Fu could guess was quickly guessed by everyone except Shen Jian.

Everyone tacitly agreed not to discuss it.

In fact, after the victory in the war, Mr. Shen felt relieved and said with a smile, "That was just a beautiful hope that Zhenhua and I had when the country was in crisis. Later, we were fortunate enough to survive and witnessed the founding of New China. Now I have also witnessed the achievements of our motherland after the reform and opening up. The practical significance is greater than everything else, and it is not limited to a name."

Upon hearing this, Shen Jian asked, "Then can I also change my name?"

"You dare?" Old Master Shen glared, completely forgetting what he had just said.

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare." Shen Jian was just joking, teasing his grandfather.

The conversation mainly revolved around the past, how two different young people protected the country in their own ways during that era of national turmoil.

"Although Zhenhua and I ultimately went down different paths because of our different beliefs, we shared the same goal: to make our country better and better. That's what it means..."

Old Master Shen wanted to use a word to describe it, but couldn't think of one for the moment.

Fu Ci said it for him: "Different paths lead to the same destination."

There are countless paths to save the country, but if it weren't for the courageous attempts of these predecessors, how could we have found this path?

The phrase "different paths lead to the same destination" struck a chord with Mr. Shen.

He was so excited that he began to choke up as he spoke.

"Yes, different paths lead to the same goal."

Different paths lead to the same destination!