Xia Jianguo and Xiao Wu handed the cigarettes and alcohol they were carrying to Uncle Xia.

Uncle Xia looked at the cigarettes and alcohol beside him and said, "You two are really getting carried away now. Why is this useless old man buying such expensive cigarettes and alcohol?"

Uncle Xia wiped his eyes with his sleeve. He hadn't tasted such wine or smoked such cigarettes for many years.

Xia Jianguo held his second uncle's hand and said, "Second Uncle, we rarely come back, so we wanted to buy you some nice cigarettes and alcohol! How many days will you be back this time?"

Xia Jianguo calculated the days, "About eight or nine days. I've already asked Xiaomin for 10 days off. If that's not enough time, I'll call her teacher again."

Although Uncle Xia was somewhat unfair in those matters, he took good care of Xia Jianguo during his childhood and adolescence.

Uncle Xia looked at the grown-up Xia Minmin and said, "This must be Xiaomin. I haven't seen you for years and you've grown so much. Here's some candy for you."

After saying that, Uncle Xia went into the room and handed Xia Minmin two pieces of candy.

Looking at the slightly melted candy in her hand, Xia Minmin knew how long the old man had been hiding it.

"Thank you, Second Uncle."

After Xia Minmin finished speaking, she casually tore off a piece of candy and put it in her mouth.

Uncle Xia glanced at Xiao Wu, "Is this my little sister's husband?"

Xia Jianshe nodded.

Xiao Wu nodded slightly. "Hello, Second Uncle. I am my younger sister's husband. Just call me Xiao Wu."

Uncle Xia said, "You two look like a perfect match for my little sister, young man. Where are you from? Is your surname Xiao?"

"Yes, my surname is a bit unusual. I'm from Sichuan Province and I'm three years younger than my younger sister."

Uncle Xia smiled and said, "That's good. A woman three years older than you is a lucky match. Where do you work? How many people are in your family?"

"Now I work as a manager in my second brother's supermarket. There aren't many people there anymore. My parents are gone, and I still have an older brother back in our hometown."

Uncle Xia paused for a moment, then said, "My little sister has a hard life, but things will get better from now on."

"Yes, I've already bought a house in Shenzhen."

Xiao Wu smiled when talking about buying a house, never expecting that he could buy a house in Shenzhen so quickly.

Uncle Xia was overjoyed. "That's great, that's great. With a house, you have a home, a place to shelter from the wind and rain. You and your little sister must live a good life together."

Xiao Wu sat up straight and said loudly, "Don't worry, Uncle, I will definitely live a good life with my little sister."

Uncle Xia patted Xia Jianguo's leg and said, "Jianguo, over the years you've taken a lot of people out to work. Their parents occasionally come to visit me, and everyone speaks highly of you. Thanks to you, they have such high wages and haven't been cheated by shady employment agencies."

"Second Uncle, when I went out before, I relied on everyone's information to get out. Now that I have the ability and know this kind of information, I will definitely help the villagers. It's always faster to make money than to make money at home."

"Poor elder brother and sister-in-law! They passed away too young! If they knew how well you are doing now, I wonder how happy they would be."

After saying that, Uncle Xia wiped his eyes with his sleeve again.

Xia Xiaomei and Li Chunmei walked in from the kitchen carrying a kettle.

Xia Xiaomei asked, "Second Uncle, where's the teacup?"

Uncle Xia pointed to the cabinet next to him.

Xia Xiaomei opened the cupboard and saw the cups inside. She felt they hadn't been washed in a long time, so she took the cups to the kitchen to wash them.

Li Chunmei also planned to go along, but Xia Xiaomei politely declined, saying, "Second sister-in-law, there's no need. There are only a few cups; I can go by myself."

Li Chunmei had no choice but to sit down.

Uncle Xia's dark face flushed slightly. "I'm so sorry, no one has come to the house for a long time, and we haven't cleaned it."

Li Chunmei said, "Second Uncle, we've come over, we can help you clean up too."

Xia Jianguo straightened up. "We've come here today for another matter we'd like to ask for your help with."

Looking at Xia Jianguo's serious expression, Uncle Xia Er also became serious. "Jianguo, just say what's wrong. Your uncle will definitely help you."

"I want to repair my parents' graves and erect a monument."

"Okay, I understand. I'll go out and find someone to handle this for you."

Seeing that Uncle Xia looked like he was about to leave immediately, Xia Jianguo quickly stopped him, not daring to let him do such a tiring job at his age.

"No need, no need, Second Uncle, just tell us who it is, we'll go find it ourselves. Let's all come over for dinner tonight."

Xia Jianshe quickly added, "Yes, Second Uncle, we're going to visit Uncle's house later, and we also need to visit some other uncles and elders."

Xia Xiaomei came out with the washed cups and poured a glass of water for everyone.

Uncle Xia took a sip of water. “You need to choose an auspicious time to erect a monument. Find the blind fortune teller at the village entrance. Everyone says he’s very accurate! You should know the old man Jianshe who will carve the monument. Go find him today. You don’t have much time at home, so make a decision as soon as possible.”

Xia Jianguo thought about it and agreed. "Okay, after we've visited all these uncles and elders, I'll finalize this with my older brother."

Uncle Xia said, "Go to your uncle's house. If there's anything you can't resolve, come find me."

Although Uncle Xia doesn't seem to be doing very well now, he still has a lot of prestige in the village, and people often want to ask him for advice when they have something to say.

After saying goodbye to Uncle Xia Er, Xia Minmin and her group went to Uncle Xia Xiao's house.

Today is a rare sunny day around the Qingming Festival, and Uncle Xia is sitting in the courtyard basking in the sun.

As soon as Xia Minmin and her group entered the door, Uncle Xia saw them.

Uncle Xia stared at Xiao Wudao and said, "This must be my little sister's husband."

Xia Xiaomei blushed and said, "Uncle, this is my husband."

Uncle Xia nodded repeatedly, "That's wonderful, that's wonderful. My eldest brother's biggest worry before he passed away was you. Now that you're married, he can finally rest in peace."

Xia Jianguo and Xiao Wu sent the cigarettes and alcohol they had brought to Xia Xiaoshuye.

Xiao Wu said respectfully, "Uncle, hello. My name is Xiao Wu. I'm sorry to visit you so late, after my wedding. According to custom, I should have visited you before the wedding."

Uncle Xia waved his hand with a smile, "It's alright. As long as you two are happy, we don't care about these formalities. Besides, Jian Guo must have investigated you, otherwise he wouldn't have entrusted his sister to you."

Uncle Xia looked at the cigarettes and alcohol that Xia Jianguo and Xiao Wu handed over and said, "Jianguo is really a big boss now, he's giving such expensive cigarettes and alcohol as gifts."

Xia Jianguo's face flushed slightly. "Uncle, can you please not be so dramatic?"

Uncle Xia's daughter-in-law, seeing so many relatives had come to the house, was about to move chairs and pour tea.

Li Chunmei quickly declined, saying, "No need to bother, I have other things to do later."

Xia Jianguo quickly told his uncle about the plan to erect a monument for his parents and to have dinner together that evening.

After explaining everything, Xia Minmin and her group left Uncle Xia's house to go home.