Song Xiaowen was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly agreed and excitedly called Zhou Shanhuai over. Since the night Chen Ke returned, when they had talked all night, they hadn't sat down to have a proper conversation. Now the old couple were feeling bored staying in this room, and they were very happy to hear that Chen Ke was willing to chat with them.

“The situation is getting more and more tense. Look, there are hardly any people walking on the streets,” Zhou Shanhuai said with a sigh as he walked over, holding a teacup.

Upon hearing this, Song Xiaowen thought of Chen Zhuo outside again, "Chen Ke, haven't you heard a single word about your brother after all these days?"

"No news is good news. He'll be fine. Don't worry, just take care of yourselves. Ya Ya should have arrived by now, right?" Chen Ke casually changed the subject.

Song Xiaowen immediately shifted her attention, "It should be arriving soon, but it will take some time before she writes back. Sigh, I don't know if sending her away was the right or wrong thing to do. Chen Zhuo said that this war will end soon and then we'll have peaceful days. Wouldn't it be great if the five of us could live together then?"

Zhou Shanhuai patted Song Xiaowen's hand to comfort her, "If things really become peaceful, we can call Ya Ya back then. It's so dangerous here now, and Chen Zhuo made this decision for Ya Ya's own good."

"I know, I was just lamenting. You know, our family has been separated for so long for various reasons, and we're getting old. If we don't spend more time with our children soon—"

"Mom..." Chen Ke interrupted Song Xiaowen, took out a receipt and put it in Song Xiaowen's hand, "Mom, this is a receipt from Jufeng East Bank. There is some money in it, so use it as your usual expenses."

Song Xiaowen and Zhou Shanhuai were both stunned, not understanding why Chen Ke would give them money so readily.

"This, this... why are you giving us this money? We don't need it. Chen Zhuo covers all our expenses, and he also paid for my sister's schooling. We have nowhere to spend the money. You should keep this money for yourself. You've just come back and you'll need money for everything." Song Xiaowen said as she tried to return the receipt to Chen Ke.

“That’s right. You’ve transferred all your previous companies to Mr. and Mrs. Li. You’ll definitely want to develop your own business in the future, so keep this money as capital,” Zhou Shanhuai added.

Song Xiaowen had a better idea. With hopeful eyes, she said, "Once things are really peaceful, our whole family will live together. This house is enough for us now. Chen Zhuo will definitely go into politics then. After all, the organization will be the one to win in the end. Then he can clear his name and no longer be called a traitor or a running dog by people in the fields."

After saying that, Song Xiaowen suddenly seemed to remember something, grabbed Chen Ke's hand, and asked mysteriously, "You disappeared for twenty years, so what was your job before...?"

Seeing Song Xiaowen's frantic eyebrow-raising hints, Chen Ke chuckled inwardly. He figured Song Xiaowen probably still thought he was some kind of underground worker. But there was no need to explain anymore. "It's been twenty years. They must all think I sacrificed myself and left the organization."

"Really? That's good, that's good." Song Xiaowen felt much relieved after hearing this. She already had one son doing such a dangerous job, and she didn't want both of her sons to do it, otherwise she wouldn't be able to get a full night's sleep.

Upon learning that Chen Ke was no longer doing dangerous work, Song Xiaowen became very happy and continued in a cheerful voice, "In that case, you should keep this money even more. I heard from Chen Zhuo that you used to run an antique shop. Do you want to continue running the shop or go into trading? You see, all of these require money, don't they?"

Chen Ke listened quietly without saying a word.

Song Xiaowen didn't care about the lack of response and continued talking about her plans, "Ya Ya will be back by then. With you two successful brothers, I don't want Ya Ya to do anything big. She can just become a teacher or work for a newspaper after returning to China, and live a stable life to support herself."

Then the two of us old folks would stay home, tidy up, clean, tend to the flowers, and cook for you. When the three of you siblings came home from get off work, your dad and I would greet you at the door. Seeing you walk from the intersection of Wutong Road, I'd tell your dad to quickly bring out the dishes and say, "The kids are all back... Ah, life is so wonderful! Our family of five is all... doing well, living together happily." As she spoke, Song Xiaowen cried with joy, her no-longer-young eyes seeming unable to get enough of Chen Ke, meticulously tracing his face inch by inch.

"Why are you crying again? I told you crying too much is bad for your eyes." Zhou Shanhuai complained, but his hands didn't stop moving as he quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe Song Xiaowen's tears.

Song Xiaowen, in a huff, refused to let him wipe her face. "Hmph, have you ever seen me cry when I was young? It's just that people become more sentimental as they get older!"

"Ah, yes, Chen Ke, don't be surprised. If your mom suddenly bursts into tears one day, it's because a leaf has fallen from the tree outside the window."

"Zhou Shanhuai! You!"

In fact, Chen Ke only learned that Song Xiaowen started crying frequently after his sudden disappearance. Zhou Shuya had told him that there was even a period when Song Xiaowen secretly cried at night and almost went blind. It was then that they realized that besides Chen Zhuo almost going crazy, Song Xiaowen was no less saddened by Chen Ke's disappearance than he was. However, as a mother, she had to be strong in front of her child and couldn't show it at all.

Chen Ke quietly put the receipt that Song Xiaowen had returned to him into her pocket, then took a handkerchief and wiped away her tears. "Alright, beautiful and strong Ms. Song, happy days are just around the corner. We can't let tears scare them away."

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