Chapter 79

Han Shuo didn't even wait for the driver to stop the car before he rolled down the window and stuck his head out to shout at Meng's father outside.

"dad!"

In fact, Meng's father was not sure if Meng Yuxiu and Han Shuo were in the pickup truck that drove from the intersection. A few days ago, Meng Yuxiu wrote to inform him of the ticket date.

He calculated the time and figured they would arrive around tonight. However, there were no buses from the county town to Baishan Town at night, and he wasn't sure exactly where the two boys were or whether they would stay overnight in the county town.

He could only estimate the time and then come out to take a look.

A pickup truck appeared on the rural dirt road late at night. As Meng's father pulled over, he wondered if it was his son returning.

He didn't see Han Shuo until he heard the shout, and after his eyes adjusted to the sudden approach of the car headlights.

"Xiao Shuo?"

"Dad, it's me!" Han Shuo was also surprised to run into Meng's father on the way, and he excitedly opened the car door.

Meng's father was naturally even happier. When Han Shuo opened the car door, he saw Han Shuo's bloated belly, which even his loose cotton-padded coat couldn't hide, and hurriedly went over to help him out of the car.

The usually stern and unsmiling principal smiled, revealing the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, a rare occurrence for him.

"Be careful, be careful, get off the bus slowly."

"Dad, what are you doing here?"

Mencius' father said, "I've come out to see if you've arrived yet."

"What a coincidence! Oh, by the way, my name is Meng Yuxiu, he's sitting in the back." However, before Han Shuo could even shout, Meng Yuxiu had already heard the commotion and jumped out of the car from the back.

When Meng Yuxiu first came to this world to attend high school, he was intimidated by his father's face. However, after a long time, when he saw him again, he felt that the mist exhaled from his father's mouth and nose seemed to soften his sternness, leaving only the deep paternal love of longing for his son's return in the cold night.

Meng Yuxiu couldn't help but feel a slight unease, and he softly called out, "Dad."

"Yes." Father Meng nodded.

It's been almost half a year since I last saw him. His son has shed his youthful naiveté, his brows now showing a more mature air, and his shoulders and back have grown broader. He's no longer the clueless little boy he once was. As for Han Shuo, although he's bloated from pregnancy, his energy and spirit are excellent.

When he first sent them to Hecheng, Meng's father was worried about Meng Yuxiu and Han Shuo's lives, and also worried that his son would not be able to take good care of Han Shuo. Now, seeing this, he was quite satisfied.

"Let's go, your mother is still waiting at home."

"Okay." After saying that, Meng Yuxiu hurriedly went to the back of the pickup truck and took the woven bags off the vehicle.

There were still a few passengers in the pickup truck who hadn't been delivered yet. Meng's father knew they had chartered the truck, so he unzipped his cotton-padded coat, reached into the inside pocket to take out money, and went over to ask the driver, "How much for the two children?"

Han Shuo hurriedly said, "Dad, we've already paid."

Meng's father stuffed the money back into his hands. Facing Han Shuo, as a father-in-law, he spoke much more gently, nodding with a smile and saying, "Alright then."

After Meng Yuxiu unloaded all the woven bags, the pickup truck turned around and drove away. Meng's father went over and each carried a large bag with Meng Yuxiu, while Han Shuo was responsible for carrying the flashlight.

The road back to the village was lined with lush green fields in summer, but in winter it turned into desolate land. The cold winter wind blew from all directions, but Han Shuo and Meng Yuxiu's hearts were filled with warmth at the thought of arriving home.

"Xiao Shuo, did you throw up on your way back?"

"No, not yet." Han Shuo said happily while turning on the light for them, "I slept on the bus for two days, it was so comfortable."

Meng's father smiled and reminded Han Shuo, "Be careful, there's frost tonight, don't slip."

"Alright!"

The father was very pleased that his son had matured in the past six months in Hecheng. However, his quiet nature remained the same as before. He would walk by without saying a word. The father thought to himself, if his son's personality were as lively as Han Shuo's, then the two of them could walk and chat together.

Unfortunately, Meng's father forgot at this moment who his son's temperament resembled.

"How's it going in Hecheng?"

Meng Yuxiu realized that his father was asking him a question, and after making two "oh" sounds, he realized what was going on and said, "It's fine."

Meng's father was not good at getting close to his son, but even though he didn't show much enthusiasm on the surface, Meng Yuxiu could still feel the deep emotion in his tone.

Meng's father glanced at his son's sharply defined profile and, in an attempt to start a conversation, pretended to complain, "You brat, it's so cold and late at night, couldn't you have taken Xiao Shuo to a hotel in the county town for the night?"

Meng Yuxiu let out another "Ah," followed by, "Uh..."

Han Shuo spoke up for him: "Hey Dad, don't blame him, I was just anxious to get home! I just wanted to see you all as soon as possible."

He then added, "Meng Yuxiu also misses you all very much. He's embarrassed and doesn't want to tell you he misses you, hahaha."

Hearing this, Meng Yuxiu agreed with Han Shuo's words, but hearing them from Han Shuo's mouth still made him a little embarrassed, and he scratched his head.

When Meng's father heard Han Shuo's words, he glanced at his son who was scratching his head, and his eyes were already full of smiles.

"Come on, let's go home quickly. Your mom is cooking dinner for you two. Your brother and Tingting are also waiting at home."

Upon hearing this, Han Shuo was both delighted and surprised. "My brother and the others are here too?"

“Yes,” Meng’s father said. “I ran into your brother at the market the day before yesterday. I told him that you two were coming home today, and he brought Tingting over this evening.”

Han Shuo, who had been panting heavily after walking just a few steps, suddenly felt as light as a feather after hearing Meng's father's words, and wished he could fly back immediately.

Seeing that Han Shuo had quickened his pace, Meng Yuxiu nervously reminded him, "Han Shuo, slow down."

Han Shuo was so happy he couldn't stop smiling. He walked over and took Meng Yuxiu's arm, saying, "Okay, okay, I'm so happy! I was planning to go to Xiaoshi Village first thing tomorrow morning, but I didn't expect my brother and the others to be here already!"

"Mm." Meng Yuxiu was also infected by this emotion, and he couldn't help but smile as he looked at Han Shuo's smiling face.

The three walked into the village entrance, past the familiar big trees, and then into the small courtyard.

Han Shuo wanted to give his brother and nephew a surprise, so he told Meng's father and Meng Yuxiu to keep quiet before entering the house.

As soon as Han Shuo stepped into the courtyard, before even entering the house, his nose suddenly stung with tears when he heard his brother's voice inside.

In the kitchen, Mencius' mother is cooking, probably making some kind of soup.

Outside, the air was thick with the chill of snow and ice, but inside the kitchen, it was warm and cozy, like spring. White steam rising from between the stove and pot lids filled the entire kitchen, and the rich aroma of food, along with the unique warmth of home cooking, wafted through the air.

The people in the kitchen didn't notice anyone coming. Meng's mother was busy cooking for her two children who had returned home, while Han Hong sat behind the stove tending the fire.

"Tingting," Mencius' mother called out, "Don't poke yourself with the fire tongs, or you'll cry your eyes out."

"Okay." A childish voice rang out.

The adults were busy cooking, while the child, wearing a smock, was playing with the fire tongs, swinging them around.

His hair was cut short, and his sallow face from the first half of the year is now much more energetic, with rosy cheeks and a bit more flesh.

Han Ting stopped shaking his hand holding the fire tongs because he saw the person who had come in was stunned.

Unfortunately, Han Shuo's belly wasn't noticeable when he went to school in Hecheng, but now it's huge, and the five-year-old's impression of his uncle is still the same as when he was in high school.

In his memory, his uncle was tall and thin, and could climb over walls and catch loaches.

Han Ting was a little stunned by Han Shuo's sudden change, so he stared at him with his dark eyes.

Han Shuo was incredibly excited; his eyes welled up with tears the moment he saw Han Ting.

Han Hong and Meng's mother also saw Han Shuo and the others at this moment, and they immediately shouted with joy.

"Xiao Shuo!" Han Hong hurriedly came out from behind the stove. He looked at Han Shuo, then at Meng Yuxiu, and finally grabbed Han Shuo's shoulder, his voice trembling with joy, "Oh, you're finally back!"

"Brother!" Han Shuo grabbed his brother's arm and looked at him, saying, "I'm back."

Looking at Han Shuo's belly, Meng's mother couldn't help but exclaim, "Little Shuo, oh my, your belly is so big! Come on, sit down first, Mom is making dinner for you."

Meng Yuxiu put the woven bag on the ground, walked over and called to his mother and brother.

Han Hong looked at Meng Yuxiu, who was becoming more and more handsome, and nodded in satisfaction. "Hey, Xiao Xiu, you must have had a hard journey."

Meng's mother, standing beside her son, held his arm with satisfaction. "Xiao Shuo has gained weight, and you've gotten quite a bit stronger too. Come on, sit down and rest. Your father and brother don't know when you two will arrive tonight, so they take turns going out every few minutes to check on you."

Han Shuo said, "Why are you going out to wait for us in this freezing weather? What if we don't come back today?"

Han Hong laughed and said, "It's not far. If we can't wait for you two, we'll just go to sleep after we finish eating."

Five minutes had passed since Han Shuo and Meng Yuxiu entered the house. In those five minutes, the whole family was so busy with the young couple that they almost burned the rice in the pot. Han Hong quickly went back to the stove to add firewood, and Meng's mother also went back to the stove to continue working.

Han Ting stood there, staring blankly.

Han Shuo squatted down, grabbed the little boy's hand, and gestured with his chin towards the boy, asking, "What are you doing? Don't you even recognize your uncle?"

Han Hong joked, "Xiao Shuo, you've changed so much! If you walked down the street, I wouldn't even recognize you, hahaha."

In fact, the moment Han Shuo grabbed Han Ting's little hand, Han Ting's eyes already lit up with surprise, and he shouted joyfully, "Uncle!"

The childish voice seemed to want to tear the roof off.

"Uncle!" He immediately opened his arms and rushed towards Han Shuo, even forgetting to drop the fire tongs he was holding.

"Uncle!...Uncle, waah~" But before the little guy could even laugh happily for a couple of seconds, he pouted, and then, with sobs, large tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Oh dear." Han Shuo's heart melted. He pulled Han Ting into his arms and patted her gently. "What's wrong? What's wrong? Why are you crying all of a sudden?"

Seeing this scene, Meng's mother's eyes also welled up with tears. She smiled and said, "Tingting asked when her uncle was coming home as soon as she got home. She made him so anxious, didn't she? Now that her uncle is back, aren't you happy?"

"Oh, don't cry anymore." Han Shuo was touched, but also a little amused. He kept patting Han Ting's back to comfort him, "Alright, alright, don't cry anymore. Uncle is home now, isn't he? Stop crying."

But Han Ting couldn't stop crying anytime soon, wailing loudly for a long time with his mouth open. It wasn't until Han Shuo ran out of words to coax him that he finally stopped sobbing.