Cheng Yan, already in tears, stood up upon hearing this, walked over, and grasped the old woman's trembling hands, his voice choked with sobs, "It's me, Hua'er! It's me! Waaah!"
Seeing this, Cheng Ruyi understood everything. He Zheng probably knew about his mother's background, and when he saw Ruyi, who looked very similar to his mother, he became suspicious. That's why he tried every means to bring them home.
Cheng Yan probably noticed something, perhaps because He Zheng's appearance resembled someone else, so he reluctantly followed along to take a look, which led to the current situation.
Looking at the baby in He Zheng's wife's arms, Ruyi couldn't help but sigh: Fate is truly wonderful!
When the brother and sister met again after forty years, they naturally had endless topics to talk about, especially their respective experiences after they separated.
Not long after Cheng Yan's younger sister, Cheng Hua, was sold, she encountered a vicious bandit. The person who bought her was killed by the bandit before he could do anything. Because of her petite size and her familiarity with the mountains and forests, Cheng Hua narrowly escaped this calamity. However, in order to avoid the villains, she also wandered into the depths of the mountains and forests and got lost.
It's quite amazing. The exhausted ten-year-old girl jumped off a cliff to escape a wild beast and unexpectedly ended up in a secluded village.
The villagers were all very kind, and the little girl settled down in the village from then on.
Years passed, but the world became increasingly chaotic, and the small village was no longer safe. Outsiders would occasionally break in, so the villagers began to leave one after another to find more secluded places to live. However, the old hunter who usually took care of Cheng Hua was no longer able to move around, so she did not leave but chose to stay and take care of the old man.
The old man passed away two years later, leaving Cheng Hua alone in the empty village. When she was fifteen, a wounded soldier suddenly broke into their village and collapsed before he could say anything. From then on, the two became entangled in a bond.
He Gang fell in love at first sight with Cheng Hua, who saved his life. Cheng Hua also gradually fell in love with him during their time together. Both of them were orphans. After recovering from his injuries, He Gang took Cheng Hua, who was now his wife, down the mountain and back to the military camp.
More than a decade ago, He Gang, who had already been promoted to centurion, was seriously wounded in a battle while saving his deputy general. This injury severely damaged his career, forcing him to retire.
The deputy general happened to be a nobleman born in Qionglin. To thank He Gang for saving his life, he arranged for He Gang's family to settle in Qionglin and even helped He Gang's son, He Zheng, get a job in the government office.
From then on, the He family settled down in Qionglin, the prefectural city of Chongzhou.
He Gang and Cheng Hua have a son and a daughter, their eldest son He Zheng, who is 34 years old, and their youngest daughter He Nuan, who is 29 years old.
He Zheng's wife is Tian Fenfang, the daughter of a nearby candied fruit shop owner. The couple has two sons and two daughters. Their eldest son, He Mingyong, is fifteen years old and a chubby boy with agility. He is currently learning martial arts at a martial arts school in the prefectural city, intending to follow in his father's footsteps. Their second son, He Mingren, is ten years old and a chubby boy with a sharp tongue. He has no interest in fighting and prefers reading. He plans to take the imperial examinations and is currently studying at an academy in the prefectural city, actively preparing for the preliminary examinations. Their eldest daughter, He Mingya, is five years old and is also a cute chubby girl. As for their youngest daughter, Xiuxiu He Mingxiu, she is round and not yet three years old. She loves to sneak out and wander around.
He Nuan married Gao Qingshan, a colleague of He Zheng, who also worked in the government office. The two lived in a neighborhood on the other side of the city and had two daughters, Gao Yuying and Gao Yuyan.
The He family's life in the city was neither too good nor too bad, but in recent years, the health of the two elderly people had begun to decline, especially Cheng Hua.
Perhaps it's because she's getting older that she's started to reminisce about the past. Cheng Hua began to talk about the past, longing to find the only relative who was kind to her back then: her second brother, Cheng Yan.
As a dutiful son, He Gang was determined to fulfill his mother's wishes. Although searching for someone without any clues was like looking for a needle in a haystack, he did not give up. Over the years, he not only tried every means to find out information, but also tried to bring home anyone who looked like his mother on the street for her to see. So, his family members were no longer surprised to see He Gang bringing Cheng Ruyi and her father home this time.
Faced with such an unreliable method, no one had much hope, but unexpectedly, this time they actually found something real!
Since it was getting late, Cheng Ruyi was worried that her family members who were staying at the inn would be concerned, so she went back first. Cheng Yan, on the other hand, was strongly urged by the He family to stay for the night.
After all, the two siblings hadn't seen each other for forty years. When they separated, they were just children, and now they were both middle-aged people. To make up for the regret, Cheng Yan didn't really refuse.
Ruyi made an agreement with the He family that she would bring the whole family over first thing tomorrow morning so that everyone could get to know each other. This was Cheng's only blood relative at present, and they would definitely be visiting each other frequently in the future, so it would be good to get to know each other better.
Back at the inn, Ruyi was surrounded by the Cheng family again. Everyone was very curious about this suddenly appearing relative. Thinking that their family would now have its own relatives, everyone was eager to see them, especially the four chubby siblings!
The next morning, just after Cheng Ruyi and the others had finished breakfast, He Gang arrived at the inn.
Knowing that the Cheng family would be leaving the prefectural city to return to Huaishan County the next day, they wanted to spend more time together. So they decided to come and pick them up and take them to the He family's house. Afterward, they could take them sightseeing in the prefectural city, and then the two families could have dinner together in the evening to cultivate their relationship.
The He family's house, like the Cheng family's house in Huaishan County, was just an ordinary courtyard house. It was enough for the He family to live in on ordinary days, but now that the Cheng family had also moved in, it inevitably felt a little crowded.
However, in such a miraculous reunion of long-lost relatives, no one cares about issues like crowding. Everyone is infected by the atmosphere and quickly becomes one with each other, especially the children, who take out their favorite toys and food to share, without any awkwardness of meeting for the first time.
"Oh my, you know what! Ruyi and your aunt look quite alike, no wonder Xiuxiu mistook them!" Xu Cui stared at the two of them for a long time and couldn't help but sigh.
He Zheng nodded repeatedly in agreement, saying, "Yes, my cousin looks exactly like my mother when she was young. I was shocked when I saw her last night!"
"Don't try to fool me, I'm an old woman, how can I look like a young girl? Besides, Ruyi's appearance is obviously like her mother's, she's much prettier than me!" Although Cheng Hua is a few years younger than Cheng Yan, she looks more like Cheng Yan's older sister. It's all because her health has been deteriorating in recent years that she looks haggard and old.
At this moment, she held Cheng Ruyi's hands and said with utmost kindness, "Good child, you are so young and you have been managing the household all by yourself. These years must have been very hard! Don't worry, now you have us, and from now on we will be your support."
"Auntie, you're clearly very young, not an old lady at all! They say little kids don't lie, so Xiuxiu can only mistake us because we really do look alike!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com