The three greatest joys in other people’s lives are promotion, getting rich, and death of wife.
Chen Xia is in the same situation now. He got promoted, made a fortune, and his uncle died.
Just now, the fourth grandfather of Qingfeng Village called the vice president's office and asked Chen Xia to return to the village as soon as possible, saying that there was something important to discuss.
Chen Xia had never seen the old man so anxious. Usually when he called him, he would say, "If you have something to do, go ahead and do it. I'm not in a hurry." But this time, he ordered him to go back immediately. Something big must have happened.
Who caused this ectopic pregnancy again? Amidst his wild thoughts, Vice President Chen reported the matter to the hospital office and headed back home in his flashy dark red Land Cruiser.
Qingfeng Village, at Fourth Grandpa’s home.
Chen Yigen took out a telegram and handed it to Chen Xia: "This is a telegram from your second uncle who works in Xinjiang Province. Take a look first."
Second uncle? What the hell is Second uncle?
Chen Xia's mind was full of questions.
It has been seven years since he was reborn, and he has never seen his second uncle, nor has he ever received a letter or greeting from him.
He later learned that after Chen Bingkun died unexpectedly, his second and third uncles came back to attend the funeral, but then disappeared without a trace and never cared about the lives of the four siblings of the Chen family.
Regardless of whether the original "Chen Xia" had any objections, the reborn "Chen Xia" looked down upon such relatives.
So over the years, he never thought about looking for his second uncle or third uncle.
Now, suddenly receiving a telegram from the so-called second uncle, Chen Xia was curious and contemptuous. He slowly opened the envelope.
"Chen Bingcheng is seriously ill and has not much time left. According to his last wish, he wants to be buried in his hometown. Please ask Fourth Uncle to arrange for the children of my eldest brother to come to Xinjiang to meet him."
Chen Xia scratched his head. "Fourth Grandfather, this comrade Chen Bingcheng wants to return to his hometown for burial. Then he can go back. I won't stop him. But how can you send someone to Xinjiang Province to meet him?"
Yuezhou is a full 5,000 kilometers away from the AKS area of Xinjiang Province where Chen Bingcheng is located.
With the means of transportation available at this time, it would take at least ten days or half a month to get there. How could I possibly spend a month going back and forth to pick up a legendary second uncle?
Chen Xiacai refused to do that, because he was a big boss who earned tens of thousands of yuan every minute.
He was a petty person, and he remembered the ruthlessness of his two uncles at the critical moment.
If nothing unexpected happens, both uncles are from the military and are employed locally, so the family conditions will not be too good, but they will not be too bad either.
When the four siblings of the Chen family were hungry, they should have supported them with even a few dollars or a few meal tickets, after all, they were relatives.
As a result, after returning to their hometown to attend the funeral, Huang He never returned. He even refused to leave his home address and phone number, fearing that the Chen siblings would go to them for help.
Oh, now that I'm dying, I'm thinking of my nieces and nephews back home. What were they doing earlier?
Seeing Chen Xia's indifferent expression, how could Chen Yigen not see the little thoughts of his nephew.
The old man knew clearly in his heart that the second and third sons of the Chen family had indeed gone too far in the past, so it was no wonder that Chen Xia was unwilling to acknowledge his relationship now.
However, as the patriarch of the Chen family, it is absolutely not allowed for family members to die in a foreign land. As long as they are not expelled from the family tree, the patriarch has the responsibility and obligation to help them return to their roots, otherwise they will become wandering ghosts.
This is also the reason why Mr. Chen Defa from Hong Kong was so excited when he returned to his roots.
"Xiao Xia, listen to what Fourth Grandpa said. Your Second Uncle's family is indeed dishonest. Grandpa understands that you feel resentful about this. But you must know that you now represent not only yourself, but also the future head of our Chen family.
Grandpa is old, and the position of clan leader will definitely be handed over to you, so as the future clan leader, you should not have any selfish motives. Even if your second uncle is just an ordinary clan member, we have the responsibility and obligation to take him back to his hometown, otherwise it will chill the hearts of the clan members."
Chen Xia's temper is typical of someone who will give in to soft words but not hard ones. If you confront him, he will confront you back, even if it means turning the table over.
But Fourth Grandpa's kind words of advice left Chen Xia speechless.
What the old man said makes sense. If a family wants to be united and work as one, the key is to have an excellent and fair leader.
If everyone disobeys the patriarch, the family will sooner or later fall apart.
Now there is a clan member who is wandering outside and wants to return home for burial. It is not reasonable for the Chen family members to stand idly by.
What's more, Chen Xia is nominally Chen Bingcheng's nephew, which is something that cannot be denied. Otherwise, there will be a lot of gossip behind the scenes.
He recalled his father-in-law's advice to him when his grandfather was seriously ill: Even for the sake of his own reputation, he had to perform the play to the fullest.
Chen Xia sighed: "Okay, I'll go to Xinjiang Province myself."
Fourth Grandpa was very pleased. He felt that the boy in front of him had really grown up and matured, and had a sense of propriety in doing things. He would definitely be a good clan leader in the future.
"Good boy, then set off early. If your uncle is still alive when you arrive in Xinjiang Province, ask him about his last wishes. If he is no longer alive when you arrive, just bring his ashes back. I will arrange the burial site."
"Fourth Grandpa, you have to arrange for this grave to be farther away, not near my parents. I'm afraid they'll fight in the future. Chen Bingcheng is just like Chen Shimei, heartless."
“Get out, get out, get out!!!”
If it were a few decades later, Chen Xia could take a large airplane from Lin'an to AKS, stopping in Ulu City, and the whole journey would only take a few hours, which is very convenient.
The next day, I could fly back to Zhijiang with the ashes without any delays.
But it's 1986 now. Oh my god, even going to the United States isn't that troublesome.
Fortunately, Chen Xia is now a deputy director-level cadre and is not short of money, so he found the fastest means of transportation to AKS.
First take a flight from Lin'an to the capital, then transfer from the capital to Xi'an, and then transfer from Xi'an to Urumqi. Here comes the point, in this ridiculous era, there is no direct flight from Lin'an to Xinjiang Province.
These three transfers were not the most difficult part. The most difficult part was that there was no civil aviation or railway service on the 1,200-kilometer road from Uluru to AKS, and one had to take a long-distance bus to get there.
The 1,200-kilometer journey alone would take at least four days and four nights. If a bandit shows up along the way to start a robbery, how could we possibly survive?
Tang Monk’s journey to obtain Buddhist scriptures, oh no, Chen Xia’s journey to obtain ashes begins just like that.
After arriving in Ulu City, Chen Xia did not choose to take the bus. Long-distance buses of that era did not even have shock absorbers. Sitting on one was like sitting on a massage chair. The space was crowded and small, and if you wanted to pee halfway, you had to hold it in.
Chen Xia bought a map, took out his off-road vehicle from the space, and decided to go on a thousand-mile self-driving tour.
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