No one in this family had ever seen Zhou Chuan, but they knew people from the educated youth office. They had just sent Xia Chengzong to the countryside a few days ago, and now he was back. It would be hard for Old Master Xia not to recognize him.
"Grandpa, I didn't expect to see you again so soon." The people from the educated youth office greeted Grandpa Xia with smiles.
But Grandpa Xia always felt that there was something wrong with the way this person looked at him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.
"I didn't expect you to come today. Is there something you need? Come, let's come in and talk." The old man led the people into the courtyard. His huge courtyard immediately attracted Zhou Chuan's attention. He stared in shock, clearly not expecting that the Xia family would have such a family matter.
But when he thought about Xia Anyan's background, he understood. If it weren't for her family background, how could he have been assigned to the countryside?
However, it seems like some kind of celebration is taking place here, with so many tables and chairs set up. I wonder what they're planning to do with it.
Grandpa Xia led the people to the room and then directed Old Zhang and the others to leave.
The purpose, of course, was to get him to find the solution the captain wanted to find, and also to go to Xia Anyan and tell them what was going on here, just in case.
After everyone left, Grandpa Xia greeted the two with a smile and inquired about Zhou Chuan's identity.
“Grandpa, this man is quite important. He is the brigade leader of the place where your granddaughter was sent to work.”
When Grandpa Xia heard this, his heart skipped a beat.
However, he didn't show it on his face; instead, he showed gratitude to Zhou Chuan.
"Oh, it's Captain Zhou! I never expected to run into you here. I'm really happy!"
“After my granddaughter came back, she told me a lot. She said that you took extra good care of her over there and even arranged for her to stay at your house. You provided her with good food and drink and made sure she didn’t suffer any grievances.”
“Oh, you have no idea. My granddaughter has suffered a lot of injustices since she was little. Now that she has gone to the countryside, I can’t be there for her. I’m already feeling uneasy about that. If I knew she wasn’t doing well, I would feel even worse.”
Zhou Chuan was surprised that the old man actually knew who he was.
A smile appeared on his face, and he was in a good mood.
He greeted the old man with a smile: "Grandpa, you really don't need to thank me. This is what I should do. Besides, Xia Zhiqing was going to stay in our brigade permanently anyway, so it's only right that I take extra care of her."
"By the way, where is Xia Zhiqing? Isn't she at home?"
As Zhou Chuan spoke, his eyes began to dart around.
He came here to take Xia Anyan back. If the person he was supposed to take back isn't here, then they've run away, which is a very serious problem.
The old man understood what he meant, and smiled.
“No, that girl went to town to buy things,” he paused, then looked at the people in the educated youth office and continued, “The day before yesterday, that girl accompanied me to the health center for a check-up. My health now, sigh… I don’t know how much longer I can hold on.”
"I don't have any other thoughts, I just want to see my granddaughter get married and have someone to take care of her before I die. Only then can I leave in peace."
The old man deliberately made himself sound very pitiful, even his eyes reddened.
Of course, the people in the educated youth office knew about the old man's family situation.
His son, daughter-in-law, and all his grandchildren were all sent down to the countryside; none of them stayed by his side.
Moreover, he had heard that the old man valued and liked his granddaughter Xia Anyan very much.
They would rather have this granddaughter than that good-for-nothing son.
The bond between the grandfather and grandson is something not everyone can understand.
Xia Anyan originally came back on leave to visit relatives. Now that the old man is really sick, it has nothing to do with the educated youth office.
The people from the educated youth office had accepted gifts from the old man before, and they had only just received them recently, so they certainly wouldn't want to break ties with him.
Therefore, Zhou Chuan was the only one left to talk to the old man.
"Grandpa, to be honest, the reason I came here today is actually to ask when Xia Zhiqing plans to go back?"
Zhou Chuan's expression was somewhat serious, but he showed no stage fright even when facing the old man.
"To be honest, someone like Xia, who was originally not allowed to come back, was granted special leave by the commune, so I can't say anything. It's just that the people in our brigade will always say some unpleasant things."
“Xia Zhiqing is a woman, and I felt very uncomfortable with others talking about her like that, so I thought I would come and see for myself and then take her back.”
That's a rather funny thing to say.
Xia Anyan only went to the countryside for a rural visit, but she didn't sell herself there. She can go wherever she wants. When did it become the place for an outsider to forcibly kidnap her?
The old man had disliked this kid since earlier, and recalling what his granddaughter had said to him when she came back, he felt even more strongly that this Zhou Chuan was no good.
“Captain Zhou, since my granddaughter’s leave to visit her family hasn’t expired yet, there’s no point in you coming here.”
“Besides, the official time for the educated youth to go to the countryside should be next month, but my granddaughter was specially approved to go in advance, so she doesn’t have to participate in labor. She is capable enough to support herself. Even if she really has to participate in labor in the future, she won’t need to go to the fields to earn work points. Those people will be even more envious in the future. Do you want my granddaughter to suffer every time?”
Zhou Chuan was already feeling uneasy because the old man said he wanted to see Xia Anyan get married.
Now, hearing the old man say this again, he felt even more upset.
But no matter what, now that he's here, he has to take the person back.
Zhou Chuan glanced at the person next to him and saw that he was drinking tea with his head down and not looking in his direction. He got a little angry and raised his voice by eight octaves: "Manager Sun, when we came here this time, I remember you told me that even if the educated youth who had just been sent to the countryside wanted to come back, they would have to go through several rounds of review, and they could not stay for very long."
"Xia, the educated youth, has been back for quite some time now. Should I take her back with me?"
Manager Sun was also a little angry at the shout.
But considering Zhou Chuan's purpose in coming here, he could only suppress his anger.
He sighed and nodded: "Yes, you are absolutely right."
A smile appeared on Zhou Chuan's face, and his mood improved considerably.
Seeing this, Old Master Xia felt a tightness in his chest.
His heartache problem recurred; he clutched his chest, large beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
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