"Auntie?!" Gao Mingcheng heard Aunt Hao's voice and immediately turned around and rushed out.
"It really is Mingcheng back." Aunt Hao saw Gao Mingcheng running out of the house and excitedly grabbed his hand tightly. "That's great, that's great."
"Auntie, where's my Zhaozhao? Where are the children? Why are they all gone? Did something happen?" Gao Mingcheng asked anxiously.
Aunt Hao patted his arm reassuringly and said, "It's alright, it's alright, don't worry. Zhao Zhao is fine, and the children are fine too. They moved out a long time ago and don't live here anymore."
Hearing that his wife and child were alright, Gao Mingcheng breathed a slight sigh of relief, then frowned and asked, "What happened? Why did Zhaozhao move out with the child all of a sudden? And what about my parents, my eldest son, and my third son?"
"Don't rush, let me tell you slowly." Aunt Hao started by telling Gao Mingcheng about the incident last year, when the army suddenly sent people to investigate him and Xing Zhaozhao's unexpected premature birth.
When Gao Mingcheng heard that the Gao family had taken advantage of his absence to bully his wife and children, and that they had forced his daughter Zhaozhao to break off the family and move to a stone house halfway up the mountain with her three children, his face darkened and a terrible atmosphere enveloped him.
The nephews and nieces who had been clinging to him, thinking they had found someone to rely on, were all frightened away.
Even Ying Hongyi couldn't help but hug his daughter and pull his wife away, trying to stay as far away as possible to avoid being accidentally affected.
Fortunately, Xing Zhaozhao is raising three children and her life isn't too bad, which eased Gao Mingcheng's expression somewhat.
Hearing that the rest of the Gao family had been arrested and sent to labor camps for speculation, Gao Mingcheng remained expressionless and unmoved. To him, simply sending them to labor camps was too lenient; they might eventually get out. It was better to... let all the money and things he had given them go to waste.
After listening to Aunt Hao's explanation, Gao Mingcheng neatly picked up his things: "Thank you for taking care of them for me these past two years, Auntie. I'll come to see you and Uncle again later."
Aunt Hao patted his arm with relief as he explained, "Go on, Zhao Zhao and the three children will be overjoyed to know you're back. By the way, Xiao Hongling can now stand up and take a few steps while holding onto things, and she can even call out to people. Hurry back and check on her..."
"Yes." Gao Mingcheng felt a surge of excitement and responded, then hurriedly headed up the mountain.
Ying Hongyi followed along with his daughter and daughter-in-law.
Unexpectedly, halfway there they ran into Captain Gao, who was preparing to go down to the field.
When Captain Gao saw Gao Mingcheng approaching, looking travel-worn, he was first taken aback, then reacted and rushed forward with great joy: "Isn't this Mingcheng? You're back?"
Gao Mingcheng had to stop and greet Captain Gao: "Captain Gao..."
Captain Gao excitedly grabbed Gao Mingcheng's arm: "That's great! The troops sent someone to tell me you had an accident, and I was so worried. I'm so glad to see you back safe and sound."
"Thank you, Captain Gao, for your trouble," Gao Mingcheng said.
"It's good to be back, it's good to be back. Come over later and we'll have a couple of drinks together," Captain Gao said happily.
Gao Mingcheng nodded: "I'll come find you later."
Seeing his impatient look, Captain Gao laughed and said, "Alright, I won't keep you any longer. Hurry back and check on your wife and child."
Just as Gao Mingcheng was rushing to the mountainside, Xing Zhaozhao finished eating with the Gao family at the gate and packed some more delicious food and drinks. She had just returned home and put her beautiful dress back on.
Fu Lan, Hongfei, and Hongyu, who were waiting for her at home, stared wide-eyed at her changed appearance. After a while, they exclaimed in surprise, "Wow..." Little Hongling, having eaten and drunk her fill, was fast asleep on the kang in the next room with her little belly sticking out, and missed it.
Xing Zhaozhao spun around in front of them triumphantly, striking a pose, and asked, "How is it? Pretty, right?"
The three of them nodded and clapped in unison.
"It's beautiful, so beautiful! I'm stunned! It's even more beautiful than a fairy from heaven!" Hongyu's mouth was as sweet as honey, and she clapped her little hands very hard.
Xing Zhaozhao grinned, hugged her son tightly, and gave him a big kiss: "Mom didn't spoil you for nothing."
Hongyu giggled, rubbed her face against Xing Zhaozhao's neck, and sniffed, "It smells so good, so nice."
Hongfei watched from the side, eager to try.
Xing Zhaozhao stretched out her arm and took out her eldest son as well.
The mother and her two children played around for a while before letting go of each other.
"Where's Xiao Hongling?" Xing Zhaozhao asked, looking at Fu Lan.
“He’s fast asleep on the kang (heated brick bed) inside,” Fu Lan said with a smile.
"Then let's not wake her up for now," Xing Zhaozhao said.
Fu Lan looked at Xing Zhaozhao's dress and asked, "This dress is..."
"Rongrong prepared this for me, isn't it nice?" Xing Zhaozhao asked with a smile.
Fu Lan nodded, somewhat regretfully saying, "It's a pity it wasn't designed by me. I'll design one for you next time."
"Then I'll wait." Xing Zhaozhao said expectantly, handing the groceries she had packed back to Fu Lan. "Let's put them in the well first. It's hot, so they won't spoil by the time we eat them tonight."
This wasn't the first time Xing Zhaozhao had brought back delicious food; Fu Lan was already used to it. She went to get a basket to fill it, preparing to hang it in the well.
"I'll go back inside and change my dress first," Xing Zhaozhao said, preparing to go back inside.
Hongyu wrapped his arms around Xing Zhaozhao's waist, looking displeased, and said, "Mom, just wear this pretty dress. Why do you want to change it?" As he spoke, he rubbed his face against Xing Zhaozhao's dress, finding it smooth and quite comfortable.
Xing Zhaozhao pulled her son away: "How can that be? If someone sees us by accident, we'll be paraded through the streets."
Hongyu looked regretful and had no choice but to give up.
"There's fruit in Aunt Xiaolan's box, go get some and eat first." Xing Zhaozhao sent her son away and went back to her room first.
Hongfei and Hongyu went to find Fu Lan, and found the cut fruit in the takeout boxes. They ate it together.
Fu Lan put the remaining takeout boxes into the basket and carefully lowered it into the well.
"Knock knock," a knock suddenly sounded at the door.
"Who is it?" Fu Lan asked as she tied the rope holding the basket to the well opening and went to the door.
When Hongfei and Hongyu heard that someone had come outside, they quickly took a piece of watermelon from the takeout box and stuffed it into their mouths, then put the rest in the kitchen.
When the two little ones came out of the kitchen, they found Fu Lan still standing at the door, which was still tightly closed. Curious, they went over and asked, "What's wrong, Auntie Lan?"
"I don't know who's outside, I'm afraid to open the door," Fu Lan said cautiously.
Hearing the commotion inside, the person outside called out, "Is that Dafei and Xiaoyu? It's me, Dad."
Hongfei and Hongyu's eyes widened in surprise, their faces filled with undisguised joy: "It really is Dad's voice! Dad's back."
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