Chapter 4 Hometown
4. Hometown
Ideals are beautiful, but reality is cruel. Jiang Rong is busy building houses and stockpiling goods right now, so where would he find the time to exercise? For the next two days, he was busy confirming the blueprints with Li Bin and contacting the construction team with Chu Qiang, wishing there were 48 hours in a day.
After two days of frantic activity, on Saturday, March 9th, as dawn was breaking, Jiang Rong set off in his car towards his hometown.
In many people's hearts, their hometown is a warm place with familiar relatives and friends, and familiar landscapes... Everything about their hometown is good, except for the fact that it is poor, which is why many people have to leave their hometowns to work in big cities.
However, Jiang Rong's hometown was not poor. In fact, it was located in a scenic area on the outskirts of D City. The scenic area was famous for its artificial reservoir, and Jiang Rong's hometown was on the mountains surrounding the reservoir. His family also owned seventy acres of mountain land, and before starting elementary school, he lived in a house on the mountain with his maternal grandparents.
The car wound its way up the cement road along the edge of the reservoir. March was the height of spring, and the magnolia trees along the roadside were in full bloom. Seeing the familiar scenery, Jiang Rong couldn't help but slow down.
There were some inconspicuous cement side roads on both sides of the road. When the vehicle approached one of the side roads, Jiang Rong turned onto it. The side road was only a little over two meters wide, just wide enough for one vehicle to pass at a time.
After driving four or five hundred meters along the winding cement road into the mountains, a quiet little valley came into view. Scattered among the valley were four or five houses. The houses in the mountains were not dilapidated; at least most of them in the same valley were beautifully decorated villas.
Jiang Rong's hometown is located halfway up a mountain in the northeast. Although it's not a three- or four-story villa, it's still a very stylish house. The house is square and neat, and the green bricks and gray tiles of the roof can be seen amidst the clusters of flowers.
The closer Jiang Rong got to his hometown, the faster his heart pounded. After a while, he opened the car door and walked towards the gate of the courtyard.
There was a large jujube tree in the southeast corner outside the courtyard gate. It was a good variety that my grandfather had specially selected from the orchard. Unfortunately, the tree hadn't yet borne fruit when my parents took him to City C. After that, every time the jujubes ripened, he was always tied up with various things and couldn't come back. Therefore, he never tasted the jujubes from the tree in his entire life.
However, he knew that the jujubes on the tree were big, crisp, and sweet, and tasted even better than the winter jujubes on the market.
Stroking the rough bark of the tree, Jiang Rong sighed with emotion, "We meet again." This time, when rebuilding the house, he would have the workers avoid the jujube trees and would also provide them with ample fertilizer and insect repellent.
After standing in front of the jujube tree for a moment, Jiang Rong's gaze turned to the courtyard gate. Her parents had renovated the house a few years ago, intending to return to their hometown to live out their retirement. However, even after the house was renovated, they hadn't spent a single day there.
When I came here in my previous life, the gate had already been opened. Now, the gate remains tightly closed, just as it was when the owners left.
Jiang Rong took two deep breaths and pulled the key from her pocket. After several attempts, the key finally entered the lock. With a click, the lock opened, and the tightly closed door could be easily pushed inward.
Standing once again within the courtyard wall, Jiang Rong was momentarily dazed. Looking around at the withered vines on the wall and listening to the wind whistling through the door, a familiar voice echoed in his mind: "Rongrong, come home—"
That was the voice of his grandparents calling him. When he was little, he would play and not come home, and his grandparents would always stand outside the door and call him loudly. In his past life, during his most desperate moments, that voice kept echoing in his mind, giving him a goal and direction to move forward. Although he couldn't escape being devoured by mutated rats in his past life, he was still grateful to die in a familiar place.
After passing through the screen wall, Jiang Rong walked towards the main hall. The last time she was back was at the beginning of last year. The house had been uninhabited for a long time, and a dusty smell greeted her as soon as she opened the door.
The house contained only a few simple pieces of furniture, and there wasn't much to tidy up. After searching around, Jiang Rong found a photo album in a cabinet. Opening it, the first picture was of a child laughing and hugging a dog.
The child in the photo bears a resemblance to Jiang Xiaoheng. He has one arm around the little dog's neck, and the other hand is outstretched, waving at the camera. This child is none other than himself when he was a child.
Seeing this photo, Jiang Rong couldn't help but smile slightly. He hadn't even realized he'd taken such an adorable picture. Flipping through the photos, he found most were from his childhood, with the rest being pictures with his grandparents. Each photo was carefully laminated, and despite the years, the colors remained vibrant.
Modern people rely heavily on electronic devices, preferring to store photos on their computers or phones, easily flipping through them whenever they want. Photo albums, once time-consuming and laborious, seem to have long since disappeared. Yet, they represent the most precious memories left by deceased elders. Flipping through the album, Jiang Rong vaguely recalled childhood anecdotes, and a deeper smile spread across her lips.
Just as Jiang Rong was reminiscing about the past while holding the photo album, he heard a car horn outside. He closed the album in surprise and checked the time, realizing it was already time he had arranged to meet the construction team.
Three excavators arrived first, and after confirming the location to be excavated, the excavator operators got to work.
The screen wall collapsed with a crash, and Jiang Rong was filled with mixed emotions. The house that had sheltered them in their past life had been destroyed by him, and to be honest, he was truly reluctant to let it go. But when he thought about how a more sturdy house would soon be built here, his reluctance quickly faded away.
The quiet little valley became noisy with the arrival of the excavator, but apart from startling a few birds and animals, it didn't attract any human attention. The beautiful houses nearby were deserted; although the scenery was beautiful, life here was inconvenient. People would much rather live in places with better transportation and easier access to work and school.
Jiang Rong didn't know how long it took to build the house; he only knew that an hour later, the house was unrecognizable. Just as he was marveling at the excavator's efficiency, Chu Qiang's voice came from behind him: "Xiao Jiang!"
Jiang Rong turned her head and looked at Chu Qiang with surprise: "Qiangzi? What are you doing here?"
Chu Qiang glanced at the construction site: "I brought my parents back, and my second uncle's 49th day is today. I figured since I was already back, I'd come check on things here. You're moving pretty fast; I thought you wouldn't start work until tomorrow."
Jiang Rong remembered that Chu Qiang's second uncle passed away at the end of last year, which prevented their whole family from having a proper New Year. She couldn't believe it was already the 49th day memorial service; time really flies.
They had only exchanged a few words when Jiang Rong's phone rang. She opened it to see Jiang Xiaoheng's chubby, tearful face on the screen. His large, watery eyes were filled with tears, his chubby baby face flushed red, and as he spoke, tears streamed down his cheeks: "Daddy..."
At the same time, an unfamiliar female voice came from the phone: "Mr. Jiang, your baby is crying and looking for you. I really don't know what to do. Please help soothe him/her."
Chu Qiang's ears perked up: "What's going on?"
Jiang Rong turned her head and whispered, "I'm a bit busy, and there's no one to take care of Xiao Heng, so I found a nanny to help out..."
The stockpiling of goods and the construction of the house were both in his hometown, hundreds of miles away, a three-hour drive one way from City C. If he traveled back and forth every day, the travel time alone would take six hours. Daily commutes were impractical; when things got busy, he simply didn't have time to run between the two places, and therefore no time to take care of Jiang Xiaoheng.
So after thinking it over, he hired a nanny to take care of Xiao Heng a couple of days ago. Seeing that Xiao Heng and the nanny were getting along well, he felt reassured and went out. But less than half a day later, his son started crying and looking for him.
Looking at the tears on her son's cheeks, Jiang Rong felt both helpless and heartbroken. "Xiao Heng, what did you promise Dad this morning? Who said that Xiao Heng is a man and would take good care of Lele and Auntie?"
Jiang Xiaoheng sobbed pitifully, "Dad, I didn't want to either. But I was so scared when you weren't home. When are you coming back? I, I miss you so much."
Jiang Rong rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. "Dad won't be home until tonight."
Jiang Xiaoheng pouted, and tears streamed down her face like a broken string of pearls. "It's still a long time tonight, Dad, can you come back now?"
Jiang Rong could be cold and indifferent to others. But the person on the other side of the screen was his child, and he couldn't even bring himself to yell at him. It took him a tremendous amount of effort to finally calm his son down.
He had just hung up the phone when he saw Chu Qiang hiding to the side, clutching his stomach and laughing so hard he was shaking. He mimicked Jiang Rong's tone in a strange voice, "Sweetie, Daddy will make you something delicious when he gets back~ Good boy~"
Jiang Rong raised her foot to kick, but Chu Qiang nimbly dodged it. After a few jokes, Chu Qiang said seriously, "Xiao Jiang, I have an idea. How about we ask my parents to help take care of Xiao Heng?"
Chu Qiang was full of confidence. "Look, my parents are retired and have nothing to do at home all day. Letting them take care of a child is a piece of cake. Besides, my house isn't far from yours. My parents can pick up and drop off Xiao Heng on their little donkeys."
Uncle Chu is a senior engineer, and Chu Qiang is essentially following in his father's footsteps. Aunt Chu used to be an accountant but later took early retirement. These two elderly people are meticulous and kind, making them perfect for taking care of Jiang Xiaoheng.
Jiang Rong hesitated for a moment, "Wouldn't that be too much trouble for Uncle and Aunt?"
Although Chu Qiang's parents and his own parents were old friends, he hadn't seen the two elderly people for a long time since their accident. He himself couldn't visit them during holidays, and now he felt quite embarrassed to leave his child with them...
Chu Qiang waved his hand: "You don't know, my parents are so bored at home, I'm afraid they'll get sick from being cooped up. Xiao Heng is a good kid, with him around, he can bring some fun to my parents."
As he spoke, Chu Qiang dialed his father's number. After exchanging only a few words, he hung up the phone with a laugh. "What did I tell you? My mom is going back to City C to pick up Xiao Heng right now."
Having survived crises and struggles in his past life, Jiang Rong had become accustomed to the scheming and maneuvering between people. He hadn't felt such pure kindness in a long time, and for a moment, a mix of emotions welled up inside him, coalescing into the simplest of phrases: "Thank you."
Chu Qiang said nonchalantly, "No need to thank me, that's too formal. You've helped me so much before, and I haven't even thanked you yet."
After laughing and joking for a while, Jiang Rong remembered something, "By the way, do you have a reliable fitness coach you can recommend? I want to build some muscle."
As soon as he finished speaking, Chu Qiang's eyes lit up. "Xiao Jiang, are you finally going to rise to prominence?! You've come to the right person. I know the best about every gym in City C, from the south to the north. Why do you need a personal trainer? Come to me! Train with me, and I guarantee you'll have a perfect body in less than a year."
As he spoke, Chu Qiang rolled up his sleeves to show Jiang Rong his well-defined muscles: "See that? My muscles are top-notch!"
Jiang Rong chuckled twice: "Stop joking, I'm serious. Besides, don't you have to go to work?"
The mere mention of "going to work" made Chu Qiang wilted like a frostbitten eggplant: "Yes, I have to go to work." Although his job was relatively easy, and he could sometimes take on side jobs, he couldn't be absent when his boss needed him.
After thinking for a moment, Chu Qiang patted Jiang Rong on the shoulder: "It's okay, I'll recommend a few reliable gyms to you later. But I have to make it clear in advance, you're going there to work out, so don't get hit on. Especially the fitness instructors, their private lives are all messed up, they just like your kind of ethereal, artsy youth."
Jiang Rong: ...
What time is it? How could he have the leisure to think about romantic things?
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